Getting back into it

Wednesday 6.25 miles/54:47/8:46 average pace

Well I'm not loving it, yet. Every run so far (since week off) has felt hard. This is tough for me, probably because I've never taken such a break in a long time. Last time I took a week off, I was probably averaging like 20 miles maybe each week. So I think it is a different effect since I was running 30-40 ish. No worries, it will take a little time, but this will get easier. :)

Anyway, my legs are feeling pretty good, it's the aerobic aspect that is lagging. Feels hard, I become winded.

I guess I should notice that I've been running quite fast, faster than I usually do easy runs. Ok, I"ll try slowing down and see if it feels better. Yay plan! :)

I'm off to Utah!

Long time no run!

Tuesday 10.00 miles/1:29:55/9:00 average pace

I ended my dry streak with a big, fat 10 miler last night. :)

At first, I was feeling tired and out of breath, and my legs felt heavy. I was talking down on myself a little, telling myself that I was out of shape, that maybe I am not cut out for distance running, etc, etc. A few miles later, I realized I hadn't been critisizing myself for a while... I was actually feeling allright. I continued on, and before I knew it I was having fun! I was feeling fast and light and happy. I guess I forgot that I ALWAYS feel like crap the first couple of miles!! I was way too hard on myself. How soon we forget. :D

Planning 8 miles with the group tonight :) then I'm heading to Utah for work Thursday and Friday. I will get in at least one short run there. Then we are headed to Yosemite for a backpacking trip this weekend! Whoo hoo!! :)

Up and Running

Friday 3.5 miles/31:43/9:04 average pace

My first run back went ok! I was in LA for work, so I just ran down the street to the local park and did a couple loops. My legs felt good and my breathing was under control, so I think the rest week didn't hurt me a bit. My left shin/knee was pretty sore all afternoon though, kinda weird.

Saturday 4.0 miles/36:48/9:12 average pace

After sleeping in and taking our sweet time, Zach and I went up to Danville and ran on the trail. It was a little warm out, but nice. My left shin/knee hurt pretty bad at first! I was kind of hobbling, and even walked for a minute. But after a half mile or so I was not hobbling and it didn't hurt. The rest of the run went great, and it does not hurt post-run at all.

TOTAL miles for the week: 7.5

ha ha!! That's gotta be some kind of record for me.

Tooth-wise, I'm doing good! I have only taken the Ibeprofin (I'm so far off with the spelling, Spell check doesn't even know what I'm trying to say!) a couple of times, and it's not hurting much at all. One of the former tooth areas started bleeding when I was cleaning it, but that didn't last long and it's been fine since. I'm able to eat most foods since I can totally chew (on one side, with the front half of my teeth... but still!). I ate pizza last night and a bagel today. :) Sure, it takes a long, long time, but I'm chewing!!

Next week I'm hoping to get a few good runs in, then we are going backpacking in Yosemite over the long weekend. Yipee!

Non-running update

I am not running yet, doctor's orders, but I am feeling pretty strong! I am back at work and just the activity (especially the walking to and from the office) has been a lot for me. I'm feeling a lot better every day, and my follow-up visit to the doctor went well. I am going to try a short run on Friday (2 or 3 miles) and then a longer, but still short, run on Saturday with Zach (5 miles?). Then next week I should be back in full force!


Also, thanks to my bestest running buddy starting her training for CIM (see her blog at http://marathonmaritza.blogspot.com/) I am officially a fan of marathon running again! :D I admit my enthusiasm had waned a bit, ok a LOT, in the past couple of months, but I'm back baby!! I cannot miss my chance to train with Maritza again and share the marathon experience with her. It sure was different when I did it alone this year.. I know I could use the motivation and encouragement this time around. Plus, she is running for charity (Train to End Stroke, where she also happens to be program director!) and I figure I can mooch a great deal of coaching and support from her group. :) I am really looking forward to this!!

I have yet to decide on a training regimine... it's a tough call. I have a couple of options:

a) just run a lot and have fun!

b) hard-core structured program

My training for my previous 2 marathons has been something in between that- a soft-core program if you will. But I think I need something different...

