Okay, now pretend it is September 20, 2009. I'm going to get caught up one of these days!
For the most part, the tempo runs and speedwork have been going very well. They are challenging, but I can usually get them done okay. The hard ones are the long runs; and sometimes the hardest thing is finding the time to get it done.
My long run this last weekend was 16 miles. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get out there to run until Sunday afternoon. After such a beautiful day on Saturday, I had not realized Sunday was going to be so hot; 87 degrees at 2:30 in the afternoon when I started. The running itself went fairly well, I just took short walking breaks every two miles in the beginning and every mile near the end. After a cool-down and stretching, there were no leg cramps, so that was good.
D was not here this weekend, so I had to take care of water/PowerAde stops for myself. I ran on the Prairie Spirit Rail Trail south of Ottawa again, so relatively flat and on crushed gravel most of the way. I just drove ahead and put drinks at the intersections every two miles and then carried the bottles back with me. Even that part was okay, since there is a small picnic area with trashcans in Princeton. (Sorry, no recycling for those bottles)
What was kind of weird was how tired I was driving home. It was 7:00 pm when I was driving on 59 highway back to Lawrence and I kept yawning and was very drowsy. Once I got home, I just basically fell into bed and slept until the alarm woke me at 5:30 the next morning. Guess that run kinda kicked my rear! Oh well, by the end of the day on Monday I was feeling like myself again. Really there was not much choice about running in the heat, as I had other commitments the rest of the weekend. It was either run when I did, or skip the run and I was not willing to do that.
Next week is my "recovery" week, so just three easy runs; two 6-milers and one 7-mile. Never thought I would consider those to be short, easy runs, but I do now.
There is so much going on now. Fundraising is picking up and Safe Kids Kansas is being very supportive with posting links on their website and doing a special fundraiser at work! They've also been in touch with local media in Topeka. Looks like I may do a short interview on KSNT's Morning Show! That's a little scary for me, especially since it is live. At least with taped interviews, they can edit out the parts where I look/sound like a complete airhead, LOL. I guess I just need to keep reminding myself; this is not about me. It is about helping spread the message about keeping babies safe when they are sleeping; and I will do whatever I can to help get that word out!
What a blessing to be a part of such a worthwhile cause! Thank you Safe Kids Douglas County, Safe Kids Kansas, Safe Kids USA, and Safe Kids WorldWide for making this possible!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Playing "Catch Up"
Pretend it is September 14, 2009; which is when I should have written the next update.
Traveled to Washington, DC for the first time this past weekend! While I was there, I ran 20 miles for the first time in my life. Due to the tens of thousands of people in town for the 9/12 March, we decided not to try and run the actual race course. Instead, I ran on the Mount Vernon Trail, much of which is in the vicinity of the race. D rode his bike and carried water and PowerAde for me as usual. I also tried Clif Shot Blocks for the first time and really liked them much better than any of the gels I have tried.
For the first 13 - 14 miles, I was thinking it had been a very good thing to train during summer in Kansas for a race in DC in October. About mile 14 I started having trouble breathing (darn asthma anyway!) and had to take frequent walking breaks; some of them quite long. I didn't take my inhaler with me, as I had used it before running, but guess I am going to make a change and start taking it with me. The good news is, I finished the 20 miles, and was able to pick my pace back up during the last mile and finish (sorta) strong. It took awhile of walking to cool down and get rid of the leg cramps, but once they were gone, they didn't return.
On Sunday, we drove the course. The first 8 miles scared the crud out of me! I kept saying to poor D, "I'm waiting for the flat part." However, after those first 8 miles, the rest is relatively flat. If you look on the Marine Corps website, they have a virtual course, which is very cool. Having just been there, I was actually able to follow it pretty well.
The weird thing was, once I got off the plane on Friday night, I felt pretty good. No leftover yuckies from being sick on Thursday. But, right after we landed back in Kansas, my sinuses started up with the nonsense all over again! Figure that one out, since the blood tests say I have no allergies...
Although I wish the whole run had been as good as the first half, the run in DC this weekend was a pretty good confidence builder. Thinking I'm really going to be able to do this!
