Mondays

Its Monday Morning, the start of yet another week in our lives. I have patiently been waiting for my new shoes to come. They are coming via mail or ups or something. Patiently waiting did I say , ok not so much. I keep checking the front doorto see if a package has been left, but no package. I don't even know if these will fit or work since I wasn't able to try them on at the store. I am just crossing my fingers for that miracle to happen.
No running has happened since Thursday. I had a feeling that would happen. Going out of town always messes up my schedule. I tried t o get my sister to run with me, unsuccessfully I might add, because she knows the streets and all, but it was a no go!
I am very much looking forward to the run on Saturday with BRA, I hear it is an 18 miler. That will be my first ever!
My plans for the week this week are to run a little and go to the gym and lift the weights and swim. Yeah ...pretty much the same as it has been for the past few weeks. Then off to Tampa I go on Thursday!!!! Who hooooo.
The foam roller seems to be helping a bit with my ITB. Man does it hurt in some spots still but I keep on rolling. Lets see....anything else to write about......not that I can think of at the moment.

Oh yeah...I must be starting to get anxious about MCM. I keep having dreams about going and getting lost and missing the times, and wondering what day it is. Wondering if I have everything I need to run etc....I hate those kinds of dreams. Lets hope none of it happens!! Alright I am signing off now....

Shoes for the soul!

This past weekend I purchased a brand spanking new pair of sneakers. My first since Nov 08'. Yes, I was WAY overdue. I couldn't find any of the shoes that were on my list for the type of foot I had. So I tried on a few pairs, went to like 4 stores, and finally just bought a pair of asics 2140's. I had a pair of asics back in Oct and they gave me blisters during my half marathon. Due to my knee problems, I then went to a running store and they said I need a stability shoe. Ok so they gave me Saucony Guide. I can't remember if I got blisters or not...I kind of think I did but really I am not 100 percent on that. Well I wore these new sneakers 3 times so far. They are indeed stability shoes, and now I have blisters. The blisters are on the forefoot. Urghhhh! So now I am tasked with the dilema of trying to take them back and getting a different pair or waiting it out a little longer.
The main problem I am wondering about is the shoe guides on the internet. They all say I need a cushioned shoe, not a stability shoe, because I supinate not pronate! HUmmmmmm.....I am again in the minority here when it comes to the pronators of the world. So do I take the shoe back and try to find another one or what. My gut is telling me to take it back...I mean blisters after only 3 runs.....and they weren't even that long. Thats what I am thinking..... I hope someone gives me some direction on this problem.
Ok so as I said above, I ran again tonight. It was a beautiful evening, with a cooler air temp and it had rained all day so it was very pleasant outside. I ran my first 2 miles in 18:00...whoohooo. I haven't done that in a while..so then this leads me to my next pondering thought...could I have run to fast in my new shoes and thats why I got blisters. Well at any rate...the last 2 miles sucked cause I had to keep stopping and I was trying not to make them worse. So I got back around 43:00 minutes or so....for 4 miles.
I don't think I will run the next couple of days because I am heading up north for my moms birthday and I may drink a little too much tomorrow night! LOL....Maybe Sunday.....depends on the blisters and the shoes and the route. I have no idea about the routes in Birmingham.....
Sorry if my blog isn't caught up this weekend, but I will be sure to finish it next week.

Twenty something

Its the 26th and its the 21st blog. Alright lame I know , I couldn't think of a cool title. Update for the week so far...I went to the gym yesterday and I biked 5 miles, ran 2.5 miles, swam a few laps, and lifted weights. I then went skating with my oldest. Today I just went for a run. I ran 4 miles. I finished in 40 mins, which has been one of my better times, due to the hills.I wanted to run outside because yesterday I ran on the tredmill and it is so boring!!!! The knee ached a little but I wore my brace contraption and it seemed to help a little. Tomorrow I plan on hitting the gym again and lift more weights and bike some more.
I did some research for the marathon today and planned on staying at the Hyatt the weekend of the race. Mom is coming but I dont think hubby is going to be able to come.
I went to Hooters again for a weekly visit it seems. Had some beers and a salad, a healthy combo hahaha.....its all good. Oh my well , this blog seems to be a boring one so I think I will put it out of its misery and end on that note. LOL

