TM! Ah!

It was 8pm before I finally had the chance to get out there and by that point it was too dark. I headed for the gym and the treadmill. It went suprisingly well though. However, I grabbed my water bottle to take a drink after 4 miles and when I went to set the bottle down - I accidentally bumped the emergency stop button. Dang!!! The treadmill immediatly shut off. If there weren't other people in there with me I would have started cursing. I started it back up again but couldn't get back into my rhythm. I forced myself to go another 1/2 mile though and then walked .2 miles. So....all in all it was 4.7 miles. I'll most likely find myself back at the gym tonight. It's only a high of 60 today (yikes!) and is supposed to rain until late this evening - even in WI we're feeling Gustav's effects. As long as I can keep my clumsy self in line, I should be ok. : )

Back again...

Well as I mentioned in my last blog, I did the swim part in a triathlon a couple weeks ago. It was a really cool experience and I hope to take part in the full next year. I didn't swim too fast, 15mins and some odd seconds but it wasn't that bad. It was a whole different experience swimming in a lake than a pool. You don't have the line on the bottom to follow, the flip turns, and the constant idea of how far you've gone vs. how much is left. My relay team did finish 3rd though - yay!

Last night I ran 4 milies. It felt terrible for the first mile but as I kept going it progressively got better. By the last mile I was cruising along at an alarmingly fast pace for myself and couldn't help but smile. I even considered going one more loop around the neighborhood but reminded myself of how much shin splints hurt and didn't want to over do it.

In a few hours I'm flying home to visit the fam for the weekend. I'll be back at it on Sunday evening though with 6 miles on the docket. The half marathon is in 7 weeks....gotta start really pushing myself.

Run/Swim

Last night I was in an uber cranky mood so I ran 2 miles and then went for a swim for an hour. I'm doing the swim part in a relay team for a triathlon next Saturday morning, so it was about time I got out in the water. It felt SOOO good. It's been about 2 years since I've actually swam, but it felt great. I'm thinking of doing it again tonight. My only complaint was all the fish....I hate swimming in lakes. I'm more of a highly chlorinated pool type girl. Oh well, maybe it'll make me swim faster so that I can get out sooner....right?

Blogphobia?

Hey Jen, this one's for you! ; )

I've been completely slacking on the blog writing lately. Most of the reason being that apart from last week, I haven't really been running. I was doing a few miles here and there but nothing substantial enough. I figured if I wasn't bringing it up...no one would yell at me. ;) But, good news is...that I'm back.

My sis and I decided to do the 1/2 marathon and not the full. We came to the conclusion that pushing the full back a few months is worth it compared to the alternatives of either injuring ourselves, becoming bitter running haters, or worse..whatever that could be. So we'll push back the full to next spring. As soon as we agreed on this it was as if a huge load had been lifted off my shoulders. I think I was anti-running for a few weeks because of the stress of thinking about the marathon. I'm not mentally or physically ready yet and the easiest way to deal with that...at the time...was to ignore running all together. Now that we've got that taken care of, I'm back in action and am LOVING it. I had forgotten how addicting it was and how good it felt. And...how much I missed everyone's encouragement and bullying. : ) I love our little running community!

With that being said, I'm not running tonight, nor did I run yesterday. Yikes! But tomorrow will be another story! And..due to the fact that I have a dinner date with a friend of mine tomorrow night, I will be forced to wake up at the butt crack of dawn to run tomorrow. Wish me luck...I am not a morning person!

Never mind!

My body played a trick on me. It wasn't until the 2nd day after my ten miler that I felt it! Ahh! I hobbled around the whole day in pain. I guess I spoke too soon! haha I feel much better today though so hopefully I'll have time to hit the gym for some weights and cross training on the elliptical.

Has anyone checked out Amy's blog lately? She is totally rocking it out and flying past PR after PR. Yay Amy!!

I didn't fall off the face of the earth.....

I've been "blog" dodging for a few weeks...but I haven't quit running! I did a bunch of 2, 3, and 4 mile runs for a couple weeks after the HM - but nothing major.

Last night I got the itch and the motivation to get out there and do a big one. I ran 10 miles and barely noticed. It's amazing what a few weeks of rest will do. I'm not even sore today which is a shocker too. My right hip has been throbbing for about a week but that's not any worse than it was. The humidity was about the only thing slowing me down last night but it was OK. Everytime I felt tired and wanted to walk, I just thought about my big sister and how I'm sure she has felt the same way and didn't stop...so I shouldn't either. : ) Thanks for motivating me without even being there, Amy! The first few miles were rough and I felt like I was a flailing (sp?) idiot that's never walked, much less ran before. After I got into my zone though things went well. I walked about a mile of it total, here and there.

