6 Miles in The Park

I didn't make it out with FBF yesterday. The weather report had indicated a strong chance of showers and I didn't want to get sick again. Yesterday was the first day that I felt 100%. So I went out this morning to Oyster Creek Park with the intention of doing 8 miles, but did 6 instead. The weather was fabulous - clear skies, a little wind and temperature in the high 50's. I decided that even though the schedule had the half marathoners down for 8 miles, that I had a really good reserve from my last two long races (Chicago and the 30K) and would be fine on Marathon Day. I'll do another 6 miles this coming weekend (as scheduled) and that will be that.

30 Minutes on the Treadmill Again

It was raining this morning, so I went on the treadmill for 30 minutes, integrating hills for most of the workout. I hope the weather is clear for tomorrow's long run.

30 Minutes in Fabulous Weather

I'm still not 100% so I walked for 30 minutes. It was perfect weather, sunny, crisp and cool. This Saturday's mileage is 8 and hope to be well enough to do the whole amount.

30 Minutes on the Treadmill

Our son's treadmill had been taking up space in the garage, so we decided to set it up for cold and wet days like today. I did 30 minutes with "hills" which should be a good start for Austin's course in February. I'm hoping is will be nice and clear tomorrow. I prefer being outdoors to training inside.

6 Miles in Sugar Creek

10 miles were on the agenda today, but since I want to ease back into training I thought I would do the first 6 and see how it went. Bob and I started out today with new friend Denice at 5:20am. The weather was clear and very cool. I started getting a bit congested and tired as we approached the end of the first loop so I called it quits at 6 but they continued on.
Now the challenge is to build back up with out taking it too far.

Finally After Nine Days!

I can't believe that it's been 9 days since I've been able to train. That's the longest I've gone during my 18 months of training. And it's the sickest I've been in over two years. It felt really good to get out this morning. The weather was clear, crisp and cool. I did a leisurely walk for 35 minutes. The pesky geese looked at me with a faint sense of recognition, but left me alone.
FBF is meeting tomorrow to do 10 miles. I definitely want to participate if the weather is clear, although I'll probably only do 6 to 8 miles. It's a really tricky time right now since this is the time to taper with only 4 weeks to go til Marathon Day.

Sidelined by A Cold

The cold I've been fighting finally got me down. I didn't make it out of the house on Saturday. I'd been up all night Friday, coughing, and felt horrible. Sunday and today were pretty much repeats of Saturday. I missed my long run and probably won't be able to train til late in the week, weather permitting.

30 Minutes Nice and Easy

Autumn in December

I wasn't able to get out until this afternoon. I've been pretty achy and fighting a cold since Monday. It was like a Spring afternoon, in the low 70's, not a cloud in the sky. The signs of Autumn though, were everywhere, right here in the middle of December - beautifully colored trees and falling leaves. I took a leisurely walk by the lake, going back and forth several times, enjoying the scenery.
I'm trying to figure out my game plan for my long run this weekend. The Halfers are scheduled for 12 miles, but since I did 18.5 I'm still up in the air as to my strategy.

Awesome 30K - 18.6 Miles

Me at mile 12.5

I guess since I dropped back to the half, part of me wishes I hadn't. That's why I'm so glad that I decided to do this race. It helped me to see that I was still capable of doing this kind of mileage even though some of my long runs had not been as long as they should have been. And since I was able to leave at 5:00am with the walkers, I was able to finish while the "party" was still going on. And even though it wasn't the Marathon, it was still a long race.
Steve and I started out together and stayed together for the first 10 miles, averaging about a 16 minute mile. It was nice to have company during a race for a change. I started running on my own and did 1:00/1:00 intervals for the next 5 miles. After that I turned off my lap timer and did random bouts of walking and running. I wore a thin disposable raincoat for the first 8 miles because it was drizzling. When it stopped raining, I threw it away. It started raining a bit heavier during the last 2 miles so I just got wet along with everyone else. My time was 4:48:03, not as fast as it could have been, but faster than last year's 4:51:34. I felt really good the whole time, even though my feet hurt a little (Advil took care of that). I did wind up with two blisters, one where the old monster one was. But this time I'll make sure not to get in the same kind of mess I did the last time. Onward with my training for the half. Next week's 12 miles will seem like a breeze (although I might opt to do less)!

30 Minutes in the Cold Again

It was in the high 30's this morning, again. After a 5 minute warm-up I did intermittent running. Instead of going by my watch I picked physical targets to run between. One of my targets was those pesky geese who were waiting for me this morning. They stopped charging at me when I squawked louder than they did while readying my water bottle into squirt position. One of these days we'll become friends. I'm just not sure when.

I've decided to do the 30K. The walkers and some of the Orange runners are leaving at 5:00am, so I'll leave with them. I'm glad I've decided to go ahead and do this race. Even though I've been keeping up with my weekly trainings, my long runs haven't been exactly on track so I feel I need to do this one to get back in the groove.

30 Minutes in 50 Degree Weather

This morning the temperatures had risen back to the 50's. I started out with a jacket in anticipation of colder weather and had it off in a matter of minutes. I started to do intervals after a 5 minute warm-up, but decided to switch to a brisk walk. Based on how I felt this morning, baling on the 30K was the right decision. I'm back on the fence, though, about whether or not I want to try to do it. I'll decide on Friday. If I don't, then I'll do my long run on Saturday and volunteer on Sunday.

30 Minutes in Cool Weather

We had a mild freeze last night. There was frost on the grass and ice on the cars. By the time I got out, around 1 1am, it had warmed up, the frost was gone, but it was still in the 40's. I did 1:00/1:00 intervals with a few 2:00 minute stretches thrown in. When I thought back to the summer and the 100 degree weather and then to Chicago this past October, I felt very thankful for the Texas version of winter.

6 Miles in Oyster Creek Park

Bob and I both missed Saturday's training with FBF, so we went out this morning with the intention of doing between 10 and 12 miles. Since I had signed up for the next weekend's 30K, I felt I needed to get my mileage in. But after we got going and talking, it was obvious that we were both somewhat burnt out. We had already done our fall full marathons - Chicago for me and New York for Bob - I realized that it was foolish to do 18 miles next weekend since I've dropped back to the half, which is 13.1. We both decided that we would volunteer next weekend instead. Although the half marathon mileage scheduled for this weekend was 10, we felt that 6 miles was respectable and left it at that