Misty morning....

It was beautiful this morning! Did the usual Saturday morning run with the Little Rock Marathon Group.....I love the locations they use for training. Today was out at 2 Rivers Park, near Maumelle park. I had never been out that way before. The temperature was a little chilly, but just perfect once I got warmed up. I did wish that I had brought some light gloves, however, cause even when I warmed up, my fingers stayed cold and stiff. Anyway, as the bright red sun came up over the misty farmland, it was so serene and beautiful. Much of the run I was by myself. The group was mostly 3-miler's doing the half buildup and 6 miler's doing the marathon buildup, so the few of us doing longer runs went in a different direction. I figured I better do a few weeks of 7 miles on my long run, and maybe a few weeks of 8 miles before I am in step with the whole group. The route ended up being 7.2 miles, but i didn't time myself this morning. I think it was around an hour and five minutes.

I tried one of my new C9 Target running skirts, and this one "stayed put" much better! It is a bit shorter than I'd prefer, but I still like it. It definitely doesn't chafe the legs, which is awesome. I did, however, get to experience the infamous (ahem) , nipple chafing that I've heard people talk about....

Still having a hard time getting my running in while up in Harrison. Only 4 more weeks up there and I'm ready to get back into a routine at home. I guess I will have to get a gym membership for one month, just to use the treadmill.... I can tell the lack of running during the week is really doing me in on the weekends as my long runs are getting longer.....

Running skirts....falling skirts...

It was an interesting morning....I woke up to my alarm at 4;45 (geez...I couldn't believe it was already morning) and got ready to leave, wearing my new Runningskirts.com skirt. I was excited to finally get it and be wearing it!! Come to find out, it's too big, although when I put it on, it SEEMED to fit well. More on that later...

I usually check the weather to see what Saturday mornings are going to be like, but totally forgot last night. As I drove, it started to rain and I thought "Oh, crap"......Not only did I not have a waterproof jacket, but I was wearing a white top and wasn't about to be part of some wet t-shirt contest!! Thankfully, from the moment I stepped out of my car until the time I got back in, the most it did was mist a little.

I'd never run on the river trail, it was pretty enjoyable...although it was dark, and I kept looking around like a paranoid-schizophrenic for someone to pop out of the shadows and attack me. It was a good run and I felt great...aside from having to pull up that damn skirt the whole way..Don't get me wrong, I love the skirt, but I def have to buy a smaller size now. I should have tried it out on a shorter run. But now, I can't return it and am out $60! In any event, it was encouraging to be moving a bit faster this week. I did 6 miles this week, a nine minute mile! YAY!

I will try out the skirts I got from Target on shorter runs this week and eventually I will buy another running skirt from Runningskirts.com. I was pleasantly surprised that the length was longer than I anticipated and the material is SO soft! Anyone want to buy my other skirt at a discount? It's a 10-12 (size 4 on the runnningskirts website). I usually wear a size 10, sometimes an 8, but it seems to run larger.

Blah....and running skirts....

Well, as I told some people, last weekend was pretty rough on the Saturday morning run. It was humid and I felt like it would never end. I guess I'm going to have to join a gym in Harrison just to be able to run on a treadmill while I'm up there, cause this "no running during the week" is really making my weekend runs an ordeal. Only 5 more weeks up there, but I have to do something soon. Tomorrow's run is downtown at the River Market and I think the weather will be somewhat cooler than last weekend.....today's stretch is 4 miles....
On a lighter note...I got some running skirts and am pretty excited about running in them. I had been looking online for a while and had tried to look into getting some from Target, but their online store said they were out of my size. I ordered one from RunningSkirts.com and it came but i haven't tried it on yet. But....to my delight, i popped into Target in Conway on my way to Harrison on Monday and found SEVERAL!! I was pumped! And they weren't as short as I had anticipated they would be. Hopefully I won't be too chicken to wear them now.....

This humidity is ridiculous...

I just got back from what was supposed to be a 4 mile run....I ended it at 3.6. I didn't even pay attention to my time. It felt like I was suffocating out there today. Sure, some of it is the humidity, but I have a feeling it also has to do with making up for not working out all week and feeling out of shape! It was a bit discouraging. I guess, again, I need to give myself some room for this kind of stuff, being out of town all week...Plus I have been eating like crazy and feel sluggish...

