Burning Eye Balls

My run yesterday (Tuesday) was at Chollas Lake.  It was already getting pretty warm but thankfully there was a light breeze and lots of shade.  It was a busy park again, in fact this time I saw a couple of moms walking with strollers on the dirt/sand path.  At first I thought, "Good for you getting out with your children."  Then I couldn't help but think, "Sucks to be you, ha ha my Child is in school." Cruel, I know.

Once I got running it was going very well.  I had my music this time and that was really making my run more enjoyable.  After lap one I was starting to get really hot.  I went through half my bottle of water in the first lap and knew I was going to need another two laps to fill up my 25 minutes of running, so I took a short walk break and then got back to running. When I started my second lap I noticed a man that was in pretty good shape, at least FAR better shape than myself, who had started to run just in front of me.  He was moving with a pretty slow pace and I know this because I was keeping up with him.  Let's just say my pace is the slowest known to man kind.  Anyhow about half way through the loop he started walking, I of course kept running.  I'm not going to lie, it felt pretty good passing him.  I finished my lap, and took another walking break.

The last lap was pretty tough.  I found it much easier to do some short sprints and walks.  By the end of the lap I had sweat dripping down my face and my arms.  I stopped to stretch and the sweat started to drip into my eyes.  I couldn't decide if I was proud for pushing myself hard enough to sweat in my eye balls or if it stung like a mo-fo.

With the burning eye balls I decided that I might need to go get a new hat that has one of those terri cloth strips in the front to catch the sweat.  Yep, that will be my next running purchase.  

Chollas Lake Park Run

Yesterday afternoon I had a 20 minute run.  I didn't make it out until a little after one so it was pretty hot out, I would say just shy of 90 degrees.  It was obvious I had to find a well shaded location to run.  My neighborhood is a little hit and miss when it comes to shade, and I really needed to have a change of scenery any how.

I found a nice little park called Chollas Lake Park, in the College Grove area.  About a 10 minute drive from my house.  I was pleasantly surprised.  There were families all around the park, just hanging out playing and having picnics.  The trail around the lake has Eucalyptus trees making an almost entirely shaded trail.  It does have a small section that is completely exposed to the sun but it's pretty small, it makes me run faster to get back into the cool shade. There were a few little hills to add a challenge every now and then and it was a dirt path so I'm guessing it was a little easier on my knees.

Since I was a doofus and forgot my iPod on the charger at home, I didn't really have a way of watching my time... I was pretty irritated with myself for forgetting it.  So my first time around the lake I didn't think too much about it, the second time I found a nice little sign that had a post about the milage around the lake.  The lake loop is .8 miles so two laps was 1.6.  I thought since my last 20 minute run got me to 1.3 miles, it was fair to say 1.6 miles took me about 20 minutes now.

The nice thing about this lake is that it had a great playground.  I thought it would be the perfect place for Scott and I to take turns running.  One can stay with Lincoln at the play ground while the other runs.  It would be a great place for Sunday runs.

Chollas Lake Park was a fantastic find.  I'm looking forward to sharing it with Scott, and probably getting lapped several times by him.

I might try to take pictures on my next run at the park and share with you all.  Maybe I'll just bring Lincoln with me and let him run too.  We'll see how he does.  He is running a 100 meter dash in October so he needs some training too.  Lol.

Happy running everyone!      

Bitter Sweet Running

I have had my good friends in town the last week.   They have two super cute kiddos, one's almost four, and the other is a little over one.  Then we've got Lincoln in the mix.  It was so wonderful to see my friends and have our children play together, however two boys and a little girl are a handful for two tired Mommies.

Even though I was pretty tired, I got up and did my runs.  I didn't make it to boot-camp though.  The first one I just skipped, the second one I got a block away from the park and realized that because I had three car seats in my car I had taken my mat and weights out of the car!  I turned around and slept on the couch.  The punch line here is that later that day when we were loading the kids into the car I realized my mat had been in the car the whole time!

Monday I took off, and Tuesday was an easy 15 minute run/walk. On Wednesday I had a 20 minute run/walk and I woke up at 6 am to get it out of the way.  Since I wasn't with my running buddy I listened to my music, actually for the first time.  That was great, kept me going for sure.  The super cool weather was amazing too.  I ran the whole 20 minutes, including hills.  I actually felt pretty good during the whole run.  Once I got home I went out with the car and drove the route again.  I was slightly disappointed, I had only ran 1.3 miles in 20 minutes.  I was glad that I could run the whole thing, but I surely hope as I continue to run I find my time a little better.

