Week 12 = 29 miles

Yesterday I went out for another 15 miler on a trail that was part pavement and part dirt/gravel.  This trail is called the Cedar Valley Trail that starts at Boyson Road in Hiawatha and travels all the way up to Waterloo!  The first 3 miles of this trail is paved and then it turns to gravel.  I only made it about 14 miles yesterday as I was starting to become severely carb depleted and my feet, knees, and hips were all VERY sore and cramped up in the last 1.5 miles.  I dropped a water bottle about 2 miles into the run so I could pick it up on the way back.  This was not soon enough!  It was a beautiful day yesterday, perfect weather and very little breeze.  My mouth was extremely dry by mile 12 when I finally got to that water!  I wanted to run Sunday with Liz and Rachel, but I had offered about 4 weeks ago to sub a Step class Sunday morning at 10am and this is when the girls went; so again I was all my my lonesome out there on the trail.  I was really starting to doubt myself on this run.  What am I getting myself into!  And then I just thought how good it was going to feel when I was done with this run and about all the great support I am getting from my family and friends who will also be there on race day to help me along the journey to 26.2 miles! 

I have been researching these GU packs that are gel like substances you can take along with you on endurance runs/walks/biking when you are going for 2 hours or more.  My run yesterday took me about 2 hours and 20 mins and I was definitely feeling it.  I think I am going to start supplementing these GU pack on my runs to see if they help and go down smoothly.  Some people really have a hard time swallowing them because of their consistency, but they should help restore my carbs during the run quickly as they are made up of pure complex carbohydrates and real fruit.  Here is just one brand of them.  I am going to a local running store today to get some more info about them.

Knees and feet were again very sore and stiff this morning on my way in to teach BodyPump.  I rode the bike for 15 mins before class and that seemed help warm them up and I was fine to teach all the tracks including the Squats and Lunges that I was most worried about.  I have 4 miles tomorrow, 8 miles Thursday, and 5 miles on Friday.  I hope to get a 12 miler in this weekend while in Naperville visiting Kyle, Jamie, and little Lauren Paige :)  Have a great week and Happy Easter!!!!!!!

Down, but not OUT! Week 9 = 27 miles

Yes, I have been down, but not out of the game.  At the end of February, that cold I talked about last post turned into bronchitis and walking pneumonia, so I was at home for a whole week unable to exercise or go to work.  AND, my computer has a major virus that I'll probably have to go get fixed for an insane amount of money.  If anyone out there knows anything about computer viruses, LET ME KNOW!  I relaxed at home, drank plenty of fluids and did some light yoga and walked on our treadmill for an hour at a time to keep my mileage up a little.  That was my 12 mile weekend run that I had to miss out on and Ryan and I went snowboarding with his family instead :).  The following week, I got back into it slowly, running 3 miles, 3 times that week and 8.5 on that Sunday, which was supposed to be 13 miles!  Last week, it was on.  I ran 3, 4, and 4 during the week because I was still getting back into teaching my full schedule of classes again, and did 10 miles yesterday outside.  Today I will run 3 miles, tomorrow 7, and Thrusday 4 and finish the weekend off with a 15 miler on Saturday so we can go out and celebrate my birthday that evening!!  AAHHH......15 miles, this is a big one.  We'll see how that goes, there will probably be a few stops on that one, but I just want to get out there and go for it.  I have had some pain behind my left knee, but that is probably due to lack of stretching....I know, I know.  Not too many more weeks of this, its going quickly.  May 16th will be here before I know it. 
I'm so thankful that the weather has been nicer here and I can actually run on the streets and trails.  There is a nice little trail about a half mile from our apartment and it is exctly 1-mile around.  It is really great because I don't have to think about how far I've gone I just have to remember how many laps I have done.  I did 4 around it yesterday before I got bored and needed some new sceenery.  There are also stations for doing sit-ups, climbing, push-ups, tires, arm-ladders, etc.  It will be nice to take clients there this summer for something new!
I haven't chosen a circuit yet this week, I will post at a later date once I have written it up :)  Have a great St.Patrick's week!