Speedwork

I skipped my easy 3-miler yesterday. It was the first time I have skipped a run in about 6 weeks. I did it because my "bum foot" was giving me fits. That darn peroneal tendon just plagues me sometimes, point blank. After Saturday's 8-miler it started, and it continued through Sunday and Monday. So no running. As of today it was great! So once Chasen got home, I hit the pavement. I was supposed to be doing a track workout today, but with it getting so dark so much sooner now, I just feel better by staying in my 'hood. Plus, the weather was actually gorgeous and dry; 70 degrees or less!

What's up, home slice?

I first did a 1.5 mile warm-up non-stop. After that I was supposed to do three miles at 11:28 each. Yikes! I had to hustle. The first mile was done in 11:25. Whoo hoo! The second, which I thought would be slower, was 11:06. Um, did I just do that? The third was 11:11. Look out, world! Thank you, Mother Nature.

Then... the ole foot started to hurt. So I walked the last bit, which was meant to be a 1.5 mile cooldown. We can't have it all, I don't guess.

This weekend I have to do 16 miles. Holy moly! My mind and heart are ready; I just hope the foot follows suit.

Solid Running

Another good week of running in the bag! I completed all of my runs thanks to my wonderful husband and my treadmill.

Isaac is a monkey; he loves to hang upside down.

One run was a hill workout. The Rocket City course is said to be challenging, so hill workouts are quite necessary.

Isaac, third from left, got to go on a wilderness walk with friends.

On Friday we went to the Lichterman Nature Center in Memphis to stroll with friends. I was so thankful to have a stroller with real tires. The gals with plastic wheels had a hard time getting around!

My wilderness man! Isaac always likes to be in his stroller (thank God).

In the paved area, there was a scarecrow display. Here we are by Elvis (wearing my Elvis 5K shirt!)

On Saturday I was to do an 8-miler non-stop. I got to it at about 6:30 AM. I was only mildly anxious about the non-stop part. I headed out to the "main drag" and got down to business. It went like this: 14:14, 14:31, 13:54, 13:11, 13:49, 14:14, 14:00, 13:23. I really can go faster doing the 1:1 method! But of course I need and want to get back to solid running. Getting there!

On Saturday night a mommy friend and I met up for dinner and the theatre. We saw "A Chorus Line" at the historic Orpheum Theatre in Memphis. Fun!

Here I am ready to go! My little man is in the lower corner.

Have fun Mommy! Daddy and I will be fine here at home.

This week I'll be on the Runner's Roundtable for Team Point Two. Party on!

For Petra aka Miss BQ

This is for Petra who has just officially qualified for Boston! When the results were up in the air, I told her I'd do a happy dance and post it on my blog (maybe). Well, here it is!

14 Miler on the Treadmill

I do not recommend doing 14 miles on the treadmill, but that's what I did today. Life gets in the way sometimes.

I was to do all miles at 1:1, except 3,6,9,12. Those were run solid.

Mile 1: 13:49
Mile 2: 13:12
Mile 3: 12:24
Mile 4: 13:26
Mile 5: 13:34

This is about where I wanted to quit. I didn't DARE, though. I did NOT want to disappoint John! I forged ahead.

Mile 6: 12:24
Mile 7: 14:02
Mile 8: 14:19
Mile 9: 12:35
Mile 10: 14:29

At this point I turned on the Garmin; weather be damned! I was headed outdoors no matter what. But then Chasen and Isaac got home and I was feeling a tiny bit of encouragement.

Mile 11: 14:51
Mile 12: 13:15 (I do believe this required a sitting break.)
Mile 13: 14:46 (This is when Chasen brought out the theme to Rocky on his ipod for me.)
Mile 14: 14:35

Total: 3:11:31
Average: 13:40

My next longrun is a mere 8 miles! Hooray! However, they all have to be RUN (i.e. no 1:1 business). Yikes! I can do it; I did 6 that way months ago. Wish me luck!

Wanted: Some Zen

What a week I've had! Three big things have made this week tough for me: Chasen's work, a monsoon and planned events.

Chasen has gotten a promotion, and due to some odd circumstances he is doing the work of about three people right now, so he has hardly been home at all. That makes for a lot of treadmill running. Which is fine... but I don't really get to "escape life" that way. But the runs get done.

It has rained for about a week straight. Again, I am thankful for Teddy Tready! (and a garage)

We had places to be Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night of this week. Yikes! Rain or no rain, I'd be forced to use the treadmill in order to get the runs done on time. Calgon, take me away!

On Tuesday I had to drive to Tupelo, Mississippi (90 miles away, birthplace of Elvis) for a new work project (!!!) on less than 3 hours of sleep. Isaac had to go to work with Chasen before 6 AM. This is not an ideal situation, people! But you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.

