June 8

Well, I made it!
I finished 26.2 miles in 5 hours and 9 minutes on May 31st! The sense of accomplishment is indescribable, not only for running that crazy distance but for helping out such a wonderful cause!

Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement! I could not have done it without it.

* Thanks to Shannon for sticking with me the full 26.2 and having an awesome girls' weekend in San Diego!

* And..thanks to Nicole for getting me through all the Saturday training runs!

Congratulations to Carrington, the new Wichita Honored Teammate!

May 2

I ran 20 miles yesterday! Woohoo! Shannon came in town (yes, she drove 6 hours to run 20 miles). The first 16 were pretty decent. Somewhere around mile 16, I thought finishing could be impossible. I think my body was pretty confused and went into shock mode. All of a sudden...we were at the end. I feel like I am capable of running 26.2 miles now, but I think those last 6 miles will be really tough. Only a month left of training...it has flown by. :) I am getting excited (and nervous).

April 26

I ran in the OKC half marathon this morning-finished in 2:25ish, my Garmin clocked me at 2:23 and the results say 2:26. Urgh! Since it was a training run, my goal was 2:25. That would put me at a 5 to 5:15 marathon...or at least close. :) My marathon goal is under 5:30, but Shannon thinks I can do 5:15, we'll see. I feel good...I shouldn't feel too bad since I have been running over 13 miles for the past few weekends. The early morning, hills, and wind wore me out a bit. Overall, I am pretty pleased.

20 miles next Saturday though. Yikes! That will be the true test considering it is the longest distance I will run before the actual marathon. Should be exciting!

April 21

Gees! I am a slacker! 2 Saturday runs have come and gone and I am finally blogging. I have run a 16 miler and a 17 miler since I last updated. The 16 miler went great; it was actually pretty easy. :) The 17 miler, on the other hand, was a little rough. I woke up with a bad case of allergies and it seriously took me about 5 miles to finally get into the swing of things. I am thrilled that I have had 3 pretty long runs in a row.

This weekend, I am going to OKC for the 1/2 marathon as a practice race. I am already a little anxious and nervous. I can't imagine what I will feel like before the full marathon. I should have a couple of pics to post after the race.

April 8

Sorry, I was in Tulsa this weekend and completely forgot to blog on my run. I need to try to write that afternoon because I am always way more excited right after the run. :) I ran in Tulsa with Fleet Feet Saturday morning and completed 15.5 miles! Yea! It is my longest run ever! I felt great; just the last 1.5 were a little rough, but everything was great up until that point. The last 2.5 were at Lafortune Park and I cannot stand running Lafortune...it is totally a mental thing, but it didn't help my last couple of miles. It was fun to run with Shannon, Jaime, Tiffany, and Brandy. It made the long run much easier having my running girls with me.

My daddy got me some new shoes. :) We went to Fleet Feet twice to try to find a pair that were up to my expectations. They stopped making my old (favorite) Asics, so I switched to a pair of Sauconys. They felt great/normal in the store, but I ran 6 miles last night and my knee is pretty sore today. I really hope it isn't due to my new shoes. :(

I registered for the OKC half. It is on April 26. I think it will be a great practice race...I can get some of my race day nerves out early.

I am not sure how many I am running this weekend, somewhere between 13 and 16, I think. I will try to get better on my updating. :)

March 27

Sorry for skipping a week of writing. It is state test prep week and I am super busy! On spring break, I ran in a St Patty's Day race (7.25miles) on Monday, 3 miles on Thursday...and 8 miles on Saturday. It was my 'easy week'. Well, with my crazy schedule this week, you would think I had another easy week. I ran my 6 on Tuesday and had a rough time finding motivation the rest of the week. It is snowing cats and dogs here right now. Our team run is obviously cancelled. So, now the good news...I was scheduled to run 12 miles tomorrow...but I thought sleeping in was a better idea for me...I ran a half marathon on the treadmill this afternoon so that I could sleep in. Yea me! It felt really good to get it done today. And I ate my Gu packet like normal and drank my recovery drink...I feel great - a little sore, but overall great! I am going to take tomorrow off and try to run 3-4 on Sunday to make up for my lazy week. :)

March 14

Longest run - 14 miles!
We ran 9:1 intervals! Our first few miles were way faster than normal...we stayed on track for the full 14 though. :) We finished in about 2 and a half hours. That is much faster than I ever thought I could run. Thank goodness for Alan and Judy - they kept me going for my longest run ever! Yea!

March 7

Well, I finally got to run with my Team again. I was supposed to get 10 miles in today; however, I was the only San Diego Level 2 runner today. There were a few San Diego Level 1: 8 mile run/walkers and a few OKC Level 2: 12 mile runners...so guess who got 12 miles in this morning? :) That is the longest training run I have ever done AND the most I have actually ever run at one time. We kept great pace (a little over 10 minute miles) almost the whole time. I ran 9:1 intervals and really liked it!

I was a little tired after the run, but feel great right now! I think I am moving up to a milestone 14 miles next week - a little more than a half marathon!

March 4

I am taking the day off. :) I ran/walked 8.5 miles last night. I am pretty tired today, so I am going to give myself a little break. I was really proud of my run last night. I am actually starting to get a little competitive with myself (mileage and times), which is a good thing for me.

The weather looks like it will be nice enough on Saturday for a Team run (finally). Yea!

