I Dream of Running

It must be even years. Even years must be my Running years. Cause this year, I am absolutely salivating, dreaming, itching, DYING to run another marathon. I am craving the long slogs slogs through training lows. I am craving the completely satisfying all-out tired of running a 20-miler on a Saturday morning. I am longing for Garmin-frenzy, track workouts, tempo runs, and sucking down pints of water at my desk. I am desperate for a good, hard sweat. I am pining for my stick of Body Glide. I am web-stalking marathon guide.com and blog stalking all my old favorite RFBs. I have registered for my spring training 1/2 marathon. The weather is uncharacteristically cooperative for January in Nebraska; it's training heaven!

Small problem.

I am 8+ mos pregnant. So all of that is going to have to wait a couple more months. Oh, the AGONY! (insert slightly off-color joke about the impending agony of childbirth here)

I did manage a moderate pregnant 5K a short-while back. Though now I am resorted to walking. But mentally, I am back, baby. 2012 is my next Year of the Marathon.

I'm thinking Chicago?

A Maniac is Born

So I've decided to run the San Francisco Marathon in July. Well, more than decided...I've registered. And booked my hotel. And put in for the PTO at work. And started looking for a plane ticket. And did I mention I've also registered for the Omaha Marathon in September? Long story but that one will actually be a local race for me; a move from Denver to Omaha is rapidly approaching. Did I mention we are moving from Denver to Omaha?! Yeah, it's been that kind of month.

So, apparently I am going to continue the marathon madness, and maybe I'll scootch a June or August race in there and become a maniac along the way....

Race Report: Platte River Half Marathon 2010

WEATHER
Wow, what a spectacularly perfect day for racing! The weather was heavenly and nearly the entire race course runs along the Platte River trail with it's gurgling water, grassy banks, shady trees (as you get into Denver; not to be confused with Shady Figures, see following sentence)...and goose poop. Now, the view on the other side of the trail is typically pretty disgust (industrial buildings, Waste Management dump and the like) but as long as you only look to the River side, it is beautiful. Keep that in mind if you run this race.

OVERALL RACE
Now for the race/organization assessment: plenty of parking, well organized, started on time, easy to navigate, porta potty attendants to keep the lines moving, fast-moving post-race food lines, plenty of post-race seating, good water/gatorade/gu stops, a free RTD light rail ticket back to my car at the race start. Can't ask for much more than that. Oh wait, yes I can: good shirts. Well, PR1/2 delivered with a decent-looking white LS tech tee that I won't be embarrassed to wear (Highlands Ranch, take note). This race is a SCORE in my opinion. A great value for the money, and very convenient. It was a good sized crowd (2,000-ish runners) but not so large as to be unmanageable. I give this race an all-around Thumbs Up. If you need more specific metrics, it would probably get an A in my book.

MY RACE RESULTS
Unfortunately, despite the organizers best attempt to persuade me otherwise with their little PR1/2 logo, this race was not a PR for me. I did go into it as a training run on my marathon plan, but also naturally thought I could probably best my 2:07:08 from last years Colfax 1/2. So, I went into it with a good plan for an easy PR.

The plan
Run 9:30 for miles 1-4, assess at mile 5 whether to maintain that or pick it up a little
Run 9:20 for miles 5-10, assess at mile 10 whether to maintain or pick it up a little
Run 9:10-9:20 for miles 10-13.1
Finish 2:02-ish

The reality
Miles 1-5: Ran 9:30 (splits: 9:32, 9:35, 9:33, 9:30, 9:37)
Miles 6-9: Assessed and felt a little tired so decided to slow to 10:00 pace (9:53, 10:19, 10:11, 10:34-included walking through Gu/water stop)
Miles 10-13.1: Little pick-up after the Gu (splits: 9:54, 10:00, 10:05, 10:41-HUGE viaduct over to the other side of the river at mile 12=very slow running uphill, 9:33)
Finished: 2:11:23

So, the moral of this race story for me was to learn that I cannot use the same fuel strategy when I race as when I do a LSD at 10:30 pace. I need fuel sooner to keep the fast pace going and not feel tired. Should have Gu-ed at mile 5 and again at 9 or 10. I think I would have been able to stay 9:30 and below had I done that. But I did learn that 9:50-10:00 is probably an achievable marathon pace for Colorado, as long as I fuel properly. So all-in-all it was a great race and a great MP training run!

