14 Mile Training Run

There's a million things that go through a runners mind while marathon training - can I do it, will I be able to stand the training, 26 miles...holy cow, early Saturday mornings, eating right, taking proper care of our bodies, the list goes on and on.

When it came to my Dopey training cycle and how far I've come so far, I'm not gonna lie - I was worried. To this point, I'd only run a 12 mile training run as my highest mileage and that would get me to a half but a half AND a full? Yikes. Don't get me wrong, I know I still have plenty of time to train, but I'm not one to sit back and watch time pass by - I like to have a plan and stick to it. Another kink in my plans was our vacation. Our September cruise date was pushed into October which kinda threw my training schedule off a little bit.

So when we returned home from vacation, I knew that this past Saturday was my day for 14 miles. Although I felt as if I was coming down with something on Friday (chills, sore throat, stopped up sinuses), I did all I could to fight it off - drank lots of water, took a short nap on Friday afternoon after work, soaked in a soothing bath, and went to sleep early on Friday night.

Thankfully, it somewhat worked and I felt much better on Saturday morning!

I started my run a bit later than planned because I had to make an emergency stop into WalMart on my way into town. I thought my KT Tape container was full when I got in my car, but I quickly realized that I only had 2 strips of tape instead of 3. Ouch. I didn't want to chance anything going crazy, so I stopped for a quick detour for KT Tape. Sad times for me - there was no KT Pro Tape available so I had to buy the regular tape. Although I knew it wouldn't stick well, I purchased it anyway as I figured some was better than none. 

Once back on the road, I began thinking out my plan for the morning and I really really really started to miss my running group. I never had to think through ALL of these aspects before (like water, powerade, potty stops, different routes to change things up, having people out there so I'm not completely alone in the dark, etc)...and I don't like it one bit. Thankfully, a buddy from my old running group had a water cooler set up where I could take a 4 mile loop once, then return back to my car, and complete two five mile loops with a stop at my car between each. As you know, I HATE running with water bottles or water belts, so I try to find spots with water fountains throughout town. Each return to my car holds gatorade and a GU.

Lots of wildlife were out and about on Saturday morning including squirrels and several bunnies! The bunnies were too fast for me to snap a picture, though.

As I returned to my car after the four mile loop, I realized that Saturday morning was the morning of a GIANT breast cancer walk in my town. The founder of the breast cancer walk passed away from pancreatic cancer this year, so I knew it would be even bigger than before. The last time I walked this one with my dad (several years back), I remember the crowds of people that completely filled the downtown streets from one side to the other as far as you could see. It's super amazing and incredibly encouraging, but I did not want to be in their way. Instead, I ran a piece of the 5 mile loop twice (coincidentally, it's a part of the 5 mile loop I can't stand) which gave a bit of extra time for the walk to pass through. I was definitely happy to have that giant loop out of the way.

The plan worked out perfectly and although I did encounter part of the walk, it was mostly the end of the walk and I was not in the way at all!

At this point, I had 3 miles left in my run and as I passed the park, I noticed a few familiar people - it was one of my best friends, her husband, and her little girl! I am so glad I had the opportunity to stop and talk to her for a few minutes!

After splitting from her, I finished the final 3 miles and called it a day. Despite my wonky piece of KT Tape, neither my IT Band or my hamstring bothered me at all, ever (YAY)!

It amazes me how we as runners are able to disconnect from everything going on around us and simply run. You know how sometimes a three mile afternoon run seems to last FOREVER but flies by during a long run? That is incredibly crazy to me and just goes to show that running truly is a mental sport. It's all in your mindset!

Lots of podcasts were listened to during this run which kept me company along the way. By the end of it, I was DRENCHED! It was warm and humid outside and simply...yucky.

Just because it's my luck...the weather decided to turn cool on Sunday. The day after my long run. Of course.

During the run, I decided to walk 2 minutes after reaching each mile. That really seemed to help so I think I'm going to adapt that mindset during long runs from here on out. I was definitely able to run longer and didn't feel as if I was going to pass out during the last mile. Although these long runs are hard, I do feel as if I'm getting stronger each time. I felt SO much better during mile 12 of this run than I did during mile 12 of my last long run! Progress, people!

