I miss sleep.

Grad school is way more time consuming than I ever expected.  Fitting in runs hasn't been easy, and I've been spending 12 hours a day on campus, especially as the second half of the semester picks up.  I'm really hoping to fit in a few good ones between Friday and Sunday this week. The mind is willing, but when it's 11 at night and I get the choice between the treadmill and studying for another hour before I drag my tired butt to bed, studying wins.

I talked to my mom about this recently - mostly that I'm jealous that I don't have as much time to dedicate to running as I'd like.  She reminded me that I'm here now because school is my focus and running is supposed to be fun, not an extra stress in my life.  It's hard to accept since I really want to do well in January. I guess all I can do is my best at this point, just to get through my first half but maybe the summer will give me an opportunity to dedicate more time to a second race.

I'm still doing the 10k in November, don't worry.

Sleep now. xxoo
A.

14 Miles

Over the weekend I was told about a new website Map My Run and I tried it this Monday to map my 14 mile run. The website allows you to search for runs in your area that other users have posted but I didn't see one that I liked, so instead I mapped my own run. I can also get the Map My Run app on my phone that when used during the run will record my actual distance and time. I didn't have the app running on my phone prior to my run so I didn't use it but I plan on testing it out on shorter runs this week.

When it comes to my long runs I'm trying to avoid hills because Disney won't have any hills that I'll need to train for (although i'm still keeping hills in my shorter runs). It is hard to truly avoid hills so on my long run this week I walked up all the hills but ran everything else and it worked out very well. At no point in the run did I feel like it was too much, which is a really great feeling.

The run lasted for 2:37:51 and didn't actually end back where I had started, instead Shawn had to come pick me up because the route I had mapped took me over into Mystic - going first through North Stonington, Stonington and then into Old Mystic before ending up on route 1. I timed it so that I got to the end point about 20 minutes before Shawn which allowed me to stretch and have a nice cool down walk.

Truthfully I have no idea what runs are up for my week - but I have to figure it out quick because I have to run tomorrow, Thursday and Friday to get me back on a Sunday long run. This weekend my long run will be taking place back down on the cape along the canal - I'm excited!

J.

Half Marathon High!

I have so much catching up to do. Since my last post, back in September, I've had two weeks of attempting to complete 12 mile runs. The first attempt went pretty well and I walked maybe a mile in total, the second attempt I just didn't have it in me and I walked about 5 miles (oops!). With all the ups and downs of training I had decided to sign up for a half marathon to get me back on track.

This Sunday I woke up at 5am and traveled down to Newport, RI to race in the United Healthcare Half Marathon. Luckily I have people that support my goal of completing the Disney Marathon and Shawn also woke up ridiculously early to drive down to Newport with me. We got Newport around 6-6:30 in the morning and took the shuttle to the start at Easton beach. The race didn't start until 8am so we had an hour for me to freak out about what I was about to do, Shawn kept reminding me that I could do it and that I had trained for it and I would be okay.

Freaking out about 5 minutes before the start of the run!

The course was both a half and full marathon, at the halfway point which brought us back to Easton beach, those like myself doing the half marathon were at the end.

http://www.amicamarathon.com/courseinfo.html

As I rounded the last turn and entered the downhill stretch that lead back to Easton beach, I realized that I was completing my first half marathon and I almost started to cry. I don't think I can put into words the sense of accomplishment I feel, I'm not sure I've ever felt this way. I was able to run 13.1 miles without stopping in 2:17:32 (thats 10:29 minute/miles)! I've pushed myself to do something that I don't think I ever really thought I was capable of. 

Sprinting towards the Finish Line!

Maybe (just maybe) better than completing the half marathon was completing my 4-mile run today with 10 minute/miles and not feeling sore!! I've just got to keep this momentum going for the next 81 days.

Last but certainly not least - Thank you Shawn for supporting me on Sunday, the fact that you only got to see me start and finish and had two hours to kill in between is pretty impressive. It was great to have a smiling face waiting for me at the end.

J.