Thursday after the race...

Today is the 4th day post race.  I feel pretty much fine.  In fact, I'm a little stir crazy for some exercise.  I've been purposefully resting the body as much as possible, to let everything recover.  My thighs are still a bit sore on the down stairs portion of the show, and my hips are a little sore on the final part of sitting down.  My toes are pretty ugly, though they've been uglier, and I'm gonna lose a few toenails.  I feel like that wouldn't have happened if I'd been confident enough about my calf to wear my Merrell barefoot shoes instead of my Rykas.  I haven't gotten nearly enough actual rest, like, the kind during which one actually lies down and sleeps!  The dogs, cat and kids have not allowed that, nor has the work schedule.  Back to work full force, leaving me no time to work on getting this scholarship fund established as a full-time deal.  I started my Personal Trainer Certification training course today, as well.  Ahhh.  Always a new challenge!

Well, it's done!  Just to get the suspense out of the way, I finished the marathon!  First thing I want to say is a whopping "Thank You!" to everyone who supported me through this, both financially and emotionally, and in Jacob's case, physically as well!  My time by my watch was 5:51.09 my chip time reports at 5:51.02.  I'm glad I finished at all, glad I finished under 6 hours, and glad I'll live to race another day!  I am relatively pleased with my results, considering my training and preparation.  
Fundraising was also somewhat mediocre, as I just didn't have the time to put in to use different venues wisely for fundraising.  Again, considering preparation and planning, I think I did pretty well.    Final count on the money end of things, as of today, $2027.00.  Not bad!  It will definitely help someone go to KPA, which was my goal.  I would have preferred to have fully funded someone, but I guess help is good, too!

My results, as with all training, are a pretty direct reflection of what I put into them.  Good Training=Good Results, Mediocre Training=Mediocre Results, Poor Training=Poor Results.  I wouldn't go so far as to say my training was poor, but it did end up being mediocre, which was an active choice that I made. I started out with excellent, well planned training, using Hal Higdon's marathon training schedule, and continuing my daily fitness training from Gale Compton's Fit, Fabulous, Forever website.  Then in mid-August, I somehow injured my right calf, part of the IT tendon. Not sure how I did it, but I have some ideas. Possibly running up a steep hill while pushing a stroller with 100 pounds of kids in it, or possibly driving a round-trip to Kansas City one day, and a round trip to Cedar Rapids, Iowa a day later.   At that time, I had been up to my 16 mile long run.  When I attempted to run after that, the calf would immediately seize up, making running impossible.  I saw my chiropractor, which helped a little, and he did let me know that I wouldn't be injuring it any further if I ran on it.  After my visit with him, I was able to run a mile or so, at most.  At this time, I made the decision to rest the leg, not do any running training to speak of, continue with fitness training, and make a decision on the marathon closer to the date.  I was pretty depressed about the whole situation for a while, and then decided to just let it go and do what I could do.  The leg did seem to heal, but would flare if I drove too much, or tried to run on it.  Eventually, as race day was drawing closer, I realized I was in my taper zone, and did a few miles the last two weeks.  Maybe, 4 miles total, over 14 days' time.  I would not generally consider this adequate  preparation for a marathon.  It was encouraging that the leg seemed better, although still frequently tight, not painful.  I made the active choice to not run any real distance on it, or "test" it, and to save that for race day. I did continue to do daily fitness and core work throughout this time.  So, it was on!  I decided to at least start, I have never DNF'd (did Not Finish, for your non-runner folks!) a race, and I sure didn't want to start now, but I felt that I had a responsibility to the people who had made donations to at least give it my best attempt.

As far as a race report, I'll start on Friday, when we drove for about 6 hours from St. Louis to Chicago, landing on my sister's air mattresses in the evening.  Saturday morning we got up and took the kids to the Shedd Aquarium (Thanks, Ken Ramirez, for the tickets!  It was a wonderful time for all of us!).  We spent a long time walking around, which is not really advisable the day before a marathon, but at this point I still wasn't sure how much of the race I'd be running, or even walking, and I also felt an obligation (and desire) to show my family a good time!  Especially since I knew they'd be waiting for a long time on Sunday, if I happened to finish the race.  We also had to go to the Marathon Expo and pick up my race packet, where we walked around some more.  During this time I didn't concentrate on hydrating as well as I should have, I did drink quite a bit of water, but I also should have been pushing some electrolyte solutions, like Gatorade.  Finally got back home around 6, went to dinner at Leona's (close to sister's house, and gotta carbo load), then came back and tried to get everyone to bed.  Got to bed later than I would've liked, after setting everything up for the morning.  Clothes, shoes, race bib, extra dry clothes for my drop bag, money for the el, hat, hair bands, gels, Clif Bars, Body Glide, Aquaphor, gum, blister-block band-aids, ziploc for my phone, etc.  What I neglected to pack when I left home was Succeed! Capsules, which are electrolyte/salt capsules.  They really help if it's very hot, or if you sweat heavily.  Also forgot the Ibuprophen.  Neither of these are staple items for me, I don't usually have cramping or pain issues during a marathon, it's usually more a mental exercise for me, so I don't automatically think of adding this stuff to my bag.  I also forgot the sunblock.

At 4:45 on Sunday morning, I got up, applied Body Glide (my best friend!), got dressed, took my meds and ate my oatmeal and peaches.  I had packed my drop bag the night before, and my running pack, so those were all set.  I got on the el with a few other early bird runners, and off we went!  By the time we got to Adams Street, our destination, the train was crammed with runners, which is always exciting.  Now the race is becoming more real.  Walking across the loop, on a sidewalk filled with other runners, was exhilarating.  As we approached Michigan Avenue, it became apparent that 45,000 people is a LOT of people!  I mean, I know this is obvious, but seeing that many runners in one place, to do one thing, is just an interesting experience.  The race volunteers were incredibly well organized, dropped my drop bag quickly, no lines!  Headed to the porta-potties, where there are always lines, no matter how many are available.  And there were a LOT of them.  Then I headed to the starting corrals.  I decided to start back with the runners who were in the 5:45 pace group.  I figured if things went well, that's about where I'd end up, and I did want to finish under 6 hours, if possible.  I didn't plan to actually pace with them, I'm a "run your own race" kind of girl, but I didn't want to start up front and hold people up if I had issues, either. I spent a half hour taking pictures for people who were running their first marathon, or running with their entire sibling group, or dressed as cavemen or superheroes, and talking with a few first-timers about what to expect, and race strategies, and charity running.  I took a few photos of the crowd, and a selfie, and posted those to FB.

At 7:30, the start horn went off, about a quarter mile away at the start line, and the mid-packers, and we in the back of the start began the slow shuffle to the start line.  By this time I was feeling a little claustrophobic, and really needed to pee again.  We finally hit the start line about 8:06.  Thank goodness for chip timing!  I sure can't afford to lose a half hour of time getting to the start!  When I finally began to actually run, my calf seized up immediately.  It was more tension than the stabbing pain it's been in the past, so I decided to run on it, slowly, and see what happened.  I really didn't want to drop before the 1 mile marker!  After about a mile and half, it stopped actively hurting, and just felt tight and tense, something I thought I could live with for the duration of the race.  At mile 2, I drank a Gatorade, and a water to wash it down.  I had promised Jacob that I would hydrate well, and eat when I needed to, during this race.  I'm known for disliking aid stations, and how they break my rhythm, and I detest carrying my own water, so my hydrating can be precarious at times.  On a day when the temps are predicted in the high 80's, that could be a race-ender.  On a personal-victory note, I was able to run over the bridges across the Chicago river in the area that was uncarpeted grating, look at the water, and continue to run, without being paralyzed by fear, which is a great achievement for me.

After the aid station was the bathrooms, which I used, also losing some time, which always irritates me.  I ran several easy, steady miles, always drinking at every aid station, alternating Gatorade and water with just water every other station.  I felt great, much better than I had anticipated.  By mile 4 I was running in the 5:15 pace group.  Again, I am a "run your own race, and thank everyone else for attending" girl, so it wasn't my plan to run "with" the pace group, but I just happened to be keeping that pace.  At mile 8 I took a gel, and drank extra water to wash it down.  I was definitely on course for a 5:15 finish, until mile 11.

