3rd 20 miler

This weekend I am running my third 20 mile run at Kensington.  It is amazing how the increased runs have built my confidence.  I feel ready for this marathon.

On Sept 16th I ran a half in Lansing and PRd  -2:06, shaved 13 minutes off my last half. 

woo hoo

16

 Tomorrow is a big run at Kensington...my first attempt at 16 miles.  Hope all is well.  Getting ready to eat some Pasta and Chicken, making a playlist and then packing my bag.

Temps

IT IS 101 in DETROIT...eh, yuck!  3 miles gotta run...

Training begins...

I am training for the Detroit Full Marathon as of Tuesday this week, so far 15 miles logged.  I am super excited to do this and terribly nervous.  I decided against fundraising in the interest of sanity.  I just have way too much going on and it is one of those things I had to say no to doing. 

The heat on Tuesday was 94 degrees at 9pm - total killer in Michigan with the humidity.  Today was a bit cooler. 

Done!

Sunday we ran the Rock CF half marathon on Grosse Ile. It was my favorite race yet! Beautiful. Seriously peaceful and beautiful...I will do it again.
Plus we improved our time (not quite as fast as we wanted), 10:37/min for a 2:19 finish. I think the training contributed to that - it was a good program.
I was a little depressed after (as always - not sure what to do next), but I recovered faster than usual and thought about the full marathon in October! And the serious fundraising I need to do :)

So a few short runs this week and keeping up the long runs on the weekend. I have the Martian 10K on Apr 14th and plan to do a few 5K's in May.

3rd Half this Weekend

Wendy, Will and I are running the CF Rocks Half Marathon on Grosse Ile this weekend. I am very excited and hoping for a record time. It has been beautiful weather and Sunday should offer the same.

After this, I plan to take a break from any major runs and focus on getting a training plan togetehr for the full in October. Whoo Hoo~!

A month of running

The month of Feb was full of mileage....as Wendy and I train for the half marathon on Grosse Ile March 25th. I did the Winterfest Run on Feb 9th (awesome run) and 5 miles prior to keep on my schedule. We also had the Leap Day Run this past wednesday, which was awesome. Amy, Jamie, Wendy, Will and Will's friend Gary ran it. We kicked ass on time b/c Wendy had to pee. Completed the 4 miles in 37 mins. I picked up a new pair of shoes this month as well...same Brooks I had last time. Tried some minimalist shoes, which I may purchase and start wearing on short run, but i can't imagine them on the long runs.
Oh hilarious - on a run about 2 weeks ago (Friday night) we were greeted by a racoon. We had no idea what was clawing it's way out of the woods onto Ridge Road as we passed the cemetary on our right, but when Wendy saw it's eyes she stared screaming, then we couldn't stop. It was scary, but almost immediately hilarious. We also heard a pack of Coyotes this month in Cherry hill Village. taht is a sound I don't want to hear again - very eerie.

gearing up...

Signed up and ready for 2012! March 25th 1/2 Marathon on Grosse Ile and full marathon in Detroit in October. 8 miles this morning and feeling strong.

Dec Runs

The cold has finally gotten to a place I remember from last year. Last night the wind chill was 23 degrees. I love it. Bring on the cold weather for running! I am in love with all the Christmas lights. What will happen in January - deep depression? They are especially beautiful in Cherry Hill Village. The holiday food is taking a toll though and running doesn't seem to be enough. I think January will also bring a need for major pilates. Maybe it is lack of a goal. For the first time in a year, I have no plans for a race. It is weird!

Turkey Trot

Would it be thanksgiving without one? We are running the trot in Canton. So bummed that Leo can't run. We are having his irregular heartbeat looked into, but the Dr said he shouldn't run until we know what is going on definitively. We are going to walk to kids mile together, then I'll run the 5K with Will & Wendy. Just glad we can all be together.

This morning's short run was beeeeee - u - teee -ful! Serious sunshine out there. Though it wasn't even 40 degrees, I will take this day over any in the summer. Just love the crisp air and the sun. It is a great combination. And at Thanksgiving this year, I will be thankful for not only my wonderful family and friends but also all that running has given me. It is a life changer for sure.