Thursday was my boot-camp day that I had to turn around.  Friday was my off day.  Sunday was my long run day.  I got up and ran around 8:30.  It was already hot out.  I found my calves getting tight pretty quickly, probably because I had so much time between runs.  What I have learned from that run and my following run on Sunday is that I start to hit my stride after 20 minutes has past.  My calves loosen up a bit and I finally feel like I can keep going.  Unfortunately my runs are only 20-30 minutes right now.

I'm really happy with my training but I'm finding it hard to get up for boot-camp.  It's not as hard to get out the house to run, but boot-camp is becoming hard.  It use to be that I had to have something forcing me to get out of the house to work out.  As I progress in this training I am beginning to appreciate not having a time that I have to go run.  Boot-camp is at 5:30 am, so if I'm going to do it that's when I have to get up.  My runs can be done when I want to do them, and for the most part, I actually don't have too hard of a time doing them.  Does this mean I should stop boot-camp and stick to my running plan?  I realize I need some cross training twice a week, but I do have pools near by that I can start doing some swimming.  I'm really struggling with this whole delima.  I love boot-camp itself, but not able to keep up with the morning time right now.  I love my boot-camp instructors, and hate to let them down by canceling my membership... which I have no idea if I can even do that.  It doesn't make since to pay 99.00 a month for something that I'm struggling to make it to.

So it's been a bitter sweet running week.  I have some stuff to figure out... maybe chat with my hubby and boot-camp instructor.  What do you all think?

The Long Run Day

Today was my "long run" day.  My plan was to run from my house to the closest Starbucks, and then my running buddy's boyfriend would pick us all up and take us home... because after running for 25 minutes I thought I wouldn't really want to walk all the way home, and I was right.  I suppose I could have ran a loop route but coffee and a bagel seemed like a good goal to run for.  

I'm still a Mom without her Husband home, so I took my son with me.  I have attempted to find a jogging stroller on craigslist but other Moms (half-marathon training Mother's?  Doubtful!) have manage to beat me to the punch.  Lincoln ended up getting a free ride in his regular stroller.  The wheels in the front locked up so that made it a bit easier.

We got out of the house at 10ish, and it was already getting pretty warm out.  I need to consider getting out earlier in the morning maybe more like 9.  We started with a little fast walk to warm up.  We ran for awhile until we hit a hill, I have already forgotten but I THINK I ran up part of the hill.  Once we got to the top of the hill (which was challenging pushing a stroller) Lincoln decided to tell me I needed to go faster.  He also asked Angie and I to "please stop talking."  I assured him that we were going to start running again and then he wouldn't hear any talking from me.

I am a terribly slow runner, which really doesn't bother me.  As long as I am picking up my feet and not walking I feel good about it.  Sweet Angie is running faster than I am and is kind enough to look back, run backwards and cheer me on when another hill comes.  "Come on girl, you can do it.  Just get to the light ahead."  I kept pushing on at a painfully slow pace and made it to the top.  We walked the cross walks and then ran the rest of the way.

Overall the run wasn't as difficult as I had expected.  Other than being super slow, I feel like I had very little to complain about.  Oh and I got coffee and a bagel with an egg and ham.  It was yummy and totally worth the run.  Tomorrow is a 15 minute run, I'll worry about that tomorrow.

1st (should have been 3rd) Day of Training

Today should have been my third day of running, but it was really my first. I was in Las Vegas this past week and totally forgot how my training was suppose to go so my first day ended up being a 2 mile walk... once I realized my mistake I decided that what I did was going to count as my first day.  My next day of training was suppose to be yesterday, the day I got home from Las Vegas.  Well, let's just say I was far too tired, had bug bites all over my legs and not really going to make it for a run. As friends and books have told me I am not going to "make up" for the lost day.  Just continue on with my training as if nothing ever happened.  

Today I went for my for my first real run.  My neighbor Angie is my running buddy.  After getting home from Lincoln's swim lessons at six in the evening, Angie and I geared up with our water bottles (which I wasn't going to bring because I felt like a wimp until I saw Angie had hers...), dropped Lincoln off with her boyfriend (just next door) in the awesome snake kiddy pool they have and headed down the road for some sweatin' time.

