Awful

So I'm definitely worse at blogging than I am at running. Oh well ..... bygones.

Training has been going really well for the most part. We're still hovering in the 18-20 miles per week range. Believe it or not, we won't go much above that during the course of our training. Big difference in training for a half marathon and a full. I'm up to 8 miles for the long run. My pace hasn't gotten any quicker. It still takes me about 11 minutes to run a mile, but what matters to me is that I ran it, not that I was the first one done! We actually have a drop back week this Saturday and are only doing 6 miles. Who knew I'd ever say "only 6 miles." Ha! Anyway, I'm pretty excited about the drop back.

My maintenance runs during the week remain at 3 miles 4 days a week. So I'm running 5 days a week right now. Maintenance has been tough this week between new sneakers (ouch) and adjusting to the warmer temperatures. Yesterday it was 85 when I went for my run. Typically I can go three miles without a drink............... not in that heat. I managed it, but man was it difficult and I almost gave up several times. I've got another 3 to get under my belt tonight after work and then I have tomorrow off. Yeah! I love off days. Actually, I feel guilty for most of them, but oh well. Happy running! :)

Road ID, Daylight Savings & a Cleared Bike Path

So much has changed/happened since I last updated the blog. I now officially have my very own Road ID. It's a wrist band that has all of my information - most importantly, my emergency contacts on it. Thought being that in case I'm hit by a car, pass out, or have some other medical emergency, I have identification readily available on my person and they can call someone to let them know that I'm on my way to the hospital or whatever. Check them out at http://www.roadid.com/. Really it's a very smart idea. Especially with the number of drivers who are busy talking/texting on their cell phones these days. Imagine how many seconds it takes to look away from the road and end up hitting a runner. Yowza!

Another big change is the move to daylight savings. Finally a good chunk of daylight AFTER work. I've tried and tried a million times to force my lazy butt out of bed and head out running before work. I am just not a morning person nor will I ever be. For me the after work hours are critical for getting my training in without having to go to the Y and run on the dreadmill. Speaking of the Y, I don't think that I've been in a month. And gosh I don't miss it one bit. Running outside is soooooooooo much better than indoors. So yeah, daylight savings time is the bomb diggity.

And the last big change that has been fantastic is the warm weather and with it the clearing of the bike path. The snow has finally subsided enough that we can get full training runs in without doing funny loopy things in. And if you haven't already visited the bike path, you should. It's fantastic. What a wonderful resource that runs through this area. It's great for the fact that there is no vehicular traffic, no camber and the view is fantastic. So with my 18 miles this week, I say get out there. Check it out and live it up. Here's to another great week on the books. :)

Learning about strength and nutrition

The last week has been pretty reasonable. I'm finally amazed at how much easier I'm able to run. It feels good the minute I start and I feel more relaxed overall on my running days. I totally understand why people do this. In fact I'm beginning to wonder why I never did this before and what my life might be like if I hadn't picked it up. Running is making me feel stronger and more relaxed both mentally and physically.

Tonight we attended a nutrition clinic. Your basic eat healthy, whole grains, etc, etc. Then we went into endurance event nutrition. Pretty interesting stuff to learn about how the muscles work and the physiology (sp?) of what's going on. So we focused on race day nutrition and the way to practice what works and does not work on race day. I'm nervous to try out all of these race gu's and gel's, but I guess I'm going to see what it's all about. Not much choice in the matter. So, I'll experiment and I'll keep you posted as to how it goes. Here's to another good and strong week.

Falling behind......

Just on the blogging, not on the running. Nope, can't allow that at this point. So we're officially in week 2 of the 16 weeks of training. This week began with a long run in the snow on Saturday morning. There was snow and I seriously considered not going. I was certain that no one would be there and if there was anyone there it would be to tell us to get back in our cars and head home. Much to my surprise about 20 or so people turned out despite the 3 or 4 inches of fresh snow that coated the roads as well as the bike path.

So! We headed out despite an un-plowed bike path. We shortened our strides and made sure to take it easy. I couldn't believe how difficult it was! Around the 1 mile mark my personal running prayers were answered and a plow truck showed up. The rest of the run was completed on a paved, but somewhat slick bike path. I completed my first 6 mile run despite all this hoop-la. I only had a little trouble with a falling asleep foot in the last half mile or so. It turned out to be a beautiful morning and I ran with some really great ladies which is always a treat.

Sunday followed with a 3 mile run. It was interesting again due to the snow factor. While it hadn't snowed any, there were many a sidewalk left un-shoveled. This is so much fun and forces me to run on the road. I can see the contempt in the drivers eyes when I'm running on the side of the road and not the sidewalk. But I say .... you try it. Try and run on an un-shoveled, slippery surface and let me know how it goes. It's a risk I'm not willing to take. But instead I will battle it out with the cars on the road! Ha! Oh well.

Today I'm heading out right after work for another 3 mile run. Tomorrow will be 2 and Thursday will be 3. Not much rest for the weary these days. Another day, another run....... Yeah!

Group Run #2

So yesterday was my second run with the group from Team in Training. It was another freezing cold morning on the Niskayuna Bike path. This week was only slightly warmer in that it wasn't windy so that helped. It's difficult to force myself out of bed at 5:45 AM on a Saturday when it's still dark out and I know that it's cold without even looking.

But again, I remember that I'm not doing this for myself. I'm doing this for Sammie and all of the other sufferers of Leukemia & Lymphoma. That's motivation for sure. So, I managed to get up and get out for them.

