Looking for my running ju-ju

Let's face it - I need to get my mojo back. Since our Team Tiara group runs have stopped, so has my motivation level. I attribute this to 2 things: 1 - the change in the weather. It's freakin' cold outside (paging Captain Obvious!) and I just don't do cold well. I know right now my friend in NYC is laughing and telling me to put on my big girl panties and deal with it; and 2- the lack of accountability with running partners. I am in a quandry here because I have one faithful running partner that can meet in the mornings and one who can meet in the evenings. My evening partner is the one who plans to do the full at Shamrock with me. In the mornings, I have issues because my membership where I shower is quickly running out (only 3 visits left) and I will not buy a gym membership just to use a shower. Plus, once the mileage for the full training ramps up, it will be very difficult to do before work. I don't want to leave anyone out who wants to train, but I've gotta get my butt back out on the road before I loose everything I've worked so hard for. Thursday morning I'm doing the Electric City Gobbler 5K and yes, my goal is under 30 minutes. After Kiawah on December 5, I am recommitting myself to training (even if I have to go it alone, but I certainly don't want to!). This will include strength training and diet. I need to get off a few pounds that have managed to adhere to my hips and thighs. So, keep an eye on my training log posted to the left and help keep me accountable. Somewhere I'm going to find that great running ju-ju.

Holy Hills Batman

I admitted earlier this weekend that I had been a slacker with my runs last week. Boy, did I feel it this morning!! The long, slow run was moved to Sunday to accomodate Drew, who had spent the week in Vegas on business. This had been decided upon at the beginning of Team Tiara. Yesterday, Christina decided to join in for the 10 mile fun fest. Good thing, because I got a message from Drew that she was stuck in the ATL with no gas to get home. This whole gas thing is crazy scary! After a BIG Bama victory, Jeff and I set the alarm for 6:00 am and went to bed. As I laid down, I realized that I had not really eaten any dinner. Not good. Worse yet, there were no Lara Bars to eat pre-run. We got up, rushed out to meet Christina at Regions Bank. The first 3 miles, I felt really good. We were on a steady, slow pace of 11:30 and I felt I could run all day at that. We stopped for water and a potty break and hit the asphalt again. At mile 6, I began to unravel. I had now been running for over an hour with no fuel, other than water and the one Sharkie I had sucked on. At the next water stop, about mile 6.5, I knew I needed to get some energy gel and all we had was Accel gel, which in the past had really affected my stomach in a bad way. Beggars can't be choosers and I took in the sweet, runny Accel. We took off up North Main Street, which I knew would not be easy. Holy Smokes! Easy wasn't even a consideration. The hill up to Earle was bad enough, but then came the LOOONNNGG hill up to Hillcrest. I had to stop and walk. I thought to myself, if I can get past this, I'll be okay. No doing - there were more hills along the route. Not having run in that area before, I didn't know what to expect. The hills were incredibly steep and long. I felt the lack of fuel in my system and my energy was draining with each step. I can't remember a time in the recent past when I've been so happy to finish a run. At mile 10, my Garmin beeped and I thanked God for letting me make it all the way. So, I had a couple of life lessons: 1- eat well the day/night before long runs and certainly eat the morning of; and, 2- get those training runs in, as much as possible. This week, I'll do my speed work on Tuesday and get in an easy run on Wednesday. We will be doing our longest run since the marathon, 12 miles, on Friday before leaving for Alabama since I'm retaking the LSAT on Saturday. I need to concentrate on eating well and getting plenty of rest this week in preparation for both the long run and the test.