At mile 11 I got a sudden, stabbing pain in my left arch.  It felt alarmingly like a stress fracture I'd had years ago, so I was very concerned.  I stopped and adjusted my shoe, thinking maybe my laces were too tight, and that seemed to help for a few minutes, but then I had to slow considerably again.  I ran more slowly, and with a compromised gait, like a club foot, to keep it from hurting so much, through mile 13.

At 13, the foot stopped hurting, so I picked up the pace again.  Everything was going great.  The crowd support was fabulous, I particularly liked the girl with the sign that said, "Run Random Runner, RUN! Great Job!"  As always in Chicago, there were many witty signs and many kind spectators with aid of many kinds.  Just when I was wishing for a sandwich, there was a woman with Starburst candies, and then a family with banana halves.  Several people had their garden hoses on to help spray down the runners, and people were handing out tissues, paper towels, cool sponges (heaven!), ice and various types of food.  Lots of music, sometimes hired bands, sometimes a speaker set out on someone's porch, sometimes a school band.  I had no idea so many people had saved their vuvuzelas from the World Cup matches!  All aid stations were staffed with quick, fun and helpful volunteers, who made sure we got a drink, and didn't fall over too many cups.  Though it was weird to see all those cups churned into paper pulp all over the street after so many feet had passed over them.  Of course, as always on the Chicago course, there were neighborhood groups entertaining the runners with their neighborhood's own special brand of cultural entertainment!  In Boys Town, a group of male "Lady Ga-ga's" danced and sang, a group of Cowboys handed out water.  In Pilsen, there was a contingent of giant paper-mache puppets dancing to Mexican Polka music, and a group of young dancers in traditional dress.  Chinatown had Dragon Dancers, and Chinese traditional music.  And it wouldn't be Chicago without the Vegas-Elvis Impersonator, who was giving out high fives!

At mile 16, I took more gel and ate a mini Clif bar.  By mile 18, I thought I was home free.  Then the foot started again, so sharply that I had to actually stop moving.  I thought I was maybe just hitting the wall, although I'm not generally one who has that problem, since I hadn't done my long runs and dealt with the mental aspects of it, I thought maybe that's why I felt so bad, foot pain and fatigue, and then, because of the modified gait due to the foot cramps, cramping of the IT band in the other leg, causing my leg to feel like a slab of metal, and my knee to hurt every time I bent it, or landed on it.  I did realize at this point that the foot problem was cramping, because my toes started curling under, and when I flattened out the foot, the pain across the bottom and the arch, was searing.  Oddly, that was a comforting discovery, because cramps can pass, whereas stress fractures are a serious issue.  From mile 18, I think I ended up walking about 1/2 of each mile.  I'd walk fast, until the cramping slowed down, then run what I could until the knee and foot pain started again, then walk and knead the leg.  I ate several bananas, and drank more Gatorade, hoping to solve the problem with hydration, potassium, and electrolytes, but it was too late.  If I'd had some Succeed! at mile 8, and then every couple of miles after, I probably wouldn't have had the cramping problems.  If I'd had some Ibuprofen, I could've eased the inflammation, and continued at a better pace.  Lesson learned.

The good thing was, I was totally mentally prepared for this.  I wasn't particularly angry, or upset, I didn't want to cry.  Oh, I did at first, but as I thought about it, I realized that this was what I had trained for, and prepared for, and I was getting the results I should expect.  I reminded myself that I was having fun, that things could be a LOT worse, that I was lucky to be in Chicago, lucky to be healthy enough to do this, and lucky enough to be helping dogs get better trainers!  Looking around me, at the older man running for his grandbaby, who had a terrible congenital illness, the young Hispanic man with only one leg (he lost the other in Afghanistan) who was running for a Veteran's charity, the three girls in pink tutus, raising money for a breast cancer charity, and the guy whose shirt said, "I run because I Like It", I realized just how fortunate I was to be there at all.  Even though I was completely alone, and I didn't really talk to many people during the race, I was completely surrounded by a welcoming community of people with whom I have at least one thing in common.

By mile 25, I was thinking, "I'm tired, I'd better pick it up a little" (going faster is what I do when I'm tired, guess I like to get things over with!)  especially since I passed the 25 mile mark right about 5:30,  I knew I needed to hustle, discomfort be damned.  An extra thanks to the woman who gave me the apple Jolly Rancher at the 25 mile marker, it carried me through to the finish chute!   As we came around the corner onto Michigan Ave, there was so much cheering you could hardly hear anything.
Going up the hill toward the last .2 miles and the chute, it was so loud it was a little disorienting, many people dropped back to a walk up the hill.  I didn't.  I like to finish strong, even if I'm not feeling particularly strong.  I like to look good in those finish line photos!  I definitely was more reserved in the last stretch than I normally am, I usually fun full-out, like I'm being chased by an angry bear, but yesterday, I ran slowly through the chute, and across the finish line.  I flexed for the camera, although apparently they missed getting my photo, and then continued to get my space blanket and medal.  I tried to take a selfie, but my phone was dead.  I couldn't text or call home to tell them I'd finished, since the phone was dead, so I skipped the beer (as always!) and had a bottle of water, another banana, and some pretzels.  Got my drop bag, changed clothes, and walked, slowly, to the el.  Returned to my sister's house to see the family.  Then showered, packed up, and came back to St. Louis.  Another good day, another good run.

As one person's sign said, "There will come a day when I can no longer do this, Today is not that day."
I think that's a good philosophy, and I'll stick with it.

Day Before Race Day!

Well, folks, here I am in Chicago.  I haven't blogged about this run for quite a while, because I'm really torn about the whole prospect.  I was/am injured, I haven't successfully run any distance since mid-August, and tomorrow, I'm planning on taking on a full marathon.  Hmm.  Points on my side:  I'm very strong, I've continued to work out in other ways, I've run many marathons, so I know what to expect, I have a race day strategy, I've never DNF'd a race.  Points against:  Well, there is the obvious-undertraining!  Also possibility of greater injury/exacerbation of current injury, or concurrent injury.  I will, as my sister said, "Run until it stops being fun and then stop."  That's the plan.  I'm now going to go enjoy my family time with my sister, her husband, daughter, and my husband and 3 of my kids.  We'll adventure around a city I lived in and loved for many years, and I'll get to show them things I like, where I've lived, and share my love of the beautiful lake.  Have a great day, everyone, and wish me luck in my venture tomorrow!

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted.  At first, I was just too busy running and doing other stuff, like hosting an amazing Obedience Seminar with Hannah Branigan.  Now, I'm injured, not able to run, and accordingly, very angry, and depressed.  I have 28 days to marathon day, and I have missed my most important long runs, my 18, which should have been last weekend, now 14 this weekend, and probably my 20 next weekend.  Plus all the in-between mid-distance runs.  I am so upset, and feeling horrible because when I don't run, I get depressed, and become a sugar junkie, and just generally my life falls apart.  If I had any idea how I managed to get this injury, I would be less upset, maybe, but I have no idea at all.  I just suddenly felt a cramp about halfway into a long run, then it seemed to calm somewhat, so I finished the run, and it's been unbelievably painful ever since.  My Chiropractor got me some temporary relief last Thursday, but as soon as I tried to run on it, I got about 1/2 mile and it was terrible again.  I guess I will go see him again, and wrap it, and wear my super-cushioned shoes (that I swore I'd never go back to!) and see if I can gut out a few miles tomorrow.  This is so upsetting.  It wouldn't be half so bad if I hadn't started this scholarship thing, and taken people's money, and promised the family a trip to Chicago to see their aunt while I run.  Going to sleep now.  Hope I wake up and it's all gone.