Traveled to Washington, DC for the first time this past weekend! While I was there, I ran 20 miles for the first time in my life. Due to the tens of thousands of people in town for the 9/12 March, we decided not to try and run the actual race course. Instead, I ran on the Mount Vernon Trail, much of which is in the vicinity of the race. D rode his bike and carried water and PowerAde for me as usual. I also tried Clif Shot Blocks for the first time and really liked them much better than any of the gels I have tried.
For the first 13 - 14 miles, I was thinking it had been a very good thing to train during summer in Kansas for a race in DC in October. About mile 14 I started having trouble breathing (darn asthma anyway!) and had to take frequent walking breaks; some of them quite long. I didn't take my inhaler with me, as I had used it before running, but guess I am going to make a change and start taking it with me. The good news is, I finished the 20 miles, and was able to pick my pace back up during the last mile and finish (sorta) strong. It took awhile of walking to cool down and get rid of the leg cramps, but once they were gone, they didn't return.
On Sunday, we drove the course. The first 8 miles scared the crud out of me! I kept saying to poor D, "I'm waiting for the flat part." However, after those first 8 miles, the rest is relatively flat. If you look on the Marine Corps website, they have a virtual course, which is very cool. Having just been there, I was actually able to follow it pretty well.
The weird thing was, once I got off the plane on Friday night, I felt pretty good. No leftover yuckies from being sick on Thursday. But, right after we landed back in Kansas, my sinuses started up with the nonsense all over again! Figure that one out, since the blood tests say I have no allergies...
Although I wish the whole run had been as good as the first half, the run in DC this weekend was a pretty good confidence builder. Thinking I'm really going to be able to do this!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Training update
Despite my best intentions, it has once again been awhile since I've been able to update my blog. I will keep trying to do better!
What a great Labor Day weekend! Since I worked at the KU football game on Saturday and celebrated my birthday with family & D (at a surprise BBQ!) on Sunday, my long run was delayed until Monday. The weather was almost perfect; although a little humid, it was pretty cool and the 18-mile run felt great! Best of all - no leg cramps afterward! :-) Maybe I am finally getting this hydration thing down. Also, I got to use my new Garmin Forerunner, which was a birthday gift from D. What a wonderful training tool and a much-appreciated gift!
The one bad spot in the weekend was walking out my front door to discover someone had stolen my son's bike from my patio. Evidently they used cable cutters to cut through the lock. On my long runs, D has been riding the bike and carrying the water and PowerAde for me. There is no way I could carry that amount of liquid with me, and obviously no way to run that far without it.
I ran along the trail next to the South Lawrence trafficway, which was perfect since it is about 9 miles one-way. Since we didn't have a bike for D to ride, he dropped me off at the starting point and then drove to several spots along the trail and left bottles for me then picked them up after I had gone back through the second time. He also checked in with me several times during the run, making sure I was doing okay and encouraging me like he always does, and then picked me up when I had finished. Keep in mind this run took me a little over 3 1/2 hours. How many people are gonna give up their morning for someone else like he did?
Two other people who have been helpful are my mother and my sister since they have stayed with my grandkids a couple of times so I could do my long run. My daughter-in-law is in the Navy Reserves and the children often stay with me at least part of the time while she is gone for drills each month since my son works alternating shifts. Not thinking the kiddos could have run that far :-)
This Tuesday evening, I had my 2-mile easy run, which was on the treadmill since it was raining. Once upon a time, 2 miles was a long run for me. Now it seems like I haven't even done a workout if that is all I do, but gotta follow what the training plan says.
Also, donations are really starting to pick up, which is wonderful since we are trying to meet our goal by September 15, so SK USA will help cover a portion of the travel and lodging costs. This will help keep put more of the funds toward the Safe Sleep initiative. We are so excited about the potential to share the video statewide and maybe even to a larger area! Everything I hear about how the video production is going is very exciting. It sounds like it is going to be wonderful and I can't wait to see it!
Now I've managed to catch some kind of a virus or something; not feeling well at all today and didn't go to work. Slept most of the morning. I almost never get sick, so am not very patient when I do. I have too much to do to be sick! Guessing I don't look so good either. I wanted OJ and of course don't have any, so went to Sonic to get one. The car-hop (who sees me on a regular basis) asked if I had a bad headache or something. I'm taking good care of myself though. Really don't want to mess up my plans for this weekend, so have to get feeling better.