Holy Bullets, Batman!

Because I am again time-starved, I resort to the lowly bullet post (but I give you exclamation points; that's worth SOMEthing right?! Say yes. I beg you.), lest I risk being completely blog AWOL:

• 4 WEEKS TO COLORADO!!!!
• New shoes!! (Asics GT-2150s)
• Platte River Half Marathon this weekend!
• One more 20-miler to go and then taper!
• Lovely spring weather and I GET to run!!!
• Managed to recruite TWO team's-worth of coworker-runners for the Colfax Marathon Relay (which happens to occur just one small week after Colorado...is that a bad idea? If history has anything to say, it most definitely is...but I don't care!)
• Official planning for 2010 Wild West Relay and Colorado Relay teams has commenced!!!
• Running without iPod = oddly, I'm loving it...it's meditative, yo (maybe not like Trancendental Shambahla-esque, but meditative nonetheless)!
• This reminded me of Nitmos and Vanilla!

The Race(s) Is On

I have officially registered for some 2010 races. If you pay any attention to my little box over there on the right entitled "Upcoming Races" you'll notice it has been shifting and changing quite frequently the last couple of weeks. And, if you don't pay any attention to that box, well, here is your recap.

My plan for this year was to have a good, solid race schedule planned out early in the year so that I could:
1) take advantage of the lower prices on early registration fees
2) pay up now, so that I can't back out later or pussyfoot on the training
3) pre-plan so I'll not have to think about or decide which races to run later on, when I am tired and busy and braindead

I have sorta half-assedly started to accomplish this task. I know I will run a spring marathon. I'd like to run one in say March or April, but unfortunately there aren't any conveniently close to Denver that don't require gratuitous travel to particpate. Therefore, my choices are either the Colfax Marathon or the Colorado Marathon. They are on consecutive weekends, so I can't do both (nor am I sure I am even capable of that, having never actually completed a full marathon before). I have to decide which one soon, as I want to hit goal 1 above, plus the CO is capped and usually fills up early. But I'm having a really hard time deciding which.

COLFAX MARATHON
Pros
-Conveniently located in Denver--no travel required
- Race is later (5/16) which means an extra week of training time or more importantly, an extra week of slacking off before starting training
- Registration Fee $90

Cons
- Course is entirely city streets...and not the most beauteous parts of Denver at that
- Hilly course (see elevation profile)
- Notoriously bad race t-shirts (cotton)

Colfax: I don't like the look of your midsection one bit...

COLORADO MARATHON
Pros
- Downhill course (see elevation profile)
- Beautiful scenery through Poudre River valley, "fastest and most scenic marathon in Colorado"
- Race is sooner (5/9) which means I am a week closer to starting my training and getting it done

Cons
- Nastay Logistics Requre Extra Brainpower: Will have to drive up to Ft. Collins night before so can catch bus to race start at 4:00AM; will have to go alone (so hubs can keep track kids) or arrange familial situation to allow travel and spectating
- Must wake up before 4:00AM
- Point-to-point course
- Registration Fee $105

Colorado: Ooh, me likey! This downhill whore has marathon prey in her lusty sights...

Anyway, in the meantime I have managed to register for the Denver Marathon in October again (early reg was only $70, can't beat that and it seems so far away that I am not really grasping the reality that I am now committed to doing more than one marathon in 2010) and the Platte River Half Marathon (reasonably priced, caps entries, and the only local Half before whichever full marathon I decide to do) in April, which runs along my favorite trail. I've also managed to fill in some other 5K, 10K, 5M and 10M races along the way. Give me another week and I should have this planning done. Or not.

SO, share your vote on which marathon I should do in the comments. (OBVI, being the downhill whore that I am, I am leaning towards Colorado...but the lazy side of me just dreads all those pre-race and raceday logistics....)

I might cry

Seriously, I might just cry. Seriously. I mean, seriously.