Bad Day Becomes Good Night

Today started out as a comedy of errors.  Well, maybe more of a farce.  No, really not all that funny, just a generally messed up, bad day.  I had planned to run my scheduled 15 miles in the morning, but I couldn't sleep the night before (thanks, full moon), so I overslept and didn't get up until quarter to 7.  I had several pet sitting jobs in the morning, so I didn't think I had time for a 3.5 hour run.  But Jacob told me to go ahead and plan to go, so I got my stuff together and headed out the door.  To find that maybe I should have stayed up a tiny bit later last night, then I could have heard what must've been an enormously loud bang, and possibly gotten the license plate of the person who sideswiped and smashed up my car.  THE car, at the moment, since our van is dead, and #1 Son is home from college and using the other Volvo station wagon.  I was somewhere out beyond furious.  I said some things, loudly, that would make a sailor blush.  Then I called the police.  They came promptly, I guess there's no serious crime occurring at 7:30 am on a Saturday, all the people who were drunk and perpetrating acts of violence on innocent, old, Volvo's the night before are home and in bed.  With a hangover.  And no wheel cover or sideview mirror.  Then again, I don't have a sideview mirror either...

Anyway.  The police officer arrived, was very courteous, took the report, and wrote one up for my neighbor, too, since whomever hit my car, also hit their new Kia Sedona van.  It was nigh on to 8:45 by now, and I told Jacob I had to go, to let the one dog without a dog door outside to potty.  I took the car we have borrowed from my dear friend Kama's father, which is a rickety 1999 Mercury Sable, with mediocre brakes and a bad shimmy in the front end if you top 30 miles per hour.  But it's a car.  A functional car.

When I got to the house, I was greeted by a dog in a rush to get outside, but not to potty, only to pee a little, so she could run back in and stand at the biscuit cabinet.  When I went upstairs to clean the cat's box, I understood why.  She had pooped in pretty much every carpeted area of the house.  I don't know if she is just stressed from her people being gone, or if the neighbor kid who takes her out in the evening, didn't show up last night, or what, but she hasn't ever done anything like that, and I've been sitting for her for 3 years, maybe 4.  So we cleaned that up, fed her and the cat, and I went to do my other several jobs and go to the bank.  By the time I finished at bank and everything else, it was after noon.  Sigh...
Of course, we couldn't go run then, because everyone needed to have lunch.  So we had lunch, then we went upstairs to get everyone ready to go run.  I thought.  Then Jacob sat down and started watching "Weeds", which he's been doing obsessively for a few days now.  I figured he needed a minute to decompress, so I did some work on the computer.  He kept watching.  I kept telling the kids to get ready to go, and they finally did.  They came into our room, where I was killing time on the computer, waiting for Jacob to change clothes.  I was getting a little peeved that it was taking him so long, and the kids were very impatient and annoying.  Finally he said, "Are you ready to go yet?"  I said, "I'm waiting for YOU!"  He said, "Well, I'M waiting for YOU!"  I said, "You said you were gonna change you clothes, so I've been waiting for you to change", He said, "I said I decided to run in this, and that I was ready to go, like an hour ago!"  Classic misunderstanding in our house.  We all try to do something to keep us occupied and productive while we wait for someone else, and then that person thinks they're waiting for us to finish doing something important, and we never get out the door.  Argh.

We finally got to Grant's Trail about 5:30, and started running, which was about the last thing I wanted to do at that moment.  We ran the first half really slowly, and it was mildly miserable, sort of death-march-ish. With the added issue of a giant storm cloud immediately over our heads, which occasionally taunted us with a few drops of rain.  The weather was really quite perfect for running, overcast, cool, breezy.  I was just in a bit of a foul mood, and not appreciating it adequately.  After the sun went down, the gigantic, full, bright moon rose.  We ran much more quickly, and I'm sure we ran negative splits, but I forgot to hit my split button at the halfway point, probably because Selena was texting me about how she had caught the oven on fire while making muffins.

The run back was gorgeous, quicker, and I pushed the stroller for some of the time, as Jacob was having some tummy trouble and not feeling great.  All in all,   it was a very nice run.  We covered 15.6 miles in 3:34.

 Next run, Tuesday.  I need to think of some strategies to get people to give me money for this!      

Fabulous Running Weather has arrived!

Finally!  Wednesday evening, and Thursday morning, which kind of turned into a two-fer, were just marvelous.  Wednesday evening, Jacob and the two little kids and I ran 7 miles at Forest Park, in the dark, under a huge, glowing moon.  The weather was, dare I even say it?  Chilly!  It was 67F and so wonderful to feel a tiny chill on my skin when the breeze blew up.  Then, Thursday morning, it was lovely again, 66 when I woke up, went out to work, and went back to Forest Park for another 4 miles.  It was wonderful, again.  Gorgeous, clear blue sky, light breeze, puffy white clouds and lots of birds.  Just when the runs get longer, the weather gets more cooperative.
Today, Friday, was a rest day, just a light weight workout and calisthenics.  Friday workout from www.Fitfabulousforever.com.   Made some Larabar type bars from scratch, we'll see how they come out tomorrow.

Tomorrow, 15 miles, then more painting the basement.  Better run those slowly...

Summer colds are stinky!

Yesterday I posted that I thought I might toss a bike ride into the mix today.  But last night my cold came on full-force, after I thought I had managed to run it off yesterday.  Boo.  Hiss.  I have a terribly stuffy head, cough, plugged ears, and sore throat.  I didn't do any exercise today, aside from a 30 minute walk and train with a Labrador, and a walk to the library and back with the kids.  I did get 5 other jobs done, and a bunch of general "Stuff" that had to be done, so it was a fairly productive day, despite feeling ooky.

 Tomorrow morning, 3 miles.  The weather is considerably cooler here, upper 80's, so it's a real climate break!  It rained a little more this morning, which was nice and much-needed!  I plan on an early to bed night tonight, and hope to not wake until 5.  Last night, the cat woke me up, preparing to barf on my bed, at 3:15 am.  I managed to chase her off, but only to the spot where I stepped right in it getting out of bed...sigh.  May tonight bring better sleep, and spirit my cold away to the place where colds go!

All's well that ends well

Whew!  Crazy weekend.  My training plans didn't go quite as planned for the weekend, but it all ended up okay.  The original plan was to run my long run, (10 miles) on Saturday, and cross train on Sunday, along with my usual daily calisthenics from www.fitfabulousforever.com.  But things didn't go as planned, which is so often the case in my life!
Saturday morning, I got up promptly at 5 to get my morning work finished so I could do my 10 miler before driving 2 hours each way to pick up daughter #1 from camp.  I had my smoothie, and as I was heading out the door to work, it started to thunderstorm.  I got the work done, but there was no way I was running with the giant bolts of lightning!  I drove to camp, got Selena, and we drove back.   It poured for part of the ride, then cleared up.  I thought, "okay, Jacob and I can run 10 with the stroller this afternoon."
Got home to delicious cucumber and asparagus sushi, so we ate.  We finally got ready to leave the house, thinking we'd go to Grant's Trail, run, then go to Costco, and come home to go to the Cosmic Cow show.
We got the stroller into the car, and it started raining.  Again.  Ugh.  We went to Costco, and then home to put away the frozen food.  Then the kids exploded and we decided that we weren't up to a concert.  We eventually ended up going for a walk to Tower Grove Park and finding a really cool natural hive of feral bees in a big Osage Orange tree.  The whole walk I was wheezing, my asthma is bad in the super high humidity.  By the time we got everyone to bed, I was grumpy, having missed my workout and having to count a walk as crosstraining, and realizing that I do, indeed, have a cold.  And having had a very bad eating day.  Which always really upsets me.  I asked Selena if she'd be willing to babysit in the morning so Jacob and I could go run.  She generously agreed.

