training...training...training...

Run: Smooth and tiring at the same time. 6 miles. 51:04 total time. 8:20 min/mile pace. 570 Calories.

Well, my training is sort of up and down these days. I have been sick, going through this divorce, and work is interupting-but-I am still getting in those miles to train for the United States Air Force Marathon. This past week I've ran 34 miles. 10 on Sunday, 18 on Wednesday, and 6 today. My calves are really tightening up. Does anyone know of good stretches or ideas to help out with them? I have a feeling if I don't start loosening them up now, they are going to cramp up during the marathon. I saw it happen to this guy during the Rome marathon and it looked SO painful. I'd like to avoid it as much as possible.

I keep finding more and more running trails out here in Grand Forks, ND. My runs seem to get better and better because I'm always on the search for something new to find. Running in a new area is proving to be quite the adventure. The dogs are starting to get up on their mileage too. They ran the 6 miles with me this morning. Here is an example of the trails that I am running on. Most of them are paved so they can be hard on the knees, but they get the job done:) The views are beautiful and there aren't a lot of people around so I frequently get lost in thought while I'm running. It really is enjoyable.

Turning 180

So, my running went to a screaming hault when my husband told me one day that he wanted a divorce. Out of the blue. But, I've taken the anger I felt from his irresponsibility with my emotions and life and turned it into something productive and positive. I have been running like a champ lately and it feels great. One thing I have learned through this is that you can't control anyone else's actions but your own. And it's an obvious lesson, but I have really felt it this time around.

Anyways, I got accepted on a marathon team for the Air Force, so I have to really gear in on my training. The marathon is on Sept. 20. My goal is to get under 4 hours and if I continue with this determination I will do it. Being a part of the team for the Air Force has shown me how far I have come in my dedication and training to running. It feels great!!!

Yesterday's run was 13 miles. I don't have the stats right with me, but this next weekend I'll be shooting for 15 miles. Wish me luck!!

First long run in a while

Run: Intense. 9.2 miles. 1:25:52 total time. 9:20 min/mile pace. 864 Calories.

I hit the pavement, pathways, and trails this morning with my husband behind me on the bicycle. He was a kind of motivator for me when the going got tough--especially up those hills. My pace was relatively slow...I didn't want to overdue myself considering all of the dizziness I have been experiencing lately. The sleep I had was PHENOMENAL last night, so I woke up feeling very refreshed. I wanted to get to 8 miles at least, but was striving for 10. I crapped out at 9.2, so I guess I was right in between. It was a hard run; the sun was out, the wind was blowing against me, and I wasn't familiar with the terrain. I brought plenty of water and a couple of gel packs, which definitely helped...but it wasn't enough to keep me going.

This run proved a lot to me today; I need to increase my water and carbohydrate intake in order to last longer. I also need a more positive attitude; more times than not I was thinking, "Man, I just need to stop." A mantra is one thing I will invest some critical thinking into. Each step I take will coincide with a positive word to keep me going past the ninth mile. You-Can-Do-This...or something along those lines. Like I said, I need to think about it some more ;) Anyways. It was a good run. Tomorrow is a day off from running, Monday will be spent lifting weights, and Tuesday I will be stomping ground once more.

Saw the Doc today...

...and he attributes my dizziness to the insomnia I have been suffering. I will be taking a prescribed sleeping medication to help with this, so hopefully the dizziness will cease. Viola!

Whoa...I feel dizzy

Run: 6.64 miles, 1:00:19 minutes, 9:04 average pace

So, I did a 6 mile run today. It was my first in a while, and all I remember thinking is, "why isn't this enjoyable to me?" I'm just going to let it go and believe that it's all because I haven't ran in a while and I put on five pounds. Soon enough I will be down to my 118 pounds and working harder and enjoying it more than ever.

To get back on topic: my current runs (3 yesterday and 6 today) have left me in a state of woozy, dizzy, nauseousness. It really sucked. I have been dizzy for two days now and it's making me sick. I don't know if I should attribute it to the running or if it's something different. I am going to the doctor tomorrow morning to hopefully figure out the cause. No matter, I will keep on running. I'm going for an 8 miler this weekend!

I thought moving to North Dakota I wouldn't find very many runners-but I have been proved quite wrong. I already have a training partner for the Air Force Marathon (September 20) who is really pumped up about it. Motivation will keep us fit.

