In the back of my mind, I wanted to mile repeats, or a tempo run, or some sort of speed workout. I didn't want the GPS to dictate for me today though. I ended up doing a quick warm up mile, and then alternating a very-fast mile with a not-as-fast mile. It felt so good to just move along in the cool weather, listening to my music and feeling removed from the world around me. I observed my surroundings. I did say "Hi" to the other people whom I ran past, but that was it.

Later, as I was walking through the hallways after my run, I still felt distant from the world. Actually, I felt distant from my body too. It was a great run. 8 miles (1:07:49)

It's been a crazy week. I really don't know where the week went. It's already Thursday. Prior to today's run, I had only 4.5 miles on Monday. It's not like me to veer of the schedule to this extent. It just couldn't be helped. I'll probably cross train, or do an easy 3 miles, tomorrow and that should get me back on schedule again.

Posted by Juls at 7:50 PM | Permalink

My body felt wasted. My eyes burned from the harsh air-conditioned air that is typical in every building in Florida (even on the cool day as it was). Unable to get out for a run made me feel like a dog on a chain. No use fighting it. I probably should have gone out for my run. All I could do was close my eyes, and dream?

Left, right, left, right?my feet fall, one after the other, onto the ground ahead. The pat ? pat sound of my feet confirms my pace. My shoulders and arms gently swing side to side as my hips each move in the opposite direction. It?s a glorious day outside. The sun is shining and I move easy feeling the wind blow in my face and across my body. These are the days when I love running the best. When I look around and am happy just to be me. To be able to get out and enjoy the day (even if only for a half an hour) refuels me like nothing else. I drink in the energy from the warm sun, and leave all the stress behind me. (Too bad that it?s only a dream)

Posted by Juls at 7:31 AM | Permalink

If there was any time where sleep would be of utmost importance, it would be last night. I had been worried about having difficulty getting to sleep on east coast time, so I took melatonin. I worked nicely. After reading for about 30 minutes, I was tired enough to sink my head into the soft hotel pillows and fall asleep.

It worked nicely until about 3 a.m. when I found myself wide awake. With my eyes closed, I listened to the creaks of the hotel and the whilling in my head. I was pacing in my mind, walking through my visit for work - my reason for being here.

I can't bring myself to review the documents again. On one hand, I feel like I should, but on the other, I don't want to zap my mind out. I'd plan to run, but now I think that I'll just relax this morning. It's going to be a *long* day (even longer due to my sleepless morning). My plane back to the west coast won't touch down until after 9 p.m. tonight.

I can't wait to be sleeping in my own bed, fighting Tom for the covers and listening to his breathing as we sleep. The boys will be asleep already (they'd better be asleep) but I'll get to see their sweet angelic faces as they lie peacefully in their beds. In the morning, its hugs for everyone.

Posted by Juls at 3:37 AM | Permalink

I almost didn't wake up on time this morning to catch my 6-ish flight to Miami, FL. I had set my alarm late last night but apparently didn't quite get it right. I guess that is what happens when you are overly tired. Like two ships passing in the night, Tom and I barely could discuss the essentials in the kids needs prior to our heads hitting the pillow. I was exhausted, but having experienced waking up early (central time) and landing late (pacific), I tried not to make a big deal out it for Tom's benefit. But the fact was that I was *really* tired.

At 4:50 a.m. I awoke with a jolt. My car was to depart, with me in it, at 5 a.m. I quickly got dressed, went downstairs ate a small helping of oatmeal and make coffee for the road. A few minutes later I was en route to SFO.

I don't travel well at all. At the airport, I chewed two dramamine tablets and prepared my head for the 5 hour flight. The after taste lingered in my mouth for quite a while afterwards. Slowly I sipped my latte that I had poured into my own cup. The cup has a photo of BoBo & YaYa and a marathon finish photo of me on it. For further inspiration I added a Babe Ruth quote, "Don't let the fear of striking out keep you from taking a swing." I saved my breakfast for after we reached "cruising altitude."

Midway through the flight, I was pleased that I was handling the bumps pretty well. I envisioned the plane bouncing on the clouds similar to a rock skipping across the water. The thought reminded me of something YaYa would say. And then I began missing him. I'll have to tell him that I spent the day flying through the clouds.

