I'm a Marathoner - Race Report

Friday Ronnie was able to get off work early and was home before I got the kids. So I walked up to the school to pick them up and we walked home. Bonus miles for them. We got in the car and headed to Nashville. First stop was the expo, then to the hotel. The a/c-heat did not work right in our room and with the smallest of adjustments the room temp changed drastically. We went to Blackstone for dinner, it was really hard for me to resist one of their beers but I managed by thinking back to Tom King. Dawn and her kids got to Nashville right after we finished eating. We meet them back at the hotel and tried to get everyone settled down and to bed at a decent time. I woke up at 3:00am and could not get back to sleep. At 5:30 we got everyone up and dressed. Tracy called to tell me they were stuck in traffic and didn’t know if they were going to make it. I told her I was waiting on them!!! Ronnie and I walked to the start and Dawn drove the kids to the finish then had to rush to get them to their start. They made it!!! The kids raced in age groups and Dalton’s group went before the littler kids.

His group took off then the K-2 kids lined up. At the start some of the kids took off running, it was a race after all. So Bryce took off with them. Dawn walked with Laine and Casey. And tried to keep Bryce in sight. Dalton caught Bryce at the finish line and they all got metals!!!

In the meantime, Ronnie went ahead to his corral and started the race. I waited for the others. Tracy, Gary and Lana finally made it. We dropped our stuff off at gear check, peed behind a bush, and headed for the start line. We had already missed our corral so we just jumped in with whatever one was about to take off. The race started for us. Everything was going good, we had a good pace going and I felt great. We spotted Ronnie at about 5 miles, I think. That is when we lost Tracy too. Lana and I kept running. At mile 8 I was starting to hurt, I was chafed between my legs. We got some water at a water stop and went through a spray. It burned my legs. At about mile 10 we finally saw a medical tent and grabbed some Vaseline. That made all the difference. I was doing much better. A few miles later there were people handing out Vaseline on sticks and I got more (I grabbed a stick from every person offering them from that point on). At mile 15 I started falling back and Lana kept going. I had her in sight for a long time and almost caught her at the next water station. After that I lost her completely. I saw Gary sometime after that and we ran together for a few minutes. Rae and Brent were at about mile 21 and that gave me another push to keep going. Thanks guys for hanging around to cheer us on and great job on your run!!! Right after that I passed runners that were ahead of me and I was looking for Lana. I didn’t see her so knew that she couldn’t be that far ahead so I pushed on. Just passed the mile 24 maker I saw Leslie and begged her “Make me run”. She jumped in next to me and literally pushed me to mile 25. Then she headed back to find Tracy and push her along. Dawn and the kids were at the turn to the finish line. They yelled “Hey, mama”. I waved and headed in. Not far from the finish I saw Kim (who finished her first half) cheering for me and I kicked it in. I ran as fast as I could and crossed the finish line with a time of 4:25:05.
I wound my way through the finishers area collected my medal, got water and a blanket, had the timing chip removed and picture taken that I am SURE will be GREAT! Then I got a banana, muffin and an orange. Finally I got my sandals which are so much cooler then last years. I spotted Lana and Briar. Briar missed the kid’s race but ran the last mile with Lana, he didn’t get his metal!!! As I left the finishers area I saw Dawn and the kids. We got in line and got the kids some food and me a much needed beer! I got my stuff from gear check and came back to the hill were we were sitting and Laurie and her kids found us. Turns out it was a great place to sit because we found everyone. We all finished and are all MARATONERS now.
I am glad I did it but I am disappointed with my performance. I did not struggle with my runs while training like I did race day. Where was that race day adrenaline??
Well on to the next event. I have GJCC Tri coming up in a month and don’t even have a training plan yet.

I have run a marathon!!!!!

It is over and we all finished. My time was 4:25:05. Race report to follow when I get some rest.