Sunday morning, I woke at 5, took care of the dogs, and went back to sleep until 6:30, which was really too late to get a fast start.  I got Jacob up and told him he had to go to work with me if we were going to have time to run.  He said, "I hate you" and got up. I ate my overnight oatmeal with peaches, cinnamon, lemon zest and soymilk, and got some water ready to go.   We took care of 4 jobs, and by then it was 8:45.  I was upset, thinking we would never get back before Selena got really annoyed with the kids and everything at home was ugly.  I really, really wanted to trail run, so we headed west toward the closest places, Queeny Park, and Castlewood.  Queeny is closest, so Jacob drove there, since I said I didn't care where we went.  I realized when we got there, that I did NOT want to run there, and was feeling sort of hateful toward the whole idea.  So we went to Castlewood State Park, which is one of my very favorite places to run.  I used to trail run at least once a week before the younger kids were born.  Since the older kids were not homeschooled, I had daytime hours free sometimes, and would use them to trail run as often as I could.  I always went on Mondays, when I had only one dog walking job, and when most sitting clients return from vacations.  I often ran at Castlewood, or on the Chubb Trail at Lone Elk Park, or the Greenrock Trail, or Babler State Park.  I'd go any other day during the week that I could free up a couple of hours.  Since the younger kids are homeschooled, I don't have the big blocks of time to manipulate, and trail running is something that has fallen away by necessity, and that I miss very much.
So, when Selena can babysit, Jacob and I almost always use that time to go trail running.

Today's run was great.  We climbed the front of the hill that tops at the bluffs over the Meramec River, and goes down an enormous set of stairs to the train tracks, and along the river, then back around to the road we started from and back out to another hill climb on the opposite site of the road, up the Grotepeter Trail, which climbs and tops the hills, then comes out at the Ranger station, where we crossed the road again, and climbed the River Walk Trail back to the top of the bluffs, then down the first trail we took up, and back to the parking lot.  2:10.  Probably not 10 miles, but the terrain and the elevation gains and losses more than make up for mileage.  It was also hot.  About 95 F with a heat index of 106.  We saw a 5 foot black snake, a box turtle, a bunch of Turkey Vultures (no, they were NOT following me!), a chipmunk, and a really annoying horsefly.  I did take one big wipeout, but it was pretty well balanced, and I came out with some dirt and a scrape on my right knee.  I fell right on the flat, in the soft dirt, shortly after descending the stairs.  I never seem to fall on the rocks and heavy terrain.  Lucky me.  Jacob thinks it may have something to do with the stairs.

Things I learned today:

My wonderful husband will do pretty much anything to hang with me, even if he shouldn't.
Don't forget the bottle of gatorade in the fridge.
I can still run hardcore on the rough stuff.
Merrell Pace Gloves are awesome shoes, but definitely need gaiters.  Dirty girl will be back tomorrow, so I'll be putting in an order.
Having a daughter who can babysit and have multigrain pancakes for you when you get home rocks.
Citrus bodywash on a scraped knee really stings!
I still love Castlewood, the river, and all the amazing natural beauty available to me.
Trail running soothes my soul like nothing else.

I still have the cold, but I feel so much better after the run!   We gave Selena $20 for babysitting, so maybe she'll do it again next week.  All's well that ends well.  And I think I might add a bike ride to tomorrow's "rest" day, just for fun.

Wow! Behind on Blogging, not on Running...

Hi everyone!  Looks like I'm quite behind in my blogging duties!  The good news is, I have been running and am pretty much on "track" as it were, for my Chicago Marathon goal.  Last week seems to be the last time I made a blog update.  Well, let's see, it's been consistently miserably hot here in the Midwest.  Temps over 100 F for most of the week, with heat indices in the 110-116 F range.  Ugh!  I have been lucky enough to get out of the house between 5 and 7 am for most of my runs, so it's been in the breezy upper 80's when I've been out actually running.

 Last Tuesday I ran around Tower Grove park for 3 miles.  I saw the funniest thing, as I was running toward the Piper Palm House, which is a big greenhouse across from some lily ponds, I saw a bunch of ducks lined up along the sidewalk, looking expectant.  I had a weird moment where it seemed they were waiting for me, as they all turned to look at me at the same time.   Then, as I got closer, I saw the automatic sprinklers go on! They all did the duck neck twist thing, and the duck happy dance.  Apparently, this is their morning ablutions!

On Wednesday, I ran around Forest Park, through the lakes and around the Boathouse, and to the Fieldhouse, for a total of 5.18 miles.  I'd planned a 6, but I had to get home for the kids to get to camp.  I ran in my Merrell Pace Gloves for half the time, and in my actual bare feet the rest of the time.  It was lovely.

On Thursday, I ran around Tower Grove and to a client's house who lives in my neighborhood, to walk her dog.  Friday was a rest day, calisthenics, and play with the kids.  My running schedule called for a half-marathon race this weekend, but there are none to do in MO in the middle of July!  I had a lot of work, and Jacob had the opportunity to work both weekend days and make extra money.  So, I thought I'd run on Sunday morning, but I didn't have time.  I didn't want to run on Monday, because we had been out the night before to a cookout, and I was really exhausted, and still had a number of clients out of town.  So, Tuesday (yesterday) morning, I got up early and got out of the house, did all my morning work, and went to Forest Park.  I ran two full outside loops of the park, and bit farther, past the field house for a third time, and back to the car.  I thought for sure it would be the 13.1 I had planned, but when I checked my mileage, it was only 12.31.  Oops.  I guess that's why I have all those days where I ran an extra half mile or so!  I saw some really beautiful birds on my run.  In the wetlands part of the park, I saw an egret, a blue heron, a green heron and an amazing looking shorebird I am unfamiliar with.  Quite tall, orange eyes, and a very long, white, crest feather on the top of his head!  Also turtles, wood ducks, and a gorgeous red-tailed hawk.  It was 89 F when I started out, and 106 F when I finished!  Ack!  No wonder it took me so long!

All is well in the training department.  The fundraising department seems to have hit a stall, however.  I strongly encourage everyone to DONATE!  and please encourage your friends, students and clients to donate, too!  Many thanks!

Catch-up days!

Sunday was a cross-training day.  My cross-training so far seems to consist of life.  I had a busy day on Sunday, work, driving Selena to Camp Lakewood, and going out for Birthday celebrations and moms' night out with some of my friends.  Monday was the ever-popular rest day.  Tuesday morning, I got up early, did my work and ran 3.25 (though I was scheduled for 3) at Forest Park.  I enjoyed the frogs croaking, the ducks bobbing, and seeing several people whom I see frequently walking and running.  I hustled it hard today, because, as is often the case, I had to hurry home to get the kids lunches packed and to camp on time!  With several clients out of town, and everyone's gardens and plants needing to be watered, work is taking even longer than usual!  My average speed was 11:20, and my max speed was 8:40.  I worked on my barefoot form when I was running on the boardwalk and footbridge, toe running on the boardwalk, practicing fast foot turnover, and single-tracking on the footbridge.  It was hot.  about 87 F.  They keep saying it's going to rain, but the ubiquitous "they" appear to be liars!

 I did the upper-body weight circuit at the Y, since I was there anyway, dropping the kids at camp.  I always enjoy my Y time.  Not sure why it's so satisfying, but everyone is always so nice and friendly, and I feel so much better after I work out.

Came home and weeded yard and garden, did some work with Merlin, adding a cue to 2o2o, and working a little bit on stays and left turns.  Made lovely Coconut Curry Shrimp and Green Beans for supper, with basmati rice.  The kids liked it, even after telling me they don't like curry, so it was a hit.
Tomorrow morning, 6 miles!  I'm sure it will be another beautiful, if HOT, day!

Saturday 12 miles? Well, almost...

Well.  Today was supposed to be a 12 mile run.  It was unbelievably hot and a red air quality day.  Jacob came with me to do some work and then hit Forest Park to run.  We had run about 6.25 miles, when I got a text message from Selena, asking me to come home because the little kids were fighting, screaming and crying, and kicking each other, and wouldn't stop.  Sigh.  We happened to be close to the parking lot, so we drove home.  Everyone was fine when we got there.  Selena was apologetic, and said, "Do you want to go finish your other 6 miles?"  Well, not really.  So I made scrambled eggs with black beans, avocado and salsa for everyone, then we went back out, with the stroller, to Tower Grove to do the last 6 miles.  At noon.  We. Are. Idiots.  Hottest weather ever, and we ran in it.  Why we do these things, I don't know.  We have nothing to prove.  We're old and slow.  We could've waited until it got dark, and somewhat cooler.  But, we did finish 5 miles.  So we finished, miserably, sweaty and overheated, probably about 11.25 miles, which is going to have to be good enough for today!  Some days, you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you.  Today, we were hot hors d'oeuvres...