I always miss my boys when I am traveling. I don't know that they miss me as much. They still have their Dad there to keep things moving. And, as YaYa mentioned when I took my first trip for work, "Dad makes the best chicken tacos in the world." I have comfort knowing they will not starve.

The dramamine was losing its effect as the plane made its decent. I could tell. I was getting hot all over and the pressure in my head was building. I tried to relieve the pressure by making my ears pop. Oh yeah, and there was this little boy who thought it was cute to holler and yell at the top of his lungs. His parents seemed oblivious to it by this point. They had no control anymore. I don't know if they ever actually did. The plane touched ground, and I was headed for the hotel as soon as I could. It's time for an easy run.

Whew, that's better!

Posted by Juls at 5:58 PM | Permalink

One day, there was a young baseball player who loved to run. He was new to the team, and so were the others. They had only played 1 game because all of the rest were cancelled due to the rain. The players on his team were all just getting to know him. He wanted to be known as a great baseball player.

Being one of the youngest on the team, he had to prove himself. When it was finally his turn at bat, he was a both excited and nervous. What if he struck out?

As he was thinking this, the first pitch went by. "Strike One," the umpire yelled. That woke him up. He concentrated - too hard and another went by. "Strike TWO," the umpire bellowed. Now, he really needed to do something. He relaxed, and thought about how much fun it would be to just slam the ball way out into the outfield. He waited, and kept his eyes glued to the ball, and WHAM. A nice solid hit earn him a "single."

The other team was taken by surprise. They thought that the boy, YaYa, was going to strike out. Boy, were they WRONG. Not only did he hit the ball, but he hit it just right so they really had to scramble to get it. A player on the other team threw the ball to first base just as YaYa was arriving. But the first baseman was a bit disoriented and dropped the ball.

Yes, the first baseman literally dropped the ball. YaYa then ran to second base. The other team was SO surprised at this, and YaYa's team cheered hysterically. This was fun he thought. He couldn't wait to run again. As the ball was dropped by the catcher, he stole third base. Wow! The crowd went WILD.

Finally, the batter hit the ball and YaYa ran home, scoring not only a run but the approval of all of his teammates. After the team won, they went to the snack shack for hamburgers and hotdogs and talked all about the fun that they had on this cold but sunny day

Posted by Juls at 8:30 PM | Permalink

Posted by Juls at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My husband has a funny game that he plays with the kids. He lets them climb into his spot in the bed. He pretends not to be aware of what they are doing until it is too late. He lets them get comfortable, watching them from a far as they have Mom bonding time. We just read, or they watch me write my blogs. Whatever we do doesn't really matter.

After they are good and comfortable he storms in, like a lion in March, and growls, "Who is in MY spot!?" The boys just giggle with the pride of pulling one over on Dad. Pretending to have lost the battle, Dad slinks off. He actually goes to finish up work on his computer or watch TV. But the boys feel triumphant to have won the battle. And the hang out with Mom until I kick them out and send them to their own beds.

Tonight, Dad is out of town. YaYa is happily announcing that he "gets to sleep in Dad's spot ALL Night Long." Hopefully, Dad is reading this right now and will call to say, "Who is sleeping in MY spot?!?

Posted by Juls at 9:35 PM | Permalink

The rain is expected to roll in beginning tonight and continue on into the weekend. Spring is here, but it’s tough to tell. Taking advantage of the break in the rain, I headed off on the dirt trails around the office for another “sort of long” run.

After a mile warm up, I began to run mile repeats. I programmed my GPS to beep when I had run the distance of 1 mile. After the mile, I planned a quarter mile to recover at a slow jog. Then the cycle would begin again.

It’s been a while since I have done these and they can be challenging if you run them too fast. My 1st mile repeat was just about 7:53 minutes and the 2nd was 8:08. During the 2nd repeat it was more difficult to keep the pace up because I was running into a headwind.

I turned back towards the office as I began my 3rd mile interval. But I never did finish this interval. Mother Nature was calling and my body was trying to answer. The problem was that I was about 2 miles away from the bathroom and there were no bushes adequate to conceal any squatting activity. I had to slow the pace just to make it to the bathroom without any issues. It ended up taking me 8:32 for that 3rd interval and the following mile was 9:03 minutes.

