So, thought I was injured. Turns out I'm not. Can now get on with my life. Or running rather.

Starting week 5 of Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Novice 2 Plan and I really like it. I figured since I was close to breaking down physically, and it has a much more manageable weekly mileage. I was about to this point with my long runs anyway, so I can slide easily into it without taking on too much.

54 days until the Pittsburgh Half Marathon.

I ran the farthest I have ever run in my LIFE yesterday. I went 10.26 miles. I meant to do 10 but went a littler farther than I realized. Whoops. It wasn't that much more but I still felt kinda like a BA mother runner. Unfortunately I had rolled my ankle a little when I was chasing B, so at mile 9.75 or so my ankle was KILLING me. When I got home I did Rest Ice Compression Elevation.

I went to Wal-Mart and bought myself an ankle brace to wear today and a squishy hot/cold pack. I am very glad I bought them, because my ankle feels as good as new, I might go out for a short run tomorrow.

I was so afraid I injured it, which is something I am super paranoid about with this upcoming half-mary and being a charity runner. I don't want to let anyone down, so I have to be really cautious. Anyway, lesson learned, don't do a long run on a rolled ankle.

Is it weird I'm looking forward to my 10 mile run tomorrow?

Did speed training this morning, tried imagining I was a Kenyan. Helped a little. Haha. I ended up just doing 8:00min/mile pace during intervals, which made my legs burn. I really hope I get faster doing this, because I feel like a slowpoke.

So I ran 9 miles yesterday, and it was a nice run despite it being the farthest I've EVER gone. I'm gearing up for a few 11 milers before my half, maybe a 12 if I feel like I can do it. My new shoes seem to be taking car of my arch tenderness, it is fading at a rate that makes me think today's rest day will take care of it.
I also found a video from last years Pittsburgh Marathon, check it:

Hopefully it doesn't rain this year, but having run in every type of weather it won't ruin the experience, not by a long shot.

On an unrelated note, my son will not stop asking me to play the Angry Birds Theme. Toddlers love repetition don't they?

THIS POST IS MEANT FOR FRIDAY, WHOOPSIE

So I ran in my new shoes this morning, and wow what a difference! I was having some Plantar Fasciitis, so I was definitely in need of a new pair of kicks. They have slightly more cushioning than my New Balance Minimus Road, which I think is a good thing considering how my mileage is creeping up and will peak at 38 miles/week in the next couple months. The price was reasonable, about 90.00, which made me happy.

I also ran with some new tunes, the soundtrack to Spirit of the Marathon specifically. There is something about that movie that really touches me pretty deep, and the music is incredibly inspiring. If you haven't seen this film I can't recommend it enough. I ran faster than I have been lately while listening to the music, it galvanized me somehow.

Hello news shoes...

Got new shoes yesterday.

Boom.

Behold the Brooks PureFlow. I cannot WAIT to take these babies out for a spin tomorrow. 

Is it weird I'm annoyed today is a rest day?

Brr

I ran 8 miles today, in a .57 mile loop, in a blizzard. And I felt great. Totally honey badgered my long run.

Donations!

I now have a donation page set up for my half marathon fundraising page for Dirty Vagabond Ministries! Checks it outtt...

Donation Page CLICKS IT!!!!

I have 100.00 donated so far, so excited!!

Am I crazy?

If you know me in person, don't answer that.

I am officially running the Dicks Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Half Marathon for Dirty Vagabond Ministries(DVM). *phew*

I had decided to register last Saturday. Unfortunately you need duckets (money, moola, denari) which we didn't have any to spare at this time. The race is almost full so if I had had to wait I would not have been able to race. Thank goodness for DVM, because they made it possible for me to just pay half of the entry fee or raise the whole amount! I also have to raise 300.00 on top of that, but I hope to raise more than the minimum, because this is a great thing they do.

Check out their website, and if you want to sponsor me for the race please do! I will have a donation page set up in the next few days!