Friday, REST day.

Friday, along with being a rest day, is the day my sweetie got home from his 2 week trip to the parents' farm!  I'm so happy to see him, and I took rest day to the limit.  I did no real physical activity, lounged around with the kids, cancelled a walk and train job because the pavement is too hot for dog paws (and MY paws!), and tonight we're doing Family Movie Night.  What a great rest day!

Thursday Morning. A good, barefootin' day!

Today was a good day for a nice run.  We're still under an extreme heat warning, and yellow air quality, but around 6:30, it was a breezy 87 degrees. Which, considering our recent daily weather, was a nice break.  I ran around Forest Park, the Grand Basin, where I could see the fountains, and the Art Museum at the top of the hill, then through the restoration project of River Des Peres, around the shore of the lake and past the Boathouse.  At about the halfway point, I took off my Merrell's and ran in my actual naked footedness!  Barefoot running is so much more satisfying than wearing shoes, even barefoot shoes.  I love the feel of the grass, asphalt, dirt and gravel on the soles of my feet.  I can feel the energy coming up through the earth, up through my feet and legs, and spreading out through my body, like a wave of excitement.

I learned a couple of new things, and re-learned a couple of things I already knew.  Relearning is something that happens to me often, recently.  New things I learned, Merrell Pace Gloves, while comfy, and great on most surfaces, even large river stones, but there are two things they're not good at doing.
1. keeping out gravel and general junk, I'm going to have to go to dirtygirl.com and get a nice new pair of gaiters to wear with them, which seems ridiculous, but I hope will work.
2. NOT good on slippery, wet, algae covered rocks!  Watch yourself, or you'll end up in the drink!  I didn't but only by a lucky leap.

They are good at playing "Old Lady Parkour", though!  I like to bounce and leap off the railings and benches around the Grand Basin, I'm not exactly hardcore, but it's a nice proprioreceptive workout, which is important, and apparently more so as one ages.

I re-learned what it feels like to be 15 pounds lighter.  I don't want those 15 back, by the way!  Being lighter really affects the quality of my running, and allows me to be much faster, without a lot of effort.
I re-learned that faster foot turnover creates better forefoot striking motion, and really gets you moving, without straining.
I re-learned that it's bad to try to cross the metal suspension bridge in truly bare feet, especially when it's really hot, and a fast moving bike is coming from the other side!
I re-learned why I like to run off the path, out of the box, and down by the waterside.  Lovely!

I was scheduled for a 3 miler today, but I ran 3.22.   It could have been a lot more, if I didn't have so many other things calling for my time!
                                

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Monday was a rest day.  I actually rested.  Sort of.
Tuesday, I got up and went to work, then went to Forest Park to do my 3 miles in the 89 degree heat and yellow air quality day.  I got about halfway done, around 15 minutes into it, and I got a text message from Selena, saying that Aurora has really bad diarrhea, and can I hurry home.  So I looped back to the car and left.  Aurora is fine, now.  She ate way too much junk food the night before.  Problem solved.  Short run, though.  Glad that I got that extra mile and change in on Saturday...
Wednesday morning, up early and to work, and out to Forest Park when it was a breezy 89 degrees.  I had a lovely run, saw a mink, and a snowy egret, cardinals, a red eared slider, green heron and a great Blue Heron.   I finished faster than I thought, again!  I did over 6 miles in 1:14.01.

Another lovely, and very busy, day.  Tomorrow, 3 miles, paint the basement, train the dogs so I don't completely embarrass myself completely at our upcoming Hannah Branigan seminar.

Sunday July 17-I'm 46!

Sunday was a cross-training day.  I can't remember now what I did for cross-training, but I'm hoping that several hours of dancing (though it was very wimpy dancing!) at the U2 concert counts for something!  Sunday was my 46th birthday.  We had a pretty bad day, the kids were ornery, and I was also, which never helps!  Plus I had dreadful cramps.  I did get the basement partially cleaned, though, and ready to start painting.  Then in the evening, Dixie and Shane picked me up for the U2 concert, which was my birthday gift.  Amazing!

"Long" Run day, and beyond!

Wow!  Again it's been a while since I posted.  Oops!  On Saturday I went to Grant's Trail, early, and ran.  It was very nice, getting hot, but not too hot, too early.  I saw a former student, whose shy dog has recovered completely, and is prepping for Rally classes.  She wanted to get a friend into my puppy class, so I stopped for a minute to give her the information.  I accidentally ran 8 and a bit, when I was supposed to run 7, but I figured that was just money in the bank.  The reason I ran more than planned was good, though!  I had figured 7 at 13 minutes/mile.  So, I considered my turnaround point to be about 45 minutes.  Apparently, I was moving faster than 13 mpm, so, when I got back I had an 8.2 mile route saved on the GPS on my phone.  Good stuff!  I also ran into my dear friend, Jim, who was riding his bike, and rode along with me for a bit.  All in all, a good long run day.

Friday is a REST day!

I had a lovely rest day today.  I didn't do any exercise, specifically, but I didn't actually "Rest", either.  I had a lovely meeting with my friend and former student, who happens to be the Executive Director of a local Community Center, where I am going to start teaching some classes.  Then I had a lovely client meeting, with a reactive dog, whose owner said, "WOW!  She has NEVER done this well!"  I'm so glad I'm helping them, nice family, nice dog.  And getting nicer!  Took the girls shopping at the secondhand store, then took 3 of the 4 kids for Frozen Custard.  Made Eggs Florentine for supper, then dealt with a mini-swarm of our bees on the neighbors' patio.  Now, I have to wrest the children into beds.

7 miler tomorrow.

Thursday Morning, Up and Running

Hopped out of bed today and dashed off 3.2 miles around Tower Grove Park.  Wore my Rykas, but I wish I'd worn my Pace Gloves, and taken Nitro with me, since it was a lovely 74 degrees out at 6 this morning!  Then I took the kids to camp, and did upper body weights while I was at the Y, then went to work with a reactive dog.  Busy day with the kiddos from there.  Trip to Costco, mmm...dried cherries and mangos, chocolate covered acai berries and Yasso Greek Yogurt pops.  And necessities, and lots of food for the always-eating 19 year old son.  Then they watched the 2nd Harry Potter movie with their sister, while I did paperwork, and then we went to the library, where they completed their Summer Reading Club, and collected their prizes.
Tomorrow will be a pleasure as a rest day!  I do still have a reactive dog to work with, and an appointment to look at some potential training space, and lots of physical work to do.  I should try to get as much done as possible, since it's supposed to be over 100 all week next week!  Ugh.
Now I'm off to bed.  Super sleepy.

Speedwork, Mom-style

Well, I don't know what day of training this is.  That tends to happen.  Anyway, it's A day of training, and I ran 5 miles this morning. in 53:01.  That's pretty darn fast for me.  Consider, yesterday, I ran 3.2 miles in 40 minutes.  I'm a dawdler, and I'm proud.

I don't usually do speedwork.  I don't enjoy it, and I truly don't care if I am fast.  I run for pleasure, and so I avoid turning my running time into something that I don't find pleasurable.  This is just my personal philosophy, YMMV.

