Old Folks at Work Here

Vickie ran 1.5 miles today, 1.0 mile two days ago. She hates running!!! This morning I finally did 4 miles without stopping (38:57). Now it's just doing it consistently. You guys are making me want to stretch out my runs but it may be a while before I can, if at all.

Long run #2

I did another long run today. 8 miles, and I only stopped to stretch and to take some gu at the 4 mile mark. I was proud of myself because usually I try to hit red lights so I can rest. But this time I challenged myself to try and run through them all - so I sprinted towards every one so I would make the green light. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be!

I didn't think I was going to make it the whole way though because it was HOT today, plus I was just exhausted anyway. I think just the 7 from Tuesday, plus swimming yesterday tired me out. So the first 4 miles were pretty hard, and I went really slowly. It took me 95 minutes to finish the whole run, but with the heat and such I didn't really care. Around 4.5 miles it finally started feeling cooler, because the sun was down, and I started to feel better and like I could keep it going for much longer.

I actually felt really good for the most part though, probably because I was running like a snail. I felt like I could have kept going for quite a bit longer and even the hills at the end didn't seem so bad. I felt a lot less tired overall at the end than I did on Tuesday.

I wish I had stopped for some water though. But when I got the the one water fountain on the route there was a guy sitting right next to it who looked like the caveman from those Geico commercials. So I didn't stop, 'cause cavemen make me a little nervous.

Anyhow that's all I have to say. I was happy I finished it - that's the longest I've ever run. Only 5 more miles to make the half and I have another month and a half to train. I may not finish the race in a really fast time, but I CAN DO IT!

I Did It!!

Well, I did it! I went for my 7 mile run, and I only stopped to take my gu, to stretch, and I hit 2 red lights. I finished the run in 75 minutes - not too bad for a slowpoke like me!

I took much of Jenny's advice to not get discouraged by faster looking people i.e. not comparing. Instead I pretended we were all out there training together and I encouraged them and was inspired by their stories...the ones I made up in my head as they passed.

Near the end, as I got really tired of going up block after block of uphill I began to sing inspirational songs in my head. Songs such as, "Another block bites the dust! And another one's down and another one's down, another block bites the dust!" It kept me going.

Working on my stride was hard though. I just can't tell if I'm even on the right track. Though I did notice focusing on my arms, actually, seemed to help a little...at least I felt less tense and I felt like I was being more efficient.

Anyhow, the point is I felt really good for most of the run, I finished it in no less time than usual (I thought I'd go way slower by myself), AND afterwards I ate a wonderful huge salad with lots of carrots in it. So if that cat from the last post doesn't want his, I'll take it.

Oh yeah! AND I used my sexy new sweat band. That thing is awesome! I didn't have to wipe the burning sweat out of my eyes once! I think that helped me a lot, since I didn't have to worry about being able to see and stuff. I was able to focus more on just running. Yay for sexy accessorizing.

EAT YOUR VEGGIES! THEY BE GOOD FOR YOU!

more animals

But they make you grow stronger and run faster!!!

It is time

Today I am running alone again. Jess has hurt herself and is probably not going to run again EVER.
haha no, she'll probably run again on Thursday, a shorter one.

Anyway, so in the spirit of setting my own goals and not comparing with anyone but myself, I am going to go for a 7 mile run today. My goal is to try and lengthen my stride every other section (I'm running on the Ohlone Greenway Trail and it is split up into 1 or more blocks per section), and to only stop at lights and at the 3.5 mile mark (to take some gu of course). I want to get more comfortable with the long runs, because I can do them but they still always seem insurmountable at the beginning.

The trail is pretty flat so I think it will be a good place to attempt to achieve such goals. The only uphill is the last 1.5-2 miles or so and at that point the only goal will be to survive.

my first thirty this summer

I went for a 30 minute run last night. Usually I have to walk at least once, but this time I didn't! I ran the whole thing straight! I felt really good, it was weird! Nothing ached or was sore...or anything! I felt like it was a miracle! I wore my new chubby girl shorts...they were awesome! I didn't realize just how much that was bothering me until it wasn't bothering me anymore! I was like, Yes! This is awesome! I'm totally running 5 miles in the morning! I could run forever!

This morning I'm sore and stiff...so much for a 5 mile run! Oh well, it was a good run.

