Bad News: Since the half, I have not run at all. AT ALL. It's horrible. I've been really busy and stressed at work so I have trouble mustering the energy to run after I get home. But enough excuses -- I really need to get back out there and I think that pretty soon I will have that motivation.

Good News: I went hiking/camping Friday and Saturday and I GOT ENGAGED!!! I'm so excited!!!! But with the engagement comes so much fun planning and we're actually looking at tying the knot in Oct. of THIS YEAR. So, I will be quitting my job in a few weeks and moving back home to plan before joining my future husband (weird) in Greenville, SC.

Not working will give me a lot of time to run :)

Loving the way the next several months are looking!!!

Official Dismal Swamp Stomp Results

Time - 2:27:25
Overall Place - 819 (of 1129)
331 of 557 females
29 of 37 20-24 yr olds

This race was hard, but I was so proud of myself when I crossed the finish line. Just a few days earlier I was worried about finishing in the 3:30 time limit because my knee was hurting so bad. I did 10 miles the Wednesday before because I needed to know I could do it. It took me 2:45 to walk/run 10 miles. My knee was killing me.

It still hurt very bad at the race, but I ran through it. And I finished and met my goals... it's a pretty awesome feeling. I got a (finisher's) medal too, something I've never gotten before!

They don't give out medals in ballet.

Next Race ...

I just registered for a 10K in Richmond. It's May 18th... 3 weeks. I need something to keep myself motivated before marathon training starts at the end of June.

Looking forward to it!!

I DID IT!!!

I ran the Dismal Swamp Stomp Half-Marathon. I had 2 goals: run the whole time & finish in less than 2:30. I did both!! I only stopped twice to stretch, but ran the rest and my final time was 2:27:25. I am so proud of myself. It is one of the hardest things I've done, but I did it :D

I'm kind of hooked on racing now. I'm already looking for races this summer... ;)

I ran the Monument Avenue 10K!!
It was so much fun. I was amazed by all of the runners and spectators. It's definitely a race I would run again. Plus, I feel a lot better about the half in 2 weeks.

My official results:
Time: 1:06:21
Pace: 10:40.6
Place: 11,808 (of 24,055)
Age Place: 847
Gender Place: 5035

I was only 5 minutes behind C which is awesome ;)

Soooooo it's been a long time since I've posted and I honestly haven't been running very much. I'm way off my schedule for the half, but I'm ready for the 10K this weekend.

After I got over my knee issue, I had a foot problem. It was pretty painful and hard to walk on at times. Finally got over that and I've been trying to catch up.

I ran 6 miles on a treadmill today (only time I've run on a treadmill in like the past 5 years). I finished in 1 hr. 12 min. with 3 walk breaks. I didn't want to overdo it since I'm racing in 2 days. I think I can finish the race in an hour. I'm getting excited!!

M convinced me to do another run tonite. Glad he did. I ran 3.4 in about 35 min. I walked for 2 minutes and stopped the clock for 2 stretch breaks.

Got a little taste of the runner's high again -- been awhile since I've felt that.

Knee, like yesterday, was only mildly uncomfortable. Hoping this means if I keep it steady I won't experience excruciating pain anytime soon.

Today I wanted to run 5 miles. I ran 3.5. It was a good reminder that I can't just wake up on April 5th and run a 10K like it's nothing.

The knee is feeling better and for the most part it's only mildly uncomfortable at times.

I need to get back into a better schedule with more frequent work outs if I want to be ready for the half in 6 weeks (eeek!)

Didn't run or work out Monday-Wednesday.

Ran about 3.1 miles on Thursday night. Took a different route so it was fun and different.

Tonight I'm going to do my strength workout on the exercise ball. Not sure what I'm going to do about the long run tomorrow. I have a busy day. Maybe I'll just switch it to Sunday.

We shall see...

Last Wednesday (2/26) I did my strength workout with M. I can tell I'm improving on this stuff so it's exciting. Thursday I did a 3 mile run. The knee hurt somewhat, but not as bad as in the past. I think the knee strap is helping.

