Running on the treadmill

For the past two days I have been completing my training runs on the treadmill at the gym.  I get up early (5AM) and get to the gym in time to run 4 miles then get ready for work and make it to the office by 8AM.  You may be wondering why I'm not completing these short runs outside.  It is very simple:

• It is VERY dark out and even with my headlamp it really is hard to motivate to run in the dark.  The gym offers a very bright environment.
• Though the temps have been in the 70s the humidity has been 100% at that time in the morning.  It feels like I'm running in soup.
• There has also been a lot of fog and I'm finding that people don't drive that slow at 5AM.  After jumping into the ditch twice on my last morning run outside (last week) I decided I would stay inside on foggy mornings. (Note to my Mom: I promise I'm being very safe on my morning runs.  I do not wear my iPod so I can hear the cars coming and I have my headlamp at full force)
• A change on pace/routine/scenery.  Don't get me wrong I LOVE running outside however there are only so many routes you can make in my neighborhood and even running on the treadmill at the gym is a change of scenery.  
• People watching at 6AM at the gym can be quite interesting.  Surprising there aren't many people at my gym at that time, however a few people that are there are fun to watch.

I'm hoping there will be no fog tomorrow so I can complete my 5 miles outside, in the dark, in the morning.  The weatherman said the humidity is going to be much lower as a cold front comes in so the weather will be perfect.  Fingers crossed I will be able to just head out the front door and hit the road.

As always thank you everyone for your support and continued interest in my training.  It all motivates me to keep going and try harder.  One thing that really motivate me are your donation!  I have raised $1,790.00 of my new $2,000.00 goal.  If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation click here and visit my fundraising page.  For anyone who donates $50.00 or more I will write your name on my marathon day shirt.

Marathon Shirt Names:

Mom & Dad

Linda B.

Matt, Cheryl & Yuengling 

Jenn, Randy and Aiden Smith

George S.

Don & Candace W.

Jo Ann P.

Todd N.
Shannon & Stan K.

Ada M.

The Buckner Family

The Wooley Family

The Wolff Family

The Lemke Family

The Perret Family

The Pollitz Family

The Dunham Family

The Leslie Family

The Harris Family

The Hannon Family

Week in Review

I have not been good about blogging.  I'm still, after 13 weeks of training, trying to figure out a schedule for life and training.  Each time I get into a groove something changes and I find myself adjusting.  I go to bed at night thinking about everything we need to do the next day and wake up thinking of the same things.  I'm going to add blogging to my list of things to do because if it is on my list than I will get it done - I like crossing items off of my to do list!


So to catch everyone up here is a review of my week:


Monday - I decided to start yoga again - at home.  I did Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown video, just 30 minutes.  It was very hard and I became very aware that I have been neglecting my upper body in my work outs.  Swimming once a week is not enough.  So this coming week I will be continuing with yoga and adding weights back in.


Tuesday - 9/20 - James and my 8 year wedding anniversary!  We exchanged gifts on Sunday - he gave me my first Chargers jersey and I gave him a Kindle.  I started it with a 5 miles run in the dark at 5AM.  It was the first time I ran in the dark with my new headlamp and reflective vest.  Laugh all you want, but I run on some windy roads in my neighborhood and my neighbors aren't looking for runners that early in the morning.  After work I took Paige to soccer practice with Ian so James could go to the gym - she is getting much better.  We had a nice dinner and as a special treat Ian gave us a little extra gift - he pooped in the tub at bath time.  Luckily Paige was not in the water yet!

My new Chargers jersey!

Wednesday - I did a 5.8 mile run with Holly at lunch.  Holly is a much faster runner than I am so I did everything I could to keep her in my sight.  I actually did very well considering I finished only 2 minutes behind her with a 9:40 min/mile average.  After work Ian, Paige and I went to get Paige's bangs trimmed so she could see.  Nothing like herding kids in a hair salon after a long day at work.

Thursday - Another early start to the day with a run in the dark - 6.54 miles.  It was a very stressful day at work so James took the kids to Paige's soccer practice so I could relax a bit.


Friday - I took a 'me' day off of work and went to see 'The Help' with Ada and then had a wonderful massage which was a treat from my parents.  The massage stretched out my muscles and I felt amazing afterwards.


Saturday - The goal was to get my run out of the way before Paige's game at 9:30.  I got up early and had 11 miles done before 8:30.  Thought that sounds good, I had gotten a late started (about 30 mins) because I was trying to figure out the weather which isn't easy when it is dark outside and all weather pages are vague.  I still have another 8.5 to go when I stopped at home to reload on fluids and fuel (I was running from the house to her game as the second leg of the run).  I ran the best I could and still missed the entire game.  I arrived at the field upset, crying and frustrated with myself.  Through all of my training I promised myself I would NEVER miss time with the family, especially something like her game.  The first thing Paige said to me was, "Mom, you missed my game."  All I could do was apologize and say I would never try to run to her game again.  I did a quick 2 minutes worth of stretching then jumped in the car so we could get home in time for a playdate with the Dove kids.  This was not the smartest thing to do - I didn't stretch enough and paid for it the rest of the day.  I was stiff and really ache.  The good news is the playdate was super fun and I got to catch up with Karen for a few hours.  After dinner we played Wii - Paige was really into the boxing and had 3 KO's in a row.  James and Ian played tennis which was quite fun to watch.

