So.................

It's been another busy busy week, with no chance of it letting up any time in the next few weeks. I got a nice run in on Monday (almost 4 miles) but since then haven't been home enough to get out there. The plan is to run today. I am just trying to recover a bit from the birthday party I went to last night! (Oops!)

ING is about 5 weeks away now. I am not gunning for anything more than finishing it for the experience, but I am doing a couple of 10Ks over the next 2 weeks. It's going to be challenging to work in my runs. I think I will have to start running at the gym in the mornings again since I am tutoring after school most days. It's hard to feel motivated to run at 8 pm after working 12 hours and not even have eaten dinner or whatever. I really wish some days were longer than 24 hours just so I could fit more in and still sleep/eat etc!! I will think on the plan and get back later.........

Oh, and here's a cool ass picture of me meeting Eric Perrin Tuesday night!!! :D

Wow, how accurate.

Probably explains why I hate the short days where I don't get to enjoy this time of day.

In theory.........

I'm going to run 13.1 miles in less than 9 hours from now! D'oh! Had a great day at the Expo, hanging out with the gang (Tiff, Bob, Tim R, and Chris) all day, watching the 5K (photos to come later...), eating at Cracker Barrel, and driving part of the race course tomorrow. We saw the hill that is at mile 5-6 (mentioned yesterday). Yoiks. But not as bad as it looked on paper. I will go as much and as far as I can....

We had a great pasta dinner (alfredo angel hair with mushrooms and a cup of minestrone soup) with everyone and also Jared (Flemdawg). I think it was at a place called Petrucelli's. Pretty good! :)

Just about to tuck into bed now (10:30 my time, 9:30 Alabama time). Alarm is set for 4:45!! Sheet!

In Alabama......

So, I drove here to Birmingham right after work. Hellish drive- first 29 miles took an hour and a half! It was terrible. Got here and went straight to Taziki's Greek restaurant across from the hotel where I met up with Tim(r1), Tiff, Maples and Bob. Enjoyed a nice dinner and good convo, then headed back to the hotel.

I haven't run since Monday really, so Sunday will be interesting. I have confidence I can do it, despite seeing the elevation chart tonight (thanks, Bob!) showing the extreme uphill from mile 5-6 then 9-10 or so.. Luckily it goes straight down for the last 3 miles so I should be able to recover some time there.... Fingers crossed. I feel ready. Looking forward to the expo tomorrow. Tim is also going to drive us over the course so we can all get a firsthand look at it!

Night!

I made it!

So, I got in 10 miles. Actually, 10.2! That was thanks to a kick from the sports beans I ate at mile 7! They kicked in around mile 9 like magic. I love those things!! I took several breaks- mainly at intersections (necessary unless I wanted to be flat like a pancake!) and twice going up/down the stairs to the trail. I went from the apt. down Old Milton to the trail. Ran out just past mile marker 2.5 (30 mins or so from the bridge) and back past the bridge past the 5 mile marker and then back to the stairs and up - UP- Old Milton again. I had to go a little farther (down to the dentist's office) to finish up the miles due to the encroaching darkness on the trail. No problems! :) I am definitely stiff now and will likely feel this tomorrow. Not sure what the plan is yet tomorrow. Thinking now to go for 2-3 after work/before hockey. I'll play it by ear depending on how I feel after work..... I think I'm gonna make it for Sunday, though! Already getting excited! :)

Hills hills and more hills!

Since I had so much to do today, I ended up switching tomorrow's 4 miles for today's 10. I opted for a hilly route, though, as penance for not doing the 10 as planned. Just straight down Old Milton and back. I've always avoided running that way because of the hills, but the Mercedes is going to be hilly so I should get at least a little used to it now. I still was gasping at the top of each one, though. I am definitely going to start running this route more often to get some hill training in!

It was sunset when I got out the door (about 6). Dark clouds were looming and it was sprinkling a little. I was just hoping for about 45 more minutes of dry weather!! I got about 40.... Last half miles it started raining and a cold wind was blowing. I'm pretty sure I sped up a little that last bit. I made it, though!!!

Now, just to get those 10 in tomorrow... gonna be tough after work, but I think that the combination of good weather and hopefully well restedness (hehe, is that a word? I'm making it one!) will carry me through! Plus a little stupidity will help. ;)

Let's see if I can get the route to post...

Success!

Ran 7 miles on the Greenway today. Got out there around 11:45 am. Had a hair appointment at 2:30 on the other side of town so I had to get a head start (no pun intended!) I ran from the YMCA parking lot so I went the 2 miles to the Kimball Bridge intersection, where I walked across to give my lungs a little rest. I ran another 1.5 out/back (3 total) to Kimball and walked again across the road. I ran the remaining 2.25 (approx) which got me all the way to the car. My lungs weren't dying. I didn't need to use my inhaler once! :) I felt really good, especially after the first 2 miles. If I had had the time, I might have gone ahead and done 10 miles and saved the 7 miler for tomorrow.

The mental boost I've got from this run is amazing! I'm really feeling confident that I can make the HM next week and for it not to be too far off my normal time. The key will be to stay consistent with my planned runs this week. There's always so much to do that it's easy to get exhausted. I will need to be diligent with bedtime and get to sleep by 9:30 or so! This will allow me to actually drag myself out of bed on the mornings I need to get the run in at the gym. Or at least so I'm not so tired by the end of the day after work that I just crash out on the couch at home (like Friday). I think that self-discipline is the most important thing to successful running. I may not be fast, but I can at least be the best I am capable of being. All I can do, I suppose!