Well it's September and the pollen must be rampant. I went out for my run yesterday and only made it 1 mile before my chest got tight and my eyes started burning and itching. By the time I got back inside, I had to take Benadryl just to breathe. I am still determined to get my miles in so I went out again today and had a much easier time. I am only running 4 miles because I do this on my lunch hour. I will save my long runs for Sundays when I have more time and there is less traffic.

At any rate, I would like to share some of the questions I have gotten over the years as I have trained and run my past marathons : Do you like to run - How do you run that far - Do you get tired - Why would you do that - How far is THIS marathon - and my all time favorite....Did you win? My answer to the last question is always the same - in my mind if I cross the finish line, I won!

Happy Running

Scenic Runs for the Race

Well it's been awhile since my last comments but like many of you I just came back from vacation and yes I did run. Like most everyone the change of scenery gave me a boost in my training. Unfortunately where my sister lives in South Carolina is very hilly and the run was painful on the uphill climb and a little scary on the downhill side. You don't realize just how steep the hill is until you start down and then it's too late to change your mind and walk because the momentum has driven you past your normal pace and to try and stop is as dangerous as finishing the downhill run because the bottom of the hill is coming quickly and you need the momentum to get up the next hill. Yes I was sore for a few days but to my surprise the total distance was in excess of 6 miles. What surprised me was I have not run this far yet on flat roads and I was not in that bad shape at the end of the run. Well to all keep up the effort and see you in October

Back from Hawaii

I haven't written in a while...I have been on vacation and getting ready for school. Hawaii was beautiful. I had found a "how to train on vacation" plan that I was going to follow, but I didn't. I did run on the beach twice with my husband (which was really hard work for me, but John was hardly breathing! However, he got really sore legs and I didn't. So there!). I went scuba diving and hiking, which I counted as crosstraining. Back at home I started up with a couple of short easy runs (2 milers), then moved up to 3 miles and tomorrow I will do 4 miles. Saturday I should be back on schedule with a seven mile run. Only eight more weeks to go...time to get to work! As Maya would say from Yourself Fitness Xbox game, "Work hard, work strong!"

Needed Distractions

It can be the smallest or weirdest things that keep us going day to day, and so far it has been Harry Potter keeping me running. I started adding mileage about the time the 7th book came out, so Harry, Hermoine and Ron have been keeping me company via book on tape every step so far. That is, until last Friday. Even more than my disappointment at the end of the series, was my disappointment at loosing my running partners. I barely noticed the miles slip by when I was caught up in finding horcruxes and fighting Voldemort. Now, I am aware of each and every step. Last week, I tried to go back to running with music, but it just wasn't the same. Today, I try again with a new audio book.

NINE WEEKS TO GO!!

I am happy to say my training is going well, and I'm really looking forward to the actual event of the half marathon on October 28th. Like Emily (see her last post) I am also with the Waco group who does the Galloway method (run-walk). I had my reservations about it at first. I thought it would surely make one much slower, but believe me, it doesn't. It saves your legs so you can keep up the pace in the long run. I did 10 miles on Saturday, and felt really good up until about the last mile (at which point I just had to put my head down and just keep moving). The other good thing is the people I run with are total nuts and we end up laughing about the weirdest stuff. That can be bad, though, if you are laughing and out of breathe from running at the same time!

Galloway Way

Well, I made the 8 miles! I ran with the Waco Galloway group for the first time, and I am not sure I would have made it through the distance without them. That group has been on a structured training schedule together for several weeks, but they were very nice to let me join in a little late. The Galloway method of combining walking and jogging made the whole distance much more beareable, plus it was a lot of fun to have a group of people to run with. I alternated looking forward to and dreading the beep of the watch counting our minutes as we switched back and forth from walking and running. Having the group meant I could stop focusing on the details (where are we going, how much further) and really just focus on the running. Very nice.

Change of Scenery... Same Pace

I was in Galveston for a couple of days last weekend, and had a great run on the sea wall! I am really glad I made that trip last week... I think it might not be running weather down there this weekend. It was really nice to be able to run in some new scenery, even though the waves were a little low. I have heard there are benefits to actually running on the sand, but since I am still counting completion as a success, I decided not to push it. I am looking forward to my longest run yet this weekend... 8 miles! It will definitely be a challenge, but I am excited for it.