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Showing posts from October, 2013

What Did I Just Do?

It seemed like a good idea at the time. It seemed like the perfect motivation. But now, now, I'm wondering just what did I get myself into.  See, I've put on a few pounds. OK, OK, more like 5 or 6 pounds. And that may not seem like a lot, but for someone who is only 4'10" those pounds can really make a difference. And every day it seems like I say the same thing over and over. "Today is a new day." "Starting over today." "Today, I'm going to eat in moderation."  And last week as I put my jeans (that I haven't worn in awhile) on, they were very snug - uncomfortably snug - on the borderline of ripping snug. What did I do? I told myself that I hadn't worn jeans in awhile, and I didn't remember how tight they were.  And then it was time to pull out the colder gear running clothes. REALITY.HIT.ME.IN.THE FACE (or more like the gut). They were tight, gulp. And when I was at the outlet mall, the size I'm cur

Are You Hung Up On A Number?

After I ran my 18 for this training plan, I thought... you know.. just maybe. After I ran my first 20, I thought this is a real possibility. And ever since then I've become increasingly nervous about 'the number'. You know, the one you want to beat, the one you want to hit, the pace you need to maintain, the pace that if you go slower than that you will watch 'the number' slip away. And as I'm 2 weeks away from the Marathon, my focus and nervous energy has been directed toward that 'number'. Do I think I could hit it? Yes, why yes I do if everything fell into place.. if my stomach cooperated, if my knee pain doesn't kick in, if my calves don't cramp, if I fuel properly, if I'm hydrated adequately but not over hydrated that peeing every 5 minutes is an issue, if I'm not overly or under dressed, if my head is in the right head space, if I'm not on my period, if my shoe doesn't come untied and the list can go on and on. But yes,

The One Before The Taper

Well I did it.. the last 20 before the taper.. the run I honestly tried my best to get out of doing. I talked to friends. I tried to get everyone I could to tell me that it wasn't really that  necessary.. that I could skip it if I wanted to.. or split it up or modify it or just plain ignore it. But friends and trainers alike pretty much said no, I really needed to get this 20 in. I could wait another week, but it really needed to be done. Sigh, double sigh, stomping my feet a little in frustration sigh, fine then. I laid out my clothes. I had a friend say she'd meet me at mile 17 and run the last 3 with me (She just ran a great marathon the weekend before and was recovering). So now things were looking up. I'm not doing 20, just 17, and then my friend will be there to chat away the last 3. I got this. Sure I do. Then it got cold outside. Well cold for me for the first run in the 'colder' weather. It was just 39, but when I started out it felt like sub zero in th

Toys, Toddler, Treadmills Oh My!

Well, it was bound to happen.... I'm just hoping it's short-lived and not re-occurring as the Marathon is less than 4 weeks away! Less than 4 weeks away.. YIKES!  Yep, Lil Man got a cold which he so generously shared with me. This past weekend was horrible weather. I will run in the rain, and have on many many occastions. But we got around 9-11 inches of rain here, and it was super windy. And because I ran my 20 a little too hard, it took me longer to recover and I missed some midweek runs, I really wanted to get my long run in. So, I took to the treadmill. Yep, I said the treadmill. I ran 12 very boring, almost stopped at 9 and called it quits, but pushed through until I was FINALLY finished with 12 miles.. And yes, I patted myself on the back a little for this one. I know people who have run much farther and do it quite often, but long runs on the treadmill are not fun for me. I've watched movies. I've watched sitcoms. I've listened to music. I've tried

Do You Sweat With A Sweaty Band?

I kept seeing them everywhere. I had a couple of friends who just LOVED them, but I hadn't tried them yet. What am I talking about? .... well Sweaty Bands of course. So I wanted to see what all of the hype was about, and I tried them myself. My first thought when I got them in the mail was.. "Wow, these are really are cute." So I took one out for a little test run to see how I liked it. Below is the red-faced post run pic. And yes, the Sweaty Band stayed in place. But I've also found another use for my Sweaty Band , and that is post run hair. My Lil Man has now started pre-school, and normally (to be honest) I've never really cared what I looked like running or immediately post run. But since I'm running during his pre-school and picking up him up immediately after my run, I've been a little more 'aware' of my post run look since I'm now required to be surrounded by non-sweaty individuals who are picking up their kids. S

Give Me A Two, Give Me A Zero, What Have We Got? 20 Miles

I'll admit I was nervous. Why? Well, because 20 miles ( to me ) is a pretty big deal. I'm still at the point that I'm still convincing myself that I'm a distance runner. So to go out and run/walk/crawl/complete 20 miles is still a pretty big milestone for me. The weather on Saturday was warmer than what it was earlier in the week. It was humid and super foggy. Oh, and it was dark. Yeah, I started around 6am so it was still dark out. I ran the first 12 miles solo before I met a friend who ran the last 8 with me. Meeting my friend at 12 miles was great. It really helped to break up the run and it gave me something to look forward to. My last 8 was tough, and my friend had to push/nudge me along. But I did it. I completed my fastest 20 miler yet. And the downside is that Saturday night I started having leg cramps, and by Tuesday they haven't stopped :( So, I've had to take 3 days off to try to recover. I imagine that I didn't hydrate properly after