I Probably Should Make My Blog Public again

AM run.

My first mile was really slow while I worked out some soreness.  Other 4 miles were about 9:40 pace.

Now that I'm done, the soreness is gone.

A weird day.  We had to run part inside, part outside and cut our running short because of a storm.  Continued inside with some strength training.

Guessing on the distance here.  Had to get in my running in dribs and drabs.

Started with 1.5 miles and pushed it because I knew the rest would be hard to get in.

We were at Chrisman and they do flighted races (so we had 8 races), but there were always 2 races going on at once.  Once one group went by, I ran backward along the course to see the next group, ran across the course to the finish, etc.  Sometimes I was able to get in .25 or .5 miles, sometime it was only a minute or two.

I'm just crossing my fingers that the training I did over the summer is going to help me at the marathon--as always during this time of the year, it's getting hard to get mileage in.  I'm trying not to feel guilty about it, but it's hard not to.

Ran in Chicago today.  Saw another woman 3 times on my run--had just enough time to figure out that we're both running the Chicago marathon.

I had a baptism today, had limited time to run, but I'm okay with what I got in.  This run felt easy.  When I first started I wasn't in a running mood, but after I stopped for a bathroom break (during which I went to the bathroom and then helped Chuck with the kids) I felt better.  By the time I was done, I wished that I hadn't put off my run for 1/2 hour while I supposedly digested, but really was just dragging my feet. 

Oh well.  Coulda, shoulda, woulda...didn't. 

Ran with the kids today.  Warmed up for 10 minutes, pushed it harder for 20 min, then cooled down for 15 minutes.  I'm just guessing on the distance--it might have been a little longer than 5 miles.

Ran a little on the course during the races today.  Not too much, but enough so I won't feel too guilty.  I may or may not run tomorrow--there's a cold going around at school and I felt it coming on today.  If I feel good I might run in the morning, but tomorrow's going to be a long day...parent open house.  Gotta put on my prettiest smile and pretend I love my students (ha).

I was running with the team today, so I kinda lost count on how many 400s I did.  My mileage might not be accurate.

I did a 3/4 mile warmup.  Then I did 400 repeats.  I started running with a group that was doing 90s to 100s per 400.  I did have to bow out of their group occasionally to check on some of the faster and slower groups, but even if I ran with another group, most of my 400s were still in the 90s.  They did 12 400s, I maybe did 7 or 8 with this group and a couple odd 400s with other groups.

Once my group was finished I ran with the slower group on their last 3.  They were running about 2 minutes.  For the last 3 I ran with a girl who struggles to run at 10 min pace--she hasn't broken 30 minutes for a race yet this year--and that's what her 400s were supposed to be.  I told her I'd pace her because my easy pace is 10 min.  I ran the 400s much faster than I thought (2 min each), but she kept with me the whole way.

She was excited. 

That's what I love about running and coaching--all runners, even slower ones, are pushing to do better than they think they can do.  I hate when people chastise slower runners or look down on them, or worse yet, drive them away from XC teams.  There's always room for plenty of ability levels on my team.

Did the warmup and cool down but in between I supervised the prerace 200s!

I'm tired of feeling sick and I'm tired of the rain.  I have a head cold and a cough, which is making it hard to breathe while running.

I got to the meet early and ran the course before the team got there.  Afterward my head hurt.  But medicine helped.  The course was wet and muddy, even before all the teams got to PBL.  My shoes were soaked and I wore flip flops once the kids started racing--I walked a lot, probably 3 or 4 miles (there were 5 races today).

Usually this course is fast, but several factors led to mostly difficult races for my runners.  The conditions were only part of it, but a lot of them are having issues with mental toughness.  The tension between me and my assistant isn't helping on that front.  But a few of them looked good out there.

I'm planning a long run tomorrow, but I am feeling severely run down.  I guess I'm not going to set a distance--I'm just going to make sure that I get in as many miles as I possibly can.  I'm going to push myself, but not to the point where I can't function for the rest of the day (especially because I have homework and planning to do!  Yay!  I love working 7 days a week!).  We'll see how it goes.

I hate being in the position where I have to either run the distance and possibly prolong my cold or cut my run short, risking wimpiness.

Ran a warmup mile then 3 miles.  My paces for the 3 miles were 7:35, 7:40, 7:55.  I can't remember if I cooled down, so I'll leave it off my mileage.

Ran a warmup of about 1/2 mile. 

Then I got in a really good workout.  I did 400 intervals on the track (with a 200 jog in between).  All my 400s were under 1:40.  I did 10.  I felt hugely proud when I was done.

Then I did a cool down.

Now if only I was training for a short race.  I'm having a hard time coming by mileage here.