That's about it for me...now I have to get busy catching up on all of your blogs!

HM RR...

I'm learning the new lingo...it's so fun!

The half marathon...so much to say I'm not sure where to even begin! I guess the "pasta" dinner the night before would be a good place. Well this "pasta" dinner was...well...pasta-less! They ran out. Nice going. My dinner before the biggest event of my life consisted of salad and a bread stick. Way to start things off! They actually did bring in more as we were leaving though - good timing.

We returned to our hotel after our "pasta" dinner and chit chatted - I think Lisa was trying to get me to stop thinking about the race, in order to relieve some anxiety...but I think I just babbled her ear off for 3 hours about random crap - oh well. What are friends for, right? We fell asleep around 9:30 or so. I proceeded to wake up every hour, on the hour in panic thinking I was late. At 2am I realized (thank the Lord!) that we never set an alarm. Not that I guess it was needed with me not really sleeping...but I had a flashback to a Seinfeld episode. I set the alarm and kept on napping/panicking. FINALLY at 4:45 I woke up to the alarm and started off the day. I was so nervous that just the thought of food made me want to hurl. I forced down a bagel with peanut butter and sipped my gatorade. We left the hotel at 6:15 and drove out to Lambeau Field. We finally arrived at 6:50 (3 miles later) and rushed to the starting line. As soon as I was standing in the midst of thousands of people...suprisingly, my anxiety went away. I choked back some tears during the National Anthem and awaited the start. I was actually really calm and collected as we started running. I was just amazed at all the people standing on the sides of the roads cheering. It was amazing. I had to hold back tears the entire race...it was overwhelming. At the 2 mile mark, Lisa realized she needed a porta pottie and stat. Fortunately, there was one a half mile later...but unfortunately for me...I felt like I couldn't stop a soon. She told me to go ahead and not wait if I felt comfortable...so I did. I ran the remainder of the race "alone". I did meet quite a few interesting people that made the race fly by. Two older gentlemen were running their 48th marathon. They said their favorite was the one they did last year in Hawaii....I mentally put that on the list of things to do before I die.

The miles seemed to fly past me until the 8th mile. I started to worry about having enough energy to finish...and stressing over the fact that I had never gone more than 11 miles. I really should have done the 13 first so that I would have mentally been prepared. I walked up a hill (about 1 minute or so) and then went back to running. It was around this time that I had GU, which I had never had before. It was gross. I felt like throwing up after I downed it. I kept trying to be positive and telling myself it was fuel, the energy that I needed to finish..but couldn't help but feel it rising in my throat. The entire time I was running I felt like I was being passed by EVERYONE. I completely expected that if I turned around, there would be no one there...that I was going to be the last one to finish. At the 10 mile mark there was a line on both sides of the road for about a half mile of screaming/cheering/smiling people cheering me on...it was MUCH needed. I yelled thank you and felt my pace pick up. When I turned the corner at 11 miles - it was straight into the wind and it got frigid cold..yikes! I plowed through but could feel myself thinking negatively. At the 12 mile mark the HM and FM's split. I thanked God that I wasn't running the full thing! I kept charging on. FINALLY I saw Lambeau in the distance. I walked a few steps, knowing that I would rather walk now than in front of a crowd of people. As soon as I approached Lambeau I saw my husband, sister in-law and a friend of mine. Not sure how, but my pace picked up and it felt like I could run forever. I ran inside Lambeau field...running through the tunnel and out on to the field was AWESOME! The stands were filled with spectators and their cheering kept me going. I ran around the field and then outside again to the finish line. I wasn't sure how far I had to go but when I turned a corner, all the sudden the finish line was right there. I sprinted (or so I thought...I think I was actually going turtle pace) through and WAS DONE!! I DID IT! I have never in my life felt such pride, accomplishment, and happiness at one time. It was amazing. I didn't make my goal of 2 hours and actually missed it by 16 minutes..darn! I in no way feel bad about it though. I know I gave it everything I had and am fully happy with myself and how I did. It wasn't easy...but it's over and I feel great about it.

My body on the other hand...hates me. I have NEVER felt so stiff, sore, and down right OLD in my life. I'm OK with it...for the most part because I'm proud of what I did...but I'm sitting at work and almost cried about an hour ago because it hurts so much. I've been hobbling down the hallways and cringe everytime I need to sit, stand, or move in general. I took some advil a bit ago and it's a tiny bit better...and I made an appointment for a massage in an hour. One of the best parts of this though...is not only the sense of accomplishment..but it's the support of everyone around me. I've had so many people - even those I hardly know tell me how proud of me they are. Thanks to all my fellow bloggers too - and my sister!! for all the support too....makes me feel like part of another family. : )

Next goal...the FULL marathon. YIKES!! :D We are all crazy!