Five Days....

August 31, 2011
Rachel
Today's Mileage: 0.50 miles

This morning I went to my boot camp class at the rec center (a class I LOVE which I've been attending twice a week since January). I mostly went to touch base with some of the women I've become friendly with (two of whom are also training for a half marathon) and to ask my instructor, who is a great athlete and racer, for any last minute tips.

The workout this morning was a High Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T) workout and I figured I need some cardio at this point, so I participated for about half of the hour long class.

image credit

I also didn't want to risk injuring myself or getting sore muscles at this point, so after a half hour, I left to find a place to stretch. I spent a good 20-25 minutes stretching really well...better than I ever do. It was great to be up early (again, it will help me sleep well tonight) and to get some activity in. Continuing to feel confident and excited....

Right Where I Want To Be

August 30, 2011
Rachel
Today's mileage: 3 miles

This morning routine is getting rough. I'm ready to take a break, as soon as my race is over. For me, though, the only time I have to exercise is in the morning before work, so even though I'm looking forward to a break, I know that after a couple weeks I will set a new goal for myself, and get back to those early mornings.

But this week, even though I'm tapering, I'm planning to get up early every day to work out or run so that I sleep well at night. This morning I dragged myself out of bed and to the track at my local high school. I was excited and anxious to try this patellar tendon strap (I traded in the bulky knee brace I originally bought).

I'm not sure if this thing did me any good, but in my mind I was hoping it would...so it did. I felt great this morning. No knee pain to speak of! I was able to get into a rhythm and felt awesome running.

And despite all the positive talking I've been doing here and elsewhere...this is really what I needed. I was still having so many lingering doubts and fears about my race on a painful knee. I think all I needed was one good run to get my confidence back where it needs to be and to be mentally prepared for the race on Monday. And now that I've got that one good run under my belt, I'm back to being excited and enthusiastic about things. It's amazing how easy it is to let negativity take over when it comes to a challenge you've never tackled before (at least for me).

I'm so focused on this race right now, that my entire outlook and attitude on life has changed now that I'm back to being confident about it. Yeah!

Taper Week!

August 28, 2011
Rachel
Today's Mileage: 3 miles

Well, I'm officially tapering. To me, that means I won't be doing anything that pushes me too hard this week.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm grappling with some knee aggravation...great timing. But I'm continuing to take care of my knees, ice them, rest them, and stretch.

I ran 3 miles Sunday morning, which was the first run in a week, and only the third run in three weeks (not exactly what I had planned for these past few weeks). Nonetheless, my three mile run went relatively well...no severe knee pain to speak of.

Now I'm worried about the mileage...it's so easy to get out of shape, and three miles yesterday actually seemed hard after not much running recently. But I'm trusting that my body has the miles in me.

I'm going to get my butt out of bed every morning this week for some sort of physical activity. This morning it was a few (very few) laps at the pool, some running in the lazy river, and hot tub time at the rec center. Tomorrow I'll do 2-3 miles on the track at my local high school. Getting up early to exercise means that I sleep well at night, and I want to make sure to get plenty of sleep this week.

I'll also be hydrating, hydrating, hydrating this week!

We'll be heading to Colorado Springs on Sunday and attending the race expo so I can pick up my registration packet. Hoping to have an early dinner with some dear friends (who are also great athletes and motivators, and will be there cheering for me on race day). I'll hopefully get a great night of sleep (even going so far as to make my husband sleep in a different room. :)

On race day I'll get up nice and early (at least an hour before I have to leave for the race; plenty of time to poop! that's probably the most important part of this entire situation...seriously). I'll eat a light but satisfying breakfast (probably toast with peanut butter and banana and herbal tea).

I wasn't planning on running with an iPod during the race (and the race organizers strongly discourage it), but at this point, I'm thinking my music might be what gets me through it, so I may stick my nano in my shorts so I have it if I need it.

