Sunday, February 28, 2010

Seven Miles!

Today I ran seven miles. That's right. Seven miles! And let me tell you, seven miles is a loooooooong way. It actually wasn't too bad, though. My legs were shaky at the end, but the worst part was the tight muscles in my lower back. I had to walk a few times, briefly (never more than 30 seconds) so I could try to stretch those muscles.

For me, the hardest part about training is just finding the time to do it. Carving an hour out of the day for myself is pretty much impossible - even on weekends. It really, really helps to have a goal. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have made this much progress.





Saturday, February 27, 2010

A Real Training Schedule

I ran five miles today and felt really strong. It was a beautiful, sunny day - blue skies, upper 40s - and I was glad to be outside on the trail listening to Ira Glass on my iPod.

With officially eight more weeks until race day, I've adopted a formal eight-week training schedule from Runner's World. It's a straightforward and doable plan. All I have to do is stick to it, and I'll be ready for 13 miles!!!!

Friday, February 26, 2010

Bumps in the Road

Husband out of town + no backup child care + tight work deadline = no running for a week.

Things are back to normal now, and I ran 4.25 miles this morning. It's not perfect a perfect training schedule by any means, but I'm doing what I can and feeling pretty good about it!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Little By Little

I ran five miles yesterday morning around 7:30. I'm going to try to squeeze in a few more miles today once I get some work done...

The race is looming - only about eight more weeks!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Hanging On

Today's mileage: 4.6. It was one of those days when I was checking my pedometer and thinking, "That's all??" It felt like more, which is not encouraging. Motivation, where are you?

I ran in a spitting rain, which was actually not so bad once I was out the door. Tomorrow morning's agenda calls for at least three more miles. The big news: I have a running buddy! Some company should make tomorrow's pre-dawn run a little easier.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Here's the Thing...

We had snow in Nashville again on Tuesday, so the kids were home and there was no way to run outside anyway. I was sick on Wednesday, and Thursday was packed full of stuff. I hope to get on track tomorrow. Some warmer weather would help with motivation.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Movin' On Up

Today .... drumroll .... 6.5 miles!
It was cold. My legs felt heavy. I walked a few times, very briefly. I'm sure the pace was slow. But I made it about halfway through a half-marathon! This gives me some hope that I may actually be able to do this thing.


Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Two Is Better Than None

One of my boys was sick today, so I didn't get in the 3.5- or 4-mile run I had planned. But my sweet husband came home a little early so I could squeeze in a short run. I was only able to go 2 miles before it was really dark, so I had to be satisfied with that. It was better than nothing, right? And it made me feel much better.

Note: I need to invest in a reflecting vest since I seem to do most of my running in the dark - either before daybreak or at dusk. And all my winter running gear is black! Not good.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The Best-Laid Plans...

You know that saying ... something like, "If anything is certain around here, it's that nothing is certain." And so it goes with my running schedule. This time it was snow and ice that kept me homebound - and I have been pretty grumpy without my regular running time. Seriously, I can tell a difference (and so can my husband). The sidewalks and roads - and definitely the trail - have been layered with ice and snow, and I really didn't want to sprain an ankle or worse. I could have run today (temps back in the 40s - yeah!), but schools were closed, and there was just no way. You can bundle up a 2-year-old in the jogging stroller, but you can't ask a 5-year-old to run along, you know? No matter. Tomorrow should be back to normal, and I'm looking forward to getting back in the groove.