Only 3 Days...

In 3 days, at the Flying Pig, my BFF is going to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

I will be suffering through the Half. I was in Chicago earlier this week for work, and had plenty of time to think on the drive there and back. I was thinking about how strong and how good I felt about a year ago. I had gotten back to my "fighting weight", and was running consistently and my times were improving at every single distance.

Fast forward to the past couple of months. I'm not running consistently. I just can't motivate myself to get out the door. Now, I can give you a million excuses why I can't do it, but there are a lot of people out there who have a lot more going on than I do- that do manage and make it happen.
Plus, I'm eating like a pig. I weigh more now than I have ever weighed, with the exception of when I was last pregnant- 13+ years ago.

There is absolutely no good reason why I am not running at the same level as she is. And, I stress no GOOD reason. There is no good reason why I have let myself gain 30 lbs in the past year. None.

So, on the drive home, I was visualizing myself running and feeling strong and healthy. Now, I have to make that happen.

I know I've been saying this for a long time, but it seems like it may have actually clicked this time.

River to River weekend

Yesterday was the River to River Relay. I'm a little disappointed that I wasn't on a team this year, but I wouldn't have been a great addition to anybody's team anyhow! Now that I am actually going to bed and SLEEPING at night (2 nights in a row now), I'm going to have to get back at it.

Saturday, I slept in. It was wonderful! A friend called me Saturday afternoon and asked if I wanted to run 10 miles today on the Tunnel Hill trail. No, not really. Do I NEED to run 10 miles? Yes, of course. I haven't really ran since St Louis!

So, we met up this morning and went out for 10 miles on the trail.

The miles went by very quickly, because of the great company. It was nice to get up off my lazy ass and run for a change. Now, I need to start motivating myself. I have GOT to start getting my life back, now that I'm able to sleep again.

Two more weeks until the Flying Pig, then I'm setting my sight on a Fall Marathon... Chicago or Columbus.

My Dreams Miss Me!

I did make it to the doc yesterday afternoon. He prescribed Rozarem for me. You know, the one with Abe Lincoln and the beaver playing cards on the commercial...
He said that it could take up to 10 days for me to adjust to it and start getting a full night's sleep. But, last night was my worst night's sleep in a long time!

Not only did I have trouble falling asleep, and woke up a couple of times as usual... there was an EARTHQUAKE that woke me up at just after 4:30am! Ugh! We don't have earthquakes like that around here! It was recorded as a 5.2
There was a second one at 9:37am that was also a 5.2

The good news is, it's Friday! I just have to make it through the next few hours and I can skip outta here. Hopefully, my sleep will be more regular next week...

I'm planning a long-ish run this weekend, and gotta get some regular weekly running in before the half in Cinci on the 4th!

Did I mention that I'm exhausted!!?

Going to the Doc

Finally, finally, I'm going to the dr for my insomnia. I've had enough!

Hopefully, I'll start sleeping like a normal person again, and all will be right with the world.

I was talking with one of my friends last night... I was in a couple of her pictures from the Half in St Louis earlier this month! That was pretty neat, I'm going to get a picture, even though I was a bandit. She and I both seem to have issues with motivation from time to time. We were discussing the possibility of running the Chicago Marathon this fall. I've never ran the big Chicago Marathon (my first marathon was the now defunct Lakeshore Marathon in Chicago). I am looking forward to attempting to actually TRAIN for a marathon and see what I can really do! Now, I just have to make it happen. Sleeping regularly will definitely help...

Hopefully, my next blog will be about sleeping, waking up, and going for a run!

The Bandit Strikes Again!

I did something yesterday that I have never done before.
I was a lawbreaker. I ran the St Louis Half Marathon as a bandit!

Here's the background...
Several weeks ago, I decided that I was going to run the Half in St Louis. Meanwhile, I basically stopped running. I ran 4 miles on March 15, 5 miles on March 21, and nothing worth mentioning since then. I have been a big old lazy slug.
I have been going to the gym with my daughter 2-3 times a week, so I have been at least doing SOMEthing...

The weekend of the Half Marathon was here. I was NOT going to run. I was lounging on Saturday and started feeling like I should go ahead and go and walk the thing. So, I gave Barbie a call and said that I would go. Of course, it was too late to register without going all the way to St Louis that day.

The morning of the race, Barbie came to pick me up at 4:30am, I was dreading it. I was probably dreading the idea of being a bandit as much as I was running the actual miles. I have NEVER ran a race without registering before. What if I got caught?

I felt so guilty that I didn't even take any water from the race- I carried my own water and Gu. Garmin tracked my miles and time for me. I ran the 13.1 in 2 hours 30 minutes. That's a 11:30 min/mile.
Not too shabby for jumping right off the couch and running a Half.

After the race, we met up with Barbie's neice and her friend and she asked me where my blanket was.

Hello!? I was a bandit!

We had a nice lunch at Panera and I did some housework for the rest of the day. I'm really not feeling too sore today, as long as I don't sit down for too long without walking around.

My recommendation- it ain't worth it to run as a bandit. It's much better to get the recognition for having finished the race.