Right now I'm leaning towards B, with the option to quit the program when it gets old or too tough. I have a couple weeks to decide, since a 12-week program would begin September 11. In the meantime, I am going backpacking in Yosemite and turning 26. :)

Random Long Run, and toothless

Thursday 12.5 miles/1:55:59/9:17 average pace

Since I won't be running for a week or so, I thought I'd go out with a bang! Ya, it turned out a lot more bang-y than I intended... I once again underestimated the distance of the route and ended up with a 2 hour run. :D The first part of the run was gradual uphill in the hot sun, so I wasn't loving it. But the whole second half felt great - flat and shaded. My right hip was kinda sore, but not too bad, and it feels allright today. I definitely need this recovery week now!

so I may as well call it:

TOTAL miles for this week: 24.5 miles

Not bad for 3 days of running!


ALSO.... I got my wisdom teeth out!! :) It wasn't so bad after all. I was pretty sore right after, after I woke up from the anestesia and before the motrin kicked in. But I'm feeling ok now! My face isn't swelling yet, because I've kept it iced. So we'll see how I do the next couple of days. So far all I've had to eat was a little 7-up and a milkshake. Maybe having some luke-warm tomato soup for "dinner." Boooo liquid/soft food diet!

Easy Wednesday

Wednesday 4.00 miles/35:39/8:53 average pace

Decided to do a short run last night, and it felt ok. My right hip is a little sore still and I was very tired. I'm actually really looking forward to a week off. Tonight I'll go on a longer run and then go out for dinner. Then starting tonight at midnight I have to fast till my wisdom teeth surgery tomorrow morning, and then I won't be able to really eat anything for at least a couple of days. :( I'm hungry just thinking about it!!!

More Errand Running

Tuesday 8.00 miles/1:09:24/8:41 average pace

I ran to the pharmacy and back, plus a little running while my prescription got filled. The pace felt really good! My hips and hamstrings are pretty sore, which is why I did not run on Monday.
Planning on a short group run tonight (5-6 miles) then a longer run tomorrow. Then I am off for a week while I heal from my wisdom tooth-ectomy. I think I need it though, I'm feeling pretty run down these days!

Library and back

Sunday 2.00 miles/19:00/9:30 average pace

Zach and I ran to the library and back, a mile each way (plus some walking). Otherwise had a very restful day! Glad to be home.

TOTAL miles for the week: 33.14


Oh, and I forgot to mention the final runner count for Helena was 9 males and 12 females. Missoula had a lot more runners than that!

Also, I found that Missoula sits at an elevation of about 3100 ft versus Helena's 4400! I'm not sure I noticed a difference though. I did notice the lovely humid sea-level air here though. ahhhh.

Garden City

Friday 7.00 miles/1:05:39/9:15 average pace

On my last day in Montana I had the privelege of running along the Clark Fork River in Missoula. The path follows the river through town, where I saw fly fisherman and kayakers, by the university, then out of town to the east into the Kim Williams nature area. It was absolutely gorgeous.

We arrived home a little bit ago and I already miss Montana a lot. But I am also renewed in my appriciation of this state and all the beautiful places to run and hike here. Sure it's a dense city and the wilderness is hiding, but it's out there and I'll find it. :)

Tour de Helena

Wednesday 8.50 miles/1:20:10/9:26 average pace

Once again with my dad by my side we took on Helena. To Downtown, up broadway, past the Capital, and then on a super hilly loop through the neighborhoods over on the east side. We just kept going up and up! My right hip was hurting a little, but not too bad. Finally we headed back down to the house. It was definitely the most difficult run of the week with all that climbing.

Then we refueled with Zach's favorite Taco Pizza from Godfathers. :) We also visited the Montana Historcial Society museum today which was very cool. Later we are off to an outdoor concert where my friend's dad will be playing. Tomorrow we leave Helena :( and head up to Missoula where we will get to see all our friends.

