Cold...rain...sleet...hail....I said it would be a wintery mix.....everyone made fun of me, but I was right!

I can't believe that I haven't posted for almost a month..I cannot possibly recap the events of the past 3 weeks and weekend runs, however, I hope to be a little more diligent in the coming weeks up to the race and post-race. Last weekend was my 20 miler!! I actually finished and I couldn't believe it! Apparently all the weather that we have "luckily" dodged, caught up with us this past weekend in the form of cold, rain, sleet, hail, and thunder and lightning...and looks to be headed our way again for another long run on Saturday....This weekend is the dreaded Murray Park, which I'm sure involves the all-too-common River trail that I have come to dread. I am hoping, against hope, that it will at least stay dry until we are done, despite the cold and wind that are expected as well.

This past weekend was, as I said, WET. Thankfully, we stayed dry for about the first 6.5 miles before it started to pour on us. We started at the Capitol and headed through downtown. It was almost exactly last week's run plus more, but I didn't care as long as it was NOT that damn River trail. My feet felt amazingly good the whole run, a little sore, but not too bad. I think I started out a bit too fast, trying to keep up with Kim and Cheryl, and my hip flexors and/or IT band quickly let me know I needed to slow down!! After that it was a decent pace, with a few walk breaks thrown in. The past couple of weeks I have been doing the run/walk thing..usually running 4-5 miles and then walking 0.5 as I nourish/drink. That was a bit shot to hell as the rain picked up. Kim said she was "not about to walk" with it raining that hard! It did slow down to a sprinkle here and there and I got a few small walks in, but not what I planned. We stopped at 12 miles, Cheryl needed to change her socks and I needed to refill my water bottles. Kim decided at that point to leave..she was getting blisters and was a little worried about getting sick before her Ultra this weekend. So...me and Cheryl took off for the last 8 miles. It rained the whole time, but not too hard. At mile 17, the Marathon chicks had a station set up for us with snacks and water. It was nice! The last 3 miles seemed long and my left hip was bothering me, so I had to do a walk/jog combo for the last mile or so...Cheryl did her usual supportive "you can do it" shpiel, of which I was VERY grateful and we made it to the end. Tom was there to great us and showed me another good stretch for my IT Band. We were sooo glad it was over! I do feel like I had another 6.2 miles in me if I HAD to and that made me finally feel somewhat ready...

Of course, our run was followed by the usual Starbuck's visit, and we headed back to Cheryl's. We didn't hang long, since we were both cold and wet....maybe we'll have a repeat of that this weekend. I hope not!!

Update to come!

Blog update to come...need to post on last week's 18 miler and tomorrow's Valentine's day fun! Write more soon!

Rhaling Rd..Part Deaux...

Man.....it's been a while since I've blogged! I didn't even post about last week's run at Murray park! Needless to say...I need to start posting fairly soon afterward, or I forget...Anyhoo, all I remember about last weekend's run was that it was COLD, COLD, COLD and I am learning to hate the River trail...My right foot was bothering me and I had to put my ChoPat strap on about mile 8 or 9 (?)...the IT band stuff is back, but hopefully I can nip that with some more stretching...Cheryl and I were SOOOO glad that run was over.

This past week was not inspiring in terms of my runs and I only did 3 days, not including yesterday's long run with the LRM group...Monday I got a 4 miler in before the "bad weather" was supposed to arrive...It was all I could do to get my butt out there...I was glad that I did it, but man, it was a mental exercise just to go...I have always loved winter running, but maybe I'm just getting old...or sick of the cold....or both...cause the thought of running outside anymore just makes me cringe!! Wednsday I was SO dreading the cold, that I ran on the indoor track at NLRAC. Yes, I am crazy, I did 75 laps around that sucker to get my 6.25 miles...Kim and Cheryl both said "Ugh!" to that, but it really wasn't that bad. My foot felt pretty good that day and the softer surface helps once in while. BonJovi and Guns N' Roses kept me company...I know I'm "old-school", but for some reason, if I have the "Big Hair Bands" to listen to, I can persevere. Now....only to persuade the organizers of the LR Marathon to pump some tunes throughout the whole marathon, I would make it just fine....Friday was a low-key 3-miler. I had to really psych myself up for that one...but I was glad when it was done.

Now...for Saturday...a 16 miler on Rhaling Rd. It started out pretty cold...WHEN we started!! We met Kim at O"Looney's parking lot and ended up getting there just as every one was starting. We tried to start, but Cheryl's tummy had other ideas. Since the nearest bathroom was a questionable 6 miles away, we headed back to the truck and drove to the gas station so she could do the dirty deed. When we got back...there was pretty much no one in sight, but not too long into it, we passed Hobbitt and her walking entourage..The first 8 miles or so weren't too bad, but it was like my foot KNEW we were halfway and really started bothering me. Cheryl had been having foot problems too (hasn't gotten new shoes yet) and was hating every step. The hills didn't seem as bad (cardio wise), but they weren't too great on the foot. I had to put the ChoPat strap on about mile 12 or 13. That hill wasn't as bad as anticipated, but we were ready for the finish!! Blueberry Nutrigrain bars greeted us at the end...and of course, Starbuck's....