easy 3 December 31, 2008

Today was supposed to be an easy three mile run.  I was looking forward to it all day.  Then, when Tim got home, and it was actually time to run, I suddenly got in a bad mood.  So I stewed for 15 minutes and then went running anyway.

It wasn’t that it was hard, it was just that I didn’t want to do it.  You would think that after running six miles, three miles would be exciting and fun because it’s so easy.  Not so.  After running six miles, three miles seems boring.  I kept thinking, “Why do I have to do this?”

But I did it.  And by the third mile I was enjoying it, I guess.  I just wish I wasn’t breathing so hard!  It should be a really easy 3!!

Seriously, though, no complaints.  I’m glad it was a decent run without much effort on my part.

lots to catch up on December 29, 2008

in the past two weeks:

In Gatlinburg: one 3.2 mile run up and down some VERY steep hills.  Difficult but fun.

Sunday the 21st: Sick but went out for six miler at Stone Mountain.  Had to quit and go home and rest.

Monday the 22nd: attempted 6 miles at Stone Mountain.  I failed.  Ran/walked 5.5. Tim did 6.  Very disappointing.

Wednesday the 24th: Even more disappointing.  Tried to run three miles in the morning around Rust lakes.  I quit at 1, then ran/walked to 2.  Tim ran three.

Friday the 26th:  Great 4 miler at Rock Island.  Didn’t stop except to walk up major hill!  Very tough- sore calves for us both all during the run- but finished at Grissom bridge.  Think I’m getting the hang of this again.

Saturday the 27th: 3 mile walk with Dad, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Kay, and Samantha.

Sunday the 28th: 6 miles!!!  2.5 miles through neighborhood, bathroom break at Publix, went to 3.5 at Tim’s work at Emory, turned around.  Very quick breaks on the way to 5 miles.  Breather at 5 miles.  Finished to 6 in spurts.  I’ve tasted discipline again.  I think this is a tipping point.  We were exhausted- walked another mile to 7 home- then went to Outback and tried to replenish.  Didn’t meet calorie quote for today, I’m sure.  Rest day tomorrow.

3- timed December 16, 2008

Tim and I ran three miles tonight.  We took the clock outside so we could see what our pace was.  My goal was to run our normal pace so that, just in case we can’t measure a trail in Gatlinburg this week, we can just run the right amount of time for the mileage we’re supposed to do.

I think we ran a little harder than we usually would have though.  Just a little bit.  Still, though, a ten minute mile.  That’s ok.  I know in the past I could run faster, but it takes time to work up to these things.

It was a good run.  Didn’t have to stop.  My knees hurt a little (I have GOT to lose that last five pounds!) and I had to breathe hard, but what’s new?

We’re going to Gatlinburg on Wednesday with Tim’s dad’s family.  I’m sure it’ll be nice to do runs so that we can get outside a little bit, but it’s always strange running someplace you don’t know well.  At least it is for me.

Update: 4,3,5 December 14, 2008

Haven’t written in awhile.

Wednesday: Four mile run.  Raining. I wore my old shoes so I wouldn’t get my new ones all wet.  It was awful.  I had to walk/run the whole time.  But I didn’t finish that far behind Tim.

Thursday: Three miles.  New shoes.  Did ok, but still had to take little breaks.  Not sure what’s up.

Today: Five miles.  We’re in Birmingham, so we did a loop around Rust, two around the block plus Meadow Brook Road and some culdesacs.  Pretty tough.  Had to catch my breath a few times, but was doing fine.  FINISHED.  Now I’m tired.

3 miles for the calendar December 9, 2008

Tim and I ran 3 miles tonight. It wasn’t the worst run ever but it was tough. For me, it was probably tough because I ate HORRIBLY all day. The healthiest thing I’ve had to eat today is a hot dog bun with peanut butter on it, which I had for breakfast. Yeah. Not good.  Right now I feel sort of woozy- like my blood can’t figure out where it’s most needed, my stomach, legs, or brain.  I’m not sure what to tell it.

But anyway we did the 3 miles.  We have a lot of miles to log this week.  It’s not going to be fun.  But I’m sure we’ll get it done.

