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Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Power up for 9 miles...


After some advice from fellow runners, we decided to make sure we had fuel to keep going for our 9 mile run. Kristi made a Kroger run and got us some Power Gel, this was new for both of us...but we knew we were going to need it!

So, after work, we laced up our new shoes and put in our new "Power Step" inserts, recommended by a foot doctor. (We both found out that we have a neuroma on our foot. Which is scar tissue on the nerve that goes between two of the toes, hence the numbness I experience in my foot). We headed to the Panhandle Trail and were off...

3 miles in and 3 miles back to the car for our Power Gel, water and a quick stretch break...then back in for a mile and half and back to finish out the 9 miles....

(now I can't say the power gel was the best thing I have ever had, but the Vanilla flavor did taste like cake batter. We will have a different brand on race day, so we are going to try and find that brand to finish training with.)

It was good, but tough...we prayed the whole time and offered up the pain for our families, for our friends, for the teens, for the WYD pilgrims, for those who have asked for prayers...Jesus gave us the grace and even rained it down on us, literally, as we ran our last 3 miles the rain came down!

The Power Gel finally kicked in about a mile and a half after we took it. Which I was grateful for, I was getting tired fast!

We pushed through and finished in 2 hours flat!

I could barley walk the rest of the night, had my husband give me a massage, iced my muscles and almost had to crawl to bed! I whimpered every time I moved as I slept....

I woke up this morning, and am still in quite a bit of pain! Krisit and I still made it to the gym this afternoon to stretch and do upper body. I felt pretty limber after that, but then as I sat down at my desk again, every time I got up it was painful!

I'll keep on stretchin'!

A good shout out to my Mom who also did her 9 mile run yesterday, or so she thought! She called me after she was done, telling me how she didn't feel so good, was dizzy, lightheaded, etc. She had not measured out her distance, so she just ran for 3 hours....walking about 20 minutes of that time. She was feeling so bad, that she was contemplating giving up running the half marathon!

Well, she went back today to measure the distance and realized that she ran about 11-12 miles!!!! And she thought she wasn't going to be able to do the 13 miles of the half! WAY TO GO MOM!!! She has been doing all of the training by herself...I am so proud of you Mom!

Posted by at 1:55 AM 0 comments

Monday, April 28, 2008

Third Times a Charm...


My new shoes are here!!!!! My new shoes are here!!!!

I finally went to a running store to get some educated information about what to do with my shoe saga! They had me run on a treadmill and videotaped my stride. It was really cool to watch myself run. They noticed how my left foot was rolling out, therefore having to work double-time to be straight again. Hence all the pain in my Achilles Tendon!

So, we are ready to hit the road!

Posted by at 8:08 PM 3 comments

Monday, April 21, 2008

On a break

After advice from fellow runners I have taken this past week off from running in order to let my blister heal! Blister under blister under blister was taking a toll on my ability to walk!

So, I have decided to take this week off from running to finally let it properly heal. I am happy to report that it is doing good! The new skin has finally been able to grow and I am ready to hit the road on Monday for my 9 mile run! I have my blisterless socks and my THIRD pair of new shoes and I am ready to go!

Posted by at 8:51 PM 0 comments

Sunday, April 20, 2008

8 mile




No, this is not some reference to some movie by some white rapper who has seemed to fade away from the limelight...this is about the fact that I RAN 8 MILES!!!!

Honestly, I was not quite sure how the run was going to go, being that I had not done many of my short runs, including my 7 mile run last week.

We were in Indy this past weekend, so I was excited to get in some new scenery during my run. We stayed with Brian's sister, Shannon, who lives out in the country. I was perfectly content with the idea of running on the country roads in her area, but thank you to the smarts of my sister-in-law she checked with her husband before I left, and here commended that I DO NOT run on the road. He said I would likely get hit by a tractor, and because I am not ready to have "John Deere" tattooed on my backside, I took his "words" of wisdom. (I saw "words" because I think I heard my brother-in-law, Jeff, speak more words this weekend than I have in almost 2 years! He is a man of select words!)

So, my loving husband drove me to the Monan, which is a great trail that runs through Indianapolis. This is a great place for walking, riding, running...so full of friendly people and great natural scenery...ok, I have already written a lot and have barley gotten to the good part yet!

Brian dropped me off and I was off...

I was a little worried about my ailments, but prayed and asked my guardian angel to put her hand on my blister, and the spot on my left foot that had been making my foot numb...I was amazed how good my feet felt for the majority of the run. I had a few pains in the Achilles tendon area of my left left.

I stopped at 4 miles to stretch, and kept on truckin'...at about 6.5 I was
a little low on energy--so i walked for about two minutes....

