ten weeks out: day 3

workout day.
let me start off by saying it rained almost all day here. so of course, the workout was in the rain. i met kris and sara at FP. the rain itself wasn't so bad and actually felt pretty good. it was all the puddles we had to run through that was the bummer. i really wanted to try to stay with kris the entire time this week and i managed to pull it off. i got really bad workout stomach afterwards, but overall, i was pleased with the workout. it was 2 min hard 1 min easy for 6 miles. plus mile and a half warm up and mile and a half cool down.

run: 9 miles
time: 1 hour 8 minutes
shoes: adidas adistar cushion (88.5)
week-to-date: 21

ten weeks out: day 2

waited to run until 7:30 pm with sara. it was STILL really hot and really sticky. it felt like running in a sauna the entire time. we ran down to wilmore park and back. it was nice to mix it up a little.

run: 5 miles
time: 40 minutes
shoes: adidas adistar cushion (79.5)
week-to-date: 12

ten weeks out: day 1

we flew back from michigan early this morning. ben and i both went home and slept for another hour and a half before heading off to work. i was surprisingly productive at work considering the lack of sleep! then the group run that evening at the store. i ran with kris and julie. they tend to get rolling pretty good sometimes, but i was able to hang with them. luckily, it wasn't too blazing hot.

run: 7 miles
time: 55 minutes
shoes: adidas adistar cushion (74.5)
week-to-date: 7

eleven weeks out: day 7

it was hard to wake up this morning! i finally got going on my long run at about 8:30. the weather was cool and a little breezy. there was a paved bike path right down the road from our hotel that goes along lake michigan for about 25 miles. i decided to do a long out-and-back. i ran out for about 56 minutes and then turned around. i got back a little faster, so i added on a few more minutes just to make sure i ran a full 14 miles. it's hard to judge what pace i'm running sometimes, so even if i'm feeling pretty good, i generally go off of 8 minute pace. i ran 1 hr 52 min. during the middle i felt some twinges in my left leg around the hip flexor/it band area. it kind of worked itself out, but i need to keep an eye on it. i wasn't used to running this long on the pavement so i blame most of it on that. all in all it was a long run to do by myself, but i got through it okay. then it was off for some fun on the lake. it ended up being much warmer in the afternoon so we went sailing, jet skiing and tubing. it was great fun! i've never done any of those things so it was a day full of firsts. i'm sure i'm going to be sore from holding on for dear life to the inner tube...

run: 14 miles
time: 1 hour 52 minutes
shoes: adidas adistar cushion (67.5)
weekly total: 47

eleven weeks out: day 6

ben and jeremy were running a one mile road race this morning in charlevoix, mi. i got in an easy 4 miles before we headed over to the race. it was a lot of fun. they have a big festival that weekend so there were tons of people lined up to watch the race. jeremy ended up second and ben ended up third. pretty good considering the high caliber of race entrants! then the rest of the day we went out on the lake and just hung out with franko, linden and desi. it was too cold to really get in the water, but it was still nice to relax.

run: 4 miles
time: 32 minutes
shoes: adidas adistar cushion (53.5)
week-to-date: 33

eleven weeks out: day 5

ben and i left for michigan early in the morning. we arrived about 8:00 or so and his buddy franko picked us up from the airport. by the time we got back into detroit and kind of settled we were ready for a nap! about 3 i finally got going to get my run in. luckily the weather was much cooler there, so it was a pleasant 78 degrees when i went for my run. i did 6 miles with 10 x 20 second pick ups in the middle. despite all the traveling, i felt pretty good. i think i'm starting to feel like my old self again on these runs.

run: 6 miles
time: 47 minutes
shoes: adidas adistar cushion (49.5)
week-to-date: 29

eleven weeks out: day 4

ran from the office again this morning. i didn't feel as bad as i thought i might considering the quick turn around from the workout. i got in an easy four then it was back to the grindstone of work.

