In His Grip

1/2 Marathon Complete!!!!!

Today was the day and it was great!  The weather was super and perfect for a run.  My friend Sheri, yes the same one that ran the Chicago marathon last week, ran the whole way with me.  It was good to have someone to encourage me along the way.  She did such a great job with her encouragement and just being there with me that I improved my time over last year by five minutes, YEAH!  I did end up walking a couple of times and did not accomplish my "no walking race", but I did finish with the 1st place finisher of the marathon.  That works really well if you want a lot of cheering at the end.  I just pretended they were all cheering for me. 

Great Day For a Run

This was a great morning for a run.  I ran in the 10th annual Jared Coones Pumpkin Run.  The best part of this run is I participated in it the first year when it was a very small event that was mostly just families from Black Bob Elementary, the school that Jared attended.  It is so great to see how much the event has grown and how it has remained a kid friendly race.  I have never seen so many kids running in a race.  They were having so much fun running as fast as they could and stopping to catch their breath just to take off like a shot again.  To have that much energy.  This is the week before my 1/2 marathon next Saturday.  My goal is to run the whole thing and not walk.  So for training, I will do a couple of short runs and look forward to Saturday. 

1/2 Marathon Trianing

There is still training going on here.  Last week was my first week back after taking two weeks off in India.  I just thought a white women running through a village might have just caused too much of a spectacle, we were pretty much a spectacle everywhere we went anyway.  It was not near as tough coming back to training as I thought.  I ran a total of 16 miles last week with one of my runs being 5.5 miles and I really could have gone farther, but did not want to push it.  This week I ran 3.5 miles on Monday, 3 miles on Tuesday,  Wednesday I planned to run 5 miles, but half way into my run it started raining which in itself would not have stopped me, but the thunder and lightening freaked me out a little so I only ended up running 3 miles.  Then today, Friday, I was able to get my 10 mile run in, this will be the longest run before the actual race.  It was not too bad, so now I think that as I maintain for the next couple of weeks I will be ready on October 18th.

1/2 Marathon Training

This past week I had the pleasure of running two of my days with a great friend.  Running with a friend is not only a way to make sure you get out there and run because you have committed to meet up at 5:45 am, but it also makes the run seem to go faster.  Warning!!!!  When you run with someone who is not only quite a few years younger than you and can run a lot faster than you, you might want to run the last 5 1/2 miles of their 15 mile run.  That way I don't slow her down and she gets my company on the last part of a long run for her.  Worked out great for me.  Sunday--5 miles, Monday--3 miles, Tuesday--4 miles, Thursday--3 miles, Friday--5 1/2 miles, total week--20 1/2 miles.

1/2 Marathon Training

Last week I missed my training update, and I bet you all thought that I had given up, not the case.  I just did not take the time to post my weekly training.  So to start with, last week I chalked up 17 total miles for the week right on track with my training schedule.  This week however, I have been a little slack.  Monday--3.5 miles, Tuesday--3.5 miles, Friday--5 miles for a weekly total of only 12 miles.  This is short of my training schedule, not to worry, I will not let myself give up.  Next week I will get right back on track.

1/2 Marathon Training

This week I had to finally bring out the fuel belt.  With the humidity like it is and running over an hour, I have to have water.  I hate running with this but I have to have water at some point. I worked on my pace this week on the short runs and I still have a ways to go to get to the pace where I want but my trusty Garmin Forerunner is very helpful at keeping me on pace.  Monday--3 miles, Tuesday--3 miles, Wednesday--3 miles, Thursday--7 miles, Saturday--3 miles, total 19 miles.

1/2 Marathon Training Update

This week was hard to get out there and hit the pavement.  Returning to the routine of life after vacation is always a challenge for me.  Luckily, I planned ahead for this and loaded a novel on my MP3 player for vacation.  I do not allow myself to listen to the story unless I am running, so by the time I had to get back to running at home I was dying to know what happens next in the story.  I will use anything to motivate myself to get out there at 5:00 am.  Monday--4 miles, Tuesday--3 miles, Wednesday--3.5, Friday--3 miles, Saturday--3.5 miles, total--17 miles.

1/2 Marathon Training, Update

I am so spoiled now that I have been running in Minnesota for the last week.  With the temperatures in the 60's for a morning run, how will I ever be able to come back to Kansas and run in the humidity? Running on the nice shady road was great but the hills were a killer.  Sunday--4 miles; Monday--60 minute paddle boat ride; Tuesday--3 1/2 mile run; Wednesday--5 mile run; Thursday 3 1/2 mile run; Friday--60 minute paddle boat ride; Saturday--4 mile run, 60 minute paddle boat ride.  Week total--20 miles.

1/2 Marathon Training

Bought myself a new running hat this week.  I found it on sale at Dick's for a great price.  With my short, sassy hair, I wake up a little too sassy to not cover it up, so I always wear a hat.  Besides, it helps disguise who I am in case someone sees me running.   By the time they realize it is me they have past me.   This week I did not do too bad.  Had the first day this summer where I felt like I was swimming rather than running.  Sunday -- 20 mile bike ride; Monday -- 3 mile run; Wednesday -- 3 mile run, Thursday -- 4.5 mile run, Friday -- raining; Saturday -- 3 mile run; week total running -- 13.5 miles.  I am looking forward to running in the nice cool air of Minnesota.

Kansas City 1/2 Marathon Training

This year I am going to be totally out there early in the game.  I am starting to train for the Kansas City 1/2 Marathon.  Last year I kept it to myself until about five weeks ahead of time afraid that I might not achieve my goal.  However, I did accomplish that goal and am hoping to finish the race without walking this year.  There will be two weeks in September when I will be in India and it is doubtful that I will get any training done while there, but I am trusting that I will not lose too much during that time.  One of the reasons I started this blog was to keep me accountable.  How much more accountable can I be?  Well, on Saturdays, I will report on my progress and my mileage.  I can do this one mile at a time.  Happy running!!!!