I got to the 7 mile marker and all I kept think was, I only have 1 mile left!!! I couldn't believe it! This was the longest I had EVER run in my life!!! I was running by some condos and above someone's door was a sign that read "got hope?" I said, "HECK YEAH I DO!!" I got rush of excitement and a spring in my step!

As I hit about 7.8 miles, my breathing was getting wheezy....it was weird...I was afraid I was going to have an asthma attack, but I took a few deep breathes, kept on trucking---I think it was the excitement of knowing the end was in sight!!!

I was running on the Monan trail in Indy---it is this great trail they
Have for runner, walkers, bikers, etc. ...Brian dropped me off and told him to come get me in an hour an half, when I didn't show, he started walking...when I saw him, I raised my arms in triumph (this was at about the 7.7 mark), I started
crying when I saw him....it was a taste of race day!!! I was so excited
that I did it!!!! He gave me some water and that helped my
breathing.....and I pushed through to the end!! It was glorious!

I spent the rest of the day limping and caring for the new blisters that appeared under my old ones on my foot.

I was given some advice to take the week off to let this painful blister heal…so that is what I will do…until 9 miles…

Posted by at 6:42 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Ta Da!!





I am so proud of my husband!! This is the first full, from start to finish, remodel that Brian has done!!! It looks great and I love it!!! And it is so great to have a bathroom downstairs again!

While I was gone he got the floor installed, all the trim, the sink and the throne...aka the toilet!

He did a great job!!!! See the before and after difference!

Posted by at 2:38 AM 4 comments

Saturday, April 12, 2008

It was my favorite...

So we arrived n Quebec City yesterday and I instantly fell in love despite the 10 foot piles of snow that are still tryinng to melt from their record breaking winter storms this year! The place is quaint and full of little shops, cafes, and the like. The old town is still surrounded by the old city wall! Well, then I wake up to SNOW!!! Blowing snow all over!! Let me say this does not make me happy! We have been so blessed on this trip to have great weather, I guess it was bound to happen at some point, we are in Canada. But it's APRIL for crying out loud! ARG!


Blister report:
Well, I did go swimming on Wednesday for my workout, and then rann 3 miles on Thursday and Friday...I should have skipped Friday for the sake of my blister and just let it keep healing. Yesteday it was pretty painful! Today is a little better, but I am definatly not going to do my 7 mile run today...we will see how I am doing tomorrow. I don't want to push it any more, lest it get so bad that it puts me out for even longer.

Time to get some breakfast! IN THE SNOW!

Posted by at 11:42 AM 1 comments

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

couldn't resist

Posted by at 12:47 AM 0 comments

No power, no pictures

I love my husband, even when he forgets to put the power cord back in the computer bag! Therefore I have no power left on my computer and cannot download my pictures. I supposed I could try to download them on to this computer, but my camera cord is 14 floors up. Maybe later this week. Because I got some BEAUTIFUL pictures today of the Notre Dame Basilica! My new favorite church! I could have sat there for hours! I plan to go back there tomorrow for some prayer time.

All is going great on the trip! We have a wonderful group and it is a great joy to spend time with Fr. Mike and Fr. Larry.

As for my training...well that is a different story. I woke up Monday morning to my right foot THROBBING! The blister that I got on Saturday has become quite irritated, so I am taking it easy, icing it, putting ointment on it and wearing flip flops so that it can breathe a bit. There is a woman on our trip who is a physian's assistant and she is keeping an eye on it for me. So far it is not infected..PRAISE GOD!

As promised, I have not forgotten about writing about my new outlook on the training...although..not tonight...time for bed!

Posted by at 12:29 AM 0 comments

Sunday, April 6, 2008

New found love


Sometimes I miss the days of running in the mountains and trails of California. There is something different about being surrounded by beautiful nature as I run...well we have discovered a similar beauty in the Ohio Valley! The Panhandle Trail is a trail that runs through West Virginia and Pennsylvania. It is a growing trail that is a part of the "Rails to trails" line, where they are taking old railroad routes and turning them into trails to hike, bike, job, etc. (At least that is my understanding of this trail...someone please correct me if I am wrong.)

So, Krisit, Vince (who is also running the half with us) and I headed there for our 6 mile run on Saturday. It was great!!! The miles are even marked out, so it makes it easy to track our distance. We had a great run, despite the huge blisters that appeared on both feet about 4 miles in.

It was such a gift to enjoy the scenery as we ran! The stream that ran along side the trail, the trees as spring is staring to come alive! I am excited to watch these trail grow and bloom over the next few months. It felt great to get six miles in and know that we are officially half way through our 12 week training schedule.