Did an easy run today.

I did 2 miles while the girls were warming up for their race today.

Then, I made the bus dropped me off at my house.  I feel so guilty, but we were driving through my town--the meet today was an hour and 15 min away from school--and I asked if they could just drop me off at home.  It saved me at least 45 min and I'll just ride with my husband to work tomorrow.  Am I terrible or what?

But I used the time I save to go out for another run.  My last mile and a half I just for some reason wanted to see what I could do.  My last mile was around 7 min.  7!  I'm ecstatic.

The most embarrassing thing happened to me while I was out.  I was running by the high school in town and I heard someone yell "hey" and saw a bunch of girls waving.  They were wearing skirts and for some reason I thought it was the dancers, who are coached by a woman I used to teach with. 

Now, keep in mind this woman is VERY short, African-American, late 50s/early 60s.

When I ran over there, I found out that not only were they yelling at me, but the one I thought was that woman was a VERY tall 16 year old (at least my eyes didn't deceive me about the fact that she was African-American). And they were tennis players.

So then I embarrassed myself even more by holding a conversation with them and embarrassed my nieces (who go to that school) by mentioning that I was related to them. 

Maybe I had sweat in my eyes.

Also, I forgot to keep note of the fact that I've been phasing in new shoes.  They feel great to run in!  I've done 24.75 miles in them.  Didn't want to wear them pretty much all last week because of the mud and rain, but now things are pretty well dried out.

Big meet today in Peoria on the state course. 

I didn't get much of a run:  I had my kids with me, but I still was able to get in a little bit.

Since I knew I wouldn't have time to get in a super long run, I did most of it faster than normal. 

After a 4 mile warmup (at about 9:30 pace), I did sets of 4 miles.  Next miles were 9:20, 8:40, 8:40, 7:40.  Last set was a little slower:  9:20, 8:57, 8:57, 8:40.  I wish I had written it down because that's about what I remember, but it may not be exact.

I did it all on a treadmill--I'm not used to running on a treadmill.  My calves were more sore than usual.

Meet day.  Mileage is approximate.

I'm stressed out lately.  There's a lot going on:  trips to Chicago (made after meets and then I drive back home the next day), papers to grade, coaching duties, other crap to get done, bills to pay, miles to run, kids to parent!  I feel like my running is affected because my cold is lingering and I've been getting stress headaches.  Running is the least important of all the things I have to do, so lately it's been getting short-changed.

I think I'm ready for the marathon, but I wish it had been last week.  I'm nervous that I won't be ready in 3 weeks.

I HAVE to get my long run in Sunday.  Then mentally, I think I'll feel better about the upcoming race.

Ran with Jamie.  He always has lots of questions about running.  It's nice to know he is committed to running faster and still wants to put in hard work.  We ran at approximately 9:00 pace--I think it was a little fast for him, but he still did it. I know he wanted to stop after about 35 minutes, but I wouldn't let him.

Today was a good run, but I feel exhausted now.  I'm just mentally drained.

2 miles running back and forth between the 1200 start and the finish. 

I don't know.  I'll say one mile.  I tried to get my JV team started on their workout and my 2 varsity teams ready for their races all at the same time.

I ran a little on the course.  Probably should have done the cool downs with at least one team, but had to juggle all 3 today.

This was my last long run before the marathon.  It tells me that miles 18 and on are going to be tough for me, but my bro and I decided that if we're still together at that point, we will finish together no matter what.

I ran for the first time with my fuel belt and it worked great.  I was able to carry everything that I needed for the first 15 miles (but note, I mixed my hammer gels with a bit of water on the suggestion of a friend, and I didn't like how that worked out, only because I don't mind the texture of the raw gel).

After 15 miles I had to stop back at the house.  Chuck even remarked that I looked like I hadn't run at all and I felt that way.  I felt great.  My sister-in-law was getting ready to take my oldest to the movies, and I stopped a little longer than I wanted so I could see him off. 

My first 15 miles were average 9:40 pace.  I started off with 10 min. pace for the first 5, about 9 min. pace for the next 5 miles (I don't know why I do that--I think I panic that I have to make up time or something) and then 9:40ish pace for the next 5. 

Then, even though my last 4 miles were still about 10 min pace, my legs felt incredibly heavy.  I don't think I would have been able to do another 4 (I thought about trying, but we decided to go to church earlier than we originally planned).  My calves felt heavy, but I elevated them for 5 min and then felt okay.

I guess I'm ready.  I know it's going to be hard and I have only 1 goal--I need to finish.

Watched Run, Fatboy, Run yesterday.  It was okay, cuter than I expected it to be.

Ran maybe a 1/2 mile at the meet today.