October 30 - Sealed the proverbial deal.

So, I signed up for the marathon tonight online. It's a done deal. I had checked my e-mail, and noticed that today was the last day to save $30 on the race entry (even though 100% of the race entry goes to breast cancer research which is AWESOME)...so I took the plunge and signed up. It'll be my first marathon ever, and hopefully not my last! And we are experiencing a rough economy, so $30 is $30. Wish me luck. See you February 15, 2009!

Oct. 29 - Beer & Fried Foods = Key to Running Success?

I think I've found my secret to getting back into the swing of things: Guinness & fried zucchini and calamari (from Magianno's). That's what I had for dinner last night at a happy hour, and it proved to be a success during my run this morning at the gym. Between that and the fact that it's finally chilly (and by chilly, I'm talking about 37 degrees!) outside in the morning, I was up and on the treadmill at 5:45. After a five min. warm-up I jogged 1 mile in 9:30, then walked 1 min, then ran to two miles in 19:30, then walked 1 minute, and continued the 1 mile run then walk about a minute and a half for the last three. I finished the six miles in 58:24 and walked a few at the end to round out at 6.5 miles. I don't think I run this well when I eat whole grain pasta and vegetables prior to a run!

October 27 - 5.5 miles

After feeling fine yesterday from Saturday morning's run (and lots of sleep after going to bed at 9:15 Sat. evening), I played tennis and shot hoops yesterday morning (taking advantage of the excellent weather) and went for a 2 mile walk. Got a fantastic massage yesterday afternoon which had me practically screaming bloody murder during certain parts of the massage targeting my beloved IT band and piraformis. But I felt fine this morning, sides of shins a little tired, and aimed for 3-4 miles on the treadmill. Was greeted by slightly cooler temps as I walked outside - about 65 this morning! At the gym, I warmed up for 5 minutes then jogged a leisurely 6.1 to 1 mile, then walked 1 min, then another mile, walked 1 min, then jogged on and off to 5 miles in about 54 minutes and totaling 5.5 miles with the warm-up. My friend Katrine, who is an awesome runner and tri-athlete, joined me at about mile 4 and I tossed around the idea of bribing her to run the last part of the marathon with me. She hasn't decided between running the full and the half, and of course I'm hoping she does the half. 

October 25 - (Un)Sweet 16

That's Laura and me, somehow managing to smile, after running our 16 miles.

So last night before a pasta & pesto dinner, I pretty much swore off going to the 16 mile group run this morning. I was over it, not interested, not going, no way, no how, no thanks. It had been a tiring week, my running didn't go too well during the week and I was not feeling up to a distance of 16 miles. But I got up at 4:05, ate my toast/peanut butter/banana/water combo, then went back to sleep until 5:15. And at 5:40, off I went. And by no means did I "enjoy" it but it's done and over with. There were several moments of doubt, mostly early on, throughout the run, several in which I was trying to figure out an escape route and figuring out how to call someone to come pick me up. (I am not kidding.) But I trucked on. When I arrived (2 minutes before we were set to take off) I had the urge to go #1. With no bathrooms in sight I had my first "squat" experience. Most of it ended up on my leg, so I ran back to the car, wiped my leg off with another shirt and headed down the hill to meet the group. Around mile 5 1/2 I asked one of my group members how far we'd gone, and that was my answer. Not even 1/3 done. Reaching the halfway point was golden, turning around was like saying there's hope! We went a bit too far, but still turned around. At mile 9 I had my banana Hammer gel and some water and tried a few of Laura's Sharkies (note to self: don't do that again). The weather was humid and gloomy the entire time but around mile 9 the mist kicked in and it was misty the entire way back for the most part. My new Dri-Fit visor worked well, blocking the mist. Most of the run I chatted with Laura. She had a rough week too. At about mile 14 we turned past the school board (boring!) and onto the Riverwalk - running on the wooden planks until we reached the Main Street bridge. Up and over the bridge we went (slowly) and after getting part way through the Riverwalk someone informed us we'd already hit 16 miles. Music to my ears! A few of us walked the remaining half mile back to the Y. So glad to be done. Hips, hip flexors, knees...they all were aching. It took about 3 1/2 hours. Came home, sat in the ice bath for 10 minutes, took a warm shower, and am now contemplating what's for lunch. Honestly I'm not so sure about this whole marathon "thing." It's a good challenge but am I supposed to "enjoy" these super long runs? Because honestly, I'm not.

