Decisions

I worry just a smidge about being too preemptively excited, but I think this will be a really good school year for me. This is my third year teaching and I feel much more together than I have in the previous years. (Which, of course, makes a lot of sense. Practice makes perfect and all.) It has been a really busy week, but very productive and promising.

It has not been as productive in the field of athletics, however, specifically running. I'm feeling remarkably almost guilt-free about this because it has been the first week of school. Guilt, and training, do kick back in this weekend though. I'm seriously considering (partially guided by your encouragement) to starting over my 365 now, instead of waiting until after the marathon. It definitely couldn't hurt, because anything is better than what I've done this week.

Maybe on September 1st. There's just something a little snappier about starting on the first day of the month instead of any old day.

Or maybe this is still a bad idea, considering I have lessons to plan and haven't even touched my grad school assignments for this week. And this scenario will continue for the next 10 months.

Thanks for the push!

I got in my 12! After slacking off for 2 weeks, I was a little worried about it. I made my Run vs. Reese's Puffs (which I ironically had a huge bowl of right after I got in from my run) earlier and then spent the rest of the afternoon otherwise occupied and waiting for the weather to cool down.

When the time tolled, I checked my email right quick before heading out. I was so surpised and happy to see I had multiple comments: encouraging me, slightly scolding me for slacking off, wanting to hear about my long run. Suddenly, I went from worried to inspired!

I bounced out onto the porch and announced to my husband, "My blogger friends are cheering me on! I can do this long run after all! See, I need them. Besides my mom, I don't have anybody in real life to get excited about me running 12 miles."

So, thank you, for holding me accountable and keeping me motivated.

It was actually a pretty good run. It's been raining all weekend so it wasn't 2 miles before I accidentally trampled through a puddle, but the wet shoes didn't bother me too much. (I did end up darting in the house real quick when I was passing it at mile 10 to change into some dry socks...by that time, it was pretty necessary.) I ended up walking a little here and there, but I feel no shame in that. I had some faster spurts too, so it kind of evened out. Overall, it was about 11 minute miles, which is about what I'm aiming for in the marathon.

After not running for 5 days, it just felt so good to be out there. I'm still contemplating the next step in my running plan and I appreciate all the suggestions and advice y'all been giving. Keep 'em coming!

This about sums it up...

An irony on my to-do list cracked me up the other day. Notice "Run," (even with the little star of importance next to it) is untouched. For about five days in a row. I did manage to pick up those Reese's Puffs though. Obviously, my priorities are a little jumbled right now.

Later today, I'm going to run at least 12 miles. Not optional. It might be ugly, but I'll let you know. I've been at school almost every day until dark and working on grad work at night. Running has fallen the way side. That's why running-every-day-no-matter-what works so well for me; if I can say, "Oh, I'll run tomorrow..." it never happens.

It will today though! There's a marathon looming in the near future.

You can't always get want you want....

...but it is indeed true, that if you try, sometimes you get what you need. (Is that on anyone else's running playlist?) Maybe a little running break might be what I need (even though it wasn't really what I wanted) right now. After Thursday's mistake, I didn't run for four days and then gave up on my long run after 5 miles today. Lazy, I know, but I'm just not stressing about it. I've been on track so far and am jumping back on this week.

I appreciate y'all not cyber-bullying me and calling me a wimp. (Feel free to at any time though. I response to different styles of coaching.) The whole "365 Days of Running" is officially on the back burner, but still on the stove! (Let's revisit this goal after the marathon, perhaps?) I'm taking this opportunity to focus more on my overall health by getting re-acquainted with my long lost friends: strength training, nutrition, and cross-training. Oh, and my bestie, Jillian Michaels, of course.

So, again, combining the Runner's World Marathon Plan with Jillian's Making the Cut, here's the schedule:

Today
Ran 5 miles
JM Day 1

Tuesday
5 miles, evening
JM Day 2

Wednesday
3 miles, MIGHT try morning before my teacher workday

Thursday
2-3 miles, right after work
JM Day 4

Friday
No Run (Seems like cheating!)
JM Day 5

Saturday
12-14 miles, first thing (Do NOT let me get by without this run! It's been busy, hot, and humid and I'm letting this week's long run go, but it cannot happen again.)

Sunday
Rest

Re-evaluating

So, Thursday was a busy day. So busy, in fact, that as I was lying in bed, seconds away from falling asleep, this thought popped into my head:

"When did I run today? Wait...I don't think I ran today. I definitely did not run, at all, today. It's one in the morning, my husband is asleep, the treadmill is piled up with clothes, and I haven't run a bit."

