Updates, Updates

I haven't been the best at keeping up with this blog. Don't think I'm getting sick of running - I'm just hitting a rough patch. I've been going to the doctor this week to work out the whole knee and foot thing. So my running has had to be scaled back. But I ran 4 miles yesterday and another 4 today.

Today, I ran by myself with Kelly. I had my alarm set for 6 am. And I just couldn't make myself get out of bed. I hit snooze a LOT. I was deciding that I'd skip the run today, but then I thought - no way - I have been skipping too much lately. So I got out of bed at 6:45 and out the door by 7 (since I was only running 4 miles, I didn't worry as much about my pre-run eating rituals).

We ran down to the lake and back. And since it was so late in the morning, we saw some moms walking their kids to school. So CUTE! And one pointed to us and said, "look at how happy that dog is getting exercise! She is having such a good time." I looked at Kelly and saw the joy in her prance and I was glad I was out there. Which is why I love running. It may suck sometimes getting up in the morning, and I may have a ton of aches and pains, but I got to see a magnificent sky - just after sunrise, spend time with my girl, and feel a sense of accomplishment.

I'm heading to Las Vegas tonight. I'm supposed to run 12 miles Sunday, but with my injuries, I'm going to try just 6 - 8 miles tomorrow morning. I'm looking at the run as my preview to December's marathon!

16 Miles

Yesterday we ran 16 miles. 16 MILES!!! More than half the marathon distance. Jennifer and Lindsey ran it really strong. They seemed to have tons of energy, led the pack, and almost sprinted the last mile to the store.

A little different story for me. After the water stop at mile 12, my knee started killing me. It happened before when we ran 13 miles - at about the 11 mile mark, my left knee just starts to hurt. But I also learned you can run through the pain and it goes away (at least until the next water stop).

I was ready to throw in the towel at mile 12.5 (and run the 1.3 miles to my house - which means I wouldn't have gotten the full 16 miles in), when I thought about Monday, and how Lindsey and Jennifer would be pumped about the 16 miles and I was just a quitter, so I gritted my teeth, conciously told myself to ignore the pain, and ran up Swiss to catch our group. I did pretty well until the 14 mile water stop - at which time I literally hobbled up a hill, was able to run for another mile, then had to walk the last mile home. That sucked big time. But I did it! I "ran" 16 miles.

I went home, had my ice bath (which is killer by the way but I swear a miracle worker). By 5, I was feeling much better.

The knee is still pretty painful today. So I'm skipping tomorrow's 8-mile run. I'm convinced it's just an ITBN issue (which is that the muscle is weak and causes strain on the knee) - not an injury. So I'm hoping that by our next 16 mile run (which is on September 6th), I'll be fine. Cross your fingers.

Grit

is a word I think about often while running. Running is hard: period. Some miles are easy, where you feel like you are gliding on air, and some miles hurt with every footstep. However, grit will get you through those hard miles. Sunday, Shannon illustrated what grit is all about. She muscled through a 16-mile run with a bum knee. My hat is off to you, my friend. You showed us what grit is all about and you earned a lot of respect from our running group yesterday.

Its been a while...

I know, I know, its been a while since I have written anything. Scott and I went on vacation for a week last week, and before that I was just swamped.

So, running has been great lately. Ran 10 miles for the long run last week. It was amazing. We ran around a park in Vancouver - Stanley Park - it was basically an island, and the path was along the seawall around the island. it was so beautiful. We had 400 year old trees on our left (the park itself) and the ocean on our right. And the city in the background. Truly a spectacular run. I brought my camera on the run - wore it around my wrist - and took tons of pictures. I will be posting them asap. It was such a blast. And it was really nice running with my hubby. He has been so supportive of my running, but to actually have him running alongside me was awesome.

On Saturday, we returned back to Dallas and back to the ridiculous heat :-) Our flight was delayed, so we didn't land until 1 a.m., so I wasn't home and asleep until around 2:30. And of course - 3 hours later was awake for my long Sunday run... wow, I might be an addict! So, we had our 14 mile run that morning. It was tough, as I was absolutely exhausted running on only 3 hours of sleep. But we did it, and we actually ran at a very quick pace. We normally run between 12 and 12:30 for our long runs, but this time we were closer to 11:30 the majority of the time. And the final few miles were faster still. It was a hard run - but one that made me proud. We kicked ass out there!

This morning was a 7 mile run with 5 x 20 second strides. It was not a good run. The weather was just awful. Very hot, and extremely humid. The air was so thick. Anyway - cold front is coming in on Friday and the weather is looking good - hopefully that helps us out a bit :-)

Today some of our work buddies - Tate and Kristin started their running classes. I am so proud of them! Tate started RunOn's 101 class - the same class Shannon, Jennifer and I began only 4 months ago! Kristin started 201. She has been done 101 a couple times now - so she is moving up :-) And she ran an 11 minute magic mile!!! Compared to a 12:30 magic mile just a couple months ago!! Freaking awesome Kristin! Anyway - just wanted to pat them on the backs for a great start today! I hope the trend spreads around the office :-)

Okay - thats all for today. I will post pics from my Vancouver run soon...

~L

Strong

Today we ran 6 miles with 5 X 20 second strides.