Friday I didn't do anything training related, although resting is probably helpful for the knee. Saturday (yesterday) M and I did a 3.4 mile hike to Angels Rest. It was an amazing hike because the higher elevations of the mountain still had snow! My knee felt okay until the steep downhill parts of the hike. Totally worth it though:














Today I did a 4 - 4.5 mile run. The weather is beautiful and I couldn't pass it up! My knee killed at certain times of this run. I found that if I relax my hips and abs, and just let my hips twist as they naturally do when I walk, there is less knee pain. stretching when I got back helped a lot too. :)

I will conquer this

Next attempt at being able to run with a lame knee problem: buying a brace thing. M and I looked at a bunch of differnt supports and braces. We decided that maybe the problem is not my IT band after all. This was based on a chart we saw at a sports store that described pain up the outside upper leg. Most of my pain has been right around the knee and down into my shin and calf more than upwards. So we went ahead and bought a knee strap that goes under my kneecap. Perhaps my pain is most in the knee cap and tendons, or something etc.

Tried it out today. As soon as I put it on my knee felt stronger and this seemed like a good sign. So I went for a run. Ran/walked about 2.5 miles. I always feel good for about the first mile, and then the pain kicks again. About the same this time, but now the pain is in different places in my leg. Ironically I felt pain on the outside of my upper leg. And now there's pain in the back of my knee too. Wondering if I should get one of those full knee supports that works on everything.

Icing my knee now and then heading to dinner with M where I will discuss my latest type of pain and decide what to try next.

Luckily this knee strap was only $7 at Walmart and the full knee supports are about $10-$12.

On another note I realized today that there are not many weeks left until the 10K and only two more in addition to that before the half... Lord help me!

crazy

So I ran again on Monday. Just a short route. Knee still hurting. I'm sad. It still hurts today, just when I walk. I'm going to go to the sports store to get a strap they make for knee pain. Maybe that will help. M looked at some stretches and stuff online and said he was going to add to my routine some things that will help.

It's strange but somehow I'm not so freaked out about the races in April. Like for some reason I think I'm just gonna be able to run 13 miles even though right now I can't run any.

Someone tell me I'm crazy...

sad face

I should change the name of the blog to "Just Kidding, I'm Not Running". That would be because my knee pain became unbearable. I believe it's my IT Band and everything I see online says to rest. LAME.

I actually miss running and when I see people on the street, I'm jealous. C says I'm a real runner b/c real runners hate being told to rest. I've also looked up some stretches and other ways to help the pain. Hopefully by next week I can start some runs. Work my way back up slowly.

I hope...

H-M TD 10 & 11

Tuesday was a rest day and good thing because I was at work for almost 12 hours.

Today was run 2 or cross. I ended up cross-training at the gym with M. Rode the bike again, this time for 20 min at a more intense level. Felt good. Ready for the 3 mile run and strength training tomorrow. M's gonna do the strengthening with me again. I'd never get thru those damn wall sits and planks without him doing them with me :P

H-M TD 08 & 09

So this weekend, M and I bought an exercise ball & 10 lb. weights. He made me do a horrible strength work out that made me want to cry. But it was kinda fun on the ball. Kinda. I do feel like I'm getting stronger and even used some of the crap I put myself through during my run ("Remember doing that horrible wall-sit? Remember how you almost cried? Running is cake compared to that!!") That was Sunday.

Today I ran 3 miles in 33:05. Pace = 11:01. That's my best 3 mile yet. Yay :) The weather was rainy and a comfortable cool. I was able to run longer before taking my usual stretch break.

Feeling good at the beginning of Week 2 of training. Also excited about a rest day tomorrow :D

H-M TD 07

I SURVIVED THE FIRST WEEK OF TRAINING!!!

Ran close to 4 miles today (like 3.85) because I forgot one little leg of my route, but it wasn't enough to make too much difference. Time was like 40:55 (with 1:30 stetch and fix my hair and take off my fleece break). Pace was about 10:37. The weather was beautiful and M met me at the pond with D, our friend's dog who we are watching today. So much fun.