Instead of going into a mild panic and scheming ways to run a mile in the middle of the night (as I did the last time this happened), I just thought, "Well, there goes that." I admitted defeat, rolled over, and went to sleep.

So, in other words, I've been issued yet another fail for this challenge. (See here , here, and here.) It's not an issue of physical or mental difficulty; I don't run hard or long enough to be adversely affected by daily runs. It's a not really a time issue; even in the busiest day, I can't say that I couldn't squeeze in one 9 minute run. (Possibly in the time it takes to write a blog post or catch up on my Google Reader...) It's really a priority issue.

I've messed up this whole daily running thing so many time since April 25 that all the special is kind of washed off of it for me. I've definitely reaped benefits from all this running, but to have to start over my year now seems kind of pathetic. I'm still running, no doubt. I've got a marathon coming up, remember? I just wonder if I should shelf the whole "running every day for a year" thing for a little bit. What if I restarted the day after the marathon, with one big accomplished checked off behind me? Could I run every day of 2010? That would be a nice, neat, clear-cut goal.

Anyway, I still love the idea of this challenge and am not (as my husand and probably others do) writing it off as just an unpractical and unachievable goal. Somehow, it seems that the timing wasn't quite right this time. What do y'all think?

Sit and Reach

Remember those "Presidential Fitness Awards" you could earn in elementary school by being a mad-fit child? You had to run a fast mile, speedy sprints, stretch, complete a ridiculous amount of sit-ups (yes, I remember the time before they introduced "the crunch" to us as "the new sit-up") and pull-ups.

Yeah, I never was up to Presidential fitness levels.

(I was the fastest girl in the mile in 2nd grade, though. I remember being pretty proud of that. Then I broke my leg in 3rd grade and became the slightly chubby, slow girl for the remainder of my elementary and middle school years.)

I did, however, excel in the "Sit and Reach." Which was, by far, the least athletic of the challenge. You had to sit with your legs straight out in front and your feet flat against this funny box with a piece of plywood on the top. (Did everybody do this in elementary school?) Then you had to stretch your little body forward to touch your little fingers on the highest number possible on the ruler painted on the plywood.

All those years at Tilley's Dance Academy must have paid off, because I was almost always the most flexible in my class. I laughed a little (internally, of course, because I was very polite) at the fit, fast boys and girls who kicked my butt in every other category, but couldn't even reach their toes.

All this reminiscing about the Sit and Reach (what an ingenious title, by the way) is because I think I need to spend a little more time stretching now. I love yoga, pilates, ballet, and all endeavors that value stretching, but I just haven't gotten around to much of it lately. My right calf has been tightening up (strangely enough, not while running, but while doing everything else) and bothering me a bit and I think a little more stretching might just do the trick!

It's funny how easy it is to say things like that (and like that I'm going to run 4 miles in 90 weather, today...yeah, didn't happen) and how I still don't always follow through. This should be a pretty easy goal though.

Week 7 of Marathon Training

Even though haven't exactly stuck to it run by run, it has been really helpful for me to plan with the Runner's World Plan. This is my last week of summer before workdays start. Planning and structure are going to be of paramount importance in the coming weeks if I want to stay on track. So, let's see what's in store for this week....

(Oh, by the way, I still have been a total failure at my strength training. Such a failure, that I'm not going to bother with listing it in my plans for right now.)

Monday
1-2 miles, morning (hmm...that means I should probably be running right this second)

Tuesday
4 miles, morning

Wednesday
5-6 miles, morning

Thursday
1 mile, evening

Friday
3-4 miles, morning

Saturday
1 mile, whenever

Sunday
14 miles, hopefully in the morning before church

I'm considering switching my long runs to Saturday and may do so this week. We'll just see how things pan out.

P.S. I had a wonderful first anniversary with my husband in Charleston last weekend! Part of my gift to him was leaving behind my running shoes when I packed. : ) (I ran right before we left on Saturday and right after we got back on Sunday. Saturday morning, I even got to run with my friend Amy who is also training for a marathon, which was a real treat!)

Running with ID

How many of y'all run with ID? I know that I'm supposed to, but that's just one of those things I haven't got around to yet. I don't know if I should spring for the real thing, or just cram an index card with my name and my husband's phone number in my shoe.

It kind of seems like a moot point here in my husband's (small) hometown though. If I were to ever fall off the sidewalk, not see an approaching car, or get attacked by a wild cocker spaniel, I'm pretty sure I know how it would play out...

Lady who discovers me on her power walk: Oh dear! Mary Jo, there's a fallen runner in the road! Call your nephew over at the fire department!

