When It's All Said And Done...

This week started out being a miserable and difficult week to say the least. Last Wednesday, I decided to give myself a week off from running because my groin pain popped back up. I thought I was over that issue, but my body didn't think so. Within a month of my half marathon at Thanksgiving, panic began to set in thinking I would not be able to get in the mileage I needed in order to run a better half. On top of that, my worry increased fearing I would be "put down" long enough that I wouldn't be able to work on distance for my first full marathon. The last one takes months to prepare for and I'm in the window now.

Secondly was the fact I can't seem to narrow down a program to go by for running a full marathon. I've asked friends, read mag articles and searched online for programs until I've overloaded with data. They're all good but differ enough that I have now become confused. Well, with not being able to run each day, this gave me way too much time to worry about it causing me to become indecisive. There are races I want to participate in during this time and still being new at running distant races, I think I'm going to have to make a decision and choose something "close enough" that I can tweak to my ability, times, and racing wants. I just don't want to over-extend and do something stupid.

With that said...Ginny, I'm going to do what you said and come up with one to fit me. Of course, I'll probably ask you and others a hundred questions during this time! Bear with me because I'm a novice in this realm. ALL of your suggestions and tips have been printed and I read them all the time. They are a great help...thanks, thanks, thanks!!

Thirdly, I've been dealing with a personal problem and hope it will go away. There's nothing I can do about this one...so I worry (or try not to).

During this week off, I will say that I walked and stretched most every day and decided to do a race that we had signed up for earlier on Saturday night. Yep, our first night race. It was really fun. See this post for details.

When Thursday arrived ending my week off, I was so ready to try to run again. I hoped I could get in 3 miles of slow running beginning and ending with a mile of walking. Taking it real easy. Not being much of a walker (I'm trying so hard to do better), my run went this way: .5 mile walking, 5 miles running, ending with .6 mile walking. When I got home I worked on my core, did some weights, and stretched. I felt great-with no pain! A wonderful feeling again. Maybe my "rest" did me some good physically (though it just about killed me mentally, ha). This was going to be my only run this week until Saturday.

We had already signed up to run in the Ellisville Rotary Fest 5k Race at the Howard Tech Park. Kent and I signed up to help out so we were there around 6:40 for the 8:00 race. It was 38 when we left home. It had been windy in the park earlier this week but was still now. Thanks, Phillip, for letting us help out. There's a lot to do at races and we were thankful that we could help.

Getting the trophy table set up.

Today I ran without my Garmin or watch of any kind. I had charged it up but for some reason it must have been bumped on because it had no charge when I turned it on. So I put it back in the truck. For some reason, I felt a sense of freedom I'd not felt in a long time. By the time the race began, the sun had come up and warmed the temps to about 42...PERFECT running weather! I had changed into a long sleeve shirt and though it didn't get "hot", I wished I had left my short sleeved one on. Needless to say, it got changed when the race was over.

I felt so good running. Being a flat course made it an easy one to run faster. I wasn't feeling the slightest bit of pain and ran the best I could considering I had just come off of a week's rest. I sure did want to run harder. Frank and I ran together most of the time and he kept me informed of our pace. At the end of the race, he went on ahead. When I got where I could see the clock, I got soooo excited....I was going to get a PR!! If only I had known I was running so well, I would have sped up some and ran with Frank to get an even better time...one that would have been UNDER 26:00! My time was 26:10 and I am more than thrilled with this. As it turned out, I received the Masters Trophy!!

Neil and me with our Masters Trophies.

Kent received 2nd Place in his age group.

When all was said and done, I helped with the race, ran well, got a PR, received the Masters Trophy and left with NO pain!! What a wonderful day this has been. This week ended up being a great one!

New For Me

Well, outside of being really hurt from my fall earlier this year, this is my first time to make myself stop running totally. Though I've been running quite slow the last couple of weeks, it seems my soreness will pop back up here and there; therefore not giving it adequate time to heal as fast as it should. So after researching the "net" I've decided to take a week off from ANY running hoping this area will completely heal without putting any stress of a run on it. I've done some walking and riding my bike a little and have done more stretching than I've done in this short period than I've ever done. Although I should do more stretching on a regular basis. I am SOOOOO not flexible at all! Reckon I will ever learn to incorporate this regularly??