October 23 - Squeaking By (5 miles)

UGH. Not a good running morning. I was greeted by Lisa at the gym asking if I was going to run today (as she finished up on the bike) and I said, "sure, why not." If she wants to, I'll keep her company and visa versa. The theme of my run today was a. it's very humid in this gym b. why is my heart rate SO high? Even around 6.2 mph my HR was soaring up near 180. What the heck? I ran the first mile then walked 1 min, then ran about 5 minutes and walked another, but it wasn't coming down quickly like it typically does. It hovered in the high 170s for most of the run. I finished 5 miles in about 54:10, Lisa finished her 6 miles in less time. She was thankful I was there or she wouldn't have done the 6, and I was just as thankful because I would have probably stopped after mile 1. Hydrating with some Gatorade G2 (orange, if you must know!) right now, just checked and the weather outside is 71 degrees/83% humidity. I don't get it. Bleh. It's almost November, where are the colder temperatures?

October 22 - Hmm, maybe I should write a blog entry??

     

Birthday goodies from my co-workers!

Wow - slacking, big time. Yeah, I've ran (jogged?) a few times lately but I think I'm slacking with the jogging and the blogging. Not sure which scenario is worse. I attempted to run about 5 miles today and I think it ended up being closer to 4.5 overall and it was windy and I was not into it. Oh well, we all have our days. I managed to jog the first 3 miles or so but the last 1 1/2 I walked home. On a positive note, the weather's finally shaping up and I went for a nice evening jog on Monday for 4.5 miles in 43 minutes (walked 3 times for 1 min. each) and that went just fine. This weekend I had a volleyball tournament for work and we played six back-to-back games, so that took the place of my Saturday run and forced me to miss Race for the Cure. We ended up in second place in the "B" division. By the final game it was chilly and misty and quite miserable. As a side note, I received some excellent running-related loot for my birthday from colleagues last week - pink Nike Dri-fit hat, assorted flavors of Sport Beans and GUs, two pairs of running socks and a $50 gift card to my favorite local running store, 1st Place Sports. I was both surprised and excited, and everyone else was poking fun at me and making fun of my GU. We'll see how long they last at mile 10! I also got a sweet $10 gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods from my runner pal, Summer. Lots of great runnin' stuff.

     

Serving & bumping in Saturday's championship game

October 14 - 5.5 miles

Off to the gym at 5:25 a.m. Jumped on the second treadmill and was warming up when a super sweaty, musty/moldy smelling man started on the one next to me. I am not exaggerating when I say the musty smell was taking over my nostrils. I got off that treadmill and went to the clear other side of the gym and did two mile interval training. I then spotted Lisa and went back to the other side since Musty Man was now M.I.A. I then did 3.5 more miles with intervals and steady, slower running. Nothing fancy. It was very humid. 

Birthday running gear

New Balance 1223s - just for me!

So, I turned the big 2-8 yesterday and like every good runner, was beyond excited to receive a nice, new pair of New Balance 1223s (now on New Balance's "endangered" list - the newer 1224's have made their debut) and six new pairs of my preferred non-cotton NB running socks. These gifts will help to ensure I'll still be running at least until I turn 29!

October 11 - 14 miles on my last day as a 27 year old

That's right - 1-4....fourteen miles. Over and done. And still smiling, despite my first blister.

Last night I photographed a friend's wedding with a friend who owns a photography business, so I was on my feet for 6 1/2 hours, running around snapping photos of about 100 people having a delightfully fun time. I enjoyed the wedding cuisine and wondered how the mini twice baked potatoes, 7-layer Mexican dip and chips, and sinfully good spinach artichoke dip (and the delicious slice of wedding cake) would fare on my run this morning. The open bar glared at me but there was not a bottle of water to be found. I got home, went to sleep and miraculously got up at 5:15. I had a few bites of a Larabar in the car, a swing of water, and I met the group for the first time in three weeks in preparation of either a 7 mile run or  a 14 mile run. Those of us who did the 1/2 marathon last week were not encouraged to do 14 today, and to leave after the first 7 mile loop. But the weather was very overcast, a little windy, a bit humid but consistently nice, so I kept with it and did the whole shebang. I had my hand-held 10 oz water bottle, which worked well because I was able to refill it several times on the course. What a great birthday gift to yourself - accomplishing 14 miles by foot (in just under 3 hours with the run/walk and many water breaks)! I had my banana Hammer Gel at mile 10, on Rachel's recommendation, and I felt like a whole new person. I felt clear, I could see better - it was really weird. But I felt good overall. I think this is what "progress" feels like?

