Training Week #6

Week 6 was a much better week than 5. I thought a lot about the community that running builds. I have had several people offer to join me on my long runs, which is super cool. I feel so supported, which is especially important on the days where I am not feeling so confident.
I've still really been enjoying my morning runs, although I have to get up earlier and earlier for my midweek runs. I love watching the sunrise.  I have been trying to find different routes to keep me interested, aware, and motivated. So I started out this week checking out some new streets---and I found my new favorite street! All the streets off of the main road are about one block long, and this one is super cute! The houses, the landscaping--and this, flags on every tree. #merica Good three mile run, and found a whole new route that I love. Just over 3 miles and brings me right back home. Pretty flat, a couple of hills to keep things interesting.
My midweek run was a five miler. I combined my new favorite route with another that I run frequently that's about two miles, which made for an awesome run altogether. Very happy with my overall time, even though I didn't necessarily feel spectacular about my pace.      

Run 3 of the week (another 3 miler) wasn't necessarily anything to write home about. As I was finishing up, come down my street, I decided to stop and take a picture of the orange barrels that have lined the pavement since May. Symbolic of obstacles standing in our way, perhaps, things that need to be overcome. I also took a picture of my outfit in two shots, as a shout out to the glory days of Camp (and a nod to the fact that we'd be leaving for a weekend of camping later that day) and my pants...well, back in the aforementioned glory days, my friend LeeAnn and I (along with other guest actors!) would act out the story The Sneeches as well as The Green Pants for our campers. As I ran through the early morning dim, and thought about the fact that I have no reflective gear, I thought, thank goodness I have these bright colored pants! But I must look like the green pants from the story...just a floating pair. So shoutout to LeeAnn for this gem of a memory.  

After a fun weekend camping (and a two hour nap), I was ready to take on my 7 mile long run. Every third week of the training plan has a shorter long run, so I was feeling good about the fact that it was 3 miles less than the previous week, and only 2 miles more than my longest short run of the week. The weather was gorgeous, perfect for a run. Got to try out my new headphones (wireless, LOVE THEM!) I let me feet make all the decisions, got some new pavement under my feet. My path took me to my old stomping grounds, Maple Grove. It had me thinking about how much life changes. This fall I'll be starting my third year at Lakeview. It will be the longest I've been in one place since I started my teaching career. It feels weird to think about being in one place for that long. Can I see being there my whole career? I don't know. Being settled is unsettling...but I love my staff and I love my kids, so it just might be growing on me.       

Just a few days away from week 7 being in the books. Super nervous about my 12 mile run on Sunday...but if I can do that, then the Fort 14 should be easy peasy next week...

Training Week #5

To put it bluntly, week 5 kind of sucked. It was my least favorite running week so far. I missed a run, because it was a busy week, I was tired, my long run didn't happen until the following Monday--and that one sucked, too. 






Because of the busy week, I had to do some morning runs. I was hoping to avoid some of the humidity, but it's been a rough summer. I love running past sprinklers, especially when it's hot. I kind of always want to run through them like a little kid...and sometimes I do ;-)






This week marked the earliest I've ever gotten up to run. It was a strange feeling to be up before the rest of the world, before the sun.






Though I have to admit, I love watching the world wake up around me :-)



My Sunday would be run day...wasn't. We celebrated Grandma Wilke's 85th birthday in the morning (she is seriously incredible!) and then made a return to IKEA. Once we got home, I was not feeling good. Nauseous. So I took a nap. Then ate something. And by that time, it was too late to run. A 5 miler would have been different. But I had 10 on the docket. It wasn't happening. So I decided tome the run to Monday.

Monday was hot and humid, so I chose to run down by the lake. I picked a good 4 mile track and ran it 2.5 times. It was a beautiful course. Lots of people out running and biking and rollerblading. Really a great day. Except I didn't really set myself up for success. I forgot my headphones. I didn't have glide and I had packed shorts to run in. I didn't have my runner's belt. The first lap was sweaty. I stopped for water at mile 4. The second lap I wasn't sweating anymore...and that's when it hit me--I'm dehydrated. I work in a school without AC. And I know I don't drink enough water all day. Plus, my long runs are usually on the weekends, when I haven't worked a full day prior. So there were a few more water stops as I finished the other 6 miles. By the time I was done, I was exhausted. On the walk back to the car, I realized my Glide had failed me somewhere along the way. By the time I got home, my legs hurt. And I never wanted to run again. And no picture from along the way because I had to leave my phone in the car because I didn't have my belt...




But I took a day off to rest, then started week 6...update coming soon :-)

Training Week #4

I'm officially signed up for the Fort 14--the nation's only 14 mile race. It lines up pretty well with my training, so might as well.

