Wednesday Practice

First Wednesday night practice tonight. Technically the second, but I couldn't make it last week, so it was my first. We met at North Thurston's track. Only three of us, Casey, Nikki, me, and coach Jason came, but we had a great time training. After a two lap warm-up (why is it that a track lap is always longer than any amount of running you do in your neighborhood???), , Jason had us doing thresholds, which is running two laps at a pace you think you run for a mile if you were only running a mile. So faster than you normally would, but not too fast that you can't sustain it for two laps. Problem for me is that I still struggle with staying at a consistent pace, so because Casey and Nikki are faster runners than I am, I want to start too fast to keep up, but I cannot stay with them. I know this, so I wasn't really trying to, but I tend to speed anyway. =0) I also had some weird cramping in my abdomen close to the end of my second lap, so I decided to walk the rest of the way for that one. Then the muscle in my left leg that plagued me all last season started to seize up, so...slow down a little bit more. Actually running on it seems to help it stay loose. It's weird, I know, but it does help. Fluids help too. I am sure I am still dehydrated from earlier in the week. We did that for about 30 minutes or so and then Jason had us do a 10 minute core work out. I am thankful that it did not rain on us the hour we were out there.
There was another coach on the track with three older adult runners. One was training for a road run, one a triathlon, and one for Boston! He looked like he had been a runner all his life (or at least a major chunk of it).
Well, my bathroom needs cleaning, so I have to sign off now.
Night y'all.
Eryn

Half Marathon

I can't believe it! We ran a HALF MARATHON yesterday!!! It took me 5 months last season (longer than that if you count the pre-team preparations I started in January) to prepare for a 13.1 mile race! Now, in two months...only TWO MONTHS, a 13 mile race (the inaugural Endure-for-a-Cure Double Half) is only a TRAINING RUN!!!! And what a beautiful day for a run too. I am soooo thankful to God for the lovely weather and the beautiful scenery along the Orting Foottrail. One bridge we crossed over made me think of the Blackfoot river close to my Grandma's house. I felt really good for most of the way, but on the way back I was starting to tucker out a bit. Thankfully, my coach from last season caught up with us and she said she noticed I was running well, but completely exhausted when it was time to walk. She recommended that I change up my interval to allow for a greater recovery time, and that made a great difference. My only complaint (which is little and adjustable) is that my socks were rubbing against the callouses on the bottom of my feet. It becomes very uncomfortable and by the last mile or two I was VERY grateful to know I would be stopping soon.
Donna ran SOOO WELL yesterday. She is such a steady runner, if I can just stick with her. I tend to run slightly faster than she does, but I can't sustain it as long as her steady pace. You would think i would have that figured out by now! Oh to be steady like Donna is.... =0)
It was fun to see some of my old teammates out there on the course. This race was also a fundraiser for our Rally Team's Charity ~ Seattle Children's Hospital ~ and the Leukemia/Lymphoma TNT team. My coach Jason, said that they raised $3500 to be split between the two teams! Amazing. Especially because they figured they would have about 30 runners sign up, and we had at least 109 people sign up for one or both days of races! It's called a double half because you could run a 5k,10k, or Half Marathon on Saturday in Orting, and then choose another race to run in Yelm today. So if you wanted to, and you were a "half fanatic", you could run both half marathons, earn you "half fanatic" shirt, and have the satisfaction of knowing you just ran a full marathon in two days! I am not that crazy. I am just going to do it in one day and get it all out of the way in one fell swoop! =0) Of course, I still have 3 months of training to go, so.... My coaches wouldn't let us run a double half anyway. We are not ready yet. We could have done a recovery run of a 5k or 10k, but...naw...not today. Church first. Run second.
It's not too late to make a donation to the cause. Just click on that "Superhero's" link above. (You know I am going to mention that almost every time I write something on here until June, so you have been warned. =0P )
I hope you are blessed by the Father today. He is TRULY amazing! Thank you Father for...everything...the beauty of your creation...this amazing thing called grace...salvation...the ability to "run" 13 miles "without dying"...so many things to praise you for!
Marvelling at what this human body can do when pushed beyond it's perceived limits.
Night y'all.
Eryn

Running Journal ~ week 8 (I think)

