8 miler

Holy Father, hear our prayer
keep us always in Your care
may Your Kingdom come to us
and may we learn how to trust

Friday 12/30/05 11:00a.m. run

RAINY RAINY RAINY ...dunno the degrees... somewhere between 39-45. not bad. warm enuff to strip to the WICKING sh.sleeved shirt today! wow! wore my long sleeved shirt around my waist at that point. no way was i losing that thing! (dh says it doesn't actually hide my backside...but i like to keep up the delusion!) wore my gloves. but they are not rain proof. thus, ICE COLD blocks of fingers when done! wow! wore dh's hat again today. THANK GOD FOR THAT FORESIGHT! w/o that i'd-a been done-in. no way. as it was, when i got back, i stood there, DRIPPING like a rain gutter!

stats:
time: 1:35:31
distance: 8 miles
avg: 11.54 min/mi
max: 7.30 min/mi

well, i tried calling a friend last nite...to possibly meet up for a run this a.m. My good friend B is ALSO training for the marathon. she has her 2 beautiful daughters training w/ her too. mostly from afar. well, i couldn't get a hold of her. i stayed up WAY TOO LATE programming the contacts directory in my months-old cell phone. (the things i get stuck on.) so, this a.m, turned the alarm OFF whenceupon it SHRIEKED at 7:30, then again at 8 a.m. Finally, at 9 i was trying to get outta bed when dear friend B called! she said she only had a 3 miler to do today but we decided to meet up anyway.

dear friend B's mom says "if it's raining by 7 it will stop by 11." so, we waited even LONGER, chatting in her cozy living room for almost an hour. by 11 it still had not stopped but we started out, optimistic that we'd be running dry in just a short time.

HA! the clouds above had OTHER PLANS! it kept dumping on us the whole time. and, PER USUAL on MY RUNS, by the LAST 1/2 of my run, it was POURING ... the FLOODGATES HAD BEEN OPENED UPON ME! did i mention we live in the desert? i think, this yr, we're getting rain instead of snow...ah well.

anyhoo, we drove the route ahead of time, B ran w/ me as far as she wanted and headed home. i tried to get back to her house in 4 miles, got there in 3, bathroom break, gatorade gulp, grab the ipod and back on the loop again.

felt great, really. did the mental thing WONDERS to have someone to talk w/ for 2 miles at beg of run! so, tho i had 6 whole miles left to do, i felt a tad like a 2nd wind. EVEN: (that's how my daughters talk: "even, i had some cheerios for breakfast, mommy!") EVEN: my legs REALLY felt great!

now about 4 miles, it really was pouring. about 5 miles i started feeling like my knee would make that popping noise if i pulled my foot to my behind. but i just kept going. OH YEAH, also at 4 miles, i started taking a one minute break every mile. my garmin is set to beep every mile. it's another jeff galloway tip. i like it. you should read about it on his site. (can't remember if i saw it there or in a runner's world.) there are marathoners who say, using his technique and walking EVERY SINGLE mile (i think for a minute) they have run their PR! weird, huh? sumpin about helping w/ the deep fatigue?

well, i thought it was a good idea. i think the only trouble i really had, the only time when it felt like this run would never end, was between mile 6-7. also, i thought at mile 6-something that i was too close to my car and so i tried to figure out how to go further. i wasn't in MY territory so i was guessing some of the time. good thing about that garmin tho, huh?

isn't it weird that it was only mentally tough from mile 6 to 7? B4 the run, i thought, an hour is nothing! i can do ANYTHING for an hour! and i knew this would take me longer but still, if you break it down like that, MUCH EASIER. like a sitcom is a 1/2 hour, so it's like watching seinfeld and friends or sumpin (used to). or like an hour of csi (more relevant to TODAY). i mean, at home, the hours FLY by. so, what's the big deal about spending an hour running?

and, 8 miles? well, that's over 1/2 way to a 1/2 marathon! whoa! next wk, 10 miles!

if i'm feeling well (legs) i'll do an easy 3 miler on sunday. morn b4 church. if we're not up too late on sat nite. THAT'S THE PLAN STAN.

P.S.: i have a REALLY BAD HEADACHE. the only different thing i did today, was i ran later, w/o morning coffee...and i had gatorade AND water on drive home. i was a frozen, wet MESS at end of run. could it be that? dunno. it's a REALLY BAD ONE. like a migraine. i hope it's gone by tomorrow. the only time i get headaches like this aft.running is in the FULL STRENGTH SUN! so what's up? and it's not like i was POUNDING like i used to.

P.P.S.: my eating is doing REALLY WELL. it's a big surprise. i'm on board w/ dh and we are using his "plan." it's just smaller portions, no late nite eating, no big b.fasts, just morn coffee w/ milk. i feel great. it's fun to do it together. and per GOD, i'm not focused on food all day. that is a miracle. i'm just making food for the entire fam, smaller portions and we all eat together. no special diets. hopefully this will continue. i give my eating to God each morning. and dh and i support each other. that's the best part. i love it.

P.P.S.S.: back to going for the YAKIMA CANYON MARATHON, first wkd of april.

week overview: mon did 3 miles / wed did 5 miles/ fri did 8 miles/ sun will do 3 miles/ total: 19

is that too much of an increase in total wkly mileage? last wk's total was 13.45. someone let me know. b4 sunday! THX!