Little Red Running Hood

Miles 248 Ok. So. It's Saturday.  Great night of sleep, eating the worlds biggest breakfast.  8 mile run day. 8 miles.  This, believe it or not is a tricky number for me.  8 seems like…ah yes 8, no big deal… entry level distance run… I could do this in my sleep.  Then…. mid mile 1…. it's like OMG 8 miles.  This is so hard….. I always underestimate the 8 miler.  I do not respect the 8 miler until it has mercilessly reminded me of it's difficulty.  5 miles…. I can do, not a problem …. 10-12 miles I can comprehend as difficult. But 8 is the one that gets me.  So it is 8 today.  YAY…not 10…. see here we go…..my mind says easy…….. think HARD.  Think difficult, think over an hour of solid mind and body commitment.  DO NOT underestimate the 8. Breakfast pre run IS:  1 apple, 1 banana, 1/2 cup nuts and berries, 1/2 cup coconut, 1 cup of oatmeal.  That would be correct.  I am eating 3 CUPS of food.  For brea...

MILES 224 Today is St. Patricks Day.  Only the biggest celebration holiday of the year for a read head Irish girl that grew up being in Chicago Parades every year.  The whole world is celebrating.  And this evening I am anticipating my interval run tonight of 2k hill repeats….. feeling a little green… actually.  I like green beer…. well, no not actually, but I like being around people who are drinking green beer…. on my favorite holiday. This weekend I woke up early on Saturday to get in 10 miles before taking my daughter to her state competition…. Sunday was an off day… Monday back on running and today…. Tuesday - HARD RUN day.  This is the ONE day I CAN NOT skip…. hard run and long run days are critical.  I know this.  So….. coffee time and ready to run….. I am just going to mention here that all of those offers to go out and do green party fun stuff….. I really appreciate them! I am so lucky to have lots of friends that honestly wanted MY compa...

MILES 199 Push pace run down, 3 miles at an 8:20….target pace…. my 8 mile average was 8:31…. I feel hopeful. It was hard, but maybe.   Sunday I took my run outside which was like the greatest thing ever.  A smooth 3 miles not pushing to hard…. low muscular tension run….. 8:15 average.  I am more than hopeful.  But it was harder than it was easier. I need 10 more of those babies. The spring season is slowly creeping up on me….. I am having to focus more on doing my running drills correct and pushing all else aside…… It is do or die time and this is where I always let it slip….. I lose focus….. I don't push myself enough…. as the season draws closer I start doing the bare minimum…… and it starts to slip away.  I can not do that if I want a 1:49.  I have to really try this time. I have to give it everything I have got.  No holding back. And yet, the very essence of distance running teaches us to hold back…. to save something for the end…. it's wha...

MILES 185 SAT 9am Last year, my daughter wrote a book on her hero.  My daughter's hero was me.  And she wrote about my running……. I have been running for a long time. I have about 0 natural athletic ability. I am not a fast runner.  It is NEVER easy.  I have ran through some of the happiest times in my life and also through some of the most difficult.  Running is my rock. It remains unchanged and steady.  It gives back as much as I put in…. It grounds me and gives me solid, serene clarity in everything I do. Running to me is so many things.  Sometimes I love it and sometimes I want to forget I ever started….. running defines me, gives me strength when I feel weak, it reassures me and makes me believe I can do anything, it soothes me, calms my mind, it makes my smile, laugh, cry, it makes me love and appreciate life and all that I am capable of doing, it makes me believe in myself,  and it forces me to see the beauty in the world, the stre...

MILES 179 I can't help but thinking my miles are building awful slow.  For a distance runner. SO.  Trail run saturday morning.  It was fantastic.  Freezing cold, snow covered, bitter, and early in the morning.  I think it was 14 degrees when we started that race…. running off into the woods from the snow covered field of start…… 8am I arrived at the race, to pick up my race packet.  This race was kind of special to me.  I was a free entry because of my running group.  Our group had 5 free entries and as I was one of the first to respond… I have all of my race fees waived and I am representing my awesome group.  UGH…. me??? I push this out of my mind.  THIS is a trail run.  I can not win this, I do not train on the trails, I am here to get a run in, do my best, have fun, and not get hurt.  I have a choice….shorter hard course, medium course, long easy course. After seeking some advice from trail running friends, I decide I...