Hello Everybody,

Time for a running update! I am sooooo THANKFUL to God (and my boss) for the bounty He provided this weekend. My boss was doing a book table for a local churches men's conference, so I asked him if he would mind doing a raffle to help me raise money for the Rally Foundation for childhood cancer research (all going to Seattle Children's Hospital) ~ to which he said "Suuuuuurrre!" The guy in charge of the men's conference was super excited about the cause too, so he said it was okay. Darrell came back today with $132!!! God is sooo good! That's is just amazing. Thank you Father!
I decided today that I would take my dog and run down the the big hill by my house. My schedule called for 10 minutes of "easy" running and then 5 minutes of walking. Well, I haven't done that before, so I thought I would give it a try, knowing I would have to take a few short walk breaks within that 10 minute time frame. I think I did pretty well. I walked for the first 5 minutes, then started running. I felt really good for the first 4 minutes or so, then my dog decided he need a potty break. Quick break, and then back to running. I'm sure there was one more little break in there, but we ran almost all of the 10 minutes!! AMAZING!!!! It was time to start running again when I got to the hill. There are no sidewalks, or margins for that matter, going down this hill, so when traffic comes by it is not so "safe" and tonight the first car in a string of four decided to honk ~ as if I couldn't HEAR HIM COMING!!! Then the last car, a pickup full of rude young men decided to let me know how they felt about my presence on their side of the hill. I don't know where they went, but a few minutes later then came back up the hill. By this time I had moved to the on coming side of the road because the margin is wider, but they still thought that I shouldn't be there and had to tell me about it again. I just threw up a quick prayer for God to show them their ignorance, and wondered if they were always so rude to everybody they encountered that wasn't doing what they thought they should be doing. Hmm... Anyway, I ran down the hill for about 2 minutes, and then turned around to head back home. I ran up for about 2 minutes before my thighs started burning from lack of oxygen and decided to walk the rest of the way. Then that crazy cramp I complained about last season came back with a vengeance, causing me to walk slower than I wanted to. I have determined that it comes from dehydration and lack of electrolytes. Thankfully, I had taken a sports drink with me. I had been sipping on it, but when the muscle was telling me that it felt like ripping itself out, I thought it best to just consume the rest of it. Amazingly, it helped almost instantly. PTL! We ran another 10 minute set (mostly) and then walked our 5, which left a meager 2.5 left to reach my door.
I have to say that I feel a great sense of accomplishment. Thanking the Lord for insight into the muscle issue and the stamina to do something I have never done before. One step at a time I will get across the finish line. What an amazing journey.
Night y'all.
Eryn

Week 5 recap

So last Saturday we ran 10 beautiful miles around Point Defiance and around the Vassault Park area. It was a bit nippy in the park beacause of all the gorgeous trees, but the views and the company were well worth the chillyness. It still takes my legs about 3 miles to "warm up" and quite cramping around the ankles, but at least I know that know, so I don't complain as much as I did last season. By the time we got to the half way point I felt really good; however, I started to run too fast during my two minutes of run time and slowly petered out about a minute and a half into it!!!!! I KNOW BETTER, but my legs want to run faster. If I stick with Donna's pace like glue, then I have energy at the end to sprint to the finish line, but my brain tells me it's too monatenous, so then I pick it up a little and ~ like a punctured balloon ~ I fizzle! Since we are going about 12 miles this week I think I will stick with Donna like a fly sticks to flypaper. Okay, maybe not flypaper...it's hard to move your legs that way, but you know what I mean. =0) Perhaps that will also alleviate the pinching pain I felt last Saturday in my hip. I think it is just an alignment issue and as soon as I can I will go see a chiropracter. We shall see. I had the same pain yesterday when I went out for my 40 minute practice run, so I cut it a little short and headed home. Maybe I just need someone to come walk on my back for me? I always thought that was fun to do to my Dad as a kid. It's a balancing game. =0)
I attached the map of our run for Saturday to the right of this posting, so if anyone wants to come out and cheer us on, or man a water stop, or even RUN with us...we would love to see your faces. =0) Thanks for praying for us (Donna and me). The prayers of the saints is what sustains us ~ well that, and the Joy of the Lord!
Happy week to you.
Eryn