Friday, September 12, 2008

Playing Catchup

I've been a little absent from blogging for the last two weeks. Nothing major, just haven't felt like writing - don't know what to say. Oh, there's plenty going on - school, work, running - just nothing much interesting.

I have to say that running has been going really well the last two weeks. M has been running with me on Tuesday and Thursdays so I've been getting in genuine strength and tempo runs. Thursday's 9 mile tempo run averaged 8:49 per mile!!!! To boot, we conversed the whole way. M didn't have to do all of the talking. I can't believe how quickly 9 miles passes.

I really feel like I have a personal trainer. We went out to do some hill training on Tuesday. She talked me through the hills - pump your arms, lift your knees, relax your breathing. She knew when I was struggling and was so encouraging!

This weekend is a heavy running weekend - 7 miles today, 8 tomorrow, and 16 Sunday. It's supposed to be rainy all weekend but relatively warm so it shouldn't be too bad. Other than going to a friend's house to watch the Michigan-ND game tomorrow and church Sunday, there isn't much planned.

One more hour before I pick up Emily from preschool. Better use the time. By the way, here are my two little runners after the Fun Run. Guess they look like they had a little bit of fun.

5 comments:

Kelly said...

7, 8, 16?! Are you crazy? Nice miles. I'm am so jealous of the phrase "I can't believe how fast nine miles passes". Try running those miles slower. :) Just kidding, keep up the phenomenal work.

Mom on the Run said...

Um, yeah, I'm probably a little crazy.

Seriously, if you had told me three years ago that I would even be running, I would have told you that you were out of your mind!!!! I dreaded a run down the block and had no idea how far a 5K was or a marathon for that matter. I just knew it was farther than I ever cared to go on foot.

I think one thing that got me going was Team in Training and running for a (as Steve Runner puts it) a noble purpose. Having the accountability of a group that was counting on my fundraising efforts and running got me out of bed. Doing something for myself, too, that was stress relief at that time was so needed, too.

It has taken time to get to this point and I am really thankful for my running friend who keeps me going, too. Knowing that she's coming over at 8:20 am makes me get ready even though I am completely dreading the run.

Hang tough, Kelly.

Kelly said...

So you liked your TNT process? I looked into it and the fundraising seemed really daunting.

Mom on the Run said...

The fundraising is a little daunting although it depends on what event you are going to do. Because we are relatively close to Chicago, the fundraising amount wasn't quite as bad as races elsewhere because the travel costs were minimal. We didn't have airfare to contend with. My fundraising minimum was $2,500.

TNT helps you through the fundraising process with a lot of advise, guidelines for writing fundraising letters, and ideas for other types of fundraisers. The first year, for me was a little easier than last year, but I still made the goal. I held a garage sale and one of the restaurants in town donated a percentage of their profits from one evening. Last year I sold bread for about six weeks at our local farmers market to raise money.

If you are in a larger area, there is probably a decent size group. You have the accountability of weekly group runs if you want to participate as well as a running coach who can help you through running struggles.

There's more I could tell you but don't want to overwhelm. There are probably some unique ways you can fundraise. Let me know if you have any other questions or if I can help any further.

Rick said...

I am so happy for you that your runs have been going so well. Keep up the good work!