Rewind to Saturday. I ended up going for a run in the afternoon instead of the morning. I went on the nice, soft dirt trails at about 3:00. Beautiful day, feeling good...except for a very slight discomfort in my right foot. Ah! My shoe must be tied to tight. Easy to fix. Shoe loosened, continued on run. Foot discomfort gets more pronounced. 3 miles in, foot discomfort is now actual pain. Every strike of my right foot: pain. I stop to stretch, thinking perhaps it's a cramp or a tight muscle somewhere. Continue on run. Enter stronger foot pain. I now cannot run but must walk and the whole situation is bringing stinging tears to my eyes. I still have a mile home, I am in severe pain, and yet it's a beautiful fall day, the kind you just live to run for. My race is in two weeks and this feels like a very, very bad sign.

Flashforward to today. My foot is still in pain, it is swollen, I cannot walk without a limp, cannot bend it, cannot do steps. I fear fracture. Tomorrow I go see some fancy schmancy foot specialist that happens to be here in Vail (which, Vail, by the way is faaabbbbuuulooouuusss, it even snowed the pretty kind of powdery mountain snowflakes tonight). I have resigned myself to the distinct possibility that I will probably not be running my first-ever marathon in two weeks at the 2009 Denver Marathon. (SOB!) But I guess as long as I can heal whatever is wrong, and eventually run again....I'll be all good. Right after I stop crying and feeling sorry for myself.

The "X" being the spot in which centers the
severe pain; the arrow pointing to the region
to which the general swelling and puffiness radiates.

Boob Pictures

Ok, not really boob pictures, but I am trying to humor the male viewers. Is that wrong? (I don't really care.)

Well, I didn't exactly manage a Twice on Tuesday yesterday, but I did do sort of a reverse two-a-day, if you will: ran 4-ish miles last night at 6PM and then ran 6 miles this morning at 6AM. So, only a 12-hour sleep break in between. (Well, that and some wine.) My legs were tired by mile 4 this morning and my tummy was kinda ooky...guess the homemade fish tacos and red wine were not the best choice to fuel up with last night. Lesson learned.

In order to kill two birds with one stone--1-appeasing Jamoosh, Vanilla, and the other gods/running blog boys, and 2-prooving that I have enough skillz to rip off my race photos for free and doctor them in photshop--I am posting some old race pics from my last half marathon. I am still trying to get my hands on the team pics from WWR, as yet unsuccessful.

Here I am!

Here I am again, averting my eyes from the camera's evil stare.

It's my Identical Running Outfit Twin (IROT)!
Except she has a tighter tanktop...and cleavage!
And cool sunglasses! And I bet she's faster.

Triple bonus: me plus TWO IROTs!

Not me nor an IROT, but I'd like to order two of these,
make them to go, and give me a side of sweet potato fries, thanks.
I think you girls will agree.

I don't typically get this kind of drama in my races.
He/she is either going balls/boobs-to-the-wall, or about
to fall on his/her face. A vote?

This is pretty much the ideal race outfit.
I am guessing she finished Top 10.

In race news, I just signed up for my Labor Day race, the Park to Park 10 Miler, which I am pretty excited about. (I also steathily signed up hubs without his actual permission, simply because I don't want to have to get up that early and head to the race and figure out the parking logistics alone, and because my folks will be here to watch the Shorties so I am going to take advantage of that shit.) This will be my first 10-mile race, so it's a guaranteed PR! What's not to like about that?!

Race Report: Rocky Mountain Half Marathon

Ran into my running club buddy Massud as I was lining up in the corrals, which was a nice surprise. There are a couple race pictures here, but as they are copyrighted, I am not savvy enough to snatch them with the right-click function disabled, and am too cheap to actually purchase them, you have to be stalkerishly interested enough to click through the link to see them. For those only mildly interested, I'll summarize: ignoring the camera X 3; waving to the camera X 1 (because the girls in front of me did); and my clothes look about two sizes too big.

Miles 1-3
Ran with Massud. Since this was his first-ever race and he'd been training for this half for over a year, I went out a little faster than I'd planned, in an attempt to keep him from going out even faster, so that he'd have a good first race. Though it was a beautiful morning, it was warm out already was a little worried that this faster-than-planned start might not bode well for me. But by that point, I'd already decided I'd just roll with it and see what happened...so much for my race plan/strategy.