I LOVE running 6 miles. The first two miles are always painful for me, but when I hit that 2 mile mark, I feel great. All the kinks and soreness and aches disappear and I feel strong.

And strong is how I felt today at mile 5, running at a much faster pace than I usually do just because I felt great. I am definitely understanding a runner's insanity to push herself and sweat like crazy because the reward is that you are making your body and mind strong. I just feel healthy. Which is as it should be. I'm only 32 after all. In the prime of my life. I might as well make my body the best it can be by getting into shape.

The strides, by the way, were super fun. Basically, you pick up your pace and stretch out your legs - which makes you run fast. But it's not a sprint...just opening up your stride and taking advantage of leg length. I did this instinctively when I ran the 800 in middle school. I remember feeling at an advantage over the other runners because my legs seemed longer. The strides today were part of just building our endurance. Can't want for the next ones.

On Thursday, our weekday runs start getting longer. That means, we will be meeting at 5:15 instead of 5:30. Yikes. I am NOT looking forward to that. I have a hard time being there by 5:30 (I'm usually 1 or 2 minutes late). 5:15 really will be difficult. But I think I can handle it.

We have 2 more weeks of our "building" phase. Then on August 30th, we start the "strength" phase of our training. This will involve more track time and speed during the week, not to mention hills, to build our endurance even more and make us ready for the rigors of a race.

I love that I'm still enthused about all this!

Updates

I've been remiss this week with the blog. I had a work project that was crazy. But that didn't keep me from running on Tuesday. I missed yesterday's 6 mile run, though. When I woke up at 4:30 am, my body told me, don't even try it. And I'm glad I skipped it. I was tired and sluggish all day yesterday. But my makeup run today was fantastic. Plus, I got to run with my favorite running buddy - Kelly! And we'll run 3 miles tomorrow.

This Sunday we have an "easy"/short run of 10 miles. Our coach sent us an email this morning that says it best. I'll let you know how the run goes. Pray for cool weather!


Hi everyone!
I hope you are all having a super week. Auyama, we hope your trip to Long Beach was fun.

Congratulations again to those who hit another distance milestone on Sunday! I was thinking about you on the way home and got goose bumps over your accomplishment. Terrific achievement! Virginia and Morgan, snaps for you too and I’m so happy to be running with you again.

The schedule for Sunday gives us a ‘short’ run of 10 miles. Ya’ know how you’ve heard people say things like “We only have to run 10 miles today”? Maybe you thought they were a little crazy? News flash…that is you now! We ONLY have 10 miles to run on Sunday. Practice saying it…nice!

Jennifer has a nice route for us on Sunday. I think you are going to like it. Nice scenery and neighborhoods and minimal hills.

After the run Sunday we’ll have breakfast and a seminar on heart rate monitor training. Bring a towel, some dry clothes, and sandals/flip flops so you can feel nice and dry for the seminar.

See you Sunday morning!
Laura and Lisa

PS Remember your water bottle!

Photo from Too Hot to Handle 15K

Here is a picture of Jennifer and Lindsey at the finish line of the 15K called "Too Hot to Handle." Shannon took some of the three of us after the race that we hope to post soon. What a great feeling it was to accomplish running a 15K a mere 3 months after starting Running 101!

Today, we ran our first half marathon distance - 13.1 miles. This was Jennifer's and my longest distance run yet. From here on out, any mile over 13.1 will be the longest any of us have ever run.

So remember last week when I said that running 11 miles was killer? Not surprisingly, this was even harder. My whole lower body aches right now. But I am filled with an extraordinary sense of accomplishment. In 3 1/2 months, I went from being unable to run 1 mile to running a half marathon.

Next week, we only run 10 miles (funny how 10 miles doesn't seem so bad right now), which is nice. Then the mileage really picks up - 14 miles on 8/16, 16 miles on 8/23, and back to 12 on 8/30. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. But exhilarated too! Good job, ladies!

Cross Country Running? I'll Stick to the Roads

Today Lindsey, Kristin, and I ran in the Dallas Running Club's 6-mile Relay at Norbuck Park. We each ran a 2-mile leg on the grass (muddy grass), up and down hills, jumping over (or running around) hay bales. Our "baton" was a plastic ice cream cone that had a wand and bubbles inside.

Even though it was only two miles - it was hard! First off, really really humid. When you run in humidity, you sweat a lot more than if it was dry out. I'm talking dripping sweat. Give me hotter weather but dry any day. Next, it was muddy. You get used to your feet weighing a certain way. But add a pound of mud to each foot and it's harder to run. Finally, it was hilly. I felt great running up the first hill. I was passing by all these walkers who had run all out and couldn't make it up the hill. Suckers. Until I reached the really really big hill between mile 1 and 1.25. OMIGOSH it was tough. I was one of those who had to walk the last bit up the hill.

Also, because it was "only" 2 miles, I ran at a lot faster pace than I usually do. I was looking at my watch's log today and at one point, I was running a 6:45 mile! I averaged an 11 minute mile (counting the walking time) so I probably ran the race at less than an 11 minute mile - pretty good if you ask me :)

All in all, it was really fun, but I know in my heart, give me asphalt any day over grass.

On to our 13 miler tomorrow!