The only exception I made to this was a 5k we did this weekend. We had already signed up for it and I really wanted to try something different and this one was held at night. Everyone was given 2 glowsticks: one to go around your neck and the other around your wrist. When bent, these give off a glow so traffic could see you. They're kinda hard to see in these pics since it is still daylight here...



It wasn't long before this gorgeous full moon appeared. Snapped a quick one before the race. The picture does NOT do this beautiful moon justice.


The course was well marked as far as turns go, but not marked (or not seen) as far as mileage goes. They had large bright lights along the way that help provide visibility.

My plan was to run as carefully as I could so as not to destroy the time I'd already been "down" and have to start over. This meant running much slower...as far as the race itself is concerned and as far as visibility of the streets was concerned. This is, also, the first time I had not run with my iPod. There is just something about hearing my breathing and foot strikes that I do NOT like. It is so distracting to me. And since I've begun running consistently 2 years ago, I've not run without my music. I made that decision for a couple of reasons so I could be aware of traffic around me and to keep me from running a faster pace. That way I wouldn't be tempted to over-stretch the area I've been babying. My time was absolutely horrible but I was happy when I crossed the line...no pain and no strain. With no concern to winning or PR-ing this event, it really made for happy, stress-free running.

There was a band performing during this whole time that was fantastic. And, may I say not a one looked like they had graduated high school yet! They were all very young. The music AND vocals were phenomal for their age and experience. They played songs from the 70's to present and were very entertaining. This was a family time and many came to support the event. Some came in and some ran in costume. I really wished I could have gotten a picture of one child. She was dressed like a lamp with a lamp shade over her head and two holes cut out to see through and there was a light on just above the rim of the shade...soooo cute!! Especially seeing her dancing around to the music. Kinda reminded me of what you might see on an old Adams Family episode.

Barbecue sandwiches were served to runners and were delicious...yummmm! We stayed for the awards as we really enjoyed the atmosphere, music and children all around. There were 208 runners; their largest race so far. The shirts were nice tech shirts. This is the first time I wore the shirt of the race during the race. The last "runner" was in a wheelchair and pushed by another lady. Several things were amazing...it was a regular wheelchair, the woman appeared to be in her 80's and she was excited to cross the line. They got her medal and left early so I had no stats on this. Would have loved to known them. Such an inspiration from the woman that pushed her...What love! Surprisingly, we both won awards!! And, I do mean surprisingly. I won the Grandmasters and Kent won First Place in his age group. No pictures were taken at this time. But here are our awards...the first one is mine and the second is his.

Come Back Cool Temps!

This week has been a typical southern week temperature-wise. It was so nice last week only to be followed by some warmer temps. I don't mind that at all as long as the air is cool. By Friday, the temps had dropped in the low 40's again.

Monday brought some changes to my running. As I have the marathon on my mind, I'm trying to adapt to things I've not normally done. One thing is that I wore a fuel belt for the first time carrying my water with me for hydration. In the past, preparing for a half marathon, Kent has ridden his bike alongside me on my longer runs to hand me water. But this time, I wanted to be self-sufficient as much as I could be. Carried my water, GU gel, iPod and cellphone. The GU was not bad and had no idea what to expect. I got to where I could manage "whipping out" my water bottle, placed behind me, like it was a six-shooter. Got pretty good at that. The longer I ran the easier it got and then realized that it was attributed to less weight of water as I drank more and more. The belt takes some getting use to, but can be done.

Planning to do 11-12 miles, I mistakenly pressed the "start" on my Garmin twice and didn't know it. I had stopped for refreshment and thought I had started it again until I looked down and saw where it was not "clocking". Though I got my mileage correct, my husband took information I had gotten by pressing "lap" during that part of the missed run (on the way back) in order to come out with a total on time and calories. It is within a couple of seconds from being exact. He's great at figuring these kind of things. I just hated I messed this up on a long run.

