Last Long Run

As you can see, its been a while since our last long run. I should have done a better job blogging the past couple of weeks. Last week we attempted our last 11 mi long run, but it was COLD outside and Boy could not get in the groove, at mile 5 I got stomach issues in a big way, so we quit. We pulled a 4 miler on the treadmill at the gym on Monday (or was it Tuesday?) and we have had a couple more shorter runs in the hood. We went one night last week and ended up getting away from each other in the dark, I was worried about him, he was worried about me....luckily my knight in shining armor came driving up to save us :) We decided to have a 'go to' spot for when that happens again! Then we have been under heavy smoke advisory for the past couple of days because of the marshes on fire in Palm Bay. I am NOT running in thick smoke. So, here we are today...

Matt and I got up, went to the movies, picked up my car, went to the grocery store and then I ate...some leftover grains and sweet potato casserole. THEN me and Boy headed out around 4pm. The weather was PERFECT around 70 degrees, 85% humidity, winds were light - around 5mph. Boy started off saying his leg/foot was hurting. after inspection, around mi 2.5 I thought his shoes were laced too tight so I loosened up his tie and then he took off. That maniac!! I don't know what in the heck he ate/drank/etc to make him run harder, faster, farther than ever in our training runs, but it was phenomenal!! YAY BOY!!

We took one rather large break, around mi 4.5 to potty at home and get something to drink, but headed back out within 5 minutes (? I think). we ran together more today than usual and I completely tried to freeze frame every moment in my mind. I know that my patience have worn thin at times, but I have completely enjoyed this journey he shared with me. Watching the determination on his face is priceless. He said he isn't going to do any more long runs after this... he is DONE. I wonder if he will stick to that....the running bug is hard to fight ;)

We have a couple shorter runs before the race; if I don't blog about that then the next time I'll be on here is to give you our race report! So stay tuned!! :)

10 miler and a Happy Mommy :)

Ah, what a fantastic day. I have been waiting for this one! No, we didnt run the whole way... Yes, we had aches and pains... But my son had the 'Gidder Done' attitude that I have been wishing he had for the past ?? weeks (How long have we been doing this now?!?)

Last night I asked him to go to bed early so we'd have enough sleep - And he did! - This morning he was up at a descent time, but I didnt manage to get MY lazy bum out the door until after 11am. It was 65 degrees outside, with a moderate breeze from the north - thankfully we werent running north for very long! We wore shorts and a T, stopped by Walgreens and bought gummy bears and gatorade, and parked downtown by the smoothie cafe to get our post-run treat! I mapped our run so that we crossed the causeway twice, spend some time on the mainland in downtown, and some time running through the neighborhoods on the beach side. After reviewing the plan with Boy, we set off and he was SMOKING me. He was so far ahead that when we passed the bathrooms at mile 2, I couldnt flag him down, so I just made a quick pit stop and tried my best to catch up, which I did at mile 3 (red light/cross walk). This is where his problems started setting in, he got a cramp in his right glute. We walked while he totally trashed me for making him get out at NOON and run after I made him go to bed early. It was nice to FINALLY have a normal conversation with him while we are out there!

I got him on a 'mostly' run 4 / walk 1 schedule at that time to get us through the next 2 miles. In the middle of mile 5 we stopped at a park for a water refill (the park was not on the course I made, he actually thought ahead and we detoured - smart boy! I was so proud!). After we left the park, he didnt get started back up again for a while, he was jogging right behind me and before I know it, he's gone. So as you see on the splits below, I literally walked a big portion of mile 6 and all of mile 7 waiting for him to catch up, and he did, eventually, and was still unbelievably in a good mood, just having problems with cramps in his bum ;) Miles 8 & 9 we were back on our 4/1 schedule again and then picked up the pace for the last mile, which he took off and left me on. :)