I'm only guessing, but I would say it was in the mid 80's out and pretty humid, that's always a plus right?  We jogged the first 6 minutes then we walked until we heard the 7.5 minute beeper.  Neither of us have a watch so Angie brought her kitchen timer... classy runners.  Then we ran again for about 5 minutes walked for a bit and then ran the rest of the way home.

Right now I am remembering it as not being too horrible, maybe I should consider writing my blog as soon as I get done with my run... or at least jotting down my feelings at the time.  I didn't think I would like the whole talking while running thing but it was helpful to pass the time, and maybe it will help me have a healthier cardio stamina.  I also kept thinking about the spaghetti I was going to make once we got home.

It was only 15 minute right?  How bad can that really be?  Well, let me tell you this, it's not the actual 15 minute run that's bad, it's thinking about how MUCH longer it will be in six months.  I have to keep reminding myself it's six months away, that's why you train... one training day at a time.

 Oh and I'm glad I was a wimp and brought my water bottle.  I learned two things from bringing it 1. No matter how short the run, water always makes you feel better and 2. I LOVE my 15.00 water bottle from Wal-Mart.  It doesn't bounce much at all, it's easy to retrieve and fits very comfortably and snug on my hips.

Time to go to bed so I can get up at 5 in the morning for my cross-training (boot-camp).  Freakin' awesome!

My Number One Fan

I can tell Lincoln is already going to be my number one fan.  He's testing out my new hat and water bottle belt.  He also wants to run a race.  I'm thinking I should sign him up for a fun little kids 1 mile run!

My New Training Plan

So I've taken several suggestions and ran them all together to what will hopefully work best for me.  Here it is, take it or leave it.

As you will notice I officially start on July 31st.  This means I have one run in Las Vegas... it's going to be a hot one too!

I will try to post some pictures of video of my running, just for your viewing/comedy pleasure.

week	SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
1(july 31st)	R/W 10 MIN	OFF/XT	R/W 10 MIN	R/W 15 MIN	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	R/W 25 MIN
2	R/W 15 MIN	OFF/XT	R/W 15 MIN	R/W 20 MIN	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	R/W 30 MIN
3	R/W 20 MIN	OFF/XT	R/W 20 MIN	R/W 25 MIN	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	R/W 35 MIN
4	R/W 25 MIN	OFF/XT	R/W 25 MIN	R/W 30	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	R/W 40 MIN
5	R/W 35 MIN	OFF/XT	R/W 35 MIN	R/W 40 MIN	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	R/W 45 MIN
6	R/W 35 MIN	OFF/XT	R/W 35 MIN	R/W 40 MIN	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	R/W 50 MIN
7	R/W 40 MIN	OFF/XT	R/W 40 MIN	R/W 45 MIN	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	R/W 60 MIN
8	R/W 50 MIN	OFF/XT	R/W 50 MIN	R/W 55 MIN	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	R/W 60 MIN
9	R/W 40 MIN	OFF/XT	R/W 45 MIN	R/W 40 MIN	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	R/W 90 MIN
10	R/W 35 MIN	OFF/XT	R/W 45 MIN	R/W 40 MIN	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	R/W 110 MIN
11	R/W 45 MIN	OFF/XT	R/W 45 MIN	R/W 40 MIN	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	R/W 3 MILES
12	R/W 4 MILES	OFF/XT	R/W 4 ILES	R/W 5 MILES	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	R/W 5 MILES
13	R/W 4 MILES	OFF/XT	R/W 5 MILES	R/E 5 MILES	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	6 MILES
14	4 MILES	OFF/XT	5 MILES	3 MILES	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	7 MILES
15	4 MILES	OFF/XT	6 MILES	3 MILES	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	8 MILES
16	5 MILES	OFF/XT	5 MILES	3 MILES	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	9 MILES
17	4 MILES	OFF/XT	7 MILES	5 MILES	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	7 MILES
18	4 MILES	OFF/XT	5 MILES	3 MILES	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	7 MILES
19	5 MILES	OFF/XT	5 MILES	4 MILES	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	7 MILES
20	3 MILES	OFF/XT	4 MILES	4 MILES	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	12 MILES
21	4 MILES	OFF/XT	5 MILES	5 MILES	XT 45-60 MIN	OFF	6 MILES
22	5 MILES	OFF/XT	4 MILES	5 MILES	5 MILES	OFF	4 ILES
23	4 MILES	4 MILES	OFF	OFF	OFF	OFF	OFF
24	RACE DAY