run: 4 miles
time: 32 minutes
shoes: adidas adistar cushion (43.5)
week-to-date: 23

eleven weeks out: day 3

workout day!
as it turns out, sara and i were the only ones able to make the workout so we chose to go in the neighborhood instead of driving to FP. we left from my place and did a warm up towards carondolet park. we started the fartlek before we got there, then did two loops of the park and a little more. then cooled down the rest of the way home to make it 8 miles total. the workout was 3 min hard/2 min easy. once i got past the first two i started to feel better and ended up having a pretty good one.

run: 8 miles
time: 63 minutes
shoes: adidas adistar cushion (39.5)
week-to-date: 19

eleven weeks out: day 2

i ran before work this morning. another busy tuesday ahead with the track series this evening for work. i was not really ready for such a quick turn around since my last run. i started off pretty easy. my legs felt pretty dead from the heat yesterday, but once i got going, it got a little better.
we had a huge storm blow through last night. it woke me up. really strong winds, they were saying 80-90 mph on the news! rain came along with it, so there was a nice break in the weather this morning. i'm sure it won't last long though.

run: 4 miles
time: 32 minutes
shoes: adidas adistar cushion (31.5)
week-to-date: 11

eleven weeks out: day 1

the typical monday night group run. not too many folks showed up. probably because the temperature was about 99 degrees at 6pm. it was very very very very hot! i was going to run the 7 mile loop and was glad that sara showed up. we wore our fuel belts to help us along, mostly because it's so hot. otherwise, i would only wear it for a longer run.
the first half i actually felt pretty good and got rolling. i was really starting to feel like my old self again. by about 10 min. before i was back to the store though, i really started to feel the effects of the heat. my legs started feeling really heavy and i was beyond drenched in sweat. sara took the smarter route and hung back to a more reasonable pace. the effort for me felt significantly harder than what my watch said when i got back. i guess that's what the heat will do to you!

run: 7 miles
time: 58 minutes
shoes: adidas adistar cushion (27.5)
week-to-date: 7

twelve weeks out: day 7

we got in late last night from traveling back to st. louis. i was tired! the long run was at castlewood though, and that always makes me happy. i tried out the fuel belt today. it worked well and i was happy to have it with me. it was blazing hot, of course. luckily, the trails are pretty shaded. i ran with kris, julie and sara. kris and julie went longer, sara stopped at 80 min and i decided to add on a little more to make it 90. we were rolling pretty good for almost the entire first half of the run. i would say well under 8 minute pace. i don't know exactly how far i ran, so i'm going to call it 11.5, which i think is close!

run: 11.5 miles
time: 90 minutes
shoes: adidas adistar cushion (20.5)
weekly total: 36.5

twelve weeks out: day 6

got up and went for a 5 mile run around harrisonville. felt pretty good this morning once i got going.
then it was off to work on the wedding invitations. my dad and i worked on the formatting for the better part of the morning (we're both perfectionists) and then it was off to his office to print them out on the nice xerox machines.
then we went back over to the track to watch ben run the distance medley relay. again, they won pretty much uncontested.

run: 5 miles
time: 40 minutes
shoes: adidas adistar cushion (9)
week-to-date: 25

twelve weeks out: day 5

two meetings at work and then it was off to kansas city. i arrived about 3:30 and got in a quick 4 miles in harrisonville. i decided to try out the new shoes that ben got me from the adidas rep. they worked out well. i could tell immediately that my legs felt better.
then my mom and i headed up to olathe, ks to meet my dad and watch ben and the guys run at the club track championships. ben did well--2nd to jeremy in the 1500 and easily won the 5,000.

run: 4 miles
time: 32 minutes
shoes: adidas adistar cushion (4)
week-to-date: 20

twelve weeks out: day 4

took the day off today. i was going to make my day of this week friday, but life got busy today and it just didn't happen.

twelve weeks out: day 3

workout day. met kris & sara at FP. the workout was a fartlek: 4,3,2,1,1,2,3,4, with equal rest between. it was pretty ugly, but i got through it. i am going to be one sore person tomorrow though, i can already tell. the first workout back after any break is always rough. i knew i just had to get through it. the nagging cough is still around. i hope it goes away soon.

