I know I'm a sissy but....that water was COLD

Whew what a busy week we have had! I have had the distinct pleasure of visiting with one of my bestest friends during one her few and far between visits to Northern California. See, we have been friends since our freshman year in high school (at this point, too long ago for me to want to admit. OK, it's been fourteen years.) and although she lives in Texas she remains one of my best friends. We can go six months without seeing each other and pick up a conversation like we just left off five minutes ago. I love her. Since she has been here, we have eaten pizza twice. I'm a superhero athlete now though, so those things don't tempt me like they used to. I lie. I really really really wanted that damn pizza. After slice 2 when I'm supposed to cut myself off I found myself longingly staring at that delicious round goodness sitting mere feet away fom my face. But I win, and the pizza stayed right where it belonged- on it's pan for someone else to shove in their mouth.

We worked out in the Church of Work aka my garage twice last week. Lots of crunches, jump rope, stretching, and knee ups. Lots of weights lifted. Lots of sweat dripped. We ran twice at three miles each. I feel like I'm getting slower, not faster, which is completely a buzzkill but at this point I'm just happy that I was able to finish. With each run that we do, I feel like it's going a little bit smoother and I feel a little bit better. I also feel like quitting completely a little further on in the run so I take that to mean that my endurance is building.

On Sunday, we were supposed to do our first long run. Long runs in this training plan start at four miles and gradually progress up to ten. We are supposed to run ten miles on the last weekend in September. <--Knees shaking about this one, seriously. Anyway, we didn't do the long run on Sunday. We wound up heading out to the lake that afternoon with the canoe. We paddled around for a decent amount of time and pulled up to the shore to let the kids play around. It was really a beautiful day, perfect for hanging out lakeside and people watching. The kids had so much fun digging up rocks and clamshells. Before heading home, we decided to meander out onto the lake again. While out in the middle of the lake, hubs thought it would be a great idea to let our son jump out of the canoe and into the lake. I protested- loudly. But it didn't seem like I was going to win this one so I opted to compromise. Fine, I said, but only if we get a little closer to shore. If we tip this dang thing over, I want to be a little closer in. So Hub prepared my son for the fact that the water would be very cold and told him to go over the edge- easy. Easy does not come naturally to a six year old ball of energy so he went bailing out over the edge. Needless to say, we ALL felt how cold the water was. Hub's popped out of the water first and flipped the canoe back over, at the same time pushing our two-year-old daughter back into it. She was completely ballistic, poor thing. Our son was laughing hysterically, he thought it was the funnest thing ever. Hub retrieved his hat and a flip flop that was floating near us and we proceeded to swim back to shore, towing our canoe with us. At this point, the canoe was full to the brim with lake water, our gear, and both kids. Poor babygirl was screaming bloody murder and littleman was completely hysterical the whole way in. The water was cooooold and even though we were swimming pretty hard, I was shivering. I can see why the swimmers I see going across the lake wear wetsuits. Looking back, it really wasn't that bad. I just felt really bad for babygirl who at that point was overtired and the shock of tipping over was just too much for her to handle. She fell asleep before we even turned out of the parking lot, but we were all burnt out from being in the sun all day. We skipped the long run.

So last night, we made up for it. Four miles, measured from our house....is pretty much all the way around one side of town. West Cap down Harbor to Reed to Jefferson and up West Cap back home seems like a really long way...but somehow it's just barely over four miles. I have no idea how long it took us since we didn't look at the clock before we left. All I know is that we finished it, and I FELT the extra mile. My knees are aching today but otherwise I feel great. We are going to need to get some reflective gear, because we have been running a lot at night and as these runs get longer and longer we are finding that there are less and less streetlights. I think that some of the knee pain is from running on the sidewalk as opposed to the asphalt but I am not running on the streets without reflectors on. I found myself in disbelief while we were running- this was the longest run we have done to date. And then found myself in further disbelief that we would be over doubling this by our last training run and even further, running this over THREE TIMES for our race in just a few weeks. I am speechless every time I think about this. Speechless but hopeful.

So we have another three miles on the slate for tonight. I hope my knees can hold out for it. I'm sure that it will feel like a walk in the park after last night......here's hopin.

Officially, officially week ONE

This week officially kicks off training week one. I thought it was last week, but after I went through my calendar and wrote my training plan in starting from race day and working backwards, I discovered that it is in fact this week. Woooohooo!! Last week I did my highest mileage week yet, coming in at just under 11 miles. Small potatoes compared to what it will be these next few weeks.

Monday: stretch and strengthen. Jacob had a great plan that we would alternate, one would do sit-ups while the other jump roped. It kept us moving and our heart rate up, definitely up. I wound up doing 125 sit ups and lost track of jumps. Moving on to lunges. I haven't done lunges in forEVER and Jacob suggested I try them with weights. Big mistake. Bad form and weak leg muscles lead to a slight leg bicep pull. Ouch. Time to lay off. Then we moved on to bench press. I feel so weak, but I know that time will improve everything. Stretching felt great after that, and we did a loooong stretch which he usually doesn't partake in. Something about feeling like a jackass. I don't know.

