the road goes on forever...

http://www.letmeplay.com/reuseashoe/

For those of you who are like me and have tons of old running shoes, the link above takes you to info on how you can recycle your shoes through NIKE and they build playground equipment. Pretty neat!

Didn't run today, but ordered a new pair of training shoes (Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8- the same ones I have now but a different color) AND a new lighter pair of shoes to do speed workouts and shorter races (New Balance 903s). That way I can start cycling them in as my marathon training will wear out my current shoes rather quickly.  Oh yeah, and I ordered a case of GU so no more sports beans for me!

red shoes- 108.5 miles

I did a 40 minute temp run today, 12 minutes easy, 16 minutes hard, 12 minutes easy. Mileage is just a very rough estimate. I have not been at all motivated lately, but I am hoping the half marathon next weekend will get me pumped up for the final weeks of my marathon training.

Once again I felt completely unmotivated today.  So I got dressed in my running clothes, then decided to wait until tomorrow and took them off. But then I started reading my Runner's World mag. and jumped up off the couch and said "I have to run today" and changed my clothes before I could think twice! Whatever works. Now I have to just stay rested and loose for my half marathon next weekend!!

parked at San Luis, ran one loop, then ran a loop around Ocala and High, 1.5 race pace miles on the track, then back to San Luis.

The good news:

I <3 tapering :)  maybe a little too much. i would have done a little more if it wasn't raining so hard.

3x1200 at race pace (approx 7:40)

The bad news: 

The top of my foot still hurts because I stepped in a hole on during my run Saturday. Hopefully it feels fine by this Saturday.

No miles run, but one publication section of the dissertation finished and ready to hand over the the advisor! I always get excited to post good runs, so I wanted to post this too :)

Hope everyone is having a great day! The weather is crappy here (again) so I am glad I don't have to run today. 3 days til race day!!

Let me just say, I am sooo happy with my time! Who doesn't love a PR!  The race was great, and running through my favorite city with my dad and best friend was awesome.  You can tell I am still on a runner's high :) 

Don't have all my splits, but...

Mile 1-   I think 7000 people ran in the half, and 6500 started in front of us. They tried to do a wave start but no one listened. The first four miles we actually ran on the city sidewalk instead of the course in the street, just because there were sooo many people that were going really slow. We managed to clock a 7:50 but wasted a ton of energy.

Miles 2-3 still very crowded

Miles 4-5 we started getting into a groove. Got our pace down to 7:40 or just under, and although most people hated the hills I thought they were great!!

Miles 6-8 I started to get a little frustrated. I wanted to run with my dad and Erin but I had a ton of energy I wanted to expend. Erin dropped back at 8 (but still ran an awesome 1:44- a PR and she has a marathon in two weeks). We continued around 7:40-7:45, including stopping to give my cousin a hug while she waited on the sidelines to run for her relay team. Gu-ed up at mile 7.

Mile 9 I asked my dad if we can still get under 1:40 and he said probably not because we were running 7:45s, and I should go on without him.

Mile 10 I ran 6:45!!! I felt amazing, I even danced with some old man cheering for people on the sidelines, haha.

Mile 11- 6:46

Mile 12- 7:05 (this one had some hills)

Mile 13.1- I am not sure what my pace for the last mile was, but I finished in 1:37:56, a new PR by 3.5 minutes!!

I don't know if I would have gotten a better time if I ran the whole race hard. If I left them earlier I wouldn't have had as much left at the end. One day I will obviously have a chance to run a hard one by myself and see, so I do not at all regret holding back in the beginning.  I think we all would have done better without the crowds or the heat (it was pretty bad).

I now have two long runs before my marathon, so these next few weeks are high mileage weeks. At least this race pumps me up for them. Then I get to go to Biloxi and hope for a 3:40 for Boston!!

Congrats to my brother who finished his first marathon! I miss so much living far from home, so I am so glad I got to be there for it since he was there for mine.

3 miles super easy. I would have normally taken today off, but I am trying to do easy runs or cross train on some of the days I would normally take off.

magenta shoes- 134.1, blue shoes- 3 miles, orange shoes- 0 miles

4 x 1200s with the track club. Felt pretty good considering I just raced! The first 3 were a little over 5 min., the final one a little under.

I also walked like 3.5 miles while running errands on campus. That should count for something!

magenta shoes- 137.1, blue shoes- 3 miles, orange shoes- 2 miles

my friend jill and i planned on meeting at the gym to take a 7am "body tone" class. so we got there around 6:45 and went in and realized they are so crowded that you have to sign up for a spot 30 minutes before it starts. that was disappointing! so i left and then ran about 6 pretty easy miles.

(San Luis to Ocala/High loop, two laps around San Luis)

magenta shoes- 137.1, blue shoes- 9 miles, orange shoes- 2 miles

I had my first successful day at our gym! I got on this awesome bike machine and it had it's own video screen. You pick the course and how fast you want your pacer to go, and it looks like you are riding through the woods on a pretty, very hilly trail! It was so neat. I finished a 4.01 mile course in a little under 18 minutes... I have no idea what that means. It also said my heart rate was up to 185, but I have no idea if that's a reasonable heart rate or anything. I would have like to have done another so I could stay on longer but my legs were killing me and I felt like my heart was beating out of my chest! It was neat to get such a hard work out in without running, I could barely walk down the steps! You can create an account so you can actually race yourself later on. I didn't make my account until after though so that ride didn't save :( But I look forward to doing that like once every week as a cross training work out!