Hello Monday

Hi there peeps! It's a beautiful Monday morning and I have already gotten so much accomplished. Oh yay....I DID NOT sleep at all last night. It was probably one of the worst nights in a long time. I woke up screaming because of a bad dream (about snakes) and toss and turned all night long. I took Mia to school, went shopping, came home and cleaned, played with Sydney and now I am icing the knee and taking a break.
Whats the update with the knee? All of you are probably so sick and tired of hearing about the knee. I KNOW I AM!!! Well with the help and advice from NM, I purchased a foam roller. I tried it out yesterday for the first time and wow did it hurt. I had to hold myself up and balance and roll it up and down my hip. It was a workout in itself. I just hope it starts to feel better. My knee hurts a little today I am wondering if it was from the roller. I guess I won't be running today we will see. Maybe I can get in a few miles or maybe I can go to the gym and go in the pool or take a bike ride, that way I can at least keep up with the cardio part.
I am getting sooooo frustrated!!!! This week I am supposed to run 18..how the hell will I pull it off???? What will happen if I can't run the scheduled runs and then the MCM comes???? URGHHH...ok well lets see what else happened this weekend....
I did buy a new pair of shoes. I got asics 2140's....I tried on quite a few but those felt the best. I am long over due for a pair of sneakers so I hope that these will help with the knee as well. Ok that is the update for the time being..talk to u later.

Saturday Night Run

I haven't run all week and I have been missing it terribly! I wanted to rest up my knee and start trying to build up the muscles in my quads. Its Saturday which means I could run my long run today or get up early and run in the morning. Well I got the urge to run tonight instead. The plan was for 16, unfortunately I was only able to do 10. The main reason was because of the knee and the second was because it got dark out and I couldn't see where I was going!!! There are no street lights around so all I had for the last 2 miles were the oncoming cars hoping that they were paying attention and not drifting into the sidewalk. Luckily for me they all were..though one made me a little nervous! I took some motrin and am going to get the ice shortly. I am glad that it didn't start hurting at mile 5 again. At least this time it waited a little longer. I also have to check my times but I think I may have been a little faster tonight. I felt better anyway and not as tired. When I hook up the Garmin I will let you know how it was overall. I am stating to think my goal of a sub 4:30 is not going to happen. It looks more and more like it will be a 5 er.....crying!!!!!!!! I still have hope..... I may have to drug my knee up the day before. so I will make it...heheheh...
Other than this evenings run I did go to the gym today but I was in the pool I didn't lift any weights. I swam a little. They say the pool is good for you.....we will see if all these weights and swimming in the pool helps in the long run.
See you all tomorrow!

Exercising the demons!

I have no idea why I came up with that title. Ok maybe I do, I am exercising the demons out of my leg muscles. LOL.... Haven't blogged for 2 days so I have some to catch up on. Lets see what happened yesterday....I went to the gym and for the first time dropped off Sydney at the child area. I was a little nervous about that because she is SO attached to me and never wants me to leave her side lately. But she did really well. No crying at all! Yeah!
I worked out for about an hour. I started out by using the stationary bike for 35 min, biking a total of 8.17 miles.I have no idea what a good workout should be on a bike but I was sweating so that's a good sign for me. I then walked around a little and decided to work on the leg muscles. I did all of the following exercises 15 reps, 3 sets each......
Leg adduction, abduction, leg press, calf extension, glutes, and abdominals. Then I stretched and left. This morning I hurt a little bit but I wanted more hurt! So I went back to the gym again today and repeated the same exercises. Changed a little bit of the weight and also added another exercise the hamstring curl. My legs felt like jello afterwards.
Sunday is when I am going to try my long run. 16 miles is scheduled so wish me luck.
I am bored right now. I need something to do. Its thundering and lightening out and the kids are watching tv and the hubby is yet again playing video games...so I am not sure on what to do. We ended up going out to eat last night because I needed beer and it was good....I asked several times what Ian wanted to eat tonight and he just never answered me so I have not as of yet taken anything out to thaw. Its already 4 pm and I don't think if I take anything out now that it will thaw in time so I have a feeling we will be going out again. There goes trying to save a little.....oh well..I could use some more beer lol!
Tomorrow I may not get to post until late. We have a lot planned for the weekend..mainly cleaning things, running errands etc.
So until next time! Ta ta