I hate when this happens to me. Some have the luck of being regular, but I take it as it comes and hope that it comes when it is convenient. Roundtrip was 7.06 miles (1:00:26)

Posted by Juls at 6:05 AM | Permalink

My friends and colleagues wear fancy shoes and heeled boots with ease. They tower over me when we walk side by side. Okay, I guess that would happen anyhow, but never mind that. My point is that while they have closets full of fancy, colorful, high-heeled shoes and boots, I have a closet of running shoes (my current pair and a retired pair for walking) and a couple of ugly, flat, "comfortable" shoes.

A couple of years ago, my podiatrist told me "as you get older" the Achilles tendon shortens. I was *only* 37 years old then. He said that the tendon is further shortened in women who wear shoes with heels because the high heel acts to keep the tendon in a shorted position all of the time. By my wearing shoes with a heel, modest as mine were, problems in my ankles and legs were being caused during my running. My choices were give up running or give up the heel. So now I wear only those comfortable shoes that are anything but fashionable and I happily run.

As for my boots...I tried to wear them yesterday. I put them on in the morning and by the time I was at work my ankles ached. When I was on the mill for my lunchtime run, my ankles really hurt. So when I returned to my office, I pulled them off and just hid my feet under my desk hoping that none of my high-heeled colleagues would come by to talk with me. Today, I am back in my brown Merrell Jungle Mocs and my ankles are recovering from my day of attempted fashion. I envy those who can pull off the high heeled thing, but then again they envy me for being able to run as I do.

Posted by Juls at 6:04 AM | Permalink

This morning I awakened to the sun shining through the blinds. I went out for a long, slow run prior to leaving the island. As I ran, I drank in the beauty of the island views on the lovely day. Aware of having the leave the island later, I didn’t want the run to end. My run today was slow and easy like the pace of island tourists. No place that I have to be, nothing that I have to do. No emails or phone calls; just out for a run.

My body felt good but my legs seemed to feel the harshness of the downhill portions more today then yesterday. I ran along the coast in one direction, and turned back when the signs indicated that I was heading into a private section of the road. After returning to the main part of town, I ran the same 10K route I did in the race yesterday. I ran easy, with the purpose of just putting in the miles and enjoying the beauty.

As I returned into town again, there were more people out and about. A good portion of them were moving slowly, hobbling with discomfort. I recognize the post-marathon walk and am glad that I am not there today. “Show off,” one man says to me with a smile. I reassure him that I did not run in the marathon and finish off my run. Bon voyage to Catalina Island.

Posted by Juls at 6:03 AM | Permalink

Today, Tom and I played tourist. For my 40th birthday gift, I was treated to a trip to a cute little island off the California coast. Catalina Island is a picture of charming little Tuscan-style homes lining the hillside, cute little shops, and breathtaking ocean views. We rented a golf cart and rode around the island like kids with brand new bicycles. The wind blew my hair back just as it did, when we were zooming around in my Fiat, when I was only 20 years old.

My loving husband, who drove me around today, has been with me for two decades. Sometimes he simply leads the way, and other times he asks me for directions. Tom has taken me on a wonderfully beautiful trip. We are not like the many tourists who stay the path - following the map to every last turn. Sometimes we veer off course, and find a rugged ride ahead of us. With a little more color on our faces, and a few tangles in my hair, we head back to our room and rest up for the next adventure. I love this adventure with Tom.

Posted by Juls at 6:01 AM | Permalink

Today was gloriously beautiful. The sun was out and a cool breeze was blowing as a bunch of 10K runners set out for the hills around Avalon. In less than 1 mile we were starting a gradual climb along Pebbly Beach. Breathtaking views took my breath away. Soon, I could hear voices above me. Looking in the direction of the voices, I was surprised to see runners climbing up a significantly more challenging assent. Just ahead I made the turn and began a very challenging climb up a paved road. To the right was the ocean and blue sky. It was a gorgeous distraction to a beautifully challenging uphill.

I let gravity take me down the hill fast after reaching the 3 mile point. I reminded myself to relax and let my feet turn over rapidly. Soon I was passing people like I was on a bicycle. I couldn’t believe it, but I liked it. The downhill didn’t last too long. By mile 4 another, more gradual, climb was upon us.