Getting back in the saddle

Run: 3 miles, 23:50 minutes, 8:07 pace

The husband and I are somewhat settled into our new place in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The whole move from Italy proved to be very exhausting. My running suffered from it, but now I am getting back on track...sloooooowly but surely.

I signed up for the Air Force Marathon in Dayton, Ohio last week, so now it's game time. Training started this week. 3 miles today and 3 miles yesterday. Tomorrow we are doing 6. Saturday either 10 or 12.
My body seems to be functioning well. No real pain in any parts of my body--it's a good way to start off training! I found some trails around the town that seem to be good to run on. They are bicycle trails, but can be used for long distant running as well. I'm so psyched to get this thing going!! I love the challenge of running a marathon. Hopefully I can get under 4 hours this time!

Ouch--My legs hurt

Run: Painful. Nike Plus Recorded: 2.9 miles, 24:13 mins, 8:19 min/mile

I ran this morning with my squadron (I'm in the Air Force) and OUCH! was it painful. It wasn't my knees this time. It was my quads and glutes--I worked them out yesterday harder than I ever have before. It felt great, too. Since I am forced to run every other day of the week, and I want to work my legs out in order to strengthen my knees, I don't really have any other option but to do both back to back. I use to take it easy on the lifting, but that didn't have any positive effects. Yesterday, I decided that I was going to challenge myself to make a difference. So, this morning's run with my squadron proved to be utterly useless with a tiny bit of pain sprinkled on top (I know, I know...no run is useless, because you are still running).

Well, I usually am near the front of the pack--maybe the top 10%. This morning, the people I usually pass were passing me. Ugh--being that I convince myself that I am not competitive, but I really am--this urked me just a little bit. Anyways, I finished feeling as if I had ran 3 miles at a 7 min/mile pace, rather than an 8:19 min/mile pace. I was definitely dragging.

Enough of my whining session. Hopefully this weekend's run will be a little better. I also hope that my legs will simmer down the pain to a reasonable tolerance.

On a final note, I just want to say good bye to Italy and it's glorious running paths. If you are ever in the country, never pass up the opportunity for a good run :)

Thank you (and) The Rabbits Were Out

Run: AWESOME +10. Nike Sport Kit recorded: 4.04 miles, 33.32 minutes, 8:18 min/mile pace.

First and foremost, I wanted to extend a very heart-felt thank you to all of the bloggers who inspired me to run last night. This is how it happened:

I was sitting behind this computer in a hotel room, not wanting to do anything but sleep. I am in the midst of moving my entire house, husband, and two dogs from Italy to North Dakota. The past few days have been more stressful than most, so I have been extremely worn down. I tried to forget about the move by reading blog after blog about how you guys ran on beaches, you reached a personal best, new you goals to be achieved, etc. It dawned on me that while I am in here sitting on my tukas not doing anything, I could be out there with you guys running all those miles. I decided that being tired from moving wasn't an excuse to not get out there and do it. So, I did. Thank you for the inspiration!!

Now, on to the second part of my blog, "The Rabbits Were Out." After changing into my running clothes and doing a little bit of the warm up stuff, I looked down and saw the face of a pup that I knew wanted to go with me. I knew he wanted to feel the warm breeze of the beautiful night against his face and tongue as he trotted along beside me. After a day of being stuck inside a kennel, I couldn't say no. So, I leashed him up, put a reflective belt on him (he's black as night, and running at night does NOT help with the car situation), and started to head out there door. That's when I heard the whimpering, then howling, of his little sister, Molly. We were in the elevator and I could STILL hear her. So, I turned around, went back into the hotel room and leashed her up as well. I have a dual leash system so it's just one handle and two leashes--it works for the most part until they decide to go on opposite sides of a tree and get stuck (it's actually pretty funny to watch). Anyways...I get outside, and I'm thinking to myself, "how in the hell am I going to manage two labs on a run, I've never done this before." Low and behold, the husband pulls up in the car-PHEW! I give him Molly, and I take Kegan for our first run together in months.

It was AWESOME; I ran faster because I had him pacing us. We ended up running on this parking lot at our turn-around point that was JUST paved--no bumps, no holes, and VERY level (of course with a slight slope). The rain had stopped an hour before, so there was a very thin, but very reflective layer of water on the asphalt. As we stepped on, it was like we were running on water-SO COOL! I have never felt a sensation like that before. Since the pavement was so level, there were no puddles--it just flowed evenly. And there we were-running on this new, reflective, beautiful lake. The sky above us, the sky below us.

