What a month!

Things have been so crazy that I just haven't had a lot of time to sit down and catch up.  But I feel like that's just how it is in December.  Between work open-houses and APTT events, and friend emergencies, there's been little time to even think about anything else.  Even my running has taken a back seat the past couple of weeks.  Not that I haven't been doing it, I just haven't been doing it as fast.  Pretty sure I left off on the Sunday of the Merrython.  That week I ran at least 30 miles total, mostly because I couldn't really get to boxing at all, so running was the only option.  APTT really ate up a good chunk of workout time.  Then there was a cookie judging contest at Punchbowl and suddenly the week was over.  Last week I did so little running it was like I wasn't even training.  To be fair, last week was crazy.  A very good friend lost a family member and that took over the entire week.  There's no way I wasn't going to offer my support in case they needed it.  On top of that I had a 24 hour flu-ish cold.  It wasn't really the flu, but it included chills and aches.  Luckily it passed quickly.  AND we had our December open house at school.  So, as you can see, there was a lot going on. Today I'm back on track.  I ran 16 miles, 10 with Murdock and 6 alone.  Doing the last 6 alone wasn't so bad actually.  Unfortunately my Garmin died at mile 13, so I don't have accurate times or any of my last splits.  I do know that I had to use the bathroom so bad by mile 13 that I passed through the last 2 miles without noticing, because I was so busy looking for a place to jump into the woods.  (Don't worry, I never did find a place, so I just held it and dealt with it.) Let me just tell you, there is perhaps nothing harder than trying to run with a full bladder.  As a runner, I fully believe that porta-potties should exist on every road.  Sure that's unreasonable, but man, I would have paid someone to use a bathroom at that point! I was a little disappointed because the run took about 2:30 total, which is really not that great.  My whole goal is to run a faster marathon, perhaps even a 3:59 if possible, and running 16 at 2:30 is not going to get me there.  Of course there are a million factors that will come into play on the day of the marathon but I only live in the here and now.  That's just how I roll.  I plan on running my 20 miler a bit faster next week.  Now all I have to do is find a place to run it!

Oh yea. The Greyhound Friends came to visit the third graders at school last week.  It was awesome to be able to see all the dogs and hear the stories.  The students really enjoyed meeting the dogs and learning about re-training former racing dogs.

Selfie from a 6 mile Lake Q double loop run.  Because why not.

Rad Marathon Training

I've been so busy being RAD and doing summer activities that I've been slacking on the blog again.  When I say being RAD, I'm not being full of myself, I'm merely referencing the Color Me Rad run I did this past weekend.  Last year I did the Color Run, which was basically the same race.  The only difference, besides location, was the efficiency of the race.  Last year, the parking for the race was far enough away that people needed to be bused to and from the parking lot.  Unfortunately, there was a major accident on 495 that day, which ended up holding up traffic for hours.  A lot of people spent more time waiting for the bus than they did running the race, myself included.  So while the race was fun, I wasn't really interested in going back to that particular course again.  Color Me Rad was in Brockton and there were no parking or traffic issues.  We got in, we ran, had some fun, and left.  Since we ran as a team, and every team needs a theme, we decided to run as Jem and the Holograms.  I must say, we looked fantastic.  People were hating all over the place.  We started off nice and clean but by the end, we were hardly recognizable.  It was a good time though and I'd definitely do it again next year.
Marathon training is coming along.  I don't really know if it's going great, or terribly.  We did 13.1 last night, just over 2 hours, but I wasn't too happy by the end.  My entire lower body was sore.  I honestly had a moment of panic in wondering how I can possibly run another 13.1 after that, when I felt like I couldn't possibly take another step at the end.  Today, in an effort to get used to running on tired legs, I went out for a 6 mile run.  But I went at 1 pm, which was possibly the worst choice, as the weather was hot and humid, and the sun was out.  Nevertheless, I made it 5 before I decided it was best if I walked the final mile.  The 5 took me about 44 minutes.  Not bad I suppose. Next weekend our long run ups to 15, so I need to mentally prepare for that.  I think I also need to figure out a fuel for the middle of the run. The sports beans are good, but I feel like they're not cutting it for what I need.  Burning sugar and carbs isn't going to be enough.  I need to be able to sustain the muscle power for the other half. So any suggestions on that would be helpful.
The Wednesday night runs are still going strong.  We've taken to having a little party in the parking lot afterwards, usually margs and chips. Don't knock it til you try it, it's fun, cheap, and a nice way to see everyone for a little bit.  Ryan also bought me a Garmin Forerunner 10 GPS watch.  I'm pretty pumped about it, because I was getting sick of using my phone for everything.  I knew I'd need something for the marathon anyways, because I didn't want to use my phone and drain the battery.  I'd prefer to have the battery at least halfway charged, in case of emergency.  I love the watch and it's been great, but I did notice that I've already started a new habit that I need to break.  When I know I'm getting close to the last mile, I can't help but keep looking at the watch every few seconds and watching the time tick away.  That's going to make everything seem so much harder, so I really need to stop.  If you want to view my new routes, you can check me out on Garmin connect, awwie15.  Now you're all caught up, so here are some pics.  Enjoy.

Wednesday nigh parking lot party

Enjoying our parking lot party

Before. So clean

Porta-potty shot, a race pre-req.

After

I was caught mid-color bombing!