I have fallen off the wagon

So I missed my group training on Saturday. It was a really hectic weekend...Jackson's final T-ball game of the season, followed by a team pizza party, then home for a nap, then headed to Ethan's birthday party at the Pumpkin Patch and a pizza party afterwards. (We had a lot of pizza on Saturday).

I kept telling myself that I would go for my long run on Sunday, which was a down week and only 6 miles, but the run never happened. So, back to lacing up my shoes for short training runs this week. After this hectic weekend, I realized how much I value the camaraderie of the team trainings.

Longest Run yet

I ran 8 miles on Saturday. Enough said...

My first blister

Training on Saturday was the longest run so far this season, 6 miles. And the old adage definitely holds true, the last mile is always the longest and hardest. I ran with the same group of 4 other women that I have been running with for the past 3 weeks. We all run very well together and they are great motivators to keep running, even when I want to stop running and just walk.

Our run on Saturday was along the C&O Canal path running parallel to the Potomac River. It was supposed to be an easier run since it was a gravel path, but it had rained the night before and the path was a little uneven and rocky. For the first time in the 5 weeks of running, I came home and was sore and noticed the beginning of a blister on my pinky toe. I think that I felt it this week more than others because of the uneven terrain and adding an additional mile to the run. But, I completed the whole thing!

My goals for this week is to increase my pace and increase my intervals.

Next time, my first adventure in picking up Jackson from school in the double jogging stroller.


Visit my fundraising page to donate or check my fundraising progress.

I have been totally under the weather for the past few days and have not updated my blog about the progress in my training this week. There was no training this week so obviously nothing to update.


Let's rewind to last Saturday, Sept. 13th. Our team met in Bethesda, MD to train on the Capital Crescent Trail. According to our coaches, this 13 mile trail is the busiest in the whole country. After our training run, I sure believe it. We were instructed to use proper trail etiquette and only run 2 abreast and to let someone know if we are going to pass them by yelling "on your left." After doing a warm up jog, (which by the way does not count as part of our mileage for the day-not really fair), I immediately found a group of other women who were going at the same pace as mine. It was really humid that day, so it was much more difficult than the past runs have been. We ended up at a slower pace of 3 minutes running, 1 minute walking and I kept this pace up for about 4.5 miles and then hit a wall and got a massive cramp in my side, so I ran for 1 min. and walked for 1 minute. But, I did complete all 5 miles, so I can say that I have completed my longest run so far.

Now, fast forward to this week. I woke up Monday morning with a sore throat and overall achy-ness which lasted until Tuesday when I started with the sneezing and runny nose. I was able to take a few days off and finally got back out to try to run on Thursday. I got out on the road and found I had no energy, so I changed it to a long walk instead of a run. Even though I didn't have the energy for a full run, it still felt good to get out and get moving again. Although the whole "breathe in your nose and out your mouth" made the walk a little more challenging.

I will write another update soon about my best training run yet and a great fundrasing idea.

As always, if you can, check out my training page to see my fundraising progress and help me in the fight to find a cure for Leukemia & Lymphoma.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/wdw09/kmyerschqf

I never knew there was so much traffic at 6AM.

I have been doing my training runs early in the morning and it has been working well for me. I like to get up and get it out of the way so I can go on and start my day. Plus, it gives me some totally un-interrupted time by myself. It's not the first way that I would choose to spend some quality "me-time", but I have to take what I can get.

I have tried to take both kids out in the jogging stroller to do runs before and it usually is not very successful. Even though they are on wheels, it's hard pushing an extra 70lbs! And stopping every few minutes to fetch a fallen sippy-cup or referee an argument i.e. "stop pulling your brother's/sister's hair", really throws a wrench in the momentum. So, being the early riser that I am, I have been getting up and out for the runs by 5:45 or 6:00AM.

I went out this morning for a run and was surprised by the amount of cars that are out at 6:00 AM. There was even a little traffic back-up trying to get out of our neighborhood street onto the main street. So, about the run...I felt really good this morning and have figured out after a few trial and error runs, that I do much better on a semi-empty stomach. Just a power-bar and a glass of water and I'm good to go. I have reached a personal goal this week and ran a complete 1.0 mile without stopping for a walk. Previously I was running for about 4 minutes (1/2 mile) and then walking for 1 minute. Before this, it would take me about 15 minutes to go 1 mile and now I am at about a 12 min/mile pace. Not Olympic athlete pace, but an improvement for me!

I am taking tomorrow (Fri) off from training, and then will be training with my team on Saturday morning in Bethesda, MD for a 5 mile run-my longest yet! Check back for details and updates.


Here is the link to m fundraising page:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/wdw09/kmyerschqf

Better late then never...

So after 3 weeks of training for my first 1/2 marathon, I have decided to keep this blog as a way to track and record my training progress, highs and lows, as I prepare to run my first 1/2 marathon on Jan 11th, 2009.

I am participating in this event for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society, through their Team in Training program. As part of the program, I am also raising money to help fund research for blood cancers, help provide for families that are currently effected by blood cancers, and hopefully find a cure!

I hope that you will follow me on this journey as I strive toward my goal on Jan 11th 2009.