Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Ice Bath...

I took my first ice bath on Friday.  I cannot believe I have never taken one before.  After I eased myself into it, I found that it was not too bad other than my teeth were chattering.  I did find that it really helped and I was not sore the following day.  My husband kept telling me that I should be glad I am not a football player, since they will ice their entire bodies...ouch!!!

I took the ice bath after only running 10 miles.  I am anxious to see how it feels after a 15 or 18 mile run.  What is your experience with an ice bath?

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Where to Begin...

I am not even sure where to start.  I was still a little sore on Monday after the half marathon on Sunday, so I took the day off from running and Ken and I rode our bikes.  It had been a while since we rode them.  We went to Hillsdale lake and enjoyed a 10 mile bike ride.  It started to get dark at the very end, which is just a reminder that winter will be here soon.

Tuesday, I had a great run.  I ran 5.25 by myself on my hilly route and stopped and picked up Kya to finish for a full 6.5 miles.  Unfortunately, a dog came out and attacked us while we were running.  I was fortunate not to get bit this time, but Kya did have to fight the other dog off of us.  Nice, I hate when people do not have their dogs on a leash or behind a fence.  I live in a neighborhood and not out in the country, so this is completely unacceptable.  All of this aside, Kya and I finished the run in 58:56 including the time Kya spent fighting like a champ to protect her mommy.  Kya is not a mean dog at all, but has had to protect me on more than one occasion.  Last time, she had to fight off the evil cocker spaniel that bit me.  Yeah, I did not know cocker spaniels could be mean either.  :)

Wednesday, went to the gym and ran 4 x .25 at 7.5 miles per hour.  This is getting easier.  I ran a 1.5 mile warm up and half mile cool down.  Kya got to go for a W-A-L-K too. 

Thursday, I ran six miles and took Miss Kya for two of them.  No dog attacks and I do not remember our time.

I planned to wake up early on Saturday to do a long run, but sleeping in sounded so much better!  I ran 3.25 miles with Kya before heading out to go shopping with a friend. 

Since I was lazy on Saturday, I was going to run 10 miles on Sunday.  Did. Not. Happen.  Nope, I was not feeling it at all.  I got a mile from my house and my legs felt like lead.  I decided that it was not worth the misery and trotted back home and was able to finish 2.5 miles.

I was mad at myself all day yesterday for the crappy running over the weekend.  I finally felt better when I went home last night and ran six miles with Kya out in the drizzle.  It was a lot cooler and Kya can start logging more miles with me if the cooler weather stays!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Lewis and Clarke Half Marathon Race Report...

I decided to run this race a few weeks ago.  My friend Laura in St. Louis mentioned that she was going to run this race and I checked my calendar and realized I could run it too!  I was a little concerned about being able to run it since I had knee issues after the San Francisco Marathon, but it all worked out.

I rode the Amtrak train to St. Louis from Kansas City.  I had never done this before and thought I would give it a shot.  It was actually quite relaxing.  I listened to my ipod and read a little bit and took in the scenery. 

On Sunday morning, we woke up around 5:00 am so that we could be in St. Charles around 6:00 am.  Normally, I wake up eat/drink and pee a few times before I leave home or the hotel and do not have to wait long before the start.  The race did not start until 7:15, so I thought maybe I needed to drink more water.  Note to self:  more water means more peeing!  I have never had to use a port-a-potty before a race, but I did on Sunday.

We lined up and started the race.  After about a half a mile, I looked at Laura and told her that I thought I was going to pee my pants.  I am not sure where this came from, since I had just gone to the bathroom.  I have never had this happen to me before.  Not being sure of when the first aid station would be, I did want any other Southwest Missouri girl would do, I find a large sign with bushes around it and took off for the sign so I could pee!  My mom would be so proud!  Laura said that when I darted, some really handsome guys were laughing and got a huge kick out of me taking off to pee.  I am not sure I understand this, because I have seen more men stopping to be by bushes than at the port-a-potties!

Ah, much better.  I never could catch Laura, so I just plugged away listening to my ipod.  Around mile four or five, my knee started getting a little sore, but it was fine after a few more miles.  There was a long incline going up to the bridge to cross the Missouri River.  I saw a lot of people walking at this point.  I am happy to say that I just ran right up that sucker!  I really think all of the hills I have been running are finally paying off!  I ended up seeing Laura around mile 10.  I crossed the finish line in 2:02:18.  Not my best half marathon, but I was pretty happy with it!