Mile 4-7
Was already sweating like a mutha at this point, so made sure to have my water at the aid stations. And, as a result of vigilant hydrating, had to make a porta-pottie stop about mile 5. Damn...but I was NOT going to try and hold it (been there, done that, and not by choice). Had a Gu at mile 6 as I jog/walked up the big hill by Bronco Stadim.

Mile 7-10
A lovely loop around Sloan's Lake, which was nice and flat and beautiful. Picked up my pace a little more after the nasty hill up, and was feeling better.

Mile 10-12
Enjoyed the return trip back down the hill by the stadium. Had another Gu about mile 11.5 and more water as it the sun was hot.

Mile 13-13.1
Another little downhill and then short uphill going up 20th Street to the finish. I won't lie, the hills wore me out but overally I enjoyed this race and I'll do it again. As for my assessment of the race? It was well-run, there were plenty of aid stations, parking was fairly easy and the corral was more organized that the one at Colfax (this was also a smaller race, though). There were plenty of snacks afterward and I didn't have to wait in any lines to get water, bananas, goldfish crackers or bagels. This race is run run by the same crew as the Denver Marathon, and shares part of the same beautiful course with it, so it seems like they have their stuff together and I am looking forward to that race in October. Though cotton, the shirts at least look good, as do the finisher medals: I highly recommend this one!

FINAL RACE RESULTS
Time: 2:11:34
Pace: 10:02
Place: 881/1497 overall
438/912 women
105/203 division

So, I didn't get the sub-2 hour finish that I was shooting for...heck, I didn't even beat my time from the Colfax Half last month, but I think I am actually ok with that. My running is strong, I feel good, and most important, I had fun. I enjoy pushing myself and running hard, but the whole point of why I run is because I simply love it and enjoy it and it's fun for me. So as much as I want to achieve some better race times, I'll know I'll never push so hard that it becomes "not fun" for me. This race was fun.

That said, I will be doing some more targeted speed training (like 1600 interval repeats) this summer and I'll be signing up for another half in the near future to see about that sub-2 hour race. It's in there, and I'll pull it out eventually. Also, I think the Recovery Socks post-race definitely helped. I am a fan.

Race Lineup

A few of you have asked, so I figured I'd share what I have kind of settled on for my summer training/race plans.

May/June
Train to break 2:00 in Rocky Mountain Half on 6/14 by using training plan below. May do some shorter races (5/10k) after the half.

June/July
RW Smart Coach set to "Moderate" training for a theoretical marathon on 7/26 (i.e. San Francisco). May or may not actually end up running SFM, but going to train as though I am, and see where it gets me....won't push to the point of injury but want to see what progress I can make by then. Cause I need to be ready for me fall races... will probably do some shorter races for fun and to see if I have gotten any faster...I know there is a 4th of July somethingK near my house.

August
Depending on how the training goes and if I actually end up doing SFM, I may look for an August marathon. As alternatives, I have the Georgetown-Idaho Springs Half Marathon (close and cheap and a distance I know I can handle) or joining my coworker's team for the Wild West Relay, an ultra relay where I would ultimately end up running about 25 miles in 5-6 mile increments over 24 hours. That's a little outside of my race comfort zone...which means I am scared to do it but that it would probably end up being fun as hell.

September
Omaha Marathon 9/27 - considering doing this is a newbie "trial" marathon with no pressure just to see how I do, mentally prepare myself, and make adjustments for Denver.

October
Denver Marathon 10/18- registered and paid, no going back. Plus I want the special Mile High Experience medal I can get for doing both the Rocky Mtn Half and the Denver full. (Seriously, I am not sure that there isn't anything I WON'T do for a cheesy, generic finisher's medal. Try me! ) This isn't exactly the "mile high experience" I have always fantasized about, but that's probably a conversation for another type of blog...

After Denver, I'll see where I'm at and how I feel about doing more marathons....I am posting this now for accountability but probably by the end of June, I'll have changed my plans...

Race Report: Colorado Cofax Half Marathon

Me and hubs post-race. Wow, race hair is sex-ay...