Tuesday was a very busy day but had planned on a "rest" day after the long run on Monday. Wednesday, my legs felt heavy but running with Frank helped me eke out 5 recovery miles. Though I didn't restart my watch, we walked an additional mile c/d, giving me a total of 6 miles for the day.

Thursday, Kent and I ran at the Howard Tech Park for the first time, other than running the Rotary 5k race held there. It was very nice. While eating an apple and drinking our water, we sat on a bench overlooking the little pond. It was so peaceful and nice. I do think we will run there again.

On Friday I planned an easy 3-miler but I felt soooo good, mentally and physically, that I enjoyed a tempo run instead. Now that I'm running longer I don't look at 3 miles as much any more.

Earlier this week, one of my Tuesday running buddies, Catherine, contacted me to see if I would be interested in joining her and some others to run 8 miles on Saturday. I was very excited because I'm always wanting to meet other local runners. This group is preparing to run in the Jazz Half Marathon in New Orleans at the end of the month and needed to put in a distance run. As it turned out, 5 basically ran together while 2 others wanted a longer run therefore they began earlier and came in later.

I had wanted to run a 10:00 minute pace in order to prepare for running slower and longer but it didn't happen that way. I wasn't use to running roads, per se', and it was a little challenging for me. As we all spread out to a comfortable pace, I somehow ended up by myself...in the middle of the group. Using my iPod kept me at a little faster pace than planned. As it turned out, my overall pace was 9:49. I've got to work on this slower pace thingy.

When everyone was in, we enjoyed a nice hot breakfast and good fellowship. Here is a picture of those that ran. Are we not "hot" or what??


Before everyone started leaving, Ms. Caroline brought out a surprise for all of us. She had had t-shirts made with the day's info on it. "CR8" means: CR (County Road) 8, 8:00 we started and 8 miles. Is this not cool or what!!! I love the catchy saying.


And here we are all spiffy with them on. Oh yeah, to be festive, she gave us leis, too. She's so cool!


I finished the week with my best mileage yet, 34.62 miles! About 1.5 of those miles were walking. What a great way to end the week!! I'm so thankful I'm healthy.

5 = 30 !!!

Yep, 5=30. That is, 5 days of running equals (actually) 30.57 miles of running to include .5 mile of walking yesterday. Woo-hoo!! I've only run this much only once or twice and I am excited to reach this number again. Now, I'm hungry for more!!!

This has been a great week. The weather and temperatures have been perfect in the 40's with some warming up on Friday's run. I have felt fantastic running and on top of that I've not experienced pain anywhere for the first time in a long time. This has been a year of tests for me starting with my fall in February at the Mardi Gras Half Marathon. Looking forward to great fall running and a new year.

For more details of the week, see the previous post.

What More Can One Ask...

This week has been an absolutely gorgeous week with perfect weather and temps! I can hardly wait each day to don my running shoes and head out the door. The average temp when I leave the house has been 43 degrees and by the time I'm heated up it's in the low 50s. Breathing fresh, cool air makes for an exhiliarating run.

I've had mixed runs this week. Kent and I have had the pleasure of visiting with his cousin and wife from Colorado while they are in town. We've spent more time with them than we ever have before. I just love them. They are so easy to be around. And with us running every day, they have elected to join us most days. Ronnie ran Sunday morning. We joined him and Judy, as well as a local friend, Frank, for a run on Monday. As it turned out, Frank lived around the corner from Ronnie when they were kids and played together. What a coincidence! Our visiting afterwards was like a reunion.

Monday is usually my distance day because I normally take off running on Sunday so I'm good and rested for it. But this week we changed it up a bit. I ran 5 miles with Frank while Kent and Ronnie ran together. Judy walked and was able to run a tad; but she is working around a broken foot and it was braced. To begin with, she recently had knee surgery on that leg; shortly afterward, she turned her foot while at the house and broke her foot. She's doing exceptionally well considering.

