Progress

It has been a while since my last post - today is a good day to start back up. . . 

I went to bed last night mentally prepping for a nice long run in the morning-jamming out to Bruce Springsteen getting ready for his concert!!! I woke up and was ready to go....sort of...

• I woke up and found that all of my running shorts were dirty... not a huge problem, I can wear soccer shorts
• Soccer shorts don't have convenient pockets for keys or ipod... so I had to dig out my ipod armband, that seems like such a pain now that I've been spoiled with shorts that have pockets!! 
• Get ipod ready and find out my headphones don't work anymore... great! Very happy I've been running with out my ipod occasionally- before, if my ipod died, so did I
• Put on my shoes, tie my key to my short strings, and out the door
• Run down the street and want to turn around soooo bad, my legs haven't felt this tired in a long time, for no apparent reason
• So definitely off to a great start to a great start! :) I decide to push through my tired legs and determined to fit in this run. I am so happy I did.

Lately I've been wondering if I've really made much progress throughout the training, which might sound crazy. While on my run today I realized I have come a long way. There was something about my run today, even though it wasn't the furthest distance I've run, not even by half, but I felt a sense of accomplishment. Maybe it was the fact that even after my morning started far from perfect I was still out running. I know 4 months before, if any of the above happened, there was no way I was going out on a run. Maybe it was to knowledge that the distance I was carefree running today, was such hard work a year ago when training for my first half. Whatever it was, as of today, I am happy to have felt the progress of all this training! 

Speaking of progress---August Overview:

• January I ran total of 32 miles- August was 88! 
• Longest run 18 miles- first 13 I did on my own and then Aly rode her bike next to me for the last 5 miles, felt great after
• Ran in Muskegon over Labor Day. . . another view of Lake Michigan :) 
• Registered for the Chicago Half Marathon, which is this weekend
• Being on a Student Committee for school- our Fall Social is the FireFly Run next weekend...smart planning me-I have the Newton Ready 20 miler the next morning
• In hopes to continue running after October 7 I registered for the Hot Chocolate 15k in November

 Overall, it has been a great month and I have much to look forward to--Thank you to everyone who has continued to support me through this progress!

25 and Counting

Today begins a new year for me: turned 25! I hope to continue running, post marathon, and truly love being a runner! 

Pictures from this morning's birthday run :) One of my favorite parts of the city and what attracted me to running in the first place: Chicago's Lakefront Trail

I'm done skipping runs.

Last weekend I was in Colorado-I was supposed to run 10 miles, but slacker me only did 8 :/  So I wouldn't have to run by myself my dad rode his bike next to me, which was a different but nice way of spending quality time with him :) I loved running towards a view of mountains, they are so amazing. I've always said if Chicago had mountains to the west of the city, I would never leave. 

I followed that weekend up with NO MIDWEEK RUNS-I don't know what I was doing or thinking, but obviously, running slipped my mind? I was so nervous going into our 15 mile run this weekend, but having the group truly helped and wasn't bad at all. I know that continuing to skip midweek runs won't do me any good and I need to work a little bit harder. Only 55 more days left to the marathon, I need to redirect my focus on putting in the time and effort to this training; the more I put in- the easier that Sunday will be!

This weeks schedule:

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 4 miles

Wednesday: 8 miles

Thursday: 5 miles

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 16 miles

Sunday: Cross

Half Way Point

Week 9 is almost done and we're half way to our marathon date! After this week I feel like 26.2 miles will be the death of me! I went out on my 7 mile run yesterday and I felt horrible! The past 2 weeks I've ran 13 miles on the weekend and they have been great, but wow was that 7 was hard! ha This weekend I'll finish the week out in Colorado and thankfully it is our cut back week so I should be able to get 10 miles in on my own . . . and honestly I planned this trip around training so I wouldn't have to do 15 or 18 miles on my own :/

During my commutes I've started to read Born to Run by Christopher McDougall:

I'm really enjoying it so far; one quote that stood out to me was: "The only way to truly conquer something, as every great philosopher and geneticist will tell you, is to love it"-- I do enjoy running, some days, but I would love to find a love for running. Maybe it is something that I can work at? I'd love to conquer this marathon and feel great after and continue running for years to come!