Week 20 - Day 5 Race Eve

Ronnie told me last night that the doctor didn’t think Bryce would be able to go to school today. So I got up at 6:00 and was getting ready to go run when Bryce woke up. He was all smiles when he told me good morning. I asked him how he felt. He said “fine”. I asked about his eye. He says “It feels like it has a really big band-aid on it”. It is more swollen this morning but he says it doesn’t hurt. I went ahead with my run in case the pain kicked in. I did my last two miles in 17:15, 8:56 pace. It was sunny and cooler. When I got home Bryce was still fine. I got them off to school and told his teacher if he started feeling bad to call me I would come and get him.
I made a Wal-mart run for bananas and PowerAde. Now I am ready. Ronnie called and said he has a 1:00 patient and should be able to leave when the kids get out of school.
After all the stress yesterday, I feel great today. The weather forecast looks good, I have the best dad in the world, and I am ready to run.
Report tomorrow!!!!

The day just gets better

I was at Casey game tonight and wondering where Ronnie was. I looked at my phone and noticed I had 2 missed calls. Called Ronnie back and he said that he and Bryce would not be making it to the game. Seems Bryce had to get stitches. They were at the driving range at the golf course and Bryce walked into another kids swing. He got hit with the club. Ronnie golfs with a doctor who looked at it and said that Bryce needed stitches. Ronnie was going to take him to the ER but the doctor said that he could just stitch him up. So they went back to his house and put Bryce on the counter and sewed. It is a deep cut and even chipped some bone. I am told that the bone will grow back and he is fine. Bryce is acting fine. I am waiting for the pain to kick in.
On the positive note. My dad has offered to help me out of my race day jam. He is going to meet us at the hotel and take the kids for their race then take them home with him. THANK YOU dad. You are the BEST. I love you!!!!!!!

Week 20 - Day 4

Today was an off day from running. The kids finished up their 25.2 miles this afternoon.
Just as we were finishing Dawn called. Her friend’s father died and she doesn’t know if she is going to be able to make it up for the race. So now I am looking for a back up plan.

Week 20 - Day 3

I checked the weather forecast before bed last night; it called for rain during the night and in the morning. So when I got up this morning, the first thing I did was look out the window. I was glad to see it wasn’t raining. It made me hopeful for the race Saturday; maybe the forecast will be wrong for it too. I have run the CM Half the past two years. 2004 it rained before the race and we got soaked waiting for it to start and 2005 it was cold. I am still hoping that this is the year for good weather. Anyway, about this morning. I started running at about 5:15 and I had run one mile when the rain started. It was just a light rain so I kept trudging along. The rain wasn’t bad except when I was running into the wind. I ran Maple Springs and Amberwood for a total of 5 miles. I ran just a little faster then yesterday, 46:46 for a pace of 9:22.
The kids have got to get in their last 2.2 miles tomorrow. That is all I am planning to do because it is suppose to be a rest day and I am working so that I can be off Friday. Still hope to be able to leave for Nashville at about 3:00. Check in to the hotel and head over to the expo.

Week 20 - Day 2

Today’s run was suppose to be 4 miles but since I skipped yesterday’s 5 mile fartleks, I decided to run 5 miles. I started at about 8:15 and ran the Baker Height’s loop in 47:10, 9:27 pace. It was sunny and warm. I love it!!!
I walked to the school today to pick the kids up so that we could walk home. Another mile for their charts. It’s not actually a full mile but it is close and just the fact that they didn’t give me any flack about walking home from school scored them the full credit. I think we will do that more often. We actually got home sooner.
Ronnie said he is going to go ahead and do the full marathon. He hasn’t gotten to train in the past week but doesn’t want all his prior training to go to waste.
Only two more runs before race day!!! 5 miles tomorrow and 2 miles on Friday. I am getting excited and nervous.

Week 20 - Day 1

Well, here it is my last week of training before I attempt my first marathon and what did I do? Skip the first run of the week!!!! Yesterday turned out to be another beautiful day and we had some friends over to swim and cookout. I had a little too much fun and could not get out of bed this morning to run. Then I had to take Bryce to the doctor after school because he showed me yesterday “the skin is falling off” his finger. The doctor thinks it is a fungus but gave him an antibiotic also just in case.
The kids and I did manage to get in a 2 mile walk tonight. They only have 3.2 miles left to get in before Saturday morning.
I am not sure what Ronnie’s race plans are now. He was really sick last week and did not get in any training. I still don’t think he has gotten his strength back and I don’t know how wise it would be for him to attempt 26.2 miles.