I would list my splits, but I have no idea how to get that information off of my Garmin!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Busy Week...

Miss Kya with her favorite toy, the pumpkin!

I have been pretty busy this week with running.  I am planning on going to St. Louis tomorrow to run in the Lewis and Clark Half Marathon with my friend Laura.  It should be a lot of fun!

I was able to run my 10 miler on Saturday.  It was a terrible run.  I am not sure why it seemed so bad.  The weather was the same as it has been, so I cannot blame it on that.  At mile two I was wondering how I would even make it back home.  I ran by my house at mile four and told myself to run to five miles.  I ended up running seven miles and went inside and had a fun size Snickers as a snack.  I thought that I could finish the last three miles on the treadmill.  I walked down to the basement took one look at the treadmill, went back upstairs, and went outside and finished my run.  Ten miles...done.  I also took Kya for a three mile walk afterward.  Lucky little husky!

We went to Springfield to see one of my friends Saturday night and I came home Sunday.  I was tired on Sunday so I did not run like I had planned.  I guess staying up to 1:00 am is not my thing!

I ran six miles on Monday on my hilly route.  When I finished the last mile in the neighborhood, I decide to take Kya with me.  Kya also got to walk three miles that day as well.  Are you seeing a trend with Kya?  That girl will walk or run all day!  I have attached a picture of this spoiled baby.

I decided to run on the treadmill Tuesday night and was going to work on speed.  Ken came down when I was at 1.5 miles and asked me if he could practice his presentation in front of me.  Me, being the great wife that I am, stopped my run and went upstairs to help him out. 

I pushed my speedwork (if you can even call it that) to Wednesday.  I ran 3 x 400 with 400 rest in between.  I ended up running five miles total.  Kya walked two miles as well. 

Thursday I went to the gym and ran seven miles on the treadmill.  I ran the first 6.5 in one hour exactly.  I took the last half a mile easy as a cool down.  I also took Kya on a one mile walk.  Ken went with us, so we cut our walk short. 

In the morning I am off to St. Louis!  Hopefully, Sunday will be a great morning to run 13.1 miles!  This will be my furthest distance since the San Francisco Marathon!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Poor Little Piggy...

We have a piper down, I repeat a piper is down! Yep, we have a toenail fatality! My second toe on my right foot, has a toenail that is barely hanging on. I am used to losing toenails, but I normally lose them after a new one has grown behind it, but not this time. It looks really hot!

It looks like no pedicures for me for awhile! I have not had one since our wedding at the end of May anyway. My toenails were all kind of gross from running and I have two on my left foot that are growing back. Gross!

If you are wondering if my shoes are too small, they are not. I wear a size five shoe (yes very small, but I am only 4'10 so my feet match my body), and wear a size six running shoe and they are plenty big. I think the issues is that I curl my toes under when I run. Not sure why or how I do this, but after visiting my local running store, that is the conclusion. I just purchased toe socks by Injinji hoping that this might help. There is no help for my poor piggy though, please lets have a moment of silence....

Wednesday night running - 4.5 miles in 40:30
I had to hurry because we were taking Miss Kya to the park again to play. What a spoiled baby!

Thursday night running - 6.0 miles in 56:30 on the gym treadmill
I also did arm weights and walked Kya two miles after I got home.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Bike Ride...

Last night Ken and I went to Hillsdale Lake to ride our bikes. Since we live in Kansas, we have to rely on small man-made lakes. I am so jealous of people that live in fun states with great trails and lots of trees and scenery. Anyway, we rode 10 miles. It was a fun little ride. I did not have time to run afterward since we took Kya to the dog park so she could play with her friends. She had such a fun time.

I do plan on running as soon as I get home tonight, which cannot come soon enough today!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Seven Miles....

Last night I ran seven miles. I tried to incorporate as many hills as possible, which is sometimes hard to do living in flat land! Outside our neighborhood we have two streets with rolling hills. I trained on these hills for San Francisco and felt like they really helped.

I ran on the one street with the two biggest hills last night. Kya ran the first two miles with me and had a blast! Fall cannot get here fast enough for her! What a great workout we had last night!