Splits:
10:19 / 9:59 / 9:53 / 12:17 / 12:02
12:59 /14:13 /11:24 / 10:59 / 10:19

Overall pace: 11:29, cals burned 1052

1st week of Dec

This week we had 3 runs: Tues, Fri, and Sun

Tuesday we ran 4.5 miles. It was a really great run, and I was surprised to find that we still came in under 11:00 minute miles because I felt like we were pretty fast on this trip out. The weather was cool, the wind wasnt too bad, and we were full of energy. Boy threw his drink down and the drink poured out, but he finished. :)

On Friday, I was at work in Montgomery so I jumped on the treadmill for 3.25 (short, but that's all the time I had) and Boyce went out by himself. He said he had a good run, even taking the dirt road until Matt made him quit to go get Hannah.

Sunday, our long run. The day was pretty cool, so Matt & Hannah dropped us off at the CVS to run downtown, cross the causeway and then cover some beach area on the way to his parents house. Several things happened today: Boy slept until noon when it was time to leave, so I told him to scarf down PB&J, which ticked him off (no pancakes). Then he intentionally planned to run out of steam just to make MY run suck (not worried about his run, he just wanted to make sure he messed me up), changed over to iMapMyRun to log my mileage and it SUCKS. It only logged 7/9 miles AND a good portion of those 7 weren't the route I went. I took water and 2 GU which I took at 30 mins and 60 mins. Boy took a blue Gatorade which he thinks made his stomach upset. He also had gummy bears for fuel. (I asked several times if he was eating them and he said yes, however, he still had a pocketful when we got finished. No wonder it took him 2 hours to 'run' 9 miles).

I am really ticked off that he is purposely trying to push my buttons and throw me off track. There are 4 weekends left for training runs. I will wipe his past intentions from my mind and start each one knowing that this journey together is coming to a close. It makes me sad even if he doesn't appreciate it.

Weather on the run was nice, around 72 degrees, wind was around 24 mph from the west - Thank goodness MOST of our run was headed east and south :) Once we finished, we spend a few minutes stretching and then my crazy son got in the pool for his ice bath!! We checked the temp - The water was 52 degrees!

4th week of November - Happy Thanksgiving!!

This weekend we did a tempo run on Tuesday and a long run on Sunday.

We were suppose to also through in a run on Thursday (Thanksgiving) but that just didnt happen!

Sunday's long run was ok, we did it in our neighborhood and it took 3 stops at home, but he did it - without music! He had no food beforehand, I had 2 south beach bars & coffee.

Miles 1-2, his shoes were killing him (the red ones, he already told me needed to be replaced). At mile 1.7 he took them off. I told him to go home and we would get him some new shoes, but I ended up going home and got him Matt's ASICs. We also taped the end of his middle toes that are peeling, then We headed back out.

Miles 2-5 were good! He told me around mile 3 that he would never be able to do this, he is upset that he hasn't improved much over the past 6 weeks, but I told him that #1, I have not been an evil coach, making him run as much as he should - And #2 he hasnt been all that 'into it'. I explained that most people really concentrate on their fuel, sleep, and hydration and they also adopt some type of training strategy. So we agreed to run 4 / walk 1, however, he ended up running 8 / walking 1. He got some horrible blisters - he is wearing cotton socks that don't fit well for running (at all, but you can't tell him ANYTHING). We stopped at mi 5 and I put some sports tape where he was blistering & we had some GU. He proceeded to tell me he would rather eat the Clif Shot Blocks than the GU, so that's what he will be having from now on.

Miles 5-8 were ok. We made it 1 mile before he couldnt take the blistering anymore. So we pulled our shoes off and ran barefoot the other 2 miles. I couldnt take the pounding so I ran in the grass (OMG - that is like running in SAND), he chose to run on the concrete with his barefeet and of course finished WAY ahead of me!