Runner Count: 8 males 11 females. :)

Montana Runner Count

I forgot to mention that I've excitedly counted the runners I see. So far (in 4 days) I have seen 9 female runners and 7 male runners. No repeats (believe me, I would notice). One guy was running up Mt. Helena today! Still, apparantly the chicks rule here. :) I'll keep you posted.

More Montany Adventures

Monday 7.00 miles/1:05:16/9:20 average pace

My dad joined me again for a run through the old hood! We did a big loop that covered my neighborhood, the fairgrounds, went by the old graveyard where we used to play (I know, we're sick... but it's OLD like 1800's old so pretty cool) then we circled round Carrol College and back home.

The day before (Sunday) we went canoeing and kayaking with Zach's parents and had a great time. It was so fun, I'd never kayaked before! Man were my shoulders sore yesterday though!



Tuesday 8.54 miles/1:17:25/9:05 average pace

So, my dad was allowed to sleep in this time, and I had quite an adventure by myself. I was planning a short 6 miler since we had a big hike planned and wanted to get going early. So I didn't eat anything and told my mother in law I'd be back in an hour. Well I started out running through this cool old pioneer neighborhood called Reeder's Alley, which is quite steep. I made it up the mountain to the road I ran on Saturday, and I continued down... and down... until I was 4 miles from home. This was supposed to be a SHORT run. Well I just kept going because I thought the turn was close. It wasn't. Finally I am 5 miles into my run and I am on the highway clear across town!! I figured the hills were over and the route home was more of a short cut, so I would just pick up the pace and make it back before too late. I encountered a few more obstacles (puppies chased me for a half mile and I had to get help from a random dude to shake 'em, and also I ran out of water. And I was really thirsty. And tired. And thirsty.) but I made it home. Turns out no one really noticed I was gone so long. Zach was still sleeping. :D It was a tough but fun run.

After a good breakfast we headed up to Mount Helena and hiked to the top. It is about 1150 feet gain (starting elevation 4230, peak elevation 5480) but we took it pretty slow and I guzzled a ton of water. We had a fun time and the views from the top were amazing.

I don't know what else we have in store this week, besides some more running, but I'm gonna be beat. All I know is that if I lived here I would be one rock-bodied biatch.

Runnin with my Pa

Saturday 8.00 miles/1:15:40/9:28 average pace

We made it to Montana last night... finally... after a thousand hours on the road (or so). It was a fun drive but that's a long time to spend in the car. I didn't get a great amount of sleep last night but I woke up this morning so excited to be here and even more excited to run.

I ran over to my parents house (staying at my in-laws) which is one mile. After visiting with my mom and dad and various other relatives, my dad and I headed out. He rode his bike and carried the water and I ran. We ran down the streets of my neighborhood, then around this little lake I used to swim in, then up a MONSTER f-ing hill. It was awesome. I was already breathing a little hard due to the elevation (4000 ft) although it wasn't too bad. But once we were climbing that hill I really started missing the oxygen. :D I stopped a couple times to catch my breath but I made it up (and I beat my dad who chose to walk his bike up the steep hill.. hehe). Once I was up there, boy was it worth it. We circled around the base of Mount Helena on a dirt road with beautiful views of the entire valley. Then we popped back down into the neighborhood, down steep streets and past beautiful old homes. We made it to downtown, passed the busy farmer's market, and worked our way over to the bagel shop. I was a couple blocks away from Mike and Shelly's house, so I just walked there and my dad rode back home.

It's going to be a busy and amazing trip, I'm sure. We are going canoeing and hiking, and I am definitely going to get in a few more of these adventures w/ my dad too. :)

PS No bears yet, but we did cross paths last night with a big bull elk in full velvet. Basically a horse with antlers. Incredible..

Thursday Morn

Thursday 4.5 miles/40:23/8:59 average pace

I took the last 3 days off and am feeling well-rested and recovered. This morning's run felt easy and comfortable. My knees were a little twingy and my right shin too, but that went away by the end of the run.

This week will be just a light recovery week, but next week I'm hoping to get several good runs in while I'm visiting my family in Montana. :) Stay tuned for wild stories, I just might get eaten by a bear!