Okay, so I've been wanting to ask what helps you all to be motivated when it is cold and dark out? I seem less happy when I start my runs and its so chilly. Eventually once I warm up and the endorphins kick in I'm happy again, but the cold is driving me crazy! Next time I know, sign up for a non-winter marathon. Haha!
But on another note, I found this week's motivation - I got my info from Disney. Just the waiver form and a pretty color booklet, but it has my race number on it. Now it's real. This is coming so fast. I can't wait but I think I'm starting to stress just a bit too!
Oh, and I don't know what's going on with my countdown. I'll try to figure it out, but if anyone knows what happened, let me know. Thanks.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Friday, November 23, 2007
Turkey day running.
I put the bird in the oven and went out for my run. I didn't have much time for the run so it was just a short one, but what a difference it makes! I could deal with my in-laws much easier after a good run. LOL!
I lowered my milage for the past few weeks (hence the relatively few posts) because after a long run a few weeks ago I felt some wierdness in my knees. Nothing serious, but I know my body and my knees were just needing a break. But, yesterday the knees felt great so I'm ready to pick the pace back up. Hopefully I'll keep up with the cross-training now that I'll be running more. I'm sure that has helped.
I think I'm just a nervous-Nelly and I don't want to work my body so hard that I do Disney and then don't run again. That's not my intention and so I want to make sure I put forth the effort and still have energy left to run after January.
I do think that with less than two months to Disney I may just suck it up and go to the gym and use the treadmill for a few runs a week to keep the knees happy. Plus, all of my speedwork has been close to the house on the pavement, so I may start going back to the track to use the more knee-friendly surface. It's just so boring running in circles.
Okay, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. As much as I don't want to be at work right now, I know I don't have to cook for another few days with all the leftovers we have, so I guess I'm happy. Haha!
I lowered my milage for the past few weeks (hence the relatively few posts) because after a long run a few weeks ago I felt some wierdness in my knees. Nothing serious, but I know my body and my knees were just needing a break. But, yesterday the knees felt great so I'm ready to pick the pace back up. Hopefully I'll keep up with the cross-training now that I'll be running more. I'm sure that has helped.
I think I'm just a nervous-Nelly and I don't want to work my body so hard that I do Disney and then don't run again. That's not my intention and so I want to make sure I put forth the effort and still have energy left to run after January.
I do think that with less than two months to Disney I may just suck it up and go to the gym and use the treadmill for a few runs a week to keep the knees happy. Plus, all of my speedwork has been close to the house on the pavement, so I may start going back to the track to use the more knee-friendly surface. It's just so boring running in circles.
Okay, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. As much as I don't want to be at work right now, I know I don't have to cook for another few days with all the leftovers we have, so I guess I'm happy. Haha!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Has it really been 9 days?
Where the heck does the time go? I am having a hard time keeping up with this thing! Sorry.
I took the weekend and did some cross training. I busted out a lot of my old workout videos and as easy as they used to be for me, this time they kicked my butt... and my abs... and my arms... and my back. I used to be able to do them and not get sore. Not this time. I've been so focused on my running that the rest of my muscles were ready for a change. Glad I did it, but glad to be back to running. I need to find the right balance. Maybe one of my easy days will become a cross train day.
It's just so hard to convince myself to cross-train. I get so focused on milage, milage, milage that I erroneously think I shouldn't take a break from the miles. I really need to work on balancing that all out.
Other than that. Training is going well. I'm excited because my most recent Disney e-mail said they are sending out packets by the 16th. That's tomorrow! Wohoo!!!
On a sad note, my two biggest fans have said they are not going to be able to come to Disney. That makes me sad, but I also am trying to figure out how to budget the cost of the trip. Disney is not a cheap place, so I also may need to rethink if I can really afford it. What a tough decision!
I took the weekend and did some cross training. I busted out a lot of my old workout videos and as easy as they used to be for me, this time they kicked my butt... and my abs... and my arms... and my back. I used to be able to do them and not get sore. Not this time. I've been so focused on my running that the rest of my muscles were ready for a change. Glad I did it, but glad to be back to running. I need to find the right balance. Maybe one of my easy days will become a cross train day.