Week 4 was all about speed--not intentionally so. Started out with a really strong run on Tuesday, and kept the momentum going from there. Generally my pace wavers somewhere between 12-13 minutes. And my long run pace is 13-14. But Tuesday's 3 miler was an exciting run for me, because my first two miles were really fast, and I'm not at all disappointed about the third. I finished with a 11:55 min/mi pace, and was super excited.



I didn't have anything super terrific to take a picture of on my run, but I knew exactly what I wanted to include in this post: my body glide. This study is amazing. It's literally the only reason I can run in shorts! I have all these cute running shorts, and don't usually run in them, because let's be honest, I don't have a thigh gap. No thigh gap means chaffing. And chaffing makes me crabby. So shout out to body glide.

     With the holiday on Wednesday, and a busy day Thursday, my run happened a little later. After an errand to Target, I had Chelsey just drop me off at what I approximated to be 4 miles from home. It was about 8PM, and made for a beautiful run.

But this face....let me tell you about this face. This was the most frustrating run I've had in a while. My left calf, despite stretching beforehand, was so tight, I had to stop every mile and stretch. And by the time I got to mile three, I just about gave up. And by that I mean, I literally stopped my watch. Stopped clocking my run. I was thrilled with my 3 miles (all under 12 minutes), but just couldn't make it a 4th. I was down in the village. Little less than half mile walk home. I stretched my calf out one last time, Slowing my breathing, angry with myself for giving up. I thought about my pace. About how well the previous run had gone. And about the fact that my long run for the week was going to be a challenge. And so, I took a deep breath, restarted my watch, and ran my last mile. It was my slowest of the day, at a 12:30. But I got it done. There are a lot of bananas and foam rolling in my future!


Saturday morning's run was MUCH better. Went out early, when there was still a little chill in the air...decided later that long sleeves was probably a little over dramatic.


BUT!

My pace! 11:24! I was beyond stoked. Barely squeaked the last mile in under 12 minutes (11:59!) but absolutely something I am proud of.





So Sunday came. And I knew it was going to be a rough one. Nine miles. NINE. But the only way to do it was to do it. I laced up my shoes, cranked some tunes, and headed out to some familiar trail. About a mile in, something kind of neat happened--I ran into someone I knew, a friend from school, also running. What are the chances?! Steph was working on her own long run--a 15 miler! Something that, at this point, I can only dream of! It kind of worked out well, running into her, because at the points in my run where I wanted to quit and start walking, I said to myself, "If Steph can run 15 and make it look effortless, I can certainly drag my ass through 9!" So thanks, lady! 

But I was actually doing a little more than just dragging my ass through those nine miles (even if it felt like it!) Because my slowest mile was 13:17. Which, for me, is a huge deal. and I ended up with an overall pace of 12:55 min/mi. Which won't win me any awards, but was a great feeling after pushing it all week. I was still exhausted afterwards, but I was feeling really good about it.

Oh and also, NATURE! This run gave me the opportunity to see a lot of nature: 1 deer, 6 bunnies, 2 blue jays, a whole mess of robins, and 5 sandhill cranes! Okay, city girl moment over...





When you run this much, you have a lot of time to think. And here was what I came to realize this week: At some point, I'm going to have to WANT to run this marathon. Or it's never going to happen. I've said it from the beginning--I don't want to run a marathon. But I do like a challenge. And I like that I am accomplishing goals, things I had never thought possible. What I've come to appreciate most about training is that it gives me a focus--and sometimes, just a place to focus. I've had a lot to mull over in the last year or so. I've been really trying to find myself, to get back to ME. And I can't even describe just how beneficial running has been for doing that. How much I've grown spiritually, emotionally, while pushing myself physically and mentally.

Regardless, at some point, I'm going to have to WANT to run this marathon. And I'm just not there. YET.

Training Week #3

Week 3 was a great week for running--but man, was it hot! I haven't been running with music as much as usual, but for the first run I decided to. I also decided to try and explore as many new routes as possibly, to keep things interesting. To that end, as I was starting out my run on a pretty normal path, I decided to detour, noticing a clear trail where I hadn't noticed one before. The woods aren't very big, so there wasn't a ton of trail...but I enjoyed the little bit that there was.

