Running Thoughts

I stuffed the teeny pocket in my running skirt with candy corn and sharkies , thinking "I love an excuse to eat halloween candy!"  Then, I headed out the door for my longest run before the half.  After today's run, I taper my runs down to give my body a chance to recover from training before the half-marathon on October 19th.  Today's run was 10 miles, and I knew I'd need some energy (aka, candy corn) and I wanted to try the sharkies before packing some for m y half.  The sharkies are energy (sugar) and electrolytes.  I grabbed my favorite water bottle and took off!  I really like this water bottle (mine's green) because it's BPA free and it fits my hand just right.  So, I've mentioned before that my favorite run is up a very gradual incline until about 2.5 miles up where it becomes a steep, continuous climb.  For the next 2.5 miles, I ran (sloooowly) up and up through the rain, up past the Ute Mine which is what's left of an old silver mine.  It...

Yay!  Positive self-talk!!!  It works!!!  :) I told myself that I was going up those big, long hills like they were nothing, and I did it!  I envisioned myself in the lead of a group of racers, encouraging them on and my little imaginary game got me to the top in record time!  I wasn't fast, just faster.  ;)   I chose the hills.  I ran farther up the road than my nikeplus told me just so I could take on the bigguns.  The last time I ran up the hills, my overall pace went down to 12 something per mile.  This time, even with the hills, my overall pace was 11.30ish.  Without the hills, I run near or below 11 minutes per mile.  not fast, not slow. Anyway...success is sweet! There is an interesting article in Sept. Runner's World about the way your brain takes on pain.  I didn't read it until after my run today, but it was great.  I've marveled at what a mind game running is, and I continue to!

We had such a fun weekend!  But I didn't get to run my 6 mile run, so I thought I'd run it today.  Instead, my hubby took the day off from work (sort of--his sweet sis offered to take things over so he could spend time with me and the kids before leaving town tomorrow...turns out he isn't leaving tomorrow after all...), so I didn't want to spend the time to run 6 miles.  This week is off anyway because I have an extra week in my training schedule between now and Oct. 19 (half marathon day).  I had decided just to repeat last week's schedule so that next week can be my longest run before I taper my training schedule down for the last 3 weeks before the race.  That meant a 6 mile run this past weekend.  My runs this week are to be 60 minutes anyway, so that's around 6 miles for every run this week.  So, today, I did a half a run!  I ran 30 minutes with Banjo who was so exhausted by the time we got home.  Again, he was so fun to be with, even though we had to chase...

I finally took my Golden, Banjo, running with me.  I was worried that he would slow me down or run off (not too well-behaved, my Banjo), but he has matured a little (very little) and I took him out for 4 miles.  No leash, just us running (and sniffing...Banjo, everything; me, drainage) and loving it.  He was such a good boy!  What a fun run! Reasons to have a Golden Retriever for a running partner: they truly are loyal and stay by your side naturally they look back to make sure you are still there they stick their wet nose on your leg every now and then to let you know they are there they're so happy, always happy their energy is contagious Seriously, I felt his energy as I ran, and seeing him loping along gave me a boost.  I wish you a Banjo kind of day!

I keep having trouble making it to the gym lately.  I'm not sure why I have used this as my excuse for skipping my lifting sessions since I have dumbells at home and love to do body weight workouts... So tonight, I decided not to use my excuse...and I did supersets  of push ups, chest flyes, tricep extensions, and shoulder press.   Anyone want to run this with me in December?  the first 100 to register are guaranteed a spot in the half marathon.

the cake was ok enough, but look at sara's new baby brother-in-law!  So cute! With everything that's been going on, I had missed a whole week of running.  Today was a new day, and I ran my 6 miles that I've been trying to get to.  I sure felt the missed training runs when I hit mile 6.  I did it, though!  And tomorrow I plan to lift!  Yay!