We cheered the race leaders as the zoomed by in the opposite direction. I saw the two girls who had caught my eye at the Long Beach port for Catalina. They looked awesome. As I counted the female runners ahead of me, I realized that I was doing well. I didn’t know how well. It is hard to measure who old people really are, and especially hard for me to get used to my new age group. I mention this because I figured that the two girls leading the pack were in my age group. By the time I was heading towards the finish line, I was passing more runners. Although most of these runners were women, I didn’t think that they were my age. Except for the girl who was just ahead of me when I got very close to the finish, I didn’t not feel any qualms about passing anyone. They could pick up the pace if they were up for the challenge. I was apprehensive of passing this one girl though. I had chatted with her at the start. I looked over at her, she picked up the pace with me and I settled back to let her finish just ahead of me. I did not go the extra push at the end and walked towards my hotel room thinking that I did right. After all (I thought), it wasn’t like I was racing to place.

A couple of hours later, I stopped by the finish to take some photos of the marathon finishers. I was in awe of the apparent feat that they had overcome. Then I stopped by the window to see just how I placed in my race. To my surprise, I finished 2nd in my age group — just 0.2 seconds behind the 1st place finisher. In looking closer, it appears that, the girl who finished 0.2 seconds ahead of me was the 3rd or 4th place female finisher. Wow! Did I let that happen? What would have happened if I had challenged her to the duel? Would she have beaten me anyways? I’ll never know. Still, I feel really good…except for my knee!

Posted by Juls at 5:57 AM | Permalink

It‘s strange to be here awaiting the boat trip to the Catalina Island. It is the day prior to a marathon that I will not be running. It is very strange, to be in a position as a runner who has run marathons and to head over to Catalina Island with the intention NOT run the marathon. I watch as the people hang out, with the pre-race hydration going strong, and other pre-race antics. I wonder if I am ever watched in the same way that I watch these people.

People are stretching, talking about their training preparation, and just whatever. It is the pre-marathon nervousness, excitement, or apprehension. I’ve been there, but not today. And I wonder should I be in their shoes? Should I run a marathon instead of the planned 10K? I almost feel guilty, or less than, for doing the shorter race. They go about their way. There is even a man who is blind that has run this marathon for many years past. He rides over to the island on the boat with us. The marathon runners do the pre-race run, the stretch, the carbo-load. I just sit here feeling a strangeness of being in the position of “the spectator”.

Posted by Juls at 5:55 AM | Permalink

Today’s run was actually scheduled as a 3 mile run. Somewhere along the line I felt ambitious and wanted to do my “sorta long” run today and do some Yasso repeats. With my new found information regarding treadmill vs. free range running equivalents, I added more incline to my workout. I was milled, or crushed into small bits, by the treadmill today.

I started out at 1.5%. My warm up was with the treadmill speed set at 6.6mph (9:05 min/mile). That was fine but I didn’t feel ready for the repeats yet by the time mile 1 rolled around. Keeping with the 1.5% incline, I increased the speed to 8.0mph (7:30 min/mile). Although the speed of 8.0 mph was fine last week, the added incline made a huge difference in the effort. My legs were sore from the start and the added incline made the workout too hard.

After two 800 repeats I took the rest speed down from 6.6 to 6.5 hoping to recover better. But when I started back up (even with decreasing the incline from 1.5% to 1.0%) my mind had settled in as defeated. I couldn’t get my head around continuing. I finished out a 3 mile run with a total time of 25:17 and followed up with some weights.

Posted by Juls at 5:55 AM | Permalink

I have three children - all boys. Well, DD is not my birth child, but I like to claim him anyways. He's now grown up and a great role model for the others.

When I say "all boys", I mean more than the fact that I don't have girls. I also mean that my male offspring do not do things with the gentleness of a girl. They play hard, and get dirty. Sometimes, they scare the living daylights out of me.

BoBo plays baseball, basketball, football (for fun) and, more than anything else, he skateboards. He jumps over steps, or stairs rather, and makes his skateboard leap up into the air like a grasshopper. It's both fun and scary to watch and he does get hurt *often*.

YaYa tries to keep up with his older brother and he often tries to do things that his little body isn't coordinated enough to handle. He gets an "A" for effort, as he gives it 110%. YaYa is also very imaginative. He sees no limits when he looks at the world and he gets *very dirty* when he plays. Today, he looks at the clouds that sit just above the mountains and declares that we should ride our bikes up the hill so that we can "climb on the clouds".

Around our home, "girl" is the ultimate insult. In a home of all males, including the dog, I have learned to give in. Sometimes, I am even brave enough to join in on the fun. Earlier in the week, I took a turn in the batting cage. I missed nearly every ball as YaYa tried to assist by providing helpful hints, on my technique, through the fence. Yes, I play ball "like a girl", but I run like a girl too (and I'm proud of it).

