On This Day I Can Run...So I Will!

I'm really not too upset about missing my long run last weekend.  I needed a little break.  Walked 2 miles with hubby yesterday evening.  He is going to train for an 18.2 mile rucksack march scheduled for March.  The same weekend as my marathon...fun!  He has to march at a steady pace while carrying 25 lbs.  Glad I don't have to carry 25 on my run :)

Ran 3 miles on the treadmill this morning, did 5x25 core with 1x10 reverse crunches.  Hand weights for shoulders, biceps, and that flappy part on the back of my arm (forgot the name). 

Beautiful weather today... in the 60's!

Spun yesterday morning and walked 4 miles with hubby in the evening.  Thought of QP as we walked with our headlamps on.   thought at QP at spinning too because we had a new girl spin today.  This was her first time and she really pushed herself hard.  Reminded me of the first time I spun (with QP) and we could hardly walk later that day.  We would laugh as we saw each wobbling down the hallway at work:)

Ran 4 miles today with 2 miles of speed work worked in.  Feeling good!

So proud of my hubby.  He ran 2 miles before I got out of bed this morning then we went to the rail trail.  I ran my 8 while he marched 6 miles with his weighted pack on.  Nice to have him with me... I could get use to this.  

Spun last thursday... good climbing class :) 

3 easy miles on the treadmill

Late night last night with my grandson.  Still trying to get his seizures under control.  Went with my daughter to John Hopkins to see neurologist and poor little guy had 3 seizures while we were there.  

Ran 3 sleepy miles with 1 mile speed work.   Did core and strength training.  Gonna spin tomorrow :)

Got up before the birds this morning because I needed to get my run done early.  My husband and I hit the rail trail around 7am.  Cold morning but warmed up to a perfect running temperature at about mile 3.  

I was excited to see the baby doe twins this morning.  Seems they have survived hunting season so far.  They no long have spots and are getting bigger quickly.  They weren't scared of me at all.  They grazed on the side of the trail and looked at me as I went by.  One of them was literally 10 feet away (a little uncomfortably close).  Hopefully those little does won't be so brave when a hunter walks up on them.  

My IT band started acting up so at mile 6 I swung by the truck and got a knee brace out of my bag that I've been carrying for a couple of years now (thanks QP).  I put it on just to see if it helped ... and it did!  No more IT trouble for the rest of the run.  I need to invest in one of those bands you wrap around the top of your knee.  Anyone every use one?

After the run I dashed in the shower and made it to a Christmas play with my daughter, my grandson, and my son-in-law's mom.  We loved watching Harvey's face as he took in all the lights, singing, and kids.  His new medication has helped with his seizures, he is down to about 4 seizures a day now.  Hopefully we can get it to zero.  

I am so grateful for today.  Family, friends, and health. 

13.5 miles through DC today.  My husband and I hiked for 7 hours going from monument to monument.  We started off at Rock Creek Park and hiked through Rosalyn VA to the National Cemetery.  The tomb of the unknown soldier was quite moving.  From there we went to the Pentagon memorial, Lincoln, Korean, WWII, Vietnam, and Washington Monument.  Our final stops were the National tree and the White House.  We joked about how closely we were being watched by the secret service (could have been the backpacks we were carrying).   

It was dark by the time we made our way back up Connecticut Ave to where our truck was parked (near the zoo).  We had stopped for a sandwich and warm cup of soup at Potbellys' and had just started walking, when a car zoomed up the hill ... hit 2 curbs ... went airborn ... and stopped about 20 yards away from us.  The guy got out, looked at the two blown tires, then walked away.   Just a gentle reminder of where we were.  

Had to try out my new Garmin :)  Two miles in the hood since it was such a nice day and I knew tomorrow would be yucky.  Having fun figuring out all the bells and whistles of the new watch.

Super windy workout day.  Tempo run in the hood.  1 mile warmup, 4 miles tempo, 1 mile cool down.  The wind was fierce today.  The wind in my face slowed me down but I made up for it when I had the wind to may back.  Wish I could have found a way to keep it at my back the whole time ;)

First there was sleet, then there was rain, then there was snow, then there was rain again. We knew the weather might get nasty but didn't expect this mess.

Hubby and I headed out on the rail trail confident we had at least 2 hours before the precip was going to begin. As soon as we got in the truck it started drizzling, by the time we reached the trail it was sleeting heavily. My plan was to run 12 while he hiked 8. It sleeted for the 1st mile and was kinda fun because it bounced off of my clothes making me feel like a superhero with my forcefield on. That all changed when the sleet changed to rain ... a heavy steady cold rain. I felt like I dressed well because I wasn't feeling cold and I was grateful for grabbing my baseball cap which kept the rain off my face. At mile 6 the mind games began. I started bargaining with myself "its so nasty out here ... you should make this a 10 mile run ... your legs are getting numb ... you could colapse from hypothermia ..." Then I started thinking "how can you do 14 miles next week if you don't do your 12 this week, you know this will mess with your mind". Thats when I started visualizing warm blood flowing to the fat layer on my legs warming them up. It must have worked because I started to forget about the numb parts and concentrate on my stride and pace.

I forced myself past mile 10 and told myself how proud I was of me. Then as I started my last 2 miles the rain turned to snow. I felt rejuvenated and held my arms open as if the snow was just for me! I suddenly didn't feel as tired and picked up the pace but it was short lived ... good while it lasted. The snow turned back to rain and a heavier rain at that.

Finally I made it back to the truck and I had reached my goal of 12 miles. My husband had the truck running and warm. I took shelter under a pavillion and it was then that I realized just how hard it was raining. My husband said I had steam coming off my back ... wow.

Three miles on Rosewick Rd. Perfect day. No wind ... slightly overcast ... about 40 degrees. My training guide said I should run 2 but it just felt so good. Speed work scheduled for Wednesday ... oh boy.