Day 115 - June 30, 2010

9 miles 1:45

It was great to run with Pete again. I can't believe we are finished with the long runs. Now we have ten days of easy runs and rest to prepare for the marathon. I'll need it. My legs were very heavy today after just doing 14 on Monday.

Current Symptoms of Taper Madness....

Lost camera on vacation (or was pick pocketed, although Pete is not buying that)

Lost keys at Farmer's Market (and at park, and in grocery store, each time someone finding them for me before Pete could know - guess the secret is out now....)

Already checking the weather for next Sunday - 11 days out. From past experience, I know this will be an ongoing compulsion, that will require many, many checks every day.

Day 113 - June 28, 2010

14 (about) Miles 2 hours 45 (about) minutes

Wow, I feel like I have been gone for a long time. We had a great family vacation, but I think we were all happy to be home last night. Pete and I have two weeks to get serious now. My run this morning was actually really great. It was really hot out there, but I can't complain as this was my first hot run. I never expected my first hot run would come at the end of June! I was so ready to run after such a long break. I'd planned to run while on vacation, but it just didn't happen. I had to settle for just doing my best to stay as was active as possible.

Pete and I plan to run our final long run (10 miles) before the marathon TOGETHER this Wednesday. We have not run together in a long time, so I am really looking forward to it.

I'd love to post a few family pictures from our trip here, but unfortunately, we were the victims of theft, so we don't have any family photos from our trip.

Day 107 - June 22, 2010

8 rough miles

Two days of puking and migraines forced me to postpone my 15 miler until early next week. I got a decent run in this morning. I did not feel great, but I think I am finally over the headaches. Pete is out doing his final 15 miler right now, so I hope it is going well.

Day 105 - June 20, 2010

2 bad miles

It has been a rough week since the 20 miler. Between Sylvia's birthday festivities, Paul's wedding, and now a lingering headache, getting in the runs has been very difficult. Next week we head to Idaho for Silverwood and the Hiawatha Trail. It is a busy time, so hopefully we have done enough....
Happy Father's Day, Pete!

Day 103 - June 18, 2010

8 miles 88 minutes

Taper Phase

Pete completed his 20 miler this morning, so we are officially in the taper phase. Now we get to experience taper madness together...our poor kids. I'm already wishing I could get in one more 20 miler before the race!!!

Day 100 - June 15,2010

6:11 a.m. Okay, getting ready to head out for the 20 miler....little procrastination going on here. I don't know why I am nervous....

And 20 miles later (in 3:59:12)...(with a few hours of "recovery." Recovery in this house means keeping two little children busy on summer vacation, working to get everything done to host a birthday party, and getting ready to go out of town for Paul's wedding this weekend.)

The Garmin picked a bad time to die (typical). I could not get it going this morning, and I was not able to drive the new route that was recommended to us. I didn't want to run it without seeing it, because I was afraid I would get lost. I opted to use the route Pete recommended for the first half (a 9 mile loop that included hospital hill) and then do my best to make an 11 mile loop out of our usual route, which meant doing some extra laps at the ponds. Two episodes of This American Life, one episode of All Songs Considered, and a bunch of music later, I got home feeling....well, just fine actually. The run was unbelievably smooth. No aches and pains, not a lot of boredom, and I never felt very tired. The weather was perfect. I tried out my new marathon outfit, in full, including the skirt, and was very, very comfortable (sorry again, Melinda)!

In all honesty, I'm not sure I made it 20 miles. Without the watch, I had to just do my best to calculate. I did not feel I needed to stop, but I was out there for four hours, and I'm pretty sure I went 20 (maybe even more). At this point it doesn't matter. It will go down as my longest run prior to the marathon. I think my knee actually feels better than it did a few months ago before we started. I NEVER would have expected that, and I am delighted!

Now, I am wishing Pete the best of luck tomorrow. I hope his run as a pleasant (in a 20 miler kind of way) as mine!

Day 98 - June 13, 2010

7 miles (including 2@8:15 and 10 short hill intervals)

This was about as close to a perfect day as possible. After a sunny run in the morning, we all headed to Pine Creek. This is one of my favorite places on the planet, and only partially because it is the place Pete and I fell in love. Pine Creek has a lot of new memories too, as we have now spent a lot of time up there with the kids.

It was a great hike up to the falls. All four of us (five if you count Tinsel) really enjoyed it. It is pretty much the perfect hike for kids. It is 2.5 miles round trip, and there are plenty of creek crossings to jump and boulders to climb along the way. After the hike, we headed to Chico for dinner and a soak.

Next up...a rest day, and then the 20 miler. Whew, we are getting close!