I'm planning on some serious adrenaline to get me through at least the first half of the race. It sounds like I'll have quite the cheering section at the race, so I'm counting on my loved ones to get me through the second half. My husband is planning to run the last 2-3 miles with me, and I figure by then I'll be in rough shape and his presence will get me to the finish line. (he helped get me through the longest natural childbirth ever, so I'm sure he can help get me through 2 tough miles...)

I'll be doing a lot of visualization this week to get me ready for the race. It's so unfortunate that I have somehow found myself in a slightly negative/worried state of mind about this race...when that's not at all where I was at a few weeks ago. But I've got a lot of positive thoughts about it too, and a lot of people who are giving me uplifting and motivating advice.

I'm ready to do my best and really do believe that even if it hurts, even if it's ugly, even if I lose it completely, I have it in me to run this entire race. As long as I can physically stay upright, I will push through whatever pain and mental blocks that may come my way on race day. It's not what I wanted for this race, but perhaps that will make it even more satisfying in the end.

One Week!

August 26, 2011
Rachel
Today's Mileage: 0

One week from this coming Monday, I will run my first half marathon. And I can't wait. But I'm also really worried.

Since the long run I did in Breckenridge a couple weeks ago (the one that didn't go so well), I've been having what seems like serious knee pain.

I haven't run in a week. I haven't done more than 5 miles in two weeks. I've been icing my knees (both of them, for good measure, even though only one of them hurts consistently while running) every night. And I'm listening to my body tell me that it needs to rest.

Even though I had a well thought-out training schedule that took me right up to race day, I've had to accept that my body has other ideas.

A few days ago I was in tears with worry about not being able to do the race. And even though everyone keeps telling me that it's not about the race...that I should be proud that I've worked to be able to run this type of mileage....it is about the race for me. Really. My commitment to this race is what got me out of bed at 5 a.m. for the last several months. It's what made me keep going for all those long miles when I thought I might actually puke, faint, or die.

Every week when I do my long distance run, I picture this race. I imagine what I'll feel like finishing it. I can practically taste the feeling of empowerment it will give me to have accomplished this goal. And not being able to accomplish the final piece of this journey will be heartbreaking to me.

So, I'm working on the mental side of things. As my cousin reminded me this morning, this is 90% mental. If I can get myself back to the ecstatic feeling I had the day I ran 10 miles for the first time (on the race course), then I know I can do this! I may have missed out on a couple weeks of training, but I know I have these miles in me.

I bought myself this knee brace and will do a short run this weekend to see if it helps. I'll keep icing. And I will get back to mentally visualizing the race and do whatever I need to do to keep getting excited about it.

Stay posted....

Altitude Counts Too

August 13, 2011
Rachel
Mileage: 10 miles

Well, my race is in just three weeks! Close enough that even though I had a girls' weekend planned for this past weekend, I couldn't afford to skip my long run. I'm also feeling the need for some variety, so I mapped out a 10-mile run in Breckenridge, thinking that the change in scenery would be great fun.

I passed on all the cocktails and glasses of wine Friday evening, sucked down as much water as I could, and tried to get to bed early. I didn't have a great night of sleep...which I now know was part of my problem. But I pulled myself out of the deliciously luxurious bed I was sleeping in and headed out into a surprisingly frosty mountain morning around 6 a.m.

I had a beautiful run on the first half of my out-and-back route along the Blue River Bikeway which connects Breckenridge and Frisco. I was pretty much the only one on the trail and was loving seeing all the mountain scenery while I ran. I was definitely ready for a quick break when I reached my 5-mile halfway point (and the Gatorade I'd stashed).

It wasn't until I turned around to head back towards Breckenridge that things started to get rough. Within one minute I realized that there is a slight, barely perceptible uphill to the trail (no wonder I felt so great on the way out!). As the realization that it would be like this for the next 5 miles started to sink in...I started to worry, and to psych myself out. Ugh, I hate when I do that.

