There is Always a Way

3 miles
26:35
8:51 pace

Before I started the run, I thought it would suck.

And it did.

I was tired, exhausted, fatigued.  Ok, I know I just said the same thing three times.  But, I was worn down to say the least, even before I put my shoes on.  My heart wasn’t in the run.  But, I did it and that is good.  I did enjoy the run, but I wanted to stop throughout the whole thing.  I know…oxy moron, right? 

3 miles again tomorrow.

I had a full day, but I was able to get some biking in.

10.69 miles
48:51
4:34 pace

I have no idea what is fast or slow for me on a bike, so that is kind of refreshing not to think about it.  I am sure as I bike more, that will change.  And I do plan on biking more. 

When I lived in Chicago, I either biked, took the bus, walked, or roller bladed.  I miss the bike.  I look forward to getting better at it …or more used to it. 

I probably would have ridden farther tonight, but the sun was going down and I didn’t want to get stuck on a country road with no lights.  Plus, I needed to go clean at the church and I didn’t want to be out all night. 

Tomorrow calls for 3 miles.  It is after midnight and I should probably get some sleep!  Night world :)

Yesterday was supposed to be a “cross” day.  I hadn’t decided what I was going to do, but I was leaning towards a bike ride. 

But, there was church in the morning.  One feverish kid.  One might be sick kid.  And well, having to take care of kids in general.  And then Mark got home from his trip in the evening.  And then there was unloading and lots of catching up to do.  And then after the kids were in bed, I took off to get some much needed groceries.  It was after midnight by the time I got home.  And then I had to unload and everything.

Well, do you get the point?  Cross training or any kind of training didn’t really fit in to the picture yesterday. 

So, yesterday turned out to be a rest day and since today is supposed to be a rest day, I will make it a cross training day.  I WILL make it a cross training day.  One way or another. 

Right now I work.  Later, I figure out the rest. 

Thanks goodness for living with in-laws.  Garry and Cindy came home as I was about to put the last two kids to bed.  Once the little people were all tucked in, Garry and Cindy said they would keep an ear out for anyone getting up and I took off with my running shoes.  They saved me from having to run on the treadmill.  I really did not want to run 6 miles on the treadmill.  I cringed thinking about it.

Mark stole borrowed my mp3 player for his road trip, so I didn’t run with my music.  It was ok, but I missed having the tunes.  I can appreciate the sounds of my surroundings, but with music I tend to not focus on my pace as much.  And focusing on my pace too much is rather annoying.  And I can’t not do it. 

5.95 miles
51:42
8.41 pace

And here I am sweating like a mad women, fixing my runkeeper map (since my GPS messed up once again), and trying to cool down just a tad before hopping in the shower:

I did get a little sun today, so some of the redness IS from that.  But, it was a good, hot, dehydrating run.  Just the way I like them.  And I finished the run just before the lights went out…I mean, the sun went down.

Oh, and I did have to pat myself on the back for remembering to put a bandaid on my blistered toe right before the run.  THAT could have been ugly…

Marathon Training Day 5, complete!

We had a lovely day today.

I started out the day by leaving the kids at home with Papa.  And then Cindy and I went to South Haven.  We ate some breakfast at Julia’s cafe.

After some food and a some Nutella lattes, we walked over to the farmer’s market.  There were quite a few booths set up with some good looking product.  I didn’t have any cash on me, so I didn’t really buy anything.  But, I did manage to snag a birthday gift for someone. 

After we got back home, I got the kids ready and we went up to the school for a t-ball cook out.  We ate some burgers and Charly got her award for playing t-ball this year.  

It was pretty hot out today, so we were happy to take Jill up on her offer to hang out with her at her mom’s pool. 

Aydan was definitely out numbered by the girls, but he didn’t mind so much.

The kids had a lot of fun.  I had a very relaxing day.  And it was nice to get some sun for a change.

We ate some pizza and ice cream and the kids were happy running around with each other all day.

Peyten was so tuckered out by the end of the day, she voluntarily curled up on the couch and fell asleep.

When we got home, it was close to bed time.  The kids took a quick bath and I let them have some quiet time to watch a movie.  Peyten wanted to snuggle and I curled her up in her blanket.  Her eyelids were bobbing up and down as she was talking to me.  She was more than half asleep for sure.  I put her in her bed and haven’t heard from her since.  So sweet. 