I feel like we made a lot of progress today. My boy always waits til the last minute to get ready for anything. This week I will be getting him some running socks, then I think the ASICs will do well for him. I will also get him some Blocks. And next long run, we will adopt the 8/1 training strategy :) Here's the schedule for this week:

Tues: 5 mi.
Thurs: 3.5 mi.
Fri: 4 mi.
Sun: 9 mi.

3rd Week of Nov

On Tuesday, we went for a 3 mi run. Our splits were 10:28 / 10:10 / 9:35.

This weekend we had planned to do a 5K on Saturday and our long run on Sunday. Well, we were dressed and ready to go to the 5K (I even dressed up for this one!) when we realized this 5K is on Sunday. So we didn't go. But we did do our long run. It was warm, and boy ran out of steam pretty quick. I tried to encourage him, but I think I annoyed him more than anything else. So much that he nicely told me so, but he knew I was only trying to help.

I think that's about it for this week. I feel like there should be more, but I should have blogged in the moment :P

2nd week of November

I will be the first person to tell you that I absolutely SUCK at consistency. Maybe this will help, at least through the next 9 weeks or so! I somehow have to make this work for us!

23 miles are scheduled this week due to the 7 mi makeup run from this past weekend.

Mon:
[Planned] 7 mi @ 12:31
[Actual] 2.8 @ 14:12
[4:15pm, 72/Wind/Humidity]

[Notes, H2O/Food/Fuel] I grabbed Boy when he just got home from school so that we could fit a long run in before I had to leave with Hannah for dance practice. This was a mistake. I should have had him drink some water and have a snack and then wait a little while. Also, he has a routine after school that he needed to work though so he wasn't 'ready' for the run at all. :( We are gong to try again on Wednesday and use lessons learned above.

I am learning patience :) I keep wanting to get frustrated with myself and him because we aren't improving at the rate that I would like to be. However, this whole exercise is to spend time together and have him finish his first half. I find myself having a hard time 'enjoying the moment' because I am so stressed about meeting a goal. This is totally out of my hands though, so I need to just enjoy by sweet boy while he is out there with me!

Wed:

[Planned] 5 mi Tempo @ 10:52
[Actual] 4.15 mi @ 11:13
[6:00pm, 75 / 78% H / wind 5 NE]
[Notes, mhr: 178 (98%), ahr: 143 (79%), cals 413]

Splits [11:34 / 10:41 / 11:04 / 11:26]

*These are "my" stats, we still need to get the kiddo a heart rate monitor or something, but he doesn't want one. He ran an extra .25 mi or so longer than me (he was that far ahead!) when I had to call it and come in due to stomach issues. We had a really good night. I felt like we moved faster than this and it must either be all of the turns (we ran the streets inside the gates, turning constantly) OR maybe because the gps kept auto 'pausing' and 'resuming' at the end of each street when we turned around. So frustrating. Not dwelling on time, we were both outside kicking as much butt as we could for over 4 miles!

Fri:
[Planned] 8 mi @ 12:31
[Actual] 5.8 mi @
[Time, Temp/Wind/Humidity]
[Notes, H2O/Food/Fuel]

On Fridays, we have 2 hrs to drive over, get started, cover our mileage, and get back. That usually means we have about 1:15 mins to run. I thought we should be able to cover 7 mi but, last night Boy told me before we ever got out of the car that his legs were still heavy and sore from earlier runs in the week. I hoped that after we warmed up the legs would feel better. But not the case. Boy did great until turn around time at mile 3....then.... I had a hard time keeping him going. We covered 6 miles but I turned the GPS off at 5.8 because we walked the rest of the way.

We didn't even stop for our treat this time. Boy said no b/c his stomach was already upset. I forgot to take a picture, but it was beautiful! We got out right before dark so the first trip over the causeway was sunset, the trip back was dark, and blue... the sky was dark blue, the water was darker blue, boats were out on the water with little lights twinkling and the stars were twinkling in the sky. Clear skys, a little breeze, not too bad, just to make it challenging at times, temp was good, probably around 70.