For the first time, I really had a solid race plan. I put forethought into what I wanted to do and how I wanted to race, rather than just going out and running it and seeing what happened. My plan for the race was to run a steady, consistent pace. Since I seem to have a bad habit of going out faster than I want, and then getting tired in the middle, I really wanted to focus on not doing that for this race. I'd start a bit slower than my goal pace for the first couple miles, then pick it up and keep it steady, and then pick it up a little bit again after the halfway point. I made sure to drink plenty of water all week, so unless I really felt I needed it, I decided I would skip the water stations until mile 7, and then would walk for about 10-15 seconds through the water stations in the second half. I had my Sharkies in case I wanted a couple of them at mile 10, as I'm used to on my long training runs.

For my first half marathon, the weather was perfect, the course was nice and flat, the crowd was good and I am happy to say that I was able to see my plan through. It's a beautiful thing when you are able to run the race that you want/plan to!

Mile 1 - 9:40
Marathoners and half marathoners started together for the first bit. It was fun to be in the middle of such a large pack...except for the major weaving around people. Just before the start of the race, hubs told me, "I think I'll just run with you the whole time instead of racing it." Ten seconds after getting past the starting gate, hubs was off like a bat outta hell! Darting and weaving through the crowd, he surged ahead and I knew he was gone for good and I was on my own. I didn't mind and was glad to be able to run my own race without feeling guilty knowing he could have run it faster. Plus, I was interested to see just how fast he'd finish--though a long-time runner, this was his first-ever race! I felt good, kept my pace, and enjoyed the lovely path through City Park.

Mile 2 - 9:17
Headed out onto Colfax, still feeling fine and doing a lot of darting and weaving, but the crowd started to spread out, so it was a little easier.

Mile 3 - 9:20
Still a pretty good crowd, I picked a guy ahead of me that seemed to be running the same pace, and figured that I'd use him as my pacer...until he stopped at the first water station, which I skipped. So, I just kept going on my own.

Mile 4 - 9:20
Crowd started to thin some more, but I really wasn't getting passed much. A couple people here or there, but most everybody was keeping pace, or I was gradually passing them.

Mile 5 - 9:16
Heard someone cheer for me; it really does make you feel good to hear your name called, even if it is just a kind stranger reading your bib!

Mile 6 - 9:27
Lady in a wheelchair yelling at all the racers, "You think that's hard? Try this! Keep running fools! You can do it!" Ok maybe she didn't call us fools, but I bet she was thinking it. Made me laugh, but also made me thankful to have the strong, healthy body that allows me to run and race. Mission accomplished.

Mile 7 - 9:43
Next to the Fitzsimmons Hospital campus, we made the turn to head back. Some awesome high school girls were out dancing and cheering for everyone at the turn, which was a nice pick-me-up. I think I paused to thighten my shoelaces somewhere during this mile, as I felt a blister coming on as my right foot was sliding around.

Mile 8 - 9:08
Just running steady; had some gatorade and water at the station.

Mile 9 - 9:27
Don't remember this mile; it went by quick and I was just keeping my pace and a little zoned out, I guess.

Mile 10 - 9:25
Still felt good, was keeping my pace and thinking, "Wow, I only have a 5K left!"

Mile 11 - 10:31
This was my longest aid station break; had 3 Sharkies chews here, then followed with water to rinse them down. Walked a little at this point as I have discovered I tend to gag if I keep running while trying to chew the Sharkies. Still felt good and didn't have a problem starting up again. Hubs told me how he got his first drink at this aid station, and didn't realize there was both gatorade and water...and dumped lemon-lime gatorade on his face, thinking it was water.

Mile 12 - 9:34
This was a really beautiful area of gorgeaus old brick tudors and lush lawns and I was just enjoying looking around and thinking how I would love to live in this area. There were more spectators here as lots of folks came out in their yards and were cheering or handing out water bottles.Hubs later told me how he dumped one of the bottles over his head here and immediately regretted it when all the salty sweat went into his eyes.

Mile 13-9:39 .1 - 7:19
My favorite song for keeping a good pace came on, so it helped me keep going strong. I think I listened to it three times in a row, all the way through the finish line!

