Number 100!

It's hard to believe that this is my 100th blog post. It seems just like yesterday that I started this journey...

And it all started because I wanted to change, to challenge myself. I will admit that I have been slacking a bit lately in trying new things, in challenging myself. But I've been a bit busy lately.

It's just 6 days until I marry my partner, my best friend, the one with whom I want to spend the rest of my life. It's not an instantaneous thing, this whole wedding planning. Even if it is the non-wedding of weddings. And planning takes time, unfortunately.

It's a 27 days until I run my first full marathon. And I want to do my best, so training is something that takes a lot of my time and effort. It's not just running - I'm lifting and doing core work. It's exhausting on every single level. But the results I've seen are nothing short of amazing in my eyes.

And then there's the rest of life. The Boy, and the other monsters that I've grown to love. Work. Play. And sleep sometimes.

It's exhausting, but it's my life. And I can honestly say that I've never been happier. Is it perfect? No, I'd be delusional if I said it was. But it's pretty stinking awesome.

Thursday's Run

Thursday was an easier run than Tuesday, but it felt a lot harder. It probably didn't help that it was horribly hot outside either - when you're used to running in close to freezing or colder weather, when it gets to be in the 60s F and 70s F it's almost unbearable. But I finished, and my average pace for the workout was about the same as the last time I did it, so even with the immense amount of sweating I did alright. The workout on Thursday was 15 minutes brisk and 5 minutes jogging, repeated 3 times. On Thursday I ran 6.95 miles in 60 minutes, for an average pace of 8:37. Not too shabby.

Saturday's Run

Oh, the long run once again. And once again this run was on the super duper hilly roads north-ish of town. Unfortunately, my intestines were not having anything to do with running yesterday morning, and so it was a pretty crappy run, pardon the pun. There were no catastrophes, but there is probably nothing worse that trying to move yourself up and down hills when your insides are cramping so badly that you want to curl up in the fetal position. I did finish. And I only walked up one block of the last steep hill. I didn't break any records but I toughed it out, with the help of my friends. On Saturday I ran 15.36 miles in 2:26:43, for an average pace of 9:33.

Something old.....

10 days. Until the BIG DAY.

And, no, I'm not talking about the marathon. That's a month away.

Holy crap. It's a month away.

Breathe....

So, yeah, remarkably calm about the wedding. Now freaking out about the marathon. If it's not one thing, it's another....

Anywho, back to the topic of the wedding. Specifically, traditions surrounding weddings. Even though we are going the non-traditional route (only inviting immediate family, no reception, minimal fuss), there is a part of me that insanely clings to some of the traditions involved with weddings. Like the cake. And I've been thinking about the whole something old, something new tradition as of late.

Aaron would probably joke that I'm the "something old" being brought into the ceremony. Which is true, but doesn't really fit the role the tradition refers to. And pretty much everything I'll be wearing is new. And there is a lot of blue going on. And borrowing something just feels weird.

But there is this part of me that feels like I need to cling to some sort of tradition... even if it doesn't make sense.

And then there's the part of me that thinks that none of this stuff matters, that all that matters is that  we get married and start a new phase in our lives together. And really isn't that the most important thing of all?

Tuesday's Run

I don't know why I thought Tuesday's run was going to be shorter. I apparently can't do math anymore. Tuesday was a goal pace workout - 1 mile GP, 2 minute jog, 1 mile GP, 2 minute jog, 2 mile GP, 5 minute jog, repeated twice. Just the goal pace running was 8 miles. But I think I now have a good idea what an 8:30 pace feels like, since we were pretty spot on at 8:30, give or take a little bit of speeding up and slowing down from hills, etc. Considering my actual goal pace is 8:40, I did pretty well. But then it was only 8 miles... On Tuesday I ran 9.42 miles in 1:22:03, for an average pace 8:42.

SPRING!

The problem with taking so long between posts, is that all my inspiration dissolves into the chaos that is my brain right now, and I forget what I wanted to write about. So this will be a mishmash of various topics.

At the forefront of the goings on in the Great White North is that spring is finally here! As proof, I shall provide photographic evidence:

It's the green thing in the center of the picture

 

If you don't know what is in the picture, it's the start of a tulip that I discovered earlier this week. The Boy and I planted 7 bulbs last fall, and it appears that all 7 survived the winter and the squirrels and are in the process of becoming flowers. We got a variety pack of bulbs, so the colors are going to be a surprise, which is kinda fun. I sort of hope that they are blooming before the family arrives in two weeks...