Week 19 - Day 6

Bryce woke me up at 6:00 this morning with a “Mommy, its morning”. I tried to convince him it would still be morning at 8 but he was “starving”. Since I was up, I decided to go ahead and get my run out of the way. I ran the same route I ran yesterday only a little slower. After all I had less then 12 hours of recovery between runs. Today it was 5 miles in 46:18, 9:15 pace. After my run, I got cleaned up and ready for Casey’s pictures and first softball game. We got to the field only to find out that they had canceled all of today’s games. Every other team had been called last night except ours. They still had pictures so it wasn’t a total waste, had to be there anyway.
It was a beautiful day and I got a lot of yard work done to repair the damage from all the rain Thursday night and Friday. First I cleaned all the dirt out of the pool, then I put down 150 pounds of grass seed and 2 bales of straw (still need more of both). I got the patio all cleaned up and am ready to swim tomorrow.
I can’t believe the Country Music Marathon is only a week away. Ronnie has been sick and I am really worried about him getting enough strength back in time to run. The kids still have to get their last few miles in. And I hope I am ready. I am happy with how I trained; I skipped VERY few runs and still managed to get in some swims and cycling. I just hope it all pays off in the end and I can be part of the 0.1% that have run a marathon.

Week 19 - Day 5

Tracy called last night to remind me that the intruder had not been caught so I better not run outside this morning. I was glad she was thinking because I had already laid my stuff out to run outside. Turns out it didn’t matter, we had MAJOR rain. The thunder woke me up at about 3:30. I couldn’t get back to sleep so I got on line to check the weather and checked the local news page to find out that the intruder had been caught, my neighborhood is safe again. The weather didn’t look good for running outside so I change my alarm and skipped my run.
Woke up to find the rain had flooded my patio and filled my pool with muddy water. It was back to the pool store this afternoon after work to pick up the stuff to get the dirt to settle. Then to Lowe’s to get yet more grass seed in hopes of avoiding this problem again. By the time we got home from Tullahoma I NEEDED to run. Ronnie was sleeping, he is sick, so I told the kids to wake him if they had an emergency otherwise to stay in the kitchen and make birthday cards for Rachel.
I set out at about 6:00 and it was looking like it could storm any minute. The problem with the rain we have had today is it is quick HARD rains. That is what has caused the mud to flow. I hoped to get my run in before a storm hit. I ran my normal Maple Springs, Creekside, Red Oak, Amberwood, Maple Springs loops. That made a total of 5 miles in 45:41, 9:08 pace. I felt really good and the pace was very comfortable, should have tried to push a little harder but this close to race day don’t want to do anything stupid. I managed to finish just as it was starting to rain.

Week 19 - Day 4

This morning I had to drop my van off at the Nissan Dealership to get the tire sensor issue resolved. I had decided to run from there to Ronnie’s clinic to get his truck. I was more prepared today to run. I put my fuel belt bottles in the freezer last night and drank lots of water yesterday. So of course today it turns out to be 68 and cloudy, perfect running weather. The run was good; I ran 4 miles in 36:58 for a 9:15 pace. The first mile I ran in 8:40, I knew I was running a little faster then my normal pace but it felt good. Once I got to the sidewalk, I slowed down, it is not in the best shape and I don’t want to get hurt now! Turned out the clinic was only 3.2 miles from Robert’s so I ran the neighborhood behind the hospital to get the other .8 miles.
When I got home I cut the side of the yard I didn’t get to last week when the mower died. Then it started to hail on me so I went in and showered. I have spent some time getting caught up on the scrapbooks for school since it is such a crummy day. I got all 12 “Favorite Toy Day” pages done. Favorite Toy Day was in January so I am making progress.
I am about to leave to get the kids from school. Apparently the schools have all been in lock down most of the day. I don’t know what the pick up process will be like. But what I have heard is some intruders shot a lady at her house as she was coming in unloading groceries. They fled on foot and have since shot at two more people. No one has been killed and last I heard they intruders were still on the loose. The really scary part is where the lady was shot is very close to one of my longer run routes. I sure hope they have caught these people or do really soon.