Food

This is a different kind of blog from me today. I wasn't sure what to write about so the only thing that came to mind was food. Food is the staple of life and I LOVE food. Its almost noon and I am hungry already. I didn't have breakfast this morning because I had to get up and out of the house early andgo to the doctors. Now I am home eating a delicious blueberry muffin, warmed up with melted butter on top!
I also bought some pizza dough yesterday which I like to buy on occasion and make dough boys. For you southerners who don't know what a "true" dough boy is, it is like a funnel cake (in a way), its fried dough but it is allowed to rise the day before and you lightly fry it in a pan so the outside is slightly crispy and the middle is soft. Then you top it with your choice of topping; butter and sugar ( my favorite), or powdered sugar or cinnamon. Its probably one of the worst foods to eat. Absolutly no nutritional value but it reminds me of the good old days at grandmas. She used to make them for breakfast when we would sleep over. They were the best. So after all that is said, I took the dough out of the fridge and I am letting it rise.
I will be making spinach and olive calzones tomorrow. There is a little garlic, little olive oil, some mozzarella cheese and black olive, bake in the oven and then eat. I needed to change things up a bit food wise this week. By the way if you don't already know I HATE COOKING! I would rather 100 percent of the time, go out to eat!
What else will I try and cook this week....BBQ ribs, pasta salad, doughboys(with more dough), tilapia, for starters. Braumhauers is on Friday or Saturday.
Bramhauers is a restaurant that we like over here that has popcorn and trivia games and lots of food and beer etc. So we are going to go there as our night out this week. Have to have at least one a week for sanity purposes!
Anyways....I am still hungry....I will have to dig into the turkey now.
So thats my blog for the day...maybe it made some hungry maybe it make some not hungry..to each his own...I will have to burn some calories though for some of it :)

For real this time

Yes, I have not run. My knee was hurting yesterday just walking around. I am taking a little break so that this weekend I can still run the long run and hopefully my knee won't hurt. I am going to focus on building up my Quads more and cross training more.
Today I went to this preschool day at the skating rink. They had blow up play houses, slides and anobstacle course. Then they had organized dance time and limbo stick and all. So of course like a true mother I had to participate. I danced, and ran around after my kid. I even ran the obstacle course against her a few times..of course she won them all ! I had to help her up the slide because it was too steep for her to climb by herself. All in all I got a small workout. I plan on going to the gym later and lifting some weights and then going swimming as long as the weather holds out.
I need a run in...wanna help me JM?....I keep trying to get u to go to MCM! LOL

JM

I haven't run! My knee hurts! enough said

Longest Ever!

