Week 4 of 18: 9 miles (4)

Distance: 9.5
Course: Rolling and steep hills
Weather: Chilly, afternoon
Pace: 11.97

I'm kind of shocked I ran 11.97. I felt very unprepared for this run and about half way through it I started getting some tough pain in my hips. I finished without walking, but I'm not entirely happy with my performance. I just kind of wish I could lose this extra weight already. It would make all of this a lot easier on my body I think.

Anyhoo. I'm slayed.

Week 4 of 18: 3 miles (3)

Distance: 3.2
Course: rolling and steep hills
Weather: between warm and crisp, mid-morning
Pace: 11.66

It was a great run. It always feels good to go running before a full 8 hours of eating and drinking is to commence. That's 8 hours of eating, you read right. I think if I ever eat again, I'll be pretty surprised. Wait, that's not true, I had pumpkin pie for breakfast this morning.

Tomorrow I have a 9 mile run. I'm not sure how I'm going to do that. I'll be really happy if I make it without walking.

Week 4 of 18: 4 miles (2)

Distance: 4 miles
Course: rolling hills
Weather: crisp, afternoon
Pace: 11.66

I took it relatively easy on this one. The route I take has some really amazing homes on this wide boulevard with lovely large trees and Griffith Park across the street. I really enjoyed this run. Maybe because I wasn't worried about how late it was getting or how I was going to fit in television, shower, and writing all before bed.

Tomorrow - 3 miles and lots of turkey!

Week 4 of 18: 3 miles (1)

Distance: 3 miles
Course: 1 mile track, 2 miles rolling hills
Weather: Crisp, dark
Pace: 11.36

I'm slow. I just have to get used to that. It pains me every time I have to write my pace down. But, whatever. I enjoy the workout. I'm just not built for speed.

Tomorrow is supposed to be an early day off work, but we'll see how that goes. I'd love to get a workout knocked off before dark. Then Thursday, I'll run in the morning before the cooking and hanging out begins. I'm not supposed to be thinking about those runs yet, but I'm actually looking forward to them, so I guess it's ok.

Week 3 of 18: 4 miles (2)

Distance: 5 miles
Course: Treadmill
Pace: 12.25

Considering how fucking awful this run was, I'm actually pretty surprised I came in under a 13 minute mile. I had to walk several times. I just couldn't get into a rhythm. My iPod headphone cord kept touching my arm and making me really irritated.

I'm glad this week is over.

We're still working one day at a time, so I'll see how next week goes. Typically, when I don't have to work, I get a better run in, so hopefully the holiday will work in my favor.

Week 3 of 18: 3 miles (1)

Distance: 4 miles
Course: Rolling hills
Weather: cool, dusk
Pace: 11.92

Man. This has been an emotionally rough week for me. I don't know what the fuck happened but I was paralyzed with the weight of the world. It was pretty horrible. I would come home every night and just not want to see anyone, or talk, or move, or be touched. I let it get the best of me, and instead of taking control of the situation (which, now that I'm through it, can see ways that I could have taken control) and gone for a run, pampered my body that way, instead of coddling myself into believing I was unable to do it.

Anyway, today is the first time I've run since last weekend and instead of doing one of the three milers, I decided to do the 4 miler. I've promised myself from this day forward that I'm going to meet each run as it comes instead of thinking about the whole week in front of me. Right now I'm just too easily overwhelmed to look at my training any farther than what is scheduled for that day.

It was a tough run back. I had major cramps. I couldn't find my lungs. But in spite of all that, my legs felt good. My form felt good. It just felt good to be out of the house and acomplishing something.

One day at a time.

Week 2 of 18: 7 miles (4)

Distance: 7 miles
Course: treadmill
Pace: 11.62

My only goals for this run were a. to get through it and b. to run faster than my marathon pace of 12.0 per mile. Modest, yes. But also, goals I know I can achieve are still goals.

Anyway... that's week 2 complete. 16 to go.