But occasionally speedwork is injected into my workouts.  Here's how that usually goes:  Last night, I thought I'd prepare myself some breakfast so it would be ready to eat in the morning.  So I made a bowl of overnight Peach Oatmeal, and left it in the fridge.  This morning, I got up at 5:15, took my thyroid pill, fed the cat, birds,  and dogs, and let the dogs out.  Then I put them back away to enjoy 30 minutes of sleep.  I got up, let the dogs out, folded the laundry, and put caribbean beans and rice and pineapple upside down cake in the crock pot, for dinner tonight.  I did a load of laundry and folded it, fed and watered the chickens, and I ate my oatmeal.  I realized that it was almost 7:00 and thought, "OH CRAP!  I need an hour to run 5 miles!  But I need to get the kids up at 7:30, 7:45 at the latest, to get them to camp on time!"  I put the dogs away and hustled out the door, considering all the options.  The weather was good, after last night's storm, it was a brisk 86 F, and humid, but probably better than other options this week.  I could just do 4 today, and 5 tomorrow.  OTOH, who knows what will come up tomorrow? I have a short long run this week, only 7 miles, so I could theoretically do one on Friday.  Or, I could hustle.  I felt pretty good, procrastinating is always a poor choice, so I decided to move my feet!
I ran around Tower Grove and the MO Botanical Garden, and home.  I hustled, so I made it, got kids up and dressed, lunches made, and kids to camp on time.  Plus a good workout and the peace of mind of being done!

Ramble On- Many Training Days, and thoughts

Wow!  I haven't updated this blog for a while.  If I'm not posting, it doesn't mean I'm not running, just that other stuff is occupying all of my time!  A lot has happened since my last post.  I was excited to drive Finn to camp, and was switching days, so that I didn't have to worry about missing a workout.  Well.  I drove Finn to camp, or rather, almost to camp.  Our 2000 Honda Odyssey, with over 300,000 miles on it, died.  Somewhere on MO State Highway 8, between Potosi and Shirley MO.  In a thunderstorm.  The good news is, the wonderful folks from camp came and picked us up, and Finn got to camp with only a minor delay.  The bad news, the van is dead.  Really and truly dead.  Transmission is shot, and the head gasket is leaking anti-freeze.  Glad I didn't take the puppy along!  Poor Jacob.  After working a 12 am -2 pm shift, he had to drive the 90 miles to pick us up, and back home.  That was July 6.

 July 7th, I went to see the gastroenterologist, who was extremely unhelpful.  He did tell me I can eat whatever I want to, but that's apparently because my colon isn't exactly healing, and he wants to do more testing in 3 weeks.  Aargh.  Didn't exactly have an inspiring day that day, then thunderstorms in the afternoon kept me from making my appointed rounds of the park.  I do have to say, though,  that I am extremely happy to be back to eating real food!  Oatmeal, with soy milk, banana, almonds, and chia.  Yum.  Roasted potatoes and Asparagus with dill-lemon Cod.  Yum!

July 8 I had a super-busy work day, but did manage to get a 3 miler in, in intense heat, with Jacob at Forest Park, which was a beautiful as always.

July 9th we were scheduled for a 10 miler.  It was 110 F, with a heat index of 113, so we waited until about 4:30 pm to leave.  Jacob pushed the stroller.  We ran down to Carondelet Park, around it, back up to Tower Grove, and around part of it, then headed home.  We only ended up with 9.52 miles, but I'm counting it as done.  We ran for 2 hours and 15 minutes, which is adequate.

July 10th was crosstraining.  I did an hour of Agility with Merlin, then did a bunch of stuff with the kids.

July 11th was a rest day, although not restful, because Jacob flew out to Washington, to help his parents with some farm work, and some other chores and plans.  He'll be back on the 22nd.  Until then, it's early morning runs or nothing for me!

July 12, got out the door by 5:45 am, it was a cool 86 F.  Ran around Tower Grove Park in my Merrell Pace Gloves.  I like running in them, they are super-light, protect my feet, and my legs actually feel like I have had a workout when I finish!  It's getting to feel odd putting on my standard Ryka running shoes, like I'm wearing high heels!  I realized that the park is pretty empty at 5;45, except for the hardcore runners and walkers.  Everyone says good morning, and I like that!  I saw a bunch of wildlife

Are we caught up yet?  Good.  Tomorrow, I will rise early, run 5, and get to work!

Update on Fund Raising!

Through so many of your generous donations, I've got a total of $743 to date!  This is great!  However, I still need to raise more to be able to scholarship someone to KPA.  $5300 -$743 = $4557.  Which means I need to raise $350.55 every week for the next 13 weeks.  I am considering having a bake sale, or something like that.  Any ideas?

Day 20

Today is scheduled for a 5 mile.  However, I have to drive Finn to Camp Lakewood, so I'll be taking liberties with the schedule once again, making today a rest day, tomorrow a 5, and Friday a 3 instead of a rest day.  This shouldn't adversely affect Saturday's 10 miler, or tomorrow's doctor's appointment.  Hope to get an all clear of some type from the doc, but I suppose all I'm getting is the okay to get the colonoscopy.
My life is just fun on top of fun!

Day 19

A sunny fun day.  Since Jacob is working the crazy weird overnight shift right now, and Selena is at camp, going this morning while it was cooler wasn't an option.  I took the kids to work with me this morning, then came home, had lunch, and went for a 3 miler with Jacob pushing Rory in the stroller, and Finn riding his bike.  Tower Grove Park.  Wore the Merrell Pace Gloves, they are still really awesome!  My legs are a little tired from Saturday's long run and yesterday's bike ride.  My right calf has been a little bit crampy, off and on, but I think it's an overuse injury from driving too much!  All in all, a good day of running, now back to walking dogs and grocery shopping.  Calisthenics later today.  I'm still pretty weak, I suppose from the meagre diet.  I see the doc on Thursday, here's hoping for some good news on the food front.

Day 17 and 18

Day 17, Sunday, was supposed to be a cross-training day.  I had a lot of work, and we had to drive Selena to archeology camp in Kampsville, IL, so I switched Sunday with Monday's rest day.  Good thing.  We drove up to Kampsville, and I was commenting all the way about how high the river was, and how it was about to storm, and worrying about the river coming up over the road.  (I have a serious phobia and recurring nightmare about driving into a river, sometimes off a bridge, sometimes just off the bank)  The family kept telling me to take a deep breath, chill and stop being neurotic.  We finally got to Kampsville, ate some dinner at a fun place, The Kampsville Inn, which is right on the Illinois river and you can watch the Ferry crossing back and forth while you eat.  The storm started, the power went out, briefly, in the restaurant, and we finished dinner.  Dropped Selena at the dorm, and got a tour.  I said, "We need to get out of here, so we can get home before the road floods!"  Again, I was told to "Chill".  We left, drove about 4 or 5 miles down the road, and the Sheriff flagged us down and told us to turn around, Highway 100 is flooded.  We could see the water streaming over the road, probably 3 feet deep and moving very fast.  I began to panic, knowing I had dogs to walk (mine and other peoples'), and not knowing any other way to get home.  I made Jacob ask the Sheriff how to get back to St. Louis.  He pondered on that for a moment, and said, "Probably the only way to do that is to go up and take the Kampsville Ferry across to Carrollton, and get on 67 to Alton, and cross the river down there."  Sigh.  At this moment, I had a serious anxiety attack.  Actually, it didn't totally hit until we were in line for the ferry.  I was crying uncontrollably, trying to be quiet so the kids wouldn't notice, and hyperventilating.  Flooding is NOT good, either in the literal sense, or in the psychological sense.  Especially if you're me, and they are directly related in both senses!  At any rate, we made it across the river, into Carrollton, and started down 67.  Jacob was driving faster than I would've, and I told him that.  He wasn't worried.  Then we hit a sudden patch of flooded road, and he kept it together, but it was scary.  A couple miles later, here is another Sheriff.  The road is flooded, but he's letting people drive through, slowly.  It was probably a foot or two deep.  More scary.  We made it the rest of the way without major events, but I'd really had enough already.  I got my work done and went to bed.  I must've been grinding my teeth the entire time, and all night, because I woke up with a terrible earache, and a TMJ attack like I've not had for years.

Today, however, is a new, and better day!  A wonderful day.  It was still raining buckets this morning, so I gave up my plan to bike to work.  I tended the pups and kitties, grabbed some groceries, and came home.  I baked an Angel Food Cake, sliced up some strawberries with honey to serve with it (for the family, not me, no berries!).  I also bought some strawberry syrup for myself, since I can't have the berries.  Jacob got some work done painting beehives.

