A breath of fresh air

Will and I ran the first 3 miles with Jade.  Will and I saw some interesting mushrooms.  They were flat, as big as my hand, and grew out from the bottom of a tree.  It looked like a very nice place for a big toad to sit.  Will enjoyed the entire run.  We loved  the temperature:  71 degrees.  Tomorrow morning it is suppose to be 48!  And Wednesday 39!  Winter is coming.

A couple questions:

1)  Is it healthy to run fast miles during a long run?

2)  What is a good winter training for me?

For the first time, I miss the mountains.

Will and I were taking a new way to the store.  I missed the exit.  As we drove on to the next exit, the rolling hills gave way to flat fields.  I looked to the left and was surprised not to see mountains.  I had forgotten I was in Iowa.  No mountains.  Just clouds. 

I am grateful to be surrounded rolling hills and trees.  They are beautiful.  I love the fall colors especially the trees that turn red.  Without the hills and trees, I would miss the mountains even more.

Will and I ran the hilly course today.  My right ham string is still bothering a bit.  Almost three miles into the run, Will and I found the stick will dropped last Thursday.  I picked it up and Will waved it and tapped it, but did not taste it this time.  Will dropped it again this time at about mile 5.  I don't think we will see it again.  But, you never know.

I appreciate all the comments from yesterday.  But, I need to go to bed, so I won't get back to you until tomorrow.  Thanks for all your support.

Will, Jade, and I ran the four together.

I wasn't planning on running 8. How it happened...

About 5:20 am, Will woke up. After forty minutes of quality crib play, I went to get Will. Will and I went about our morning as usual. Will ate three quarters of an orange and a handful of Special K. I ate my bowl of Special K. The weather channel informed us it was 41 degrees with not much wind. (Thank goodness! We had plenty of wind yesterday.) I helped Will put on his sweats and jacket over his pajamas. After we velcroed Will's shoes and said good-bye to Dad, we were off to run 6 miles

And then during mile 3, Will feel asleep. We had a busy day ahead of us and I decided 1) this would be Will's morning nap and 2) a three mile morning nap would be too short. So I kept running. Adding another half mile, after another. Will woke up happy at the beginning of mile 7. And the rest day went well enough.

The extended run was refreshing. I was able to think. By the end of the run, I made sense of where I stood on some family matters. It felt good to be able to sort things out in my mind. I feel much better.

I would love to run in the Moab Half with the Dashing Divas and the PF Chang Rock'n'Roll Marathon with you, Shauna.  Those races sound awesome.  No promises, but thanks for the invitations.  I feel the love of the blog!

Will woke up this morning at 5.  I was worried that Will would fall asleep again during the run.  I had big plans for today and Will's morning nap was crucial for making those plans work.  He didn't fall asleep!  It was wonderful.

My plan was Will to sleep in the port-a-crib, so I could attend a quilt group this morning.  I knew Will might cry a bit because he would be sleeping in a strange, new room.  I figured he and I could handle it.  Actually, I didn't give either of us much choice because today the quilt group was tying my denim blanket.  Everything was working out perfectly.  I even fit in two errands before we headed to the church for the quilt group.  Will was getting very sleepy in his car seat.  I started to think maybe he wouldn't fuss too much because he was so tired.  And then. . . we got stuck behind a TRAIN!  A very long train.  A very slow train.  A train that stopped dead on the tracks with two train cars to go!

We waited.  Will feel asleep.  I waited and waited.  I laughed when the train came to a complete stop.  Some cars turned around, but being new to the area--I had no idea if there was another way.  Our car was also trapped between another lane of cars and a curb.  We waited for a half an hour.

With Will awake, we tied the denim quilt.  The women in the quilt group are extremely nice and patient probably because they were all mothers of fifteen month olds at one time.

Questions for all you mothers:

When did you know your children were ready for one nap a day?

How did you teach them not to throw their food on the floor?  (Will throws his food on the floor when he is finished.  Sometimes I am able to anticipate when he is done, but other times I clean the floor.)

The forecast calls for rain and thunderstorms for the next three days.  For my run, temperature was a wonderful 51 degrees and the sky is filled with low grey clouds.

I wanted to run eight minute miles for 4 miles today, so I could build some confidence for my 5k race next weekend.  I have only run three 5k races.  The first race was in 2001 and I ran it in about 27 minutes.  (This first 5k was my one and only race from 1993 until 2005.  Before that I ran track in seven grade and a mile run for kids when I was about 7.)  The second race I was almost five months pregnant.  I ran it in about 30 or 31 minutes.  The third race I ran with Will when he was three months old.  Again 30 or 31 minutes.  So, next weekend will be my first 5k that I will go for a big PR.

As I started my run, I considering being more realistic with myself.  I felt a little cold and slow.  Plus, I have never run a fast four miles outside of  a race and decided I would be pleased if I ran three miles in 24 minutes.  I figured if I could do 3 miles in 24 minutes, I definitely could break 23 minutes in a 5k race. So, I set out to try to keep my quarters close to two minutes.

Here are my mile splits:

8:05--first three quarters were down hill.

7:58--very pleased with this mile.  I didn't know if I was going to be able to keep up the two minute quarters.  But, I did.

8:01--I was determined to get another eight minute mile and this mile was a little more up hill.

8:11--last three quarter completely up hill.  A very big hill.  I felt good that I had gotten 24:04 for three miles and just tried to get up the hill in another 8 minutes to reach my original goal of four eight minute miles.

32:15!  I am very pleased.  And I am excited for next Saturday's 5k in Swisher.

 Does anyone else think it would be cool to run 2008 miles in the year 2008?