catching up on last week

Not sure why I haven't blogged at all this past week...  so here is the skinny on how it went:


Tuesday, September 14 - 
Cross training (bike) 30:00, upper body weights.  Not a completely inspired workout, but satisfied that I got up and went to the gym and completed it.  


Wednesday, September 15 - 
3 miles with the dog  = horrible.  The dog got shaved on Monday and came home looking very unfit.  He has not been running in quite a while since Dave started running at the gym and near his office.  His 10 1/2 year old skin is sagging and he is looking like Mr. Fatty Blatso, so I told him I'd take him running now that I'm faster and better than I used to be.  Ugh.  He was horrible.  We did 3 miles and he stopped a bajillion times to sniff and mark.  I'd just get into a rhythm and he would basically sit down while we were running and pull on the leash to stop.  Jerk.  I was so ticked at him by the end that I started yelling at him. I will not take him running until after the race - at that point, we will learn to run together and do lots of practicing so he can get back into it.  He used to be a good runner - according to Dave - but he is really out of practice and I'm not dealing with that crap while training, when I need to keep my confidence up.


Thursday, September 16 - nothing.  Had no motivation to do intervals, and I wanted to sleep so I stayed home.


Friday, September 17 - 3.2 miles
This is normally a cross training day, but I didn't feel like doing it or going to the gym and I didn't want to have another rest day.  Besides, I wanted a better showing that I had had on Wednesday.  Much better run, although a little more difficult than I anticipated.


Saturday, September 18 - 8.5 miles
Was supposed to meet a friend at Old Plank Trails.  I was going to run 10 and she'd drop when she was ready to be done (she normally does 5).  She didn't show up, so I went out on my own.  I did not do well.  I stopped at mile 1 to take my shirt off and that, I think, was the killer - once i stopped, i was done for.  I took a lot of walking breaks throughout and decided that my desire to do 10 even though the schedule said 8 was just being dumb, so i stuck with 8 and made myself believe that I wasn't failing by cutting 2 miles out.  Mile 6.5 - 8.5 were very difficult as I was having digestive issues and had to stop frequently to walk until I felt okay to run again, which almost immediately made me cramp up again and need to walk.  My pace was terrible because of all of that.  I've had that issue before, however, not for that long of a distance... not sure what I could have done differently.  I also felt pretty tired from the very beginning.  I started running at 6:10, but I had been up since 4 am - not sure why.  My legs also felt pretty heavy and tired, perhaps from running the day before.  It wasn't the worst run I've had, but I wouldn't place it in the good category at all.


4 and 2 next week and then the race.  After that, I'm going to work on running with the dog and doing less miles in each run, but more runs during the week.  Perhaps 3 miles/day with 5-6 on Saturday?  Not quite sure.  There is a 5k in Orland on October 2 that I'd like to run in, I need to discuss that with Dave and see what his schedule is.  I've only run one 5k and did horribly - I feel like I need to do this in order to conquer it.

Saturday August 28, 2010

Workout: 11.25 miles
Time: 1:51:35
Pace: 9:54 
Weight: 125.4
Two Years Ago

I ran at Old Plank Trail in Frankfort this morning.  What a huge difference a flat route makes - wow!  It was also nice and cool and no humidity, which also makes a big difference.


The trail is paved, wide, flat and beautiful.  And I did really, really well.  I took a break at 3 miles, 6 miles and 8 1/2 miles and walked a short bit.  By the 8 1/2 mile point, I was ready to be done - my body was over it, but I made short goals for myself and allowed a little more walking in the last 2 1/2 mile stretch and because of that, I finished the last mile very strong.  I can't believe the difference between this week and last week.  I actually feel like I could run this race and be okay.


I did not blog about it, but I also ran 6.5 miles on Thursday morning at the same pace (9:54).  It was a tough run after having done intervals the day before, but it was good.  The change in weather makes it so much more enjoyable.  AND there was an amazing sunrise that stretched across the sky from Orland all the way to Will-Cook Rd and I really focused on looking at it and appreciating it, which took my mind off of the actually physical activity that I was doing :) 


I've also been focusing on telling myself how well I'm doing and how good I'm feeling, instead of how miserable I feel.  That seems to make a big difference, too!


I'm definitely looking forward to my taper weeks and to running less mileage after the race.  I think I'm going to cut down to 3 miles a couple of times a week and maybe 5 on Saturday. That sounds like a BREEZE to me right now - I can't wait!