Livin' the Dream in Lima

So... last weekend I ran a marathon. It was hot and hilly. Should I end there?! Haha. I mentioned back in February that I was toying with the idea of a spring marathon... but wanted to wait and see how things shook out before I really committed. After a couple good weeks of training, I decided to just go for it and signed up for the  Kalamazoo Marathon in Kalamazoo, Michigan. All smiles before the start. I've actually been working with a coach for a few months now. One of my Business Man's friend's wife's brother (got that?!) is a supah-fast triathlete and has been dabbling in the coaching realm... so I decided to give it a go! Let me say, it has been SO nice to not think about what I'm going to run, how far I'm going to run, how fast I'm going to run. We kept my mileage pretty reasonable, and I'm only running 4-5 days a week. (Which is all I can handle schedule-wise right now... long gone are the days of running 6-7 days a week!) My traini...

Getting closer! 6 days to go until the marathon. This was my second week of taper and I'm not gonna lie, I'm getting antsy. I just wanna RUN this race already! I wanted to get in around 35 miles, but got in 40. My only 'speed' workout was a 5 mile GMP run on Wednesday, in which I averaged 7:24 pace. It felt pretty easy, which is a good thing.  I gotta say... it's pretty crazy when your 'long run' of 9 miles seems like nothing.  Weekly Rundown 4/16/2012-4/22/2012 Mon - 5.5 miles easy Tues - 7.7 miles easy Wed - 5 miles @ GMP (7:24 avg); 7.3 miles total Thurs - 5.4 miles easy Fri - 5.5 miles easy Sat - 9.1 miles LONG plus 4 striders Total - 40.5 miles This week, it's all about rest. Which is hard. Well, not hard running-wise, just hard mentally. But it will totally be worth it! I'll definitely be popping in with a Goals post, once I have my mind wrapped around it. --- Other notables of the weekend... My Business Man & I...

First week of taper, done. Not much was different about this week - just a cut-back in overall miles for the week (48 for the week) and a shorter long run. I got in a solid 6-mile tempo run on Tuesday, averaged 6:40 pace. I actually almost look forward  to tempo runs now, which is something that's never happened before.  My other big workout of the week was my long run, 14 miles with the last 3-4 miles at GMP. I decided to tackle this run alone, because as much as I love running with my running buddies, they won't be at the marathon! Mentally, I needed to do a tough long run on my own so that I know I can do it come race day. I ran a big 10-mile loop back to our house, so I could do my GMP miles on my usual tempo route where I know the mile markers. I hoped to hit 7:27 pace, as that would put me right at 3:15 for the marathon. (Which I know there is a pace group for.) After my 10-mile warm-up (hehe... 10 miles... as a warm-up? have I gone mad?), I picked up the ...

Ahhhh... sweet sweet Spring Break. I've been waiting for this all year long. Well at least since we came back from our long weekend in February. Hehe. This year we only get 3 days off school (compared to last year's entire week), but we are done with school before Memorial Day. So it's definitely worth having a shorter break. So what did I spend my first glorious morning of not having to be at school by 7:45am? Oh... just waking up at my normal time of 6:20, but going for a 20 mile run instead of going to work. As much as I love teaching, running will always win in the "more fun" department.  21.4 miles of running & rainbows makes for a happy girl. I met up with my running buddies Jim, Amy, & Kevin for a long run. Kevin is training for a 100-mile ultra marathon which is crazy , and Jim & Amy are always game for a long run. We ran around town for a bit before running Kevin home (out in the country) and then running the 5+ miles back into town. ...

It's that time again... time to look back at the last couple weeks of training. The past two weeks have been two solid  weeks of training, which is great a confidence-booster for my lil' mind. Two weeks ago was the start of some awesome spring weather. And by spring, I really mean summer. Temps in the 70s & 80s make this runner very happy.  I got in lots of easy miles, plus a 3x1-mile repeat workout. (Supposed to be 4x1-mile.) I also raced the Get Lucky Half on Sunday (with a 1:30:14 PR!), and turned it into an 18-mile long run. Yes, a bit crazy, but fun. Weekly Rundown 3.12.2012-3.18.2012 Mon - 7.6 miles easy Tues - 7.6 miles easy AM plus 4.4 miles easy PM Wed - 3x1-mile with 0.5 mile jog (6:20, 6:15, 6:22); 7.6 miles total Thurs - Rest Fri - 7.3 miles easy Sat - 3.3 miles easy Sun - Get Lucky Half , total 18.3 miles Total - 56.1 miles This past week has gone just as well - another week of mileage in the mid-50s. My main focus was recove...

Let's look back over the past few weeks of training... they've been quite interesting. Two weeks ago, I had an involuntary cutback week due to my lovely right foot. (And the peroneal tendinitis causing me loads of pain.) I actually thought it was a stress fracture, so after seeing the doc and finding out it was only  tendinitis, I was pretty ecstatic! I took 3 days completely off to help with the inflammation and then I was able to get back into running pretty much pain free. I have been wearing the boot all day at school so that my foot doesn't have any unnecessary pressure/pain during the day, and I am thinking that at the end of this week I will be done with that. I've been feeling pretty good! Anyways, I ended up with 40 miles for the week, including an  awesome  18-miler before my foot went all crazy! That run was a great confidence boosting run... I averaged 7:56 pace outside.   Weekly Rundown 2.27.2012-3.4.2012 Mon - 8.2 miles easy Tues - 18....

Many awesome things happened today. First, I received a special package in the mail from a giveaway I won at meals & moves ... four bags of Nature's Path granola! I am so excited. There is even a chocolatey flavor. I cannot wait for breakfast. Second, I ran my long run this afternoon. OUTSIDE! The goal was 16-18 miles. Here are some observations: Getting ready to run, I couldn't find my iPod anywhere. (Don't tell my Business Man. I'm hoping it will turn up somewhere.) So, I decided to take my phone with me and listen to Pandora. Which is pretty much the best thing ever. The only down side is that I had to carry my phone. But then! I realized I had facebook access and email access at my fingertips for the whole run. And camera access. Hmmm...... It was 48*F today! And sunny! And so I wore shorts outside and it was so liberating. About 2 miles into the run, I encountered a nice little lady on a scooter. She was driving up behind me (going much  ...

I guess this is the new trend, to recap two weeks at once, haha.  Two weeks ago... was supposed to be a cut-back week. But it wasn't.  I ran six days for a total of 54 miles, including a 19.2 mile long run and a 6-mile tempo (6:42 avg). I felt super strong this week, which is great. It was really cold  this week... and I ventured outside several times which is rare for me when it's under 15*F. It definitely helps when you have friends to run with! Weekly Rundown 2.6.2012-2.12.2012 Mon - Rest Tues - 7.5 miles easy Wed -  6-mile tempo run @ 6:42 avg; 8.5 miles total Thurs - 6.6 miles easy Fri - 19.2 miles LONG (7:57 avg) Sat - 4.3 miles recovery Sun - 8.1 miles easy Total - 54.2 miles And then last week... was a cut-back week for sure . I intended to run 45 miles but only squeezed in 41. I had a good 8x800m workout on Thursday and a 15 mile long run on Friday. After the long run Friday, I felt a little bit of pain on my outer right foot but did...