Tonight's 8 mile long run

   It definitely was not the greatest, I am not going to lie. Lately I've been thriving on 2-5 hours of sleep, while trying to keep up my runs and taking care of my little boy who is teething and dealing with separation anxiety. I almost didn't go for my run tonight, I was scared that I didn't have the energy to do 8 miles and that I would get stuck out there. Luckily I finished it in 1 hour and 25 minutes, 6 minutes faster than my last 8 mile run back on 09/3/12 which sucked due to the heat.
   Thirty degrees starting out and dropping the whole time, with an elevation gain of 284 ft my splits were:
   Mile 1 - 10:57
   Mile 2 - 11:10
   Mile 3 - 11:13
   Mile 4 - 10:57
   Mile 5 - 11:08
   Mile 6 - 10:47
   Mile 7 - 10:23
   Mile 8 - 9:02

  Not to mention that nearing the 6.6 turnaround to head home I almost got ran off the road by an jerk in a truck pulling a trailer, he didn't even move over slightly or slow down.. I had to jump off the road and into the snow. My average pace was 10:42, not bad for feeling like crap, I made it to 81 miles for December and hopefully I won't regret it.

A 2 in the Morning Run

   Due to some pretty hectic things going on today and this weekend, I decided this morning to sneak my Friday run in at 2:00 a.m as soon as Dorian fell to sleep. Of course he apparently woke up somewhere in the middle and Cameron had to bring him into the bed with him while I was out. I ran 5 miles in 52 minutes and 14 seconds, Wednesday's 5.2 mile run was 53 minutes and 18 seconds. It is nearly daylight outside with all the snow on the ground, it was so peaceful and just amazing out there. The first mile sucked though; I was concerned that my run would suck, Dorian kept me up all night the night before and even I was mentally awake and alert and feeling fresh, my body was not. After the first 2 miles my body was finally getting into the groove, my splits were:
   Mile 1 - 10:34
   Mile 2 - 10:52
   Mile 3 - 10:46
   Mile 4 - 10:11
   Mile 5 - 9:49
  
   I made up for it near the end, so I am pretty pleased with the run. This week I am aiming for 8 miles but might go ahead and do 7 depending on how the weather is and how my body is feeling. Right now I am at 73 miles for December, and November's mileage was 61 so if I leave December where it is I will still be 12 miles more than November, if I go ahead and run 7 or 8 miles I will reach 80-81 miles and be as much as 20 miles more than November. I am just wondering if it's too much. I think if I do run 7 or 8 I will take Monday and Tuesday as rest days, get back into it Wednesday and run 5 miles. I should be fine if I do it that way.

Signing up for 2013 Races

  Around October I had already signed up for the Go! St Louis Half Marathon on April 6, 2013 which is supposed to be hilly but I think I will be ready for it. This morning I've registered for the Bound the Mounds 10k trail race at Angel Mounds, and the Hearts on Fire 5k at USI (hopefully I can make up for my not finishing it this year) and the Run of Luck 7k race in March. In 7 days I can register for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon in November, so far my races are:

  Hearts on Fire 5k - February 9th, 2013 - 9 AM
  Bound the Mounds 10k Trail - March 2, 2013 - 8 AM
  Run of Luck 7k - March 16, 2013 - 9 AM
  Go! St Louis Half Marathon - April 7, 2013 - 7 AM
  The Spartan Sprint - April 27, 2013 - 10:30 AM

   I am pretty sure I will register for the YMCA 10k in August (if they're doing the 5k or 10k option) and the YMCA 15k in September, and I will most likely register for the Evansville Half Marathon in October, about 3 weeks before the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon which should be a good taper time I think. In June, around the end of the month I will begin my Marathon training plan, hopefully by then 13.1 miles will be nothing for me or at least easier. It is crazy to think that I will be running my first Marathon next November, I don't plan on a PR but hopefully I won't have any issues finishing the race.
   I'd like to do 3 Half Marathon next year, with one Full Marathon and a lot of small races but right now it looks like I'll be doing the Go! St Louis Half in April and the Evansville Half Marathon in October, I'm not quite sure where I would put another Half as it would have been in November but my first Full is going to be in November. We'll just have to wait and see how things go from here, but I have a pretty good feeling 2013 will be a great year for me.

Haven't posted forever

  It's been a long time since I've posted, I think the last time was around when RW was having so many issues with spam and a lot of people headed over to RunningAhead as did I. I've kept up my runs, last Sunday I ran 7 miles in 1 hour and 16 minutes and it felt great. This past week I only ran 5 miles on Tuesday, Wednesday I guess I came down with a stomach bug or something so I've let myself rest as much as possible and I want to run 7 miles tomorrow morning but I think I might end up doing 5 or 6 as I haven't eaten a lot here in the last couple of days just because I haven't really been hungry.
  My little boy's first tooth is popping out, one of his bottom fronts and I can feel two others pushing their way through at the top front. He is growing up so fast it is unbelievable, in less than 4 months he is going to be a year old and he's already pulling himself up to his feet and standing, I'm curious as to when he is going to start cruising around. I remember the day he was born, how amazing it was to pull him out of the water and look into his eyes, my heart melted so fast. I can honestly say that I am glad the world didn't end.

Tonight's Run

   I don't really feel like saying a lot, I ran 5 miles tonight. I haven't been doing quite as super as I did that one week, but I am mainly keeping it safe. Today is the first full day without my best friend, I am not sobbing like crazy but I feel an empty hole in my heart and everywhere I look there is something that reminds me of her. It's going to take a long time to recover from her death, a lot of people say that but Molly was with me since I was almost 12 years old and up to just a month after I turned 25 years old. She has been through so many parts and milestones in my life that I don't feel right without her, it just doesn't feel the same with her gone. We found Rocky in 2009, 8 weeks old but I know it won't quite feel the same with his passing, Molly grew with me, she became my shadow and pretty much an extension of me and now that extension is gone and I feel a huge part of me died with her. My late childhood, my teens and adolescence, and my early adult years have all had her there beside me. If only I could have given her 10 years of my life, just 10 more years but I know that is impossible. Part of me seriously thought about Cryo-genics or whatever, where they freeze people or animals and bring them back to life down the road.... but Cameron didn't think it would be right. This just sucks....
   My time was 55 minutes and 45 seconds, my splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:10
Mile 2 - 10:51
Mile 3 - 11:14
Mile 4 - 11:31
Mile 5 - 10:55

A Much Warmer Trail Run

 This morning was about 20 degrees warmer than last Saturday but still 47 degrees and I wore my capri's, gloves, an under armour thermal shirt and then a loose shirt on top. Around the 2nd or 3rd mile I really wanted to take my long sleeves and gloves off but I didn't want to head back to the Tahoe so I said screw it. I ran 6 miles Wednesday and thought about running another 6 on the trails today but I opted to do only 5.5 instead, I didn't run Thursday or Friday letting my legs recover from Wednesday AND I was pretty sleep deprived Friday so I chose not to use up what energy I didn't have.
  This morning's run lasted for an hour and 2 minutes, felt great and I loved being out there on the trails. My splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:00
Mile 2 - 11:48
Mile 3 - 11:33
Mile 4 - 11:29
Mile 5 - 11:23
.53 - 10:12

  I think during winter I am going to do my weekend longs runs on the trails, at least as much as possible; and who knows, during snowy/icy mornings I might take my camera with me and after running I might walk through and take some photos.

Six Miles Tonight

   I was originally going to run just 5 miles but after the first 2 miles I decided to go ahead and hit 6 miles for the first time since September 11 this year. I just hope I don't regret it, Friday I might just run 3 miles and then run 5 miles on the trails Sunday morning. My last time at 6 miles was 1:09:28 and tonight it was 1:05:01 so I did happen to cut 4 minutes off though I think I could have cut a little more than that.
   My splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:51
Mile 2 - 10:47
Mile 3 - 11:29
Mile 4 - 11:01
Mile 5 - 10:37
Mile 6 - 10:18

27 Degrees and I Did not Dress for It

   I was supposed to do the Get Dirty 5k this morning, but I had talked myself out of it. Instead I went and ran those same trails for 5.3 miles an hour before the race. The first 2 miles were miserable, I will not lie; I wore my capri tights, ankle socks, a regular thermal undershirt and a shirt over it, I did have on my gloves but they really didn't make a difference. Nothing to cover my ears which were numb, I almost talked myself into running just 1 mile, but when I got to 1 mile I talked myself into 3 miles, just survive 3 miles. I knew I would be happy with 3 miles though, so by the time I reached 2.5 miles I made up my mind to run 5 miles even if I was numb. The only thing that made it difficult was the cold, 27 degrees is the coldest I've ran in so far (that I can remember) and my whole upper body was number halfway through. I ran it in 57 minutes and 31 seconds with a pace of of 10:46. My splits were:
   Mile 1 - 11:10
   Mile 2 - 10:45
   Mile 3 - 10:40
   Mile 4 - 10:57
   Mile 5 - 11:01
   .3 miles - 9:48

  I will not be making that same mistake with my wardrobe, I don't think I could handle another one like it. I told my husband when I got back that this run was even insane for me. I haven't ran on trails (or roads) with snow yet, and I am excited to get that opportunity. The last two years I have always lost track and slacked during late fall and winter after the October Half, so I am pretty proud of myself for still doing so well and November already almost over. I just hope I am not going to regret it. I think my injury happened because of an extreme increase of mileage, June saw 27.1 miles, July 39.2 miles, August 66.2 miles, September 64.6 miles, then my injury caused me to drop down to a total of 27.2 miles or October and so far this month I have 50.3 miles with two more runs to go before November is over. It would be 3 more runs if I run Monday, Wednesday and Friday but I think I am going to rest the next two days and run Tuesday and Thursday instead. I will do some cross training tomorrow, some squats and lunges today and try some yoga tomorrow maybe. And lots of stretching.

