Halloween

No matter how much I try to deny it, I really enjoy Halloween. People make a big deal about diabetics eating candy on Halloween for nothing in my opinion. If your kid doesn't eat a lot of candy to begin with, there's no reason they should gorge on candy on Halloween. I don't even remember this ever being an issue when I was little, though I have been reading a lot of articles lately on how kids need to only eat one piece and things like that. Anyway my Dad has to be given credit for properly managing how much candy I ate and for not making a much bigger deal of it than it needed to be! Plus I don't like candy that much anyway, I think Halloween needs to focus on things like all these pictures, especially the one making fun of George. Who knows what I will do this year for Halloween, but I have to remember that I still have 9 miles to run tomorrow. 9!

Pittsburgh wknd

Went to the Pitt game on Sat and the Steelers game on Sunday in Pittsburgh this wknd. I took Monday off of work with the thought that we would leave Pittsburgh and get back in time to run 7 miles. It didnt go so well. Running 6 miles before leaving for Pittsburgh on Sat morning was grueling enough. Then I didnt feel well all wknd thanks to this great changing of the seasons. Skipped running yesterday with the excuse that I didnt feel well and wouldnt push it. The plan is to run 4 miles after work today. This is the worst week of the whole training schedule and Jill is also moving this wknd. Should be interesting if I can keep it all up!

8

Hit 8 miles on Sunday in Columbus while Mike and I ran on a track that was 1.05 miles around at Ohio State. So I guess I probably ran more like 8.35 miles. Either way it went really well overall. Started off a little rough but I somehow picked it up around mile 4. It was fun in an odd way. I liked being outside and being at Ohio State, somewhere I wouldnt normally ever go to. The Columbus marathon was going on as well and this track was by mile 18 so we got to watch those people run by as we were running as well. It helped to keep track of the time too by watching the big timer the marathon had set up. I will probably say this for every mile until 13, but I never thought in my life I could run 8 miles and yet I did. I was pretty nervous about it all wknd leading up to it, but it went better than I could have wished for. The next long run is 9 miles, but that isnt until Nov 1st so theres some time!

I also had no idea Adam Sandler had made a cartoon movie called 8 crazy nights and cant believe I missed that one! I plan on posting annoying little pictures like this for the rest of the time.

times

Ran 4 miles today in 41:35. That is about a minute slower than I usually run 4 miles. I am not sure what is going on lately or why I seem to be running slower. It makes a huge difference for me to run in the afternoons vs. the mornings so hopefully that is all it is. I run in the mornings all week until my 8 mile run that is to happen on Sunday. This one is more nerve wracking than 7 was.

7 and then some

Hit 7 miles on Saturday in 73 mins. Mike ran with me for the first 4 miles and then I ran the last 3 alone. Mile 4 to 5 was the worst mostly b/c the end seemed so far away, but once you hit 6 and realize you have only 1 mile left to go it doesn't seem so bad. I have never run 7 miles in my life before so it felt like a big victory in all this running. Mike Erin and I went on a bike ride yesterday for about 20 miles. We rode to their kickball game by the Washington Monument and the first half of it went pretty good. It was a nice day and it was fun to get out there and ride down instead of driving. After the game though we decided to ride back again. Not so easy the second time around. It felt worse riding the bike than it has ever felt running which was hard to comprehend. I felt if I could run 7 than I can definitely bike 20. Next time I get on a bike I will need to be more prepared. But 7 is still pretty good for me!

"We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance." -Harrison Ford

I saw this quote and found it to be fitting for my running. To some people running 13 miles is not a big deal and do it all the time. To me it is more about setting a goal and accomplishing it. I quit a lot of things in my life such as soccer, the violin, softball, ballet, jazz, and gymnastics. Some of them I quit b/c I wanted to and others b/c I had no other choice. Running this half marathon is giving me a second chance of setting a goal and accomplishing it and a second chance of getting healthy in a way that a diabetic should be.

2 months until the race. I am surprised it has come on so quickly. 13 miles feels very far away today. 6 seemed so easy on Sunday, but doubling it sounds close to impossible at this moment. While I was running today I was thinking about what it would mean to run 14 miles on the trail, which is part of the training come late November. 14 miles would be me running from marker 4.5 to 11.5 and then turning around again. I have never gone past 7.5 thus far. This is going to be interesting. I cant even remember if the trail goes to 11.5! The positives are that I have been feeling better with it all and it is getting easier to get out the door each time. Today was cold and dark and yet I still made it out there while I think in the past I could have easily just called it a day.

6

6 miles in 1 hr 1 min 33 secs yesterday. That is the one to beat right now. I didnt have to stop to walk once and I felt pretty good during. So far so good.

best yet

went running last night for 4 miles and it was the best i have done to date. i felt like crap afterward but it was worth it. didnt stop to walk at all and made it just at 40 mins. plus i felt good while doing it. i blame this on the energy tablets that taste like espresso. its probably all in my head but it worked.