 

Aaron moved the last of his stuff from his rental, and now our house is stuffed to the gills. But it's another step, a big one, towards our life together and so it's a relief that it's finally done. Plus, paying a mortgage and utilities on one place helps a lot.

 

Last, but definitely not least, it is now 2 weeks until the big day, the day when I take that big step and marry my other half, my sweetheart, my love. We're down to the final little details, finally, and so far everything is falling into place. I'm trying to make a list of the stuff that still needs to be done, but when I sit down to write it down my mind goes blank. And I am surprisingly not overly stressed out about it all; so far no panic attacks or extreme binge eating episodes. I am happy and (mostly) calm, and I think Aaron has a lot to do with that. His attitude is that we just need to get hitched, the rest of it doesn't matter. I slightly agree with him about that, but I want to look good in the pictures too.

 

And then there was the running....

 

Tuesday's Run

This week was supposed to be a recovery week after Saturday's long run of 20 miles. I say "supposed to" because in reality, it was just as hard, if not harder, than previous weeks. On Tuesday we did ladder fartleks - 1 min run, 1 minute jog, 2 minute run, 2 minute jog, 3 minute run, 3 minute jog, 4 minute run, 4 minute jog, repeated three times. The fast parts were averaging between 6:30 and 7:30 average pace, which is pretty awesome. On Tuesday I ran 6.94 miles in 60 minutes, for an average pace of 8:38.

Thursday's Run

And then there was Thursday. The dreaded hill repeats. Fortunately for my glutes and hammies it's been an extremely wet "spring" so we were relegated to doing the workout on Seven Bridges Road. Not that Seven Bridges Road is easy at all, it's just a lot easier than going up and down a ski hill. For proof of the elevation changes, here's what the Shiny told me I did on Thursday:

Up and down three times

 

As my friend Ben likes to say, those poor runners in Nebraska are missing out on all the fun. We did this run once last year in running group, and I ended up walking the last little bit the second, and final time, through up the road. This year, I was tired on the last time up, but I ran the whole way. Ben and I both did much better this year. Which proves that our training is really clicking this year, and hopefully will continue on through to race day, which is now only 5 weeks away! On Thursday I ran 7.74 miles in 1:08:45, for an average pace of 8:53.

 

Today's Run

Long run Saturday. And I really felt it. We started out too fast, again, and were struggling a bit at the end. Not as bad as last Saturday with the 20 miles, but still not optimal. We are going to really try to go out slower in the beginning next Saturday, to see if we can finish stronger. Overall it was a pretty good run. Today I ran 16.13 miles in 2:21:14, for an average pace of 8:45. Just 5 seconds slower than my goal pace! 

 

Long runs and head colds

I was planning on making a post about Mother's Day, and how grateful I am to have not only my amazing little boy, but now two more awesome boys that will soon be my stepsons...

And then I got clobbered by a stupid head cold, and I can't be bothered to do much at all.

Maybe next time.

And now for what you've been waiting for....

Saturday's Run

Saturday was the big kahuna of long runs, the one that is the closest to the race while training. And I will admit that I was scared of the idea of running for 20 miles, by far the longest I've run in one go ever. Just the idea of that distance is extremely intimidating. Especially considering I've mentally broken down on shorter runs in the past. And I must say I am extremely grateful (there's that word again) that I have three really good friends to run with, that help me get through the miles with mostly laughs and songs and jazz hands. And despite the sore feet and ankles for the next day or so, I feel like I've conquered this mountain, and it feels really, really good. On Saturday I ran 20.14 miles in 3:01:17, for an average pace of 9:00. I may just be able to do this thing...

I am so not dirty. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

The English language is a curious thing. On one hand, a shower is something you do to get clean. On the other, it's a party for a female that is either a) getting married or b) having a baby. So one has to question: is this use of the term "shower" for a party implying that soon-to-be married ladies or soon-to-be mothers are inherently filthy and therefore need a group of people to get together to make them clean?

I digress.

A while back my bridesmaids (which is another term that I find degrading but have to use so that people know what I'm talking about) convinced me that I NEEDED to have a bridal shower, that my life wouldn't be complete without one or something. They probably didn't put it that way, but hindsight is a fickle thing, you know. I agreed to go along with their shenanigans and last Sunday was my little bridal shower party thing.