Took it Easy This Morning

  My legs are feeling a little sore, I am pretty sure my left knee is dealing with the dreaded runner's knee among a few other things. None of it was enough to cause me to worry, but I opted to run 4 miles instead of 5 to be on the safe side and I will run 4 miles Tuesday and I would like to run 5 miles Thursday. My mom's family is having Thanksgiving on Thursday at noon, and then unfortunately we're having our Thanksgiving dinner later that evening, so Thursday is going to be crazy and stressful but hopefully I can get my run in early that morning. Saturday is the Get Dirty 5k race, depending on Thursday's run I might do a 2 or 3 mile run later that day afterwards or even on Sunday as an easy run.
   I took it much easier today, running 4.05 miles with a time of 43:49 and an average pace of 10:49. 
Mile 1 - 11:03
Mile 2 - 11:12
Mile 3 - 11:08
Mile 4 - 09:58

Yesterday's warm weather kind of kicked Molly's butt yesterday, but she is slowly recuperating.

Tonight's 5 Mile Run

   I went ahead and ran 5 miles this afternoon, after the 3rd mile my left knee was feeling kind of sore but it wasn't affecting my run so I kept going and it subsided. The run was pretty darn good, I ran an average pace of 10:20, my time was 51:43. My splits were:
   Mile 1 - 10:56
   Mile 2 - 10:38
   Mile 3 - 10:22
   Mile 4 - 10:08
   Mile 5 - 09:36

  I am still debating whether I want to train for the Indy Monumental Marathon for my birthday, I almost thought about Chicago's Marathon but I hate Illinois and the fact that Obama came from Illinois, and New York is a bit too far from us. I am pretty sure it will end up being Indy's since it is November 2, 2013 which will be the day before my 26 birthday. Eh, I've got quite a few months before I need to make my decision. Next April I signed up for the St. Louis Half Marathon (April 05, 2013) and I thought I was going to run the Southern Indiana Classic Half but that is the very next day after the on in St. Louis. Then there is the Spartan Sprint on April 26 so I will be getting 2 finisher's medal in April (Yay!).

Yesterday's Run

  I ran 4.3 miles yesterday, it wasn't as magical as last week's runs were but it wasn't bad either. My left knee had some soreness but not exactly, for some reason Runner's World blog tool won't allow me to post my blogs right now so god only knows when that is going to get fixed. Molly is feeling better so that is good, I think this cold weather is doing her much better than the warm weather did so I am really glad I didn't take her in Monday to be put to sleep. I know her time is coming soon, but she just isn't ready yet.
  I finished the 4.3 miles in 42:33 and my splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:06
Mile 2 - 10:11
Mile 3 - 10:00
Mile 4 - 9:31
.3 - 9:00
  So my Average pace was 9:53 and I feel good about it, though I am still debating about increasing Saturday's run to 5 miles... I think I might leave it at 4 or 4.5 and increase Sunday's run to 5 miles.

A run with Dorian

     Lord, pushing a 42 lb stroller with a 17 lb angel and a 10 - 15 lb carseat for 3.3 miles with hills is really hard. Yesterday was hard period but thankfully I didn't have to make a difficult decision with Molly. We really thought we were going to have to take her in and have her put to sleep, her health had suddenly declined so rapidly from Friday evening to Sunday that I decided to make the appointment at 5 p.m yesterday. Monday morning she seemed somewhat better, even Sunday night there were signs of improvement but I was determined to not change my mind until I came home Monday afternoon and looked into her eyes, she isn't ready to go. I am beginning to seriously wonder if the weather affects her, this past summer was extremely tough on her and for the past month our temps have gone up and down. Friday it reached 65 and then Saturday was 72, her health was at the worse but Sunday evening a cold front came in and it seems as the temps are dropping below 45 degrees her health and energy is increasing. Her appetite is somewhat back but still picky and she isn't collapsing anymore but walking around, and that persistent, stubborn Husky look is back in her eyes thank god. I know it is still inevitable, most likely she won't make it past this year but she isn't ready yet.
    I feel stupid now for making a thread on the BF at Runners World, hopefully it will die down quickly. 
   My pace yesterday wasn't as fast as last week, but I was pushing a really heavy stroller so I am not ashamed, my splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:27
Mile 2 - 11:34
Mile 3 - 10:33
.3 - 10:14

A Hilly Long Run

  This morning I added some hills, with a total elevation of 85 feet and loss of 90 feet (yeah I know, not much) and I focused on keeping it slow and easy. The hills definitely helped, and the warm temperature of 58 degrees and sunny so it felt like 65. Even though I had to slow myself down, I feel great about the run, especially with the amount of hills (6-8 total). My time was exactly 42:00 and pace was 10:28 min/mi, my splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:42
Mile 2 - 10:27
Mile 3 - 10:54
Mile 4 - 9:49
   I am glad I got to run today instead of tomorrow, now I will be able to run Monday, Wednesday and Friday rather than just Tuesday and Thursday. I can't let myself forget to stretch throughout today and do some squats and lunges. I told Cameron my plan of training for the Indy Monumental Marathon next November, it is going to be on November 2, 2013 the day before my 26th birthday so I figure it will be a great celebration and at a pretty well known race rather than the only marathon here in Evansville which is in April and has been canceled twice now due to humidity and heat. He's okay with it, but being non-runner he doesn't quite feel my excitement which I am not too worried about :)

Last night's run

   Last night's run wasn't bad, but not nearly as awesome as my last two runs. I started off a little too comfortable at 9:57 pace and slowed down a bit by the 2nd mile. My average pace was still under 10 minutes, I ran 4 miles for 39 minutes and 8 seconds which is still my best run for 4 miles. I think what I am going to do as I increase is increase one run a week like last weekend I increased my long run to 4 miles, then ran my Tuesday run at 3, and then increased my Thursday run to 4, this weekend I will run my long run at 4 miles.
   Next week:
Monday - 4 miles
Wednesday - 4 miles
Friday - 4 miles
Sunday - 5 miles
Tuesday - 4 miles
Thursday - 4 miles
Saturday 5 miles
Monday - 4 miles
Wednesday - 5 miles
Friday - 5 miles
   So on and so forth, one week I'll run 3 days and the next week I'll run 4 days, pretty much every other day if possible.
My splits last night were:
Mile 1 - 9:58
Mile 2 - 10:24
Mile 3 - 9:47
Mile 4 - 8:59
  So I still did good, better than just a couple weeks ago although my leg was starting to try and tighten up on me early one, nothing to worry about and I stretched afterwards. Once I get up to 10-15 miles per week I will add in one extra run, probably a recovery run the day after my long run, maxing maybe 2 miles depending on how I feel, 2 miles if my weekly is 10 and 3 miles if my weekly is 15 miles. I know I am trying to put it on paper but I got it all up in my head and will just take it day by day. I would like to have my longs runs reaching 13.1 miles every 3 weeks or so, I just want my long runs average between 8 and 13.1 miles. Not sure why, but I do know that I want to run the Indy Monumental Marathon next November on 11/02/2013 as a celebration of my 26th birthday (next year). Anyways, that is still a year away so I am just going to take things easy and not fret over anything.

Another AMAZING run!!!