Purple Rain

Okay, so it's not purple, but I felt like titling my blog after a song. It may be colorless, but it's definitely there. ALL DAY rain, very heavy at times. My morning started when the alarm went off at 5:05. I could hear the rain and that voice (you know, THAT voice) whispered for me to change the alarm and skip the speed work today. No way voice! I did that last week. So, I crawled out of bed, took out the trash and headed to the track at Greenville High School. I was somewhat surprised to see only 2 of my group members. Another one pulled up right after I did, but it was just the 4 of us. Even though it had stopped raining at that point, I guess the liquid falling from the sky kept some at home in their beds. I began my warmup and around the first lap, the rain started again. Time to do some 800s! Funny that one additional lap can make such a difference when you are doing speed work but DANG it does. First 800 in 4:34 and it started pouring rain. Not bad, considering I had run 4 miles yesterday. 1 lap of recovery. Second 800 in 4:40, still good and still raining really, really hard. I thanked God for this blessing of sending the rain we so desperately need and for allowing me the health and ability to be out running in it. Third 800 was 4:43. The intervals served their purpose - I honestly did not feel like I could do another one. My knees and ankles both felt readyy good afterward. Maybe my body is getting used to the impact again. The cankle is going down and the knee is not as stiff. I was soaking wet, my shoes were heavy, my feet sloshy and all I could do is laugh. It was much like being a kid playing out in the rain. All that was missing was a big mud puddle to jump into.

Return of the Cankle

I've been seeing a chiropractor for the pain I was having in my right knee and hip and let me tell you, he's done wonders in just three visits. I had issues with my left lower leg/ankle from January to June of this year and finally got things under control there. Or so I thought....
One of my major problems was shin splints - gone, check
Another problem was tibialis tendonitis causing major pain in my ankle and shin - gone, check
Finally, last problem was extreme swelling in my anterior ankle - gone, check .... wait a minute!! Seems as though the swelling is back. Thankfully it is not accompanied with any pain this time. So, I'm back on the ibuprofen, will ice immediately after running and stay off of it as much as I can. Let's all keep our fingers crossed and say it together, "Keep the pain away, keep the pain away".
So what that it's shorts and flip-flop weather and hard to cover up an ankle? I can live with it as long as it doesn't hurt. I mean, after all, what's hotter than a runner with a cankle?

Indoor Tracks vs. Dreadmills

I think that both are equally spawned by Satan. I slept fitfully last night, at best, and was unable to roll my butt out of bed at 5:45 this morning to run my 3.5 miles on my own. So, I decided that I would go by the gym after work and run it on the indoor track. It would allow me to have the mileage I needed for the day and yet I would not have to contend with the near-100 degree and high humidity. See, it sounds like a great idea, doesn't it? So, after a busy day at work, I changed into my Mizunos and headed to the gym, pumped up about my brillant idea. Unfortunately, this looks much better on paper (okay, computer screen) than it actually was. At least if I had been on the dreadmill, I may have been able to watch mind-numbing television. Instead, I now know what my hamster felt like as he ran around his wheel. I think that he and I probably had the same amount of progress in this overtly mundane task. Give me the road... asphalt, broken sidewalks, traffic, and the smell of exhaust. Give me the sound of feet hitting the pavement over and over again. Give me the hills. Just give me something other than a round circle over and over again. At least during intervals, I am trying to speed up and there is a purpose. So, in summary, why anyone would subject themselves to an indoor track is beyond me. But, if you can manage to put in the miles on the circle of death, more power to you!

A Fantastic Run!

Holy crow! I went out this morning to get in 3 miles. I wanted to push the pace a little bit, especially after a crappy run on Saturday. Candace wasn't there by 6:05, so I took off on my own. I told myself that I wasn't going to look at my Garmin, except when I had a lap alert. I used this time to reflect on church yesterday and I felt really great. Mile 1 = 10:20. I kept on rolling along, mainly thinking and praying. I did try to hit one sprinkler to cool down, but didn't time it right. Mile 2 = 10:04. WHAT?! 10:04 on a second mile for me? This was exciting. I felt good and strong. I passed Candace who told me that she hit her snooze button. I continued on, enjoying the rising sun and the chirping birds. I was having a great conversation with God and began to feel a bit winded. Instead of stopping to walk, I began to count in my head - this has worked numerous times for me to get my breathing under control and this morning would be no different. I had one last short hill and chomped through it, looking forward to the equally short downhill. I knew that I was getting close. I hit mile 3 and turned my Garmin to Stop. I missed the last lap alert, so wasn't sure of my final pace, but knew it must be good. My average lap pace was 10:04. In and of itself, that's fabulous for me. My goal is an under 30 minute 5K by November, and now I really believe that I can do it. You can imagine my amazement when I just downloaded my data and saw Mile 3....... at a 9:47 pace. Oh my God! I am PUMPED up!! I am too excited. I am so, so happy to get my groove back and have a good pace and not be in pain. Whooo hoooo! Everyday is better when it starts with a run!