August 16,2009....I have officially run my longest Long run and run the highest number of miles in a week to date! This morning, bright and early at 5:30am, I got up and ran 14 miles. This was the longest run ever for me. The longest run I have run before this was at the Gasperilla Half which was 13.1. Total for the week was 28 miles. Before this biggest total was 26 miles.
The 14 miles didn't go so well though this morning. I hit 5.8 miles and my knee started to hurt. I was upset and bummed out and thought "oh great I have to walk home now and I don't get to finish my run." I stretched my legs, drank some water and then tried to run again. To my amazement my knee felt better and didn't hurt for the next 6 miles. Its not over yet though...mile 11 comes and there goes my knee again. This time it wasn't feeling better, in fact it was worse. I changed my gate a little bit and sunk more into my hips and the pain got better. So for the next 2 miles or so thats what I did. After those 2 miles, I couldn't run anymore without taking breaks. I was so upset, I was yelling at myself and telling myself to push through it, its only pain! Haha... that didn't really work. Run, walk, run, walk the rest of the way. I finished in a whopping 2:50:00...thats not what my goal was. My goal for today was 2:30:00 or less. If my knee had held out I am sure I would have made my goal.
Also on todays run I decided that I would not run the normal route I had been running. I decided to go in a straight line down the road for 7 miles, see where it takes me then turn around and head back. At mile 5 there was a HUGE hill....seeing that I was trying to avoid the big hills today, I turned around and made up the remaining miles going up and down side streets that didn't have any hills. The decision to go this route was for the lack of hills in it. I wanted to see how I felt going the distance and not having to run up these hills. I felt 10 times better than I have been feeling in my runs. My times were right on the 11:30 mark! great!!! Oh well to the times with the knee.
After I finished my run I called Ian and said get a cold bath ready for me. He did , with ICE too! It was cold but felt really good. I have iced my knee twice since then and dosed myself up some Motrin. I am taking it slower the next couple of days and hope that the constant icing will help my knee. If worse comes to worse I will have to stop running for a bit and hit the schedule hard upon my return or just pick up where I should be and hope all goes well!

TGIF

Its Friday folks! Time for the weekend, its all good. Ran last night a short 6 miles, BUT didn't finish at the lovely 5.3 mark I felt the awful, dreaded twinge in my left knee. MFGD..whatever else I can add to that! Immediatly walked the rest and headed for home. I iced it right away and popped the motrin. Even as I type I am icing and took some meds. I will beat this. Every time I think I made it through, I've stretched , no problems, one always crops up. I will NOT let this hold me back.Its just a little pain I have to work through.
Tonight I have 4 to do then on Sunday I have 14 to do. That one will be the challange for the knee! I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, .........
Only 10 weeks or so left... I am wondering how Discom BOB ulateds runs are going though. I will have to look up her blog. If you read this , how is it going? How are the times coming along?
I do have something to look forward to tonight. We are going to hooters! It been planned for the week....we have to watch our budget and what not so we chose hooters and I am really looking forward to the BEER!
Well I will write later as to what happens.....
JM , how is this week going so far. I think its been 3, instead of one!lol

ps I think my knee is hurting from that HORRIBLE cardio kickboxing class the other day!

3rd post for the week!

Hi there running fans! Its hump day! Whooo hoo.....my boo boo is better now so I worked out today. Yeah I feel SO much better now. Its really hard not working out for 3 days. I was going to go take a class this morning but I didn't get out of the house in time so I decided to go to the gym in the afternoon. I found a class at 4:45 and it was a cardio kick boxing class. It lasted 45 mins and I said to myself "great" then I can run afterwards.
Let me tall u I wondered why at that time of day there was hardly a person ready to take the class..it SUCKED. The instructor SUCKED, everything about it really SUCKED! Get my drift. SHe had no clue what she was doing and I half wonder if she really was an instructor there because she was that BAD. I stuck it out even though I should have left and done something else then I went and ran my 4miles on the tredmill. Once again it was raining outside so I had to stay under cover.
All in all at least I got a workout in and my miles in. Tomorrow I may try and take a class in the morning and then in the evening go and run 6 miles.
TTFN friends!

Plan for the week

It is Tuesday evening and I have not run since Sat. Before you all get huffy..I have an excuse !:)Thursday I decided to get all "gussied" up and wear high heels to Mias meet the teacher night and in doing so I cut the side of my foot. Needless to say I dont wear heels often. So I went running on Sat with bandaids and mole skin....it did not help much ...I lept banging it on things or what not and it ended up getting infected. So of course I applied first aid to the wound and it feels a hell of a lot better today. In saying this the new plan is to play catch up! WED, THURS, FRI----will be 4, 6, 4, and then Sunday 14. That will be 28 for the week which puts me back on schedule.
I did go to the pool today but because of some unforseen events the pool was closed for laps, but the outside pool was not. Not long after though we closed the pool down...cause of some unforseen circumstances on our part this time (wont say what).
Ok so I am going now...just got an IM I have to respond to.