  Two AWESOME runs in a row man! My sister wasn't able to make it the run, but that might have been a good thing, tonight's run was 3 miles and probably my fastest run so far: 28:15 minutes so the average pace of 9:25 but my splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:12
Mile 2 - 9:06
Mile 3 - 8:56
   I felt great the whole time, I didn't even feel the need to slow down at the beginning but near the end I was starting to feel like I was going to puke but I kept pushing along. It was sprinkling but I didn't are, I was wearing my little head band, my tights and I felt great. My goal this winter was to increase my speed to a sub 9 minute pace at least for 5k's and after tonight I can honestly see that happening. I weigh right at 141 lbs and I feel faster than I did last year, but that crappy scale last year was about 7 lbs off so when it was saying 134-135 I quite possibly could have been at 141-142 lbs. Heck I might be able to break an 8:30 pace for 5k's if I was able to push myself hard enough, but I will try not to bite off more than I can chew (yet). I am just so excited!!!!

An AMAZING 4 Mile Long Run

  I didn't get out at 6 this morning, Dorian didn't sleep too great in his new crib, the furnace kept going out and the temperature would drop to 65 degrees in the house so I  had to bring Dorian in bed with me. I didn't think I would get to run until later today, but Dorian fell asleep around 8 a.m and I put him in his bed and got ready to run. The run was amazing, I haven't felt that good during a run in a long time. I kept it under 11 minutes the whole time, I ran 4 miles in 40 minutes and 20 seconds. My splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:35
Mile 2 - 10:46
Mile 3 - 10:08
Mile 4 - 8:49
  I felt great, the last mile was my fastest ever and it is awesome! The first half of that mile was 9:04 and the last half mile was 8:40 and it wasn't easy but I felt great afterwards. The cold air made it a bit tough when inhaling while going faster, I'd have to say I prefer running fast in warmer weather. I am just so proud of this run, it was great and I hope I have more like it especially as I pick up in miles. It would be great to have an average pace of 10:04 a mile for 10 miles.

Running Everyday, I want to!

   I am getting that crave back, after the last couple of runs feeling so good I want to get out there and run every morning. I have to keep control of myself, otherwise I will end up injuring before I even recover from my last overuse injury. I also want to get out on the trails too, tomorrow I am thinking about running my normal 3 miles in the morning and 1 or 2 miles later that day on some trails. I won't go to Audubon as that is 3 miles and killer hills, I will go to Angel Mounds trails which are flat but still nice and I don't have to do 3 miles, I might even hit Wesselman's but they are normally packed with kids and they don't allow running or jogging. It's going to be raining a little tomorrow, but the weather shows that it will be around 30-40 % and the temperature will reach 50 around 1 p.m so I don't know yet. Sunday shows a high of 45-50 and no rain so I might reluctantly wait until Sunday to run. I don't want to chance getting sick, or having a miserable run on my birthday.
   I can't believe that NYC is still having the race, I mean showing people that you don't let a huge storm break you is fine, but it has broken NYC, people are living on the streets or without power and heat in a month that can easily go to below freezing temperatures. I am not signed up to run it, probably never will but I sure wouldn't run it during this. Especially after hearing about the victims having to give up hotel rooms to out of town runners, that is just cruel.

Twenty-Eight Degrees and I Ran

  I am buying a pair of ear muffs, good, light but warm pair of socks and tights dang it! I wonder if they sell florescent colored thermal long sleeved shirts, since I have been running early morning before light and enjoy it. Right now I am eye-balling some Under Armour stuff:
http://www.underarmour.com/shop/us/en/womens-ua-extreme-coldgear-base-legging/pid1230909

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=13233833&lmdn=Brand&cp=4406646.4413874.4413879.12181219
  I like the second one because the pink looks to be a bit florescent which would help tremendously.

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=13242964&cp=4406646.4413874.4413879.12181219

  I am still looking for ear muffs and possibly a different pair of gloves that will be warmer. I'll probably go to Dick's Sporting Goods this weekend and take a look while hoping they have at least the last two there, otherwise I will just buy them offline. Anyways, to the run this morning, at 6:20 a.m., it was still really freaking cold, but not as awful as on the bike. It was 28 degrees, while feeling like 10 degrees colder than that. The grass was frosted over, but I love running or doing anything outside while watching the sun come up. It just isn't the same at night when the sun is going down, I don't know how to explain it but maybe because the "world" is waking up from silence and peace whereas at night everything is still "go-go-go" even as the sun goes down. It isn't until around 10:30 or midnight that everything starts to quiet down for the night.

  I ran 3.2 miles this time, with a time of 37:13 mainly because I kept the first mile or so easy and slow, I didn't want my muscles to tighten up since I didn't really warm them up or anything. And during mile 2 I kind of lost track of my pace and went to la la land ha! I am pretty confident I could have kept the 9:48 pace for at least half a mile, MAYBE close to a mile but I don't want to mess with it in these freezing temperatures and while my leg is still recovering.
Mile 1 - 11:47
Mile 2 - 12:19
Mile 3 - 11:12
.2 miles - 9:48

A Windy 38 degrees this Morning

   I almost chickened out of running this morning, Dorian has been up through the last couple of nights whimpering (not sure if his teething is bothering him, or if he is having bad dreams), and he woke me up around 5 a.m this morning and I was worried that I would be able to run at 6 a.m. He eventually fell back to sleep around quarter 'til 6; so I got up and started getting dressed, and that was when I noticed the wind blowing the trees around outside..... I began to question my sanity and I almost chickened out. But I told myself "screw it, let's get this over with", and I headed out (with gloves this time) and my legs are definitely getting better. Hopefully I can up my weekly runs to 3.5 by next week, or at least my long run.
  I ran 3 miles in 34:32 and my splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:25
Mile 2 - 11:46
Mile 3 - 11:19

  Not bad, I wanted to get the last mile under 11 minutes but my lower hamstring and upper calf on my right leg tried tightening up each time I tried to increase my pace, no worries though. I got out there during 38 degrees with 16 mph winds and the windchill making it feel like 30 degrees or colder, and I got my run in so I am happy.

This Morning's Chilly 3 Mile Run

   Yesterday I did some squats, forgetting that I would be running sometime this morning but the squats didn't affect me. I wanted to get up at 6 a.m but Dorian kept me up all night grunting and whimpering so I was constantly waking up just to put the pacifier back in his mouth. Instead I got up at 7, I think the temperature was around 35-38 degrees which didn't feel bad except for my fingers were cold. I am going to have to remember to wear gloves from now during my runs under 40 degrees. I ran 3.07 miles in 36:31, the soreness is still there but not bad. My splits were:
Mile 1 - 12:09
Mile 2 - 12:11
Mile 3 - 11:28
.07 - 10:06 (haha)

  I think today is an off day for Molly, but I know she is going to have a lot of those now. Cameron and I both agreed that if we had put her down Friday it would have been murder, she isn't ready to go, she is tired and feeling old but she still has that spunk, like those sassy old ladies you love to meet and talk to. The exhaustion comes and goes for her, but she loves this chilly weather and I wish I had a fenced in yard so I could let her go out and lay in the grass and enjoy the air. Unfortunately her age has not done anything to her wondering ways and she has no problem ending up in the other fields around the house when I am not looking. Yesterday morning she was demanding me to take her out so I took her out in the back field, letting her sniff and enjoy the cold, and the wet grass. She was happy out there.

 I will gladly take her out whenever she wants to, because I know there won't be a lot of those days. I won't force her to go to work with me if she doesn't have the energy, I will let her sleep all day at home if she wants to, she'll let me know what she wants as she has always had no problem doing all her life.

Tonight's Run Went Well, but My Guardian Angel is Not

   First off, these last few months have been difficult for my girl Molly, I mainly thought it had to do with her aging but I was wrong. Last night Molly began to hack up foamy, bright pink blood, and we feared it was Congestive Heart Failure. It really sucks, there are no words to describe how I feel. Molly "found" me when she was 7 months old and I was 11 years old, she has been by my side for 13 years now. Through my teen crap, moving out of my mom's house, getting married and finally having my first baby, she has been through it all with me. Now I have to come to terms with the fact that I will be saying goodbye to my best, best friend in less than a year if not 6 months. For over 2 months she has been going back and forth, showing exhaustion and signs of giving up, and then within 24 hours back to her ole, spunky self. I took her to the vet this morning, and it isn't CHF.... the x-rays show cancerous spots all over her lungs, and fluid in her lungs. There is no cure, no way to slow it down without spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars for only 1 or 2 years, and I know she wouldn't want that. I am going to try and make her last few months, weeks or days as comfortable and peaceful as possible. Next weekend I'll be 25 years old, and she will be 14 years old which is a pretty big number for a dog that is around 60 lbs. Other than this problem, she has been in really great health all her life, I was just hoping she could make it to 15-17 years old, at least wait until Dorian was walking, talking and laughing with her before she went. Last year I told Cameron that she wouldn't leave me until she knew I was going to be okay without her, and Dorian was that sign for her to know that it would be okay to pass on if she had to. I don't want her to go, but I know that I cannot make her live forever, but I would give her 10 years of my life if I could.
   I went ahead and ran, I didn't feel up to it with all the stress over Molly but then after eating 2 long johns that morning, I had to go and work it off. I ran 3 miles, and then did a cool down walk for .5 miles. My leg is starting to feel better but there is still some soreness there, though it doesn't really affect my stride... I feel as if it does... My time was pretty much like last time, 35:07 and the splits were:
Mile 1 - 12:29
Mile 2 - 11:39
Mile 3 - 10:57
  So I did pick up the pace with each mile, and it helped me deal with Molly's news. I would like to get back to running 3 times a week with my two runs being 5 miles, but I won't increase my mileage until I can run 3 miles without any pain. 