Today wasn't nearly as bad as I thought and I just kept telling myself, it's only 1 mile more than a 3 mile day. And I'm sure next week I'll be saying the same about the 5 miler... it's only one mile more than the 4 mile day.

I could feel all the muscles I have been working, like in a good way. This is pretty cool, I have to admit. I think I'm finally getting a taste of the runner's high!

Tomorrow... stretch & strengthen... can't wait!!

H-M TD 06

Cross training day. Good thing too because we had freezing rain and ice last night so everything was all slushy and wet and gross.

I was M's guest at the campus gym since I'm old and no longer a student. Rode the bike for 30 minutes while M erged. 6.4 miles at a moderate pace I guess. Wasn't killer but wasn't easy either. Then M showed me how to erg. It's... interesting. Not sure I could do it again on my own without him showing me the right form again first.

Ready for the long run tomorrow... 4 miles. M and I are thinking about a 4 mile hike. I know it's not the same, but it's gotta be kinda close to it and it's better than doing nothing. We'll see. I may end up just doing the run.

Week 1 almost done!!

PS I'm sore

H-M TD 05

3 mile run tonight. 35:53, pace = 11:57

Pretty happy with myself for making it through 5 days of training. I'm never feeling super excited about running after work, but I'm proud for motivating myself to get dressed and out the door. Thought today about what is so great about running b/c there are plenty of times while I am actually running where I'm like "this totally sucks. Why the crap am I out here?" But I'm just now remembering those few golden times during tonight's run where I'm thinking "this feels really good" or "wow I feel great, this is a nice run". So I guess it has its moments.

Did my first strengthening schedule made up by M. Um thanks for making me feel like dying. New goal in addition to not dying while running: not dying while strength training. I did okay on some of the exercises, but omg some just killed. I'm clearly going to have to work up to some of this. Lame. But hopefully it will help with my overall goal (not dying).

Tomorrow is cross training and I'm actually excited about it b/c I plan to sit my butt on a bike and pedal. It will hurt, but I will be stationary. And that is something I'm used to :D

H-M TD 02, 03, 04

Monday (TD 02) ran 3 miles on my current trail/route of choice. Time was about 35 minutes and pace about 11:39. My knee hurt pretty bad after that run.

Tuesday (TD 03) rest day. My knee still hurt a little but by the evening it was fine. M and I looked at camelbak water bags online. I want the kind that goes around your lower back/butt. M is convinced that is a bad choice and I should get a back pack. No thanks, I want the jiggly butt one.

Wednesday (TD 04) 2 mile run or cross train. Since I currently have no where to cross train, I ran 2 miles. I kept telling myself "it's just 2 miles". And it was, except that it was so cold this evening that it was hard to breathe at first. My eyes water and my nose ran and my face was so cold for the first 5 minutes. After the warm up I started feeling great! Time: 20:10!! That's a 10:08 pace!! I was super excited about that.

M is supposed to help me come up with a little strength training guide so I can do that part of my training schedule. Tomorrow I'm supposed to run 3 miles and strengthen. Wish me luck!!

Half-Marathon Training Day 01 (H-M TD 01)

Sunday

Half-Marathon Training officially started on Sunday. I was supposed to stretch and strengthen. I did not. I went to M's house this weekend then to my house and then drove back here. It was a long weekend BUT

Saturday:
M took me running on a trail that is a 5K. We ran together for a bit, but my stride is super short and my pace is super slow. After awhile he went on ahead of me. I also seriously wanted to die b/c this trail was not flat and I have not run any big hills like at all. I had to walk a lot of it, but I ended up finishing in around 30 minutes.

Important lesson learned: Never be lazy again. I did nothing the entire week before. It was bad.

So back to the training schedule... 3 mile run tonight and I'm gonna do it. :)

crap

Ugh. I haven't run since last Friday. I have a million excuses... none of them are very good.