Week 8

JM this is for you!
Its the beginning of week 8 now and yes I haven't written since Wednesday. I have been busy. I had family in town since Friday and not much time to update this blog. Saturday I ran 12 miles. I actually got up at 6 am and went to this little area called downtown Daphne. its not really a downtown the way we all think of one. Its a few buildings...like a post office and city hall, and 2 kiddie parks, thats about it. So I ran up and down the streets trying to make a 12 miles run out of it. I have to finda better place to do my long runs. Thats will take some time.
I borrowed an mp3 player off Ian so I actually ran with music this time and it was very nice and distracting. It worked out well. My legs hurt yesterday from the run. Next Sat is a 14 mile run and that will officially be the longest run ever....the thought of a 26 er right now is still tough. I dont know how my friends felt this weekend after their 18miler.....!
I plan on running a 4 or 5 today..though I have sunburn from the beach so I am hurting a little...I may postpone it till tomorrow.We will see......other than that nothing eventful as happened.
when will I write again...hummmmmm ........soon,promise!

New Definition to Running in Circles

Ok all you track fans I give you the new definition of running in circles. The normal track is 1/4 mile around...hence 4 times equals a mile.....24 times equals 6 miles. Right?, Right!!!! Today is Wednesday....I ran 4 miles on the treadmill on Monday due to our fine weather here in Alabama! Today was the same thing only this time I had to get in 6 miles, according to my chart. Ok fine I can't run outside and I REALLY don't want to run 6 on a treadmill..yuck ..so thats right they have a track at the gym going around the top, inside the building. GREAT! I can run a flat, fast 6 miles. HERE IT COMES..........................READY.................................... 102 laps around equals 6 miles!!!!!! HOLY SHIT!!!!! According to their sign , 1 mile equals 17 laps, therefore 102 equals 6 miles. So I ran 6 miles in a small continuous circle. Whew! I am so glad I am done and I finnished under an hour.
The downfall other than running in circles 102 times is..after so many you start saying to yourself, did I say that number already? am I on that number lap? on no I lost count, I will just addd another one on just to be safe. In the end I know I did at least 104, but I am guessing more like 110. I pray to the rain gods to please, please rain in the morning so I can run on the road at night,please and thank you!
Tomorrow is another planned 4 mile run and then 12 miles on Saturday. Till then....

Back from a long weekend away

It is Monday, August 3, 2009. We got back last night from a long weekend away in North Carolina. We visited friends and family and had a good time. I went running once while was there. They don't have sidewalks there either!!! Whats up with that???? We dont have sidewalks or street crossing lights here either. I ran in my best friends neighborhood..I ran 4 miles. I did not get to run my long run but I am going to steep it up this week and still stay on the plan week.

At least it rained already tooday. I am thinking of running at the gym tonight though because I would like to get in a class or some weights and possibly run on the treadmill then go for a nice cooling, relaxing swim afterwards. Sounds so nice! I had so much to do today that the day has gone by so quickly..which is good because usually my days drag on and I take an afternoon nap...not today! :)

This weeks plan is 26 miles total and 12 for the long run. The time is getting closer. I have been checking into plane tickets and I still need to look into the hotel. So Bethy if you read this don't forget to ask D!!!

I also need to go get another ipod or mp3 player. I need that on my long run. it helps take my mind off the miles and entertain mea little. I had one. It was about a year old and I used it one time when I got to Alabama..then guess what..apparently I sweated a little too much and short circuited it! LOL ! Damn..guess I have to get a waterproof one now...so I do have to look for a new one.
Will update soon..I promise......JM!