Mary Jo whips out her cell phone and the paramedics are quickly dispatched. Mary Jo and her friend wait with me (unconscious) for them to arrive.

Mary Jo: Hmm, they say that that running is bad for you. Bad for your knees, too. My cousin's uncle that lived up North was all into that running mess and, bless his heart, died from a heart attack while he was running. It's unnatural, Thelma.

Thelma: Goodness, isn't she ________'s wife?

Mary Jo: I knew she was familiar! ________, from church is his mama. Call Derb and have him get their number from the Presbyterian church directory. Let her know to meet us at the hospital.

By this time, the volunteer fire department paramedics have arrived and Thelma is on the phone.

Paramedic 1: Alright, what we got here? Oh! I've seen her before, but she's not from around here.

Paramedic 2: Oh yeah...she's married to ______________. Remember, I used to date his cousin in high school?

Thelma: Oh, you mean ________________. She's such a sweet girl, how's her daddy doing?

By this time, they've loaded me up in the ambulance and the whole town, including my husband, in-laws, friends, and church circle have been notified. It's a closed case.

So it seems a little silly to worry about being Jane Doe here, but I do occasionally escape from this small town. Maybe I'll order the Road ID after all.

Just Running Along

I really have nothing new or exciting going on right now. My trip home to visit family and friends was so good for me and now I'm very happy to be back in my own house with my husband.

I'm just very content.

I'm running along. I'm feeling like this marathon is really possible now. Just 9 more weeks to stick to my training schedule.

*By the way, I've been tagged by Maggie at It is Everlasting in my very first blog tag. I feel like a 3rd grader who just got invited to my first slumber party by one of the cool girls! : ) Unfortunately, I don't feel like I can jump full into this one, but I did post a response on her original post.*

Week 6 of Marathon Training

I've been slightly off my Runner's World marathon training schedule for the past two weeks, but I'm still really pleased with my progress. Without even planning to, I accomplished a past goal I had almost forgotten: to run from the pool (where I used to lifeguard) home.

My mom and I wanted to get in a long run and didn't want to go out and back. (Sometimes I get wimpy on out and back runs and just want to turn around early.) We had this great plan that my sisters would drive us to town and dump us out of the van. Then we'd run home. So we got on g-map pedometer and mapped out our course and it just happened to start on the road of the pool. So, there we were dumped, and we ran. It was hot and hilly, but through some really beautiful backroads. It's so flat where I live now that I was enchanted with the little valleys, hills, and creeks we encountered.

So, we're officially up to half the distance of a marathon! The real excitement though, is that I'm not (that) sore today! My quads are a little tight, but didn't bother me at all on my run. When the two of us ran a half marathon (for which I didn't train) in February, I was crippled for days. It was pathetic.

Anyway...here's the plan for this week. (Yes, I am starting over again with Making the Cut.)

Monday
1 mile, ran this morning

Tuesday
2 miles, evening
JM Making the Cut Day 1

Wednesday
4-5 miles, evening
JM Day 2

Thursday
1 mile, evening
JM Day 4

Friday
3-4 miles, morning
JM Day 5

Saturday
1 mile, morning

Sunday
4-5 miles, evening (My Runner's World said no long run this week and I'm not going to argue with the experts!)

July Mileage

I ran many more miles in July, but got lazy/was being careful with my knee at the end of the month. This week's plan goes up tomorrow. Marathon in 11 weeks!

July 1
5 miles, around town with Sarah

July 2
1 mile, lake in the dark

July 3
4 miles, lake

July 4
1 mile, lake, to bridge and back

July 5
3 miles, Grandma loop

July 6
1 mile, treadmill

July 7
4 miles, to McDonalds and back (no, I did not stop in to eat)

July 8 (or The-Date-That-Must-Be-Not-Named)
0...........

July 9
2.5 miles

July 10
1 mile, lake

July 11
2.5 miles, to State Park and back, with Mom and Becca

July 12
7 miles, to bridge and back, to Dale's and back, with Mom

July 13
1 mile, treadmill

July 14
3 miles, Grandma Loop

July 15
2 miles, downtown

July 16
1 mile, courthouse loop

July 17
1 mile, treadmill

July 18
10 miles, to Lowes and back, Edgewood Circle, around the other side of town

July 19
1 mile, treadmill

July 20
1 mile, Madison St.

