9/28/09

week 17

i think i overdid it with jumping into the lake after the 20 miler. my body's immune system was already down from running so much, and i then i just took it out by jumping into a freezing lake. i was really cold afterwards, and 2 days later i was sick. :(

i took 2 days off from work and stopped all running.

i'm going to try to get back into it starting today, but this weather is not motivating me! it is already SO cold here! the highs are in the 60s this week. at least the runs are shorter.

anyways, i can't believe this is my second to last week of training! i will be running the marathon in about 2 weeks!

this week's runs:

mon: 4 mi [missed]
tue: 6 mi [missed]
thu: 3 mi [missed]
sat: 8 mi [done]

9/21/09

week 16

i ran 20 miles!!!

i still can't believe i did it. i have to say, it was pretty brutal. i ran with 5 other women and we were all struggling. i think i walked most of mile 18.

my heart was fine but my legs and hips were hurting. afterwards, i jumped into the lake and that helped a lot. i also iced some more at home. i was pretty tired - took a nap and slept early that night. but besides that, i was generally functional.

i got a new pair of shoes about 2 weeks ago, the exact same pair i've been training with, but the right shoe on the new pair feels like it has a slight bump in it, which gave me a blister. i totally felt it during the run too. :(

anyways, the nice part now is that the runs are tapering off until the actual marathon. yay!

here are this week's runs:

mon: 5 mi [missed]
tue: 8 mi [missed]
thu: 4 mi [missed]
sat: 12 mi [missed]

9/16/09

fall is around the corner

i feel it. the weather is changing. the high today and for the rest of the week will be 75 degrees. today a coworker told me that the 80s are now gone. get ready for more weather posting from me.

in other news,

-> i am slowly becoming addicted to dunkin' donuts regular coffee. it is surprisingly good. the word is it's the creamer.

-> i've been using a new granola recipe. will and i love it. to give you a preview, it involves olive oil, pumpkin seeds and coconut chips. can you resist?

-> we are contemplating getting a kitchenaid mixer. is it worth it?

-> i helped plan a baby shower for the first time! and i took photos: 1, 2, 3

-> had an awesome summer: jazz fest, sox game, cubs game, wildfire, u2 concert, dance festival, music festival, air show, bourbon tour, cave tour, architecture tour, southern bbq and 10 visitors. whew.

-> will is back from louisville. i am getting used to having a roommate again.

-> small group starts tomorrow. i am nervous and excited.

i hope everyone is well.

9/14/09

week 15

i can't believe the marathon is less than a month away! we'll see if i can pull this off.

i flew over to louisville over the weekend, and will and i ran together. i managed to do 9 miles. then we ate lunch and drove to chicago.

this week i really need to buckle down. if i can pull off 20 this saturday, then i think i can pull off the marathon. after this week, the mileage starts to taper off. the good thing is, i have nothing going on this weekend - no out of town guests, no trips, nothing. and i have the car! which means i can drive to the group run. so i'm hoping i can do this.

i have a new pair of shoes, which i think will help. i also lost my moisture wicking socks in louisville somehow so i got a new pair of those too.

this week's runs:

mon: 5 mi [done]
tue: 10 mi [done]
thu: 5 mi [did 4]
sat: 20 mi [done!]

9/11/09

week 14

hello friends. i skipped my long run once again. basically, for these uber-long runs, if i miss the group run, then i won't run it b/c it's a real pain to run such a long distance alone. i helped plan a baby shower and had to be there at 9am. the group run starts at 7am. and i needed a solid 3 hours to run, plus 1/2 hour for stretching and cooling down, plus 1/2 hour for shower/getting ready. i could've started running at 4:30am to make it to the baby shower by 9am but that wasn't going to happen.

at this point i don't know if i'll be able to complete the marathon. running 9 miles this week was tough! i had to take some walk breaks.

today i fly out to louiville to help will move back. we will drive out to chicago tomorrow. i'm planning on squeezing in a run before the drive. hopefully that will happen. next weekend i'm supposed to do 20 miles. i'll definitely be in town then, and if i can somehow miraculously pull that off, i think i'll be able to pull off the marathon.

sorry these posts are becoming such a downer!

mon: 5 mi [missed]
tue: 9 mi [done]
thu: 5 mi [done]
sat: 14 mi [did 9]

9/1/09

week 13

last week was not as successful as i had hoped. it's amazing how out of shape you can get by not exercising regularly. first of all, i over did it with the quad strengthening and i could barely walk for about 3 days. so that took me out for longer. my long run was really hard. i was supposed to do 12 but i only did 10.

i finally ordered my new pair of shoes too, and i know i am at least a couple of weeks overdue on that. hopefully the new pair will help ease my knee issues.

my 4 mile run yesterday felt good, so i'm hoping for a better week. i'm supposed to do 18 on saturday but i don't know if that's going to happen. also, i have a baby shower i'm planning that morning so i'll have to do part of my run alone and then join the group so i can finish earlier and get to the shower.

anyways, i'm trying to stay encouraged but feeling a bit down and losing steam. here are this week's runs:

mon: 4 mi [done]
tue: 9 mi [done]
thu: 5 mi [done]
sat: 18 mi [missed]