I’m thirsty.  See you later.

Race Day 5k December 7, 2008

This morning was the Jingle Bell Run in Birmingham, my first race in over a year.  I was nervous this morning so I woke up early.  Lounged around.  Had cereal for breakfast.  We left the house a little late and got there just in time to get our registration stuff.  I was excited though- we had our jingle bells on and I had a santa hat.  Tim and I were chipped so we took a place sort of near the starting line.

Well, it didn’t go well.  The race was delayed and the longer I stood there, in the COLD, listening to these marathoners next to me pretend they weren’t going to do well at the 5k, the less ready I felt.  Still, though, I wanted to beat BE&K time from a few years ago, and I really thought I could.  So the gun went off and Tim TOOK OFF.  I mean I felt like he was going so fast.  And…all this happened in like a second…but it was bad.  Tim was going so fast, all these people were passing us, and I, well, had intestinal problems.  I really thought I was going to have to find a bush nearby.  I couldn’t feel my legs at all.  It was awful.  It was the Athens Human Race all over again, only much, much colder.  

Well, I made it up the hill at the beginning of the course, and even a little further.  But I thought I was going to throw up.  I told Tim to go ahead, but he wouldn’t.  So then I walked a little bit.  Then I ran more.  Then I had to walk again.  My lungs were burning.  Then I ran again.  But I had to walk again (this is all way before even a half mile mark).  I kept telling Tim to go ahead without me, but he wouldn’t.  He kept suggesting we just hang back and walk with Macy and Dad.  So finally I agreed.

I am so disappointed about this race.  I said to Tim, right before it started, that this is the first 5k we’ve run together that we’ve both been prepared for.  And yet- look how it turned out!  All the new shoes and training runs and reading running magazines didn’t even result in one mile.  

Yes, I had fun walking with Dad and Macy.  I tried to make the most of it, and it really was fun.  I’ve been trying not to beat myself up about this all day.  But it’s hard.  Before Tim left this afternoon, I took him aside and told him how sorry I was.  I thought he would be understanding when I explained what happened, but instead he said, “Well, this just can’t happen for the marathon.”  I felt a little heartbroken.  I don’t know how to KEEP it from happening.  I still don’t know why it happened.  I don’t know if I can do this.

Tonight I looked up some articles on stomach problems when racing.  Apparently, a ton of people experience this.  This just happens to have been my first time to go through it, and I didn’t handle it well.  So I don’t feel as awful about myself, but still.  What if I’m prepared for this in the next race, but then I run into a new problem?  (sigh.)

I also don’t know what to do about my running partner.  He is always, and everywhere, going to be an exponentially better runner than I am.  And I can’t change that learning curve.  So…I’m not sure what to do.

I’m going to be ok going to sleep tonight.  And I’m going to go out and start the marathon training on Monday.  I’m going to find another 5k to do soon enough, so that I can prove to myself that I can do this.  Maybe I’ll run it by myself, I don’t know.  I’ll remember today for the fun I had with my family, and I’ll try to take some lessons away (no cereal before races), and I can hope for a better race next time, I suppose.

Sometimes it’s hard to feel like a runner.  I’m trying to remind myself that going out there, week in and week out, putting in the miles, is what makes me a runner.  Nothing else.

final 2-miler December 5, 2008

Tonight Tim and I ran 2 miles.  This is the last 2-miler we will have on our schedule for quite awhile.

We decided to run the hills at the old house again.  We figured, it’d be good for me to do better at them than last time.  Also, it was only two miles instead of three, so it actually seemed doable to me.

Someone suggested to me that I yell, “I Love Hills!” as I ran up the hills and guess what- it worked!  Also, I told myself that I could not think about the suffering I was feeling until I could see over the top of the hill.  And by then, well, it was pretty much done.

So I did GREAT and this was a great run!  In fact, on the tough, tough hills on the second mile, I even told Tim a story.  Sure, every sentence was divided into three or more phrases, with huge gaping breaths in between, but I did it.