A 3 mile run tonight

  Shauna and I ran 3 miles tonight, my right quad is still hurting right at the top but it isn't effecting my stride or causing me to limp. After the 3 mile run, we did a 1 mile cool down and I didn't limp. I am not limping even afterwards, so there is some improvement. We were slow, but I wasn't aiming for a record. I think I've messed with my garmin and I have no idea what I did, it gave me 5 splits even with just 3 miles.
Splits
1 - 1 mile / 11:53
2 - .43 mile / 11:30
3 - 1 mile / 12:04
4 - .42 / 11:47
5 - .15 / 11:34
If anyone could explain to me what I did to cause this, that would be great. It beeped like crazy and then made the sound when it hits 1 mile but not hitting one mile.
  Anyways, tomorrow I am going to rollerblade with Dorian, not sure if I am going to go 3 miles again or 4 miles, who knows.

First Run Since the Race

   This morning I got my butt up at 5 a.m, and ran 2 miles even though I wanted to stay in bed. This was a chance to try out my new pair of Ghost 5's, and they felt great. My legs were still a bit sore, mainly my right groin area, top of the quad and on the outside of my hip. The soreness didn't affect my stride though, in fact I think it forced me to run better. I stubbornly wanted to run 3 miles BUT I know that I must start off slow and easy again, and try to work through this injury so that I can get back to regularly running 5 mile runs during the week and a longer run during the weekends.
    Tonight Cameron and I will be biking another 7 miles like Monday night, so that will help. I really want to rollerblade again, my legs seem to feel so much better the day after rollerblading. Last night I did the plank position for 4 minutes, I've never made it to 4 minutes before, I think the longest was 3:43 about 2 years ago. I would have tried for longer, but my arms were getting exhausted dang it. I would like to make it to 5 minutes before this year is up, I got to 3 minutes last week although my strength comes and goes....some days 2-3 minutes is no problem and then other days my arms don't want to do it or my head can't take it.
   The splits this morning were:
Mile 1 - 11:04
Mile 2 - 10:46
    Eh, not bad but I wasn't trying to go faster, just trying to find a good comfortable stride. 

Last Night's Bike Ride

   Cameron and I went for what turned out to be a 7 mile bike ride last night, I felt that I probably could have done twice that without any real effort but he needs to start off slow and easy right now. I feel great with the bike ride but tonight I am not sure what I am going to do, run with Dorian or rollerblade with him.... rollerblading would be easier on my joints but running a mile or so would tell me whether my "injuries" are healing or not. The 7 mile bike ride only burnt half the calories that running 7 miles would, a bit disappointing but I am okay with it because at least we got out there and did something active. I love rollerblading, last Saturday I took Dorian for a 1.6 mile walk and then I threw my rollerblades on and we went for 2 miles. The walk had me hurting, my bottom left foot and my right lower hip and quad so I was expecting some soreness the next day and even during the rollerblading.... but nothing; in fact I woke up Sunday morning with absolutely no pain whatsoever in my legs, I felt great all day. I guess I will have to debate all day what I plan on doing..... and it also depends on how Dorian feels about it, we'll just have to see.
    I really want to try out my new shoes dang it, but now with Cameron's new found love and energy with biking, I don't want to be constantly having mom watch Dorian every evening but with the weather getting colder I don't want to be taking him out for runs or rollerblading. I might have to do my runs in the early mornings...but right now Dorian is dealing with his teething and some constipation issues, I am going to have to cut back on solids and slow it down a bit even though he really enjoys it. Hopefully I can get my butt up tomorrow morning and run before he starts waking up, I should've gone this morning because he didn't start making a peep until around 7:15. We will see how things go tomorrow morning, maybe he'll sleep well again and I can sneak out at 5 a.m. Here's to hoping.

Still Feeling it a Week Later

  Right now the pain and soreness in my legs comes and goes,  sometimes the bottom side of my left foot will hurt like a nerve is being pinched, but I will get that sometimes anyways.... not sure why though. Other than that my left leg is okay whereas in the beginning of this last week it was really hurting, my right leg will hurt occasionally, around the groin area and the outside of both my hip and butt cheek. Yesterday's 1.6 mile walk sucked, my foot hurt like I described, and my right quad and groin hurt like a b**ch, it was aggravating. After the 1.6 miles, I threw my rollerblades on and took Dorian for a much faster paced stroll for 2 miles. He was a little frightened at first, so I couldn't go faster than 7-8 minutes per mile but it felt good to be on my blades and it was great to go 2 miles in 17 minutes even though I was on wheels (would have been faster but.....).
  I purchased another pair of new shoes, so I won't be running in the 2 pair of shoes I was running in when I injured myself, and I am excited to try them out. I now have the Brooks Adrenaline GTs, the Brooks Ravenna (my race shoes) and now the Brooks Ghost 5 and they feel amazing! So much cushion and just comfortable, I went on the Brooks Running website and did their little test and that was the first choice. Oh I hope I can try and run 1-3 miles Tuesday or Wednesday, but on the days I can't, I will either ride my bike or "strollerblade" with Dorian.
  Hopefully my injuries will go away soon, I really don't want to fall behind another winter again.

Still Recovering

   I am not limping around quite as bad as Monday or Tuesday, but my hip still hurts just because I went for a 1.5 mile walk yesterday. Other than that things seem to be getting better, but I won't try for a 1-2 mile run until next week most likely. I am going to get my bike tire fixed this weekend so I can start riding 3-6 miles on days that I don't run. I hate not being active, but I know my legs need to heal and now that the Half Marathon that I had set my sights on for my 6 month post partum come back is over and finished, I am going to relax more and try to let my body heal. Next week if I am able to run, I will start building my base back to 3 miles and go from there, hopefully next February I will be able to add a day of hill training (or just run the trails at John James Audubon State Park) to ready myself for the St. Louis Half Marathon in April 2013. I am not going to worry about the Indianapolis Monumental Half this November, running it would be stupid and probably cause more damage to whatever injuries I have caused already. My body went through some major changes during the pregnancy and then took the beating of giving birth as well, only to turn around in less than 3 weeks after and start running (run/walks during my 3 mile walks) and then about a month later start training for the Half Marathon this past October. I have to admit that I am impressed with my progress after giving birth, though I also admit that I know it was a crazy and stupid goal.
   Hopefully with a few more easy days, and then starting up slowly, along with the foam roller, stretches and ice I will be back to 5 mile runs twice a week and a good 8-9 mile long run during the weekend by the end of December (depending on the weather).
(Continued) Last night (10-11-2012) I got the inner tube on my back tire replaced and now my bike is as good as new. Hopefully my mom can watch Dorian this evening so Cameron and I can go for a bike ride, I love my $88.00 Next bike even if it will only last me a couple of years. I am not about to spend $900 or whatever on a bike that I might only be able to use 5-20 times a year (flustered by some research on the internet). The pain comes and goes in my legs, not feeling so much like an injury but like I need a new mattress or something........ I guess I will find out next week when I try running, for now I am going to substitute my runs with bike riding and rollerblading or stroller-blading :).

The Day After

  I don't think one part of my legs/lower body isn't sore, I am wishing they made ice sleeves for legs because everything needs icing and I only have 2 ice packs so it is taking time. Even right under my butt cheeks are sore lol, my ankles and my right foot, my knees, my hamstrings and quads, inner thighs, my IT band. EVERYTHING hurts and I am limping when I walk. It sucks but it is also worth it, I finished and got my medal which looks awesome. My main concern now is when to get my first run in after the race, how many days should I wait to heal and rest.... I want to try 3 miles Wednesday but I think it might be smarter to wait until Thursday (or Friday). I am going to start off small, 3 miles a couple of days and if everything is okay or at least doesn't put me in such pain that I can't run or walk right. I am icing things right now, and after I shower I will use the foam roller and then maybe stretch my calves, quads, IT band and hamstrings as they all feel so tight right now. I am not really sure how I am going to ice my hams until I get to the shop where the ice pack holder is, that way I can at least try to keep it in place. If it wasn't 40 degrees outside and the furnace inside was actually working, I'd probably try to throw some ice in the tub and fill the rest up with water but I've never done that before and wonder how well that would work out.
  I am not at the office yet so I don't have the photos to put on here until I get there. The first guy to cross the finish line had a time of 1:07:16 which the pace calculator says was a 5:08 pace and that is crazy, heck right now that is my time for 6 miles if my legs aren't killing me. It is crazy to think of that pace, my goal this winter is to work on my pace and get closer to a 9:30 minute pace though it now all depends on my legs and their recovery. We'll just have to see how things go.