The sun finally decided to make an appearance, so we packed up some picnic lunch, put the bikes and bike trailer in and onto the van, and went to Grant's Trail, one of our local rails-to-trails projects.  It's a perfect place for kids to work on their cycling skills because it's wide, flat, paved and closed to all but foot, bike and skate traffic.  Finnegan rode his new bike, I rode my awesome bike, and Jacob pulled Aurora in the Burley trailer.  We only did about 6 miles, but it was fun, and Finn worked on passing, announcing "On Your Left", and hand signals.  We saw and heard lots of critters, and got a wee little cross training workout.

Came home, dropped Jacob off since he has to work an insane midnight to noon shift tomorrow (Starting at midnight tonight).  Took kids with me to care for some doggies, then to Mr. Wizards Frozen Custard!
Came home and took Merlin for a walk.  Now the kids are watching a movie, getting ready for Macaroni and cheese and peas, dogs are fed, and all is well.

Tomorrow- 3 miles and pack Finnegan for his first experience at sleep away camp on Wednesday!

Day 16

This morning's run was everything I could ask for in a run.  I woke up, took care of the dogs, cat and birds, and debated waking Jacob.  I left him sleeping.  He's worked so many long hours over the past few days, and will be working another dreadful shift on the 5th, so I thought he needed the sleep.  And sometimes, I just like to run alone.  I had a glass of apple juice, since I'm having a lot of gut pain again, and am back to clear liquids.  I prepped my stuff (bottle belt, phone into ziploc bag, shoes, socks, hat, sunblock), and drove to Forest Park, which is a beautiful park in the city.  It's large, the site of the 1904 World's Fair, our Science Center, Art Museum,  and our fabulous St. Louis Zoo, two golf courses, two tennis centers, an ice rink, an archery field,  the Jewel Box (a beautiful glass greenhouse), the Muny Opera, baseball and softball, soccer and cricket fields, and woods and streams, playgrounds and trails.  I started my run at the Fieldhouse, and ran on the gravel path along River Des Peres, to the new sections of boardwalk over the wetlands restoration.  It was amazingly gorgeous.  Cup plants taller than me, cheerful, rippling water, water lilies, frogs, egrets, a Blue Heron, and a Green Heron, and a flurry of red-winged blackbirds.  A male, Eastern Box Turtle was in the middle of the path, in all his neon colored mating season glory.  I saw the spot where the raccoon feeds, lots of empty, shining, discarded mussel shells in the water,  just off the edge of the rock.  So much beauty, just in this small space.

I'm glad I ran by myself today.  The thing I love most about distance running is the time I can spend with myself, and enjoying the world around me.  I can run for two hours, and process a lot of information, internal and external.  I'm not able to do sitting meditation for that period of time, my body is too distractable, I have to keep it busy with the motion of running to be able to focus enough to map my internal landscape.  At the moment, I have a lot to process.  This colon issue has me thinking and chasing my mental tail.  Everything I read tells me that what I need to do to solve this, is what I have always done, before this happened.  I feel betrayed by my body, we've been partners for so long, and yes, we've had our ups and downs, but I thought we had a good thing going, and now this.  I have a deep seed of fear that it has to be cancer or some other invasive problem, because I can't believe my body would let me down like this.  And I can't stop thinking about my dad, diagnosed with colon cancer and dead in a couple of years.  It's good to be able to write about things you don't really like to say out loud.  I've said it, but not often.  I'll say it here, though, I am not going to die.  Then I think more about this, how they say lots of people have it, it's no big deal, it's controllable, but I was already doing everything they say to do, and THEN I got sick.  So, I spent some time thinking about fear, and death, and how I can be proactive in my own healthcare, how I'm going to heal this, and thinking about how many people are so much worse off than I am, and still going out and getting on with their lives.  Which seems to be the only smart choice.  To live each minute that you're alive.

Then moving onward into appreciating the world around me, and thinking about how I am still able to move myself forward, and motivate myself to do the training I want to do.  I was extra thankful for the local running store, Ghisallo Running, who had an aid station set up at the park, for anyone who needed a drink.  They gave me a nice cool cup of watered-down Gatorade, just what I needed at that moment, as my water was warming up.

The west side of the park is hard to find shade in, because of the golf course.  I don't begrudge the golfers, but I do think golf courses are a selfish use of space, monoculture, and elitist by their nature of denying anyone else use of that space.  They won't even let barefoot runners on the course, even if no one is playing.  I'm alway a little worried about mis-fired balls hitting me when I run down the side of the course.  I know that's a somewhat irrational fear, but I guess I'm worst-case scenario girl when it comes to being whacked in the head by fast moving objects.

When I run I think about lots stuff, some profound, some not so much.  Like that Standard Poodles (of which I saw a herd, a woman with 6 Apricot poodles) have the same body type as Afghan Hounds (of which I saw two, running, much more graceful than I).  They have  an upright posture, small waist, smooth, light gait, high tail carriage.  On the only slightly more profound end, I spent a lot of time pondering the word play of running as a soul-baring,  sole-baring, and weight-bearing, activity.

I know this is a long, disjointed, rambling post.  It was a long, disjointed, rambling run.  I'm not a fast runner, for me, running, like everything else, is a process, not a product.  Today's process was exceptionally good.

The stats for today, 2:02.10 hours, 8.80 miles, max speed 7.25 mph, avg speed 4.49 mph, elevation gain 1,472 ft, min elevation 451 ft, mx elevation 728 ft.  This from My Tracks on my Droid.  Wore my Ryka shoes today, since I'm not quite ready to do long runs in the Merrell's.

Day 14 and 15

Day 14 was a real trial.  I had a lot of "kid-stuff" to deal with, and it ate all of my run time during the day.  Then we came home to a plethora of dog puke and diarrhea, which I had to leave, because some guy was harassing Selena on her walk to Target from a friend's house, so I had to go drive her back, and Jacob didn't get home from work until 8:30, then graciously cleaned up the horrific mess, but we didn't get to run, then, either.

This morning, I planned to run early, before it was 95F, but woke with a lot of gut pain, again.  It seems to be dissipating, so I'm hoping to take the kids on their bikes and run a long, flat, stretch of Grant's Trail this afternoon.

I am determined to get my marathon training done, and I will.  These sorts of obstacles always come up, and they are always surmountable.  I always get to the finish line, and I don't intend to change that now!

And a quick shoe note!  I am still LOVING, LOVING, LOVING the Merrell Pace Glove shoes!  They are fab for everyday wear, I love the color (chili pepper red), and they are non-smelly (a big issue for me) and they are easy to rinse off (stepped in a LOT of muck the other day) and are holding up well to my abuse.  I tend to go through shoes very quickly, the soles, although soft, are not showing signs of wear.

Days 12 and 13

Day 12 was a bit of a bust.  I was supposed to run 3, but didn't really feel all that well, so I did the laundry instead.  This morning, got up and ran the park with Jacob, 3.4 of the 3 I was supposed to do today.  I may make it a two-fer day, and do another 3 or 4 tonight.  Kinda belly-achy today.  Gotta watch the food intake carefully.  All is well, though.  It's beautiful out, and kids and dogs are happy, so far!

Day 10 and 11

Yesterday was a cross-training day.  I hope that I can count giving a speech on the ethics of dog training, and walking many miles with clients and their dogs counts as cross training!  I didn't get a chance to get on the bike, but we did walk around at Pride Fest for a bit.

Today was, thankfully, a rest day.  I think I overdid it a little, either with food, or not resting enough, and I woke this morning with some focal pain in the same spot.  Back to mostly liquids today, hoping the discomfort will pass by tomorrow.  Just a 3 miler tomorrow, but lots of driving, kids back and forth to camps and stuff.  I did walk a mile or so today, with a client's walk-and-train dog.  He did well, although he's a real challenge.