After this weekend, I now have three really long runs left - a 16 mile, an 18 mile, and a 20 mile. I am going to borrow an idea from Kathryn and run an extra 7 miles the morning of a local half marathon for my 20 mile day. Now to add in a 16 and an 18 mile run and I'll be good to go!

As an end to a great day, the Astros also clenched the ALCS for a trip to the WORLD SERIES! OMG. Needless to say, I was slightly freaking out! 

The. Astros. Are. In. The. World. Series. Y'all...I can't believe it!

How is your marathon training going so far? Feeling confident? Scared? Nervous? 
(Yes to all of the above is how I currently feel!) 

Ten.

Is October here yet? Y'all. This heat and humidity is about to do me in, especially this past Saturday with an afternoon heat index of 106 degrees.

So last week, I set out for a 10 mile run and couldn't make it. At 6 miles I threw in the towel and decided that 10 miles in August was for the birds. That thinking didn't last long because this past Saturday, my brain got the best of me and I once again decided to try for a 10 mile run.

The sun was just peeping over the horizon when I began my run. It was already 80 degrees with a high humidity rate and I knew as soon as the sun became visible, it would get hotter and hotter by the minute. 

Originally, I was going to meet up with my running group in town, but a few last minute change in plans left me running from my house. I've only run a distance like this from my house one time in the past and I did not like it one bit. 

My options were to run a 2 mile loop 5 times and have water every 2 miles, or run a 4 mile loop a couple of times plus a few and carry a bottle of water with me. I didn't like either option, so I compromised. In the end, one 4 mile loop won out where I carried a bottle of water with me and three 2 mile loops where I passed water every 2 miles at my my mailbox. The. Struggle. Was. Real. (Yes, I should invest in some kind of water holder but I honestly haven't needed it up until this point. I also do own a water belt but I kind of don't like it...)

Anyway, I decided to change a few things up for this run vs my last week long run fail. I drank plenty of water the day before (80 plus ounces) and had a decent lunch and dinner on Friday. I also ate a different protein bar that morning before heading out the door.

The run went fairly well up until mile 5 when I realized I forgot KT tape for my right knee (how?!) and my left hamstring wanted to act crazy. I considered quitting at mile 6 but didn't give it too much of a thought. I talked myself into stopping at mile 8 if I HAD to and by the time I reached mile 8, I decided that I was almost to mile 10 so why not.

 

If this run proved anything, it's the fact that no one should be running double digit miles in the south in the summer. Honestly, it was a miserable run but definitely one I'm glad to say I accomplished.

I know it was a slow one, but I didn't even care. Finishing the entire distance was more important than speed this time. Speed will come in the fall when it no longer feels like a sauna outside and I can breathe once again!

Although Madalynn wasn't with me for this run, I did take a second to say hi to her horse friend! They made buds several years ago and love to see each other. It's rather cute!

I look like I'm about to pass out (because I felt like it), but I was so glad to be DONE!

The best part of the whole thing was returning home to see Brayden dressed in the onesie I bought him at Rock n Roll New Orleans this year! It says, "I want to RUN like you when I grow up!" Isn't that adorable?! My husband is thoughtful like that! :)

I topped off the weekend by wearing compression socks to help with recovery and a glorious 2 hour nap on Sunday afternoon!

How's the weather in your neck of the woods? Did you run this weekend? 

4th of July Weekend 2017

Happy almost 4th of July! I hope everyone had a great weekend and had a chance to celebrate in some form or fashion!

We had a busy but fun weekend and I got to spend a ton of time with my little man!

My Saturday morning plans included a long run around my house. My running group wasn't meeting up and my running buddy was going out of town, so it was just Brayden and I. He actually woke up early that morning (unusual for him), but it worked for me! We were out the door and running by 7:30 a.m. 

I'd hoped to start our run no later than 8 a.m. so we could beat as much heat/sun as possible. The humidity was already in the mid 90's and the temps were in the high 80's. Oy. Hello July 1st!

I decided to listen to the latest episode of the Fit Mouse Podcast while running and the title struck me as funny - I was seriously on the STRUGGLE bus on Saturday morning, so this episode was fitting!

It's not easy to run in the middle of summer - add a 27 pound toddler to the mix and yep, my legs felt like cement by mile 2!

My super cute watch and adorable running partner made it worth my while, though!