2012 YMCA Half Marathon Results

   Things did not go quite as awesome as I had hoped and prayed, but they did not go as awful as I expected after mile 5. My leg is still have issues, and I am beginning to think it is the IT band (again) mainly, my right leg gave me trouble up to mile 9 while my left leg was feeling fine but then my left leg started up. Then just a little ways past mile 10 my right leg felt like it snapped, like somebody grabbed it and tried to break it in half. Shauna and I stopped and stretched a bit, then got back to it. That knee gave me trouble a couple of more times but we pushed on, I was disappointed with our pace as I was really hoping we could run 1 minute faster, everything but my legs were feeling today. In short our time was 2:34:52 on my Garmin, 2:36:39 which is about right as we got to the starter mats about 2 minutes after the gun went off. We stopped once around 3 miles cause Shauna had to use the restroom but there were no other stops until the 10 mile stop. I am not very happy with how I did, but I just have to keep saying that I ran it and I finished it and I have my finisher's medal and can wear my race t-shirt proudly.
   Tomorrow when I get pictures loaded on the computer I will edit this blog post. It was not a negative split:
Mile 1: 11:15
Mile 2: 11:10
Mile 3: 11:17
Mile 4: 11:50
Mile 5: 11:48
Mile 6: 11:46
Mile 7: 12:00
Mile 8: 12:21
Mile 9: 12:01
Mile 10: 12:24
Mile 11: 12:46
Mile 12: 12:36
Mile 13: 11:30
0.02 Mile: 7:35

  They claim it was 13.1 but my garmin says different... I guess I will edit the mileage to see. Putting it at 13.1 instead of 13.02 my average pace was 11:46 so not much difference really. This photo is my favorite though, and it is worth every second of pain and suffering I went through.

Just a Few Hours Away

   I am about to go to sleep, however long that might be with Dorian as he is in some pain with his teething. I've got my alarm set for 3 a.m, I will wake up and eat a Cliff Chocolate Chip bar and go back to sleep, waking up around 4:30 a.m to get ready and drink whatever other carbs I will need. 

One Day and 9 Hours Left

  I got the shirt and the goodie bucket. The shirts were long sleeved again so I got larges for me and Shauna, I just don't like long sleeved shirts because even when they fit great on my body, the sleeves are tight on my wrist and I feel constricted. I am getting excited, but I am also getting really nervous too, concerned with how my leg will do and how Shauna will do. She hasn't ran in 3 weeks because of a bad cold and other difficulties, she claims she'll stay with me but she always gets that competitive urge at the beginning and the first 3-5 miles then I am suffering near the end to keep up. I told her I want a 11:00 - 11:30 minute per mile pace for the first 3-6 miles, nothing faster than that, definitely for the first 3 miles.
   I think my biggest concern right now is what I am going to do after the race, depending on how I do and how bad my leg might hurt. If everything goes okay I'll probably start back at 3 miles (hopefully), maybe take Dorian with me depending on the weather. That is my only concern now, I need to set up an appointment with a specialist but I am kind of concerned with how much

Only a Couple More Days!!!

 Only 2 more days and a few hours until the YMCA Half Marathon here in Evansville, IN. I am getting excited, and will be even more excited when I go and pick up the race packet tomorrow (weird I know). I am not expecting a great race, I know my leg will hurt for most of it but I am going to try and have fun. It might be stupid but I am excited to get the finisher medal, last year's Half was my first medal in my entire life and it is a huge deal to me. This weekend will be my second, then next month will be my 3rd when I run the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon, I've already bought a new medal hanger for these three. 
  Last night I went ahead and registered for the Go! St. Louis Half Marathon in April next year, another out of town race in Missouri, and near another great zoo (St. Louis Zoo) so Dorian will love that. I am excited, hopefully with this new goal ahead of me I won't make any excuses throughout winter. I did hear that this winter is supposed to be brutal, starting late this month but I think I will be better prepared than last year (I was pregnant so that was harder). I am at least going to try and stick to 15-20 miles a week, well that is as long as my leg heals and icing it helps..... we'll just have to see I guess.
   The leg is definitely my biggest worry right now, I maybe have been to brazened when registering for the IMHM next month, but I really want to do it since it's on my birthday and we've booked everything. I am just going to suck it up, ice and stretch, foam roll and rest when I am not running or working out. I guess we will just have to see how things go, I think I've said that 3 times in this blog now.

Already a significant Difference from Yesterday

  Slowly but surely, I am getting more excited than nervous. The icing seems to really be helping, along with stretches and squats, and the Ibuprofen might be doing some good as well. This Sunday is the Evansville Half Marathon, next month is the Indianapolis Monumental Half on November 3 which is my birthday so I am getting even more excited. Hopefully being my birthday might give me more adrenaline, or just keep me excited during the race. I am sure it is going to be cold, I've got no problem with cold but Cameron does and he might freak out for Dorian but I've already purchased a warm suit for him (hopefully he'll still fit by next month, he's getting tall/long man!).
  Honestly, if all goes well with both these races, I could get used to running 2 Half Marathon races in the Fall and a couple in Spring, although I am still trying to find the second one next year. I've already found one in April which is the Southern Indiana Classic Half, though that one has been horribly humid these last 2 years, they've had to cancel the Full Marathon because of it. Indiana does not yet have a lot of Half Marathon races and I don't know how far Cameron is willing to drive for my races. 2013 isn't showing a lot of races yet, though I did receive my 2013 Runner's World calendar, I will have to check it out and see if they have 2013 races yet.

Might be some Hope Afterall

  With only 4 days until the Half Marathon, I finally decided to look a little deeper into what could be the problem, and hoping that it isn't a groin tear or adductor tear I am icing my quad and taking ibuprofen and my leg does already seem to be getting better but I am not going to get my hopes up. Research suggests I ice every hour for 15 minutes so I am going to try and do that while I am awake and take ibuprofen even though some suggest otherwise as it can dull the senses from pain. I am definitely going to take 3 ibuprofen pills 3 hours before the Half Marathon when I wake up to eat a bit (and go back to sleep). I am going to try and stick to the RICE thing, and hope for the best.
   I am excited, but nervous of course. I am really hoping things go well enough for me to enjoy the Indy Half, this will be my 3rd Half Marathon race and my first one out of town and I do not want to regret it. We're going to be taking Dorian to the Indianapolis Zoo to see the dolphins, walrus and others so that will make the trip worth it no matter what happens during the race.
  I am going to keep my fingers crossed, and hope that these next few days with icing and stretching and foam rolling will make a huge difference before the race Sunday.

Contemplating Many Things

   I should be getting excited with the Half Marathon coming up next Sunday, but I am a little nervous with my leg acting the way it is. I am hoping that with this rest from running until next Sunday, my leg/s will be healed enough for the race, I have gotten back to doing my squats to strengthen my legs, I haven't done them since June and I am beginning to think that could be partially the problem. Right now I am looking for other Half Marathons with in 3-5 hours from here, starting from November and on just in case I can't run the Evansville Half. Indianapolis has the Monumental Half Marathon on November 3rd, my birthday which would be pretty cool if I think about it. I don't know if Cameron will go for it or not, I mean we could book a hotel for Friday night, the race is at 8 a.m and then we could find breakfast afterwards and then head home or stay another night.
   I have 33 days, but I am giving myself a couple weeks (probably less) before I decide. I think it would be cool to do two Half Marathons this Fall (year) and then run the Indiana Classic Half in April next year and then the Evansville Half again, and the Indianapolis Monumental Half again; averaging 3 a year. I don't want to focus my running passion on Half's, although I don't see myself doing full Marathons anytime soon. My main goal is to focus on trail races more than road races, but since there isn't a whole lot of those around here (within a couple hours drive) and I enjoy races. This winter I plan on focusing on picking up in speed, mainly out of curiosity on just how fast I can get.
   Well.... I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Bought New Shoes, Excited to Try them out Tonight

   Last night I finally decided to go out and buy a new pair of shoes, I was going with Brooks Ghost 5 in mind, but when I got to Dick's Sporting Goods I liked the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12 more. They seem to have more cushioning and a softer landing than the Ghost 5. I am going to try them out tonight, haven't decided whether I am going to run 5 miles or 3 miles though, we will have to see how I feel when I get going. I really hope things are healing, I don't know if I'd be able to accept not running and finishing the Half this year, I want that finisher's medal dang it.
   I guess we will just have to see how tonight's run goes, Shauna won't be running as she isn't feeling good so I am on my own tonight and probably this weekend with an 8 mile run (if all goes well tonight).
   (Continued) The run sucked, all 3 miles of it. The shoes felt great but apparently I haven't given my leg enough time to heal. I had to actually pick up my pace to help ease some of the pain but it was still there and still noticeable. I made a tough decision and decided that I won't run until the Half next Sunday AND I am going to set up an appointment with a Sports Medicine person (or whatever they call them) which hopefully I can see sometime next week. I am going to keep foam rolling and stretching, next week I might walk a little but we will just have to see. I will be really upset if I have to miss this race so hopefully things will begin to get better soon. My average time was 10:52 for the 3 miles.