My First 6am Run

Yesterday morning, I got up at 5:45 AM and met Candance for a run. The crazy part is, the early time to meet was MY idea. Who am I? Actually with training beginning on 7/7 for Team Tiara and our group runs will be at 6:15 am, I only have a couple of weeks to get used to the early rise time. I am on pace to get in 4 runs this week, with the Candlelight 5K tomorrow night. It's a great feeling and I can feel some of my conditioning coming back. Being injured sucked!! My pace is almost back where it was in May 2007 when I was consistently training. Next up will be adding in strength training and some yoga. But, I digress...

So, I pulled up to Westchester at 6 on the nose and Candace was waiting for me. We crawled out of our cars with sleep still in our eyes and we both wondered what the heck we were doing up and at 'em so early. We took off through our usual route. The temperature was cool and the humidity was low. The sun was rising and the birds sang their good morning tunes. We took off through our usual route and I was concerned since I had run the day before that my legs may be tired. I had not run 2 days in a row since January when the injury started. Thankfully it was not the case. I still felt good and strong. We ran for 3 miles at a consistent pace. Now it was 6:35 am and my exercise was done for the day. Candance and I agreed that we would meet on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, same as our group runs for TT. I came home to get ready for work, knowing that at 4:30pm I could come home from work and just relax. And that's something I've not been able to do in a long time and I took full advantage of it.

2 Miles

Funny how you try to argue with yourself. Even after my last post, I stood up, sat back down and said to myself, "Well, if I go out and run tonight, I really won't be able to go run early in the morning." My logical self then piped up with, "Like you'll really get up early anyway and go run". Good point. So, logic won out and I pulled on some running clothes, my trusty Bondi Band, Garmin and Road ID and drove over to Westchester. I had taken out my contacts already, so I took off my glasses and prayed that I could see enough to run. I could, but had to look at the road because everything ahead of me was fuzzy.It was still 90 degrees and humidity was high. I knew that my firt mile was fast, for me, but I felt really strong and was surprised when it turned out to be 10:11. That may be my fastest mile yet. Mile 2 was slower, but at 10:53, I'll take it. So, the moral of my day is that when you are stressed, run... and when you are really stressed, run FASTER!!

9 Freakin' Miles!

Today, I surprised myself and everyone else. I ran 9 miles. This was my longest run EVER. Yes, it was slow. Yes, it hurt. Yes, I felt that running may be overrated. BUT - when it was all said and done, it felt great. It was a huge accomplishment and I really do think that I can do the half marathon in 4 weeks. Here were some thoughts that went through my mind in the hour and fifty minutes that my body was moving:

• I can do a lot more than I give myself credit for. I may never be the fastest or the best, but I'm doing a whole lot more than I ever thought I could do;
• God is incredible and has given me so much more than I ever could deserve. One of those things is my health. I know all too well what it's like to not feel well all the time and feel much older than my age. With exercise and diet, I am feeling better than I have in a long, long time. I know it will just keep getting better;
• I wish I had not left my iPod in the car, because some jammin' music sure would have come in handy and helped to pass the time;
• I have to write a jam-up personal statement to get into law school. My undergraduate performance was less-than-stellar and I need to get the Board's attention in 2 pages or less and it has to impress;
• Ow, this hurts a lot (ok, these are thoughts I had while running);
• I am very lucky to have my husband out there with me, supporting and encouraging me every step of the way;
• It's not worth it to sweat the small stuff. I could get uptight and stressed out over every little thing, but doing that only shortens the time I have here and with my family. Not worth it!

So, next week I will tackle 10 miles. I am PUMPED up about it because I know I can do it. Once I conquer 10 miles, a half marathon will be in my sights. Tybee, here I come!

P.S. Saturday night television sucks!