Work is boooooring today. Yesterday all of the computers (except, of course for my beloved mac) had to be completely reformatted because of viruses. Yikes. So today I get to re-set-up all of the email accounts. blah blah blah. No run today. Started on the carb-loading last night for a good run on Saturday. We had pizza for dinner and I made sure we got extra breadsticks. Well, at least they don’t have butter or cheese or anything on them, so I think it’s a decent way to carb-load. Yummy! And a bagel for breakfast today. And leftover pizza for lunch. And then I’ll make sure my mom takes me somewhere with pasta for dinner tonight. Woo hoo!

Five miles this morning. Difficult, but I did it. I was thisclose to quitting after one lap (1.75 miles) of the park, but then (god, my mind is weird) I thought, if I did the whole five miles, I’d be able to use “thisclose” in my entry today. Ha ha! I’m such a dork! Anyway, I guess it was all the more satisfying knowing that I finished it and I really didn’t want to.

Next run is 16 miles on Saturday with Chris. Hope it doesn’t rain, as it’s threatening to.

Looks like plans are going well for the Saturday afternoon pasta dinner we’ve been planning. Mike (Mr Brain Tumor) has made us reservations at some yummy restaurant. Woo hoo!

Pretty good run yesterday, can’t complain. 8 miles around the park. It used to be the most boring route ever, that 1.75 miles around…and around…and around. Now, I find it sort of comforting. Strange. Anyway, it took the exact same amount of time as my last 8 miler – 1:44. Strange. I must be very good at pacing myself, eh?

One thing I did differently was that I had a half a CliffShot after a few miles, then had the other half when I was finished. I think that helped a lot, not only with energy during the run, but refueling afterwards.

The only bad thing about this run is that I have a wicked blister on my fourth toe on my left foot. But the arch support insoles seem to be working for my arches…no pain!

Decent run yesterday. Difficult, but not too bad. It was just one of those days when 5 miles is hard. Strange. Hopefully today will be easier. But Kristina ran with me for two laps yesterday, which was good. It’s so nice to have company!

It occurred to me, while I was running yesterday, that of all the weblogs for the London Marathon I’ve read so far, have been from men. Except, of course, for mine. Ha! I wonder where all the girls are? I can’t be the only female with an online training diary, can I? How am I supposed to know if PMS affects others in their training? ha ha!

Note to Chris: my watch started working when i got a new battery. Strange!
.: posted by pam m 

Something I forgot to mention:

Back when I first started running, I bought a pair of Reeboks that gave me hellish shinsplints. So I bought an inexpensive sport insole to put inside the shoes (some Dr Scholl’s heelcup type thing) which helped, until I purchased my first pair of running shoes from a real running store.

After looking at the package for the insoles, I noticed that they offered arch support. So yesterday, I decided to try them out in my newer running shoes to see if they would help. And wouldn’t you know it, my arches didn’t hurt (hardly) at all after yesterday’s run! Today will be the true test, I think. They usually hurt more after eight miles than five. Duh.

More thoughts on Saturday’s long run:

I hadn’t eaten enough carbohydrates on Thursday evening or Friday to fuel me for Saturday. I thought I was doing well by having a plate of rice and a grilled chicken breast for dinner Thursday night, but in retrospect, all of those carbs probably went towards recovering from those eight miles rather than stockpiling for Saturday.

Chris and I discussed meal ideas for me, so we can test them again this weekend. Also, I won’t be doing my eight miler on Thursday, but tomorrow (Tuesday) instead, so I’ll be fresher by Saturday. So, Thursday night I’ll stock up on carbs (I like plain rice, maybe some stirfried vegetables) and Friday morning, I’ll have some oatmeal and a bagel. Then, for dinner Friday night, Chris and Rebecca and I may go have pasta at this yummy restaurant we like. Oh yeah, bagel sandwich or something for lunch on Friday.

This past Saturday, I had to get up at 5:45 a.m., because the weather forecast was for rain starting at 9 a.m., so we wanted to get finished as quickly as possible. Naturally, it didn’t rain. In fact, the last hour or so was sunny and warm. Yeesh. So next weekend, if the forecast is nicer, we can start a little later and I can eat some breakfast (a bagel) beforehand. I was starving during a lot of this run, which can’t be good. I did manage to eat two gels, though. I think I’m getting better! The new Sonic Strawberry flavor (with caffeine) I got is the most palatable so far. The texture is still a major problem, but as long as I breathe while I swallow it, I’m fine.

I’m not sore today, and yesterday wasn’t even too bad. My arches hurt on Saturday after the run, but as soon as I got home, I soaked my lower legs in cold water (as per Chris’s suggestion) which I think helped get rid of any soreness.

Next up: 5 miles this afternoon. Woo hoo!

Seventeen miles yesterday. Not the greatest seventeen miles ever, but hey, seventeen miles! Was a learning experience. I hadn’t fueled properly beforehand, so I just didn’t have the energy to run the whole way. So we walked some of it. We figured out that we’ll probably do some walking breaks, maybe 2 minutes per mile, or at least walk through the water breaks.

Kristina and I are off to the movies, so I’ll write more about yesterday’s run later.

Had a gorgeous, glorious, wonderful 8 mile run yesterday. Yay!

Left work at four, and was supposed to meet Kristina at the park at 4:30 so that I could do one lap before she met me, then we could do two together, and then I’d only have one more lap plus a mile to do. First lap went well, then we did a lap together. As Kristina hasn’t run in aaages, she was only up to doing one lap, so after that lap, she got my radio for me and I soldiered on…

It was a gorgeous afternoon, 55 degrees, a slight breeze, no clouds whatsoever. Just beautiful. The run was so easy, and not really all that slow for me. (The entire run took me 1:44, which if I had done exactly eight miles, works out to a 13:00 pace, almost exactly. But I estimate I did at least 8.1 miles, which would make my pace something like 12:45. And I did stop a few times: to get water, and put my radio on, stretch a bit, etc. I never walked, though.

I really hope the weather (well, at least the temperature) is like that in London. I never got hot, in fact, the breeze kept me nicely chilled. My biggest problem with endurance is generally to do with heat (I suppose I’m not unique in that!) so chilly weather would be fantastic. It was the heat that kept me from running the entire Mardi Gras half marathon. Overcast is good, too.

All in all, I felt really confident after today’s run. I was nervous about the fact that I’m going to have to do 8 mile runs in the middle the next 5 weeks or so (plus the two 5 milers and the long run, of course) but now I’m not. It’s not the long run on the weekend that makes me nervous anymore, it’s the mid-week longish run. Weird, eh? I guess because I’m under more of a time constraint (me versus the encroaching darkness) whereas on the weekends, I can take my sweet time.

So, next run is on Saturday, 16 miles with Chris. Or whatever he can run. I’m doing 16 miles though. Hope it doesn’t rain!