July 21
1 mile, treadmill

July 22
1 mile, courthouse loop...still taking it easy to see what my knee's going to do

July 23
1 mile, up and down my parents' driveway in the dark with Josie

July 24
2 miles, end of the road and back with Josie

July 25
3 miles, Salisbury Greenway 5K with mom and sisters

July 26
2 miles, hot, tired

July 27
8 miles, to Cool Springs Rd and back with a few additional detours

July 28
1 mile, YMCA

July 29
3 miles, turning around right before the house with the scary dogs...lousy run

July 30
1 mile, to Grandma's and back

July 31
1 mile, up the road, ended up at Grandma's in dark

July Total: 76 miles
June Total: 50.5 miles
May Total: 43.5 miles
Total Since May 13th (Run 1 of 365): 164.5 miles

Crocheted Hangers and Four Wheeler Rides

If the title didn't clue you in, this will kind of be all over the place.

First and foremost, happy birthday to Maddox! One of my good friends, Stephanie, gave birth (after a looong wait) today and I cannot wait to see her and the baby tomorrow! I've known Stephanie since middle school and I'm so happy that she became a mom today.

I didn't head out for my run until sorta late this evening. When I'm out here in the country, I really prefer running in the evening. It's cool, the frogs and crickets are coming out, the sun is setting...it just makes for a lovely run.

The only problem is that dark comes shortly after evening (you'd think I'd catch onto that) and I end up at my grandma's house after only 1 mile with no visible path home. (I was glad I came when I did though because my 83-year-old grandma was teetering on a step stool trying to disarm the low-battery-beeping of the smoke detector with a butter knife. My grandma is in better shape and a better engineer than at least 80 percent of the people I know, but that was a tricky battery to remove, even for me.)

Besides the satisfaction of taking out the batteries fixing the smoke detector and visiting with my grandma, there was even another reward: my newest set of Aunt Mabel crocheted hangers!

Hate away, but I love these things. I've previously received these from my Great Aunt Mabel at graduations and my bridal shower (while watching my jealous friends snicker in the background) and they are actually really useful for tank tops and dresses and whatnot.

The really cherry on the top of all this excitement, however, was getting to hitch a ride back home with my dad. I haven't ridden on my spot on the back of the four wheeler (backwards, legs hanging off the back, warm from the exhaust) in a long time. It's funny how something like that can instantly make you feel 7 years old again.

All in all, obviously, I had a very productive run. Let's hope all this goofing around doesn't bite me when I go for 11 miles on Sunday.

Running Blahs

With the exception of two really fantastic runs, I've kind of had the workout blahs for a couple of weeks. My strength training as been sporadic (sorry, Jillian Michaels) and some of my runs have just been plain pathetic. I ended up walking a good part of the second half of my run yesterday. Not because I was really winded or in pain or anything...just hot, lazy, tired.

I think know I need to lose some weight. I purposefully have shifted my thinking over the years and do not equate running with losing weight. When I'm just worried about calories, running becomes such a chore and I hate it. I did think, however, that, just by the wayside, I would drop a few pounds when I got serious about running again (as I always have in the past). That would be a no. A definite no. Which is just a teensy bit discouraging.

However, like I just said, running is not about weight loss for me. Ironically though, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to lose some weight to continue meeting my running goals. Being 20 pounds overweight means there are 20 extra pounds I have to carry every single mile I run. (Anybody see any light shed on knee issues?) It's like carrying a small toddler with me on an 8 mile run...it just doesn't make sense. How much faster could I be if I put down that darn toddler?

So, as I start building my distance, I'm going to see if I can't help myself out by dropping some weight along the way. Anything to make a long run easier, right? : )

Yesterday, on my run, I saw...

• Josie choosing to run with me instead of Leslie because I'm much slower her favorite.
• (and smelled) a deer in the ditch that had been decomposing for at least 3 days.
• Josie almost attack a pack of cats.
• my elementary school best friend's mom.
• a pack of dogs almost attack Josie. (Karma?)
• a long, creepy, brown snake skin right in time to prevent me stepping on it.
• my little sister a good half-mile (or more) ahead of me at the turnaround.
• a dead snake in the road.
• the sun go down.
• my uncle in his driveway and darted behind some corn so I wouldn't get the no-running-in-the-dark lecture.
• a beautiful display of heat lightning in the distance.
• my little sister (finished with her run) driving back out to see if I was okay.
• the end of the driveway, barely visible in the dark, signifying I was finished!

and I felt...great! I tried this same 8 mile run on Sunday and came back home after 2 miles: hot, tired, and defeated. It's amazing what a difference a day can make.

Send your prayers, thoughts, love to Stellan.

I'm running in a little while, but everytime I get onto blogger, I'm drawn back to My Charming Kids. I've been following this mom and family for a few months and have gotten kind of attached (like literally thousands of others across the world). Stellan, the baby of the family, is very, very sick right now and needs prayers and thoughts. I'll update my running tomorrow, but right now I just feel like this little guy needs as much love as he can get.

