Milestone Long Run

Motivation can come in many ways.  As a self-appointed half marathon coach to my dad I gave him instructions to run an 11 miler today.  I also counciled him to run in the cool of the early morning and to drink lots of fluids.  He did run 11 miles starting at 6 am but he never drank anything before or during his run.  At least he did 2 out of 3.

Since I'd coached him to run 11 which is 2 miles further than he'd ever run before I felt the pressure to join him in running the distance.  He lives 4 hours away from me but we both ran 11 miles during the same time period. 

I haven't run longer then 10 miles since I started having knee troubles in October 2010.  The only way I did it was to purposely run 5 1/2 miles away from my house thus having no options but to run the 5 1/2 back home.

It just goes to show that you can do anything if you have the right motivation.

Prize for Perseverance

My Wednesday's run was terrible.  I had to peel myself out of bed that morning, then it took 45 minutes of slogging around the house before I threw myself outside for my run.  It was supposed to be a 3 mile tempo run.  After a mile of "heavy foot" syndrome I promised myself that if I did at least 2 miles at tempo pace then I could stop.  It worked.  I was tired for the rest of the day therefore I wasn't expecting too much for this morning's run.

I was greatly surprised though.  I was under some time constraints so my plan was for just an easy 7 miles.  As soon as I started I knew today was going to be much different than Wednesday.  This morning running was pure joy.  I felt like my feet had wings on them like Hermes.  In the end I ran an unintended progression run - each mile got at least 30 seconds faster than the previous mile - even the last mile which is mostly uphill.

The moral of the story is that if you have one bad running day don't give up, try and try again because you will be rewarded.

RUNNING errands

This morning the term "running errands" took on a new meaning for me. My husband needed new eyeglasses so I told him I'd meet him at the
optical shop...9 miles away.

Many times before now I've thought about running down to the library or to the grocery store but the question is how to get the items back home.  In Runner's World magazine I've seen articles about runners using backpacks or jogging strollers to put their groceries in, but I don't have either of those pieces of equipment.  Not to mention I live 2 miles UPHILL from any store, library, school, etc.  The other point being that I usually run early in the morning due to the young kids I still have at home.

But if you have the means and motivation then go for it...RUN your errands!

Runner vs Worms

Like most of the country we've experienced a lot of rain this week.  This led to 2 problems:
1) lack of desire to run in the rain
2) having to dodge lots and lots of worms

After watching an episode of PBSkids' "Wild Kratts", my son explained to me the reason earthworms come out when it rains.  The answer is simple: because they can.  The water makes it so easy for them to cover more ground at a faster pace since they don't have to chomp through all the dirt like they do underground.

However, I believe that the rain creates havoc for runners.  I really, really had to throw myself out the front door for this morning's run.  After a half mile I really, really wanted to turn around and come home.  One step led to another and after dodging hundreds of worms on the roads and hopping over dozens of puddles I eventually made it 4 miles away from the house.  This of course forced me to then run the 4 miles home.

So after slogging out 8 miles run in the rain I'd venture to say that water on the roads may make life easier for the worms, but it sure makes it rough for the runners.