And then I remembered my friend's question from the previous day as we drove into Breckenridge and saw the "Welcome to Breckenridge, 9,600 feet" sign..."have you ever run at this elevation?" Hmmm...didn't seem like a big deal at the time. I've spent most of my life in Colorado, I run every day at what most people consider high altitude (7,000 feet)...I'll be fine!

Yeah, right! That was the WORST run I've ever had. I did not enjoy one single second of the second half of the run. I nearly passed out, puked, pooped, cried, and stopped. I kept reminding myself of this blog's mantra..."unless you puke, faint, or die...keep going!". And I thought I might. And then my knees started hurting...for the first time in years (the trail was all asphalt). I started worrying that if I kept going, I'd injure myself and not be able to run my race.

I stopped a couple times and walked for 15-30 seconds. But stopping didn't make me feel any better and I was disappointed in myself (I never let myself stop). I'd stop for a second, and then start up again. And after what felt like FOREVER...I finally made it back to Breckenridge and limped my way back to our condo.

Ugh...horrible. I love feeling great after a run, even a really long, hard run. But this wasn't fun and I didn't feel great afterward. I'm trying to just forget about it and regain the positive attitude I had before I embarked on 10 miles at nearly 10,000 feet. What on earth was I thinking??

Feelings Count

August 10, 2011
Rachel
Today's Mileage: 5 miles

Let's not forget that the little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it. ~Vincent Van Gogh, 1889

This running thing is so mental. Granted, my body is conditioned for the running and I've worked hard to get it here. But my mental state, my attitude, seems to have even more of an impact on the success of my run and how I feel during it.

I went to bed last night and woke up this morning in a negative emotional state. And boy could I feel it during my run this morning. I just felt like I was dragging myself along and could not hit my stride.

However, I also think that my run this morning put me in a better mood and somewhat helped me change my attitude going into the rest of my day. So, needless to say, I'm glad I dragged myself through those miles...I'd probably be in even more of a funk if I hadn't done it.

Double Digits

August 7, 2011
Rachel
Today's Mileage: 10 miles

I ran ten miles this morning!! I haven't run this far since I was 16 years old and was on the cross country team in high school. I guess double digits is a big step for long distance runners, and I certainly feel that way about hitting this milestone after all these weeks and months of training.

I woke up early at my in-laws' house in Colorado Springs (way too early, 5 a.m., for a Sunday morning, in my opinion), and after stashing a Gatorade at my turnaround point, found my way downtown to America the Beautiful Park, where the half marathon I'll be running on Labor Day will start and end.

I had a really nice run, and didn't feel like I had to push myself too hard until about the last mile. I'm thrilled that I've now seen most of the course I'll be running on race day...again, familiarity = confidence for me.

It's a really nice course, and I'm so happy that this is the race I've chosen for my first half marathon. A lot of the course was on a soft-surface/dirt trail, and much of it was shaded from the sun.

Three weeks until I taper (not sure how that works yet, time to figure it out I suppose). I'm feeling really good about my training and know that I'll be ready come race day. Many training programs I've seen recommend doing a ten mile run, one time, before race day. I'm happy that I still have a few weeks to stay at 10 or even up my mileage to 11 or 12 miles before race day. I'm getting SO exited!!!

Back In The Saddle

Wednesday

View of the Indian Peaks from Mt. Audubon

Michelle

2 Mile Loop

SO between climbing 14ers (and 13ers) joining a gym and biking, I have been inconsistent with my running. I find most times, I would rather be on the trail up a peak than logging the same milage on the track. I also find that I would rather climb 13.2 miles and gain elevation than running 13.2 miles on flat surface.

What I need now is true motivation to push myself through an uncomfortable part of my training. I have found that in the past, once I start hitting the 6, 7, 8 and even 9 mile runs, it starts getting easier - (probably because by then I am in better running shape). 

How will I push myself PAST my comfort level to have a breakthrough in my training? Stay tuned....