All Wrapped Up

...in a little bit of everything!

Since my last post (now updated) I notated incorrectly my race time for the HopeBuilders 5K and actually did it in 26:39 (chip time), as well as placed 3rd in my age division! Wowzaa!! :)

Have y'all heard about Athlinks.com? It is another social networking site but for runners/athletes. Kinda cool to keep track of your races over there, especially if you don't blog and see other runners stats/info. Check out the site!

UPDATES:

I mentioned before ever since my 10 mile runs and up the need to wrap my knees and my love for KT Tape.

Well before the morning temps dropped this is how my legs used to look during my LRs

This stuff really has been my cheap way of prolonging my big CWX support tights, as that would be a major purchase for me ;op My girl Ashley with BGR is hooked onto the tape now too! Check out her blog post HERE.

A few weeks ago I came across this cute shirt in M.arshalls (it actually is a really vibrant/deep purple)For only $12.99!!!!! A thermal, fingerless mitt dri-fit shirt!! A freak-in steal!!!!

Yes!! All of that for the low low price of $12.99....how about I have three of them now Haha! They are super comfy and definitely do the job!!

Shoot what I would have paid retail price for one I ended up with three!


On running...

That about sums it up LOL

My sweet 16 mile was a rough one and I was sore but nothing out of the ordinary. The last two miles I was very grouchy and did not want anyone talking to me LOL

Now my first 18 miler I was SUPER sore (and worn out) the day of but was fine afterwards. Truly my iPod gospel play list saved me at the end (I don't run with music now *gasp*). But Runner's Trot has kicked back in because of the longer mileage and is concerning me again...sigh.

I did miss my initial scheduled 18 mile run to do the HopeBuilder 5K so I compromised and ran 7 miles prior, 3 miles for the 5K, and then 3 miles afterwards to get in at least 13 miles/half marathon.

However, this past Saturday I did get in another 18 miler and was just as exhausted the last two miles again.

In fact, my runs lately have been down right sluggish for a few reasons:

1. Bad eating
2. No cross-training
3. Lack of sleep

No Bueno for someone this close to the end of her long & hard training...simply put I am burned out.

Le sigh

I need to get in my Karate Kid mind zone ASAP!

So I have been watching lots of marathon movies lately :)

These two are great:

Spirit of the Marathon & Marathon Challenge

And these books I mentioned way back in August have been keeping the fire from completely extinguishing.

So as my 1st Half Marathon (Dowd Y) approaches me THIS Saturday *gulp* and my 1st Full Marathon (ThunderRoad) in a little over a month away *faint*; I am SO ready for my training to be OVA!!! :)

Runiversary

So I don't know the exact day of my running anniversary, but I do remember which month I decided to switch my talk into true action.

Last September 2009 I began with my very first step into running! You can read all about that here.

I never thought I would be running as much as I am today. Training for a marathon. Or still stick to running this long! :) Now I know that running is the perfect fitness outlet just for me!

I ended my Runiversary month (Sept) pounding out 97 miles and yesterday being the last day of the month with a run that royally sucked!! Oh well, at least I know that there are good runs and bad runs and charge it up as experience.

While training for my marathon and finally entering into the double digit miles. I thought I would jot down a few notes (for myself really) on how I felt after each long run.

Lets call it my "Run Diary"
10 miles:

I felt good and it didn't even feel like 10 miles. However, I was a bit sore after my run on Day 2. I religiously began to slather BioFreeze on myself while in the women's stall at work, as this is the first time my knees started to actually bother me! They were sore and felt stiff during & after the run.
My massage stick also became my new purse accessory :)

12 miles:

I couldn't freakn' believe it and had an awesome pace (avg 10:00)! I felt great! Soreness was not a big of an issue at all after this run. I did begin wearing KT Tape for my 'runner knees' for support/recovery.

14 miles:
Quietly I had a mini panic attack on the inside before this run as I was feeling terrible the day before and was taking medicine that made me have to use the bathroom frequently. How the h$#@ was I supposed to do 14-freakin-miles like this!?!

Well I slowed down on the meds early as well as my liquids and prayed.

3 miles into the run I had to use the portajohn for serious business and after that was totally fine. Felt great on this run too but about mile 8-9 I realized that at least TWO energy food packets are needed to keep me going (I was getting weary), and this was the 1st time I freezed my water which was warranted.

Recently I was chatting it up with some people at a volunteer event (Ramblin Rose) about my training, and this one guy said you really should not train by mileage but rather by time. If you can run 3:00-3:30 hours straight you can do a full marathon. I could see the logic in that. Heck I can't believe I am running more than 2 hours now!!

Happy Runiversary to me!