Tuesday: Three mile run. After locking up the house, I realized that my iPod was safely tucked away inside the locked vehicle. Oh noes!! Jacob said, "it's not a big deal, try running with out it. You might like it." I have never partaken in naked running like that, but I figured why not? Turns out that I LOVED it. I could converse with Jacob (kinda) which was a great indicator of how much I was pushing myself. Also, surprisingly enough, I felt like the miles were passing faster than they felt when I was plugged into my headphones. Maybe because I wasn't constantly irritated by the cords and the earbuds almost falling out. Whatever it was, it was great. We talked about our goals for the running and our get-fit weight-loss plans. We kept moving the whole time except for at stop lights and I somehow had enough gas at the end to sprint to the finish.

Last night was a cross training night. Since we only have one bicycle (not for long, I hope) we wound up doing another weight training night. Back and biceps, accompanied by jump rope and 100 knee ups on the tower of power. I was sweating bullets by the time we finished and it felt AMAZING.

Jacob has lost 12 lbs in the past two weeks and is fitting into his "skinny jeans" lol. (They aren't really skinny, just his smaller size that he has been agonizing over fitting into for over a year.) I haven't really lost anything in the past two weeks, but I am feeling great!! Only downside? My jeans are disgustingly baggy in the booty area. Not cute. Can't wait to buy new, smaller ones!!!

Late night runs = true romance

My husband and I have been working really hard on our garage, trying to get it situated for our home gym. He has always dreamed of having one, and after several months of buying pieces here and there, we have everything to start off. Here's where we left off two nights ago. We still want to get the rubber floor mats and maybe some mirrors to go along that blank wall, but we are pretty happy with it so far. (PS- Did you know that mirrors cost roughly $7/sq.ft?? Yikes!) About two hours before this picture was taken, that wall was completely covered with floor to ceiling shelving that was full. Yes, we had that much crap. Getting that taken down and moving everything around was a workout in itself.

I have been pretty irritated the past few days because it's been so hot and the only suitable running bottoms that I have are black pants that make my legs feel like they are on fire. I knew I had a pair at some point that went to just below the knee...if only I knew where they were. How does someone lose a pair of shorts? I used them a few months ago, and then they disappeared. I was mourning the loss of them, when I just happened to open my sock drawer last night for the first time in over two months (because all I've been wearing lately are sandals and slippers and my running socks get stored in my gym bag), and there they were! Shoved into the back of the drawer were my beloved running capris. I don't really know the technical term, they are shorter than capris, but whatever. Woohoo, I have two pairs of running bottoms now!

Yesterday was a pretty mild summer day for us so once the sun went down it cooled down very quickly. It was beautiful by 10:30 when we finally made it out the door. I wound up throwing on my long sleeved top, it was actually a little bit cold for a tank top. Off we went, down West Capitol. Now you would think that since Ironman is moving almost 300 lbs and hasn't run in over a month, that he would be slow and stiff. Not my man, he left me in the dust! I had a little bit of shin discomfort for the first mile but it smoothed out for me. Overall, a really nice run. I love running with Ironman because he really pushes me and keeps me going. If I had been by myself, I most certainly would have started walking. Three miles under our belts. Twelve weeks and three days to go until our half marathon debut!!!

Seen on my run:

• Scary creepy guy in car lot. Ironman saw him but I didn't until I turned my head and he was rightthere. I think I cussed when I saw him.
• Three cops sitting in a parking lot chatting. They were there on the way out and back.
• Stolen speed limit sign in the back of parked truck. I giggled when I saw this; I certainly wasn't breaking any speed laws!
  
• Ironman's concerned glances back at me every time someone would walk or bike by. Awwww....he loves me, he really loves me.

Tonight, another three!!

The heat is on...

Literally, and figuratively. This week Saturday is the twelve week mark from our half marathon. This means to me that I really need to kick it into gear and get to following the training plan that I have scribbled all over my calendar. Twelve weeks to train myself and increase my stamina to be able to complete 13.1 miles. Right now, my longest outing is 3 miles. Lame. And to top it all off, I've strategically planned my training in the middle of the hottest quarter in Sacramento. At least the actual event in October will seem like a piece of cake temperature-wise.

I went out yesterday at around noon for a quick 2 mile jaunt. It had been over two weeks since I had last ran, so I was a little stiff starting out, but that passed pretty quickly. For my birthday last year, my lovely in-laws gave me a pair of running pants, jacket, and training tank. The jacket is completely out of the question at this point, but I ventured out in the pants and tank. Unfortunately for me, my two mile loop is on the road with not a tree in sight. And the running 'fit is black. I was burning up by the end of the first mile. I was really wishing that I had bought those capris that I had my eye on at Sports Authority a few days ago. I was completely dry-mouthed and could feel the steam coming off of my head. For a split second, I considered losing the tank and running in just my sports bra...for a split second only. I'm certainly not that brave yet. And plus, my tummy has not seen the light of day in approximately six years since my lovely son was born. I would certainly cause an accident with the sunlight reflecting off of the sheer whiteness of it all.

I am happy that I finished the full two miles but was completely wiped out at the end. The combination of the dry heat, the dry mouth, and altogether too much clothing left me dripping wet and tomato-faced by the time I walked in the door. I read an article a few weeks ago that recommended driving your path and leaving partially frozen bottles of water hidden along the way so that you can stop and hydrate. It seems ridiculous for such a short run, but it really would've been helpful yesterday. Maybe next time I'll suck it up and hop into the Eppie's for a minute and see if they would be willing to give me a glass of water.

I'm pretty upset with myself that I haven't been following the training plan thus far. I really wanted to get a head start and be ready well in advance. But nope! I like to wait until the absolute last minute to do stuff. So here goes. Hopefully you will start to see my mileage increase consistently over the next twelve weeks.