12

55 degrees this morning when i left the house. i loved it! and, i really love running in the morning and slowly watching the world wake up.

it was nice to have a shorter run this week. next week will be a tough 36 miles w/all the other stuff we have going on.

5.5

ran 5.5 tonight w/the whole family again. it's always nerve racking for me when the kids are riding their bikes. so many drivers are oblivious to their surroundings and don't look at all. we try to avoid traffic, but it is tough. anyway, we all survived. it was cooler and misting a bit, a nice change to run in.

my grandma is still in the hospital, but has shown some signs of improvement. praising God for that.

give-a-way

check out this great give-a-way here.
if i don't win, i'm considering getting one of these.

8

ran 8 today. wow, it was HUMID!!
i had a pretty discouraging run today. just never felt great. i think i am getting burnt out.
ugh, and it is only week 12/18. also, i just have a lot going on. my grandma has been sick and is in the hospital, and today we took our dog (we've had her for 11 yrs.) to the vet and she thinks our dog may have cancer.

i am so so glad my long run is only 12 this week. i need it.

4

4 on the treadmill (a busy night, so unfortunately it was my only option). beginning week 12 today - 4,8,5,12 - a recovery week. The reduced miles comes at a perfect time, as we are easing our way back into school this week.
it is kind of nice to get back to a schedule, even though we loved our summer break.

16

the end of week 11.
ran 16 today w/my friend amy by my side. it was such a great day - 75 and low humidity.
i started the run not feeling the best. i was just feeling burnt out from all the running, but after mile 3 it got better. i ended up having a great run and by the end i remembered why i love these long runs, even though they take so much time.

i'm slowly figuring out which shirts to wear on my longer runs. body glide is my friend.
and, i'm so thankful for the garmin.

5.5

a great run tonight! steve pushed our youngest in the jogging stroller and the other two rode their bikes by us. we tried to stick to bike trails, to avoid traffic. i was supposed to run 4, but added some extra since my 3 on tuesday was actually supposed to be 4. i looked at the wrong week - oops.

and, my 8 miles that i was supposed to run yesterday will be done on sunday. we ended up going car shopping yesterday instead. our van died, so it had to be done. we are getting this on saturday:i think we will like it.

btw, i had a couple of you ask where to get the socks. just google 26.2 socks and you should be able to find all kinds.

3

here we go, week 11. my schedule this week is 4,8,4,16.
ran 3 tonight and felt good. enjoyed running in my new socks.
it was a super busy week last week and i am still feeling a little run down.
on saturday, i had some problems with dehydration. i will spare you the details..
i'm working on drinking more water. i know it's not something to mess around with.

cross-training

eating pizza counts as cross-training, right?!

15

ran 15 this morning w/my friend amy rollerblading next to me the whole time.
it was pretty humid and i was drenched when i was done, but my legs felt pretty good the whole time.
week 10 is done! woo hoo!

thankful

ran 4 miles on the treadmill this morning - a perfect alternative to a hot day and no babysitter.

thought about how thankful i am for a healthy body and a healthy family. so easy to take that for granted.

(thanks tina for the treadmill pace conversion chart!, it was very helpful.)

8

ran 8 today instead of 7, just to make it a 30 mile week. amanda and i also used the extra mile to pray for each other and for the upcoming marathon. it was another tough run today, but much better than the 3 on monday.

week 10 is here in full force! only 8 weeks left and i will run the streets of chicago w/45,000 runners.

2007

thought i'd share my little recap of my last marathon from 2007:

Sunday the weather was beautiful - high of 65-70 for the day. I woke up at 4:30 a.m., ate a bagel and drank lots of water and a little Gatorade. I got all my stuff ready the night before. I had my gels, glide, gum, ipod, timing chip attached to my shoe, number pinned on my shirt, my favorite socks, and the shorts I trained in that I knew would be good to run in.

When we got to the starting line, I stood by some chatty 10-minute milers, lots of nervous energy around. I walked up to the front once to see the elite runners. It was cool at the start and absolutely perfect. The gun went off at 8:00 a.m. and we were off (almost 6,000 runners - what a sight!). I spent the night before praying about my knees and legs because I had some pain earlier that week. Once I started running that morning, I felt fine. Although, it took me about 4 - 5 miles to get warmed up and feel comfortable, but that's normal for me. Miles 3-7 were pretty hilly, but the route was so beautiful w/changing trees everywhere that I didn't mind much.

