Photo Update

Since life has been so nuts, and I have like, 5 minutes left to update the blog, you're getting pictures with a few words.

We got some family photos taken a few weeks back. my kids are SO. CUTE.

One day for school we made caramel apples at home:

It's FALL Y'ALL!! Piles and Piles and PILES of leaves are in our yard!!

Today was the end of soccer season celebration and the kiddos got some bling! Their first trophies ever. I'm so proud of how they've played this season. By that I mean with sportsmanship, and kindness, and as of the past two weeks, some serious skills :) Their coaches are just amazing, and Konnor and Mckenzie have really enjoyed the season. We wish we could always have the coaches we had this season. The kids on the team are also awesome, and Konnor has found the girl of his dreams and informed me a few weeks back he is going to marry her. Mckenzie has also got a huge crush. On a MUCH older man. The program director, Simon. LOL Girlfriend is head over heels. I mean, he is British. ;)

Forced Taper

This morning I had plans to run somewhere between 16 and 20, depending on how I was feeling, and despite being advised strongly not to. My training plan called for 12, but last week had gone so well...
After some hard core jumping in the leaves last night my right leg had started to bother me so I decided it would be better to hang out near 16. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I had to cut out at 13 because I was having so much pain in my right shin, a weird burning in my ankle and some other odd thing in my left foot. I figure it's better to gut it out in two weeks in Richmond, walk if I have to and finish than it is to gut it out now when I don't technically have to and not be able to run any of the race. Goes to show you should listen to those who are more experienced than you.

I also have seen so very many posts recently about children with SMA passing away. My heart aches for their families and my passion is ignited to continue to try to raise funds and awareness of this terrible disease. Remember, the fundraising page is here. The donation is tax deductible and for such an amazing cause. Really, this race isn't about me, or my time, or my medal. It's about why I'm running and I'm grateful that the good Lord reminds me of this frequently.

Quick Update

I did it. I ran the 18 miles. My wonderful hubby stayed home and held down the fort this morning. My wonderful friend got up and loaded her boys into her jog stroller and ran the first 5 miles with me to help me get my bearings since I've never run where we did today. She was also kind enough to let me borrow her headphones since i forgot mine (along with a few other things). The weather was perfect and I absolutely loved where we ran. It was MUCH more hilly than where I've been running and so I felt tired much earlier than usual, but it gave me a bit more confidence for race day. At 7.5 miles I turned my ankle, fell and skinned my knee pretty badly at the entrance to a trail, so I got up and ran back the other way :) around mile 16 my calves and hamstrings started cramping up. I decided to see what happened if I ignored it and thought about something else- it worked! Every time I thought about it they would hurt worse than before. This is the part I am most concerned with in regards to the race. Other than the fall I ran the entire thing which was amazing to me considering I've had to walk at least once during the past two long runs. By the  time I was closing in on 18 I was close enough to the car that I decided I could stop at 18 instead of continuing to run. Tonight I wish I had just gone the extra mile. I prayed for most of the run and tried to blank out the rest. I almost stopped running and went home when I fell, at mile 9 I considered leaving again, wanted to stop at 15 but then realized there were "only 3 miles left". It's funny how the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation's "Never Give Up" meant so much to me today when I finally came to a seriously painfull stop. If I had given up when I got injured the first, second, third-ok, you get it, time, or if I decided three weeks of missed runs was too hard to come back from this late in the training period, if that terrible 12 mile run that was mostly walking had scared me off, if I went home after I fell today, if at any point I had given up (and it would have been a well deserved surrender) I would never have felt what I got to feel today. It wasn't the time I always planned to have, but I was so proud to do it in 3 hours and 20 minutes. I was proud of me. I'm never proud of myself, especially when I fall short of whatever high expectations I've set that make it nearly impossible to achieve. Other than my road rashed knee I actually feel better than I did after 15 last week. I'm so looking forward to joining the rest of Team Callie in Richmond in less than 3 weeks!

