Last long run...

yes, I really do have tiny feet!

Next Sunday is my half marathon in Portland!  I had 10 miles to do and I was determined to get them done at some point this weekend.

Friday night looked like this with an interesting grocery cart assortment.  I was just excited that the grocery store has Cliff Shots!

I woke up Saturday morning and my right knee {my better bad knee} was aching badly.  I learned my lesson running with Motrin in my stomach a few weeks ago so rather than subject my knee to 10 miles, I opted for the elliptical which was still a good workout.

So that left Sunday, Mother's Day, to get my 10 miles done.  It was a little tough getting up early on a weekend day but it was nice to be back home before Chaney even woke up and of course the feeling of accomplishment so early in the day was nice too. :)  I took some Motrin the night before, drank a lot of water and set my alarm.  I was out the door by 6:40 am.  I didn't eat; I just had Cliff Shot and a glass of water before I left.  I'm really starting to think I run best on a pretty much empty stomach.

I've mentioned before that we live in a great neighborhood for running.  I headed to the trail first because it's my favorite.  A .25 mile from where the trail ends are the hills.  Big hills.  I decided that I would tackle the hills and then make a loop back to the trail as my reward for making it through the hills.  That loop is almost 5 miles which works out perfectly for 10 miles.

I'm always tempted to run on the cart paths but I always resist...

I carried my Nathan water bottle {which I love, BTW} and one more Cliff Shot.  It's only a 10 oz bottle but one of the bonuses for running around a golf course are the ice cold coolers at each hole.  I'm sure the golfers didn't mind me re-filling once.

The other bonus... the bathrooms on the golf course. :)

I didn't see many people out running which was a little unusual.  I did see a few people walking their dogs who had no intention of poop scooping until the saw me coming.  Not. Cool. 

And a first, I got nipped at by a dog.  A lady was walking two small dogs on long retractable leashes.  I moved into the grass because she wasn't reeling them in.  As I ran by one of them lunged and had I not picked up my heel high and to the side, it would have gotten me.  I love dogs and I'm not scared of them.  But if there are any that I'm leery of, it's small dogs because I'm pretty sure I've read that they are the most likely to bite. 

This was one of my best runs yet which leaves me feeling pretty good about the half next weekend.  I'm still nervous and even dreamed about it all night but I guess that's pretty normal.

And because it was Mother's Day, I came home to an omelet bar, fresh fruit, hashbrowns and mimosas.  We had my husband's family over for brunch and it was wonderful.  Steve is a great cook... I would run 10 miles every Sunday to come home to that but he already told me not to get spoiled!

I hope all you moms had a wonderful Mother's Day!  I know I did. :) 

Good Distractions

So yesterday I left work a little early with the plan to let Steve pick Chaney up while I went home to change quick and go for a run.  Confession: I felt completely selfish doing this.

I was supposed to run intervals yesterday and I do that at the jr. high track.  It's a little over a mile away so I get my mile warm up running there and then I'm ready to go with the intervals.  The mile back home... not as much fun.

But then I got distracted with this beautiful trail.  I love where we live; this trail runs throughout our neighborhood.  However, I rarely run on it because there is no way in hell I'm running this in the dark.  Have you watched the Walking Dead?  There might be walkers in those trees... ;)

I'm so glad I was a little spontaneous.  I felt great when I got home and with all the structured training I've been following for my upcoming half, it was a nice break.

And besides, don't my feet look happy?? 

Today it was back to reality x-training on the elliptical and then tomorrow I have 10 miles; my last long run before the half!

To all you moms, have a wonderful Mother's Day this weekend!

It's been awhile!

New shoes to break in after Portland!

Have I stopped running?!?  No way. :)

I got a job promotion so between traveling and training for that, just about all I've had time to do is hang out with my family, work, and train for my half marathon.

I know the health benefits for running are vast but the stress relief alone has made running completely worth it to me these past several months!

Curiosity finally got the best of me and I stepped on a scale.  I'm down 30 lbs since I started running. :)  It's still just a number to me but it's measurable and it does make me smile.  I knew I had lost weight when I had to replace my work wardrobe but I honestly didn't think it would have been that much. 

Good night/morning, moon...

I've gotten over my fear of running in the dark so I'm running in the mornings now and I absolutely love it.  Running under the stars with no music while watching the sun come up is pretty much the best way to start my day.  Plus my workout is done and I feel like I can accomplish anything that comes my way the rest of the day.

After my Cowtown 10k debacle... the race I ran with what turned out to be walking pneumonia... I decided I needed a do-over at the 10k distance before my half.  I can be a bit of a headcase and so much of running is mental so a do-over was in order. :)  I beat my previous time by almost 25 minutes so that gave me a lot of confidence going into my last few weeks of training for Portland.

My hair really isn't that red.  But Steve's is.... ;)

I'm still a slow runner but I keep reminding myself that I've barely been back to running 6 months and 3 months of that was working (walking/running) up to running a solid 60 minutes straight.  So when I look at it in those terms, I've come a long way... especially for someone who had reconstructive foot surgery and was told that running might never be possible again.

Now I'm not gonna lie, being slow still frustrates me so to combat that, I've come up with a plan.  I'm a planner by nature so it's no surprise that I am finding encouragement in having a training plan that will lead to more improvements and finishing more races.  Here goes...

San Antonio Rock & Roll half  - November 17, 2013

and....

The Cowtown Marathon - February 23rd, 2014

Yes, a full marathon.  After my last one 10 years ago I was pretty sure I'd never do another one but after training injury-free for the Portland half, I've come to realize that I can listen to my body, not over-train, and actually succeed in preparing for a race.

So that's what I've been up to...  I'll try to be better about updating things around here now that my life seems to have slowed down a little bit. :)