Today! We Run!

Today! We Run! This was my niece's motto for me today.  I had the pleasure of getting to go for a run with her this morning. When I tried to point out that I usually walk certain parts (uphill), what was her response?  Today! We Run! With her arm held up high in the air.  She is a great motivator and I greatly appreciated her slowing down her pace to allow me to run in the same space as her and not just watch her back as she ran off.  She is an avid runner; ran in high school, runs in college and this little 5.5 mile jaunt this morning was just for fun for her.  But it was good training for me and helped me to feel like I can do anything....even running up some hills.  Thanks McKenzie!  Merry Christmas!

Peaceful Easy Feeling...

There is something to be said for running in the early morning, in the dark, at first light. Crazy!?!  No!  This was the first run that felt good in a couple of weeks.  It could be that it is so early that my body didn't realize what I was asking of it until I was just about done.  It could be that there is no one to see the pain on my face.  :-)  It could also be that Blue gets to run off-leash for most of the way which makes it so much easier for me.  It could also be that the cold (California cold, not Alaska cold) just numbs you enough that you don't realize that you might be a bit sore.  But I think that most of all it's that it is such a peaceful time of day.  Not many people are out and about yet, hardly any cars on the road.  And those that are up have their Christmas lights on so it's a great time to enjoy the beauty of Christmas time without all the hustle and bustle.  I hope this peaceful feeling carries me through the day.

8 weeks to go!!!

It's hard to believe that we have just a little over 8 weeks to go until the Tinker Bell 1/2 Marathon at Disneyland, CA.  Lately, it's been hard to get my running in each week. I need to be increasing the miles each week and have been struggling to find the time to do that.  The good news that a 'short' run of 4 miles doesn't seem like much work at all.  I think the day after Thanksgiving will be a great day for nice long run.

My fundraising has been going really well also.  Please check out my fundraising page
as well as the Lazarex Cancer Foundations's Team for Life website for more information on the charity I am running for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My coach is back!

It's been a few days since I've posted about my training.  I have still been running and I have my coach back also. Blue was thrilled to get the bandage off and has not let his lack of training hold him back at all.  I have run without him also to give me a good gauge as to how I'm doing with my pace and my training is going really well.

I just booked my hotel reservation for the Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon.  This just makes it even more of a reality!  I look forward to each run, especially the long runs but most of all of running through Disneyland, downtown Anaheim and California Adventure!

Longest Run to Date

Today was my longest run to date and my best pace.  I ran just about 7 miles in 1 hour and 28 minutes. Good pace for me.  It felt pretty good too. I hit a wall around mile 4 for some reason but a little water and a brief walk seemed to be all I needed to get through and finish strong. 

This picture is appropriate for today.  Looking forward to a friend's baby shower and good food, good friends, and cake! 

You can check out my route here if you are interested:  7 Mi Run

My trainer is on vacation...

It's been almost a week since I have posted about my training.  We were out of town for my niece's wedding for a few days then on another quick road trip so when I finally did get back home and settled it felt really good to get back into the swing of things.  I managed a quick little run while I was out of town and then again yesterday.  I definitely missed running on a regular basis.

My training is taking a slightly different turn for the next couple of weeks. I am not going to have the benefit of a trainer to push me each time so it will be a good test of my own personal endurance. This may sound silly to some but for anyone that does run with a dog regularly you can understand how different it is to run without one. Easier in some ways but harder in others. 

Blue is taking a break from his training/coaching duties due to an injury to his dewclaw on his right front paw.  I have no idea how it happened, if it could have been avoided, or how to avoid it in the future (hopefully this is the first and only injury like this).  I felt so bad when I took him in to the vet and they said he needed to stay and have some minor surgery. That might sound like a bit of an exaggeration but it did involve him staying at the vet all day, anesthesia, bandages and lots of rest.  He goes out on his own and if there is a cat or squirrel within ear/eye shot he can move at the same speed as before.  Running any long distances is out for now and at least for a couple of weeks.  I hope I can keep up on my endurance and speed training and make him proud.  I'm sure that once he is healed he will be pushing me as hard as before, if not harder.

I Am Runner....

I am Runner....hear me huff and puff.  Today is the first day that I feel I can actually say that I am a Runner.  What a difference a day of rest and some DIY accupressure can do for you.  My run on Monday was tough and I was beginning to think that I would always have some shin/ankle pain but today there was none.  Today was also easier because  I went out early and it was still a bit dark and hardly any cars on the road so I let Blue run off-leash the entire time.  We'll see if I change my tune after the next run which will be a long one.  Stay tuned.

Calorie Burn

Do you burn  more calories when you have opposing forces working? Such as trying to run while at the same time trying to restrain my running coach from dragging me down the road?  I must be burning more calories because it is definitely harder running with Blue than without.  At least until the point where he's content to just run along my side, which usually doesn't occur until mile 4 or 5, otherwise he takes his motivational job quite seriously.  Today seemed especially hard on my joints.  I didn't  have to worry about cutting my run short because I got up late and had limited time anyways. Probably for the best so that I didn't push it too much.  It's a Monday, that's all I need to say.

