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!) 

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?

Of Running While Prengant

On Saturday, my BRF and I set out for a long-ish run/walk. I had plans of 10 miles but wasn't sure how far I would be able to go since I experienced back/nerve pain on Wednesday and Thursday and was unable to do practically anything. By Friday, the back felt a LOT better and by Saturday morning, the pain was gone.

I made sure to park my car in the garage on Friday night because a freeze was coming through and I wanted to avoid defrosting my car forever before hitting the road on Saturday morning. As I got ready to leave for the run, my car decided to act silly and wouldn't start properly. The service engine light came on, of course. Thankfully, Jason was off work this weekend and I was able to take his vehicle to meet up with my running buddy. Guess where his vehicle was parked? Outside...and the windshield had ice on it. Yes...this is how my luck goes, people.  (We found out later that there was an engine mis-fire in my car! Yikes!)

Anyway, I finally made it to my running buddy and we set out on our course. We decided to do a 2.5 out and back and another 2.5 out and back for a total of 10. We're still keeping up with the 4:1 run/walk Galloway method and it's been good to me so far!

I felt great the first 5 miles - no discomfort, no pain...all was well! After resting/using the restroom for a few minutes, we set out on the last half of our run. Around mile 6, I began having round ligament discomfort. I attempted to walk longer than a minute and start running again but that didn't help...the discomfort only lasted while I was running and not while walking. My OB said that it was ok to continue running as long as I didn't feel any pain. So, we decided to walk the remainder back and call it a day at 8 miles.

Saturday's run was also a test-run for the Galveston Santa Hustle. I'm planning with run with my sister-in-law and a few of her friends and wanted to measure my body against distance to see how it would hold up. I was on the fence about the half because I knew I would have to walk a majority of it (which I'm fine with, but I don't want to make them wait on me forever). So, I made the executive decision to participate in the 5K which takes place 30 minutes after the half marathon begins. Still lots of Christmas, Santa, and sugar cookies, shorter distance. 

I wasn't sad or disappointed with the shortcomings of my running goal on Saturday - this is all a part of the pregnancy process. I'm enjoying the changes that are taking place in my body right know and I know that all of this is temporary! Taking everything (including my fitness/running levels) one day at a time is all I can do for now and I'm grateful I can make it that far before the round ligament discomfort kicks in!

I felt like the marshmallow man, dressed in so many layers! It was actually 34 degrees at the start but "warmed up" to 47 degrees by the time we finished our run. 

After returning home, I polished off the remainder of our Thanksgiving cinnamon rolls and indulged in a Starubucks hot chocolate with a peppermint truffle for flavoring! YUM! 

At the end of the day, I reached 23,000 steps which I was (and am) super proud of! 23,000 steps for 23 weeks! "Just keep moving" is my motto and if that includes longer intervals of walking with my running, then so be it!

This weekend, I'm participating in a Christmas 5K in Florida with a friend and next weekend, I'll be participating in the Galveston Santa Hustle 5K. Lots of fun times ahead!

How was your weekend? Run any Christmas-themed races?

Saturday Long Run

Ever have one of those days when things just don’t want to come together?

That was Saturday morning for me. For starters, I forgot to charge my Garmin. I also didn’t want to wake up on Saturday morning…the temperatures were ridiculously cold (for us) and I was running alone. You want me to get out of a warm and comfortable bed for what? I don’t think so….

Despite all of those factors, I somehow managed to drag myself up and make it to my running group with a few minutes to spare!

The sun was beginning to rise as I reached the first mile and it was a glorious feeling! Despite the chill in the air, I loved feeling the sun on my face! This was my first “long” run since completing the Princess Half a few weeks ago.

(By the way, I personally consider a “long run” anything that’s six miles or greater.)

I stopped several times on the route to speak with friends and for water along the way and didn’t bother with stopping the timer on my phone. I would much rather have my watch!

My IT Band bothered me towards the end of the run, but that’s because I haven’t taken very good care of it since Princess. Guess I’ll be back at it this week (leg exercises and foam rolling twice a day).

After returning home, from my run I decided to use my new Mickey Mouse waffle iron I received for Christmas!

Isn’t it cute? I loved the way the waffles turned out!

This weekend, I’m running in a 3 mile race as part of a hometown “Triple Crown” series (this weekend’s 3 miler, a 5 miler in May, and the 4th of July 4 miler). All three of these races have been around since before I began my running journey – but this year, if you complete all three races you’ll receive a “triple crown” medal at the end of it all! Medal? Bling? I’m totally in!

How was your weekend? Did you run? Race? I want to hear all about it! :)