Not as easy as it looks.....

The Patrol Stroll race on Saturday (9/26) was the perfect motivational pick me up! We had a blast. The weather cooperated (started raining after we left) and the atmosphere was energetic. Me, Calvin, and my younger sister, Sallie, participated in the race.

Wanting a race PR, we lined up close to the start. There were only 141 runners for the 5k. Calvin's time was 24:56, mine was 30:55, and Sallie's was 41:19. New PR for us all! My last 5k time was 34 minutes, give or take, and Sallie's was around 45. Sallie isn't a road runner. She runs mostly on the treadmill at the gym...she did an amazing job shaving off almost 4 minutes since June. I can't remember what Calvin's previous PR was but he said this was the fastest his ever run a 5k! Running is truly amazing. When I did my first 5k, June 2008, I finished in 45 minutes and had a terrible migraine afterward. Truly amazing what a year of training can do.

Early Sunday morning Calvin, me, Anne, and her friend (lets call him Jay to protect the not so innocent) set out for our 10 mile long run. It was lightly raining and cool. Jay hasn't run with us before and, since he can run 6 miles on the treadmill, thought he could keep up. Some say that because we interval (run 3 minutes:walk 1 minute) during the long runs that it's not as hard as it seems, I beg to differ.

We planned to do an out and back from Shelley Lake down the Crabtree trail extension toward the mall. Miles 1-5 went off without a hitch. Jay made several mistakes to begin but managed to make it to mile 5 without complaint. Hungover, no water, cotton shirt and long pants, and the fact that he is untrained, Jay was determined he could do this.

I loaned Jay one of my 10 oz water bottles which he refilled at the turn around point. As we head back toward Shelley, Jay begins to complain about cramps and told us to keep moving, he would catch up with us later. Fearing Jay may get lost (he isn't from here) and worried he may get progressively sick, we would run ahead, turn around and run back to him. Each interval, Jay is looking more and more ghost like. Not as easy as it looks, huh? NO, I didn't say this to him but that's what I was thinking.

We all finally made it back to Shelley after a 2 hour run. Later, Anne texted to say she had to make an emergency pit stop so Jay could get sick......... Sooooo to those who have the idea that running intervals is easy, join us for our next 10+ miler and let's see what you are made of. ;) LOL!!

Jennie meets the WALL....

5 weeks remain before our marathon...one more long run with the Galloway group, the race, and I am free. Yes, this is how I feel. We have been training for almost 6 months and I'm burnt out. Motivation is shot. This is my story.....

The Long Run....a devious slave driver wielding a heavy whip. 23 miles ahead, feet pounding pavement, I lumber farther then I have ever been. (It's not news that I dread the super long runs. These days I consider a meager 10 miles to be cake in comparison to the tortuous distances the Galloway program puts us through.) Alas it must be done, muscles aching, bones rattling, will tested, I press forward just to say I did it...

Miles 1-20 went well with the usual signs of fatigue appearing at mile 15. My feet and knees begin to ache....this is normal and easy to push through. We round Shelley Lake back to the meeting point, the long run is mercifully over for the 20 milers. I watch with jealous eyes as Anna trots to her car. We push on, my mind begging me to stop, MY FEET HURT! I don't think I can go any further and if Calvin wasn't with me I would have hidden in the trees until everyone was gone, slunk back to my car, and sulked all the way home. But he motivates me, "you're wussing out" he says.

One.....twwwwooooo moooorreee millleessss......I can't, I just can't go any more. Please, please have mercy on me 23 miles! Oh no, here they come, d@mn chipper diabetic guy and his leg warmers, the rest of the 23 milers are coming up behind us....we have to go. BUT, it will be a walk for the last mile. I've given in to my left brain. Ahhh hello wall...so we finally meet, I have heard about you.

Since 9/12 (the 23 mile long run) I've lost my motivation. I've run only twice since then including a 10 mile long run. I'm seriously burnt out. Feeling much better today. I have a plan for the remainder of this week and a good easy run schedule set for next week. What I think has happened is I've taken the fun out of running. It's time to retool and look at this from a different angle....this is for me, this is for fun, I am my motivator. I'm also running an easy 5k race this Saturday with my lil' sis and my hubby. This should help shake off the "burnt out blues".