Tomorrow morning is the marathon group run at 6am at the Capitol. I am dreading it a little because of today's performance. I need to start at 6 miles, if I can do it. I've been doing 5 for my last 3 long runs. I still haven't had time to go out to the new Balance store and have my shoes fit for orthotic insoles. I dread the drive all the way out to Cantrell (especially with gas going up to 4.50 a gallon) and spending $200 on the stupid things. Still, I think (and hope) it will be worth it. Hopefully, it won't rain tomorrow morning. I 'm not ready to run in the rain yet!! Updates to come....

Beautiful morning...

This morning was absolutely beautiful!!!! It was actually cold and I started to wonder if the weather would be like last year, when it was hot for so long and then suddenly got cold. I run much better in the cold, but I still want fall to gradually ease me into winter!!

I was dreading it a little bit, cause yesterday's 4 mile was really hard for some reason. I'm not sure if I am not eating ENOUGH or just eating the WRONG things...I constantly feel as if my sugar is low lately and don't want to get in the habit of eating protein bars or Gu all the time. I was pleasantly surprised this morning when my 5 miles felt great! I know I'm supposed to be focused on finishing, but I couldn't help but be pleased with doing 5 miles in 45 minutes, a 9 minute mile! Aside from that, it was nice to run, not necessarily "with" other people, cause I don't "know" anyone there, but with other people around... I enjoyed the course, and I guess, since I haven't run the marathon yet, I haven't been tainted...

I went to my usual weight class afterwards. It seemed brutal, but it did help me stretch out and I am getting stronger. I am trying to be more balanced with toning my quads and hamstrings, so I don't have as much knee pain as I build up my mileage. Sadly, I am probably going to have to get prosthetics made for my shoes. I think my insoles are too rigid in my "new" stability shoes. Maybe I'll make the trip out to the New Balance store on Monday so the Podorthist can make a mold of my feet before I leave for Harrison. All in all, an exhilarating run today!!

Another Outlet....

I decided I wanted to create a running blog as I train for the 2009 Little Rock Marathon so I can document my progress, pitfalls, and adventures for the next few months. I know that thousands of people have run marathons, and many of them more than one. I used to think how awesome it was that they could do it, but never imagined I would be attempting it myself. I ran in college, more as an exercise-obsessed person, having lost a significant amount of weight and wanting to keep it off. In a way, it was more of a self-punishment type of thing....for eating too much or just a way to keep from getting fat again....

It shocked me when I had this overwhelming desire a few months ago to actually DO one. So...I have embarked on the adventure of training as a newbie, and experiencing not only the ups and downs physically of my body adjusting again to all that running....but also the ups and downs mentally of setting goals for myself that are too high and unreasonable and realizing how, not only self-defeating that is...but also learning to enjoy something that was previously a form of punishment for my failures.

It has been tough to increase my mileage as I have been working in Harrison lately and that has been discouraging. I have been working at least 3 13-hour days every week and am just too tired after work to do anything but eat dinner, shower, and fall into bed, only to get up and do it all over again.... I admit I have been beating myself up over not going running after work, after being on my feet literally 13 hours a day. That's pretty stupid, now that I think about it...and it gets me nowhere, beating myself up. Not to mention that, this being my first marathon, I have been insanely worried about my times rather than just focusing on finishing...

Several good things about this new endeavor, though, have been meeting different groups of people, like the Hot Legs running club and the LR Marathon training group, that have inspired and encouraged me to continue, cut me some slack, and provided much guidance and support. For them, I am grateful...and it makes me realize that even though I am the one running, I know I don't HAVE to do it alone, despite my natural independent tendencies..

So....here I can outlet all my running triumphs and foibles..and hopefully get some good advice, from those who have been there before!

This is week 3 in the Marathon Build-up program. I have been at this stage for a short while. Tomorrow's scheduled distance is 4 miles. I am supposed to be doing 6, but will probably do 5 like I did last weekend. It was pretty brutal, with all those hills, but I guess it was good practice, since the actual race course is hills galore@! We'll see how tomorrow goes....I'm about to head out for today's run of 4 miles...