February 28

Well, bad news first...our TEAM run was cancelled again, because we had a 6 degree wind chill - it was super windy - and actually snowing this morning. Yuck! Good news...I ran 10.25 miles on my treadmill, by myself! I was really upset when Nicole called to say our run was cancelled, but decided I was determined to get the miles in anyways. It is freezing outside (I am a little bit of a wus), so I decided to get on the treadmill this morning...and a little over 2 hours later, I had made it! I stopped after 7 miles and ate some Gu (calorie packet), drank some water, and walked for about 5 minutes. Then, finished my last 3.25 strong. :) 2 hours on the treadmill is not enjoyable by any means, but I watched 4 cooking shows on the Food Network to keep me occupied. I feel great right now! Yay! Hopefully next Saturday we will be able to run outside again.

FYI: I am preparing to have a silent e-auction at the end of March. I am gathering donations at the moment and am really excited! I already have some fun jewelry, t-shirts, and autographed TU football. Be looking for more information soon.

February 24

I ran a total of 7 miles tonight - 2.5 before dinner and 4.5 after dinner. :) I feel great! I never would have thought that I would be capable of a run of that nature on a weeknight. Of course, The Biggest Loser was on, so that helped.

I did decide to put my ice knee wrap on for precautionary measures, because I am going to run tomorrow morning too. That's not much time to rest in between. Conferences are from 12-8 tomorrow so I won't have time to get a run in at night. I want to make sure my legs are in shape for a short run tomorrow and Thursday mornings.

I think my team run is 10 miles on Saturday, yikes! And don't worry...it is supposed to be super cold again (as usual). I hope spring is around the corner.

February 22

Well, our TNT training run got cancelled yesterday because the wind chill was under 10 degrees and it was super windy. I still got up to run (just a little later). I only had time to get 7 miles in on the treadmill because I went to the Goddard b-ball game. So, I was short 2 miles. Uf! I usually take Sunday off, but I felt bad about not getting my miles in on Saturday, so I ran 4 miles today. 11 miles total for the weekend, not too bad (even though they were split up).

Parent/teacher conferences this week, so I should be able to get all week miles in. :)

February 18

Yesterday was take your teacher to PE day, so on top of my 6 mile run (during Biggest Loser), I jogged, ran sprints, did a few pushups and played a little kick ball with 6th graders. I have to say that Ms. Harrison (PE teacher) gets the kids moving. I am so sore today...I don't know if it is from running, PE class, or the combo of the two??? With that being said, I only ran/walked 2.5 miles today just to stretch my muscles back out. 2 months ago, I would have loved being that sore, because that means the workout did it's job, but I'm not sure my body needs anything extra right now. :)

*Congrats to my new TNT friend, Kat, on her 4 mile weekday run! Nice work!

February 14

Happy Valentine's Day!
Well, despite the 14 degree wind chill, I met my TEAM for a nice 8 mile run this morning. I am quite a baby when it comes to cold weather. I'm not going to lie, I debated even going this morning, but Nicole (my running coach) talked me into it. :) I toughed it out for the first half mile...then, it wasn't so bad. I regained feeling in my fingers and I actually felt pretty good. I am really glad I decided to go; this was the first time I felt like a real runner. Who is crazy enough to run in 14 degrees? Ha! I think I may step up my pace and intervals a bit next weekend.

February 12

Week update: I ran my normal 5.25 on Tuesday during Biggest Loser...not as easy as last week; I think I was still a little sore from Saturday. I ran 3 miles yesterday and 4 miles today. It's time to start hydrating for this Saturday. I am meeting my TNT team at 6:50am for 8 miles, bright and early! :)

February 8

I just got back from Tulsa - had a great weekend with the fam and friends. Even though I was in Tulsa, I continued my schedule, in fact...I actually got a couple bonus miles in. :) I ran with Shannon's running group (Fleet Feet) on Saturday at 7am. Most of the group is training for OKC marathon so they were scheduled for a few more miles than me. I finished 9.5 miles...a third of a marathon. I am quickly finding how much better training with a running group is compare to on your own.

Just got back from Target - bought some real running gear. Lined windpants aren't the best for running long runs. Already looking forward to next weekend's run!

February 4

Yesterday was supposed to be my day off, but I didn't run the day before...so, I decided to give it a go. I ran intervals for 5.25 miles on the treadmill. Yea! The Biggest Loser was on, which made my run 100 times easier. I love that show! Getting ready to run 3 to stay on track.

I am headed to Tulsa for the weekend: Joey's baby shower and Mom & Dad's birthdays. I will be running with Shannon's running team instead of TNT, but I will still get my run in. :)

January 31

First TEAM run was bright and early this morning! Besides waking up ridiculously early, the 6 miler through Old Town wasn't too bad. We used a 4 minute run, 1 minute walk interval and I actually finished faster than normal. Most people jog similar to my pace (which was one of my major concerns). It was a great way to start out training! The best part was that I had finished running 6 miles before most people were even out of bed on a Saturday morning. :)

All the mentors, coaches, and participants are super friendly and helpful! I think that will make training much easier!

January 30

Just wanted to send a special thanks to everyone who has donated! I have the best friends and family!!! Love you all!

January 27:

Today was supposed to be my day off, but I didn't feel like I got a good day in yesterday. Watched The Biggest Loser and jogged 4 miles. First time in the past 2 weeks that it actually started to feel easy. Yea! I think the TV show was a distraction. :)

My "Honored Teammate"

Carrington

Wichita's Team In Training
"Honored Teammate"
Michael

January 24

"Team" training starts next Saturday with our first run being 6 miles! Feeling a bit ambitious (excited) today, I decided to run 6 on my own...on the treadmill though, so doesn't completely count. :) Walked a 1/2 to start, then jogged 5.5. Actually feel pretty decent. I will update again after my first 6 miler outside.