Oh, then I jogged half a mile back to my office so I decided to put that in there, haha. Why not! Hopefully my legs aren't too sore for my long run tomorrow! At least I'm only doing about 15.

Back to doing school work :( What a stinky way to spend a Friday night.

2:05, I estimate about 15 miles. Felt pretty good but I went out too fast, thinking "I feel great, I could keep this pace forever." My legs and the head wind from my 11 on did not agree :) But I just slowed down to finish up, no big deal. I am kind of glad it happened- that is definitely a lesson to remember marathon morning!!

My friend Steve from home (MD) is running the Columbus marathon tomorrow morning and has a chance to win!! He is aiming for a 2:30 so I will be tracking him online during the race!

magenta shoes- 137.1, blue shoes- 24.5 miles, orange shoes- 2 miles

I'm a cross training master!!! :) Haha, I wish. But yesterday I went out and bought a suit and goggles and I went swimming today!  I was really nervous because I had no idea what I was doing. It was only my third trip to the gym, 1st to the pool, so I didn't know where to go, and what to do when I got there. So I just kind of watched the other girls to figure it out. 

I ended up swimming about 20 laps, resting for 20-30 seconds between some of them, especially towards the end. I lost track though, so I was wondering how else people keep track of their swimming... do you just swim laps for a certain amount of time? I would like to know some way in which I could see improvement week to week that doesn't involve counting.

I don't have form of any sort yet, but my brother told me for the first few trips to just concentrate on my breathing and that will be more than enough to work on, then when I feel comfortable with that I can work on my stroke. I saw people watching me and wanted to yell out "Don't mind me, I'm just a runner!" Haha.

All in all I had a lot of fun! I could have gone longer but today was really just a trial day. I think I could use swimming as a low-impact workout the day after a long run, and maybe one other day a week.

Hope everyone is having a great Sunday. Time to watch my Baltimore Ravens!

4 easy miles. pleasant run :)

and my arms/shoulders are sore from swimming, so at least I know it was productive!!

shoe mileage: magenta brooks adrenaline- 137.1, blue brooks adrenaline- 28.5 miles, orange NB 903s- 2 miles

12 x 400 with the track club.

my legs always feel heavy during intervals when i get up to my high mileage, and felt especially tired this week. i was going to cross train tomorrow but i think i am going to take the day off instead. better safe than sorry!

have a great night!

shoe mileage: magenta brooks adrenaline- 137.1, blue brooks adrenaline- 33.5 miles, orange NB 903s- 2 miles

Today is my day off so I have no run to post, but I'm looking for a little advice. These are my Saturday runs planned until my marathon:

this saturday (10/25): 18
11/1: I found a 15k in Mississippi I really want to do (Lake Caroline 15k)
11/8: 20
11/15: 14ish
11/22: 7ish
11/29: race

To look at it like that is kinda scary. But anyway, do you think the 15k would be too much? I really want to do it. I realize I may struggle a bit to go fast because of my 18 but I want to try anyway. I really want to aim to get as close to 7 minute pace as possible, although that will be really hard.  Or do you think I should take it a little easier that week? I could run that race at an easy pace just to get a 9 miler in, but where is the fun in that :)

 
Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

6 really easy miles at San Luis

I baked these last night... the best muffins I have ever made!!! People couldn't believe there was no butter or oil in them!

 
Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins.
12 muffins
350 degree oven, 25 minutes

woooo!!! 18 down! 1 long run to go!

a friend of mine met me at mile 3 and ran 9 miles with me, so that was nice to have a little company. was able to push the last 2, probably around 7:30 pace for those.

power gel = my heat and soul

and i came back and still weighed over 100, which means i did a great job drinking and eating along the way! (during my last marathon i always came back under after my long runs, and that scared me).

heading out to the tailgate and game. go noles!!!

Was going to cross train today, but my legs were feeling pretty rough. Last night I kept waking up because my legs were aching, especially my ankles (which have never hurt me before). I know it's because right after my run I walked 2 miles to the tail gate and then stood up for 4 hours at the game. So they just never got the rest they needed. Looking forward to jogging a few miles tomorrow morning to loosen up the muscles a bit.

4 easy miles to loosen up the muscles for the week! Still a little sore from Saturday, but that comes with the territory :)

I really need help!!! I decided today that I am going to buy a GPS watch. I am a little worried about staying on pace at my marathon since there will be so few people there. I am overwhelmed with the options and if anyone could tell me what they think about any particular type I would really appreciate it.

I want a small one because my wrists are so small, but I also wanted one with the least options. I kind of just wanted one to tell my distance and pace, not heart rate or link to my computer or anything like that.

I'd appreciate any help!!! Thanks!

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2 x 1600 @ goal race pace for the weekend

Rest day! I just ordered a 3:40 "pace tat" for my marathon! Exciting. No luck with the garmin today, going to have to go to some specialty stores or go ahead and order one online.

5 easy miles while my car was getting fixed