Last Minute Decision

Wednesday was kind of a wash. I worked from 7-4 for AAF-KC and when I got home it stormed for the rest of the evening. Thursday I woke up and decided to make it a resistance training day and run my short distance on Friday so that I could run my long distance on Monday since I would be missing Saturday's run due to Yom Kippur.

This morning I woke up and thought, I don't really want to run 8 on Monday and then 22 that Saturday. So I decided last minute to run my 8 today. So my training schedule is slightly off this week.

I started at 8am this morning, which is later than I would want to start for a long run, but fortunately the weather was really nice and I didn't have somewhere to be until 2. I did the 8 miles in 1 hour and 35 minutes. I am really proud of myself because halfway through I got a cramp in my side and in my foot and still pushed through. I also made sure that my route was pretty hilly since the route TNT is doing this week is known for its hills.

Unbeknown-st to me, they have torn up half of the path in the park on my route. So a bit of my run was make shift. But it made it worth it to see a man walking his very large dog while smoking a pipe. I felt like I was in 101 Dalmatians. It wasn't a Dalmatian, but it was one of the dogs in the call line, and Pongo's owner smokes a pipe when walking him.

Anyway, I am very happy with my run today. And I am happy that I made the decision to just get it done. I feel more comfortable about doing 22 next weekend.

Fundraising is very slow. Boot-blocking is pretty much all I'm doing to get the last $400. Sarah is looking for a company to match a $500 donation or to give a sponsorship which is a minimum of $1000. Please, If you know any companies that would be willing to help, let me know. Thank you for all your support!

poor tootsies

I find it amazing how resilient our bodies are. I woke up to future hubby's alarm and made my way out for my run. My muscles and joints were ready for it. It was like I didn't run 20miles two days before. Unfortunately, my toes were not ready for it. I had some MASSIVE blisters on my toes after the 20 miles and they were very unhappy when I went running on them today. So my run started off slow and painful.

After about 3 quarters of a mile though, I got used to the pain and picked up the pace and set a rhythm. The weather was beautiful again and my run went swiftly after I got used to my toes. Halfway through the run, a round fruit (I'm not sure if it was an apple or not, but it was green) fell from a tree right as I was passing under it and it missed me by inches and fell with a huge thud and it scared the bujesus out of me. Other than that, my run was pretty uneventful.

I took my ipod with me for the first time in awhile. It was nice to listen to music while running again. The people driving by must have been laughing at me because the upper half of my body was dancing to the music. Mainly robot because I found this is the easiest dance to do while running.

All in all it was a good run. Now off to work for my first time at my internship under Sarah! I'm super excited! Thanks for the support.

Physically painful, mentally acceptable

The weather could not have been more perfect for my 20mile run. The sun is starting to rise later now, so instead of it being light by the time we started running, it was still dark for half an hour. Sarah and I found that this made it difficult to run. Especially since it had rained the night before and the path was covered in debris.

The first out and back, which was supposed to be 10 miles except because of poor directions we got lost and it was more like 10 1/2 miles, took us just a couple of minutes over 2 hours. On the second out and back, Sarah and I were already feeling sore and we were getting worried it was going to be a problem. Fortunately, my mental state was in a really good place, so even though Sarah was struggling a little I helped her get through it. We started bio-freezing our knees, and I also did my hips, and that helped a lot. The last 2 1/2 miles I slowed down a beat and Sarah picked up the pace a beat so we ran separately.

The thing I love most about running with Sarah is that conversation is really easy, but silence is also really easy. With some people conversation is easy but silence is awkward, but some of my best times running with Sarah is when we are both in our groove and just running next to each other. It is its own conversation. I also like that Sarah is comfortable pulling ahead at the end. Sometimes it is hard to pull away from a partner because you feel like you are letting them down, but in our case it works because neither of us feel like we are holding the other back. Sometimes I wish I could pick up the pace like she does, but I run the whole thing and finish, and that's what really matters.

I hobbled home and future hubby helped me into an ice-bath. The ice melted within the first 10 minutes, but I sat in there doing a crossword puzzle and drinking chocolate milk until my 20 minutes was up. It was a good ice-bath. Cold enough that it was uncomfortable getting in, but not so cold I was worried about frostbite.

Sarah and I boot-blocked today and we did really well!! We each made $145 in 2 hours! I am almost to my goal so that is really exciting. If anyone reading this blog knows a company that is willing to match donations or do a sponsorship, please let me know. Sarah is on the lookout for one and if anyone can help it would be appreciated. Thanks for all the support!