Wednesday, July 21, 2010

I got my mojo back!!!

Yaaaaa Hoooooo!!!!!  Today I ran 4 miles...not a lot but bear with me and you will understand why this is big for me.  You see last Sunday I was supposed to run 5 miles and failed miserably.....so bad that I wanted to go home and rip up the training plan on my fridge, the registration form (not filled out yet) and another registration form for a local 5K.  I was feeling like a complete failure.  I was feeling like I wanted to completely give up.  AND THEN.....I exchanged some emails with a runner friend of mine...we will call her "the nice", who reminded me that all runners have good runs and bad runs.  She reminded me that it has been extremely humid and hot lately and assured me that some of her runs have been difficult as well.  "The nice" gave me some great advice- put some new songs on my ipod and take it with me on my next run!  I have been running without music since April so I was hesitant to go back but you know what?  It was fun!!!  I went for my run at 5:30 this morning and it is now 2:00 in the afternoon and I am still feeling like I am the greatest runner in the world!!  Hee, hee....I know I am going a bit overboard but all you runners will totally know what I am talking about.
The moral of my story:  Not every run is going to be your greatest run...you have to take the good with the bad.  But when you get a good one, hold on to that feeling for as long as you can!!!!
P.s.  Thanks again "the nice"!!!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Book Review

Last week I visited my local library and found this great book...My Life on the Run by Bart Yasso.  I was not sure if I was going to like it but I was pleasantly surprised.  This man had some amazing adventures and told the stories about these adventures in a way that was very entertaining!  I found it amazing that he has run on all seven continents of the world!!!  I don't want to give too much away in case anyone wants to read it for themselves but I had to smile when I read about the last race he wanted to conquer being the Comrades race in South Africa, which he did run this past May despite his illness.
 

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Week 5

This week I start week 5 of my half marathon training.  I feel great that I have made it this far BUT......it sure has not been easy.  For starters the weather here in NH has been unbelievably hot and humid (for NH) so my runs have either been first thing in the morning (it was still humid) or not at all.  I also had a busy weekend celebrating my darling niece's birthday and was not at home and did not bring my running shoes (what was I thinking??!!).  Soooo.....because of these factors, I have decided to modify my schedule to repeat the last couple of weeks before moving on.  I know I have time to do this and I think it will be very beneficial since I will not be ready to make the increases in mileage this week that I am supposed to make.  Well, there is a chance that I would be fine, but I don't want to take any chances!!
I found this great quote that I just have to share:
"Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day.  It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp, or are you going to be strong today?'"- Peter Maher, two-time Olympic marathoner from Canada

Friday, July 2, 2010

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

In a couple of days it will be my birthday....yes I was born on the fourth of July!!  It has always been a fun day to have a birthday on.  There are parades and fireworks just for my birthday! 
One thing I have been wanting to do is participate in a Fourth of July road race...well this is the year I am finally going to do it.  I am going to be running in the Firecracker 5K in Andover, NH.  It is a flat out and back on the rail trail in this small town.  It will be interesting to see how many participants there will be.  Last year there were 80 people but the organizer told me other years have had more people.  Since we will be spending the day in Andover for the parade and cookout at my grandparents house like we do every year, my whole family will be coming to watch me race.  This is pretty neat since my kids have not seen me at a race yet.
I am predicting it is going to be a pretty good birthday despite the fact that I am going to be one year older.