10 Miler or a 7 miler with a HILL?

So I ran my first ten miler of the training season yesterday morning. I met up with other TNT teammates at Chagrin Reservation. There was only about 8 of us for a not so bad morning. It was about 24 degrees but really sunny which always makes it seem warmer. One of our coaches described a 7 mile loop with a large hill for us and told us not to worry about the mileage cause we are still early in our training. So I set out to run a little harder since it was going to be shorter. the paths were pretty clear other then a few icy patches. I ran about a quarter mile behind and in front of people for about the first 4 miles. Then caught up to a girl named Jackie when we both didn't know which way to turn. She has a similar stride as me because she was also tall but was a wee bit faster and after getting directed got ahead of me again. At the beginning there was mile markers but then we ran some on the street and I wasn't sure how far we had run. So I decided it was a good time to try some powerbar gel, strawberry flavored. I liked it but I am still leaning more toward the GU because I like the texture better and I love the chocolate flavored one. So it probably took me about 10 min to get the Gel down. I finished the last of it just as we approached the HILL the coach spoke of. Now mind you the whole trail was a little more hilly then we are used to. Us Cleveland Marathoners do not have to do too much hill work because the corse is mostly flat. So I wasnt expecting there was still a large hill after we hit a bunch of small ones throughout. This HILL was not a hill it was THE HILL of all hills. I did not know we had mountains in northeast Ohio but this was like climing up the side of one. I ran to what I thought was half way up and my legs were screaming. I walked the rest of the way up and knew my legs were going to love it eventually but they were not telling me that at the time. There was probably about another mile til our loop ended where we parked and I ran into the lot and went to my car to get some more water and start stretching. The girl who was running behind me came in and mentioned something about the crazy hill and then said how dissapointed she was that we didn't run 10 miles. She looked to me and asked if I wanted to go the three more. At this point the Power gel was kicking in and I said yea! In all reality I too was dissapointed that we didn't do ten. I was siked because 10 miles is a big deal to the non runners out there. So we got another three in and I still felt ok to go more afterwards. Other then the little bit of pain I have in the pad of my right foot, which I believe came from wearing a not so comfortable pair of heals, I felt good today too! We are almost to the half point in training and there is less then 90 days til the Cleveland Marathon! I am very excited. More entries more often is my goal for the rest of the month and training for that matter.

Been busy

Well I have a very crazy few weeks; my dad has been uber sick but getting back in there now. Cancer can really knock a person down. As for my running I have been slacking and only getting about 8 miles a week for the last two weeks. Monday is the first meeting for TNT. It is more of an informational meeting which I will know most of but I am pretty sure I will be able to register and be official again for this year! I will have to raise about 1600 dollars which I hope that I can get early so all I have to worry about is the training. That is all for now but will start writing more often soon.

Marathon Running Take Two

Well last year around this same time I decided I wanted to run a marathon. OK, this was decision was not made in a day but it is actually on my life goal list. I have always loved distance running. What other activity can you eat five pounds of spaghetti and not gain a pound from? LOL In high school I was a basketball player and I threw shot put and discus for track and I would always get yelled at because my coaches would tell me that distance running will slow me down and not give me the oomph I needed for those two things. Well I stuck with running, did very well in my other sports, played one year college basketball, and am still in love with running. As much as I love basketball, I dont get to play it as often as I like but always find the time to run. Running is, in my oppinion, one of the best ways to keep in shape and the biggest stress relief! Plus it makes your legs look amazing! ;)



Now back to my marathon story; I sigend up with the Lukemia society through their Team in Training program to run the Cleveland Marathon. If you are a first time runner I would recomend this in a second! I felt that I run everyday for me and that running a marathon is going to partly be for me but I wanted to try to help someone else too. So when running with Team in Training you get to raise money for the Lympnoma and Lukemia society. So I started training and raising money. Training with them is awesom: they give you coaches, mentors and a scheadule to keep. They also set up a yahoo page where you can cominucate with other runners! Well long story short; I hit my mid training point which was running and a 13 mile and started having foot pain. Usually when I am hurting I just run through it but this was not going away. I come to find out I have a minor stress fracture on the top of my foot and would have to rest it for a few months. Resting is not an option for someone who is training for a marathon. But not having a working foot was not an option for someone who walks dogs and works at a movie theater for a living. So I called off my first marathon. Things are meant to be in my world and so I know it was not my year to do it.



So here goes try number two. I am going to sign up with Team in Training again. I have been running again since June and think I can easily be ready for 26.2 miles by May. I believe that blogging about it will give me the extra push I need to keep me motivated and I hope I can help motivate some others. Traning starts mid November so for now the posts will be weekly or so. But after that I will keep you updated on my daily runs and my progress of raising money.