Week 19 - Day 3

For once I was glad to be running in the early morning, it was still cool. I got up at 5:00 and ran 3 miles in 27:20, 9:06 pace. I kept feeling myself slow down into that more comfortable 10 minute mile pace and had to push to keep a faster pace. My left knee had a little pain but nothing major.
The kids, Peyton, and I walked another one of their miles after school. That makes 20, almost there. It was so hot just walking I was so glad I didn’t have to run. Peyton started out strong but by the end was checking every ditch for water. I put her in the backyard when we got home and walked through the house to put her leash away. When I got outside, I found her in the pool standing on the second step drinking. That is one expensive dog dish!
It is official Tracy and Gary are running the marathon. Tracy signed them up for the race today!!!!! She even found them a room. Lana have you????
I am a hot weather person; I hate the cold and love summer. I spent most of my life in Memphis and have had many a hot summer days. My body is having trouble adjusting to this sudden change in temps. I have a heat rash all over my legs and Bryce has it on his face. Maybe I need to turn on the AC!!!

Week 19 - Day 2

Tracy and I ran this morning at about 8:30. It was sunny and hot for this time of year. We ran the Maple Springs mile loop and I had to take a potty break, don’t know what is going on with that. After the stop, we headed back out and it didn’t take long to realize that we should have worn our fuel belts. Both of us suffered. The entire run was in the sun with no shade, it was hot. We got chill bumps and knew we needed some water but were a long way from the bottles in my mailbox. We finally past a neighborhood under construction and “borrowed” some water from one of the houses that was almost finished. Water has never tasted so good. This was my LAST long run before the CMM. 10 miles in 1:45:00, 10:30 pace. I am disappointed but I did it to myself. I drank NO water yesterday and drank one small glass this morning as Tracy pulled into my driveway. We had to walk a couple of times and between my legs is rubbed raw. I wore the shorts that I thought I was going to race in but now I am going back to my good ole Nike Tempos.
After the run we came back to my house and changed into our swimsuits. We spent a couple hours ENJOYING the sun sitting by the pool.
Casey had ball practice this afternoon and we FINALLY got her schedule. She has a 10:00 game the day of the RC Cola Moonpie 10 miler. Don’t know how we are going to swing that.

Week 19 -Day 1

It was back to running this morning after my lazy weekend. I got up at 5:00. It was a beautiful, clear morning with a few stars and the moon was still almost full. I was able to run in shorts outside for the first morning since I started these early morning runs. I am glad I wore long sleeves though because there was a fairly strong wind. After about a half mile I saw a shooting star. I made a wish; I can’t say what it was in case that really does make them not come true. Hint: it involved the race. I ran the required 4 miles in 37:18, 9:20 pace. No issues.
As of this morning, I am back on my low carb diet. It worked for me before and now that it is swimsuit season I gotta get these extra pounds off. I am still very upset that all this extra running did NOTHING to help with weight loss. Maybe once this race is over and I start training for the GJCC Triathlon the cross training will help. Or maybe I will never be thin!

Happy Easter

What a great weekend. No exercise unless you count the sprint to catch the dog when Bryce let her out or the slinging of the sledge hammer to knock down the fence.
Saturday’s schedule called for 12 miles but I skipped it and took the kids to the City egg hunt, Casey’s softball practice and then spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool. I still have yet to get it, but the kids loved it. Ronnie’s mother came Saturday afternoon and the kids colored eggs Saturday evening. This morning the kids got their baskets from the Easter Bunny and got to find a few eggs before church. After church we went to Crackle Barrel and the Easter Bunny was there.Bryce noticed that you could see skin where the head attached to the body so he declared it a fake. After lunch we came home the kids found the rest of their eggs then swam.
It was a great Easter.
Off to watch Desperate Housewives.

That's more like it!

I hope it is just that I needed a break from early morning running. I did another run this afternoon at about 4:00. It was sunny, hot and windy. It was MUCH better. I ran 3 miles in 26:11, 8:44 pace. It felt good, it was wonderful to be in a tank and shorts and be HOT!!!

