sub-9, baby!

Tonight I ran 3 miles at a 8:58 pace! That is the fastest I've ever run and honestly not a pace that I expected to see. I really wasn't pushing myself too hard because my ankle was bothering me a bit. Who knew that possible injury = faster pace. Ha!

Honestly, I know that's not funny and I'm concerned that I am overtraining just a bit. My right ankle has felt funny all day - just a little bit sore if I move it a certain way. It felt OK while I was running. If I thought about it, I could feel a twinge but otherwise it didn't bother me. While feeding the horses after my run though, I noticed that my right knee was a little painful. Sigh. I noticed that particular pain while I was squatting down to squeeze under a gate. I think (and really hope) that if I am careful with how I bend and move then it should be OK. Ugh. I sound freaking old having to worry about that. I hate that my aches and pains are overshadowing my excitement about my pace tonight!

edited to add: don't you think "squatting" is kind of a gross sounding word? I was reading back over my post to make sure my wine-influenced grammar wasn't too horrible and that word just bothers me. Odd, I know.

halfway there!

Last night I ran 7 miles, so I'm safe to say that I am halfway to my half-marathon distance. Actually a little further than halfway if you want to be precise. My run last night was great. Granted, it wasn't fast, but I felt good the entire time. The past couple of long runs I've done have had me out of breath before mile 2 and limping at toward the end. My left knee has been giving me some trouble, but last night it held up well. It hurt when I first started out (as usual) but after about a mile, it felt fine. It stiffened up a little last night, but it's feeling OK overall today. I'm feeling really confident right now about the half-marathon. I know I'm sure to have some bad runs between now and then, but for now I'm concentrating on how good this past run was!


I started a new book last night too - Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner. So far it's good enough and easy to listen to. It's always hard to get into a new book in the beginning. I think that I am still emotionally connected to the characters in the book that I was previously reading/listening to. Speaking of, I recommend reading Second Glance by Jodi Picoult. It's a combination love story, ghost story, history lesson. It was very thought provoking and had the usual Jodi Picoult twist (which I love!) at the end.

just do it

I was supposed to do my long run on Sunday, but a little something called a "beach weekend" got in the way! My mom came down to visit on Saturday morning and we headed for the coast. We had gorgeous weather all weekend long which made it especially hard to leave on Sunday afternoon/evening. I honestly planned to run when I got home, no matter what time it was. I'd had a realization earlier in the day about what Nike's slogan "just do it" means. We ended up getting home about 8:45pm, but I came in and changed into my running clothes, grabbed my ipod, and.........realized that my ipod batteries were dead. Super great. At that point, I had a little tantrum and tried to charge it for about 10 minutes to see if that would help. Um, no, it didn't. So I gave up and took a shower.

I redeemed myself by making up that 4 mile run last night. The weather was nice - it was hot, but not too humid. I felt decently OK while running, I was having to push myself just a little bit. I didn't push too hard because honestly I was still tired from the weekend. I was pleasantly surprised when Tiger Woods came on my ipod when I finished to congratulate me! My average pace was 10:22 which I was very pleased with! I guess I am getting a little bit faster without even realizing it because I'm getting more conditioned.

Now my quandry is whether or not to run tonight. My right knee hurt last night before and after running, but not during - try to explain that one. It's hurting in a different place than it has before, so right now I'm just keeping an eye on it. Honestly, I already know that I am going to go running tonight. And I also know that I am going to increase my distance to 3.5 miles from my usual 3. I was thinking about it last night during my run. So much of this running game is mental - I had no idea. That's what I learned this time - that once you get that goal in your head and tell yourself to "just do it" it's actually harder not to do it.

Oh! One other (frivilous) thing I learned: running skirts are super cute and comfy! If you know me, you know that I am very easily influenced about some things. So of course, when Runner's World did a story about the rise in popularity of running skirts, I had to have one. I always stalk the clearance section at Target for workout gear and yesterday, lo and behold, running skirts were on sale. Lucky day!

i did it!!

I made it through my 3 mile run on my third day of running in a row! Woot-woot! I really went back and forth about whether or not I would run today all day long. Especially after I spent 4 hours shopping (for work, people!) in almost 100 degree weather. I was hot, tired, and my knee hurt after all of that walking around. I had a couple of reasons for going ahead with my run for today. One was that I didn't want to run on Friday night so I wanted to get it out of the way tonight. Another was that I just really wanted to see if I could do it. I am learning that running is not a totally physical activity. So much of it is in your mind and how far you believe that you can push yourself. It's really pretty cool actually.

Physically tonight I felt really good. I didn't go out until almost 8:30 just because it was so hot. Luckily there was a slight breeze blowing which was a treat! My strides felt really "bouncy" tonight -like it took less energy to pick my feet up than usual. I was a bit slower than the past couple of days much I am going to chalk that up to it being my 3rd day of running in a row and that I didn't have a chance to eat lunch today. My knees are feeling good, but the blisters on my big toes are ridiculous. If anyone has any suggestions on what to do about them, let me know. I did break down and take some ibuprofen after my run tonight. My bad (aka right) hip was giving me some trouble this morning and right now what I believe is my sciatic nerve running down my left side is not feeling too great. I really am going to look for a doctor. I don't want to do anything to treat my various aches and pains and make them worse. I bought a knee brace today but I am hesitant to use it in case it is the wrong course of treatment.

I have 2 days of rest ahead of me until my 4 mile run (first ever) on Sunday. I think I'm going to get started on that now. Goodnight :-)

p.s. i ran in just my sports bra and shorts tonight - luckily no catcalls this time around!

first run

Well, my first run of this training program. And it was ONLY 3 miles! Ha! I had just worked up to 3.5 miles so starting off this week at 3 miles was a little bit of a break. With this program, I'm planning to run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays - with my long runs on Sundays. On Mondays and Fridays or Saturdays I plan to do a ballet workout that I have on DVD. Sounds like I'll be pretty busy these next few months!

Anyway, my run today went pretty well. Even though the temperature was near 90 today, the humidity was low. I went out for my run about 8:15ish so by then it was really comfortable outside. I wore running shorts and a sports bra with no shirt which always makes me feel weird to be so exposed. I am trying to get over that though because it is just way too hot with much else on. I know, I'm such a hussy.

I just got fitted for new running shoes a couple of weeks ago. They are finally starting to feel good on my feet and legs. I wasn't very happy with them the first couple of times that I ran and I was worried that I had just blown a ton of money. I added some innersoles to them and that has made a big difference.

I've been having some trouble with my knees lately and I'm trying to decide if it warrants a trip to the doctor or not. My knees and hips have taken a beating over the years dancing and horseback riding. I think they are protesting this new endeavor, but they are just going to have to get over it damnit. I am going to start looking for a sports medicine doctor though, for when the time comes.

So back to the run - I really felt good and I really felt like I was pushing myself in a good way. My pace has been in the 10:45 range lately and I have not been happy with that. When I first started running this spring my pace was much closer to 10:00 and right under. I don't know if increasing my distances has caused me to start pacing myself or what. But today I finished with a 10:31 average pace and I was happy with that. I'm interested to see how I feel tomorrow on my 2 mile run. This will be my first time running 2 days in a row. Piece of cake, right? Mmmm....cake.....