I saw my family several times along the route and that helped so much! They gave me high fives, drinks and took pictures. They were wonderful.
(Here I am at the half way point. This is where I decided to start using my ipod).


I felt pretty good up until mile 22. I slowed down quite a bit during those last miles and the last two miles I alternated between running and walking. This was about the time I realized I wasn't going to make my time goal of finishing in 4:30-4:45, so I just tried to enjoy it and do my best. It was never an option for me not to finish. I knew I would get to the finish line eventually, no matter how that had to happen.

I was really impressed with the course. It was really well organized. There was lots of water/Gatorade stops and first aid people on bikes everywhere. Everything about this marathon was better than my last one, except my time (it was almost exactly the same), but I'm attributing that to the hills. :)
4 hours 58 min. later, there it was...the beautiful finish line! Finishing is one of the best feelings in the world and I always get a little emotional at the end.

3

week 10 - 3,7,4,15
today was supposed to be a rest day, but it's going to be such a busy week i am mixing things around to get it all in.

how can 3 miles be hard right now?
ugh - i felt totally drained today. my legs were tightening up and felt
like lead.

these short runs always seem to be harder for me. it just doesn't give me time
to find a rhythm, i guess.

in other news:
* i am thankful that my sister and nephew are visiting from california this week.
*excited to see a friend from wisconsin.
*looking forward to jeremy camp/steven curtis chapman concert this week.
*and, so glad it's still summer. i am slowly getting things ready for our school year. i will have a 3rd grader, 1st grader, and pre-k this year. i'm thankful to have them home with me another year.

10

it was a tough one today. it was super hot and humid (i've gotten spoiled with the last month being so nice). amy couldn't come with me today and i think i have gotten so used to her being there on my long runs that i really had a hard time mentally. it really makes such a difference in what you say to yourself!

even though the running wasn't the best, it was precious alone time with God. one thing that i've been asking myself lately is am i thirsting for God's word in my life. is that as much of a priority as running and getting my miles in?...

i think what it really comes down to for me, and what God has been teaching me recently, is that i need to find my full joy and satisfaction in God alone. i need to be so fully satisfied in him that i can look at everything else in this world and say, like Paul, that i count it as loss, as rubbish compared to the surpassing value of knowing Jesus (Philippians 3:7-8).


“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. "
Psalm 42:1

34

years, that is.
i wish that was miles.

thanks so much for all the birthday wishes!
i woke up this morning to an inbox full of sweet emails and facebook
messages. a friend that delivered candy and balloons. another friend that watched the kids
while i ran. a mailbox full of cards. phone calls. kids that tried all day to get along and were great helpers today...made their beds without me asking, among other things. a husband that came home with flowers and ordered my favorite pizza. soon we will devour my favorite heath ice cream.
i feel loved ♥ it was a beautiful day. i have so much to be thankful for in this life. most of all, i am thankful for my Lord and Savior.

*i ran 4 miles tonight. it was a great run and my fastest in awhile (8:42 pace). not too bad for an
old lady. :)

while i was running, this song came on:

i love it.

3

week 9 begins. it's a recovery week - 3, 7, 4, 10.

ran 3 tonight. felt good. it was my last run as a 33 year old!
tomorrow the kids and i are going to do something fun together during the day.
not sure what yet. they are so excited - they love birthdays.
tomorrow night we'll celebrate with steve, get my favorite pizza and have cake and ice cream...
(it's a good thing i am increasing my mileage).

in other news, this picture pretty much sums up our summer. she was so tired, she fell asleep at the dinner table. long days full of fun!

13

alarm set for 6:00 a.m. - i ended up waking up at 5:00 and couldn't get back to sleep.
i met amy at her house and we were off. i felt so good today. when i was done i felt
like i could have run more. ahhh, i love days like that! i need to run 6 tomorrow and
then week 8 of training will be done. next week marks the half way point! it has gone so
fast.

i talked to someone this week about marathons. it was an interesting conversation.
some people (maybe most?) just don't understand why in the world someone would
train week after week and then pay to run a brutal 26.2 miles. i found it hard to explain.
there are so many things i love about it, but all seem hard to explain to someone that doesn't
like running, or hasn't experienced the joys of it.