I have not missed any runs, but I have been fit to be tied! Today, Saturday, I was to do a 2-mile zen run. With Chasen gone and the rain coming and going, Isaac and I headed out and I just walked. I didn't have any zen in me. *sigh*

I bought Isaac this Halloween shirt last year, not knowing he'd be so big! So he is wearing it early.

Napping lil pumpkin. Comfy, huh?

A laughing baby can make ANY day better.

Chocolate tiramisu cake I had to make to take to an event. I didn't even get a slice!

Got bananas?

Tomorrow is a 14-miler. Rain, rain, go away!

12 Miler!

Today I ran 12 miles. I have not covered that distance since last year's Worldwide Half Marathon (at about 20 weeks pregnant, all walking). I got right to it at 5 AM. Because it was so dark I did the first 2 mile sin my neighborhood. As it turns out, the main drag was much better lit than this quaint place with lampposts in every yard.

I was supposed to run at a 2:2 ratio, except every 3rd mile was to be run solid. Now that's a good way to do it! Piece of cake!

6-month photo courtesy of Brooke Ledbetter of Southaven, Mississippi

It started raining at about mile 5, so I altered my course and headed home. I discovered that it was going to mist rain the rest of the morning... so I just did more back in my neighborhood than I had planned. No biggie.

Here are my splits:
Mile 1 -- 15:00 (2:2)
Mile 2 -- 14:43 (2:2)
Mile 3 -- 13:31 (solid)
Mile 4 -- 15:11 (2:2)
Mile 5 -- 14:46 (2:2)
Mile 6 -- 13:42 (I actually forgot about running it solid until a ways in...)
Mile 7 -- 15:31 (2:2)
Mile 8 -- 14:11 (2:2)
Mile 9 -- 13:30 (solid)
Mile 10 -- 15:08 (2:2)
Mile 11 -- 15:00 (2:2)
Mile 12 -- 13:25 (solid)
Total: 2:53:43

Average: 14:30

Next week I have to do 14 miles, mostly at a 1:1 ratio. Wish me luck!

Weigh Past Due!

I have been quite busy; just a lot going on. So this is just a quick update. More to come! The running is going well.

Isaac sports his Arkansas Razorbacks jersey on his first official game day. Chasen was so proud!

I finally finished a personal project I swore I'd complete before Isaac was born. Obviously I missed that deadline! It's the display of race bibs and medals in my (home) office:

Isn't the Little Rock medal HUGE? And Rocket City is on its way!!!

The cork board just didn't go up as soon or as easily as we thought. But we finally got it hung up on the wall above my desk, and the organizing of the race bibs was a piece of cake. Hanging the medals was a whole other story. I thought I'd hang them on the cork board, but Chasen didn't think they'd be supported well enough, so we opted for a simple coat rack (which took forever to find the time to hang). We put it way up high because a) I never get the medals down, and b) why cover up my cork board collage?

Now on to the topic that most people (non-runners, at least) always wonder about: baby weight. I am often asked how much weight I gained with pregnancy. I honestly do not know the exact number, and here's why. I know exactly how much I weighed before we moved to Mississippi (shown as "torn tendon chub" below on my nifty graph). I didn't weigh the day I discovered I was pregnant. I knew I had plumped up even more and was stupidly avoiding the scale. That's why!

As you can see I am about 7 pounds away from the last known pre-pregnancy weight. I have lost quite a bit thanks to training and my current eating plan. Life is good! I am very encouraged and continue to watch the graph plunge. Hooray!

Winged Feet (Not Webbed Feet!)

This is a recovery week for me. I never, ever thought I'd say this... but only running 5 days is boring. Can you believe it?

Isaac sports his first jeans. Awww! What a big boy!

Isaac, center, sits amid his six favorite friends in front of the flower beds (literally).

Oh what a day. I must say... not every day of mommyhood is a joy. Nope. The closer we get to Isaac's first tooth, the less happy he and I both are. However, the high point of the day was the Runner's Round Table! I got to participate as part of Team Point Two. I dished on my current training, which is going really well, in my opinion.

Isaac hangs out (literally) on Daddy as Mommy goes for a much needed run.

So today I was counting down the seconds until Chasen got home so I could ESCAPE to the roads. I didn't bother with Teddy Tready. Oh no - this day called for the pavement. I had 4 miles on the docket. The first was to be run solid (13:05) and the remaining three were to be done at a 2:2 ratio (14:08, 13:27, 13:50). I do believe the stress of the day is what boosted me forward! I really felt like I could have run forever. Coming from "ground zero" as I am, that feeling is priceless!