 Dirty Vagabond Ministries

So, I plan on starting my training 10 weeks before the race, but I am doing something in the mean time. I am going to start a 3 week routine to prepare myself for the half marathon training. Wish me luck!

Marathon Thoughts.

Gets me laughing every time!

Follow the music

So I finally made a new playlist for my long run, which lately has been surpassing an hour (!!!) Its mostly rock and alternative, which I selected with the help of Jog.fm which shows you songs that would match whatever pace you run. I found a lot of songs that I am so stinkin' excited to break out for my next long run!

Here are a few of my favorites from the new playlist:

Viva la Vida - Coldplay

Rolling in the Deep- Adele (Man that gal can SING!)

Dog Days Are Over - Florence + The Machine

New Shoes- Paolo Nuntini

Here It Goes Again- Ok Go

Final Reel - Scythian ( Okay so I listen to this one ALL the time when I run, but these guys are awesome!)

Needle and Haystack Life - Switchfoot (These dudes make a frequent appearance on my playlists, they are very motivating)

Run the World (Girls) - Beyonce (My guilty pleasure, awesome beat!)

Anyway, I was needing something to mix things up as I approach my 7 mile long run next weekend, I hope to work up to a 10 miler in the coming months. Since I'm slowish (9:45 miles) they take a while.

Any favorite running songs? Share in the comments!

Born to Run

So I started reading Christopher McDougall's book Born To Run and I am so fascinated by the people the book is about, they're called the Tarahumara.

Check this out:

I've been interested in minimalist footwear and barefoot running for a little while, and I do wear minimalist shoes (zero drop heel, minimal cushioning) and from what I can tell I do land at least mid-foot, which is close to ideal (ball of the foot) There are no peer reviewed studies out yet, so most of the benefits of barefoot running are anecdotal or conjecture. There is a market now full of $100 dollar minimalist shoes, which I feel defeats the purpose, the Tarahumara shod their feet with old tires or nothing at all. As far as barefoot running is concerned, I feel like it is a good bet based on our evolutionary background. We are built to run, so why cushion the heck out of our feet?

Anyway, thats just my jumbled thought streamon the matter rambling along.

Zoinks...

Have I mentioned I hate strength training?

Its boring, you don't go anywhere, and it kills more than running ever has. I guess thats why I need to do it more? I was stuck inside due to extremely gusty winds and snow. Usually weather isn't a deterrent for me to run outside, but I made an exception for the 5 degree wind chill and 50 mph wind gusts.

I did circuits of step ups, lunge kicks, and squat jumps for legs, various ab exercise's totaling 112 reps (!!!) and for arms I did about 30 push-ups, 16 bench presses with 12 lb weights, and 24 triceps dips.

O_o

Woah, now that I actually added that all up no wonder my entire body was jelly when I was done. 

Anyway, tomorrow is a long run, maybe push up to 6.5 miles. We'll see if the weather is tolerable.

If at first you don't succeed...

Yet another post after a months long absence, no wonder no one reads this blog.

As far as my running is concerned, I am still upping my weekly mileage and lengthening my long runs. I have worked up to a 10k (6.2 miles) so I'm happy about that. I really need to work on my speed though, I feel like I am going slower during my runs than I have in the past, possibly related to the increased mileage?  I guess I'll just keep at it and do more speed work.

For this new year, I haven't really set any goals as far as fitness is concerned, here are a few off the top of my head:

Add more strength training to my weekly workouts.


Run a half marathon in the fall.


If I get pregnant between now and 2013, keep running anyway.


Don't stop running. Period.


Those seem like some reasonable goals, hopefully I can complete them all (well the pregnancy one is out of my hands. lol)


On a different note, lately I have become a running gear junky. I don't have copious amounts of cash to spend on a nice running jacket, or a cute technical tee, but adding them to my Amazon wishlist makes it seem like I could actually have them someday. Right now though I need to focus on replacing my shoes, as they are nearing their expiration date(6 months), which makes me sad. :( I really like the idea of getting new shoes, don't get me wrong, but these shoes are the ones I bought when I started running for real. I'll be running in them past their expiration date though, since I haven't racked up that much mileage in them anyway...