Posted by Juls at 8:58 AM | Permalink

It was to be a very hectic day beginning with Little League Opening Ceremonies at 8 AM, and finishing with BoBo?s baseball game at 2:30 PM. There was much more baseball related plans in between the two events. I was going to do my pace run prior to Opening Ceremonies or during YaYa?s baseball practice. That was until we got the call that Opening Ceremonies are being postponed due to rain. I slept in.

By 9 AM we found out that YaYa?s baseball practice would be cancelled. At 10 AM we were notified that BoBo?s game was cancelled as well. Boy doesn?t that change things. It seems the Little League doesn?t want their fields, which everyone has worked so hard on, getting messed up. The only other change was that Tom would be gone for most of today. I changed plans. I flip-flopped my training and did my 13 mile long run and will do my 6 mile pace run today.

Posted by Juls at 8:50 AM | Permalink

When I was little I had an umbrella that was a walking salt advertisement. On the front it said, “When it rains...” and on the back it read, “it pours.” There was a drawing a girl holding her salt box upside down and thus pouring salt all along her path. I thought about that umbrella a couple of times this week. It has been a very wet week.

This week, I trained indoors for three workouts and managed to get outdoors for three. Amazingly, today was the first time that I got wet during my workout. It is hard to believe that I’ve been training for 10 weeks already. My marathon is about three months away and I need to stay motivated to keep working hard if not harder.

I’d also like to be in better control my diet. I’ve been very hungry lately and I haven’t been choosing the best things to eat. I want to go into this next marathon with a few less pounds to carry around. Here’s the summary of this past week.

Posted by Juls at 5:52 AM | Permalink

The theme of the day is "go with the flow." Today was like the cup that floats down the river, moving to the pace of the water and redirected around rocks, and tree branches. My plans for the day were in constant change. What seemed like rough waters ahead, ended up to be smooth sailing in the end.

It was to be a very hectic day beginning with Little League Opening Ceremonies at 8 AM, and finishing with BoBo’s baseball game at 2:30 PM. There was much more baseball related plans in between the two events. I was going to do my pace run prior to Opening Ceremonies or during YaYa’s baseball practice. That was until we got the call that Opening Ceremonies are being postponed due to rain. I slept in.

By 9 AM we found out that YaYa’s baseball practice was cancelled. At 10 AM we were notified that BoBo’s game was cancelled as well. Boy doesn’t that change things. It seems the Little League doesn’t want their fields, which everyone has worked so hard on, getting messed up. The only other change was that Tom will be out for most of tomorrow. I changed plans. I flip-flopped my training and did my 13 mile long run today and will do my 6 mile pace run tomorrow.

I wore my tights, and long sleeve running shirt. It was cold out but the sun was actually shining. There were ugly black clouds in the sky. I loaded up my CamelBak with water, and grabbed one GU packet for fuel. I set out at an easy pace and manually clicked of my mile splits at each mile marker along the trail. I listened to my music on my iPod and greeted the walkers, runners, and roller bladders along the way. Everyone was friendly and happy for this break in the rain (even if it is just for an afternoon).

Today’s run took me out and back. When I hit the 6 mile marker, I ran a bit further to add an additional ½ mile before turning back. I headed toward a local high school track and figured I would run the balance of the distance on the track. The only problem was that there was a huge track and field event going on. I looked through the fence for a couple of minutes, and stretched. I wanted to stay and watch, remembered being on my high school track days, but I was getting cold. I turned back to the trail to finish off the run. As I ran back, some workers moved their brooms, and rakes aside and watched me pass. I think they might have said something, but I didn’t hear what it was. It’s probably better that way. I just smiled and said thanks.

The miles clicked away, and as I thought about how different today’s run was than my long runs with Cindy and Mark. I figured that I’d better get used to running solo as my June marathon will be the first marathon that I won’t have my support crew cheering me along the course. It’s strange to thing about that. I’d better get a few more sound waves of my friends and family offering words of encouragement for my race playlist. Soon I was back at my van. I stretched for a short bit and headed for home.

Posted by Juls at 5:50 AM | Permalink

Three months into my training program and things are looking good. I’ve pretty much stuck with the Hal Higdon’s training program and I’ve been consistent in my long slow distance. I’ve done my strength workouts, and have hit my pace runs at a better pace than needed to qualify for Boston. I have added a consistent bit of speed to it as well. I know that I am on the right track. I know that I am improving. But will it be enough this time?