Kicking ass and taking names

race day, and I'm ready, originally uploaded by Jewell.

I just thought I'd warn all of you with this picture about just how cool (and fast!) my dad and I are. Look at the look of pure pre-running concentration on our faces. It is a sight to see and meditate on for years to come. Have this look (and those sunglasses!) and you will be unbeatable.

Now back to your regular broadcast...

Running Accessories

Bekah and I made a quick stop at Big 5 today. She has a slight sweating problem, aka, she sweats like a horse and randomly screams in the middle of a run, "Ahhh! I can't see!! My eyes are burning!" So, we bought her a sweatband. She will now look like a hardcore runner! I sadly had to buy fat people stretchy shorts cause I keep getting a rash on my long runs from my legs rubbing...gross!!! Stupid legs! Get skinny NOW! We shall look like quite the pair...chubby girl...and sweaty girl unite!

The End.

Death Run

Bekah is in Davis for the weekend and we ran 5 miles this morning...well almost. We really thought we were going to die a couple of times and had to take a couple walking breaks because the sun was beating down on us and making us feel like we were crossing the Sahara Dessert! When we saw a buzzard sitting a top a poll Bekah exclaimed, "Ah cool!!! Look! Its a buzzard!! Wow! He's soo cool! Look how big he is! Wow, I wonder what he's hunting for!" And then I glanced towards the sky and realized there were more buzzards circling in the sky...waiting for us to die!!! Bekah's excitement soon turned to fear which only motivated us to continue running.

We had decided to try a new route, one I had never done before. We followed some roads that are mostly used for researchers and farmers, so I think we had a total of 2 cars pass us the whole hour we were running. Thus it was a bit scary, we just hoped we made it through!

When we finally made it back to the olive grove and the shade we both were seeing mirages of cool welcoming pools of water that we wanted to dive into. We resisted, we knew what was happening and that they were all lies!!!!

The shade brought back our sanity and we made it back to my apartment safe if not totally sound. We both collapsed in front of my fan and slowly came back from the brink of death! After which Bekah says she refuses to ever run in Davis again if its over 80.

After, I made delicious pancakes and we drank Ola Loa to replace our electrolytes that we lost in our death run.

Not So Bad

So there I am doing my fat man trot on my lunch hour upset that I am a trotting fat man sweating and suffering wondering why it's so hard. I turn the corner and up in front of me is a lady in a wheel chair struggling uphill on the sidewalk. Thanks for letting me do my fat man trot.

Stride

My turn to post!!

Today I'm doing a 4 mile run. Jenny and Jess keep yelling at me to lengthen my stride. ;) So I'm going to try today since it's a shorter run and I hopefully won't already feel like dying. We will see how it goes!!!

lady luck

So I did it. Don't ask me how, I think it was pure luck and a good solid back wind but I made it through a 7 mile run with Bekah and Jess through Berkeley. We had to stop occasionally for lights and to suck down some Goo at about 3.5 miles into the run. The first couple miles were horrible, my shines hurt and I kept getting this shooting pain up my leg that made my legs buckle under! But I kept going and after a couple miles and a good stretch I was feeling pretty good! I noticed my run got better as I lengthened my stride.

Today I'm just a bit sore and stiff...I can't touch my toes! Hello down there toes! But I will stretch again later and maybe we can be reunited!!!

and there she goes!!!

Okay so. I'm in Berkeley this weekend and am about to try to run a 7 mile run with Bekah who is training with Jess (her roomie) for a half marathon. Bekah has been doing longer runs, I have not. I am still working on building a "core foundation" for longer and harder runs.

Last week I was starting to feel really sore and didn't feel I was recovering as well as I should so I took the last three days off. Yesterday I ran with Bekah and Jess in Berkeley 3.5 miles (lots of hills!!) and it felt pretty good! I think my body just needed a bit of rest.

I will let you all know how the 7 miles goes, lets hope I make it!!!!

And in the beginning....

Hello All! I just thought this would be a fun way to stay in touch and stay motivated for that big 5K we're gonna be training for over the next couple of months. I thought we could keep each other posted on what we've been doing: workouts, running schedule, and how we're feeling about our running and the like. Also share any crazy stories you have along the way! Basically anything goes here...I think it would be fun to see what everyone else is doing to train. So post away!!!