The spectators started to increase and I knew my parents and the shorties would be there somewhere, so kept myself busy looking for them. Kept seeing ladies that looked just like my mom and getting excited...only to find it wasn't them. Finally saw my parents and the Shorties smiling faces in the last tenth of a mile, and made my way over for a couple of high fives. Was great to see them, especially since I was feeling good and felt the race had gone great! Picked it up through the finish to about a 7:19 pace. Still felt good (despite the lady that finished just before me throwing up right after she crossed the mats in front of me...blech) and looked over and found hubs at the finish. My first half marathon: success!

RACE STATS
Time: 2:07:08
Overall place: 1023 out of 2294
Division place: 197 out of 513
Gender place: 486 out of 1448

Hubs finished in 1:45:10, which I think was awesome for his first race, and especially for only signing up to run it to give me moral support. Overall, I felt great and ran well, but I think I probably didn't run as fast as I could/should have, based on the fact that I really didn't feel tired afterward...and felt great all day afterward. Now that I know I can do 13.1, I'm ready to set some more challenging time goals for my next half! And on to the full marathon!!!

Hump Day

A summary of yesterday's run: 6 miles in 56:54
I planned to do a Cinco Cinco, but found I had exta energy so ended up with a Seis Cinco. Random items of mention:

1) I have discovered my new pace is about 8:30-8:45 since that's what I seem to be running most consistently and comfortably lately. That's a nice improvement over the 9:15 of two months ago. Not sure that I can maintain it more than 6 or 7 miles, though. We'll see...

2) I swallowed THREE bugs. I'm running, I see them in the distance, I see them coming at me, I think, "that would really suck if that bug flew into my mouth" and then....that bug flies into my mouth. This seems to happen to me a disproportianately frequent number of times. I am not sure if it's due to my height, that perhaps my mouth is just positioned exactly at bug-flying altitude? Is it the gum I chew? Perhaps they are attracted to peppermint? I don't know, but I came frighteningly close to vomiting 2/3 times yesterday. Not good.


I was performing a similar ritual yesterday...times three.

3) My training plan since January has been to get up to a half marathon (May 17 Colfax Half) and then from there build up to the Denver Marathon in October. But now that I am knee-deep into this, it is going better than I expected, and I am liking the distance...I am starting to think I might want to try an earlier marathon.

My question is: how long do I really need to work up from a half to a full marathon (I am at 14-15 mile long run right now)? Could I get there by July 26 (San Francisco Marathon)? Maybe August 22 (Park City Marathon)? How about September 20 (Boulder Marathon)? I'm just worried that if I don't have something sooner than October to work toward, I'll lose steam or get bored doing all those long-ass runs. I'm just not sure I need 6 months to get up to the first one?

My goal for the first marathon I run will be simply to finish...I'll move on to pace/time goals (and related training) for subsequent races. Since I can find a training plan to fit virtually anything I want to do, I thought I'd gather thoughts from those of you that have done it before...how long do you need to reasonably go from half to full?

Not now, I'm busy

There's that part in the movie Marley & Me where Owen Wilson's character verbally fast-forwards through a couple years of their lives with a very long-winded soliloquy; that is exactly how I feel my life has been the last two weeks. (Well, actually to be honest, it's been that way the last 5 years, but the past two weeks especially so.) It has been one thing after another with seemingly no rest in between. I've been so busy I haven't had time to think straight yet it feels like I've gotten nothing done--both at work at at home. Anyway, one thing I did manage to do OKthis week was run. Because I was short on time, I was forced to run faster in order to get done what I wanted...that is not altogether a bad thing. A little recap:

• Monday - crammed in quick 6 miles at the park after work


• Tuesday - crammed in 2.5 miles at the park after work, then another 2 plus weights and core at the gym after Shortie soccer


• Wednesday - speedwork with the running group: 1-mile warm-up, few strides, 5x400 at 1:50-2:00 pace, 2-mile cool down


• Thursday - 1-mile warm-up, 45 min of weights/core work, 1-mile cool down


• Friday - off

Tomorrow is the Cinco de Mayo 10k and the running group is meeting to run the 5k course beforehand to warm-up. After that is soccer, more soccer, a friend's birthday party for Shortie1 and then hopefully some rest? (yeah, right) Sunday I hope to get my 15 miler in on one of the trails, weather permitting...in other super-exciting news, I will try to get the product review of the Itty Bitty Bras up this weekend. I received them and tested them out this week and can't wait to share my opinion with the world. :-) I know, I know, I'm quite positive the world is waiting on pins and needles.