Day 97 - June 12, 2010

3 or so easy miles

Pete and I are both feeling a little dread about doing our 20 milers by ourselves next week. I'm sure we will both make it, and be fine, but it would be a lot nicer to do it together. It is a really long time to be out there by yourself, and in some ways it just seems like...I hesitate to write the word I really want to write here. I really don't like to run longer than two hours, and this will take double that amount of time. If we were out there together, at least it would feel like good quality time together, but in some ways it just feels a little indulgent.
Really though, I keep telling myself, to run the marathon we really only have to do about six runs over two hours. It is only a small sacrifice to reach our goal, and pushing yourself can be a really good thing. Also, in the back of my mind, I keep thinking how these long training runs make 13.1 seem short in comparison. Look out two hours, I will not miss you by 7 seconds next time!

Day 95 - June 10, 2010

14 miles 2hours 40min

This run was...not worth talking about. However, Pete and I have been using the same route for most of our long runs, so I thought it would be fun to include a couple of photos here. It is a seven mile loop, which we run one or two times, depending on the length of the run, and there are lots of opportunities to do an extra lap around a pond to add a mile or two here or there. It is a pretty good route with one major exception. This is a photo from the first section of trail. This trail runs right by our house, and it is almost a mile long. It reminds me of the opening credits from that show Weeds. It is certainly suburbia's version of a trail. It is not as nice as a real one, but a very welcome change from sidewalks and pavement. This is the regional park, where I spend a majority of my time running. It actually is a little nicer than it looks here. They are putting in trees tomorrow (the hole you can see), which should be a great improvement. It is almost a mile around this large pond here, and sometimes, if I'm lazy about finding new routes I just run around it a bunch of times to get in the miles.

So, behind that bush, is a poodle, dragging the picnic table it is tied to, with a smattering of broken pots and dirt surrounding it. Yes, the tied up poodle decided to try to chase me, dragging the entire picnic table (and spilling the pots piled up on it) behind it. This is the exception (to the nice route). It is a very brutal mile. This road is always bad. Cars whizzing past you, hot sun burning you up, or today, pelting rain and a strong headwind. No matter what, this road always seems more like ten miles than one mile.
Yay! On to another trail, around another pond, and through what we call the "Green Park". There were some American White Pelicans on the pond today. Unfortunately, my picture of them was very blurry. They are just beautiful. There were two on the water, and when four flew by over head the two took off to join them.

Here is the final pond on the route. This is a half mile loop just behind the mall. This really is not my favorite place to run. On a long run a few years ago, I put a bag down with water and snacks, and it was promptly stolen from me on the first lap.
I love this view. In the distance you can see the beautiful Bridger Mountains. You can also see this is a nice gentle downhill, on mostly trail, for the one mile home.

Day 93 - June 8, 2010

2 easy miles

Tomorrow will be a rest day. It is Sylvia's last day of kindergarten. I'm looking forward to the summer, and all of our fun plans, but I really hate to see kindergarten come to an end. She has a great teacher, great classmates, and has learned so much. On a positive note though, Pete will also be on vacation six of the next seven weeks as well. I feel so lucky that we will all be spending so much time together. Working nights is hard on Pete, and sometimes on the rest of us too, but the time we all get together is well worth it!

Day 92 - June 7, 2010

7.2 miles 73 minutes

So, at the peak of marathon training, I have to say, I am still enjoying every run! I am so surprised, but I feel great! I'm not dreading going out for a run. I don't feel burnt out. I do feel a little slow, as I felt I was pushing the pace on this run, and didn't even break 10 minute miles!!! I suppose that doesn't matter though. Enjoying it, and endurance are all that is important now!
Thanks again for talking me into this, dear!

Day 91 - June 6, 2010

6.5 easy miles

Great job Lewis and Clark, runners! Wish I could have joined you. The weather was great out there for a run, and I enjoyed my hour out there.

Day 89 - June 4, 2010

4 easy miles (plus strength training)

Well, two days of healthy eating left me struggling to complete a four miler. Ah, training and eating...such a hard balance.

Day 87 - June 2, 2010

6 miles and strength training

Today Pete completed his 18 miler with ease! Okay, I'm sure it wasn't easy, but he did it, and so the whole thing seems much more official now.

I am feeling great. The seven days off seems to have done a world of good for my body. I am ready to run! I also made it through day one of 30day/30point pact!

Train Gain

Okay - point counting starts officially today and will continue through July 2nd. Maybe if I write it here, I will stick to it! I'm going to attribute the 7 pounds I've put on since March 1st to train gain, but no more excuses!