My 4 mile Wednesday run brought more new ground, more "nature", and some MUD. Sometimes, running means getting dirty! I ran through the parkway and ended up in the Wimmer Wetlands. After some days of rain, there was some flooding over the trails. I came to this underpass, excited for some shade, and approached it slowly, seeing that there was some mud across the concrete. I came to a quick stop after realizing that it wasn't just a little mud--it was several inches of sticky mud, covering the entire pathway. There was no way to cross it while running--wasn't even sure how to walk it. I ended climbing through against the wall.  After that, there were still puddles. So needless to say, I got a little muddy. But the bright spot in my run came right as I was turning around--just off the path, a deer trotted into view. I got pretty close, taking careful steps toward it. It was pretty cool. (Again, I'm a city kid :-) )

Run #3 of the week happened early Friday morning. I'm not generally a "get up and work out" kind of girl. I don't like getting up any earlier than I have to. But I'm committed to doing this thing, and doing it right. I wasn't able to run my 3 miles on Thursday as scheduled, so I took the next best option. This turned out to be my favorite of my short runs. early morning runs always remind me of running at Camp--the quiet, I think. The world that hasn't quite woken up yet. It made my heart happy to find that in the city. Plus, I got to catch this awesome sunrise :-)

I was excited to run before it got too hot and sticky (though it wasn't exactly comfortable!) I was super happy with my pace on this run. I've been working on my speed, especially kicking it in during the last lap. Super happy with this one!

This week's long run was a short one, just 5 miles. I waited until the last possible moment on Sunday night, until it cooled off some, and had my fingers crossed that an afternoon downpour would help to dissipate the humidity. Originally I wanted to run down by the lakefront, Veteran's Park/Bradford Beach area. But on my way there, I remembered that Summerfest would likely making parking difficult. So I choose to start at South Shore Park instead. 

I love South Shore for many reasons. Most importantly, it's a place where I feel really connected with my dad. I chose to run toward Cudahy, which made my heart feel even happier--familiar trails. The humidity didn't break until more than halfway through the run--I took this picture of a beautiful bench overlooking a beautiful cliff, because it was at the top of a nasty hill, and I really wanted to sit my ass down on it--but I didn't. I kept going. It was a great run. I really kicked it in at the end, knocking an entire minute off my pace in that mile. 

I talked in my last post about running being a big mental game. I spend half the time talking myself into it and half the time talking myself out of it. My mind is constantly going. There are days where I try to find the flattest route possible to make it easy, but then in my head I hear, "The only way to get better at running hills is to run hills." And sometimes, I change course. 

I owe a really big shoutout to my co-coach, my incredibly inspirational, my spectacularly supportive friend, Janet. She's the reason I've been able to push myself to go farther than I'd ever thought possible. The one who said to me, after her half marathon last year, "Next year, you!" And I thought, "Yeah, right..." But there I was this May. After which, I might add, she said to me, "So now we're going to train you for a full!" And I said,  "Yeah, right..." But here I am. My favorite thing to say to myself, when I'm really struggling, is something Janet told me right before we started the half: "Your body knows how to run." She's right--it does. And when I run out of energy to fight the mental battle, I let that be my default. 

Week 3 is in the books, and tomorrow starts week 4. I'm not where I want to be yet, but with every step, I'm getting there. 

Training Week 2

As week one got off track, week two didn't start until Thursday. It was a tough day for me, personally. I got some news that kind of shifted my plans--and change is never comfortable. I met a good friend for a drink after work, and could have very well just stayed bellied up to the bar and drowned my sorrows in Jack. But for once, we stayed for just one ;-) (Sometimes "going for one" means 1 am...sometimes it means I buy one, you buy one...and every once in a while it actually means one!)

So I came home, had some dinner, and got my butt out there. It was a good 3 mile run--cathartic. Near the end, I ran by this.

A flower, poking right through a fence. Growing, thriving, despite its obstacle. It was just what I needed to see. This was the moment I knew I'd be okay.

So Friday's run happened early, as I had a full day ahead. Nothing remarkable about it...just three miles. Some light drizzle. The second run of the week always seems to be the hardest. Kind of like, didn't I just do this?! But I expect that to change, as my second (usually Wednesday) runs, increase. My picture of the day of this run was this adorable little paw print that made me feel like I wasn't alone out there on my journey.

 Sunday brought the week's long run. I was nervous, because I didn't get to my third run of the week, due to timing. Needed to channel my inner strength for this seven miles, so I wore my favorite new tank top.

I have a love/hate relationship with long run days. I have to go slow, in order to get all the miles in. And it takes a long time. Sometimes fitting them in to my day is a struggle. And the mental game has to be strong for those days. 

But here's what I like about them: I know I can do it. I've already run 13.1--At this point, everything else should be easy. Well, okay, not easy. I'm building back up, so it's hard sometimes. But if I can win at the mental game, I'm 90% of the way there. It'll be anything after 13.1 that will take literally everything I've got.

Sunday's picture was the adorable little bunny rabbit. Most of you know that, as a tried and true city kid, with a strong country side, I love seeing "nature". This bunny made me think of the story of the tortoise and the hare. Again, 7 miles--I was definitely feeling like the tortoise. But I kept saying to myself, slow and steady, slow and steady. It gave me the confidence to keep going and finish strong. 

As with most things in my life, this post is a little late in getting posted. Hoping to finish week three with my long run today, and get another post up soon. Stay tuned!