Will Run For Ice Cream

My half-marathon is only 8 weeks away. I'm nervous, but hopefully the rest of my training will go ok. And I'll do fine. Time will tell. I'm trying hard to lose the weight that I've put on over the last 2 years. So far I've lost two pounds and have four more to go. Hopefully I'll keep the two pounds off. I seem to keep gaining and losing the same weight over and over. I'm bumping up my cardio. I rejoined the gym this week. Yesterday I went to the 5:45am spin class. So now I can cross train on my days off from running. I'm trying not to think about the half being so close. I feel like I have such a LONG way to go to be ready. But I'm registered now.. so I have to go through with it. Deep down I want to. It's a fear that I might not finish, but a thrill to push myself and see what I can do.

I hope to get an 8 mile run in tomorrow. My last attempt at a long run didn't turn out the way I expected - stomach issues and I'll leave it at that. I've made a few modifications to my diet today. I'm hoping that tomorrow will be incident free. I'm also going to try running without my water bottle belt. That has been one major change for my last two runs that have turned out to be somewhat disastrous. So I'm going to leave it behind and see if it makes a difference. I sure hope so. It's not fun to go out for a run scared that I will be plagued by stomach issues. I started swimming as cross training this week. I'm not really sure you can call it swimming as I basically 'dog paddle', but at least I am moving. I wanted to add some additional cardio to my work out routine. But I have my route mapped out for tomorrow... hopefully it will be a good run.

It was GREAT to run with my best friend again. The three days that I spent with her, we ran 6 miles one day, hiked 8 miles another day, then ran another 5 miles my last day there. It was wonderful. I know myself well enough to know that if I didn't get back into running as soon as I got home, that it would be difficult for me to start back again. That being said, I ran yesterday after work. And I just finished a 2 mile (slow run) in the rain. I'm starting my half marathon training, and this week I am to run a total of 16 miles. I plan to run my long run on Friday. I can see improvement in myself... and I'm happy about that!

I'm surprised that I am so sore. I expected my calves to be sore. Instead it is my quads. It's a good kindof sore though. It lets me know that I worked hard.

I ran my first 10K today. I was more than nervous. In fact, I was so nervous that I almost backed out. But, I knew I could do it. I was just afraid that I would be disappointed in myself. But in the end, I’m proud of myself. The weather was nice - not too hot or humid and not too cold. I couldn’t complain. The route was flat, which was helpful. The route along the river, as usual, was beautiful. Pacing is difficult for me. Not knowing how far I had gone or how much farther I had to go was difficult and distracting. We had water stops, but we didn’t have any one calling out times or mileage. But overall, I did ok. I wanted to finish in an hour. I didn’t reach that goal, but I came close. I came in at 1:02:28. A 10:04 pace. I’m pleased with myself. It was tough, but I did my best. And for that, I am proud of myself.

It's been awhile since I've written. I've been out of town for work and super busy it seems. Ever since my last race, running has been a struggle. I don't know if it is because I really pushed myself at the last race or what the issue is. I just know that every time I have tried to run I have struggled. In fact, both of my runs at the beginning of last week resulted in me walking part of the way. I was more than frustrated with myself. But as of yesterday, Friday, I told myself that I was running and I do mean running the entire distance regardless of how I felt. I left my office and ran 9.4 miles before returning. It gave me the mental boost that I needed for next weekend. Next Saturday is my first 10K (6.2 miles) race. I'm very nervous. I've never ran a race that long before. And my boss, who is excellent at pacing, isn't running the race this time. So, I will be on my own to try to pace myself. I'm really nervous about this, and I struggle with pace.....

The temp wasn’t too bad. It was in the 50’s, but it was once again raining. Great, another race in the rain. The course was hilly, and I do mean VERY hilly. In some places it felt as if we were going straight up. The other uphill battles were gradual inclines that felt as though they would never end. But I toughed it out. I ran every step. At the finish, my boss and I sprinted at the end and came in side by side at 43:43. I had wanted to do the course in under 10 minutes, but it was a very difficult course. And I am pleased with myself that I completed it in the time that I did. On to the next race...