Week 18 - Day 5

This morning’s goal was 12 miles before Ronnie had to go to work. I got up at 5 and was running by 5:11. Right after I started I realized that I was not going to make it without a potty break, so I looped back around by the house and made the pit stop. That cost me about 2 minutes. I set back out again and did ok for a little while but then the negative thoughts started. This was my 5th early morning run in a row and I am NOT a morning person. As a matter of fact before starting this training program I never ran before 8am and often ran after the kids went to bed at night. As I was making the loop from Red Oak where I can either come back by the house or go to Amberwood, I decided that I needed rest more then a long run and headed home. I ran 5 miles in 50:47 (that includes the pit stop). Yes, I am disappointed in myself. Where is the runner that was able to run 20 miles with Tracy on Thursday and then another 20 miles on Saturday with Lana?

Week 18 - Day 4

My goal for this mornings run was to run faster then yesterday. Mission accomplished. Too bad it was only 9 seconds per mile faster. Not what I really had in mind. It was about the same temperature as yesterday and it was clear, a few stars and a full moon. The wind did pick up during my run but it never got bad. It was a great morning for a run wish I could have done it later then 5:00 am. I did have a little left knee pain off and on but it wasn’t enough to make me stop. I ran the 6 miles in 56:57 for a rip roaring pace of 9:29. I really need to improve that pace. I have another EARLY run tomorrow and then I am sleeping in as late as the kids will let me Saturday.
Work was fine, busy but we got the two jobs out that were due today. Kids got out of school early so I only worked until 12:30. We came home and I cleaned the den carpet in an effort to make the house presentable for my mother-in-law. Then it was on to the grass. This stupid gate we got keep sticking and it is next to impossible to get in and out of the backyard. The shed is in the backyard so I cut it first. I fought with the gate for a few minutes before I manage to get it open and move on to the side yard, all the while burning expensive gas. Then I got the mower stuck in the ditch. I spent almost an hour trying to get it out all the while my neighbor across the street was cutting her grass and never once thought to ask if I could use some help. I was lifting the mower and having Bryce put boards under the tire that was spinning. I was so close to putting my 7 year old on the riding mower and hoping he didn’t kill me when I managed to get it free. I continued cutting when Ronnie called to let me know he was leaving work and would pick us up at the car place so I could leave the van to get all the things going wrong with it fixed. After speaking with him I tried to start the mower again, nothing didn’t make a sound. I just left it in the middle of the side yard and went to drop the van off. The service guy is already trying to convince me that there is nothing wrong with my tire sensor. So why does it keep letting air out of my tire??? Ronnie picked us up and we stopped at Wal-mart to buy a TV and a battery for the mower. The TV is for the kitchen but Bryce wanted to know if we could put it outside, like “SeanBenandNick”. Thanks Angie. Got home and put the new battery in the mower and that did not solve the problem. We had to push it into the garage and are hoping we can borrow Gary and Tracy’s trailer to take it to the shop. In the mean time the rest of the yard is just going to have to be tall, sorry neighbors.
The good news is the pool reached 77 degrees today so the kids will be swimming tomorrow. Hope the neighbor across the street doesn’t think she is bringing her 3 kids over. AM I holding a grudge? YES!!!!
While I am pissed at her, I have to share this funny story. My friend Laurie saw her at softball practice Monday and she asked Laurie if she would be swimming in the new pool this summer. Laurie said that she hoped so; her girls were counting on it. The lady said that I will have a pool full of kids because everyone in the neighborhood wants to swim. Laurie told her that she had told me I hold charge an entrance fee. Her eyes got really big and she asked “Is she going to??” Laurie just laughed and said, of course not. But then painted a picture of Bryce in an accounting visor and arm band sitting outside the gate with a box collecting money. I guess she figured since she isn’t getting any free swim time she didn’t need to waste time helping me out of the ditch.

