June: 97.25 miles?

I'm always a bit disappointed when I don't log 100 miles for the month. I have been sick all week so I haven't run since Monday morning. I got out for 4 this morning, but they were slow and painful. I was coughing so hard at times that it just wasn't much fun. I'm a little concerned about a half marathon I have coming up, but maybe this forced taper is a good thing. Sometimes they are and can result in a PR so who knows. I just need to lose this cold first!

If I can find the energy, I may go out for the extra 2.75 miles later today. I just hate being so close...

summer sizzle

Got out for 14 good hilly miles this morning with the marathon training group. This is good for several reasons. It got me out there to do the miles. I got it done before the weather is too warm since we're heading for 90 today and 100 tomorrow. And I got to meet up with a friend I haven't seen in months. All in all, a very good run.

Ahhh, now I can kick back and enjoy this warm, sunny weekend...

1000 miles!

It has taken me almost exactly one year to reach 1000 miles, but this evening's run put me over that mark at 1005.25 miles. I remember my first run after having our baby. It was five weeks post-delivery and the total duration of my "run" was about 15 minutes. This wasn't even a continuous 15 minutes of running. It was something more like 4 minutes of running alternated with 1 minute of walking. It was painful. It was slow. But I had missed running all those months and just couldn't wait to get moving. It sure feels great to be regularly running again!

[I even found a $5 bill on the sidewalk tonight! I don't think I've ever found something of value while on a run.]

Happy Running!

Running makes me a happier person. No question. I hadn't run since the half marathon, but got out this morning for a quick 3.5 miles in 31:13 (8:55 pace). It felt great to get a good stretch and feel the sweat drip from my ponytail...

adidas Helvetia Half Marathon

This morning I ran the 6th annual Helvetia Half Marathon. I ran this in 2002 in preparation for the Chicago Marathon and I'm pretty sure at the time I swore I would never run this one again. It's incredibly hilly, the field is sizeable and composed of both runners and walkers, and I remember the weather that day in 2002 as being really sunny and warm. Being a rural race, there is very little chance for shade.

Having said that, I registered two days ago and showed up to run this morning.

Tough, tough course. I was actually having a really good race up until mile 9. At that point, the hills were pretty much over and so was I. All the folks I had passed on hills soon began to pass me. The sun peeked out briefly late in the race for me and there was a lost dog that distracted me (I tried to get him to follow me and he did for about a mile.), but I finished strong in the stadium and that felt good. Overall, it's a well-organized event and a good one for beginning runners to do, but the hills on the course will knock you out. Oh, the hills...

Chip time today: 2:00:23. I wish I could have cut that time by 24 seconds to get under the 2 hour mark, but it was still a good run for me. My time in 2002 was about 2:20.

[edit: I just checked my 2002 Helvetia Half Marathon time and it was actually a 2:32:31. I knew it was a slow one; the sun and hills totally took it out of me that day. Yesterday's race was a full 32 minute improvement. Yippee for me! It feels great to see progress like this. Maybe I will have to run this again someday to see if I can improve even more!]

trail running (with the jogger!)

I've been mixing up my runs lately and trying new things in a quest to keep it from becoming mundane. Tonight I ran 4 trail miles with the jogger. It's an old fire lane that is very rocky and essentially up for 2 miles and then back down for 2 miles. Seemed a little bumpy for the baby, esp. in the first mile, but he did fine overall. My jogger weighs 21 pounds and the baby is an additional 25 pounds. Needless to say, it was a tough run. I definitely earned that beer afterwards!

marathon training group run

I knew I'd have some motivational problems with getting out the door this morning for 12 miles solo, so I joined the local marathon training group run. Approximately 25% of the route was on streets and the other 75% on a trail. This particular out-&-back route is pretty much straight up and straight down. It felt great to cover the 12 miles in 1:45 to average an 8:46 minute mile. My legs are covered in mud and I feel great!