It became an eventful run when we got about 2.5 miles into it; that's when I saw his ears perk up. I KNEW there had to be something out there. Then, I saw them too. There were rabbits EVERYWHERE. Being the lab that he is, hunting instincts kick in and he's about ready to floor it. OH NO! I yank on the leash and yell easy. "Easy! EASY! EASY KEGAN!" And he finally calms down-a little. For some ungodly reason, there was one rabbit that would not go away; it just stayed on the trail in front of us, as if antagonizing us, knowing it could get away but what a fun chase it would be. Kegan was all about following it too. After a few good minutes of running with the dog AND the rabbit, the rabbit decided to pounce off of the trail and into the woods. Kegan and I finally could calm down. But, boy was I tired from keeping him under control. We ended the run near the hotel and walked a few minutes together. I gave him a good scratch behind the ears and a "good job, buddy," and he just smiled up at me with his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. Needless to say, the run was eventful and very productive--I reached a better time for my four mile run. What a runner's high!!

Well, I'm off to the gym to work out the legs. Ciao!

A beautiful sunrise this morning

Run: AWESOME!

Nike Plus Recorded: 6.02 miles, 51:45 minutes, 8:35 min/mile pace

I planned on running just 3 miles this morning, but I ended up running 6. For some reason I just kept going, and it felt GREAT. I usually do my long runs on the weekends, but this weekend I didn't--for whatever reason. Mostly, I just slept...so maybe this 6 miler was what I really needed to jump start my week. Either way, I was able to witness a beautiful sunrise that put a smile on my face for the rest of the day. One of the best things I have found about running is the ability to put my mind at ease and think clearly. Between my blissful thoughts and the colors radiating from the sky, there was no way this would end up being a bad run.

My knees aren't really hurting. I wrapped them up after the run and I'm icing them now (as soon as I got home from work). Hopefully, with all of this TLC, they will give me more miles and still be usable when I'm an old fart.

Next run day: Wednesday

Tips: Blog 1

This is a website I found on why my knees may be hurting-a more common problem in women. Also, it gives a couple easy tips on how to help get rid of it for good. It's worth the read.

http://eightstepstohealth.com/Knee_Pain_Exercises_Especially_for_Women.html

Text:

"Knee Pain Exercises Especially for Women
Need to strengthen knees because of knee pain? Because of their anatomy, women are more likely to have knee pain. However, much of this pain can be relieved with a few simple exercises.

A young lady in a baseball uniform recently came to see me in the emergency room. She had pain in her knees that had been increasing over the last few weeks. It had gotten to the point that she was actually limping. What to do?

A brief exam and a couple of x-rays later and we knew what the problem was. There was inflammation of the joint between the knee cap (patella) and the knee (distal femur).
Many women suffer from the same ailment. The reason is that because of the wider pelvis that women have, the muscles of the thigh tend to pull the knee cap off to the side. The result is that it gets increasingly inflamed and painful.

The pain from this type of problem is normally just in the front of the knee. It will be painful to straighten out your leg when you are sitting. It will be tender on the side of the knee cap.
If you have this problem, the good news is that normally you can completely relieve your pain with a few simple exercises.

The goal of these exercises is to strengthen the mucles of the front of the thigh (quadriceps muscle) that will pull the knee cap straight.

To strenghten the quadriceps, simply lie down on your bed and do straight leg raises. Don't bend the knee. It is already inflamed and you don't need to make that worse. Just repeatedly raise your leg. This will strengthen the quadriceps.

If you get a bit tired from doing this ten times, just keep doing it. But, if you are in pretty good shape already and this does not make you tired at all, it is time to step things up a bit.
When you are ready, the next step is to do the same exercise with weights. To do this just get an old purse and put a can of food in it and repeat the straight leg raises. Pretty easy eh? As you get stronger, gradually increase the weight in the old purse.

During this time, if you can take them, a good anti-inflammatory medications such as Ibuprofen will help get rid of the inflammation and aleviate the pain you are having in your knee.
However, by doing these exercises regularly, you should not need to use the medication for more than a few days."

I put the text in here just in case the link broke. :D

Not dressed for the Weather

Run: Just a nice warm walk today with the dogs and the husband.

