A Special Treat.

This morning I was able to sneak away for a mid morning run.  This never, ever happens!  Once the kids are up, it is so hard to peel myself away from home.  The baby took a morning nap, which he rarely does these days. Our other little one is really under the weather, so he just wants to vegetate.  The house was a disaster, when is it not (?), but I managed to give myself permission to head out for about forty-five minutes.

The run was fabulous, I ran a route that I normally don't get to try during the week.  The change in scenery always helps.  While the route itself was fabulous, and while I enjoyed the quiet mid morning time away, and while I enjoyed the beautiful weather:  I STRUGGLED through the run!  It was so much warmer than my past few runs, and for some reason my body always has a hard time adapting to the temperature change.  It's very strange, I can almost count on having a bad run (struggling) if the weather warms up unexpectedly.

Throughout the run I thought more about the spring marathon.  Random thoughts that crossed my mind were, "how am I going to fit in a twenty miler during tax season?"  I even went as far to figure out the course, what we could do with the boys, whether I should try to run on Saturday or Sunday, and so on.  It's crazy to let these thoughts consume me already, but it will probably make things easier in the long run- preparing for the crazy, hard marathon training weeks ahead.  I'm still completely serious about running this marathon in March, and running a PR.  It's the perfect time to try.

The rest of this week will be interesting. I'm thinking that our little guy might have the flu.  And, I'm feeling kind of icky today- very tired.  Naturally, there is a fear that I'm going to be under the weather by the end of the week. Hopefully not....

5, 10, Who's Counting Anyway?

Today was supposed to be my long run according to this new training program.  Of course, the program starts off gently with the long runs being 5, 6, or 7 miles depending on the week. This week the long run was supposed to be about five miles. Hmph.  I've been running five miles all week!  So, I decided to go ahead and do a suitable long run.  I started off just wanting to do seven miles, or so.  But!  I felt so good and my house was so dark and quiet that I decided to keep going and going.  Instead of sticking to the plan (like I should do!)  I ran about ten miles instead.  Tomorrow is supposed to be an "off" day, but I'm thinking about squeezing in a seven miler and then possibly taking Monday off, or Tuesday.  It feels so good to be injury free again and healthy, that I am finding it really hard to take days off or slow down.  I know I need to, though.  Twenty weeks is a long time to train and I know I'm going to be tired by March.  So, just for this week, I'm going to go a little over in the mileage.

Week One of Training and My Marathon Dreams

The first week of training is almost done, so that's what? Nineteen to go?  : ) No problem!  It feels so incredibly good to be running consistently again, I don't even care about the long weeks of training ahead.  This morning, while on my glorious five mile run, I thought to myself "no wonder I have been so down for the past twelve weeks- I haven't been out the roads and I haven't watched the sun rise over the mountains in ages."

While running this morning, I also thought a little about my goals for this marathon. At this point I have three.  The most important goal is to complete the training and to complete the marathon.  Goal number two is to break 3 hours and 50 minutes.  (My PR is 3:51.16 - just a few seconds shy of 3:50.  )  And, of course, there's the classic, never ending goal of qualifying for Boston, which would require a 3:40, or less. I thought a lot about how I am going to get there this morning.  At most marathon expos, you can find these handy little bracelets with your goal time and the pace required to get you to the goal time.  Those never work for me.  It's too much math, too much pressure, they always make me feel like there is no lee-way.  So, I did a little calculating in my pea brain, and figured out what I want my twenty mile time to be, and then I figured out how much time I would have to finish the last six.  Then, I broke down the 20 mile time into two 10 milers.  So,  from my calculations, I think I need to run the first 20 in about 2 hours and 40 minutes.  And then, each ten miler should be 1 hour and 20 minutes.  That sounds do-able and a little less stressful.  With 2 hours 40 minutes, I would have at least an hour to finish the last 6.2 miles.  And, if I go over the alloted hour, which is likely, then I will still be very close to breaking the 3:50 goal.  (It's funny, all of this planning is a perfect example of "chunking"- a term that special ed teachers LOOOVE to use!)

I then checked out my 20 miler times from a race that I like to run in the fall.  Those times range from about 2 hours 45 minutes to 2 hours 53 minutes.  So, I'm going to have to run stronger and harder and faster, but I think it's quite possible.  In fact, I know it is!  : ) Winter running is my absolute favorite, which is crazy, right?  I think the temperatures are going to be just perfect to chase those dreams that are floating around in my head.

I think I can...

The seed has been planted.  I'm convinced that I can run a spring marathon.  Right now I'm feeling pretty good - the aches and pains have subsided for the moment.  And, I found a new plan that I am pretty excited about trying.  I like that I am not familiar with this plan, which I can't say for the Hal Higdon novice program.  The one piece of this program that is very interesting to me is that there are actually rest weeks.  The mileage gradually increases, only by 10%, for the tough weeks.  After increasing the mileage, though, then it goes down a bit.  I kind of like that!  So instead of running a 20 miler one week and a 16 miler the next, this program would call for a 20 miler and then an 8 miler.  That may help with recovery.  Who knows!  I just can't wait to give it a shot.  Provided I can stick to the plan, it should be interesting to see how it pays off in the end.  Instead of being 16 weeks, this program is 20, which probably accounts for the dips in mileage.   I just may go back to Higdon's novice I for next year's Marine Corps Marathon.  We'll see, I guess.