Week 18 - Day 3

3 consecutive days of early morning runs and two more to go, ugg! I ran at 5:00 this morning. It was much warmer then the past two days, about 62. But it was cloudy, no stars today, and a little windy. I ran 6 miles in 57:50, 9:38 pace. Slow. Tomorrow is another 6 miles and the goal will be to pick up the pace some. I am doing my long run, 12 miles, Friday morning and hope to be able to squeeze the 3 miles in on Saturday.

The kids had their egg hunts and Easter parties at school this afternoon. I got lucky this time and kindergarten hunted at 12:45 then had their party and first grade started their party at 1:15 and hunted at 2:00. I was able to do it all with both kids and only had to run up and down the hall a few times. Then we came home and I asked them if they wanted to walk another mile but they didn’t so we just played outside until time to go to softball practice. Ronnie, Bryce and I got our team shirts and Casey got her visor and socks. She should be getting her shirt Saturday. BTW Casey’s first game will be April 22nd at 10:00 am at the girl's softball fields, same place Bryce played soccer a couple years ago. We don’t have the rest of the schedule yet but might get that Saturday as well, if we go to practice. They have scheduled practice at the same time as the City egg hunt and I am thinking practice today and Friday is plenty.

My diet started out good today. Oatmeal for breakfast, chicken salad, cumbers and celery for lunch then it was off to the Easter parties. I really did good considering I have NO self control. I ate a couple of chips with dip and about 3 pieces of candy. Dinner is wine.

I am SO tired and my house is such a mess. My mother-in-law is coming for the weekend so I have got to clean the house some tonight. I really just want to get the kids in the tub and off to bed and go to sleep myself but that cleaning fairy has not shown up YET so I guess I am going to get stuck with cleaning it myself!!!

Week 18 - Day 2

Due to the kid’s short week at school I had to work again today so that meant another early morning run. Got up at 5:00 and was running by 5:20. Weather was about like yesterday; 38ish, clear and dark. I ran the scheduled 3 miles in 27:34, 9:11 average pace. I started out really slow and the first mile took me 9:57. So I guess the other two miles I had a decent pace. I felt good and had no issues.
It got very nice this afternoon so the kids, dog, and I did another mile walk. Casey and I both had on flip-flops so you can imagine we were going quite slowly. Peyton did her best to drag me along, all 65 pounds of her. Can I put that down as an upper body workout?
My diet has terrible again; gee wonder why I can’t seem to drop these extra pounds. I don’t even remember everything I ate today but I know that I didn’t even start the day off right. I ate two banana nut muffins for breakfast, some grapes for a snack at work, Hardee’s for lunch, yogurt raisins after work and dinner has been beer and snacks. I am sure I forgot something.
I have been trying to find a training plan for an Olympic Distance Triathlon. I found a 20 week and a 16 week but the Tri I want to do is 13 weeks from Sunday!!! I don’t want to do anything that will hurt my marathon performance, so I don’t know how much cycling and swimming I should be doing right now. Don’t they make a “10 week to Triathlon” program????

Week 18 - Day 1

I ran at 5:00 this morning. It was about 38 degrees and clear, lots of stars. Schedule called for Fartlek (5 miles). Haven’t done Fartleks since week 4 and those I did on the treadmill, not at all random. Today I wanted to run outside so I did a one mile warm-up then did 3 miles with random bursts of speed and a one mile cool down. I don’t know if I did as many bursts of speed as I was suppose to but early Monday morning speed work has proven to be a real challenge for me and even more so when I do it alone. The total time for all 5 miles was 45:20 which averages out to a 9:04 pace.
The kids went back to school today, but it is a short week with them having Easter parties Wednesday afternoon, getting out at 12:45 on Thursday and out on Friday.
The long runs did not go well for Lana or Tracy either. Lana did 15 and was having knee pain early on. Tracy and Gary ran 18 and Tracy was miserable just about the whole run.
Tracy told me last night that she is NOT running the race. I talked to her again today and I still don’t think Lana or I have managed to convince her she HAS to run. What about the last 17 weeks of training and all the mile she has put in??
Lana has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow and I hope he can do something to get her through the next 3 weeks. And Triathlon season is right around the corner.

Week 17 - Day 6

After my disappointing run yesterday morning the kids and I walked another mile yesterday afternoon before the storms rolled in. They now have 18 miles. 3 weeks to get the last 7.2 miles. I think we can handle that.