On Tuesday, we headed out for my long run on the Longleaf Trace in Hattiesburg. Plans were to put in 10 miles. It's been quite a while since I've run a double-digit mile and was looking forward to it. With the weather so nice, I felt great and ended up making it an 11 mile run! I was very excited. Unfortunately, I did not plan my water breaks correctly and was quite tired, thirsty and exhausted afterward. This won't happen again. It's an experience-thing! I drank my water and stopped at a store to get a banana and shortly I was on top again and was able to relish in my accomplishment.

I passed Kent toward the end of his planned 6.5 miles and he looked great. Heat and humidity have a terrible negative affect on him because he loses so much fluid and he gets weak. But not Tuesday. When I got in he was so excited and began to tell me to ask him how he did. You know, like a kid would do...guess what I did?...guess what I did?... Throughout the last couple of weeks I've talked so much about the Rock-n-Roll Half in New Orleans last February and getting excited about doing it again that it has rubbed off on him. He's been thinking that he might could run/walk it. His run went so well, too, that he extended his 6.5 to 8.5 miles!! We were both stoked! He is beginning to see that the Half may be something he can accomplish. I know he can as I've done it and, to me, it was easy because it was fun (except for my fall, which won't keep me from doing it again). The Rock-n-Roll's are a lot of fun!

I am ahead of schedule preparing for my half coming up at Thanksgiving that now I'm toying with the idea of using this time to work on doing the Full Marathon at the Rock-n-Roll! It seems to be on my mind a lot. Though I would love to run the entire thing, I will not put that pressure on me and accept walking some if I have to. Sooooo, I'm about to talk myself into doing it.

Wednesday we all met again at the Sportsplex and ran like we did on Monday. And, today Kent went to the pool while I ran quietly on the streets. It just doesn't seem like I've put in so many miles this week. And if it wasn't for our garage sale on Saturday, there would be plans to run somewhere then. I'll put in a few more miles tomorrow and that will end my mileage for the week.

I hope everyone gets a chance to get outside and do something good for your body. Please try to make some time to enjoy this wonderful, God sent season!!

SCRMC 5k

Last week was a great week in many ways. I felt so good. The weather has taken a turn for the good bringing us a very pleasant fall. I enjoyed running in the cooler temps and adding a mile each week has been working out well. In the last few weeks, we both have been strong enough to win awards in the races we have participated in. That's always so nice and such a nice thing to experience.

We both ran in the South Central Regional Medical Center (SCRMC) 5k on Saturday. It was another gorgeous day with temps in the low 50's. The sun was out and the sky was so blue. There was no wind or rain and everything was perfect for racing. I had some apprehension regarding the race. I've not raced in Laurel before and I knew this one was going to be hilly. It will be my first to race on hills. But as it went, it wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be. Still nursing this groin pain some, I didn't push my limits as I want to continue to add mileage each week and not take a chance in being laid up on the couch for a while.

Happy to be running today.

Frank is so kind to take photos at the PineBelt Pacer events. He is greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time and skill. He received 2nd Place in his age group...congrats! Also, a big "Thank You" to Charles Jackson and Terry Lawhead for running the clock for us!! We know times were accurate because they were in charge!

Around the table checking out the results.

We both received awards and were very happy about that. Kent got 2nd place in his age group and I received the GrandMasters Trophy. I was so grateful as I had prepared as best I could to run the hills.

Tom & Kent (1st & 2nd respectively)

Me with my Grandmasters Trophy...it's so purdy!!

Others that ran with us (not sure if they are all Pacers or not) are: Karen Lott, Dennis & Renee Bisnette, Gary Thornton, Serina Williamson, and Sandra Wargel. Also, running were friends, Gary & Sherri Dykes. He placed in his a/g and Sherri had a PR (I think). My Tuesday running buddy, Catherine, and her cousin, Caroline, as well as Donna and Christina ran. (I hope I didn't leave anyone else out.) Unfortunately, Karen fell when she began the climb up the brick street. She had to walk some as she hurt her knee. It was swollen and one of her fingers was cut. I hope she is better now. All in all, it was a great day...