April Hill Training

April has been a wild month with a lot of "hill training" in my life.  I've felt like I've been going up most of the month but this past week has finally found me on flat ground. 

Aprils first hill was when my oldest son moved to live with his dad.  One of the biggest hills of my life. I've spend some times spitting and sputtering and running in circles.  I've had to take a lot of walk breaks.   But this hill I will survive and I'm learning from it.  I've "dug in with all 10" as my sweet friend Krista would say.  I think right now he and I are climbing different hills but every now and again our hills merge.  I have a lot of hope that we will get back to the same flat ground. 

The 2nd hill was turning the big 3-6.  Quite a small hill compared to the first.  I honestly can't say I've ever been happier.  My boys and I finally have a home.  I have the dogs I've always wanted.  I'm close to my family.  What's the big deal?  Why does the number bother me so much? .................. Part of it may be that I'm in a different running age group!  Have you seen how fast the ladies run in their mid 30's and older?   :)

I ran few races too.  Rock The Parkway 1/2 Marathon, Lawrence 1/2 Marathon, and The Bronco Stampede 5k.  Coach Coleen's training schedule has really helped. 

 The plan for RTP was to race it.  See what I had in me.  I hadn't tapered due to begging Coleen not to take it easy on me because I needed the stress relief of running.  It was very humid.  I felt drained at the end.  I can't say I really enjoyed this race.  The first few miles were packed with runners.  Too narrow of road and the humidity made people super stinky!  I felt like I was short on air most of the run which I believe was due to the humidity.  I tried to keep up with the 2 hr pacer the first few miles which turned out to be a mistake.  It took me a while to find my groove and get comfortable...once again I believe was due to the humidity.  My goal time was under 2 hrs...My final time was 2hr 1 min.  A bit disappointed that I missed my goal by 1 min I was still happy because I ran the 2nd half faster than the first. 

I changed stratagies for the Lawrence 1/2.  Since it was only a week later and I still needed to complete the Running With The Cows in a few weeks I was going to take it easy and treat it as a training run.  Relax and have fun.  I chose to run with the 2hr 10 min pacer and did so for the first few miles.  The weather was cool with a little breeze-perfect running day!  Deciding the group was going too slow for me to run comfortably, I decided just to run.  I tried not to pay much attention to my Garmin.  There was a few times I looked at it because I felt like I was probably running too fast.  And Yes I Was! A little under an 8:30 mile was wayyyy to quick for a training run of 13.1 miles!  Part of the course was on the sidewalk.  Way too narrow for 2-way traffic of runners.  The last of the race went great with only 1 major hill and then down hill to the finish.  I felt like I finished strong with a bit left in the tank.  2:03 was my Garmin time.  Amazing what a cool crisp day can do for a body!  I doubt I will run this race again.  While the volunteers were great and post food delicious the course has a lot to be desired. 

Friendships, family, and running have gotten me through April.  Bring on May!  I am hoping that April showers bring May flowers!

New Beginning

March 2012 has began full of promises!  I've decided to commit to beginning training for my first ultra. The thought has gone through my head so many times over the past few years.  Even when I wasn't running I was thinking about running.  Whether it was, "Wow, I'm glad I'm not running in this blizzard!" to "Ugh, my damn back hurts I sure wish I could run!" it's always been in my mind.  I've used every excuse not to commit, "I really want to work on this relationship with, Insert mans name, I should spend time with, Insert mans name, instead of running." Or there was always, "I can't get up at 5 a.m. to run.  I just can't."
Well, blah blah blah!!! Every time I look in the mirror at my "matured" body I realize I'm not getting any younger!  Time to buck up and get er' done!  I feel as  though now is the best time to start working towards that goal.  My boys are both teenagers.  They don't need me around 24/7 any more.  My job requires no committment past 40 hours a week and I'm single.  Best of all I have my new love, Lily, a 2 year old Vizsla.  She is going to be a fantabulous running buddy! I've got the best coach leading the way and all the want to and desire to join the ultra running community.  My family supports me-even if the do occassionally question my sanity-through the thick and the thin.
I am in week 2 of training. It is oh-so-very early in the game of training for a 50.  Slowly but surely I am increasing my mileage as coach Coleen instrucs.  This weekend she will be showing me how to use bands for strength training.  I have to admit they scare me!  I've never used them before and I'm pretty sure they will make me hurt!  Ya ya, no pain no gain!  I have a feeling there's a lot of that ahead.  But hey, I totally believe that whatever doesn't kill me will make me stronger!

Entering the blog world

Quite honestly I wonder what I can possibly write about that somebody would want to read.  So if I'm boring I apologize ahead of time.  If I actually say something that strikes a comment, please share with me so I don't feel completely crazy for trying this!