Back from the Dead!

Well goodness! After a six-month hiatus, I return to thisisarunningblog. Since the half marathon in September, wherein I cut 12 minutes off my June half marathon time, I have not done much distance running (and, unfortunately, during the months of November and December, very little running at all). It is for this reason that I let this blog go. HOWEVER. I moved to Asheville in February and have since been greatly enjoying running and the changes and challenges my new location presents. For one, hills. Also, much more delightful and varied and new and exciting scenery and sometimes vistas. Also, a bunch of rain much unlike Chapel Hill rain. But overall it has been a positive and inspiring move in terms of my running life (and my life in general).
I am really stoked on the idea of getting into trail running; I always enjoyed running in Bolin and Duke forests and the hills and roots and streams they delivered. There is, as is predictable from the huge hiking and rambling and mountaineering culture here, a healthy trail running community and great resources and ideas and maybe, just maybe, running buddies to be found. Happy girl, happy runner and very glad winter quit doing what it was doing.

Halfsies

I ran 13 for the first time since June yesterday! The weather was perfect and I was so grateful: low 70's, sunny but not beat-you-down sunny, crisp and beautifully sunrise-y (not the biscuit kitchen, though by the end of it I could have downed an egg and cheese... I definitely could have...). My legs were pretty toasted by 11.5mi or so, just as I remember having happened during the marathon.
I have been a pansy about hills lately; I don't know whether or not to forgive myself.
My knee has been better. My yoga teacher gave me some decent new IT stretches. He says my flexibility in my right leg is so extreme that 1) it makes no sense that my band is painful/ tight and 2) that it's going to be nearly impossible to loosen it up because bones don't bend how I would need to bend to stretch it. Well then. I concede.
Two weeks until the race and I'm a little less afraid because I think John is going to escort me to Asheville and after having run 13 I remember what it's like and that I'm capable of it.
I'm a little weary of waking at 6:15 on Saturdays after long, long workweeks but I think I can cope for another 10 weeks. I have no idea what it's like to run for four hours on a Saturday morning, though. One day. One day I will know.
Happy trails.

Jitters

I am getting nervous about the Asheville half marathon. I am supposed to work until 5 the day before, the drive down is 3.5 hours, and packet pickup only goes til 7. My parents (Asheville residents) are going to be in Scotland so I gotta drive myself to the race the morning of and somehow park. On top of that, my last few runs have been really slow and my knee/IT band has been hurting. Tomorrow I'm running 12 miles with Fleet Feet (and my fuel belt... mmm...). I hope it goes well, or else these jitters are gonna feel even worse.
The San Diego race was perfect. We loved the trip and were pretty happy with the race itself. Now I'm alone and the whole thing feels a little scarier. Even though I'm not planning on "racing," I do hear a voice inside my head demanding I get a[n even slightly] better time but I know the course is harder (hillier). I'm trying to generate some positive vibes for myself in the next couple of weeks.

The Fuel Belt is Incredible

Oh my gosh. The fuel belt is literally the most best running purchase I've ever made, inclusive of the Mizunos I was fitted for, bought, and have loved since March.

I went on that dank run on Saturday and didn't have to stop to walk once. I was super relaxed, never stressed, and didn't have to think about how close I was to water. The belt didn't jostle, wasn't annoying or too tight, and held my phone, keys, and a gel without any problem (didn't even plan to use the gel, just wanted to see what it would be like). I was so in love with being hydrated that I kept a good pace and was just beaming. This middle-aged woman jogging with her tiny ugly dog passed me on Seawell School Road and was like "you look so beautiful! you are glowing!" in the most genuine way. BANGIN.

So yeah, I'm running with that dorky, dorky belt whenever I do distance in the future. For sure. For SURE.

Fuel Belt

I bought this thing today. I don't know whether or not I'll like it and if I don't 10 miles tomorrow is a lot to not like it (I hate it when the hairtie around my wrist is too loose or too tight when I'm running-- I'm gonna HATE it if this thing is clunky or ill-fitting). But it has been SWELTERING and I know I need it. Ran ~4.5 in Chapel Hill North on Wednesday and damn near died from heat heat heat.
Trying to stay positive, but hellfire, I am looking forward to <85 degrees.

Fleet Feet!

TNT will always be my first training love, but I've just joined a new training group at Fleet Feet Carrboro and I'm really, really happy with it. It's set up sorta like TNT-- group runs Saturday morning at 7:00 at different locations, but FF also has Wednesday evening runs. We also have the privilege of cool clinics after training. Yesterday was a quick chirunning lesson--super fascinating. It basically carries the principles of yoga I've learned over the years into running. This makes a ton of sense and yet I've never exploited the crossover.
And, of course, I really love the people in the new group. I think I just love runners!?!?!?! So much energy going around.
It's been too hot for me to really be "successful" (=fast) lately and it gets me down when I snooze through a morning run, so I've been struggling a little with my 'tude. I used to consistently be able to wake up to run regardless of how much I had slept the night before. I also used to always shower before school. I've re-prioritized now, I think, but it feels so damn good to be freshly-run and freshly-cleaned that I can't really parse that decision.

Anyway, yeah, excellent new group, registered for my second half, with the first full possibly in sight before the end of 2010... beautiful.
Oh, and I'm really, really happy these days. Summer in Carrboro is perfect.

You'd Better Believe It

I dun registered for #2:

So Much Love All Around

I just finished Phase I of writing thank you notes and I think my hand hurts worse than my legs did after running the race. Which means we have a hell of a lot to be grateful for.

It was a spectacular weekend. The race was hard but about half an hour after all we could say to ourselves was "WHEN DO WE GET TO DO THE NEXT ONE?!?!" so I guess that means we gotta get on that soon.
We love you all so much. Thank you for your support--monetary, emotional, sometimes even physical. It's incredible to be surrounded by such a giving and warm community.
There's no way I'm going to abandon this blog because I like the link so much so I think I'm going to keep it as a training log in the future. That may mean for other races/marathons and even for future TNT events but for the next little while I'm just going to try and beat the heat and love the road, so if you're into hearing about how much I (we, I guess) like to run, keep checking back. I've got a lot to learn about running and a lot to learn about fundraising and being charitable and giving of the self-- many things I can learn from you guys. So stay tuned. Let the force be with you. Live it up. Run on.

We're Really Ready

The View from the Wagon

WELL. I'm back. Looking through my paper journal, I (involuntarily) had almost a full month off of training (with a few short runs sprinkled in). My knee is feeling better.
Saturday I did about 8.5 miles (really, really hilly) in the Korstian Area of Duke Forest. I had never been out there even though it's like 10 minutes from my house. It was so, so beautiful and the 7AM start got me finished before the heat made things unpleasant. Coach Bill ran about a mile with me and we had never met before it-- that's one of my favorite things about TNT, is just saying YES to running, saying YES to friendships, to 7 AM. I get out of my comfort zone sometimes but the program is so well-designed that it always seems to work out.
I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about building up distance over the next few weeks (only 5 left!), but my legs feel pretty strong and I think if I can stretch a lot and beat the heat I'll be okay. We'll be great!!!
According to my calculations, I have raised $2,401.00. Amazing, right??? That leaves $499. I'd like to see if people will pay for my weekend distance runs-- $14 to my 14 miler this weekend (my first 1/2 marathon distance!), $18, etc., etc. I might go around Friday nights with a blank tshirt and some Sharpies and say I'll wear it to training and you can write whatever you want on it (and my face, etc.) for a dollar a mile. I have no idea. Might be fun, right?
Please donate. The link's on the right side of the page and it's super easy. Let's KICK CANCER!

-Elizabeth