Festival of Lights

SO I told Jamie I was not running this race this year. I had a terrible time of it last year - cold, pouring rain, solo run. But I couldn't resist and the day before the race, Jamie had us signed up. What a beautiful night - 56 degrees, we were sweating! Wendy jumped on board with us and we had a great time. I am super proud of Jamie. This was the farthest he has run and it was an accomplishment for him. Glad I could be part of that. I am so fortunate - my friends are great and so is my family!
Last night's run was a different monster all together . 33 degrees with a wind chill of 23. Brrrr. Will said he is not running again this year - and Wendy called him a name I won't write. It was a good run though. Now my throat is sore and I am afraid a cold is coming on. Yuck

Life and running

So I ran 3 miles last night solo. This has been the standard length of my weekly runs since the Freep half - and well it seems to suit me jsut fine. It was one of those runs I needed and new I needed it as soon as I started running. I needed the air and the pace and the moon (which was full). I was sick over the Penn State sex abuse scandal yesterday. It is horrible to say the least. I take this stuff to heart and it can fester and fester. By 8pm last night my blood pressure was HIGH. During mile two, the significane of it hit me (the name of the youth club where these boys went was called the second mile). Well once that hit me so did the tears. I cried and cried, yelled at the universe for its cruelty and cried some more. After about a half mile I was able to slow down and maintain my thoughts...it was in a way healing I guess. I ran for those boys and sent every ounce of good energy I had to them. I felt the reality of evil in this world. I hate that my boys live in a world where this type of thing can happen. But in the end, this is life and I will run and I will prepare my sons to live the best lives they can, because in the end we survive and we grow.

Opps, Run of the Dead

So I forgot to write about run #2, last weekend on Oct 30th I ran the 10K Run of the Dead in Southwest Detroit with Amy and Wendy. Last year this was the first 10K I ever did. Last year my time was 10:37, this year 9:47. I am super proud of this and it was a great run.

2 runs later...

Well being it a half month after the half, I should really ahve posted earlier - but life gets busy and time gets sparse.
The Half on Oct 16th was awesome. I can't really name everything that was so awesome but I will try...
Beautiful morning (Wendy's Dad dropped us off downtown, super nice Peanut!)
Was with Amy and Wendy (Wendy dropped us at mile 10 and completed the full marathon)
Ran with my iPod and it was better, not that I had realized what it would be like previously.
The Ambassador Bridge - phenomenal is all I can say. truly beautiful running up and over into Canada. I think this is the whole point of running this race. It was gorgeous. I forgot we were running uphill. I even screamed "Down river baby" as I crossed and looked to the south.
The energy of the runners was over the top!
Canada was nice all along the water with a view of the city. Someone had the best sign I have ever seen, it read "Your feet hurt because you are kicking so much ass".
We went through the tunnel at mile 6/7. Hot as Hades in there - ugh. I hated coming out too - it was like being sucked into a vacuum.
I started to tire out around mile 12...as always my confidence shakes toward the end. I have no idea why this happens, but I need to work on it. Amy had kicked into overdrive at this point. We ran around Campus Martius and crossed the finish line in 2:21. Whoo, beating my Chicago time by 4 minutes.
The very best part of this race was that Dominic and the boys were there at the end. Leo was holding a sign that said "Go Mom" and my heart melted. I love them all so much. it was the perfect ending.

We headed over to Tina's in Allen Park for breakfast with Amy/Fen and their kids. Relaxed a bit. Wendy and Will came by later in the afternoon and I got to hear about her run. What a rock star! 26.2 for her.

Later in the week, Amy called and asked, "hey next year, we do the full?"
So this blog may need to be renamed!

2 days

About this time Sunday i will be finishiong the half marathon in Detroit! the weekend is finally here. Amy and I are very excited. I don't have the anxiety this time that I did in Chicago...just hope I can do my best. It would be great to improve my time. I did 2 short fast runs this week and the awesome run on Sunday. I feel ready. Will do some pilates today and call it good.

Best Run Ever!!!!!!

This morning was seriously the best run I have ever had. 8 miles, 60 degrees, fall in Michigan and 9:46/mile. It was what I would hope for every run...just breathing, hearing my feet hit the ground and being overwhelmed by the pure joy of being ALIVE. This is why I run.