James and Ian play Wii tennis

Sunday - We all went to the gym as a family!  I was able to get in my 4 mile recovery run and stretch in the sauna.  As we were leaving we got the call that Jenn, James's sister, was heading in for a c-section and her son would soon be arriving.  An hour later Aiden James joined the family at 8lbs 5oz.  I cannot tell you how excited I am to be an Aunt.  James is heading over to see him this afternoon and I'm going to go by tomorrow on my lunch break (we can't take the kids up to the 'baby' floor so we have to take turns going).  I cannot wait to hold Aiden!


So that is our week in review.   I left out a lot of the day to day stuff as I didn't want to over bore you.  I hope to blog at least 2 times during the week and once on the weekend so be sure to check back.

Fundraising Update: I have raised $1,790.00 of my new $2,000.00 goal.  If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation click here and visit my fundraising page.  For anyone who donates $50.00 or more I will write your name on my marathon day shirt.

Marathon Shirt Names:

Mom & Dad

Linda B.

Matt, Cheryl & Yuengling 

Jenn, Randy & Aiden Smith

George S.

Don & Candace W.

Jo Ann P.

Todd N.
Shannon &Stan K.

Ada M.

The Buckner Family

The Wooley Family

The Wolff Family

The Lemke Family

The Perret Family

The Pollitz Family

The Dunham Family

The Leslie Family

The Harris Family

The Hannon Family

The 'wall' came tumbling down!

Yesterdays 20.4 mile run was a hard and amazing run.  Thanks to three fellow Annapolis Strider runners I made it ALL the way to the end.  I had pre-set a plan to incorporate walking every 45 minutes and ended up throwing that completely out of the window.  This was only possible because I ran with Kathy, Rachel and another women, whose name I cannot remember, and without them I would not have made it.


The B&A trail collapsing between mile 7 and 8 (we usually turn around at mile 8.5) so we had to start the run by going over the Naval Academy Bridge, down King George Street to the Academy's Gate 1 and then back to where we started at the park.  That is right we ran the Naval Bridge twice and I cannot believe I'm going to say this - it was EASY!  I think the fact that on the way back over the sun was raising and the sky was pink, purple and blue - so beautiful.  So from here we ran to the B&A trail down to mile 6.5 and back to the start.


The woman I was running with kept the mood light, funny and were full of energy that was contagious.  I owe Kathy a HUGE THANK YOU as a few times I fell back a bit and she slowed down to stay with me and helped me catch back up, especially the last two miles which always try to take me down.  She remembered me saying (around mile 6) that I had been struggling the last two weeks and she wanted to see me break down the wall.  Boy did I!  I only walked a bit after each water stop (usually only 1 minute) and the rest was all running.  Kathy kept me talking and my mind away from letting Evil pop up (see previous blog if this sounds strange).  Around mile 14 I spotted the Donnelly family along the trail - there was a Kids Tri along part of the trail and one of her kids must have been in it.  I couldn't stop to say hi, for fear of not being able to get going again, so I yelled out and received a huge cheer back which helped me pick up my pace!  Thank you Donnelly family!!


At the end of the run I thought I could have done another 6.  I really wanted to cry when we stopped because I was so happy and overwhelmed with what I had just accomplished.  The tears were in my eyes and I had chills all over.  Instead, because I didn't want the ladies to see me cry, I just kept saying thank you and I couldn't do it without them.  Now that the wall is down I really hope it doesn't have a chance to build back up over the next 42 days.

Having raised over $1,500 I have received my race days shirt!

After my run I rushed home, got cleaned up and headed to Paige's first soccer game.  I wasn't moving very fast (and was dealing with some unexpected chaffing) but there was no way I was going to miss it.  Luckily I got there just as she was being put into the game.  Though her team did not win they had a great time!  I was very proud of Paige and her team!

Paige at the end of the game

The rest of they day is a bit of a blur for me because fatique set in and so did the soreness from my run. Because the kids had been good all week we agreed to let them have a sleepover in Paige's bed.  This lasted one hour due to the fact that they would not stop giggling and chatting.

You can see it in their eyes that there was going to be NO sleeping

Today (Sunday) has been a relaxing day with errands and cleaning.  Oh, and of course football.  James game me my anniversary gift early today - we celebrate our 8 year wedding anniversary on Tuesday!  James gave me my first Chargers jersey!!!  I have wanted one for so long.  I have been wearing it all day with the hopes they will win todays game.

CHARG - ERS!!!

As always thank you everyone for your support and continued interest in my training.  It all motivates me to keep going and try harder.  One thing that really motivate me are your donation!  I have raised $1,790.00 of my new $2,000.00 goal.  If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation click here and visit my fundraising page.  For anyone who donates $50.00 or more I will write your name on my marathon day shirt.

Marathon Shirt Names:

Mom & Dad

Linda B.

Matt, Cheryl & Yuengling 

Jenn & Randy Smith

George S.

Don & Candace W.

Jo Ann P.

Todd N.
Shannon & Stan K.

Ada M.

The Buckner Family

The Wooley Family

The Wolff Family

The Lemke Family

The Perret Family

The Pollitz Family

The Dunham Family

The Leslie Family

The Harris Family

The Hannon Family