My two requirements for this shindig were there needed to be good food and socially acceptable brunch time alcoholic beverages. And it was going to be small, with only a handful of fun women that wouldn't be upset that I didn't want to play any lame games. And I must say it was a win on all possible levels.

I could go on and on and on, but I won't. But I will say that I have some AMAZING friends. And swipe some pictures from Facebook from the event, just because.

Tuesday's Run

Tuesday was another goal pace workout - 1 mile warmup, followed by 1 mile at goal pace and 2 minutes of jogging repeated twice with a 1 mile cool down. It was a lot colder than I expected, so I way under-dressed. The run itself wasn't too bad though. On Tuesday I ran 4.19 miles in 36:59, for an average pace of 8:50.

Thursday's Run

Today, well, was rotten. Rain started just before I was to head to running group from the Y. If it was a couple of degrees colder it would have been snow. Since Saturday's run is going to be 20 miles, Coach decided it was OK to just get out there and do something. I tried to do at least 4 miles, but after a little bit I was soaked to the bone and just wanted to get warm and dry. Today I ran 3.6 miles in 29:52, for an average pace of 8:17. I am so glad I brought a towel with today.

Time flies, or something like that

So, yeah. It's been well over a week since I posted to my blog. My life has been pretty crazy, and when things get crazy certain things fall the the wayside. Like blogging. And apparently cleaning.

For expediency, I feel bullet points will suffice to recap what's been going on in the last week plus.

• There was more snow. The less said about this the better.
• There was running. More will be said about that below.
• I assisted Aaron while he was DJing a wedding. AND I got paid for it. It was pretty awesome.
• I hung out with the future siblings-in-law. And ate peanut butter waffles. And drank mimosas. The Lowry is a pretty awesome place. And it was good seeing everyone.
• I went shopping with Aaron to get the last bits for him for the wedding. I was mildly disappointed with Macy's.
• I rested. Not enough, but I did.
• I worked. Too much. While watching dirty movies at the stinkiest place in the region. But the contractors were pretty nice so it wasn't too bad.
• I didn't sleep enough. Or run on Tuesday.
• It rained. A lot.
• I helped Aaron move stuff, as much as I could.
• I didn't have a panic attack from the sheer quantity of stuff that was moved to our house.
• I realized that it is now the month in which I'll be marrying my true love, my other half. And that is so awesome that I find myself dancing from the joy of it all.

That's all I could think of right now. I'm tired and exhausted and happy and scared and so many other feelings and emotions it's insane. But life is really, REALLY good right now.

 The Last Week in Running

Thursday, April 24
So, yeah, bad weather. So no specific workout, just got out there and ran. My feet got completely soaked. My shoes weighed like 20 pounds. It was not pleasant. I ran 4.28 miles in 39:18 for an average pace of 9:10. Gross.

Saturday, April 26
This long run was LONG. And HILLY. How hilly, you ask? I stole this from friend Cassie, one of those that suffered with me:

Yeah. That's hilly.

 

The surprising thing for me was that the time seemed to fly by, even though it was pretty torturous. I definitely felt it for the next four days - I didn't feel back to normal until late Tuesday. On Saturday I ran 18.89 miles in 2:55:40, for an average pace of 9:17 pace.

 

Thursday, May 1

As I said before, I didn't run on Tuesday - not only did I not feel normal-ish, I had to work late and so I just didn't have time to run. On Thursday was a goal pace tempo run - 10 minute warmup, 40 minutes at goal pace, and 10 minute cool down. It was very VERY hard to speed up at all to goal pace, but I think we were pretty close. I haven't downloaded the data yet to really check. I am very glad this was a recovery week though. On Thursday I ran 6.79 miles in 60 minutes, for an average pace of 8:50.

 

Saturday, May 3

Another Saturday, another long run. Where last Saturday's run was super hilly, this run was super flat. We ran out to Park Point, which is about as flat as you can get in Duluth. And the Army folks were doing their two mile run test thingie, which was kinda funny when you're running 16. I made a point of cheering them on. I don't think they appreciated it. Oh, and I forgot my shiny, so I ran sans-Garmin, which was kinda sucky and liberating at the same time. They say that it's good to run without a watch sometimes, whoever they are. Mae had a watch, though, so I got a time and distance. Today I ran 16 miles in about 2:20:00, for an average pace of 8:45. And I felt pretty good the whole time, and after. Nice.