I am planning to fly to Washington, DC tomorrow to spend the weekend with D, who is working there right now. This weekend's run is 20 miles and my plan is to run as much as I can on the USMC marathon course! I've so been looking forward to this, have to get feeling better.
The other thing that stinks about being sick is that I missed an opportunity to be on a local radio show with John D. this morning. John visited with Hank Booth on his show, "According to the Record" on KLWN about the Safe Kids Douglas County Safe Sleep (for babies) initiative. Since I was feeling so out of it, I slept right through the show and didn't even get to listen. No doubt John did fine without me and I'm sure he also mentioned the marathon fundraiser. I just feel really bad that I couldn't do my part. This was not an opportunity that comes along every day!
Well, I'm starting to feel pretty tired again, so think I will go take a nap. Gotta get better!
What a great Labor Day weekend! Since I worked at the KU football game on Saturday and celebrated my birthday with family & D (at a surprise BBQ!) on Sunday, my long run was delayed until Monday. The weather was almost perfect; although a little humid, it was pretty cool and the 18-mile run felt great! Best of all - no leg cramps afterward! :-) Maybe I am finally getting this hydration thing down. Also, I got to use my new Garmin Forerunner, which was a birthday gift from D. What a wonderful training tool and a much-appreciated gift!
The one bad spot in the weekend was walking out my front door to discover someone had stolen my son's bike from my patio. Evidently they used cable cutters to cut through the lock. On my long runs, D has been riding the bike and carrying the water and PowerAde for me. There is no way I could carry that amount of liquid with me, and obviously no way to run that far without it.
I ran along the trail next to the South Lawrence trafficway, which was perfect since it is about 9 miles one-way. Since we didn't have a bike for D to ride, he dropped me off at the starting point and then drove to several spots along the trail and left bottles for me then picked them up after I had gone back through the second time. He also checked in with me several times during the run, making sure I was doing okay and encouraging me like he always does, and then picked me up when I had finished. Keep in mind this run took me a little over 3 1/2 hours. How many people are gonna give up their morning for someone else like he did?
Two other people who have been helpful are my mother and my sister since they have stayed with my grandkids a couple of times so I could do my long run. My daughter-in-law is in the Navy Reserves and the children often stay with me at least part of the time while she is gone for drills each month since my son works alternating shifts. Not thinking the kiddos could have run that far :-)
This Tuesday evening, I had my 2-mile easy run, which was on the treadmill since it was raining. Once upon a time, 2 miles was a long run for me. Now it seems like I haven't even done a workout if that is all I do, but gotta follow what the training plan says.
Also, donations are really starting to pick up, which is wonderful since we are trying to meet our goal by September 15, so SK USA will help cover a portion of the travel and lodging costs. This will help keep put more of the funds toward the Safe Sleep initiative. We are so excited about the potential to share the video statewide and maybe even to a larger area! Everything I hear about how the video production is going is very exciting. It sounds like it is going to be wonderful and I can't wait to see it!
Now I've managed to catch some kind of a virus or something; not feeling well at all today and didn't go to work. Slept most of the morning. I almost never get sick, so am not very patient when I do. I have too much to do to be sick! Guessing I don't look so good either. I wanted OJ and of course don't have any, so went to Sonic to get one. The car-hop (who sees me on a regular basis) asked if I had a bad headache or something. I'm taking good care of myself though. Really don't want to mess up my plans for this weekend, so have to get feeling better.
I am planning to fly to Washington, DC tomorrow to spend the weekend with D, who is working there right now. This weekend's run is 20 miles and my plan is to run as much as I can on the USMC marathon course! I've so been looking forward to this, have to get feeling better.
The other thing that stinks about being sick is that I missed an opportunity to be on a local radio show with John D. this morning. John visited with Hank Booth on his show, "According to the Record" on KLWN about the Safe Kids Douglas County Safe Sleep (for babies) initiative. Since I was feeling so out of it, I slept right through the show and didn't even get to listen. No doubt John did fine without me and I'm sure he also mentioned the marathon fundraiser. I just feel really bad that I couldn't do my part. This was not an opportunity that comes along every day!
Well, I'm starting to feel pretty tired again, so think I will go take a nap. Gotta get better!
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