Half-Marathon training starts on Sunday. I'm looking forward to it but I think I'm going to have to just bite the bullet and get a temporary gym membership. It is blowing snow right now. I know I will use that excuse everytime.

Time to re-motivate...

FRIDAY

MILEAGE: 2.7
TIME: 30 min. 30 seconds
PACE: 11:17
OTHER: I think I like running in the cold much better than when it's hot.

It snowed a lot earlier in the week and the snow was still covering a lot of the ground. It was really pretty and peaceful. Happy to have a faster pace. I'm stil feeling really good everytime I run. My week total is 8 miles which is exciting. I love knowing that I am capable of getting the mileage up there. Feeling a lot more confident for next week when Half-Marathon Training officially starts!

Who knew...

WEDNESDAY
Got home from work and immediately starting getting ready to run. Listened to my ipod to keep motivated. An even longer run tonight (where is this coming from??) I think I'm finally starting to enjoy running for the experience rather than just doing it because I'm supposed to do it.

MILEAGE: 5.3 miles
TIME: 1 hour and 5 minutes
PACE: 12:15
OTHER ITEMS: Saw a girl with hair that went down to her knees, for real.

So this run was fun and very random. I stopped for random things, like to talk to J on the phone & some guy who asked for directions (um thanks I'm not trying to run or anything).

This run also hurt. My knees hurt & my hips. M told me how to stretch to help with the hip pain. It hurt real bad when I finally stopped and sat down to have dinner with J and M later. But it's better today.

Snowed about 5 inches today so I did not run. Hopefully tomorrow after work I will be able to get outside again.

Longest run (probably of my entire life)

I'm awesome.

Time:
Ran 45 minutes (no that is not a typo)
1 minute stretch
Walked 12 minutes

Mileage:
Ran 3.6 miles
Walked 0.7 miles

Pace:
When running: 12:30

So it's a slow pace, but I ran freaking 3.6 miles and I ran for freaking 45 minutes only stopping to stretch. I mean, where the hell did that come from?

And to think I almost didn't go. The thing that motivated me to get off the couch: remembering I had set a goal to run 3 or 4 times this week. I had only run twice so far and am not sure about tomorrow. So I had to run today. I'm so happy I did.

Other items of interest:
-I was the annoying jogger on a curvy road with almost no shoulder. I tried very hard to be a smart, out of the way runner.
-Campus police were driving down the road my trail follows. Nice to know they're out there.
-M said I looked hot in my running outfit :)

Week Total: 6.5
Holla.

About a week ago I went shopping and bought a new bag to carry my running stuff. It is so great with a pouch for shoes and my phone and ipod and everything else I could need. I was so excited after buying it. I think buying the accessories is my favorite part about running.

Yesterday before leaving work I changed into my running clothes which was very helpful in actually motivating me to run. I drove to the back of campus and ran a trail. It was nice outside and the sun was just setting.

The run felt really good. I went at a pretty slow pace, but I felt like I could have run a lot longer than I did. Runs like last night make me actually enjoy running.

TIME:
Ran for 19 minutes with a 40 second break to stretch

MILEAGE:
1.6 miles

Other items of interest:
-I saw a horse peeing. It was kind of awkward but very amusing.
-There were a lot more people out on this trail than I anticipated. I saw a cute baby in a stroller with his dad who was running.

Dear God, please don't let me die while running

I ran to church this morning. I decided yesterday I would do this and I called my mom to make sure it would not be tacky to attend church in my running clothes. Granted I had on my new black running pants and my fleece jacket... not like a sports bra and shorts. So after running to church, I prayed to God that I would not die while running.

I started out later than I intended today and so I had to make myself keep running even when I wanted to die just so I wouldn't be late. Lame. I would gladly have my hips removed from my body right now if it meant I didn't have to feel their pain.

I liked running with a destination, but when time is an issue I definitely want to give myself more than enough time to get there.

TIME:
Walked about 1 minute to warm up
Run to church: 14 min. 15 sec.
Walked entire way home from church: 28 min.