Feeling a little Better

  I did not run last night, I didn't walk Monday or today and yesterday I began using my foam roller 4 times during the day, and I am already beginning to feel better. I am barely limping, though still sore but nothing like Monday or Sunday. I am still debating whether or not I will run tomorrow night, wondering if I should wait until maybe Friday and run an easy 3 miles. This weekend I need to run 8 miles, and then taper down to 3 miles twice next week before the Half Marathon. I want to run tomorrow night, but I am worried that 3 days is not enough time for this injury to rest so I am not the happiest camper right now.... I guess I could walk my 3 miles tomorrow morning and see how my leg feels with that and if everything seems good then run 5 miles Friday evening with the 8 mile long run on Sunday (depending on how things are feeling Thursday and Friday).
   It's a bit nerve racking really, I want to run, I am feeling better but I am scared that the moment I get out there then the pain will start up and I will have to start all over again. I am not sure how long it normally takes for any kind of overuse injury to really heal and be ready to get back into training/running. I guess, after going on in this blog I will take Dorian and try to walk 3 miles tomorrow morning and see how things go.

Another Crappy Run, and...

   I am really wondering if I've got a serious injury going on, the top of my right thigh is hurting, enough so that most the time I am limping. It has gotten like this since the 10 mile long run, and I am a little nervous and scared. The Half Marathon is 2 weeks away and this morning's 9 miles blew, I mean I have to be happy that I at least ran 9 instead of the low target of 3 miles, but I think I am going to take a break until Thursday, maybe ride my bike Tuesday for 6 miles or more. My time was 1:45:38, and the pain in my leg didn't let off until around 7-8 miles. I ran it though, but it wasn't very fun. I had to talk myself into every mile after 3, once I reached 4.5 then I had no choice but to turn around and run the same 4.5 miles. It is frustrating, thinking that the Half Marathon could suck.... a lot, I mean I wasn't aiming for anything spectacular this time, I just wanted to run my 2nd Half 6 months after giving birth and then worry about my time next year, using the winter to train and improve on my speed. Now I am wondering if I should take the remaining 2 weeks off, maybe small mileage or at least wait until Thursday and see what happens and how I feel.
  I been trying stretches, the foam roller but it is not going away.... it is right where I believe my piriformis is.... the pain goes from the front inner thigh (very top) around the front and to the side of my butt cheek. It causes me to limp.

A Crappy Run

   Yesterday sucked, normally I plan my eating schedule according to my workouts so yesterday was supposed to be my 5 mile run so I ate a Fiesta Lime Chicken from Applebees for lunch (no rice) which was almost 900 calories right there. At 3:00 p.m my mom texts me saying she has to clean from 6 p.m to 10 p.m.................. and Cameron couldn't watch him because he is extremely busy getting a new product up and going, and then his mom who works occasionally here at the shop got really sick so he had stayed with her at her house for a couple hours after 6 p.m. I was really upset, running is my therapy and it sucks even more if I eat the majority of my daily calories before  4 p.m thinking I was running and then it doesn't happen. And for those who think I have issues or need help, I don't.. I have goals and I do my best to stick to them, and I like a schedule without too many spontaneous changes, because that is just how I am. I like and feel safe and happy when I have control over situations in my life, my situations not others' situations. Sudden changes in my schedule can disrupt my peace and "center of self" (haha but seriously), maybe I do have issues but they work for me and have kept me going in the direction/s I want to go.
   This morning I said screw it, and took Dorian for my 5 mile run. Let me mention that my right butt cheek muscle has been hurting since the 15k race, like there is a knot or something. Dorian threatened to throw a fit for the first 1.8 miles while I contemplated turning around and then he fell asleep. I did not run all of it, I walked some if not a lot and it was not a good run for those reasons... it made me debate on running this weekend or taking the week off with MAYBE a 5 mile run, but I don't think I am going to run further than that.... I think.
   The last time I ran with Dorian was in May, he was around 8 lbs and it was only 2 miles....then the heat/humidity wave hit. Today he ways 8 lbs more and my butt cheek hurts. Oh well, there will always be the occasional bad run, at least I got out there. 

Trail Running Craze

  After last night's 3 mile trail run, I am fighting to stick to my plan with the Half marathon, which is 17 days away now. I mean, after the Half then all gloves are off, I want to focus the majority of my runs this Fall on trails and half of them on trails during winter. I love running trails, there just isn't anything that can compare to them, the feeling, the serenity, being one with nature is just amazing. John James Audubon is the closes park with great trails, but Lincoln State Park has some trails that I have never actually ran on and even though it is 30 minutes away I am seriously thinking about running 6 miles this weekend on some of their trails....... maybe more than 6 miles who knows. I know I need to do my 10 mile run this weekend, but I really want to get out there on the trails, this 60 degree weather is so gorgeous and begging me to get out in the woods.
  I really need to get my head back in the game, I am only 17 days away from the Half Marathon, but my heart is swaying towards the trails, I mean 17 days isn't to far away now.....after the Half I can run on the trails all I want dang it, but last night was like a drug, or tequila, maybe rum actually.... the feeling out there in the dark with only my knuckle light guiding the way on this single track of dirt; the roots, the twists, the turns and the uphill and downhill, soaring over fallen logs and racing around the tight turns.... I felt so alive, more alive than I have since.... well since Dorian was born actually (but I was really tired too). The trails bring me so much closer to feeling like an animal, free and apart from society and so much closer to nature.
  Okay, I am going to force myself to stick to the last 2 weeks of my training dang it, tomorrow night is 5 miles (maybe 6 since I only ran 3 last night), and then this weekend I will aim for my 10 mile run. Next week will be the usual 6 mile run on Tuesday, and 5 mile run on Thursday, then Saturday will be the 8 mile taper run, Tuesday 3 miles and Thursday 3 miles.

Oh How I've missed the Trails!!!

  Tonight I ran 3 miles on the trails, oh how I have missed it. The only time I really prefer running on trails at night is during winter (no trees) and full moons or a lot of the moon out. I did have my knuckle light on, but it was still dark around me which made things exciting and also a little nervous as I ran into a large buck before the run (he didn't want to be the one to run first). It was great, it was an amazing change of scenery. 

Looking forward to AFTER the Half Marathon

  Yes, I am excited about my second Half Marathon and knowing that it is only 18 days away has me jumping off the walls BUT I am really, truly excited about finishing it and getting it out of the way. The first run after this half will be on a trail, and I am going to treasure it. I haven't ran on a trail since....the very beginning to 2011 during winter and spring, I will not run on Audubon's trails during summer or any temps above 65 because there are demon horseflies out there, but Audubon State Park in Henderson Kentucky is amazing and has killer hills that makes you feel like you've conquered the world afterwards and it is just a different atmosphere all the way around when running on trails. I might be lying...I think I did run a little back in March at Wesselman's Nature trails here in Evansville Indiana but only because those trails are really flat and there aren't really any horseflies there.
  I've stuck to my training all summer, even though this beautiful weather is begging me to come out and play on the trail.......... the trails I am talking about are 1.5 miles long with a .5 mile long road to it so 2 miles total, right now my heart is debating on whether I run tonight's 6 miles on boring road or take it to the trails for 2-maybe 3 miles of trails??? I don't know, but I want to. These trails are amazing, and many people who train for the Appalachian trails will hike these trails because they are so tough... oh I am stuck between a rock and a hard place now. Would it hurt my training at all, if I choose to run 4 miles on trails tonight rather than 6 miles on a road? The Half is 18 days away, it couldn't be that big of a deal could it? Or would it help, would it be a nice breath of fresh air to do something different?