Week 2 of 18: 3 miles (3)

Distance: 3 miles
Course: rolling and steep hills
Weather: Crisp, dark
Pace: 11.75

I am so sore today. I took it pretty easy in terms of speed, but I think I made up for it (in my head at least) in terms of difficulty. I couldn't stomach the thought of the track, so much so that I almost didn't run. I just promised myself I would do the run at whatever pace was comfortable and worry about the rest later.

Tomorrow I'm resting. I'll do my 7 miler on Sunday, most likely on the treadmill.

Week 2 of 18: 3 miles (2)

Distance: 3 miles
Course: 1 mile track, 2 miles steep downhill/uphill
Weather: Chilly, dark
Pace: 10.98

I'm beat and I still have two runs to go this week because I pussed out on Tuesday. crap.

Nothing much to report on this run. I feel like I should have tried to pick it up on the downhill but I was feeling comfortable so I didn't. I guess I'm maybe setting a goal for the marathon. I'd like to run faster than I did last year, but I'm a little scared that I won't be able to. I mostly just want to finish again... although there's a tiny part of me that thinks maybe that isn't quite enough. I'll keep you posted.

Week 2 of 18: 3 miles (1)

Distance: 3 miles
Course: 1 mile track, 2 miles steep up and downhill
Pace: 11.0 per mile
Weather: Crisp, dark

I almost talked myself out of this run tonight, but managed to force myself to get out there. I had to change up my course but it didn't help much seeing as I've run these places what seems like millions of times.

There's one part of the run where it's a choice between running in the bike lane or on this stone/grass path that has a couple of rooty trees and serious lack of lighting on it, and for some reason at top speed I decided it would be a good idea to run on it. I stumbled just in time to whack into a tree and almost poke my eye out. For some reason, that whole little incident sort of symbolizes why I run. I run because even if I almost fall, even if I get whacked in the face and almost poke my eye out, and the path is dark, and my lungs won't fill all the way, there is still ground in front of me and my feet are still moving across it.

Marathon Course

I was just cruising around the LA Marathon site and came across the 2007 Course Map. It is so dramatically different from last year, with a start in Burbank and a trip through Hollywood. I was shocked. And now I'm a little nervous, but also kind of excited. It's a whole new marathon next year.

Week 1 of 18: 6 miles (4)

Distance: 6 miles
Course: Treadmill
Pace: 11.77

I think I have to make the switch to Gatorade on my long runs, at about half way I'm hitting some kind of wall. Whether it's just me running too fast in the beginning or me sweating out too many carbs, I have no idea. Either way at 3.1 miles I was pretty sure I was done. I slowed way down and then got frustrated because I felt like shit and I wasn't really making much progress. I keep wishing I was faster.

Monday is a rest day. Yay.

Week 1 of 18: 3 miles (3)

Distance: 3 miles
Course: treadmill
Pace: 11.0

I had dueling stitches during almost the entirety of the run. At one point I both stitches were on, I couldn't find my lungs and I couldn't get the cap off my water bottle.

I'm irritated that I have to run tomorrow. I'm not going to push it very hard.

Week 1 of 18: 3 miles (2)

Distance: 3 miles
Course: 1 mile track, 2 miles rolling hills
Weather: Crisp/Dark
Pace: 10.58

I'm not sure if that pace can actually be right, maybe I miss counted the number of laps I ran on the track? I don't know.

I felt like I was running on peg legs for the entire run. Every step kind of jarred me and made me feel like my feet were stumps instead of feet. I was supposed to have the night off from running today, but I stayed late at work for the last two nights and couldn't bear to move once I got home, so I'm paying for it this weekend.

Sweat is pouring down my back, and I guess this is probably not a very girly thing to say but it is actually one of my favorite things about running. I love the feeling that my body has recognized how hard I worked and is calling all systems to put some coolant on the works. It makes me feel like a machine, not a peg legged freak. (Not that I think people with peg legs are freaks, I would just feel like a freak if I had peg legs.)