My Running Report

Beep beep beep - it was annoying. 5:25am, I grab my cell phone and change the alarm to 'snooze' instead of 'off', allowing me 5 extra minutes. Pretty soon my radio alarm clock started singing a country song in my ear after it's 10 minute snooze. I pressed the large button on the top and turned it the volume down a little so it wasn't so obnoxious the next time it came on. One more 5 minute snooze on my cell phone alarm and I was trying to open my eyes and drag myself out of bed at the same time.

I've mastered the art of dressing for my run quickly because I know the longer I stay in my sleeping clothes, the less likely it will be that I'll want to run. So in a few short motions, my running clothes are on my body and I'm headed to the bathroom. Pee, (try and pooh, but no luck - this is important before a long run) brush my teeth, put my hat on and sloppily braid my hair so it doesn't become a knotted mess from swishing back and forth with every step of the run, and I'm out of the bathroom gathering the items to take downstairs.

Next move before I head out the door is filling up the little water bottles on my running belt with Glukos, that I got free from the half marathon a couple weeks ago, and water. On my way down to the garage I grab my purse, Power Bar to eat on the way, Clif Shot Bloks and water bottle. My shoes are out in the garage and slide easily on my feet, but I make sure not to tie them too tight.

On my way to meet Trisha I give her a call to make sure she's awake and getting ready and start in on my Power Bar. For some reason, when you have to eat stuff like that first thing in the morning, it's not as good as other times, but it's the highest carb, substantial thing that doesn't seem to mess up my stomach while running. And keeps me from getting hungry early on.

I meet at Trisha's, one last attempt to pooh, no luck again, and we hop in her car for the drive to our running route while trying to eat the Shot Bloks. The Black Cherry flavor seems to me more tolerable than others.

We get to the route and see lots of walkers on the way, that's different. Park, put on the belt and start walking. Trisha stretches a little, but I just get into the run. We walk less than 1/8th of a mile before starting to run, pointing out a branch hanging down, as our start point.

The first 1 1/4 mile is uphill so we take a little breather and walk for a few minutes at that marker and then start in on the rest of the run. It went pretty well, walking a little more than normal but I figure I'd rather get the distance in with walk breaks, then not at all. Besides, some runs just go that way. We talk, laugh, share advice, work through things we're trying to figure out, and talk through the week. Trish and I have a funny routine about splitting up the run with one of us talking about our week on the way and the other one on the way back. It's a nice way to break up the run and gives us something to talk about when it's only been 6 days since we last spent 2.5 to 3 hours together.

7.5 miles, the halfway point!! It's one of my favorite times in the run! Even though it's been challenging to get there and you are only halfway down, it feels good to know that all you have to do is get back. We walk a little, drink a little, then start off again.

By the time we reach the 1 1/4 marker, we know it's downhill from there. Sometimes it's the only thing that keeps us on our feet. ...1/2, 1/4, and we're finished! 15 miles! It feels great to have run that far, no matter how slow you did it or how often you may have had to walk. Somehow the events of the run and the way your body may have felt bad all melts away as you savor the enjoyment of the moment. Even though it was hard and we wanted to walk, we got it done!! Not great time, but better than not doing it at all.

On the drive home, I check my messages and find one from mom with her running report of 11-12 miles and how it all went. I call her back and recap our run and we talk a little about how it felt and how we did. I was proud of her today for getting up and going first thing early in the morning. Cuts down on enduring mid-day temps and also gives you a great sense of accomplishment early in the day.

After Trish drops me off at my car and we say goodbye, I call my uncle Jerry and get his running report, a 10 mile run that was speedier than he thought he would do. Speedy enough that he thought maybe he accidentally ran less than 10 but was pretty sure it was at least that. We share a little about the mutual adventures and then get off the phone.

I have to say that I LOVE our running reports! I love running so far and feeling like you totally killed a beast first thing on Saturday morning. I love visiting with Trisha for a couple hours every time. And I'm SO proud of mom and Jerry for cranking through long runs, most of the time by themselves. We're all planning to run the Portland Marathon together and are excited about progress so far!

Now I've had breakfast, watched part of a movie and am a little late on when I hoped to get my bathroom clean, but whatever ;)

Happy weekend!