Today, we took the normal hike up the mountain. The dogs played in the river along side the gravel road we hiked up. It was a slow pace because it sped up to about summer weather today. Jeans and a tank top proved to be a little hot for the walk. At some points I wish I was swimming around the river with the dogs. I felt the water and it actually felt pretty warm for the season we are in. The water is also run-off from the snow capped mountains...so you would think it would be pretty cold. Anyways...it was a nice stroll. Kept my knees out of trouble and I still got a bit of exercise, which is always the point.

Ride, ride, ride your bike...

Run: Not a run, just an hour long bike ride at moderate intensity

Today was an hour long bike ride, with random intensity bursts throughout. According to webmd.com the less impact excersices i do, the better it is for my knees. So, that's what I did today. I also did quadracep exercises yesterday. Hopefully, I am doing more helping than hurting. I guess we'll see.

New Shoes

Run: 3.75 miles with Molly in tow. Not a bad run, but not a good run either.

Nike Sport Kit recorded my run as follows: 3.76 miles in 33:15 minutes, at a 8:49 pace.

Today I decided to take Molly, our 6 month old pup, out for her first run. I figure it's better to ease her into running with me while she's still somewhat little. Well, she managed to slow me down a little bit since she has yet to grow into her big puppy legs. But, she was a trooper, running 3.75 miles right off the bat like that. She got spooked a few times by cars (and this really creepy old man that I swear tried to hit her or something because she went FLAILING into the road)and bucked right out of her collar. It's pretty dangerous running on streets that are one car-width apart while Italians are flying down the road like they are in F-16s or something. Anyways, I think that this is the last run I will take Molly on until we get to North Dakota. Hopefully we can find a park or something that is big enough to run a few miles on.

I bought a new pair of running shoes a couple of weeks ago online and I got them in today. I just HAD to go try them out. They are a little heavier than my other shoes--but that's just something I'll have to get use to. My old shoes have over 400 miles on them, so I know that this is a good change. (Even though I love my old shoes so much). They survived my first marathon and all of the training that went into it. It's time to retire them.

I read that knee pain can come from weak quadriceps, so I am starting a rigid training plan to get them up to speed. My hamstrings are pretty strong--so I can see how they can compensate over my quads. Anyways...I am going to start lifting 2-3 times a week. It will be hard to accomplish in the middle of a move, but I will try my hardest to maintain the regimin. Well, seeing that this is a pretty boring blog so far, I am going to wrap it up.

Mollyfalls

Run: No run, another walk with Ben and the pups. Instead of the usual trail we went on a trail up the side of a mountain leading towards a timeworn "castle" footprint. Hard to say how long it was, probably around 1-2 miles

This picture is from our walk today. I thought I would share a little bit of the scenery that we spend hiking around over here in Italy. We actually hiked up a new trail today and with all of the rain this past week, we were slipping and sliding all over the side of the mountain. When we finally got up to the "castle" we didn't realize that it was one until it dawned on us that there weren't many of them scattered around the mountainside. It was beautiful, and crazy knowing that it could be centuries old.

Going up the mountain proved to be a long haul. Not only we were sliding all over the place, but we had the dogs under our feet. They seemed to be mocking us as the would run ahead 50 yards or so, look gazingly back at us, then run back towards our direction full speed as if this were all fun and games. Also, there was a bit of wash-out so, the trail literally stopped-became a cliff-then started again. That was pretty interesting to get across. Getting up the mountain was quite the work out. My calves got the brute of it all and my knees held up extremely well, considering the circumstances. Even on the way down, they felt pretty good. I imagine it helps that this hike was mostly on a mossy, leafy, muddy trail. Easy terrain for the legs, compared to concrete. All in all, I'd say the endorphines gained from this adventure are just about equal to the ones I get from one of my 5Ks :)

Springtime Stroll

Run: No run, just a two mile walk.

Instead of running yesterday, Ben and I took the dogs (the black one is Kegan and the brown one is Molly) out for a stroll in the mountains by our house. It will be one of our last since we are moving out in the next couple of weeks. My knees are still hurting so I am in the midst of cooling off the running to heal them up. Sitting for long periods of time irritates them. Running irritates them. And crossing my legs irritates them. I am 0 for 0 when it comes to being comfortable. I ice, elevate, and wrap them in hopes that they will get better, but nothing yet. Oh, I also take an anti-inflammatory every once in a while- Vitamin M, aka Motrine. Anyways, the husband and I are about to get walking again, so I should wrap this up.