The 10 Mile Long Run

   My legs still freaking hurt from Sunday's 10 mile run, I don't know how Tuesday's 6 mile run will be....I think I might take it down to 5 miles but we will see. My legs started to hurt around 6 miles, I think the 15k race really kicked my butt and my legs are still trying to heal. This weekend I am going to run 10 miles instead of 11, maybe though I am not very sure yet. Shauna is running the Race for the Cure 5k so I don't know if she will run with me on the long run. Our average pace was 11:51 mpm, I was hoping for an average 10:45 pace but eh, it's better than no pace at all.
  The splits/laps were:
Mile 1 - 11:35
Mile 2 - 11:34
Mile 3 - 11:39
Mile 4 - 11:34
Mile 5 - 11:35
Mile 6 - 12:03
Mile 7 - 12:31
Mile 8 - 12:31
Mile 9 - 11:53
Mile 10 - 11:37

   I really don't have much else to say, I found my other USB stick for my watch........I really need to clean out my purse lol. The Half Marathon is 19 days away, less than 3 weeks and I am excited though I have other things on my mind. Crap going on internationally, our business not doing so well on sales, I am worried about what the future holds for us all, some people might say it's the tin foil hat syndrome, fearing about war but there is a good chance for a big war and this world is due for it.. I just hope it doesn't happen within the next decade. I don't want to imagine someone coming in and hurting my little boy, but it is a fear that lingers in my mind. Humans are destructive creatures, and what's worse is that they are self-destructive. Most species of animals have a strong sense of self-preservation, and will try not to spill blood with another of their species.... humans on the other hand look forward to it and can't stop it. More blood has been spilled "in the name of God", or religion period than for anything else... Okay I am done freaking out on here, this is my running blog, not my "everything else" blog.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

    Tonight I decided to take a chance and try on my size 7 jeans that I was wearing a year ago, hoping for some good news and I didn't get any bad news thank god. It was a bit snug and tight, and I did have a slight muffin top BUT I was actually able to wear them. It is pretty exciting, I think I was able to finally fit into my size 9 jeans about 2 months ago and I am now actually able to fit into my size 7. I am down to 147 lbs, and this weekend I am running 10 miles which makes me nervous but also very excited for many reasons. My running has helped me lose the baby weight, it has helped to keep my sanity AND I love forcing my brain to go blank. This weekend it's 10 miles, next weekend it is 11 miles then the following will be the 8 for the taper and then the Half Marathon! Hopefully, just hopefully I can keep my long runs between 8-11 miles after the Half Marathon... at least during winter, it'll be nice not having to start at 1 mile in May to train for the Half next year. This winter I plan on training and increasing my speed, while reaching my goal weight of 135 lbs, blah blah blah.
    That reminds me, I was wearing my size 7's and 9's last year and the crappy old scale was reading 134-135 lbs......... I am about to be wearing my size 7 jeans comfortably and I am at 147 lbs.......... very strange and now I really hate that old stupid scale and am a little curious as to how I am going to reach 135 lbs without getting a little more devoted to my fitness because last year I could have sworn I had about 5-10 lbs left to lose. Of course I could just stop worrying about the scale and watch my waistline and thighs trim and tone up... and my arms.

Last Night's Run.....

   I was really expecting the 6 miles last night to be easy, or at least comfortable. I could have sworn we were running at a pace below 11 minutes but every time I looked at my garmin, it said we were closer to 12 minutes instead of 11 which was hard to believe. My legs felt like they were trying, but maybe they were still sore from Saturday's race....who knows. Our time was 1:09:28, averaging an 11:34 pace and our splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:35
Mile 2 - 11:29
Mile 3 - 11:40
Mile 4 - 11:58
Mile 5 - 12:02
Mile 6 - 10:42
   I will definitely say that it was a very strange run, and my mind still wants to say the garmin was going nuts or something. My legs were sore after the run, especially my quads, I just hope it is still from the race and not some underlying injury beginning to show it's face. Thursday we are going to run 5 miles, and take it easy then we have our 10 mile run coming up this weekend, I am partially nervous but also excited. I lost my USB Ant Agent after last Monday's 8 mile run, I cannot remember where I placed it but I went ahead and bought another one off of Amazon and am hoping they are universal.... I've become anal about loading my runs onto the Garmin.connect.
    Tomorrow Dorian will be 5 months old, he is getting closer to crawling now. It is so cute how he rocks back and forth on his knees now, he's not yet comfortable moving his hands, every time he does he loses his balance and rolls over and it always in slow motion. Then he tries to "hop" forward with his knees and feet, while inching his hands along the way, it is so adorable. His two teeth are really coming in now, and he's not always so happy about it but he is still a very good nature, happy little boy 95% of the time.

Beautiful Weather Finally

  It looks like the heat has finally let off it's hold on the area, I am trying not to get my hopes up that we are finally diving into Fall and out of this ugly, humid summer. I am going to really enjoy the temperatures, running in the evenings and walking either in the mornings on the days that I don't run or in the evening if Dorian will tolerate it. He prefers morning walks over evening walks, but we are able to do 3 miles though I am thinking about upping them to 4 miles.....not sure yet. I can't wait to see the leaves start changing colors,  I wait to see Dorian playing in the leaves, of course I'll make sure there isn't any poop or sticks around him. I hope we have a mild winter like last year, I didn't really get to enjoy much of it running since I was pregnant and feeling like I had to pee all the time.
  I went ahead and bought a USB Ant Agent Stick for my garmin, somehow the one that came with the watch disappeared and I have no idea where it went. I normally keep it on my dresser but now it is gone, I know it went missing sometime early last week as I haven't been able to load any runs after September 3, last Monday when I ran that horrible, awful 8 miles lol. Since then is has completely vanished and I have no idea where to look, but if it does turn up someday, at least I have two. I just hope any stick will do, hopefully there aren't certain ones for each watch. I should have it by Friday, hopefully Amazon won't take forever in getting it shipped.
   Tonight Shauna and I are going to run 6 miles at 6:30, we're going to meet at the same spot that Team 13 does which is funny but they will be running at 6 and are only doing 5 miles so we shouldn't get caught up in with them hopefully.

A Great Race Overall!

  After a pretty severe storm last night, I woke up to the temperature being 61 degrees and it felt amazing to be out there, the 15k was great, at the very beginning I feared my bowels wouldn't cooperate but after going everything was fine. Shauna did pick up the pace and keep it until around 3 miles when I finally got her to slow down a little. We stayed under 11 minutes, with the first 3 miles being under 10:30 I think. I was nervous in the beginning, wondering how I would do and if I would run it all with no walking but I kept reminding myself to take every mile as it came. We averaged a 10:24 pace and finished 1:36:30 and our splits were:
Mile 1 - 10:12
Mile 2 - 10:23
Mile 3 - 10:36
Mile 4 - 10:49
Mile 5 - 10:56
Mile 6 - 10:44
Mile 7 - 10:18
Mile 8 - 10:01
Mile 9 - 10:12
.3 - 8:29
   I really wanted to keep the 10:01 after mile 8, but I am not really frustrated about because I am just happy to have ran under 11 minutes. I think if Shauna and I keep around 10:44-11:00 minute pace for the Half, at least the majority of the half then we should do pretty great. When we had the .3 left I tried to sprint after Shauna to keep up with her but suddenly my capri's decided to give me a severe camel toe which I could not help but focus on and it slowed me down. Shauna was about 2 seconds ahead of me, and I am pretty sure my finish didn't look awesome but oh well.... 4 more miles won't be much especially if we stick to a 10:45 pace.
    Last year there wasn't a 15k race, but during the Half Marathon they had those blue mats at 3.1 miles, 6 miles, and 9.3 miles as well as the finish. Last year's Half I averaged a 11:32 pace, my pace at each blue mat was:
   5k - 10:47 / 10k - 11:02 / 15k - 1:45:47 and my finishing time was 2:31:05. I am hoping that this year's Half will be a little better, maybe 5 minutes less.