Brayden LOVES going outside and on runs with me and he did amazing during our entire 5 mile run! I never heard a peep from him!

My goal for this run was to stay under 10 minute miles. Even though I had to walk a little during the last mile, I still reached my goal (barely)! Seriously though, by the end of it all...I.Was.Wiped.Out!

After cleaning myself up then making breakfast for both myself and Brayden, it was almost his nap time once again. He fell asleep around 11 a.m. and so did I! My head hit the pillow and I do not remember a thing until I heard him stirring about two and a half hours later. BEST NAP EVER!

After nap time, we were I was bored, so we headed to town to do a little shopping! We stopped at both Bath & Body Works and Maurice's, then went to a local juicery for a smoothie!

This time, I tried the Tropikale - it was a delicious blend of kale, pineapple, coconut water, and honey. I really liked it!

While I drank my smoothie, Brayden enjoyed a little vanilla FroYo! :)

 

On Sunday morning, we dressed in our red, white, and blue and headed to church for our Sunday morning's patriotic service!

How crazy is this comparison? The 2016 photo was from this same church service last year! It almost doesn't even look like the same kid! CRAZY!

I LOVE how they line the street with flags for this service! :)

I had two favorite parts to this service - the first was where they honored each branch of the military by singing the Armed Forces Medley (Veterans in attendance stood with their respective flags) and the second was when they honored the Vietnam vets at the end of the service (each vet in attendance stood at the front and received a memorial pin...it was very touching)!

On Sunday night, our little coffee shop group went bowling for family night!

Brayden even tried his hand at a little bowling! Fun times!

Oddly enough, I won (which NEVER happens)! My name is #2 on the list above! :)

My puppies also got groomed last week with fresh summer cuts!

I'm back at work today and will have the day off of work on Tuesday. I'm debating on running a 4 mile race on Tuesday morning (solo) - I've run it several years in the past but am not sure about this year. Honestly, I'll probably end up running the race because otherwise, I would still have to get up and run some time on Tuesday morning anyway! Might as well make it worth my while! :)

I hope you all have a great and happy and safe 4th of July! Happy Birthday, America!

What are your 4th of July plans? What did you do this weekend? Any racing?

River Road Take 2

Saturday morning long runs are almost always an adventure, specially when running down River Road. This happens to be the route where I once saw a ground rattler, a den of water moccasins, a gator, and I ran underneath a stopped train (NEVER again)!

Although Saturday's run didn't yield any heart stopping moments, it was still a fun and enjoyable run with my friend Heather! Bonus, this run didn't take place around my house again - some wonderful people from my running group have been setting up coolers in our old running group routes so we've been taking advantage of that! It's been so nice to see familiar faces out on the roads and run in an area I'm familiar with!

I also have to say that my dad is awesome. My husband was working days this past weekend and was unable to watch Brayden while I ran. So, my dad agreed to come over at 6 a.m. and waited around until Brayden woke up. Then, he took care of Brayden (diapers, oatmeal, milk, etc) until my mom came over after she woke up! His level of rock-star-ness just increased in my book! (By the way, he's an early bird anyway, so the 6 a.m. time frame didn't bother him at all.)

Ok, so on to the run. For starters, the humidity was in the high 80th percentile and the air felt heavy, like it needed to rain. Sadly, with the overcast skies, I didn't get a glimpse of a beautiful sunrise like usual. Oh well....maybe next time!

 One thing we did notice that we hadn't seen in the past were these gorgeous white flowers!

They were all along the side of the road and we had no clue where they came from!

If you look beyond the greenery, you can see an entire field of them! Heather and I both agreed that the field would be an awesome place to take pictures! Sadly, there was no way to get to the field as the ground was nothing but a swampy, marshy mess. I would love to know what type of flower this is.

Another random sighting was this troop of geese! They were all over the front yard of this home. There were even a few babies in the mix!

 

Although we only planned on a 6 mile run, we ended up running right at 7 miles. It was a great run and the time passed by quickly because I was in good company! :)

Starbucks was definitely needed after the run, too! I ordered an iced non-fat caramel macchiato. I'm pretty boring because I usually order the same thing every single time. It was definitely a nice and refreshing treat after a warm Saturday run!

That's it for my Saturday run! How was your weekend? Did you go for a run or participate in a race/event?