16 Miles on a Saturday Morning

Wow! I ran 16 miles today, not only did I run 16 miles I ran it by myself. I did not know if I could do it. I am definitely a social runner. I like to have someone with me, but it was on my schedule and it was now or never.

I thought that I had a route in mind. I had looked it up on Map My Run, but somehow I got a bit lost. In fact I ended up in a town I was not expecting to end up in and then had to make my way back home. The only thing that stunk is that I had to run on "Route 13" which is a 2 lane highway with people driving about 50 mph. Before that I was on a dirt road and that was a bit scary. There was no one around, it was quiet and then at the top of the hill there was a huge junk yard littered with trailer homes, old cars etc.... I then started to get a bit panicky because I didn't bring my cell phone with me. Let's just say I ran a bit faster during that part of my run. I was uncomfortable that I did not know my surroundings and just needed to get somewhere that I knew.

Finally, after 2 hours 42 minutes, a lot of hills and a lot of water I made it home. I was a bit sore and really tired. I ended up taking a 2 hour nap with my 4 year old. I was supposed to run a 7 mile race in the am, but I need to take a day or at least a morning to rest and get organized. Hopefully, I will get out there in the afternoon.

P.S. to the two women who passed me running together. The men in your group that were ahead of you all said "hi" and "good morning" to me, YOU two were kind of rude in fact you were rude. Why not say "good morning" and be supportive. Unfortunately, sometimes women just aren't nice to each other. While I wouldn't wish anything bad on anyone, I hope that one of you tripped on a shoe lace today. Good night:)

Three Things Thursday

1. The kids really need to go back to school and soon. With all of us at home our eating habits have totally gone down the tubes. Did I really skip breakfast and then eat 3 slices of pizza and a diet coke at lunch. Yes, yes I did!

2. I am scheduled to run 16 miles on Saturday morning. I have planned my route and am just trying to figure out my water stops. I am hoping that my husband will bring me water on my route.

3. I ordered a pair of Somnio running shoes. I found a $40.oo coupon on a blog and decided to order a pair. I am hoping for magic, especially after my Newton failure.

AppleFest +1

Today I was running for MCM Mama's Virtual Race. There were three choices, a 4 miler, an 8 miler or a 40 K. Today was my long run day so I ran 14 miles. Yee-haw I have never run that far before. I will start by saying my time for 8 miles was 1:14. That is my time for my virtual race.

Now, I can only describe the day as perfect running weather. We decided to do the AppleFest course which I am signed up for in September. It was a GORGEOUS morning. A little cloudy, a cool breeze and not to much traffic. We started out at a good pace between 9 and 10 minute miles. We practiced holding back when needed to and letting our legs go when they needed to. The AppleFest is a funny course. The first 6 miles are downhill. The last 7 are up. But honestly the UP was not as UP as hills that we have in Amherst. I had plenty of water. I had bought a new Nathaan water holder and had 16 ounces of water and 16 ounces of Nuun. I can only describe the morning as a huge runners high. I am actually still on cloud nine. Now I am off to bed as I have a 4:30 am wake up call to run with Lynn! Good night.

Crisman 5 K

WooHoo!!! I just finished my 5K in 24:01. I could have finished sub 24, but I stopped to talk to a little girl who was having some sort of asthma attack although her parents assured me she doesn't have asthma. Oh well....who knows. The weather was beautiful, no humidity and I just went out there and ran. The only stinky thing was that my garmin ran out of batteries. Oh well! Tomorrow is my big run, I am running a half for MCM Mama's Virtual Race. I think that it was to run an 8 mile race or a 40 K, but I have to change it up a bit for my training this week. Happy Running everyone!

5K on a Saturday Morning

I am up and ready to go. I have a 5K at 10 am this morning. The Crisman 5K. It is an annual road race for two brothers who died in a car accident 6 years ago. I have not run a 5K race in a couple of years and I am nervous. I am typically not a 5K runner. It takes me 3 miles just to get into my running. I always start out way to fast and then am running on fumes at the end. I have a bunch of friends running, some even pushing jog strollers. Part of me feels like I might be in the back of the pack with them. I am also debating wearing my Garmin or not. The competitive part of me says "Wear it so you know where you are!" The laid back part of me says, "Just enjoy the race." I am running 13 tomorrow am so part of me doesn't want to do something crazy and then get hurt. All tough decisions for a 5K in Amherst, NH. Wish me luck!

Running at Pace

Wow! I took the RRCA coaching class this weekend. I really enjoyed myself. The first day was hard considering we sat for almost 9 hours, but all of the information was great! I loved the second day because we worked on training plans. One thing that I did learn is pace and what pace you should be running during training, racing etc....Well, I should be running a 10:08 training pace to finish my marathon in 4 hours. I typically run 9:00-9:30 when training. It is hard to run a 10:08 pace. I am trying and trying to get my friend to do the same. I have a 9 mile run this afternoon and I will tell you how it goes. With my shorter runs I am just trying to get it done so I think that it might work better with my longer runs.

On a different note, I sent back my Newtons. I just did not love them and my shins were hurting. I did what I was supposed to do. Ran 1 mile in them, then 2 miles. They just weren't for me. Luckily I bought them from Road Runner Sports and have a 60 day return policy. I also bought another pair of Brooks Glycerin's. I love those shoes. They just work!

Happy Wednesday, we are almost through the week!

How Not to Run a 12 Mile Training Run

Today was my long run day and it was a 12 miler. Michelle, one of my running partners, and I headed out at 11 am. It was supposed to be cooler, breezy and decreased humidity. Really none of those things applied today. I am thinking that I should become a meterologist, because you really do not have to be right that often. It was hot, it was humid and the only thing breezy was a hot breeze from the northwest. A couple of other things that went wrong today.....

1./ Don't eat two mini muffins and two cups of coffee for breakfast and expect to have a good run. I was drained even before I even got started. During the run I tried a Clif chocolate gel. It stunk. When will I learn when you find something that works (Hammer Raspberry Gel) that you stick to it?

2./ Hydrate. I did not have enough water yesterday, this morning and then only brought 16 ounces for the run. At one point it was likie we were in the dessert. We thought that we were seeing water stations. We couldn't stop talking about water. Finally at about Mile 10 we came upon the golf course. I made us stop and the ladies let us take ice cold water from their snack bar, showed us where the bubbler was and told us to stop anytime. That water never tasted so good.

I am sure there were other things I could write about, but those two including the weather really spells it out. We walked, we talked and we laughed. I think that some people call it "bonking." and we totallly "bonked" today!

On a happy note tomorrow starts my RRCA coaching class. I am so excited. I don't know what I bring to the table, but I think that it is going to be really fun.

Happy Weekend!