4 Weeks...

Wow... in just 28 days I will be running a marathon. Just typing that makes me nervous! Here is a pretty map of the course with some interesting details, like "beating the bridge" before it reopens to traffic.

Tomorrow we leave for Douthat State Park, the same place that we got engaged almost exactly 2 years ago! It's a great park with tons of mountain biking trails, so it will be nice to get out and ride for a change... although it's been months since I've been on the bike and it will take a few runs to get comfortable I'm sure. I'll have to run a couple of days while we're there too, but I'll be getting plenty of cardio in during the week as it is!

Before we leave, I'm running 15 miles tomorrow morning. It's been raining cats and dogs this afternoon and all evening, and while I'd like to say that I'm tough enough to run in the rain, it's also chilly and I don't want to! So I may be camped out in the gym for a few hours tomorrow. People will think I'm crazy... but if they are in there the whole time I am, then they are just as crazy I guess. There better be a good movie playing in the cinema tomorrow, that's for sure... I'm sure I will see an entire movie if not 1.5 times!

As a side note, the last day for donations is October 7! If you have any friends or family who would like to donate (or if you'd like to donate yourself), please send them the link to my donation page (http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/corps09/sperlman) and I would more than appreciate it. :)

80s Chic

Oh yes, the 80s are back!
I got my custom insoles the other day and after trying to run with them last night, I realized that I need to wear them in normal life too. Therefore, I came to work in my sneakers today, with a skirt and sweater set. I’m officially an 80s working mom. At least I’m not wearing pantyhose and socks with them.

Ugh

I've been feeling crappy lately... My neck and shoulders have been really sore and I've woken up with a headache probably 5 out of the past 7 days. I think I've even started grinding my teeth again. I have no idea why.

I ran on Saturday, was going to do 18 miles and only did 9.5 (Andy picked me up at my "turnaround" point). My entire body just felt like it was achy, and I felt like I was running through Jell-o. Maybe I have Lyme disease. Or maybe I just have been out of running for so long that I'm out of shape. (I love that "out of shape" means 9.5 miles... I'm telling you, after this marathon, I'm going to be so excited to run 5 miles!)

So now I'm kind of worried again about the marathon. I know, it's like a cycle... I have a bad run, I get worried, I have a good run, I get excited... that's just how I am I guess. But if I could only do 9.5 miles, how am I going to run 26.2 in 5 weeks???

Time to take some Advil and get back to work...

Spider-Man

That's the movie that I saw at the cinema. Well, not the whole thing. Getting back into running was easier than I thought it would be, although I only ran about 3.75 miles. (I can't wait until the marathon is over and I can stop saying "only".) :) I'm going to try for 6 miles on Thursday... hopefully the weather will be OK and I can do it outside!

Back to Basics

Wow... I've only run twice in the past two weeks.

I ran Wednesday morning in Oklahoma City, but only for about 45 minutes. That's it. Tonight is going to be ROUGH. And I have to do 18 miles this Saturday and 20 the Saturday after that, so it's critical that I don't miss any runs from here until then. After that, it's taper time. Yesssssssss!

It's been so long, I think I might have to go to the cardio cinema just to keep myself entertained. NCIS reruns only get you so far, especially when you've seen them all.

This is gonna hurt...

By in a Flash

I can't believe this week is over already! We've been so busy at work getting ready for our convention in Oklahoma City next week. I've had this tab open in my browser all week, and just haven't had the time to write.

Saturday's run was AMAZING!!! I ran 16.5 miles, half a mile farther than I had to :) and I felt great. Very tired and my feet were very sore, but I felt so happy that I accomplished it! Andy (a.k.a. the best husband EVER!) met me at my halfway point, which was Occoquan Regional Park, with a sports drink because I wouldn't have had enough. Even so, I had to stop at CVS (about 2.5 miles from home) on my way back to get some water. But I did it!

I think that the key to my success is my Nike+iPod app—I am able to check my pace whenever I want, which helps me to know if I need to slow down or speed up. Usually I'm running too fast at the beginning and just walking too slowly all the time. Much easier to walk fast on a treadmill! This worked so well, I was running the same pace on my way back as I was on the way there. Awesome! I did skip a few running intervals during the last 5 miles or so, but I tried to keep running as much as possible. All in all, it was a big confidence-booster.

Then on Tuesday, I tried to run at the gym but my legs were sore. Not from the run on Saturday, but from wearing heels... guess the doctor was right. She said that I have to stop wearing heels because my Achilles tendon is shortened and it needs to learn to stretch back out again. So that's why I have problems with my lower legs sometimes. (There are other issues, but that's a big one.) I have to go shopping this weekend and find some comfortable—yet stylish—shoes for the convention next week. I don't think I'll ever be able to completely give up heels though!

I didn't run last night, and I'm not running tonight, so we'll see how the 10 miler goes tomorrow morning. It's a week "on your own" since some of the team is running in the Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon at Virginia Beach on Sunday. I'm starting to think that maybe I'm better on my own after all...

Next week is going to be interesting. We're working a LOT while we're in OKC, and I won't have a whole lot of time (or energy) to run. And I definitely will NOT have time to do 18 miles on Saturday. So, I'm not sure how that will play out, I might have to just run 18 miles the next week or something. If I do that, then I'll be running 18 miles one week and 20 miles the next, with no "lighter" week in between (the lighter week is 12 miles, does that really count as lighter anyway?) but I think it's better than skipping the 18 miles.

Maybe I'll run 12 miles tomorrow, and then 18 miles in 2 weeks and on with the 20 miles the next week.