Last Night's Run made up for Monday Night's Run

   As I blogged about Monday night's run being so awful, but being glad that I ran 8 miles.... I am pleased to say that last night's 6 miles went pretty dang good and really made up for Monday's run. I do appreciate that one quote I am always seeing on Facebook about all the bad runs help make the good runs feel really great. I am going to hit 23 miles this week, a little concerned that I am jumping ahead but I keep telling myself that I've been running for a while and my body is begging for it now, and I didn't mean for 23, last week I was supposed to run one 6 mile on Tuesday, a 5 mile on Thursday and my 9 miles Saturday and that made 20 but the vacation had me skip the 9 miles which I ended up with only 11 miles last week so I tried to make up for it Monday by running 8 and then last night's 6 miles, this weekend's race will be 9 miles so yeah..... Next week will be a 6 mile run, a 5 mile run and the 10 mile long run (if everything goes well, no more spontaneous plans)... I might drop the 6 mile run to 5 just to be on the safe side which would give me a 20 mile week and that is my goal after the Half Marathon (a month from this Friday!!!!!!!), weekly mileage between 15-20 miles during the winter and possibly increasing it to 25 mpw in spring and throughout next summer (we will have to see though). Anyways.... to the run last night; it was going to be 87 degrees with 55% humidity around 7 p.m but a storm came in at lunch time and knocked the temperature to 76 degrees with 55% humidity by the time we ran which was AMAZING!!! The high this Saturday will be like 74 but I am hoping the morning temp will be in the 50s for the race, if it is then I will cry tears of joy. Anyways..... I am blabbering again, my time for 6 miles was 1:05:38 which was 3 minutes off last week's 6 mile run (awesome) and about 5 minutes away from last year's 6 mile time, our average pace was 10:56 so I am good. The splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:10
Mile 2 - 11:14
Mile 3 - 11:34
Mile 4 - 11:11
Mile 5 - 10:31
Mile 6 - 9:57
and for 40 feet after mile 6 we were doing 5:08, which I thought my legs were going to run off without me; I cannot see how some of these elite runners can keep close to that for any length of time, 9:14 was almost impossible for me for a whole mile just a couple runs ago. Anyways, I am hoping Fall will set in soon, I am being mentally and emotionally drained by all this humidity and heat, but I am hoping that my training in this humid weather will really help me during the Half (as long as the weather is cold and nice). I just keep repeating that to myself.

Weekend Vacation kind of Threw me Off

   We got back from Tennessee yesterday afternoon, and after unloading everything and kind of relaxing a bit, I went for a run. Eight miles sucked more than I can describe it, the humidity was suffocating and making 78 degrees feel like a heat furnace. Over the weekend, my diet suffered and so did my body, I am not proud of what I consumed over the trip.... except at the Boathouse Rotisserie near the Chattanooga Aquarium, where I had Spit Roasted 1/2 Chicken (yum), a house salad with ranch and a Sweet Potato roasted in the Ashes (AMAZING), that was on Saturday evening, other than that it was cheetos and a hershey's bar, and water....and some dark chocolate. Sunday wasn't too awesome either, IHOP's Simply Fit Whole Wheat French Toast with bananas and blueberries, and some of the scrambled eggs, with water. After the aquarium, KFC's fried chicken leg and thigh, that night pizza from Dominoes. Monday made me hate myself even more, when we had to stop and feed Dorian, the only place close to us was McDonald's (kicking myself in the teeth right now), I scoffed at the fries Cameron thought I would want, but I ate the Double Cheeseburger and wanted to puke afterwards.... I don't think I have hated myself so much than I did right at that point. Then there was the Sun Chips Harvest Cheddar, but I can be somewhat happy that we stopped 3 hours later near Subway and I got my usual 6 inch toasted Honey Oat/oven roasted chicken breast/spinach/pickles/light mayo/bacon/shredded cheese and a chocolate chip cookie... I saved the other 6 inches for later that night after my run... Now to talk about the run....
   The first 3 miles wasn't bad, my plan was 6 but after the 3 I talked myself into 8 miles but after 4 miles I was feeling the toll that not eating too well all weekend had done on my body, and it was pretty miserable from there on out. I had passed the Tahoe at 5 miles and seriously wanted to turn around but I told myself 1.5 more miles on and then I'd turn around...it couldn't be that bad... it really sucked. Shauna had ran for an hour the night before so I was on my own, 8 miles in 1:31:34 and I am just glad I got through it without passing out. My splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:15
Mile 2 - 11:31
Mile 3 - 11:06 
Mile 4 - 11:35
Mile 5 - 11:35
Mile 6 - 11:19
Mile 7 - 12:01
Mile 8 - 11:11

   The 15k race is this Saturday coming up, so tomorrow night Shauna and I will just run 6 miles and take Thursday and Friday as rest days....I might walk 3 miles on those days but who knows. It looks like the high will be 73 that day and the low will be around 50something but all that can change in just a couple of days, although I am praying it doesn't. I am craving a race under 70 degree temps which will make the humidity irrelevant, I am so sick of these humid runs. This past week had the humidity above 85% and I am ready for it to end.

Run out of the question this weekend...........possibly Monday night??

   So at a spur of the moment decision on Friday, I decided to forego on my 9 mile run this weekend and hit the road with Cameron and Dorian to Chattanooga, TN for a weekend vacation away from the shop and home. Friday when we were headed to lunch Cameron looked at me and said "I need to get away from the shop, or I am going to crash", he put me in charge of where we were going an after doing some searching and talking...what started as just an all day trip turned into a whole weekend down in Chattanooga. We're going to go to the aquarium, and some other spots, not really going to stress about going anywhere as we just want to relax and have a good time not thinking or being near the shop. I wasn't sure about the hotel fitness center so I didn't bring my running shoes which after looking in there and seeing what looks like ONE treadmill, I kind of wish I did but then again I don't think my sanity could handle it on a treadmill. Maybe, just maybe when we get back Monday afternoon or evening I can go for a 7-8 mile run and then on Wednesday run 6 miles... if not Monday then Tuesday night run 7-8 and Thursday night run 6 miles. This coming Saturday is the 15k race so we will see. I am trying to relax and not worry so much about it, missing my run and just enjoying a relaxing break from everything and just spending time with my husband and my darling angel who has been such an amazing little guy on this trip. I don't hear of too many very successful trips where the babies/infants didn't cry, but so far Dorian has been in such a good mood. Right now we're in the hotel, tomorrow we're going to aim for the aquarium after eating breakfast somewhere night and then see what else is going on. We ate dinner at Boathouse Rotisserie & Raw Bar, which was AMAZING and DELICIOUS. This weekend other than what walking we might get, I am going to focus on crunches, bridge poses and what not.

Some Runs are Just Strange.... in Good Ways

  Last night Shauna and I did our 5 miles, I think we're only going to run 6 miles on Tuesday nights and 5 miles on Thursday nights with our long runs between 7-10 miles. It was about 85 degrees last night when we ran, and extremely humid but strangely our average pace was 10:36 a mile. We pretty much kept under an 11 minute pace the whole run and I am extremely pleased with it. Our splits were:
Mile 1 - 11:00
Mile 2 - 10:47
Mile 3 - 10:48
Mile 4 - 10:43
Mile 5 - 9:44
   One would think that during extremely humid runs, the pace would be slower or more easy going but strangely we felt great at our pace and I honestly think I could have kept it up for 3 or 4 more miles...... at least I felt like that at 5 miles. I guess it was just one of those good runs, irrelevant of the weather.
   This weekend is our 9 miles, and it is going to be extremely humid even though it will be under 85 degrees but between 75-100% humidity which is going to be murderous. I am honestly a little concerned, it's also going to be storming and raining which might make it slightly more tolerable..... I am probably going to wear my shorts and heck, just a sports bra...... I guess we'll just have to see how things go.

A Good 6 Miles Last Night

  Last night Shauna was able to run with me, and I feel we made up for last weekend... her not being able to run (broken glass in her foot) and my being one mile short of goal. We ran 6 miles, and it felt good, we were in the dark 90% of it and I had my new knuckle light thing but it wasn't really working, it kept going off. Cameron thinks the switch is bad and told me I should send it back. Two came in the package and the other one seems to be working alright, but I don't know.... I think I might send it back and just get a small headlamp for a good price though will feel weird. I am going to either call or email the place I purchased them from, letting them know what is going on.
   We're actually still doing better than Team 13, right now their weekly runs are still at 4 miles and won't increase to 5 until after next Saturday's 15k race (another race YAY!!!) then they will run their weekly runs at 5 miles while Shauna and I will be doing ours at 6 miles until the week before the Half (maybe even two weeks before the Half) where we will taper and run 3 miles Tuesday and Thursday night, and our last long run before the Half will be about 8 miles... maybe 9 I haven't decided yet. This weekend we have to run 9 miles, hopefully the weather will be nicer, I definitely won't be running between 9 a.m and 5 p.m though....at least not until it really starts cooling off. This weekend is going to be raining which isn't bad at all, Saturday shows a high of 82 with just rain, while Sunday shows a high of 79 but with thunderstorms so we will have to see here in the next couple of days.
    This stupid West Nile virus is annoying me like crazy, somethings I just don't understand why on earth they were allowed to live. On a better note Dorian and I went for a walk this morning, he slept like a baby the whole time so I am wondering if he just doesn't care for evening walks, maybe it's too warm, too humid, too dark, or maybe he'd just rather be at home sleeping or cuddling with me, maybe it is the greenway my mom and I walk on that he hates. Every time he and I go for a walk on the Newburgh Rivertown Trail, he is fine and pretty much sleeps for the whole 3 miles where if I try to take him for a walk in the evening in Evansville he can't even make 1.5 miles before he is crying and screaming and extremely upset........strange.