Tomorrow is the one week point before the Half Marathon in Detroit!!! I now feel more ready than I had all week. I had a 4 day stomach ache a few mediocre runs. My head is now in it and I feel better. I also did some Pilates stretching yesterday and I think that really helped a lot.

2 weeks out

The Freep half is 2 weeks from tomorrow. Looking forward to it as it gets closer - which is a good thing given my recent illness (sinus infection) and general lack of enthusiasm. I had forgotten how much I love running in the cooler weather - in fact, bring on the snow!!!!!!
Yesterday I ran 5 in Dearborn after dropping Leo off to go up north with my parents. It was really great. All the big trees and the leaves just beginning to change. The wind was pretty stron, I think highs were 40 mph yesterday - but the air was super crisp, around 50 degrees. I did not realize I was sweating until it was over. And I ran one of my faster times, 9:39.

Preparing for my eventual marathon...maybe in 2014. I nabbed a four bottle fuel belt at TJ Maxx for $9.99 - unheard of! I ran with it for a test, and really I did like it.

Jamie is out this morning, runing the 5k red october run fro Oakwood hospital. It was my first run last year. Same dreary weather, wind and rain. I am so excited that he is getting into this running thing. The more the merrier!

Lessons learned

Everything I read says you learn from every run...and as I rack up the miles I am finding this so true.

I have been in a total funk since Labor Day - not looking forward to runs, feeling exhausted and well like running is not a priority. So, when Wendy offered to watch Mateo Thursday night so I could go for a night run outdoors instead of the treadmill, I felt a little more enthused. I kicked it off hard and fast, to wind up with a terrible side cramp about .5 miles into the run. I thought - ah i will run this out....so after 4 miles at 9:30 pace I could not take another step running and had to walk 2 blocks, felt like a total failure. After berating myself, I jogged home, slowly.

Lesson, I feel the funk for a reason. probably have asked too much of myself too soon. Big cool down planned for after the Freep Half.

Last weekend at the Grosse Point run, I ran with a shin splint. I was ok - but the pain was pretty intense. Amy and I placed last out of 8 women in out age range. We had a 10:22, which I thought was pretty good - but apparently those chicks in GP are serious :)

Moving on...

Training for the FREEP half marathon began immediately...though I did need some recovery time, a week out and I was back at it.
I've had a mix of good and bad runs since then. Seems I am a little burned out, bored with the same runs and tired tired tired. Anxiety from school starting from the boys had me running poorly over the weekend and awesome on Wednesday night after it was over.
We went up north on Friday. I got a run in before we left and then ran 9 miles around lake Cadillac on Sunday. That was pretty nice. Wish there was a McDonalds to take a potty break at on every run! The lake was beautiful and the trail was great - will definitely do that again. I felt slow on the run - no GPS to tell, but overall felt pretty casual, not pushing myself. On Tuesday morning I ran 3 miles up there and it was awesome. 38 degrees - reminded me that I am a winter person, loving the cold weather to run in. It is exhilarating.
After the Kindergarten was off and the day was a success, I ran on Wednesday night. Though we are experiencing the effects of a recent hurricane, it was pouring rain and dark at 9pm when i set out - it was a fabulous run. 5 miles at 9:55, not bad for me. I am planning to run again tonight, though my legs are feeling the miles this week. Once the Freep is over, I think I will be taking it easy until the spring! Unless there is some crazy winter run that comes up.

Finish Line

We did it. Wendy and I completed the half in 2 hours and 25 minutes...never stopping. It was awesome. The first 4 miles flew by with a lot more inclines than we expected. But being in the city was so awesome...tons to look at and the crowds were amazing. It did get a little boring after mile 9, which was also when I began to push myself. It wasn't like I ever felt like I couldn't make it, but near mile 12 I felt like I could not concentrate on anything other than the end.

Crossing the finish line was awesome. They had ice soaked rags for us - much needed! Then medals and photos. We went to the American Cancer Society's tent - it was fabulous. Had a hot dog, something to drink and changed our clothes. Dominic and Will met us there. And we relaxed for a few moments. It was all pretty overwhelming.

Having the support of donors and doing this for a cause was really what made it possible. I felt so motivated and am really proud of what we can do together. Thanks everyone!