Rock N Roll

Over the weekend I ran my second half marathon! Aly and I went to the expo on Friday to pick up our bibs and check out all the different vendors! We ended up spending way too much time there and getting a ton of free stuff: ...tshirts, water bottles, sunglasses, samples, etc...

Then Sunday rolled around and I had no idea how this race was going to go! Last half, I had Kami and her dad to help pace and just keep me going in general. This year, I was running alone. Since I was pretty nervous I decided to not worry about keeping the 9minute/mile pace but just run comfortably and finish. So the race started and I got to the first mile at 9:04, the second mile-9:01, third mile-9:00...what the heck!!! 

I was so surprised that I was comfortably and consistently keeping a good pace I decided I had to stick with it. There were plenty of times where I was struggling but tried not to think about it... There were lively crowds at just the right places which definitely helps keep you going. I look forward to all of the water/ Gatorade stops, which I did not utilize nearly as much my first half marathon and I also took some Gu, which was my first time using those as well. I was surprised how good the vanilla tasted :) I basically I wanted to use this run to try everything and anything to see what helped keep me going and if there was anything that slowed me down for the full.

While thinking about the full in October, I realized while crossing the finish line...I'll have to double what I just ran. . . I knew this before, but having that in my head as I crossed the finish line is a lot different then just sitting on my couch thinking in my head "yea, I can totally train for 26.2 miles and it'll be so fun!"!! I'm hoping the 13 miles seems like a piece of cake soon considering I have to run it again this Saturday as part of training. The more you put in the easier, right?  

Overall, I was and still am really pleased with the outcome of the race. I can't imagine how I will feel after a full marathon!!! I ended the day with a soccer game at Wrigley Field : Italy vs. Poland and then Burger Fest and quickly passed out in bed after all of that!

1/3 Complete

Well week six has been wrapped up with a nice 7miler with CARA and a realization that the Chicago Rock 'n Roll Half is next weekend!! YIKES! When did that get here??! 

Last year I ran this with a very good friend, Kami and her dad. Kami and I played soccer together in college and she is the one who got me out running. Without her I wouldn't be training for the marathon or spreading awareness about abused and neglected children! She is a great supporter and I'm very thankful to have her in my life!

My time was 2 hours and 4 minutes and I felt pretty good the whole way, minus the nice hill they had the last mile.... The weather was great, which may make it more difficult this year. I didn't have any training schedule at all last summer-- just made sure I got a 10 mile run in sometime before the actual race. Since I've actually been training for the marathon I'm interested in seeing how the half turns out this year!

I've missed soccer!

So before I started all this running on my own, I lived to play soccer. When I moved out to Chicago I figured I should start doing something active and what better sport then running--the lake shore path was the biggest draw for just going out on a run... I was never a fan of just running to run!

 In our training plan it mentions we shouldn't do too many sports with lateral movements but when I got asked to sub on a soccer team I couldn't resist! I figured a 50min soccer game, no subs, playing outside mid...that should cover my 3 miles scheduled! I don't know when the last time I played in a soccer game but oh my gosh, waking up on Wednesday, my body hasn't been that sore in soooo long, especially from just a soccer game! I absolutely love the feeling of being sore, but I'm a little disappointed one soccer game did that much "damage". I used to play 5 in one weekend and not feel half as bad! I still felt it this morning before my 10miler!

Speaking of the 10miles, due to heat, CARA decided to cancel all group runs this morning. My friend Aly and I still decided to go out running...5am to try and beat the heat... and I think every one else who planned on running this morning did the same thing! The funny thing is, I think 5am was hotter out than 8am and later! Oh well, it was great to see everyone still out running/biking!

On to week Six:

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 3 Miles

Wednesday: 5 Miles

Thursday: 3 Miles

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 7 Miles

Sunday: Cross