Week 10, Here we Go!

Somehow, we've made it past the halfway mark of marathon training!

Time flies, doesn't it?

This week our plan calls for 4 miles, 8 miles, 4 miles, and then 17 miles.

I have to say, I have enjoyed every minute of training for this marathon.  My friends and I ran about 11 miles on Saturday and it was truly a piece of cake.  The weather was perfect: cool and not as humid as it has been lately.  We had a great group run, I think there were five of us in total.  When we have that many runners, we usually feel comfortable with changing up the run a bit.  So, we headed down a country road that I would not run on by myself early in the morning.  It was just gorgeous.  I love to watch the sun come up over the Blue Ridge with my dear friends.  The conditions (mainly, the weather) have been so difficult to train through, so this weekend's run was delightful.  I wasn't falling over due to exhaustion by the middle of the day and I didn't feel like eating one of the kids because I was so hungry. And, I wasn't sore in the least bit, nor were my feet.

This coming week calls for a pretty tough long run, but I know it will be great!  : ) I truly love this time of year: fall marathon training.  There's nothing better.  I love it and enjoy the challenge that each week brings!

More soon!

Scary Stuff

This week we had an attempted abduction of a female runner in our area.  At 7:15 in the morning.  The sun is up at that hour.  You should feel safe running outside when it is light.  The attempted abduction DID take place in a very desolate area of our county.  (Very, very, very desolate... Like farms are a good mile or half mile off the "main" gravel road.)

But...

My friends and I have been stalked by this creepy old man for about a year.  The stalking got increasingly worse.  He would wait for us on random side streets.  Side streets that people don't just drive down for the heck of it.  So, we called the police and we haven't seen him for about nine months.  And, now he's back.  Intermittently enough that we can't really call again.

It gets better, though...

This morning the girls and I met around 5 am to get our 12 miles in before the weekend.  And, of course, we're all a bit jittery because of this week's attempted abduction.  There was a car that went ZOOMING past us, again, and again?  This happened at the beginning of the run. And, sure enough 45 minutes later he found us in a random, quiet, almost elderly neighborhood.  He looked for us ...   in town.  And, he passed us three times in that neighborhood. All of this was ON PURPOSE.

This morning's situation was scarier, though, than the van thing.  Mainly because he was much younger, he seemed angry, almost violent with his crazy fast driving, and he could easily hurt us if he wanted to.  I'm thankful that there were three of us, and that I wasn't running on my own.

It is disturbing.  I've been in touch with the police, we got a portion of the license plate number.  But, it's still scary.  Be careful out there...

Better...

The drugs are helping...

Hurray!

Tomorrow I'm going to try to get in six, or more.  I was very, very lazy this morning....

Gosh, I hope this doesn't carry over to beach week...

This laziness!

Looks like I need the drugs.

The long run was not a good one yesterday.  : (

My leg is back to hurting, badly.  I tried to nap in the early afternoon and it just throbbed and throbbed.  Anytime I'm in the car, I jack up the heated seats to relieve the burning pain in my rear-end.

I have no idea why it's happening again- at nearly the exact same time as last year!  (To the WEEK almost...)  Our runs have been fast.  I've always read that long runs should be a good minute or two slower than race (marathon) pace.  I don't think I've been sticking to that, per-say.  They've been pretty fast long runs and short runs, if you ask me.

So.  What do I do?  It's not so bad that I need to go back to the doctor.  Nor, is it bad enough for me to have to take some time off.  I just don't want it to get to that point.  I really don't.  So, I refilled a prescription from last year to help with inflammation.  And, I've got to slow it down some.  And, maybe look into more strengthening and stretching exercises, too.

This is baffling.  I had ZERO issues when training for the March marathon.  I don't understand why this injury has decided to re-surface again....

Long Run Saturday

Today we got in 11 miles.  11 long, hot, hot, HOT miles.

We got started at 5:15.  It was in the 80's when we started.  The thick air, though, was worse than the heat.

My right leg/butt/back is starting to burn again, so thankfully the girls didn't mind slowing the pace a little bit.  I think that speed might exacerbate the pain, but I really have no idea.  It wasn't around in the middle of the winter, I do know that.

We all ran with our belts and drank every sip of water and gatorade on our run. It was that hot and that draining.  Thankfully, we were able to re-fill our bottles over at the park before heading home.  This run has sucked the life out of me, and it's only 9 am.  I sorta forgot that training for a fall marathon can be a little bit uncomfortable in the early weeks....

Next week we're moving up to 12.  No problem.  Can't wait.  Because even though these runs suck the life out of me and force me to nap and drink a Coke, they also make me feel so alive and so healthy.

Finally!

Finally!  I got my butt up and out the door this morning.  I've been so, so tired all week.  It must be from the pool.  We've stayed everyday after lessons.  There's definitely NO sitting when we head to the pool for the afternoon.

Honestly, this was a cruddy run for me.  That's to be expected, though, when you take FOUR days in a ROW off.  The heat was tough to push through, but it's in the books.  Tomorrow will be easier.  I'd really like to run on the treadmill sometime soon because I think it helps my pace when I get outside.

The rest of the week should go something like this:

Friday: 3 miles
Saturday:  11 miles
Sunday:  3 miles

I think Sunday will be a treadmill day...

I'm hopeful that things are back on track now.

Really Annoyed.

Last week was a FANTASTIC week of running!  Just fantastic!  Maybe thirty miles, or so, which is a lot for me.

And you know what?

This week is a completely different story.

I have missed getting up at the crack of dawn ALL week, which annoys the HECK out of me.  It also means that I haven't run since Saturday.  (Uggh!)  My mom would say, "Good for you, Kate, you need to REST.  All that running isn't good for your body, anyway."  (Naturally, I'd totally roll my eyes at this comment.)  Maybe today I'll be able to squeeze in just thirty minutes on the treadmill. Maybe?!

 If I don't, I think I'll just go crazy.

 Really, I think I might!