I do hope you all are well, feeling good, and running. Any motivational tips you have would be greatly appreciated.

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I'm so dramatic...I know hahaha

Mind over matter....and....I don't mind b.c you don't matter.

There are two parts to this blog...one, of course, about running....and an unrelated topic.

My long run was put off until today because me and the hubby were out of town. We took the entire weekend off from running unintentionally. It was nice to have several rest days to relax. This morning instead of our normal intervaled long run the plan was to see how far we could make it without a rest break and then interval the remaining mileage. The furthest I've been is 5 miles without a small rest break.

After reading a blog by Jeff Galloway, we warm up by intervaling 1:1's for the first half mile. We started with an out and back on Timber for 4 miles. Feeling good, we turned on to Vandora Springs (where there are new sidewalks) and run to Aversboro. Aversboro continues around to Timber (7 miles) and we are still feeling good so we head on to Lake Benson. We loop around Lake Benson and head back to Timber. Before you know it WE RAN 10 MILES!!! I've never run that far without a rest break. Amazing! Granted it was slow....1:59 minutes....but we ran it and that's all that matters.

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On to the unrelated stuff....b.c I just need to vent.

You know the adage, "sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me"? I never believed this to be true, even at my age. Words do hurt. The strongest among us will ponder over hurtful words, even for just a bit.

An acquaintance of ours used a particularly offensive slang term to describe me this weekend to which my husband quickly corrected him (mind you I was not at this gathering so I could not offer a retort). It seems I'm not thought of too highly by this person, even though I've been nothing but friendly, opened my home to him, and even visited him and his wife on occasion. We have quite a bit in common actually; we both enjoy mechanics and engineering, we both are attempting another degree, and we are both savvy shoppers. I don't know why he thinks of me so lowly and my husband couldn't recall the context of the short conversation.

Anyway, I'm offended b.c I thought he knew me and I thought we were friends. I never felt guarded and we had so much in common; I didn't realize I was being judged. Others were around when he made the repugnant statement. I wonder how many seeds he planted by uttering that one little adjective with my name attached?

The power of words is immense; it can drive or halt, cause tears or laughs, make you sigh or scream....it only takes one little word to trip an entire blog entry. I guess I've vented enough...
I hear the words of my late Aunt Pat saying, "put on your big girl panties and get over it". AND so I will.

Thanks for listening to me vent. :)

Is it Fall already.....

It's been unseasonably cool in ol' Carolina this week. Hovering in the Mid-70's, our usual temps are the low 80's this time of year. Running in the cool (or cool for our standards) has been a welcomed change. Don't know if you non-Carolinian's know this but NC weather goes from HOT to cold in about a weeks time...there is no "in between" so this has been a delightful change in pace.

Other then the weather, this week has been fairly uneventful:

• Monday - rain
• Tuesday - 4 miles at Fleet Feet (45:58 -almost a minute slower then last week)
  
• Wednesday - 4.09 miles at Anna's (49:11 - hills, hills, and more hills..)
  
• Thursday - 4 miles at Lake Pine Community Park (43:57....NEW PR)
  
• Friday - maybe a 3 mile easy run
  
• Saturday - ??
  
• Sunday - Rest
• Monday - 10 mile long run and maybe the Nog run later in the day...just depends
  

With the weather getting cooler and our race drawing near (8 weeks away), I'm starting to ponder what to do afterward. I would really like to drop some pounds....this endurance training has not helped at all...not like I thought it would. I've actually gained about 1.5 pounds. AND I would like to change my training strategy from "just finishing" to getting faster!

So, those of you more experienced runners....I would like to post a few questions and get your feedback.

1. How long do you normal wait between long endurance races, i.e. 1/2 marathons or marathons?
2. What training programs can you recommend following to increase speed?
3. What cross training do you do and how often?
4. Have you tried losing weight during the off season and what programs have you followed?

Ok...there is my contribution for the week. Hope everyone has a lovely holiday weekend. I'll be unplugged so I'll see you guys & gals next week!