Tomorrow is church in the morning and who knows what after that.  Maybe the weather will be gorgeous again and we can have another outside day.  We shall see.  Mark should be home sometime tomorrow evening.  Can’t wait!

I just realized that IF I do all the runs that I want to do in August, I will be racing every single weekend.

August 4th - Peach 10k

August 11th - Blueberry 5k

August 18th - Rockford 5k

August 25th - Mud Run 5k

BUT, then the weekend after the 25th, I am planning on spending time with my sister at the Abbey!!  So, it really couldn’t be more perfect.  Run, run, run, run, REST!

Although, I really don’t think it is going to work out quite like this.  The August 11th is a maybe.   We might have a Youth event that day.  And August 18th is a maybe, we might have VBS that day.

SO, if I don’t run those, I am ok with that because if there is anything that I love equally as much as running, it is spending time with the youth at church.  So, I will swap that out any day.  ;)

or Marathon Training Day 4.

3 mile run in 28:08
2 mile walk in a little over a half an hour

Charly went to a movie with a friend, so after dinner, I decided to go for a walk with Aydan and Peyten and see if I could run at the track without having Peyten take off on me.

So, we set off with the wagon.  It was about a mile walk to the school. 

The kids got ambitious when we first got there and actually ran around the track once.

Look at Aydan go!

And those two little blips over there?  Yep, there is my 2 and 4 year old working hard at getting around the track, lol.  Half way there!

I just like the runkeeper map of my run.  Not sure why it has that line across the middle. I know that I didn’t do that.  The small one that is like a triangle is from when I had to go over to the wagon and unbuckle Peyten since she got herself stuck.  That girl…

9 minute pace isn’t so bad considering I had to stop and slow down a couple times for the kids.

After I was all done, here we are waiting for Peyten to cross the field.  Taking her own sweet time….

Still waiting….

Still waiting…she is almost there!  (look at her saunter)

On our way back home! 

And as you can see, Peyten decided to drop her sippy cup out of the stroller.  Don’t worry, we went back and got it. 

So, I was able to get my miles in and the kids did really well.  After their one lap around the track, they played in the field and played on the bleachers.  I was happy I didn’t have to run after them much at all.  Peyten threatened to take off once or twice, but that isn’t bad considering she is Peyten.  I say that is progress. 

Working from Freshwater Cafe today.  Nice change of venue while Papa watches the kids today. 

I am working on getting caught up and maybe reducing this number by lots today.

I already cleaned up my other two emails.  Blah! lol

Nothing to report.

I had hoped to get in 3 miles tonight, but it just didn’t happen.  The kids took a while to go to bed and my motivation for getting on the treadmill was nil.  If Mark were home, I would have been able to hit the pavement while the sun was still out.  But, alas, that is not the case.  Training will be much easier when he gets back from his trip.  He is good to me like that :)

Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day.  I guess I will just try and flip flop today and tomorrow and try and get in my 3 miles tomorrow.  Wish me luck!

I signed up for a 5k next weekend.  My training schedule calls for 7 miles that day, so I will have to run twice that day.  I think I can manage.

I ran this race last year and it kicked my butt.  I wasn’t prepared for the heat at all.  If I recall, there were a couple of small hills, but nothing major. 

I remember having to walk a couple times and I ended up with a time of 27:11.  Not my worst 5k time, but definitely not my best.  

This is me right after I finished the race and I was seriously trying to figure out how not to puke.  I was so light headed and dizzy.  I was miserable.  I veered over to the side of the road after this picture, just in case I needed to fall over in the grass and throw up.

It was an early morning race (8am), so I don’t think the temp was too ridiculous, but the humidity, oh the humidity.  It is like there is no air left in the air to breathe….wait, does that make sense?  I don’t care, that is how it feels. 

So, this year, I will hydrate, hydrate, hydrate and try and be prepared for that day.  Because next weekend is pretty close and as we all know, I haven’t really been running much.  I haven’t done a 5k race since February, so I am looking forward to it!

I am not looking to PR, just beat my time from last year.  (PR would be under 25:13)