I'm back!

My last 5K was in April, right before I started this whole daily running thing. My time was pretty horrific and I am still too embarrassed to even list it here. Over the years, I'll go in and out of running shape, but I'm rarely THAT out of shape.

Today was a fresh start. We ran the Salisbury Greenway 5K and I was determined to make a better showing. I started out stronger than I had planned and was shocked and delighted to hear 7:55 at my first split. The turnaround was shortly after that.

I've always liked out and back races because you get to see almost everybody else running: the really fast ahead of you on their way back, and those behind you when you're on your second leg. (It's especially fun when get to see your speedster little sister among the top 3 women and feel ridiculously proud.)

My mom was ahead of me when we started the race, but I was pretty sure I had passed her in the first mile. After the turnaround, I kept looking for her among the approaching runners. She had killed me at that last 5K so I really hoped to see her behind me. When I spotted her, and she saw me, ahead, she called out to me, "You're back!"

And, indeed, I feel like I'm back, running wise. My knee did not bother me at all, I came through mile 2 at 16:25, and finished in 25:25! That might be a post-high school PR for me... I need to comb through my mom's racing journal to find all my old times.

So, I'm happy! Let's hope for as much success with my long run tomorrow!

Running Company

So, I've arrived in my homeland. Although I miss my husband already, I'm just over-the-top excited about all the splendors of home, which include, but are not limited to: time with my family and friends, open countryside, the YMCA, running partners, easy access to shopping, a diet coke supply that someone else purchased, and just feeling like a kid, basically.

Ironically, my first available running partner has not been either of my sisters or mom. This runner is both a speed and endurance champion, but is easily distracted by cows and passing cars. She would (and has) put herself in danger to protect me from wild animals and mean pets (and in full disclosure, loves to destroy adorable woodland creatures as well). She doesn't mind long runs, short runs, night runs, early runs, forest runs through creeks, pasture runs through manure, or even up-and-down-the-driveway runs. Who is this dexterous runner?

Josie, of course.

I can't believe I'm going to wear this.

I know I said I'd get back to my training plan today, but....I've been all over the place today getting ready for my trip home and haven't got out the door to run yet. Instead of getting in a run now and having to shower/make-up/dry-hair again before leaving, I'm just going to resign myself to a late night treadmill run. I'm going to a bachelorette party and probably won't get home until late, but my parents' treadmill is in the basement, so it'll be alright.

Speaking of this bachelorette party...I'm very excited to see Kelsey, the bride, and a few of my other friends from college. I recieved the invitation about a month ago in the mail and was so glad that I would be able to attend. What cracks me up though is the follow up email about the party that I recieved last week:

"I forgot to include one vital piece of info in the bachelorette invitation... The party is going to have a Golf Pros and Tennis Hoes theme."

I have no idea whatever happened to my high school tennis outfits and I'm not sure they quite qualify as "tennis hoe" appareal anyways, so I dug through my closet for an outfit. The best thing I could come up with is my running skort, some random top, and heels. This makes me laugh just thinking about the combination. It's pretty ridiculous and I'm definitely packing it and putting it on when I get there (as opposed to driving halfway across the state in that get-up).

plusequals.....?

I'll let you know.

This is why I love blogging.

Something happened today that makes me smile. One of my friends from college, who I haven't seen since graduation, facebooked to tell me she was starting her own running blog after seeing mine! In the blogosphere, this feels like the ultimate compliment. : )

I've been running and blogging together now for about 3 months and it has been such a blessing to me. This little blog (well, really, you lovely people who stop by to read) motivates me daily. I'm planning and running more thoughtfully and staying (mostly) on track with my training goals.

Most of all, I love the interaction I've had with other bloggers. I feel like we're all neighbors out here in this virtual world; I enjoy dropping by to see what y'all are up to and sharing a little bit of my life, too. I'm so glad that I could invite Chelsea to our neighborhood, too!

P.S. I appreciate the advice about my knee very much! I took it easy one more day and I *think* it's going to be okay. I definitely need to work more on injury prevention and I'm doing more research and incorporating your suggestions.

Being a Little Cautious

My knee was bothering me just a little during my long run on Saturday.

My knee's been bothering me just enough to scare me into short runs (read: 1 mile) the past few days.

My knee doesn't really hurt, but it's just bothering me enough to worry that it WILL hurt later.

I had to stop marathon training in 2006 because of a knee injury and I really don't want that to happen again.

I'm going to do some more research on possible causes and solutions, while remaining cautiously optimistic that maybe this will just stop.

Anybody else have this problem?