This weekend I am scheduled for a 20 mile run.  I “prepared” for it.  I had spaghetti yesterday for dinner.  I picked my clothes for this morning and went to bed early.  The plan was to wake up at 6 and be at the gym by 7.  Yes, 20 miles on the treadmill.  I don’t want to run outside in the cold weather and snow.

This morning I woke up a little after 6 and instead of getting up I went back to bed.  My conscience kept me from going back to sleep.  I knew I had to get up to run.  However, I just just stayed in bed thinking if I could survive a marathon without a 20 mile run.  This will be my 5th marathon.  I may not have a fast finish time but at least I finished.

As I write this I wonder what is the real reason for not running.  Overworked?  Over trained?  Is it possible to be over trained?  I barely ran 800 miles last year compared to L.A. Runner @ Run Like a Girl, and Mean It who ran 3,056 in 11 months.  Now that girl is AWESOME!!!  She is a teacher like me and still manages to find time to run 3,000 miles.  🙂

I enjoy running.  For me it is not about losing weight but more of a challenge and stress reliever.  You’ll be surprised what a class of 26, 6 and 7 year olds can do to you.  I have a long list of races for this year.  I want to set a PR too.  I want to get and run faster.  I know I can do it.  I’ve kept up with most of my training for the marathon.  So why the blah feeling today?

The forecast for next weekend is “Scattered Snow and Showers”.  Hmm, I was hoping it would be warmer for me to do my long run outside.  Well, for now I’ve decided to rest today.  I’ll see how I feel and maybe I’ll run tomorrow but don’t think I can do 20.

Can I survive a marathon without a 20 mile run?  Have you missed the run during your training?

Run Happy!

As mentioned in a earlier post my iPod died.  I wasn’t happy about it.  That meant no running with music.  Two days I ran this week without music and it made a big difference.

I made an appointment at the Apple store to have a tech check it out.  I knew what he was going to say but I went anyway.  I had an appointment at 1pm on Saturday and it was CROWDED when I walked in.  I had to wait about 1/2 hour before someone assisted me.  The final “diagnosis” was that the iPod came in contact with water.  Really?  How did that happen since it has not rained at all in Chicago.  😀  The only option I had was to buy a replacement for $65.  Is that what I want to do?  ABSOLUTELY!!!  Only $65?  Great deal!  I paid and walked out with a big smile.  So what if I had to wait an extra 30 minutes?  I have a new iPod.  Thanks Apple!!!

Less than 1 month for my first race this year.  Yay!!

I know I am really late with this post.  I hope you are all having a great year so far.  I can’t believe we are halfway through the month!!!

I spent New Year’s in San Antonio.  Love the weather there!  Great times there.  All I did was eat and watched movies.  Yeah, fun times!  I also went downtown a few times but only ran twice.  It is definitely hard to run while on vacation.  How do other people do it?

I got a late start to running this year.  My first run was on the 4th but better late than never.  To date I’ve ran 58.22 miles.  Can I make 100 this month?  I hope so.  The New Orleans Marathon is less than 2 months and I am excited about it.  My goal is to beat my time at the ING Hartford Marathon of 5:25:22.  Can I also aim for 4:59:59 or less?  Hmm, I’ve heard that New Orleans is hilly but anything is possible right?

So far I am signed up for 5 races.  My goal is 20 races this year.   I made a calendar of my races and I have 15.  Yikes!  I need 5 more!!  The names in green are half marathon.  Miriam at 12 Half 12 Club is aiming for 12 half marathons this year.  Awesome right?  However, for some reason not enough of them in the Chicago area.  I guess I can travel to another state right?

1. Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Marathon: March 4, 2012
2. Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle: March 25, 2012
3. Chi-Town Half Marathon, April 1, 2012
4. Wrigley Start Early 5K/10K, April 21, 2012
5. CARA Lakefront 10 Miler: April 28, 2012
6. Run to Remember 5K, May 5, 2012
7. Y-Me Race at Your Pace 5K, May 13, 2012
8. Alivio y Salud 5K, May 19, 2012
9. First Midwest Bank Half Marathon, May 6, 2012
10. Fleet Feet Sports Soldier Field 10 Mile: May 26, 2012
11. Fleet Feet Women’s 5k/10K, July 15, 2012
12. Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon, July 22, 2012
13. Oak Brook Half Marathon, September 3, 2012
14. Marine Corps Marathon, October 28, 2012
15. Philadelphia Marathon, November 18, 2012

Yep, I was running Tuesday morning along the streets of San Antonio.  I ran a little over a mile and then turned around to head out for a different route.  The plan was to run 4 miles.  Well, I was running against traffic on the street (there was no sidewalk) and I saw a few cars coming my way.  I decided to jump back on the grass to avoid getting hit.  Well, I miscalculated and brushed against some plant.  Immediately I started bleeding.  I stopped the bleeding and thought about actually keeping on running.  I saw my leg and blood and decided not to.  Luckily I was not too far from my sister’s house so I called her to pick me up.  Total miles ran was 2.04.

Today the cut did not look much better.  I had forgotten to put Neosporin on my leg yesterday so it looks like it might be infected.  Sigh.  Also, I did not run today.

Hopefully tomorrow it will be better.

I hope you’ve all having a good holiday!  I sure am.  My sisters and I and my nephew came to San Antonio for the holidays.  We will be here till January 3rd.  So glad we came.  The weather has not been so great but it is supposed to warm up this week.  I don’t get back to work till the 9th so at least I will have a few days to relax in Chicago.

I have been a good girl this year so I decided to treat myself to some running shoes.  I already own a pair of Pure Cadence which I love so I bought Green Silence and Ravenna.

I LOVE the colors of the Green Silence.  I also love that they’re so lightweight (about 6.4 oz).

The Ravenna feels so comfortable!

I cannot wait to run in these shoes.  So did you get something for yourself for the holidays?