It's just so hard to convince myself to cross-train. I get so focused on milage, milage, milage that I erroneously think I shouldn't take a break from the miles. I really need to work on balancing that all out.
Other than that. Training is going well. I'm excited because my most recent Disney e-mail said they are sending out packets by the 16th. That's tomorrow! Wohoo!!!
On a sad note, my two biggest fans have said they are not going to be able to come to Disney. That makes me sad, but I also am trying to figure out how to budget the cost of the trip. Disney is not a cheap place, so I also may need to rethink if I can really afford it. What a tough decision!
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Trying to fit it all in.
My mom recently purchased a book for me from a used book store. It's a book about women's running co-authored by Joan Benoit Samuelson. Name sound familiar? If not, it should. I was born and raised in Maine, which happens to be where she is from. She is a distance runner and has held a ton of records in her career. Even won a gold medal in the marathon in the Olympics. I grew up watching her career and her accomplishments. It was amazing for a woman running in the 80's to do what she did.
The book is from 1995, but one thing that is neat about reading it is that running really doesn't change. Sure there are some things she talks about that are a bit different, and some things she doesn't talk about, but most of the advice is really great. She's so practical - really there is nothing she doesn't cover.
One thing she talks about is the progression of how you think of yourself. When you start running, you are someone who runs. After a while you gain consistency and become a runner. Then you start to want to compete and you become an athlete. I think at this point I think of myself as a runner, but maybe some day I'll become an athlete.
Also, she talks about fitting her runs in. Run to work and just carry a wet washcloth to clean up once you get there. (Made me think of Bill at Jury Duty.) Or running to the airport and having hubby pick her up on the way and cleaning up before her flight. So, in the spirit of "just fitting it in when I can" I'm going to do a random run today.
My car is in the shop (some clutch thing, but it's under warranty) and I knew I'd have to leave it there. I brought my running gear to the office. The van dropped me off at work early and I just now got the phone call that he is ready (the car's name is Fujita - it's an FJ cruiser. What other name could he have! LOL). So, I'm going to run to the dealer. It's almost lunch anyway, so I'm just skipping out a bit early. It's about 2.5 miles, nothing too long, but it'll be good to sneak a run in.
The book is from 1995, but one thing that is neat about reading it is that running really doesn't change. Sure there are some things she talks about that are a bit different, and some things she doesn't talk about, but most of the advice is really great. She's so practical - really there is nothing she doesn't cover.
One thing she talks about is the progression of how you think of yourself. When you start running, you are someone who runs. After a while you gain consistency and become a runner. Then you start to want to compete and you become an athlete. I think at this point I think of myself as a runner, but maybe some day I'll become an athlete.
Also, she talks about fitting her runs in. Run to work and just carry a wet washcloth to clean up once you get there. (Made me think of Bill at Jury Duty.) Or running to the airport and having hubby pick her up on the way and cleaning up before her flight. So, in the spirit of "just fitting it in when I can" I'm going to do a random run today.
My car is in the shop (some clutch thing, but it's under warranty) and I knew I'd have to leave it there. I brought my running gear to the office. The van dropped me off at work early and I just now got the phone call that he is ready (the car's name is Fujita - it's an FJ cruiser. What other name could he have! LOL). So, I'm going to run to the dealer. It's almost lunch anyway, so I'm just skipping out a bit early. It's about 2.5 miles, nothing too long, but it'll be good to sneak a run in.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Sorry, time flies.
Everyday I get in to the office I make a to-do list. I'm a list person. I put blog on every list. For some reason that is one that just has not been crossed off all week. Grr!
When I ran last weekend I planned my blog in my head and then never got to write it. Booh!
Okay, first things first. BOSTON RED SOX WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS 2007!!!! Yeah baby!
Had to get that out of my system.
So last Saturday was supposed to be a light 20 minute jog since Sunday was to be a long run. I haven't been running enough lately so I thought I'd do my 3.1 mile loop, even though that takes longer than 20 minutes. A few weeks ago on Runner's Lounge, the blog, Amy had asked about new tunes to download. One of the suggestions was podrunner podcasts. I finally went and downloaded some and wow! What a difference music makes! The podcasts are free on itunes and they are about an hour long. They are broken down by beats per minute and so you can decide how fast you want the music by picking the podcast with a certain number of beats per minute and kind of match it with how fast you want to run.