As far as Yasso 800 repeats, I have only done 4 repeats at a time in a workout. Additionally, up until now, my Yasso repeats have been on the treadmill. It’s a good workout, but it feels a bit like cheating. I plan to increase the amount as well as take it to the track.
Today, with a 3-mile run on the schedule, I decided to do some more Yasso 800s. Since yesterday’s 6 mile run was at a slower pace than usual, I thought that it kept to the hard – easy – hard pattern. I basically did the same workout as Tuesday except that I took the speed up to 8.0 during each repeat and rested at 6.7. It wasn’t easy, but it was easier. I wasn’t out of breath like I’ve been in the past.
Then tonight my son and I hit the YMCA for some weights. I was nice to be out showing him the smith-press and seeing what weight routines he has. We had limited time due to the childcare closing so I finished up abdominals and the balance of my shoulders, biceps & triceps at home. Things are coming around and I feel good about my training so far.

Posted by Juls at 5:49 AM | Permalink

Today was baseball practice after school. We are now at the cages as YaYa's older brother has pitching lessons. So YaYa gets some extra batting practice. He's taken in his new coach's instructions well. He is putting the steps into action. At first he misses. His swing is late, too high, too low and then...just right. Wham! He hits the ball. He hits the next, and next, and next. Now he's on a roll and the smile on his face shows his pride.

I am the proud Mother, who looks through the chainlink and offers as much encouraging words as I can. "I know you can do it," I say. And then he does.

Posted by Juls at 9:02 PM | Permalink

Life is a journey that is filled with obstacles. Why are some people more able to jump over the hurdles that are encountered in their path, while others are paralyzed by their hurdles? Why are some people’s hurdles higher than others?

I was emailing back and forth with another Mom from my son’s baseball team. We knew that we had met before, but we were not sure which face went to the name. In trying to figure out which Mom I was, the fact that I was a runner came out. She remembered me as the Mom who had gone running in the hour warm up before the All Star games this past summer. Running was my identifying factor. That wasn't all that surprising. I'm not the kind of girl that takes a shopping spree at Nordstrom. I'm more the type that would head to a running store if given a few extra dollars. I ooze running. The thing that surprised me most was that she said that she was “jealous” that I was a runner, stating that she would run in her “next life." Of course she was kidding, but it made me wonder why some people have hurdles to jump while others don't. Did she have a bad knee? What was the reason? I felt compelled to ask her, but that would be too pushy.

While contemplating this, the inspiring race report of “Mo” was forwarded to me via email. Mo ran the Napa Valley Marathon this past rainy Sunday. She qualified for Boston. In her story Mo describes the people along the course and how they encouraged her along the course. It was her struggle, but so many played a key role in her success. She describes the cancer survivor, out running the marathon after his battle with CLL, and the people she knew from her running and triathlon communities. With a few encouraging thoughts, and a lot of inner strength, Mo was encouraged to fight the weather, the clock, and her pain in her body. I had tears of encouragement flowing down my cheeks by the time I finished reading her story.

I’ve hit a lot of my own hurdles along my journey towards my own Boston Qualification. Some of my hurdles were knocked down as I tried to clear them, and others I just went around. I have had disappointment but, so far, I haven’t let the hurdles on my path stop me from trying to reach my destination. I keep trying. Eventually, I will make it over all of the hurdles and finish the race triumphantly.

Posted by Juls at 5:47 AM | Permalink

It shows when you are doing something that you love. I love my running. It fills me with the fuel that I need to get through the day. It’s a meditation where I find a part of myself. It’s my passion.

As a distance runner, I often run alone. Sometimes this is by choice, and other times it is because there isn’t anyone else who wants, or is able, to run that far. When I run alone, I am able to think about things that trouble me. I solve problems and come up with ideas. I run for my goals, but I also run for my soul. I might have to get creative in how I make time for it, but I can usually fit it in.

Yesterday, I waited for the opportunity to set out on my 6 mile run at my marathon race pace. Breakfast, baseball practices, and Birthday parties required some flexibility on my part. When the moment presented itself, I didn’t hesitate. I ran up the streets surrounding YaYa’s baseball practice, with iPod playing no particular set of songs. The street felt hard, and the air was cold. I let my body settle into whatever pace it desired. I ran for the pure enjoyment of going fast. I greeted the walkers, skateboarders, and anyone else who was out. I thought, “Show your passion” and when I was done I looked at my average pace, smiled big, and said “YES”. What a run!