Running Coach

My running coach, Blue, was tough on me today.  He seemed to miss the memo that today's run was about endurance, not speed.  I didn't go as far as I wanted to - 5.64 miles - nor was my pace what I wanted, but I did it and that is what matters.  When I look back on my past distances this was a good increase but I need to start stepping it up each week even more.  Today was a little tough starting out. I felt like I was having to overcome a few things.  But by the last 1/2 mile I was feeling like I could have gone further.  My coach was encouraging it also, but he is now resting comfortably and probably glad we stopped when we did. Now for some ibuprofen, some stretching and a shower.

Mornings....

Mornings.... Mornings and I have a love/hate relationship.  I would love to love mornings. I love the idea of mornings. I love the idea of getting up early and getting stuff done - mainly getting a run in nowadays - and I love the peace and quiet that are inherently a part of the early morning routine.  However, when the alarm goes off at 5am I have NEVER jumped out of bed, or even rolled out slowly, to tackle the day.  This morning I hit the snooze button every ten minutes until 6:30 when I could no longer put off getting up.  The one thing that would entice me to get up any sooner is coffee.  Since I have not trained Blue yet to turn the coffee pot on,  let alone actually fetch me a cup,  I should probably utilize the programming feature so that when I do finally roll myself out of bed and work out the kinks walking to the kitchen, the coffee would be ready for me. Instead I get up, turn it on, and then lay back down until the next alarm goes off. 


Having said all of that, when I did get up and put my running shoes on, it felt so good to get out in the briskness of the morning and get my run in.  I ran 2.5 miles this morning at a pretty good pace.  Thanks to Blue of course.  He seems to love mornings or it's just that he loves to run! 

Day 3 Born to Run

Blue's motto for the day:  "Baby, we were born to run" (Bruce Springsteen).  When this song came on I definitely picked up my pace. Thank goodness they don't make earbuds for dogs, or do they???  If Blue had been listening to that song he probably would have picked up his pace even more and I'm not sure I would have been able to keep up. He kept us going at a pretty good clip today as it was.  But, boy when I picked it up you could just see the smile on his face get bigger.  Running felt good today for us both.  Time to rehydrate and stretch!

Here is a picture of the arm sleeves I recently purchased. Didn't need them today but really do like them for those early morning runs that start out chilly and quickly warm you up.

I'm thinking of getting some bright green ones and putting a TinkerBell Patch on them for the 1/2 marathon.

Day 2 of Training

Lesson learned today:  Make sure your cardio tracker is not on pause or when you realize it is it will feel as if the past 1/2 hour didn't exist.  Thank goodness for mapmyrun.com and basic math skills.  4 Miles, about a 11 minute pace. Not too darn bad for me.

Today was more of a mental challenge than physical - for Blue.  To meet my 4 mile goal there were many times when we made left turns instead of right turns.  Blue would pull in the normal direction that we walk and then glare at me as I pulled him the other way.  He would then get into the swing of things until I pulled us another way and again he would look at me like "really? you have GOT to be kidding me!"  I have no doubt that he would be able to find his way home if he ever took off and got lost.  

New arm sleeves.... I love those things.  Pictures to come soon.

Rest Day

Yesterday was a rest day. Well, by rest I mean babysitting 2-1 year olds so technically there was not very much rest going on. It was a good day though in that they both took their naps at relatively the same time and no fights broke out. 

Today is going to be a cross-train day.  I will be taking my training partner out for a walk in just a bit and then jazzercise tonight.  Technically it should be a run day but I think my shins/tendons need another day of rest.  Definitely don't want to overdue it!

Day 1 of Training

I'm kind of jumping into the middle of something with the start of this blog.  A little less than a  month ago I registered for the Tinker Bell 1/2 Marathon at Disneyland, CA.    I am really excited!  My sister who lives in Alaska will be coming down to run it also as well as a good friend that lives near me.  I have run/walked a couple of 10ks in the past couple of years but nothing as ambitious as a 1/2 marathon. I have been training since I registered - but it's more to just get in the mode of running on a regular basis.

I was not an active kid, and it's always been hit and miss in my adult life.  Starting to train for a half marathon at the age of 45 - yes, I did dare to say it - is a little intimidating.  This week I am starting to truly follow a training schedule and have 3 months to get myself ready.  I want to truly remember this endeavor from training to the day of the event so I thought blogging about it would be a good way to do that.

Today was a run day.  I ran for 34 minutes, 2.5 miles, 13:63 pace.  Not a real fast pace but you do need to know a few more details to put it in perspective.  I run with my training partner, Blue, my 3 year old Queensland Heeler.  He works hard to motivate me to go faster, especially when there is a squirrel up ahead or in the today's case, bucks crossing the road.  There is a 1/2 mile section of our run that he is off leash and he takes advantage of that time to get his running out of the way before he has to be burdened by my much slower pace.  The rest of the run I work hard to keep him going but sometimes the sights and smells are just too much as we need to take a quick break here and there.  I figure it will only make it seem just a tad bit easier when I'm running on my own.