I took the kids to the egg hunt at church this morning.

They had to do it inside since we got so much rain last night. They both found lots of eggs. As you can see they don't make them too hard to find. There were a bunch of eggs on a shelf in a tray that none of the kids were tall enough to reach so I got the eggs down and just put them in the nearest kids’ baskets. But I really messed up and put the gold “prize egg” in someone other kid’s basket. I had forgotten that the kids that find the gold eggs get special prizes. Baylee found the other gold egg so Casey was upset for a minute. But Baylee was super nice and gave Casey something out of her prize basket.




After finding all the eggs they got to decorate a cookie. They both went very heavy on the frosting and sugar.

Then we went to Sonic for lunch before heading to Casey’s softball practice. They had practice in the parking lot of Westwood Elementary School. It was 65 degrees while we were at Sonic and by the time practice started less then an hour later it was down to 56 degrees. I had my jean jacket in the car so I rolled up the sleeves several times and made Casey wear it. The jacket came down past her knees. She was not happy and said she would look silly. I had to point out the kid wrapped in a blanket before she agreed.
We got home from practice at about 1:30 and it took until 3:00 before I could convince myself to get out in the wind again and run. It is 52 with 17 mph winds from the north. I ran 5 miles in 45:01, 9:00 pace. I felt good the whole run.
I got my final instructions and confirmation card for the race in the mail today. We are starting in corral 7.

Week 17 - Day 5

I got up about 4:50 this morning ate some oatmeal and a banana and got my fuel belt ready to go. I got dressed and set out for my long run at about 5:30. When I made the first curve onto Farmwood I discovered that it was WINDY (turns out we had 17mph winds). It was dark and cloudy for the first 3 miles then it got light out, still cloudy. I ran the neighborhoods by my house for the first 5 miles then crossed the highway and ran the neighborhoods over there. I was so tired of the wind I tried to bargain with God that I would be happy to trade the wind for the rain that was in the forecast. Guess he thought I needed more resistance training. At about 11 miles I started on the new route I got off a map. It was a great place to run, out in the middle of nowhere, but quite a bit hillier then my normal training runs. It will be a great place to train on my bike. At about mile 15 I saw two other men walking. I was still in the middle of nowhere and I really don’t now where they came from. I noticed that one of them had a handgun tucked in his pants at the small of his back. I started to question the wisdom of my route, but I forged on. At about mile 18 there were about 9 cows out in a field. I had passed LOTS of other cows on this route but unlike all the other cows these cows started running toward me. Then they started running along the fence with me. I was very concerned that I was going to get outrun by a cow!!! Mile 20 got me back to the same old neighborhoods and I was really getting tired. I ended up walking for a little bit because my back was hurting and my feet were sliding around in my shoes (haven’t had that problem since I went to Fleet Feet and got these shoes). I starting running again and looped back by my house. I stopped at my mailbox to get a drink. Ronnie was having a problem with one of the dogs around here carrying his water bottles off while he was running, so we started putting them in the mailbox. I got my drink and tried to get my legs moving again. No dice, I was DONE. 22.5 miles in 3:48:04, 10:08 pace. I am very disappointed in myself. I felt like I did everything I could to prepare for this run but I just couldn’t make it. I have 3 weeks in which I taper off then it is race day. I sure hope that race day adrenaline gets me across that finish line; I am not feeling very confident right now.

Week 17 - Day 4

Got up at 4:45 and was running at 5:00. It was about 45 degrees and dark again. Actually, it was even darker today since it was overcast and there were no stars out. I ran the Maple Springs loop 3 times for 3 miles in 28:19, 9:27 pace.
It was another beautiful afternoon, but the kids and I didn’t get to walk because I had to cut the grass. Now it is starting to feel like rain. The forecast calls for cloudy and “few showers” in the morning. I sure hope the rain can hold off until I get my long run in.
My diet has sucked today. I started off good with my oatmeal for breakfast and snacked on grapes at work. I went downhill from there. I was trying to think of something good to eat for lunch to get me ready for my run tomorrow but nothing sounded good so I just snacked all day. Had to go the store to get Easter candy for the church egg hunt; of course I had to eat a peanut butter cup. I got some banana muffins while at the store and was so hungry from skipping lunch that I ate two of those. Then I ate a banana and some yogurt cover raisins. I made chicken nuggets for the kids for dinner and Casey couldn’t eat all of hers so I ate one, can’t waste good food. The only positive thing I have done today is drink lots of water and no alcoholic.