The most exciting news of the week to me, is that I am now on a short countdown to my very-first-ever 1/2 marathon on May 17th! I cannot wait and am starting to do all the fun planning and analyzing to figure out what the rest of my training should be for the next couple weeks. (Like, do I really need to taper for a half? I'm worried if I do, I will be all lazy when race day comes and will run like a pile of mush. Maybe I will just take an extra day off that week?) Oh Running, how I love to obsess over you...

Back in the Game, Baby

So after what felt like an extraordinarily long time away from blogland (really only a week), I am back. Where did I go, you might be wondering? Did I go somewhere lush and vacationy like Hawaii? Did I go run a marathon in some exciting venue? Did I land in the hospital after my kids came after me for dumping them in the gutter face first last week?

No, my bloggy friends, I went to Nebraska (insert snarky remark of your choice here).

Anyway, after runinng my highest mileage training week to-date just two weeks ago, last week was an utter fail. I managed some shorter runs of 4-6 miles (which involved me quite literally dragging my dog behind me as she clung, paws-outstretched, toenail-deep, to the few shady spots in the 85-degree humidity of the Cornhusker state), but didn't manage to cram in a long run. I felt horribly guilty and quite cranky about this, but then decided to rationalize it by telling myself it was an intentional easier "rest" week built into my training. So that's where we sit.

This week I'll do a 14 or 15-miler. I swear.

Good Plan, Bad Execution

Tuesday's plan:

1 - Drop off Shortie1 at soccer practice.
2 - Drive home, get double stoller, install Shortie2, run back to Shortie1's soccer practice.
3 - Pick up Shortie1, install in stroller, run home with both and arrive in time to cook dinner for all.

The execution:
1 - Drop of Shortie1 a soccer practice, 10 minutes late because of traffic and slowness at daycare.
2 - Drive home, find double stroller up on hook waaaayyyy high in the garage as hubs forgot to get it down before going on his run. Waste 10 minutes getting ladder out in order to retrieve stroller. Nearly drop stroller on Shortie2, who asks "You got it mom? You got stroller? Not drop it?"
3 - Another 10 minutes making 4 return trips inside for: milk (Shortie2), snack (both Shorties), potty break (me and Shortie2), water (me).
4 - Finally set off, 35 minutes behind schedule...20 minutes and 3 miles to get to practice. Psych self up, "Ok, we can do this! Go!"
5 - Sinking realization that Shortie2 is considerably bigger than last time I ran with stroller...or I have lost stroller arms...or both. Begin worry that I won't make it to practice in time.
6 - Coincidentally meet hubs on the back side of his out-and-back run. Convince him to join us (and take over stroller duty). Feel mildly guilty as he has already run 10 miles. But not guilty enough to keep stroller.
7 - Almost there, leave hubs with stroller, allowing him to walk so I can sprint and get to practice field in time, so Shortie1 is not left wondering where mommy is. Panic, recalling in head conversation on way to practice in which Shortie1 says, "but what if you aren't there when my practice is over?" in response to hearing my great plan, and me pinky swearing, "Mommy will be there Shortie, don't you worry. I will have a watch and I will make SURE I am there in time." All-out sprinting now to make it there in the next 2 minutes.
8 - Arrive just barely on time, decide to let Shorties play at playground while hubs rests a few minutes before the return 3 miles home. Uphill. With extra 55 pounds of Shortie2. Did I mention uphill?
9 - Walk-jog home with hubs glaring and griping. Slight guilt that I convinced him to join me (that was not in the plan). Shorties whining that they are huuuunnnnnggrrrrryyyy moooommmmyyyy.
10 - Arrive home 30 minutes later than planned, too late to cook, everyone tired and hungry and unhappy with mom's plan. Rush trip to Subway.
11 - Apply for Mother of the Year Award. Again.