I am still one week out of the official training schedule. The training schedule for the half is 16 weeks long. And we are currently still outside of that 16 weeks. So for now we are working on our base mileage ..... the recommendation is that we be able to run 4 to 5 miles comfortably. Last week I successfully completed 4 miles with no problem, so this week I decided that I would go for 5. I set out and had a partner in crime this time. We did it. We chatted the entire time about running, dogs and buying houses. I couldn't believe how quickly we were done and that I had managed to complete 5 whole miles without stopping. It felt great and I feel awesome today, so success! Georgia and I will be heading out this afternoon for an easy 3 to keep moving. Next week we officially begin the 16 week training and I'll be completing 6 miles. The good news is that I know that I can do it. And now back to fundraising..........

Can a dog be too old to train?

Not that I think 5 is too old .......... So, I have decided that for some of my running one of my dogs needs to come too. While we live in a great house on a great street, when you have to run many miles per week this means that you may need to run somewhere not right near your house. And I'm always weary of people and what they are doing. So, I figure that if I take a dog with me I'll be safer ... smart thinking? Never mind that she's a golden retriever. Who cares about the part where if someone tries to get us, she'll just lick them to death.

Anyway, when we got our dogs, we stupidly never taught them to heel. People in their early 20's should realize that eventually you will need your dogs to behave. So when G (short for Georgia) and I go running, she is sniffing this, checking out that and quite frequently cutting in front of me, nearly causing a butt on collision between her butt and one of my knees. This is a major obstacle to how much we can get done, mostly because of my frustration level.

I recently had the idea to buy one of the super short leashes in an attempt to overcome this "training" hurdle for the both of us. Well on Sunday, we gave the new short leash a shot. G was not a big fan of it for probably about a mile. She kept jumping around, biting it, etc. Again with the frustration level. Eventually she got the drift and realized that if we were to keep going she was going to need to stay right beside me and pretty much just deal with it. I have to say that once she settled in, she was a real trooper. We put in three miles in about 18 degrees. I am proud to say that I am the more fit of the two as I had to prod her along through the second half of the run. I'm going with the fact that this is new to her as to why she slowed up. It couldn't possibly be her age for in dog years her and I are very similar in age....... What a great time to train for a half-marathon together. :)

Running in 14 degree weather.....

So if you can run in 14 degree weather, I'm beginning to think that you might be able to do anything. I got up this morning at 5:45 AM to get ready for my first Team in Training run. We were to meet at the Niskayuna Bike Path at 7:00 AM. I woke, ate a Cliff bar, dressed and tried to ignore the fact that it was bitterly cold outside.

There were quite a few people at the bike path when I arrived. They had quite a turn out considering that it was 14 degrees and it was wickedly windy. Because of the weather they only did a short introduction in order to get us moving. Being my first training run I decided that I would do 4 miles. I was out and back in about 45 minutes. Not too bad for my first 4 miler.

After getting back into my warm car and waiting a few minutes for my thighs to unfreeze, I headed out to go and pick up Collin. The best part was that it was 7:50 AM and I could leave knowing that I was already done for the day......... No trying to figure out when to hit the gym, etc. Now if I can just stay on this high so I can hit the gym first thing in the morning again tomorrow?!?! Here's to hoping.

Training Progress

Alright, so training update thus far. So far this week I've logged about 6 miles. I've only gone running twice. I plan to head out again tonight after work to get in another 3 miles. It's super tough getting it done on the treadmill because, as I've already said, it's boring!

My first group training run is on Saturday morning at the Niskayuna Bike Path. I believe that we're encouraged to do 4-5 miles. I say encouraged because we are not actually in training yet. Meaning that we are not in our 16 weeks of official training just yet.

Anyway, will keep you posted as to how it goes and what my total is for the week. Hopefully we are somewhere between 12 - 15 miles. Here's to it!

And so it begins................

For those of you who don't know, I picked up running last September as a way to get out of the house and get moving a little bit. I was amazed at the amount of mental sanity that it brought me. It gives me time for myself where I don't have to think about anything else. Anyway, I started running in September and I kept going. I ran my first 5K on November 1st at Emma Willard in Troy, NY. My second 5K was the Turkey Trot in downtown Troy on Thanksgiving Morning. I managed to shave two minutes off my time between the two races.

It quickly became dark (winter) and very cold here in NYS. So I convinced Dan that our family would benefit from joining the YMCA. Really, I just wanted to keep running. So, I began running on the treadmill. Since then I've heard many people refer to it at the dreadmill and now I definitely know why. It's BORING! But, I've managed to keep doing it, but just not as many times per week.

Recently, I decided to check out an informational meeting for the Team in Training program through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. They train athletes to compete in endurance events in exchange for the athlete fund raising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma society. I was so inspired by the cancer survivors who spoke about the support they received from the program during their treatment and how it has enabled them to train and run a marathon themselves! I left the meeting certain that this was something that was so much bigger than myself.

So, it's official, I have lost my mind and I have joined the Team in Training Team and have begun training to participate in a Half Marathon in Lake Placid, NY on June 13th, 2010. I know, totally crazy. Trust me as I'm finishing a 3 mile run it dawns on me that in a matter of a few months I will not be finishing 3 miles, but instead 13.1. Ouch!

Anyway, I ask that you consider helping me to reach my goal by donating to support not only me, but also all of the folks that I'm running for at:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/uny/lkplacid10/sfiskx

Keep checking back as I plan to update here how the physical training and process of preparing for this event is going. Stay with me as I prepare to do the biggest and most meaningful thing in my life that is not about me ....................