Three Weeks

That's it. Just three weeks until race day. Tomorrow morning I am going to get up, get dressed, eat a bowl of cereal, and run (hopefully the whole) eighteen point six miles, 30k.  18.6 I'm excited and hopeful that it will go well, that my achilles will be quiet and let me do the work. Is it terrible that I'm already thinking about what I'm going to eat afterward as a reward? The original plan (I know, it's laughable at this point) was that by the time I got to my last few long runs that Aarik would be able to come and run at least the last few miles with me. As seems to be the new plan, the original plan didn't work out. Aarik will be watching the kids so that I can run and as of right now it looks like I'll have a good friend, and running buddy, come along for maybe 5 miles of it. I'm more nervous that stopping at this mileage will be a guarantee that I walk several miles on race day. I guess I just need to be ok with that. Right now I'm trying to decide if I should go sign up for the 10k that is a half mile away and run the course three times, or run loops in the neighborhood so that I can stash an extra water bottle for my hydration belt, or go run in an area I've never run before that has gorgeous trees and nice open roads, but then I'd have to find my way around for eighteen miles which could pose a problem. Praying whichever one happens works out.

Look What I Found

Yeah, this pretty much freaks me out. The race I originally wanted to do was mostly all down hill. Not too thrilled at the idea of three straight uphill miles at the place that I will have only run twice. Miles 15- 18 are just one long drawn out uphill march. If all goes as planned (as NOW planned anyway, the other plans are long gone) I will have only run one 15 and one 18 before this race. Not. Thrilled. Time to up my prayer count :)

Trying to Catch Up

I need to. I need to try to catch up on blogging AND training. The month of September was so completely overwhelming that I chose not to blog about it and share all of the negativity I felt during that month. Suffice it to say we had way too much going on and I was also dealing with an injury. Between life and limb (the right leg to be exact) I missed three crucial weeks of running. Like, completely missed them. No running at all. For three weeks. When I started back just a couple of weeks ago I wasn't sure if I'd be able to run on my bum leg to catch up, or be able to make up the mileage since it would require finding my way back to the 13 I'd built up to AND adding on enough mileage to get in a few decent long runs before taper and race. My first week back I subbed for two classes at the Y, and since I taught four days of cycle in a row I couldn't get in any mid week runs. Frustrated, I went out for my long run that weekend not knowing if I'd run two or ten. Luckily, it went great and I ran nine with no problems. I stopped at nine to make sure it wasn't overkill leading to re injury after my time off. I was thrilled and renewed. I came up with a make shift training plan for the last few weeks to build up to what I feel will be an ok mileage and was looking forward to twelve the next week. The twelve went horribly. After only five miles my injured leg was screaming at me, and whatever bug my family had been passing around was nagging at me, so I decided to try the walk run method so many of the ladies in my FB Women's Marathoner group recommended. So I ran 20 minutes, walked 5, ran 15, walked 5... It was brutal, but I finished having run more than I walked. I felt defeated, and beat up and frustrated that so many things have gone wrong with this training period.  I decided to try my hardest to stay positive, any finish at any time was better than not doing this at all. I've always said I just wanted to finish. Run or walk, it's still 26.2 miles. I did a lot of praying and reminding myself that my husband has been very supportive and helpful. He totally thinks I can do this (insert nervous laughter here). So many people have contributed to the fundraising end of this deal. I thought about Callie, and her family. Again and again GSF's  "Never Give Up" on my wrist, my jeep, my t-shirt, running jersey, water bottle. After a few days I wasn't as sore, we had another busy week with no time for mid week mileage, sigh, and Friday morning I went out for my first ever fifteen mile run, worried that this type of crazy, thrown together training plan would back fire. While I was aware of my Achilles, it never went into full on pain. My knee did something weird the first mile, but eventually settled in. I spent most of the run praying in gratitude for each mile completed and asking for a few more. At mile eleven I had kept an easy, even pace the entire time and was feeling strong. At mile twelve I decided to take a quick walk break to check for pain, and was surprised that the worst pain I had was when I started running again. My pace did slow after the walk break, but I still managed to finish my 15 in just over two and a half hours. Not the pace I had envisioned a few months back, but one I'm happy with now. One i hope to be able to muster for as long as possible on November 10th. When hobbling home I had a few thoughts: a. It sucks not getting a medal for this. b. ouch and c. I hope I can add 11.2 more miles to this :-! My last long training run (18 unless i can magically bust out a 20) is this next weekend, then two weeks of taper and the race. I'm crazy nervous and terrified by the idea of being forced to walk 8-10 miles after running 16-18. Just starting to realize what I'm supposed to be doing in 26 days. I probably won't find much time to blog between now and then, but hope to at least once. I would appreciate any prayers on my behalf, or good running vibes sent out. Or donations! ;) this post is already super long & wordy so, I'll TRY to update after next week's run.