Almost There...

Hello, hello! I think I'm something like 4 days out from the marathon. Ben and I leave on Thursday. We're going to spend a couple of nights with his family in Washington and then drive up to Victoria with his brother and sister in law. I'm getting EXCITED!

Since my last post I developed a lot of pain in my sciatic nerve. I'm guessing it's my piriformis, but then again I'm not a Dr. This new ache was too severe to run through so I took a couple of weeks off. Instead of my 2nd 18 mile run I ellipticaled for 3 HOURS! Can you say boring? I also did the same thing the following Sunday when I was supposed to do 9 miles. Last week I did 8 miles just to make sure that I could run with the discomfort. It went okay, but I'm still worried.

On a side note I don't think that I ever mentioned what Ben and I are doing after the marathon. We planned a road trip for our 1st wedding anniversary. After we leave Victoria we are driving down the coast to Oregon to visit my grandparents and a friend of his from college. Then onto Healdsburg, CA in Sonoma county for 3 nights. Then to Vegas for 3 nights on our actual anniversary. Then we're going to camp in Zion national park for 3 nights. And finally we have very good friends that spend the winters in Bend, OR and we're going to spend a few nights with them as well. So with all those lovely thoughts in my mind I'm sure I'll have all the motivation that I need to finish the darned race :)

Because I'm such a crappy blogger I doubt I'll post again before we leave. I'll eventually get a race report on here, but don't hold your breath. Wish me luck!

Training progress

I may possible be the worlds worst blogger :) I just wanted to let my 3 readers know that I am still training for the Victoria Marathon on October 11th. I'm starting week 13 of my 16 week schedule. Last Sunday I ran my longest distance EVER! 18.06 miles... my pace is really slow (average mile 10.10). I'm not letting that get to me, I just really want to enjoy my first marathon experience.

I have an injury right now, but I'm just going to do the totally wrong thing and run through it. I pop a couple of advil before my lost runs and by mile 7 I feel no pain.

Honestly I've been loving nearly every minute of my training. There hasn't been one run where I didn't want to go. I think that my main motivation is my mental image of running and finishing the marathon that I keep playing over and over in my head. Another great motivator for me has been buying new gear. Fun stuff to experiment with on my next long runs. You know the little stuff like gels, socks, water bottles, body glide (yes, my new running buddy and a whole different entry on butt cheek chafing... Eek!) recovery stuff, I even look forward to different way to take ice baths.

All this leads me to believe that even though my body is not made to be a runner, my mind is. And as long as I have that in tact I'll keep on running!

I'll leave you with my newest right of passage... the black toe nail!

Forever

Wowza... It's been a really long time since I posted! But rest assured that I'm still running. I'm starting week five of my Marathon training. The training is right on course (no pun intended). I've been having a few issues with my knees aching and my left arch is having some issues. These two little hiccups are really getting me to stretch better and even icing after my "long" runs (this week it was eight miles).

I've also become a morning runner. And when I say morning.... I mean morning. I get up at 3:30am, so that I can be out the door by 4! You see the thing is that in the summer I work 7 days a week. My shop is open from 6am to 3 in the afternoon. My husband also works 7 days a week, but his hours are a lot longer than mine so our time together is sacred this time of the year.

As busy as we both are here are a few pictures of some outtings that we have gotten in.

King Salmon Fishing (Yummy! Dinners!)

Teaching Willie to swim from the boat to the beach. He swims more verticle!

And a lovely hike up to a WWII bunker. Hidden in the woods. I guess that no ships could sneek up, with an ocean view like this one!

Too long

I know it's been forever since I posted. You know... life happens. But on a good note I have been doing well running 4-5 days a week. I'm down 8 pounds on the 20/20 challenge. My goal for the week is to blog Monday thru Friday. I want to start adding more pictures of what my life in rural Alaska is like. I think that people would find it interesting what I do on a day to day basis. Okay so I'll talk to you tomorrow. Hope everyone had a good weekend!

News

UPDATE of the UPDATE* Ash sent out an email today explaining a bit more why she is unable to put as much time as is needed into the 20 in 20. We all know and understand that life happens. But it's still on, and we'll just enter our weekly loss or gain into a google data sheet. Time to get my butt in gear for the week.



I read a several blogs about food. Yes I love food... in fact most of my memories from my childhood are about food. Interesting enough I've never felt like I have a good relationship with food, but thats a whole different blog entry.



Anyways I have read a lot about Tribe Hummus today. I came across some at the store yesterday that came in individual portion size. Today I tried the original with some strips of raw squash. It had an awesome texture, with the perfect about of twang. This may be my new hummus choice.

Garmin 405

UPDATE* The 20 in 20 Challenge has been going great! I've lost over 5 lbs, the healthy way. Unfortunately we found out today that the challenge is not what Ash was hoping that it would be and is not going to continue on it's original plan. That's okay because I am going to keep going and see if I can loose those 20 lbs without the challenge :)



I've been meaning to write about my birthday gift for a few weeks now. I asked Ben for the Garmin 405 for my birthday. I thought that it would be super helpful when training for my marathon, but I had no idea how much I would really love it! It gives me all the fun info. that you get when you run on a treadmill, but without being stuck inside.



I've never thought much about my heart rate when I exercise. But since I've started using the one that came with the GPS I love being able to track my resting and max. heart rate. I feel like I can control my workout better by seeing and feeling how hard (or not) I'm working.

If you have never worked out with some type of tracking device I would highly recommend it! They have some very inexpensive ones out there. I feel like I have gained more appreciation for my body by using the Garmin. As well as a refreshing enthusiasm for running.

Holy Ankles....

I've been having feet issues for the last few weeks. I don't know what's going on these these puppies, but it's starting to get irritating.



Last week my right foot was hurting on the outside and the next day I had a bump and discomfort on the top of that same foot. I looked it up on google and thought I probably had a bone spur. I took it easy and it was fine in a couple of days. Now... my left foot is sore feeling. Plus my ankles are tender. Not to the touch but more like the insides.



I have two theories... First, I'm over weight and need to get some of this extra weight off. Second theory is that it is still snowing here daily. The off road that I like to go on is still covered with snow and a very uneven surface. So that could be putting a bit of extra strain on my ankles.

On a side note the first week of the 20/20 challenge went alright. I was down .8 pounds. Not too bad considering it was my birthday and then meant a lot of celebrating with wine and cake. Probably not worth it, but too late now. I was living in the moment with food.