Monday, October 17, 2011

Rollin' with my homies...


My jolly green foam roller. First, I must say, this picture is a little girlier than most of my long run posts; pink headband, vneck tank, a necklace...??? Well, it's a start. I used this bad boy all weekend, and I *KNOW* that it has made a difference. Now, the tears while using it are embarrassing, but alas, it works. My right quad is a little tight, so I'm rolling twice a day and it's definitely loosening.
Today, I ran my best 5 miler in a long. long. long. time. I had positive-negative splits. I started off in the 10's in mile 1, then hit some 11's in mile 2 and 3 (Stop lights, attempting to chew and swallow shot bloks without walking...). Enter miles 4 and 5: AWESOME. Mile 4 was in the 10's, and mile 5 was a 9:19! I barely felt winded! And is that a sunburn I feel? Probably. What a great day for a run. It was 70 and beautiful. The park was FULL of runners.

Weekend update: I ran 20 miles. I had a great dinner with great ladies on Saturday night. I called it a wife play date. All of our husbands were away (Two, including Mr. Miller, were in Green Bay for a Packers game, and one was away for a bachelor party), so we needed to get our sushi on! Now, I'm NOT a fan of seafood but LOVE sushi with cucumber, avocado, sweet potato tempura...but I opted for chicken terriyaki and mashed potatoes. AH-MAHZING. A husband sent us shots over the phone and claimed they were from Aaron Rodgers...message RECEIVED! :-D I still didn't have a full on appetite, but called it a night and excused myself from further fun because I was getting tired. Sunday I ate. And I ate. And I ate. I really think I gained 3 full pounds. First up? Nutella stack pancakes, which I ate in its entirety, pictured above. Followed by a cheeseburger and french fries, which I ate 3/4 of, and a box of Annie's Mac and Cheese, which I ate all of. Yup. Lots of calories. I couldn't keep my stomach satisfied! Today I ate less and felt better. I'm more of a small meals multiple times a day vs. three square meals. It was a GOOD eating day! Um Packers? UNDEFEATED!

Time spent running. After my 20 miles on Saturday, I was so happy with my time, effort, and how I felt. I'm excited for the marathon because I know I'm going to finish. My confidence is pushing me forward. My training has worked. However, I don't plan on running for a certain time. Of course I have goals and hopes and dreams, but I'm a finisher. This race is all about completion, not about numbers. I see people who obsess about numbers, and they are good, REALLY good at running fast and enduring the miles at break neck speeds. This week I got stuck in a bit of jealousy of these speedy superstars. I never post my times because I am slow, hence my Garmin's name being Poco Loco. After my 20 miles, I feel confident that I'm not suffering while running in the 10's or (GASP) the 11's. I'm running. I'm doing what I love. Who cares about my time? Who cares that when I'm at mile 5 after my 10:40 start, the leaders of the marathon will be DONE?! I'm running this race to finish. If I do another marathon, I'm sure there will be talk of numbers and pr's and what I will do differently. For now, I'm finishing. I'm taking my final training weeks and completing them to the best of my abilities. I'm enjoying it. I'm smiling. I'm finishing.

19 days until the ING NYC Marathon!!!

...I'm a get your heart racing in my skin tight jeans be your teenage dream tonight...THE TEENS!

1 comment:

Mile Posts by Dorothy Beal said...

Speed is a state of mind. You are certainly not slow! Will you finish the marathon last? No. It's hard not to get caught up in comparing - all of us do it! But you are perfect the way you are and I consider you fast whatever your pace. Excited for you about NYC. Thank you for your sweet words on my blog yesterday :)