11/16 - good bye to old friends

this was my last long run on my friendly route here close to home. can't say i am gonna miss it! this week was uneventful, a 'normal' week. pushing time to get a new pair of shoes, my feet were throbbing on the 16 miler. 5 more weeks!!

sunday: rest
monday: 3m
tueday: stretch/foam roller
wednesday: rest
thursday: 9m
friday: rest
saturday: 16miles

trick or treat

a butterfly, dragon and ballerina

we dressed up for our bible study group as witches for a volunteer project at the zoo

pumpkins galore

good friends

good friends are hard to come by. i know that i have just a few close friends and i love them dearly. that's why when a dear friend of mine came to visit, it made me realize how lucky i am to have her in my life. we haven't seen each other in 7 years! what? actually, allison, was the first girlfriend i met out of college and we hit it off. she traveled all the way from missouri with her beautiful children lucas (13) and reese (10) and spent the weekend here. we did absolutely nothing, just caught up and played with kids... i am so lucky to have this girl in my life. thanks for visiting us!

what??!!

look at what i found!! i can't wait to use it, someday. it weighs about 65 pounds, is solid iron, and it is for a full size bed. perfect for a guest room bed, with a quilt....ohhh! the best part?? $10.00. yep that's right - $10 stinkin' bucks!

10/16 - 10k race

well this week was a turning point. be careful or get hurt. i am not going to get an injury at this point. after my 14 miles, my recovery time took a bit longer (meaning my IT band was killing me). after much appreciated advice, i took the week 'off'. i did some preventive maintenance and stretched, iced, rested and foam rolled the heck out of my body. i felt so guilty after taking two days off, i went to the gym and ran a short distance just to see how i was feeling and more importantly how i felt afterwards. i am doing good now! back on track and no turning back...

week 10:

sunday: rest (stretch, foam, ice)
monday: rest
tuesday: 2.5m stretch
wednesday: rest
thursday: 5m
friday: off
saturday: 10k race - fabulous. no pain. best time for me.. right around 54 min - i could have run faster, just didn't realize it. endurance was wonderful. now for the half marathon in 2 weeks.

9/16 - IT band

i know i am a bit behind on posting my running updates, so here is to catching up. training is beginning to get intense now, to the point where you don't want to wake up saturday morning because you know a long run is looking back at you. i ran 14 miles saturday. yuck. but i am so proud of myself. i did it! it was loooong. the sad thing is, is that a marathon is 12.2 longer than that! wow! my IT band has been hurting me. your IT band is a thick bundle of fibers that runs from your hip to the outside of your knee and can become irritated in runners (especially females b/c of our body layout), it just needs rest and stretching and probably some ice. regardless, week 9 is done and as you will see i will need plenty of resting.

week 9:

sunday: rest
monday: 1m, bike (IT band aches)
tuesday: 4m
wednesday: foam roller
thursday: 8m
friday: rest
saturday: 14m

the count down

the girls and i cut out shapes and numbered them for the final count down. they also got a quick lesson on patterns, colors, shapes and turn taking. was pretty impressed with myself...we are slowly making our way to number one!