Day 9

Began with our traditional thunderstorm!  It cleared up nicely with temps in the 70's, so Jacob and I put the little kiddos in the stroller and ran our 5 miles around Tower Grove Park and the MO Botanical Gardens.  Busy day at the park, Farmer's Market at one end, Pride Fest at the other!  Everything was extra green, shiny and fresh-smelling from the rain.  Respectable time, 1:05, despite my being quite tired and weak after a fun evening playing pool with Dixie and Shane, and staying out too late.  Now on to calisthenics and then a day of work with private clients and reactive dogs.

Day 8

Today is a rest day.  So, I had planned to do upper body weights at the Y, but I didn't have time because I had to walk dogs this morning.  I will do my cals in a bit, and Merlin and I took a lovely probably 2 mile walk this morning. Tower Grove Park is beautiful in the morning.  Loving the barefoot shoes, too!
Tomorrow, 5 miles.

Day 7

Today Nitro and I ran the perimeter of Tower Grove Park.  We were scheduled for a 3 miler, but it's actually closer to 3.8.  I always count it as 3 and figure that's just some extra change in the bank for when I need it!  Nitro wore his New Trix halter, and I wore my Merrell Pace Glove barefoot shoes!  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these shoes!   My legs feel like I actually had a workout, which doesn't happen very often anymore, except after a really long run.  In a good way.

I thought I should give some background, since some folks have expressed concern about me running so much, or so far.  I have been a runner and swimmer since I was a kid, and I started "competitive" running (at least with myself!) as an adult around 1996.  Since then, I have run 6 marathons (Lake County, Chicago twice, Twin Cities, Honolulu, and Lewis and Clark), too many half marathons and 10K's and 5K's to count, 2 olympic distance Triathlons (Mrs. T's Chicago), a bunch of Sprint distance Tris, and although I have never finished an official Ultramarathon, I have unofficially run about 36 miles at a time, and am a member of the St. Louis Track Club, Clydesdale Virtual Racing Team, and St. Louis Ultrarunner's Group. So please don't worry about my health, hydration and nutrition!

 Due to my recent health challenges, and the still unexplored issues with my colon, I am taking it quite easy, and following Hal Higdon's Novice 1 training plan.  It is steady, and low mileage.  I have successfully completed marathons using it and using his intermediate plans in the past.  I am on this dreadful Low-Residue diet until I see the gastroenterologist again, and have a colonoscopy, which is challenging for fueling, but once I have more information after the colonoscopy, I should be able to begin to resume a more normal, fresh, whole foods diet, like I used to eat.  And if not, I will make it work!  If it's a big issue, like cancer, I will also find a way to make things work.  But that's a bridge to cross when I get there.

Also, even if I mention fundraising often (that is the point of this run, after all!) please don't be put off!  Even if you can't donate, following and commenting on my blog is a great form of support!  It's fun knowing that people are out there and interested in what I'm doing!

For today, we had a lovely run, breezy, relatively cool (80F's) and the park is beyond gorgeous.  I am so lucky to have such a great park, a great dog and a great pair of new shoes to run in!

Day 6!

Today I took Nitro with me on a 3 miler.  He wore his new New Trix head halter.  I'm giving it a mixed review.  It was definitely more comfortable on his face than his fuzzy Gentle Leader, and I really like that it hooks to the lead in the back and doesn't whip his neck when he "squirrels", it really is great at immediately stopping pulling when there is any pressure on the lead, but, when he climbed into a bush to mark (for the 20th time in 15 feet, he was nervous about a dog) and I said, "Let's Go!", he backed right out of it.  So definitely not the best choice for a very reactive dog, or a fearful dog who is experienced at backing out of collars.  It does have a safety snap to the collar, which was a good thing!

I ran in my regular Ryka shoes today, but yesterday I ran in my new Merrell Pace Glove barefoot shoes.  They are awesome.  I've been wearing them as my everyday shoes since I got them, but Merrell recommends easing into wearing them for running.  As as caveat, I always wear flat or negative heel shoes, or go barefoot, and I have calves of steel, and tough feet, so I don't really feel the need to ease in, so much.  I am going to do every-other day runs in the new shoes, for a couple weeks, then try a long run in them, and go from there.  It's good for the proprioception anyway, to switch up your shoes every once in a while.

Beautiful day in St. Louis today.  Temps in the 80's, clear blue skies with puffy white clouds.  Hawks were flying, kids playing in the sprinkler pool, the water liles are beginning to bloom at the park, and all was right with the world.  I am so fortunate!

While my philosophy is that every day you wake up is a good day, this one was particularly spectacular. Tonight, Bananagrams with my wonderful 16 year old daughter who just returned from a trip to Pittsburgh and Washington DC.

Hope everyone else is having a great day, too!

Day 4 and 5 of Training

Monday was day 4, it was a rest day.  I did an upper body weight workout at the Y, and rode the stationary bike for about 15 minutes, just to stretch out.  Busy day, 3 camps for kids, some work, Daughter #1 home from her Pittsburgh/DC trip.  Bad news, father-in-law diagnosed with Alzheimers, so we will likely be moving to Washington to help the in laws.  The move will be a good thing, fresh starts are nice, but I will really miss all the good friends and support system I have here.

Heading out for a 3 miler with the kiddos in the jog stroller in just a few minutes.  Wanted to run earlier, but yet again, we were having some Missouri weather, quarter sized hail, thunderstorms, and tornado warnings.  We didn't actually get much beside the rain and some wind, but it's cleared up now!  It's clear blue skies all the way...

I'm still running!  Please keep giving!

Day 3 of Training

Today was another Mother of All Thunderstorms morning, so Agility class was cancelled.  I managed to read Sophia Yin's new book, Perfect Puppy in 7 Days straight through.  Good book, I recommend it!  Today was supposed to be a cross-training day, I had planned a bike ride, but we had a bee swarm from one of our hives, so Jacob spent the day re-homing bees, and I read, worked, took the kids to the City Garden.  So I guess my cross-training for the day was just calisthenics and a lot of walking.  Good news is, no soreness from yesterday's long run.  Oh, and NEW SHOES!  Merrell Pace Glove barefoot running shoes.  Hoping to do a good part of my training in them, and run the race in them.  Tomorrow, another rest day.  But I may move a 3 miler to Monday.

Day 2 of Training!

Late post, I know, but better than no post! I got up today, at 5:15, which is normal for me. I was ready to go run, but we were having the Mother Of All Thunderstorms, so I decided to take the dogs upstairs with me and go back to bed. I was scheduled for 7 miles today, so I figured I'd run for about an hour and a half, and call it done. Late in the afternoon, we went to find a new bike for our 6 year old, and took the 6 and 4 year old along.  The bike didn't work out, but since we were already a ways out, we decided to run at August A. Busch Wildlife Reserve, in St. Charles County.  It was lovely, we ran, we saw the prairie grasses and flowers, the wetlands, Red Winged Blackbirds, Goldfinches, cardinals, and our state bird, the Bluebird (eastern) and a gorgeous Indigo Bunting.  The kids got to see some fish, minnows, tadpoles, and deer tracks.  The swallows nesting over the dock were so adorable.  Over the 13 year cicadas, we could hear a bullfrog, and some geese.  We ran for 1:23, and spent some time goofing around on the dock and lakeside.  It was a lovely run with the family, I feel so lucky to be able to do this, and to have the life I do.  Cooking some low-residue miso soup, then stories and bed.  Tomorrow, Father's Day!  And a cross-training day. I haven't decided if I'm going biking, or swimming.  Definitely taking the family to the City Garden, though.  Maybe we'll go on our bikes.

Day 1 of Training

Well, training should have theoretically started on Monday of this week, but since I just got released from the hospital on Thursday of last week, I'm having some challenges.  Not to worry, though, I'll definitely get there!  In keeping to the schedule, today is a Rest day.  Gives me a moment to take a breath, do my daily calisthenics, and think about tomorrow's run, which should be a 7 miler.  If it's not 100F, I can probably run walk that with little trouble.  Glad to be off the meds as of today.  Hard to fuel on this lousy, low-residue diet, but I'm doing the best I can!  Don't forget to donate!  If you want to go mile by mile, that's fine, too.  I'll try to post every mile I run,  so y'all can keep up with your donation schedule!  :-)