Half way

Yesterday I ran longer than I have ever run in my life. THIRTEEN POINT ONE MILES. That's right - a half marathon. Now, we were slated to run 13 this weekend, but there was no way in hell that I was going to run 13 miles and not say that I had run a half marathon. So Mike made sure that his GPS said 13.1 before we stopped. It was a great run and a great day to be running. Every time the sun hit my face, I felt like the running became easier. The last 2 miles or so were pretty tough. I had trouble feeling my legs and felt the only way I could control my pace was determined by how far I leaned forward. However, looking back on it, I think most of the challenge was mental. I was less tired this weekend than I was last weekend, but I was still pretty wiped out.

I would like to take a second to send a shout out to the best running partner in the world - Mike. Last week we decided that we should probably get water belts to take on our runs as they are getting pretty long and we should really be drinking more water. So, we headed over to REI and found a couple of belts in the clearance bin. Well, we decided on one that carries two bottles. You heard it right - we bought one belt with water for both of us to be carried by, you guessed it, Mike. We showed up at the Saturday morning and someone said to me, "wait, I thought you were going to get a water belt." I said, "I did." and pointed to my fantastic husband's waist. Dad, I think that you are to be blamed for me being as spoiled as I am (especially when it comes to being tough in the outdoors) so it's a darn good thing that I found someone that could carry that torch on for ya :)

Oh, and for the record, we ran 13.1 miles at a 10:04 pace for a grand total of 2 hours 12 minutes and 1 second. I feel like I don't even know who I am anymore.

I made it!

Last Thursday I didn't run because my IT band was a-painin'. Since then, I have run 12 miles, 3 miles, 6 miles, and 3 miles. My stretches are working great and I am back to feeling good.

I have been riding my bike to work the past few days (thanks to amazing pacific northwest weather) and it has been nice to get a bit of a different workout on my legs. Oh, and riding a bike in the sun always feels great.

Bathroom

About a mile into today's run I realized that I needed to pee. I had 5 more miles before I would be able to go. Let me just say that, when you have to go to the bathroom, you run really fast. Mike said that he thinks that I ran my last mile at nearly an 8 minute mile pace.

The six miles felt great. As I cool down and relax on the couch, I can feel my IT band tightening up. At yoga on Monday, Brant gave me some good stretches. I have been doing those pretty consistently and it has been feeling great.

Too Easy

When I started training in September, I was running 1.5 miles. I spent 8 weeks working up to 3 miles. I remember the first time I ran 3 miles in my training. On the last mile on the way home, Mike was trying to talk to me and I told him that I couldn't talk to him anymore - I needed to focus on keeping one foot in front of the other. It was tiring.

Tuesday was the 25th time I ran a 3 miler. It has become pretty darn easy. I come home for work and know that I need to work out for 30 minutes. I get my gear on, we head out, chat most of the way, and then are done. It is possibly the easiest time I have ever had running.

Oh, and the weather is amazing this week making the running even more enjoyable.

Put a fork in me

Today I ran longer than I have ever run in my life. TWELVE MILES. It was, simply, exhausting. However, afterward, besides being super tired, I felt great. My muscles felt fine, my joints didn't ache, and my leg wasn't bothering me at all.

Mike, on the other hand, was reaping the benefits from his Thursday run. While I was at home making dinner on Thursday, he went running for 3 miles without me. Now, I look at Mike as my training rock. He inspires me and encourages me every run. Well, come to find out, Mike needs me, too :) When he got home on Thursday, he showed me his GPS watch that said that he had averaged 7:15 minutes per mile (for around half of the run). Now, we typically run a 10 minute mile pace. Friday morning, and apparently Saturday, he felt the affects of running at a fast pace - he was pretty sore. Looks like he needs my slow butt after all :)

As for my leg, after my blog post, I was informed that my "injury" had to do with my IT band. Come to find out, my friend, Luke, has had similar issues as well as my neighbor and multiple people that I talked to today at the running group. I have a good set of stretches now as well as a foam roller to help with massaging it out. The great news is that I will be just fine.

Happy Birthday Mike! I think I am going to go nap now :)

Leg update

I woke up this morning (actually, I woke up a number of times last night thanks to a small dog that lives in our house) and walked down the stairs. No more pain. So, that's great news. I will continue to stretch throughout the day and am excited for the run tomorrow!

I'm listening...

We've been training since September. We have been pretty good about taking things slow, wearing the right shoes, following the training schedule, etc. Well, sometimes, when you begin running REALLY long distances, your body just says "no".

Today my body said, "no". I woke up this morning and was a little sore from last night's run which is pretty typical. I went into work and noticed that the soreness wasn't going away - specifically in my right hip. It just continued to ache all day. I closed my office door, laid on the floor, and stretched out my hip. When I got home, I described the pain to Mike and he made a bit of a diagnosis based on his past experience in physical therapy and training. In short, the tendon from my outer hip to my knee is pissed at me. This might have been triggered because we have started lifting and doing leg presses. But, in general, my muscles have developed faster than my tendons. And now, my tendon is letting me know.

So, Mike went for our Thursday 3 miler by himself (in the pouring rain - coincidence?) and I stayed home and made dinner. I spent the duration of Jeopardy on the floor stretching. I now have a heating pad on my hip. Two days of rest should be good. Fingers crossed I will be ready for a 12 mile (birthday) run on Saturday :)

And yes, mom, I am taking my vitamins :)