Two Weeks of Tapering? Don't Mind if I Do!

Last week's brutal 22 miles was my last week of building and I'm now in the tapering stage of my training. I like to think of it as the downhill stretch! I had 15 miles to get through this weekend and I was confident I could pull it off. I decided to keep the same route as last week-a 6 mile loop with home as the refueling station.

Mother Nature has been my arch nemesis during this training (thank goodness for my new super powers!) and this morning was no exception. 38 degrees is not an ideal temperature for me, but I had no choice but to get out there and run! It took a couple of miles for my ears to stop hurting from the cold and my gloves never came off. I saw (and heard, boy are they loud) a gaggle of Canadian Geese flying low over the golf course. They were presumably migrating south for the winter, except they were actually flying north at the time.

Pausing at the house is working well for me; today, I took off a layer of cold wet clothes. I even made a mid-run shoe change, since I had a hole developing in the right foot of my aqua sox and I just wasn't ready to trash them when I started my run.

Miles logged: 15.0

Bad Day

Ugh. I had a bad day at the gym today. I couldn't make a mile on the treadmill-my hip was screaming and my feet didn't feel right. I eeked out a workout on the bike. And I bonked. Yep, a 30 minute workout and I was not in good shape at the end of it. I felt a little lightheaded sitting on the bike, but didn't think much of it since I was sitting down. But when I stood up, my legs felt like logs, and I could hardly lift them high enough to get up the one flight of stairs to get to the locker room. Thank goodness I had an apple in my purse. Otherwise, I'm not sure how I would have gotten myself home. Thankfully this happened during a short workout and not one of my long training runs!

Miles logged: less than 1.0

Twenty FREAKING Two!

This was it, the longest run planned in my training schedule before marathon weekend. I'll admit, I was pretty freaked about it, but tried not to get worked up. It was just a training run, not the real deal. In an effort to combat the boredom I knew I would encounter running in the park, I decided to try a different route. An 8 mile loop, run twice, with a shortcut on the last loop would work perfectly. The route included a pause at the golf course to refill my water bottle at the middle of each loop and the house being homebase where I could pick up a new icy water bottle and a snack after each loop. Well planned, don't you think?

Well planned if it really was 8 miles, but it was only 6, and most of it was in the sun. But, I made it work. I struggled with pain in my feet, hips, and knees. I can only expect the same feelings during the race, so at least I'm getting practice running through the pain! I also had problems breathing since I'm still fighting congestion left over from this cold. I was able to get my sinuses partially cleared, but absolutely could not run and eat. I had to stop to eat my snacks, as I could not chew and swallow with restricted airways. Again, good practice for the big day, which is only 3 weeks away!!!

Miles logged: 22.0

Fair Day

This is the last week of the Texas State Fair, the largest state fair in the country. I go every year just to gorge myself on all kinds of fried treats. This year was no different. My company shut the office down for the afternoon so we could have a team building experience!

I swear I didn't eat that much fried stuff, but it sure made me sick to my stomach. I basically only ate my favorite fried food before I started feeling sick-fried cheese curds. Perhaps it was the volume that was the problem...

We played a few games, where I won this beauty! I named him Peter.

I was supposed to run this evening, but there was really no way for me to bounce around with a belly full of grease. So I came home, walked the dogs, and spent some time on the elliptical.

Miles logged: 45 mins on the elliptical machine.

A New Superhero

Superheroes are created by some freak accident (Spiderman), traumatic life event (Batman), or experiment (Wolverine). And while these characters make for great entertainment, I'm pretty sure I became one of them today. 

Today's run was pushed back to Sunday by crappy weather and an ill-placed vet visit on my schedule. Throw in a pre-run sleepover at my grandparent's house, a night of storms, a mild head cold, and a very early wake up call, I was not in the best shape to get out there this morning. After having a great 20-miler last week, I was scared that I would have a bad run today. 

Maybe it was the change of scenery, maybe it was the beautiful blue sky, or maybe it was the buzzing power lines overhead.

3 hours of running under these bad boys probably gave me a superpower! I'm not sure what my superpower is or superhero name would be. According to my google search (first hit), your superhero name is a combo of the color shirt you are wearing and the object to your right. That makes me the Black Cell Phone! Not very impressive, and frankly depressing! 

Hit #2 is much better! You type in your name and pick your gender (boy or girl, apparently adults don't play the superhero game) and viola, your superhero persona is produced. I am now the Wonder Sword! Much more imposing! Plus, my superpower is technology, weakness is garlic, my weapon is the robotic shield, and my mode of transportation is a pegasus! I do love garlic, and my husband is forever making fun of my love of unicorns (for the record: a pegasus is a winged white horse, not a horned white horse, but he doesn't know the difference)!

Miles logged: 15.0

Commitment

I was traveling this week. And amid early flights, long meetings, and late dinners, I was able to squeeze in a run. Not a long one, or even close to the 7 miles I had on the calendar, but a run nonetheless.

Miles logged: 3.0

Twenty!!

Today was a big run for me, a mental, as well as physical milestone, twenty miles. I put it off as long as I could this weekend, not running on Saturday for no good reason except to delay the inevitable. Not sure why I waited.

I've been thinking I need a change of scenery to help me get past the mental roadblocks I've been having on these long runs. There is a shady, 5 mile loop named Duck Creek Park (that has both water fountains and bathrooms), but it is a 30 minute drive from the house. That's another hour on top of a 4 hour run...and I can't stomach it. So today, I ran around the same nature preserve that I always do. But this time, I turned to the right instead of going left around the loop.

This was a big step for me. I turned right the very first time I ever ran in the park and it was a disaster. I was supposed to run 5 miles and a wrong turn, combined with fog and low visibility, caused me to get very very lost. I had no water (thank goodness it was winter) and ended up far away from the park. The 5 mile run, which was the longest I had ever run at the time, turned into 8 miles. I had terrible IT band pain and I was in misery. But I finally found my way and have never turned right in the park again!

I managed to not get lost today, and even had a really good run. This was the first time in a while where I have actually felt like I can finish this marathon!

Miles logged: 20

Playing Hooky!

I am committed to running and training for the marathon, but sometimes, a better offer comes along. I skipped the gym tonight in favor of a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert! I've loved these guys since I was 11 years old! It was an amazing show and I had such a great time! Here are a couple of videos I took!

Miles logged: 0.0