A bit of a setback

Well, I when I set my goal of 1,000 miles, I didn't plan to get sick. I planned to be healthy all year. Unfortunately, that was not to be. I came back from Duluth with the start of a cold that turned into a sinus infection that needed two rounds of antibiotics. I am just now feeling well enough to be running full speed again. This week I managed a mere 6.5 miles, but I did take body combat three times. Tomorrow morning Chris and I will be up and running before church, so that will bring me up to at least 12 miles for the week. As it stands, I have run 185.2 miles this year. It is still possible to hit 1,000 miles, but it will take a concentrated effort to get there. Next week I plan to run at least 15 miles, and build up from there. I need to be careful not to get back too quickly and injure myself. Oh, and I need to put down the Easter candy!!!

Fun in the snow!

I didn't get much running in last weekend, as Alexander and I traveled to Duluth to spend time with Dave, Jodie, and Liesl. Although I did take time to run on the treadmill at Dave's YMCA, the majority of our time was spent skiing. This was a first for both of us, and we loved it! We had perfect weather (right around freezing) and we even got to see snow fall on our first day. What a great time!

 Alexander and Liesl after spending the morning in the yard. They went out to play before we had the chance to go to the ski slopes.

 Jodie and I coming in for another ride up the mountain. Anytime I made it to the line without falling, I considered it a small victory.

 Liesl and Alexander spent literally hours skiing.

 On the last morning, we went to frozen Lake Superior. We were treated to some beautiful views!

 Twins. Alexander looks just like Dave when he was a teenager.

Half Marathon day!

Well, race day began a little colder than we would have wished. Here is the forecast for the day. The race started at 6:30am, and we were out the door by 5:45. It was so cold that I wore 3 layers on top, plus a plastic bag at the start line to keep my body heat in. We took off the bags right before the race started. I kept my hat and gloves on the entire time, except for when I took them off to snap these pictures.

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The best part about the Daytona Beach half is the course. You begin with a loop around the speedway (a little over 2 miles), then run to the beach and back. That does, by the way, include a bridge. A big bridge. Twice. This year they changed the course slightly, which allowed us to run on the beach for a block.

Even though we live there, we still took some time to snap a few pictures on the beach. Both Chris and I were thrilled to be able to run. He's been battling knee pain, and I've had a cold all week.

We were running well, despite the cold. We usually try for a "negative split" where we run the second half faster than the first, but that did not happen this time. I attribute it mainly to the wind - we ran INTO the wind the entire way back. At mile 12, Chris needed to slow down, but I plowed on. We both finished just a minute apart, and we both had a PR (Personal Record!) Mine was 2:14:47. The closest I've come to that lately was in the 2:20 area, so I was very excited.

Although Daytona does throw a nice after party, we didn't stick around. We wanted to make it to church (made it just in time), and we were abolutely freezing by that point. It was still in the low 40's, windy, and now we were soaked with sweat. I've never been so happy to be inside a hot car as I was this morning.

Instead of the post-race beer and pizza, we opted for the next best thing  - Krispy Kreme. Each runner receives a free dozen glazed donuts. Benjamin offered to drive me there (!!!) to pick them up. I'm sure the boys will help us eat them quickly.

This week's total: 17.1 miles (4 mile treadmill run on Thursday)

This year's total: 123.4 miles! I'm getting there!!!!

100!!!!

I've made it 10% of the way to my goal! This morning on my long run, I passed the 100 mile mark. Very exciting. Unfortunately, I was running alone, as Chris has an injured knee. He's not sure what exactly is wrong with it, but since we have a half marathon in a week, he's not taking any chances. We started off together, but before we hit one mile he had to turn around. I had brought my headphones just in case. It's much less fun to run long runs by yourself, but I took this opportunity to catch up on my favorite podcasts. I used Stitcher to listen to It's All Politics, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, and Another Mother Runner. I actually had a good time - I averaged 10:15 miles, which is good for me on a long run. Perfect weather certainly helps, as does the motivation to get home in time to be ready for church.

I only missed two days of excerize this week - Tuesday, which is almost always a rest day, and Saturday, because we had an all day church retreat. That was fine, as I should be "tapering" anyway to prepare for next Sunday's race!  The paper said this week that we will be running "with" some of the NASCAR drivers. I put "with" in quotes because they will be way ahead of us. I wouldn't know them by sight anyway. Here are my current totals:

Week: 17.2 miles
Month: 38.3 miles
Year: 106.3 miles! Yes!

A run-derful weekend

Lots of running this weekend! Yesterday we ran the Lourdes Academy 5K. We run this every year and it's one of my favorites. It goes through Ormond Beach neighborhoods, and we are treated to pancakes at the finish. This year we all did well. Chris had a PR, and Alexander placed second in his age group!

This morning we did a 9 mile run, one of our last before the Daytona Beach Half marathon. I made up for it with yummy crepes for lunch (banana and strawberry).

I've spent the last 2 hours during the superbowl trying to upload pictures from my phone on to my computer, hoping to add some pics to the blog. Somehow I've lost a few of them.... hopefully they will be recovered soon, especially since the superbowl is halted right now due to a light malfuntion. Hahahahaha.

Weekly Total: 21.1

Another birthday week!

This week is the last of our birthdays for awhile. Today was Chris' birthday. He celebrated by playing ultimate frisbee, getting his school computer fixed, and going out to dinner. We just returned - Monterey Grill was great! He got a free dessert (not chocolate) and they sung to him!

I was successful exercising so far this week. On Monday and Wednesday I went to Body Combat, and on Tuesday I ran a "tempo run" of 6 miles at the treadmill at the Y. My tempo run consisted of a 1 mile warm up and then a 4 mile fast run, which for me was between 6.2 and 6.4 mph, with a few short walk breaks. Unfortunately, I returned home with something I can only call "bra burn." My bra rubbed me raw in two places, and now I smell like a baby with A& D ointment on me! I was not scheduled to run today and hopefully this will give me time to heal.

Weekly total: 6
MOnthly total: 74
Yearly total: 74

Long Runs

I enjoy running by myself sometimes. It gives me a chance to catch up on the latest podcasts. I use the Stitcher app, which automatically downloads my podcasts as they are released. I listen to some political podcasts as well as my favorite NPR shows.

But I also enjoy the long runs Chris and I do together. Today we did 8.5 miles, which took almost an hour and a half. It was perfect weather. We spend much of the time bemoaning our educational system. But at least it gets it out of our systems before we are around the boys. They've heard quite enough of our attacks on certain administrative decisions. It also gives us a chance to catch up. It seems like the week speeds by so quickly we don't have time to stop, breathe, and talk.

This afternoon, after we had showered and eaten, we were driven to the library and Publix by BENJAMIN!!! He got his permit on his birthday on Tuesday, and has been eager to drive ever since. Chris does a much better job than I do - I am so nervous that I prefer to sit in the back.

Despite our busy schedule, I did get a fair amount of running in this week.

Monday - 3.0 miles
Tuesday - birthday, spent eating at the Chinese buffet (not my favorite place)
Wednesday - combat class, followed by 3 miles (not a good choice - exhausted afterwards)
Thursday - rest
Friday - 3 miles on our treadmill while watching Glee - I didn't realize it had started up again. What a pleasant surprise when I turned on the DVR
Saturday - 8.5 miles with Chris

Tomorrow we are getting up to do a shorter run, probably between 4 and 5 miles.

Weekly total - 17.5
Monthly total - 64.5
Yearly total - 64.5. I've now completed over 5% of my goal!