MILEAGE:
Run to church: 1.3 miles (approx.)
Entire walk home: 1.5 miles (approx.)

If my math is right (which is questionable) then I think my running pace was about an 11 min. mile. (Right? min/miles??)

Other items of interest:
On the walk back I saw a lime green, low rider, pick up truck with the diamond metal plating stuff you usually see those tool boxes in the back of trucks made out of. Except this stuff was on the interior. It was ridiculous. If I remember I'll take my camera next time and post a picture.

The great return

Yay! I ran today!!

Putting on all my new running stuff and the watch, the iPod, etc. really got me into the mindset. I was excited to run. Last night before going to bed I just kept saying to myself: "I will run tomorrow. I am a runner. I will run tomorrow. I am a runner..."

Dais' book that I mentioned last time talks about the difference between "I want" and "I will". That was important for me because I realized I needed to start saying "I WILL run a marathon" instead of just "I WANT to run a marathon". I mean I can't get real pumped about wanting to run 26.2 miles... I still think I might die. But saying "I WILL"... well then dammit I will.

So the weather was warmer today than it has been lately (meaning well about the single digits). It was about 50 to 55 today, cloudy and overcast, but not much wind. This is the first day I've left the apt since Thursday morning when I tried to go to work again and I got the evil eye for being germy (so I came home again). It was really good to get out and into town.

I decided I would run to one of the post offices to mail a letter. I walked for a bit to warm up and then started running. I got into the general area of the post office and decided I wasn't ready to stop, even to just drop the letter in the box, so I kept going and looped back around. Stopped for a few seconds to do that then started running again. I stopped later for a brief stretch and kept going, onto campus and around some of the buildings. The nice thing about running on campus is you can usually find an open one if you need a bathroom break, which I did.

So todays numbers:

TIME:
Was gone a total of 40 minutes.
Ran for approximately 23 minutes (cumulatively)
Walked for approximately 7 to 10 minutes (cumulatively)
The remaining time was a bathroom break and some stretching

MILEAGE:
Ran approximately 2.3 miles (cumulatively)
Walked approximately 1 mile (cumulatively)

Other items of interest:
Love my iPod armband and freaking LOVE running with an iPod. It's awesome!! It's like a soundtrack to my run. BEAUTIFUL.

I registered for the Monument Avenue 10K today.

Overall run felt good, although I hate my left knee and right hip. Please stop hurting everytime I run, thanks.

I AM A RUNNER

Wellllllllllll, I got back a few days ago after spending Christmas with the fam. I ran once over the holiday and it was sad. Since I've been back, I've been sick and it's gross.

I really need to start running regularly if I'm going to be ready for the half marathon, even the 10K I'm planning to run.

For Christmas I got a ton of running stuff: two pairs of pants for running in the cold, new shirts and tops, socks, shorts, a watch, an ipod, some headbands... I mean I am set.

I bought the latest issue of Runner's World and two books about running. One I had checked out from the library and decided to buy (The Complete Book of Running for Women by Claire Kowalchik). I like the information. It's well written and concise.

Another book I bought and have just started reading: The Non-Runner's Marathon Guide for Women by Dawn Dais. This book is so perfect for me. The author is extremely sarcastic and funny. I mean, I just love her style:

"The rest of the book offers advice on how to avoid death while training for a marathon. Keep in mind that my only real qualification for giving this advice is the fact that I managed to avoid death while training for a marathon. Which makes my training a smashing success. However, I issue this warning in case, for some odd reason, you actually follow my advice and something horrendous happens (like you end up actually enjoying running marathons): I hereby absolve myself from any liability."

Love this book so far.

Okay so all this reading I have been doing has really motivated me and bolstered my confidence. One thing I read says to tell yourself you are a runner. And I have been saying that in my head. "I am a runner." I'm going to print some motivational things out and tape them around the apt. I need some serious reminders that I've got to get off my butt and run.

As soon as I don't feel like crap, I'm getting back out there.