This was a good work out to do right before the 5k, which is Saturday (!).  Also, our pace was good, too.  Go us!

limping 3 miles December 3, 2008

For a change of scenery and course, Tim and I ran at the old house today.  There is a two mile loop that has hills that last about a half mile each.  So it’s uphill FOREVER, downhill awhile, uphill FOREVER, downhill awhile.  We thought it would be good hill training.

Well, I was awful.  I was worn out but doing ok until the second set of hills.  Then Tim started talking to me.  As he was talking, I realized that he was not out of breath at all, that he was perfectly fine!  I suddenly got so frustrated.  And when he asked me a question, I just broke.  I walked for probably a tenth of a mile.  I did finish the three miles, but it was terrible.  I had to walk quite often.  Looking back, I didn’t do as terribly as I thought, and I DID finish.  But at the time I felt like such a failure.

It’s natural to have a bad run after such a good one the other day.  But it still isn’t fun.

The good news is that my shoes worked out great.  My toes felt a little weird the whole time, but I had zero pain in my feet, ankles, shins, or knees, so it was totally worth it.  I’m so happy about that!

Corrected Shoes December 2, 2008

I had a busy day today, largely because I spent a huge amount of time at the running store. I took in my Brooks to figure out what the problem with them was. After trying on many more pairs of shoes and running many more .4 intervals on the treadmill, Brooks was still the best. I had to purchase some reeeeeaaaaaaaalllllly expensive inserts though. I’m anxious/nervous to see if they do well on my next run.

Tonight I went to the gym, walked 1 mile on an incline, and then did some very light weights. Felt nice to relax and have an easy work out.

I am five days away from my first 5k in….over a year. I googled myself the other day and found that when I raced the BE&K 5k back in 2005 I ran under an 8.5 minute mile. I have no idea what I’m running now, but that seems kind of fast.

Also today I started a new month on our wall calendar. Hard to believe I have almost two months of training under my belt. Now that we’re a week away from completing the 5k, I put my first month’s schedule for marathon training on the calendar. CRAZY. Soon we’ll be up to 4 and 5 miles. This week will be my last time to run just 2 miles. Goodbye, two-miler. I will miss you.

Tomorrow’s a 3 mile run. I wanted to run it in the morning, before my 9:30 class. Tim says no, though. Too cold and he doesn’t want to get up. Oh well.

3.1! running December 1, 2008

Ahhhhhhhhh….a great run

We were scheduled to run 3 miles but we still felt pretty good so we made it 3.1. YAY FOR RUNNING A 5K!!!

So we drove in from Birmingham tonight and heard on the radio that we might get snow flurries in Atlanta tonight. So Tim and I got all bundled up to run. It was a little warmer than all that haha But I still like to overdress and then take something off after every mile, so it’s like I’m relieving my misery instead of increasing it at every mile.

Immediately our calves were tired, because we ran hills yesterday. I can deal with calves being tired though. If my calves explode, I can live on. It’s when my lungs and abs feel like they’re going to explode that I get worried. If they explode, I’m dead.

Anyway, our calves were tired, and there were puddles EVERYWHERE. First thing, I stepped in a huge icy puddle. Cold feet!! That’ll get you hopping! We started at a really fast pace for us. At about a mile we noticed it, but we also felt pretty good, so we kept at it. We slowed down a smidge for mile two, just to conserve. But honestly, my calves were tired, but my heart rate was not up at all. I could speak complete sentences up to about 2.8 miles, even though we were going pretty fast. Maybe I’ve suddenly become fit. At about 2.75 miles it started raining, which was added incentive to run fast and farther, so we could finish closer to home. We finished really strong and although I was worn out and out of breath, I didn’t have to sit down like last time haha

Afterwards we walked a mile and ran into a couple trying to move a couch into their apartment. We helped them move it in. I lent my couch-moving expertise and told them the secret trick (you have to bring it in through the patio door). Brian and Sherise. If I can remember their names it will be a miracle.

So anyway, I’m feeling fantastic. I haven’t had a great run like this in awhile and it feels GREAT. My calves and feet are tired but in a good way. And now I’m showered and cuddled up in my robe and looking forward to the next run. YAY!