October 8 - 5 miles!

After a few days off it was time to get back on the treadmill. No breakfast, a few minutes walking warm up and then a slow and steady pace of around 6.0. It felt good to run again, but weird, as it had been a week since I'd been on a treadmill. Thankfully Lisa was running so we were able to do about 2 miles together. I finished up with 5 miles in about 55 minutes. Nothing fancy, just trying to ease back into it.

Half Marathon - DONE!

Thumbs up at mile 8 - so far, so good?

Rachel from my Galloway pace group.

My girls - Erica & Nicole.

Will and me, post-race.

Did not sleep a wink last night, got up at 3:30 and downed a bottle of cold water. Felt so chilly when I crawled back into bed. Got up at 4:30 (temperature: 68, humidity 69%), had toast w/ pb and a banana, and prepared for the race. Carpooled downtown with Mark, Nicole and Justice, and got there with time to spare — picked up our chips, waited in line for the portolets (now, apparently pronounced "port-o-lays" which may be the French version?), jogged, and got into line. The first two miles were over two bridges and it wasn't too bad - I passed the 2 mile mark around 18 minutes. I continued running for the better part of the first 6 or 7 miles, seeing the clock hit 1:00 around mile 6. I had water at mile 4 and was super thirsty by the time I was able to get more at mile 8 (mile 6 was Powerade). The run was pretty - very shaded and nice, some onlookers as well. Heading back, around mile 7 Justice and Mark (Nicole's husband) were cheering us on outside of the Fox in Avondale. I spotted Justice in his green shirt right away. I was so happy to see them. A little bit later I felt a tap on my shoulder and heard "Caron!" and it was a friend, Jen, who I knew would be running the race but who I hadn't seen in awhile. So we stayed together for a few. I scarfed some orange and green Sport Beans twice but it's so hard to get the package open then chew and swallow while on the go. I didn't take the GU at mile 10 nor did I eat the Hammer Gel I'd brought with me. Mile 9 to 10 was definitely the hardest — it felt like an eternity.  Mile 11 was at the top of the River Walk and I definitely was walking at that point. I knew what came next. I whizzed down the winding part of the River Walk (my favorite part of the race!) and we were now in the home stretch - the sun glaring in our eyes (thank you, Nike hat). I felt like I was dragging. It was more of a shuffle but I tried to keep going. Mile 12 finally arrived and I knew I had just one more mile to go. I stopped to walk. I picked back up and made it to the end - somewhere around 2:16:30. (official time to come) The finish line was around a corner and I picked up the pace for that last .1 of a mile. I removed  my chip from my shoe, put on my first half marathon medal proudly and looked for my friends. I saw Justice and Mark immediately and needed water badly. I grabbed some, wolfed it down and smiled happily for a photo - so glad to be done. After a banana and another water I was happy. The weather rocked - it was 65 when we started, and probably 75 at most when we finished. All in all, a good day!

First Half Marathon Tomorrow!

This week I've pretty much taken it easy and I decided yesterday afternoon to sign myself up for the Marine Corp Half Marathon that will take place tomorrow morning Downtown. My logic is this: if I have to run 13 miles then I may as well try it in a race setting and I may as well get a medal for doing so. No one runs 13.1 miles in training and tells people they ran a half marathon. That's silly. So, it should be a good run, or so I'm told, and we run up and over two bridges but early on (and not at mile 8 1/2 like the Gate River Run!). I have no idea if I'm "ready" or not. Part of me thinks I am, part of me has no idea. If the weather is good I think I will perform. If it's humid, I can't make promises. It's forecasted to be good weather in the morning. Cross your fingers. (I'm crossing mine) I just looked again and it says 65 degrees for the start! This is music to my ears. More to report...tomorrow.