Hiatus.

Not from running, just blogging. I've never been too consistent making entries into the many blogs I have started, I was hoping this one would be the exception. Heh. Well, I'll keep trying anyway.

Just a quick update, I have started a new training plan, which incorporates speed workouts and distance runs sprinkled with regular length slow runs. I'm into the second week of a 8 week repeatable schedule, and I really like it so far. Yesterday I did a 40 minute "fartlek" run (Swedish for "speed play") and I really enjoyed it! I went farther than I have ever gone with non-stop running, about 4 miles. I like that I have been able to progress at a nice steady rate so far, I hope I can reach my goal of a half marathon by next year, unless I get pregnant between now and then of course. ;-) I'm totally going to run as much as I can when I'm pregnant though, I'm sure  future baby would enjoy the ride! I've noticed that my pace has picked up, being an average of 10/min per mile, which isn't too bad for someone who started running a few months ago. I hope to cut it down to a 9-8.30min/mile pace in the future.

I like how when I finish a goal, I automatically have a new one, it keeps things exciting.

Oh and I signed up for my first 5k race on October 8th.  O_O

I'm a runner!!!!

I finally did it! I ran 30 minutes without stopping! WOW! I ran with a good friend, and it was awesome! My family has also been in town for the last few days and coming with me for my runs. I realized I really enjoy running in groups or with another person, running solo isn't as much fun. Maybe I'll enjoy running solo sometimes, who knows. Anyway, I'm done with the program, and now I am going to start doing my own thing as far as running goes. I'm so psyched!

Slowwww

I know this is my second post complaining about my slow pace, but it must be done.
I am so discouraged, I feel like I will never run fast than 11min/mile, and that is killing my motivation. I know I've only been at this 3 months, but I feel like I should be going faster than this, people who are twice my age go faster than I do. And despite what I hear about running being an accessible sport, I really don't feel like I am a real runner, more like a jogger. I dont want to be a jogger. Im hoping once I can run 30 minutes straight (next week is the week!) I can incorporate tempo/interval runs and hill repeats into my routine to amp up my speed. I want to run far and fast, and nothing can stop me (except pregnancy, no Im not pregnant)

 Anyway, here's the end of my whine fest.

Run Like A Mother

So I received a bunch of books for my birthday from my mother-in-law (shes a doll) and one of them was a book called Run Like A Mother : How To Get Moving -Without Losing Your Family, Job, or Sanity and I haven't been able to put it down! Its a really great book, goes from the angle of what its like to be a runner and a mom who works or stays at home. I really appreciate the practical advice, along with the humor! It has had me laughing out loud more than once. It also is super inspiring, talking about how running has its highs and lows, and you don't always move upwards or even just cruise. Life can get in the way, but you can still run again even after a hiatus (read: pregnancy and childbirth) which I really needed to hear. So like I said, I'm still reading it, but I'm sure I'll be done soon enough.

Next after I'm done with RLAM is Sole Sisters: Stories of Women and Running and I will let you all know (hah, like all 5 of you who read my blog, or is that too generous a number?) how it is.

Whoopsie

Sorry it's been a while, I havent felt particularly inspired to post this past week for some reason. As far as my running goes, I started week 10 of the 12 week program, and ran 13/walk 2 then another 13, a lot of running for me. I had a horrible side stitch most of it, and I was so mad. Also my IPod Touch was messing up, kept skipping songs when I wasn't pressing anything...so meh.

Yes this post is mostly complaining, but I figured if I want to be genuine about this whole endeavor I better post about the crummy stuff involved as well.

Anyway, I hope that I fare better on Wednesday, I hate it when I have crappy runs, sucks my motivation a little.