run: 6 miles
time: 43 minutes
shoes: brooks defyance (287.5)
week-to-date: 16

twelve weeks out: day 2

well, somehow i managed to get my non-morning-person butt out of bed this morning and run before work. it was a miracle. i almost crawled back under the covers twice, but the lingering voice of the weather man from the night before promising me that it would be 65 this morning got me going. it was probably a little warmer than that, but anything feels cool after the 95+ it's been lately. i was a little stiff at first, not used to the quick turn around, but once i got going, i felt okay. well, my legs felt okay that is, as the cough is STILL here. i've been trying to run on the grass as much as possible lately, just to help the legs out a little as i try to jump into training again. i knew it was going to be a long day at work, then headed out to the kids track series that we're putting on. didn't get home until almost 9. sheesh.

run: 4.5 miles
time: 36 minutes
shoes: brooks defyance (281.5)
week-to-date: 10

twelve weeks out: day 1

well, it's official. marathon training has begun and i am completely unprepared.
time to throw myself into it, raspy voice, cough, out-of-shape legs and all.
ran with the group run from the store. i started off with kris and sara, but they were going to do the long loop (7) and i wasn't sure i was up for that. i turned off and ran on the grass in francis. i did two and a half laps essentially. my legs felt out of shape, but okay--like i could keep going. my core felt like it was dying. i had a side cramp from coughing almost the entire time.

run: 5.5 miles
time: 43 minutes
shoes: brooks defyance (277)

week of July 7

monday 7.7
skipped today to give the hamstring a rest.

tuesday 7.8
ran an easy 3 miles, mostly on the grassy loop in francis. felt okay, but i went short because i didn't want to press my luck!

wednesday 7.9
didn't run. i had a long day at work and a doctor's appointment afterwards that lasted forever. what is it with the waiting over 2 hours just to get in! what's the point in even making an appointment.

thursday 7.10
did the grass loop around francis, this time twice around to make 4.5 on the day. legs feeling okay, but now i've caught the cold that ben had. yeah, thanks a lot.

friday 7.11
ran out at queeny park. haven't ran here in a long time. i thought it would be fun. then i remembered how hilly it is! i got in a slow 50 minutes. I'm going to call it 6. it was really hot too, which didn't help. the cold is really starting to develop now, making it hard to breathe.

saturday 7.12
really feeling bad today, going to take the day off. did manage to make it over to ellie's first birthday. it was a carnival theme and tim and angela really went all out!
jnet was in town and i felt bad that i wasn't really up for anything but a night with me and the nyquil.

sunday 7.13
met the group at FP. i knew i was going to need to start of slow. the congestion is better, but now i have a really bad cough and a raspy voice. luckily sara didn't mind starting off easy with me. once we got into the run, my legs started to feel better and we finished it off at a respectable clip. we ran 65 minutes, and i'm calling it 8.

weekly mileage: 21.5
shoes: brooks defyance (271.5)

week of June 30

Monday 6.30
stayed home from work. pretty much slept all day.

Tuesday 7.1
tried to go to work this morning. could only make it a half day. went to the doctor later that day.

Wednesday 7.2
found out i have a really bad bladder infection. after one dose of antibiotic i am already feeling better. ran an easy 3 miles.

Thursday 7.3
on the road to recovery. ran an easy 4 miles

Friday 7.4
helped out with the store's first ever one mile road race. it was a huge success. then i tried to get in a quick run before helping to tear down the finish line area. i got in 4 miles.
at some point during the day i aggravated my left hamstring. it hurts pretty bad.

Saturday 7.5
tried to go for a run and got 2 minutes down the sidewalk and my hamstring hurt so bad i had to stop. i tried to walk a little but it still felt terrible. i went back home and did some abs and arm stuff. ben tried to massage it out a little when he got back. i think it helped some, but there is definitely something wrong.
later we drove to peoria for sarah and mike's wedding. it was a good time.

Sunday 7.6
again, i tried to run, this time in peoria. it was still a no go. i took about an hour long walk (because ben was still out running). i did a little stretching. i'm starting to feel concerned. also, for some reason, i really feel like i need some new shoes. these brooks just don't seem to be doing the trick for me.

weekly total:11 miles
shoes: brooks defyance (250)