Week in Review

First, to report about my Saturday running situation (OCD v. Slothness), Slothness prevailed. I stayed in bed until 8:00, drank coffee and read my book. It was heaven! The only reason I ventured forth at 8:00 was because we wanted to go see a friend play baseball and I felt it was important to wear something other than my pajamas - 11 year olds embarrass so easily! Sunday was more productive - a 20 mile run on the canals. I ran the first 12 with my friend Tony, and then finished up alone because he is running the San Diego Marathon this weekend.

This week I've taken it fairly easy, limiting my runs to 8 miles, with one hill workout, one tempo workout, and one stride workout. I've done some light lifting and core work, but not much else because I have been very busy at my kids' school helping with the end of the year project. Because they are "graduating" from elementary school, the class does a project for the school. This year, each child is painting a ceiling tile with a cool design and his/her name. At first, I was a little skeptical because I assumed trying to get 110 fifth graders to paint 4 feet by 2 feet ceiling tiles would be a nightmare, but it turned out awesome! The kids were really enthusiastic and easy to work with, fully embracing the project. My guess is this is the last time I'm going to be welcomed by my kids to help on a school project. My understanding is that middle school is a whole different kettle of fish! Anyway, we all had a great time, but I'm tired. I don't know how teachers do it. We need to pay them more!

This weekend, I plan to do two shorter runs, just to keep the legs moving, and then I will take it really easy next week. We leave Thursday, fly to Chicago, stay overnight and then head to Whitewater. I'm looking for somewhere yummy to eat in Chicago (fairly close to Midway) because I haven't been there in years. Any and all suggestions are welcome! I'm hoping to hook up with Bob sometime while we're there. It is so much fun to meet people from running cyberspace!

Have a great weekend! Happy running!

Pacer Found!

I am so excited - I have a pacer for Kettle Moraine 100! Yeah! I had pretty much decided that I was going to have to toughen up, take a page out of Olga's training manual, and run the race alone. In the dark. With lions and tigers and bears, oh my! But then, when I thought all hope was lost, my friend, Roy Pirrung, found me an awesome pacer - Jerry Cameron! Now, most of you know that Roy is a record holding runner from Wisconsin, the home of KM100. In a last ditch effort to avoid being eaten by a raccoon in my first real 100 mile trail run, I e-mailed Roy, hoping he would know of a kind soul who lived near the KM course. And he did (Roy knows everyone, so my chances were pretty good :) Jerry seems like a super guy and an experienced trail runner - just what I need. We've been e-mailing this week and it seems like a great fit. I am so happy and relieved!

This week has been really light, except for the eating. It seems the less I run, the more cupcakes I must consume. Four. In two days. And a big piece of chocolate cake today. Yum. Scott, who is usually a little unhappy with my high mileage, wanted me to ramp it up a little (seems he was under the impression that I was doing a two week taper instead of three - and not spending my off hours bellied up to the cupcake bar). So, this means that I need to do another long run on Sunday to meet the numbers he set out for me. Hmmm.

I'm planning to sleep in tomorrow, drink coffee in bed, and then MAYBE head out for 15 miles or so. The OC in me can't stand to not meet the mileage Scott prescribed, but the lazy sloth in me really wants to lie in bed and watch Top Chef reruns. I won't know which of my personalities will win until tomorrow morning. I'll keep you posted. But I promise that I will be on the canals on Sunday, putting in some miles, and enjoying the beginning of summer!

Happy Running!

Heavy Training - Done!


So, all of the heavy stuff for KM100 is done. I'm a fan of the 3 week taper, so starting yesterday, my taper has officially begun - yeah! This week, I'll ratchet back the mileage and start focusing more on speed, stretching, and getting my body rested. I was pretty tired by Sunday and had to force myself to finish my long run on Sunday. Yesterday was a nice recovery run and today we're tackling Hell Hill - a 3.5 mile steep, continuous climb with a long meandering, 4.5 mile run back down (we take a different route). The rest of the week I'm going to do some tempo work, more recovery, and lots of walking. I'm going to try to do some specific training rather than my usual run, run, run.

I'm getting super excited about the race! As afraid as I am about running trails at night, I really think it's going to be a blast! I still haven't found a pacer, but I'm not going to get too wound up about it (at least not yet :). My husband, Tim, is going to be there and maybe if I look sad enough he will come join me for a few miles at night. He's a great pacer, but doesn't train on trails so he's not too keen on running this course in the dark. A few years back, he fell during a trail run and broke his leg in four places and then had to hike out of a ravine. He is a tough guy, but not so keen on the trails.

I am so ready for summer. We finished the last of the big stuff for school and we're in the home stretch! Yeah for lazy days and sleeping late (for the kids, that is - I still have to train :). My kids are moving on to middle school and I'm a little melancholy about it. They are just growing up so fast! Such is life.

Happy running!

No News is Good News

I haven't posted anything recently because I don't really have anything interesting to post! I'm running a lot, trying to get geared up for KM100. Since I like high mileage, and hate specificity, I didn't think there would be much interest in me reporting, "I ran 10 miles this morning. Slow. I will repeat the process tomorrow." :) Next week is a peak week, so I know I'm going to be tired. My resting heart rate was elevated this morning, so I know I need my planned rest day tomorrow. I've also been pretty irritable today, so I know that I am spent. I ate 7 pieces of candy yesterday trying to satisfy my insatiable sugar cravings. This always happens when I'm training hard, but it catches me by surprise each time.

I'm still trying to find a pacer for Kettle Moraine. I e-mailed the RDs, but I haven't heard back. They are going to have a 38 mile night run, but I would still like to have someone running with me after dark. I'm such a loop course person that I am having panic attacks about getting lost in the middle of the night. I'm hoping this fear goes away after this race, or I will never be able to run another trail run :) When I read about Julie, Ronda, and Olga running those tough trail races, I'm in awe. Maybe someday!

My kids are playing there first season of baseball and they love it! I was dreading it because I heard it was a huge time commitment, and it is already super hot here, but it has been a total blast!

Spencer up to bat

Grant pitching

Tonight I'm getting a deep tissue massage because I'm having some issues with my back/hip/hamstring. Two years ago I took a nasty fall and tore my hamstring and ruptured a couple of disks in my back. On Tuesday, I fell again! This time, it was not nearly as bad as last, but I tweaked my hip. It has been super tight all week, so I need to get it worked on. I hate to start next week with it tight. I'm sitting on tennis balls as I type this, and that seems to help a little. Hopefully, Frank, the massage therapist (who is also the trainer for the UTEP track and cross country teams) can work it out. He is the master, but he makes me scream! Oh well, no pain, no gain!

I'm adding Jamie Donaldson's blog to my "favorites" list on the left. If you haven't already, go by and say hi. She's got a great race report and a cool story about the bet she made with her husband, David.

I'm off to read blogs. Happy running!