Sara is off on her honeymoon!  It was a beautiful wedding and the cake was fun...turned out pretty and was yummy.  Luckily, it was nearly all eaten so not too much temptation!  I'm pretty tired of even looking at cake anyway!  Haha!  I'll post a pic as soon as they are downloaded.  Beautiful bride, beautiful day! So, migraines and wedding stuff and guests have kept me either in bed or running like crazy, but not RUNNING!  So, I'm looking forward to a quiet week that includes some wonderful runs.  We will be in recovery mode and we have to make a short trip tomorrow, so it may be Monday before I fit in my 6 mile run.   Interestingly, as things got busy, I THOUGHT of running and it sort of re-grouped me.  The rhythm of it, the sound of my own breath and the warmth of the sun...just thoughts, but good ones.  Also, it was fun as we drove guests UP to the rehearsal site to say, "Hey, this is where I run."  It's very UPhill, and I was really proud of myself!

I just have weights blocked out of my mind or something!! I keep waking up thinking..oh this is a lifting day!..then I forget. Now, I'm tired and it's late (for me...I'm also a weeney). So, maybe tomorrow?? I will run tomorrow for sure. This is the final countdown week before Sara's wedding on Saturday and I'm the cake maker extraordinaire. So, please excuse short posts as I clean in preparation for company and bake and do last minute things in addition to all the other things that must happen around here!

This whole running thing is a metaphor for me. I wrote about that here . I also write about autism and my son a lot. My life is filled with my children, homeschooling, and autism in particular. So, I end up writing about, thinking about these things that consume my time. As I looked UP the curving road toward a destination I couldn't see, I was reminded of my metaphor. I thought of how UPHILL days with an autistic child can be, of working toward a destination that I can't see, and I thought of "conquering." Then, I decided that really, what I want is more than just to conquer. I wanted to relax, not worry about the outcome, and enjoy what I have and where I am. So, that's what I did. For me, this is symbolic of my work with my children and especially with my child with autism. I don't know what is around the top of that bend, I do know it will be work to find out, and I make my choice, as always, to relax into my son's life and enjoy our world t...

Only have a minute, but wanted to say that yesterday on my 40 minute run, I took about 20 minutes to relax and get my mind and body on the same page.  Does that ever happen with any of you?  Your body seems to belong with some other non-running mind and vice versa????  I felt like a big clutz for the first half of my run and then finally fell into a rhythm when it was almost time to stop!  Grrr.  I just read Ruth's post about "relax and run" which is normally what I do, but some days, it just doesn't happen right off the starting line!   Here are some of my ways of relaxing while running (that FINALLY worked for me yesterday and normally work easily):  I let my arms just hang and swing as I run for a few seconds, roll my head from side to side or shrug my shoulders.  I look up and around.  I count.  I try to feel the air around me by concentrating on each part of my body to see if I can feel the breeze or the sun.  I look for rock pictures in the cliffs.  I think ...

Click on the image to get a better look at my new "sauchagirl" necklace!  I got it in the mail today, and that was perfect because I was concentrating on loving today even though my hubby left for a week and school has officially gotten into full swing.  AND I didn't get to do everything I wanted to do in our homeschool.  At any rate, the "Love Today" necklace helped and so did my 30 minute run plus sprints.  I was supposed to run for 50 minutes, but didn't have 50 minutes, so I compromised.  I wore my new necklace for the run too.  In honor of my new favorite necklace, here is an oldie but a goodie  (put together by my workout buddy and myself) for you to enjoy (again).

hubby was disappointed that I didn't post more of his pictures of *where* I ran the human race.  The reason I didn't is that there is no way that pictures can do this place justice.  I ran along through the canyon that this "creek" calls home.  It's beyond descriptive words and plays its own music as I go by.   Also, I've worried that I'm ridiculously slow, but in the results listed on Nike+.com, I'm a middle-of-the-packer.  That's good since I thought I'd be dead last!

The Nike Plus 10k was yesterday!  There were cities all over the world with races yesterday to benefit charities such as the one I chose which was the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  With every mile I ran since registering for the race, including my 10k yesterday, Nike donated money to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  I chose to race virtually via my nike+ and ran yesterday on my own where I live.  I actually ran 7 miles winding through the mountains on a crisp, cool, misty day in my nike human race tee shirt which I can now proudly sport and say "I did it!"  Here are some of the pictures from yesterday as hubby and youngest son fished, cheered, and took video and pics.  They also surprised me with a smiley face "I spy" adventure.  My kids and hubby painted smiley faces on rocks and snuck out the night before to place the rocks along my trail.  There were about 15 smileys cheering me on as I raced.  It was so fun to watch for them!  They were especially appreciated at ...