I thought I put on an easy one but turns out I didn't. I put on one that was a bit faster than my normal pace. I normally don't run with my ipod but this time I did. I got to where I should have turned to finish my 3 mile square (well, actually rectangle) and decided to keep going. I then got to another place to turn and kept going. By the time I did get close to the house I was at 54 minutes and so I said "why not make it an even hour?" So I kept running until I hit 1 hour (1:00:12 actually) and then stopped. Turns out it was 5.35 miles.
The great part was that I felt like I could have kept going for forever! My legs felt great, my lungs were happy. The only thing was that my brain took over and said "look lady, you've been running for an hour and Water Boy is sleeping. You need to get some fluids or you'll screw yourself over for your next run." Stinkin brain ruinin my endorphin high.
On Sunday I was pretty sore so I did do my easy 3 miles, but I loved it because the previous run was so great.
I haven't had much time to get in runs this week. I feel like I spend waaaaay too much time in the office these days, but most of the really pressing stuff has been resolved this week. But I thought the same thing last week.
I was going to run a 5k here in town this weekend, but I want to get in more milage this weekend, so I'm going to run on my own instead. I think I'm going to put my $20 registration fee away and save it for my next pair of kicks. They will be bought this month because I have a coupon. Yay Marcy!!! Gotta love the coupons.
So that's my catchup report for this week. Fairly uneventful. Now I have a ton of catching up to do with my BRF's and then I need to go home so I can run. Have a great weekend.
Oh, and did I mention that my Red Sox won the World Series? No? Well, they did.
When I ran last weekend I planned my blog in my head and then never got to write it. Booh!
Okay, first things first. BOSTON RED SOX WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS 2007!!!! Yeah baby!
Had to get that out of my system.
So last Saturday was supposed to be a light 20 minute jog since Sunday was to be a long run. I haven't been running enough lately so I thought I'd do my 3.1 mile loop, even though that takes longer than 20 minutes. A few weeks ago on Runner's Lounge, the blog, Amy had asked about new tunes to download. One of the suggestions was podrunner podcasts. I finally went and downloaded some and wow! What a difference music makes! The podcasts are free on itunes and they are about an hour long. They are broken down by beats per minute and so you can decide how fast you want the music by picking the podcast with a certain number of beats per minute and kind of match it with how fast you want to run.
I thought I put on an easy one but turns out I didn't. I put on one that was a bit faster than my normal pace. I normally don't run with my ipod but this time I did. I got to where I should have turned to finish my 3 mile square (well, actually rectangle) and decided to keep going. I then got to another place to turn and kept going. By the time I did get close to the house I was at 54 minutes and so I said "why not make it an even hour?" So I kept running until I hit 1 hour (1:00:12 actually) and then stopped. Turns out it was 5.35 miles.
The great part was that I felt like I could have kept going for forever! My legs felt great, my lungs were happy. The only thing was that my brain took over and said "look lady, you've been running for an hour and Water Boy is sleeping. You need to get some fluids or you'll screw yourself over for your next run." Stinkin brain ruinin my endorphin high.
On Sunday I was pretty sore so I did do my easy 3 miles, but I loved it because the previous run was so great.
I haven't had much time to get in runs this week. I feel like I spend waaaaay too much time in the office these days, but most of the really pressing stuff has been resolved this week. But I thought the same thing last week.
I was going to run a 5k here in town this weekend, but I want to get in more milage this weekend, so I'm going to run on my own instead. I think I'm going to put my $20 registration fee away and save it for my next pair of kicks. They will be bought this month because I have a coupon. Yay Marcy!!! Gotta love the coupons.
So that's my catchup report for this week. Fairly uneventful. Now I have a ton of catching up to do with my BRF's and then I need to go home so I can run. Have a great weekend.
Oh, and did I mention that my Red Sox won the World Series? No? Well, they did.
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