I've also started to contemplate whether I should run in the Colonial Half, which is towards the end of  February.  It's one of my very favorite races, but I'm not sure about two weekends dedicated solely to a race within one month of one another.  The Colonial Half is fun because it's a wonderful FAMILY weekend for us, and it gives Josh a tiny break during busy season.  I'm leaning towards not running that one, sticking to the plan, and running a great race in March!


I added a couple of my favorite running blogs to the links section!  Check them out.  They provide me with the inspiration that I have been lacking lately.

New Plan, New Goal...

It's been ages since I've updated this blog!  Running has been quite slow lately due to a herniated disc issue, strep throat, and a bit of a "life crisis".  Deferring from Marine Corps Marathon was a bit of a punch in the gut, and I've had a tough time getting over the fact that I had to stop training.  It's so easy to forget how badly my leg hurt towards the of August.  It's easy forget about the fact that you could not tie your shoes or shower without crying in the morning.  It's easy to feel like a wimp for not being able to juggle all aspects of life when you're feeling pretty good.

Since I'm still down on myself for not finishing the marathon training and for deferring from the marathon, I've been plotting a new goal.  A March marathon (for whatever reason!) seems like a great idea right now. I do realize that this is one of the most difficult times of the year for my family because of Josh's busy season.  However, having been through busy season for a number of years, I recognize the fact that Josh needs to have extra time with the boys on the weekends (namely, Sunday's).  So, I really think that we could work the training out for this marathon.  We also never go anywhere (except for the Colonial Half) during these months, so figuring out training on the weekends due to traveling won't be an issue, either.  It's a lofty goal, I know, but I desperately need a goal- STAT.

So, I have started to pencil in the training.  I found a new training program that looks perfect for my needs- it's even more do-able than Hal Higdon's plan. The training program is from the book, Marathoning for Mortals by John Bingham (RW's Penguin!).  It is an easy, motivating, and interesting read, which is exactly what I need right now.

On a side note, today's run was absolutely fantastic!  There is a meteor shower right now that is just incredible.  I'm pretty sure that I saw about four or five shooting stars.  It was the perfect start to a beautiful day!

Injured Reserves

It's been almost three weeks, which feels like an eternity right now. Three weeks since I have slipped away from my family to meet my friends for an early morning retreat. Three weeks since I have laced up my shoes and pounded the pavement. Three weeks since I have felt well enough to even think about running, or being able to tie my shoes without crying. Three weeks since I have deferred for my sixth marathon.

I never thought that I would have to defer a marathon due to an injury. Never. In 2005, I deferred an entrance to the New York City marathon because we were expecting our first child. What a fantastic reason to defer the NYC marathon, right??? I certainly think so. I have so many friends who have had to defer marathons and step away from running for a bit. I wish that I would have been more supportive of those friends. I wish I would have called them more, just to check in. Because it's a cruddy feeling to defer, to give in before you've even started.

I had to, though. I couldn't tie my shoes. I could hardly put my running shorts on in the morning without being brought to tears. My body was messed up, to say the least. So, three weeks later of doing hardly anything, I'm better. I can tie my shoes and get dressed and roll over in bed without crying. That's good news. I have a slight hamstring twinge that scares me a bit, it's a reminder that the injury is not gone.

Nonetheless, I think I might *try* to run two miles tomorrow. Slowly. Because it's been three weeks and I miss running so much. ♥

On Track...

I knew the second that I joined that gym I would feel guilty for not going every single day of the week. Which is ridiculous, because who has the time or energy to exercise every single day of the week? Call me lazy, but I've had a tough time getting over there this week. I keep telling myself that once we're sleeping through the night, once the baby's teeth finally pop through, once I stop nursing I'll have more energy; then I'll be able to exercise everyday! The truth is, I'm not as tough as many of my running friends. I easily talk myself out of getting up early every single morning. : ) I have yet to get over to the center this week, but I'm going to tomorrow-and the rest of the week-I promise myself! We'll see about that....

Even though I had to take a little bit of time off of running, I'm still on track for the marathon in October! Hurray! This week is an "easy" week of training: 3, 4, 3, and 5. No problem! So far I've gotten two four milers, or so. I missed a day last week, so I figured I could make up for the missed three miler this week. My foot still hurts when I run, but the pain is not as intense and it is not sharp. The weather has been absolutely fabulous for running outside! Absolutely fabulous. This morning the air was crisp and I felt very strong on my short, little run.

Other running related news:

Please check out this awesome site (So Sporty!) , which is for running clothes that are actually MADE in the USA!!!!!! Wow-- that never happens anymore, does it??? Check it out, the tops are adorable. I have two- which were given to me as birthday presents. TJ Maxx also sells these tops in their "active" section. Check it out!! Click on either link to check out the merchandise!! : )