At this point in my training, the length of my runs has not ramped up too much. For today, it would be a 12 mile long, slow run. The run is purely for distance. I will build the endurance needed to get through the marathon itself. In a few weeks, these will build up until the run is 20 miles. At this point, I’ll run solo. Today, however, I ran with friends who share in the passion of running. We set off at an easy pace. My legs felt sluggish but that soon resolved. The weather report had called for showers, so I figured I was bound to get soaked on this run. We talked and ran and before too long we were turning back. At the final mile we picked up speed. Huffing and puffing we came barreling back to our starting point. It was awesome fun.

Running is NOT my life. My children and family ARE. Running is merely a big part of it. Whatever you do, show your passion.

Posted by Juls at 5:46 AM | Permalink

When my teenager knows what he is supposed to do and still doesn’t do it, I assume that he must not care. But lately, I find myself doing the same thing. I know the things that I need to do when I feel the heel pain of my plantar fasciitis coming on. Avoid walking barefoot is one of the most important preventative measures – at least for me. All week, however, I have found myself getting out of bed and walking barefoot to the bathroom, or downstairs to make the morning coffee. I know that I should have my sandals beside my bed so that I can slip my feet directly into them before taking a step. . It’s all just a little inconvenience to save myself from a lot of pain.

Well I haven’t been real good about the no walking barefoot rule. I am now paying the price. My left heel has been hurting. I’ve now resumed my ibuprofen, am icing regularly and am wearing my night splint to bed. I have my sandals by the side of my bed and will slip on whenever I get out of bed. It is too bad that I had to test my luck and ignore my better judgment.

Posted by Juls at 5:43 AM | Permalink

The sun was shining brightly as I grabbed my backpack and headed downstairs to change. I felt the soreness from yesterday's squats in my legs as I walked. I changed my clothes quickly, pulled up my hair, and walked out past the cubicles to the back door. Mark was already outside stretching and tying his laces. I turned on the GPS and allowed it to locate the satellites as we discussed the planned route for the day. This process, which I call "finding myself", allows me to find the focus for the training session. In marathon training it's important to put in the miles, but equally important to have a focus for each run. Today the focus is tempo and distance, with tempo being the priority.

We left the building and ran down to the paved path that leads to our ritualistic hill. We run up and over and as we come down the other side, my GPS clicks off the first mile. It's a warm up mile but still we register 8:51 and my breathing is rapid. I embrace the rugged dirt path that leads down the other side. It's an opportunity to rest.

My feet turn over rapidly and I try to concentrate on relaxing as much as I can. The run is back on pavement for the next half a mile. A few minutes later, we are down by the water, running on soft mushy mud. It feels good under my feet. Now, the pace has picked up and we fight the wind in order to hold the pace. At this point I am very aware of my breathing. I don’t know why I breathe so hard. I couldn’t even hear Mark’s breathing at all. (I bet his heart rate is only in the 130s too.) It’s sometime frustrating, but it is what it is. I was able to get some reassurance when he asked what the pace read on the GPS. He was feeling the effort and I was relieved that he felt the challenge.

As we head back up to the pavement, to avoid the ever increasing mud puddles, I don't feel my legs anymore. I only hear my rapid breathing. It bothers me to hear it more so than it does to feel it. My relationship with sound and running is a funny thing. I LOVE the sound of the crunching dirt beneath my feet on a quiet morning run. I HATE the sound of rapid breathing (mine and others around me) and the treadmill pounding.

We finish strong on my lead. I felt great. I picked up the pace more, and more, and MORE. It was only 5 ½ miles (instead of the planned 6) but I kept my focus on the planned tempo and accomplished my training goal for the day.

A few hours later, the cold-front is rolling in. I can feel it as my body shuts down and sleepiness sets in. I just want a warm blanket and a cup of hot chocolate. I can hear music lulling me to sleep. There aren't any words and the tune is hypnotic in a familiar way. When I close my eyes and let my hands take the weight of my head I can hardly feel the coldness. But when I force myself awake, the chill comes rushing back.

Posted by Juls at 5:42 AM | Permalink