I am now in the Pittsburgh airport about to depart on my next trip for work. This week: Montreal & Quebec. I'll be sure to post pictures and stories of my travels. I have it on good authority that I am going to love this place!

In other news...Jesus has healed my knees!! I went to the Festival of Praise yesterday on campus and asked Jesus to heal my body from the pain, and I woke up this morning feeling better than I have since I started training! THANK YOU JESUS!! I have more to share on my new perspective on running this marathon that I will share in the next post.

Posted by at 9:01 PM 1 comments

Thursday, April 3, 2008

My Other Half


Here is a picture of my training buddy and I! We share a brain, and have done so since we were roommates a few years ago! It is quite scary sometimes how much we think alike. Like when this picture was taken yesterday...as you can see we have on VERY similar outfits! Kristi drives me to work every day (THANKS KRISTI!) and when she picked me up yesterday, we laughed as we looked at our outfits! An added funny story is that the day before Brian and I had on matching outfits. Brown on shirts and khaki pants. It was really funny! He was sure to tell me, "I picked out my outfit first!" I think I was still in the shower when he got dressed and didn't see him until after I got dressed, so it wasn't planned. My old roommate Ria and I used to do the same thing, so we got laughed at when we got into work....people would ask "didn't you see each other before you left the house?!" I guess when you live with people, or share a brain with them you like the same outfits!

Posted by at 10:55 AM 1 comments

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Parent Practice



At TJ and Grace's Wedding this weekend, we met up with some friends of ours Joe and Monica Roderique. (I actually took pictures of this couple as they got engaged and married!) Their daughter Moira was a joy to get to know! She is just over a year old and precious!!! The second she saw me she came right to me and was my entertainment during the rehearsal. Then as we did a conga line around the reception, I snatched her out of her dad's arms to dance with me...she was all for it! Then after the reception we visited with them in the hotel lobby and she snatched Brian's heart! She is learning to walk and loving it! Her new found love...steps! Brian took her up and down the stairs for about 15 minutes and she giggled and laughed every time she went up a step...such a happy baby! Brian had a big smile on his face as well! (yup! this man will be the father of our children! I am so excited!!)

He was a little pooped after it all!
When we said goodbye to Joe, Monica and Moira the next morning after mass, Brian kept going back to her to hug and snuggle and tickle her belly! He couldn't get enough! Do you think this man is ready to be a father?? =)

Posted by at 2:03 AM 0 comments

6 miles...DONE!

I was out of town this past weekend, which can sometimes throw off a workout, but I am happy to report that I got both my Friday and Saturday run in! I was in Baltimore, MD for my friend TJ's wedding. (stay tuned for upcoming posts about that) So, once we got settled in our hotel on Friday afternoon, I headed out for my 3 mile run. Again, because I have no way of tracking it I went by time, and because I was a little short on time because we had to get to the holy hour for the happy couple, I only ran for about 30 minutes. We were staying in the Hotel District by the BWI airport, so there wasn't much exciting to look at as I ran, but I had my ipod and Dave Ramsey and I hung out a bit!

Saturday morning, I got up early to go for my run before the noon-thirty wedding. I set my goal to run for an hour and 15 minutes, guessing this would about hit my 6 miles, if not that, then at least it would be the longest I have ever ran at one time!

I made a lot of loops, listened to a lot of Dave Ramsey and kept on truckin'! I had to stop about 3 times to stretch. My back was getting pretty sore and my quads were on fire! So, my last stretch of running was getting a little slower. I was hurting pretty bad by the time I got to the hotel room all sweaty, to which my husband responded, "go take a shower, you stink!" Said all out of love, of course!

Not only, did my back and quads hurt, I had a new blister on my right foot and my Achilles tendon on my left foot was in pain! This resulted in me calling Roadrunner Sports (who I ordered my shoes from) to talk to them about my new shoes that I was so excited about...the great customer service rep, Heather, was pretty sure that all of my pain, including my numbing left foot, was due to the shoes. She gave me some suggestions of some other shoes to try instead. Thanks to their 60-day trial period, I am able to easily return them and get new shoes...so stay tuned for my re-newed excitement for my new shoes!

Tomorrow is another 4 mile run...Monday's run went pretty good, despite my numbing foot!

Also, during my 6-mile run on Saturday I decided that I am going to treat myself to some good running shorts or pants and socks. I think that these items will help make my longer runs, and of course race-day, much more comfortable!

Oh, I almost forgot, my husband did me a loving favor...after the wedding on Saturday night, we drove my running path to measure the mileage. I was interested to know how close I got to 6 miles and was happy to discover that it was 5.8 miles!!!

Posted by at 1:42 AM 0 comments
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