Week 17 - Day 3

Today was a day off from running. It is BEAUTIFUL out so the kids, the girl across the street and I walked 2 miles this afternoon.
I am all set up with a babysitter for Friday morning. The plan is to run my last long run, 26 miles, starting at about 5:30 or 6:00. Then we start to taper off before the actual race.


What I ate today:
Water
Hardee’s low carb burger
Large Diet Coke
Cold leftover pizza
water

Week 17 - Day 2

It was COLD and DARK at 5:00 for my run this morning. It was about 35 degrees but at least there wasn’t any wind. The schedule called for 3 miles but I am shifting the long run up one day to Friday so I ran tomorrow’s 5 miles instead. It took me 47:37 for a pace of 9:31. Now I will take tomorrow off from running and go into work at 6:00am so that I can get a few hours of work in that I do not have to pay a sitter for.
Sure wish I could convince the kids they need a nap because I sure do.


What I ate today:
Oatmeal
Water
Turkey, ham and cheese in a tortilla
20 oz CF Diet Coke
Pizza
Water

Week 17 - Day 1

It’s Spring Break. It is also my babysitter’s birthday and she had plans so I am taking today off of work. I got up at 6:00 to run my 880’s. I was really feeling the effects of the time change (and the bad diet over the weekend) and almost went back to bed. We had a really bad storm last night and I was running alone this morning. I decided it would be better to run inside and if I ran inside I could wait and take the kids to the childcare room. But I talked myself into going ahead and getting it over with. On the way to the Rec Center I decided it was light and warm enough that I could run at Westwood. So I stopped at the gas station and got a bottle of water. I got to Westwood at about 6:30, ran a VERY SLOW lap then started my 880’s. I felt like I was running slow and just couldn’t get a rhythm but my times are ok. 1-3:44, 2-3:45, 3-3:38, 4-3:40, 5-3:35, and 6-3:39. I rested a lot less between sets since I was there alone and had no one to chat with. A man and his dog did show up to walk laps on the track while I was on my fifth set. On the last set my legs felt wobbly and I wanted to quit but now that I had an audience I had to finish strong.
This week we have 26 miles scheduled and the rest of the week is low mileage. I don’t know when I am going to run the long run but am hoping I can get a sitter for Saturday morning. I would like to get started at about 5:30 and Ronnie is leaving about 7 for a golf tournament.
Well, the kids have finally gotten up. Not sure what we are going to do today. I am sure I will have to listen to some begging to get in the pool. I told them they can swim when it gets up to 76 (it was 70 yesterday). They make a liquid solar blanket I would like to try so we might make a run to the pool store.

Week 16 _ Day 6

What a beautiful spring day!!! I got up at 5:30 this morning planning on meeting Lana and Holly for a 12 mile run, but Lana woke up hurting this morning and didn’t run. So I just ran the neighborhood around here. It was a great run, perfect weather. I ran my 12 miles in 1:54:07 for a 9:31 pace and burned 1368 calories. Too bad I ate twice that many today!!!!
Ronnie wanted to do his long run today and headed out as soon as I got home from my run. He ended up running 14 miles. The kids and I went out looking for him to take his picture and hassle him a little since he called me twice last week on my long run but we never found him. Did he really run????
Casey had softball practice this afternoon and is doing really good. Bryce met up with the girls he played with last time and I am really worried about this older woman. Why does it seem like there are no boys his age?!?!!??? He is going to be the luckiest guy on earth one day with all these “girlfriends”. I am just glad at this stage he just doesn’t notice or care.
We turned the pool heater on today and I am hoping that the kids can swim soon!! They had their feet in the pool this afternoon but it is only 65 degrees no way that I will be getting in there.