We were going to try the 8mi again on Sunday, but we decided to just do 4. Boy still having problems with his shins/calves.

1st week of November

This week we only ran twice. Wow, we are truly going to have to pick things up because both runs were short for Boy. (I ran a 15K with Jeanine on Saturday; see My Race Blog for details on that...) Boy knew that his long run would be alone this weekend since he chose to not join the 9.3 miler on Saturday. He chose to do his mileage on Sunday. As with everything in his life, last minute, with no margin of error capability. (I would have done it on Saturday, so if I bonked I would have a re-do day) but I digress...

Today I am feeling fine from that long run yesterday so we headed out with the understanding that he was to run, and I was going to walk, and maybe jog some if I felt good. I ended up keeping up with him because he was stopping every half mile or so to stretch his calf on his right leg. It was giving him BIG issues. He thinks this is because of the 1 mi sprint that he had to do at school when he didnt have his running shoes on. Could be. Or could be the it was freaking COLD and he was wearing a Tshirt and shorts. (Felt like 63 degrees, cold winds coming from the NW at 22 mph - brrr) Whatever the cause, he didn't do the long run this weekend, and its it now scheduled for tomorrow.

In order to keep on track. I am going to change the format here and start posting our goals at the beginning of the week.

Long Run: 6.5 in 1:11 = 10:54 ave. pace
6:30pm
Winds ave 5mph SSE, gusts up to 12mph
Temp around 80*
Overall: felt good!

Its been a couple of hours since our run. Today is Halloween, and since our long run was messed up this past Friday, we did a shorter run that day and made up the long run this evening. Boy was in a great mood after eating his giant bag of sour worms and was ready to GO GO GO!

I had to grab last minute "fuel" and chose some homemade hummus and crackers and took some of this new drink VIDRATION with me. So, just a few highlights:

Boy was on fire. He was soooo far ahead of me and never slowed down until we got into the heavy trick or treaters. A couple kids started chasing him and talking to him, so he ended up walking through there waiting for me to catch up. This is where we go on the dirt road around the pond. He again, left me in the dust (I'm thinking I need to eat some freakin sour worms from now on!!) at the end of that road, he wanted to vent about the kids and find out where to go from there (this was around 3.5 mi). I have him the route and off he went again...for about a quarter of a mile ??? I am thinking OHHHH NOOOO he can't get the grove back. But he said to keep going so we did - this was our slowest mile - are 12:15 I think. He kept running ahead and walking until I caught up because it was dark by now and we have gators, etc so he didnt want to get that far ahead (thoughtful, huh?!). Around mile 5.5 he started saying that RBS was hitting him and his stomach was crampy, making him feel like he had to throw up - he had taken his hat off because his head was hot, but he hung in for another mile and we finished at 6.5 (today was scheduled 6 mi but I was hoping for 7 to get a leg up on next weekend's 15k).

As for me, I was pretty steady between 10:30 - 11:00 for all 6.5 mi (except 4). While we were walking on that mile, I told Boy that I felt tightness in my right chest shoulder...but it went away when I 'slowed it down' (even though, cardio trainer says I didnt ever slow down after that - go figure). The pre-run food agreed with me, my pace and energy felt great. I wore the blue mizunos and they aren't going to fly for runs much longer than this I dont think, but this was fine. I felt like I had a pretty solid run going and I'm not worried about next weekend - I'll be slow - but I am just going to get the Tshirt and 'get back into it' - not looking to melt the pavement ;)

InBetween

Tonight we were running late and had to ditch our long run on the causeway - we'll do the long run maybe in the neighborhood on Sunday. Tonight, instead, we went to the gym and ran on the treadmill due to the switch in our plan at the last minute.

It sucked. We both agree. We were there for around 48 minutes, I got about 3.9 mi done, and he got between 4.25-4.5. My stupid music player wouldnt work and so I spent the first 5 minutes or so dinking with my player. Grrr.

I still feel better than I would have if I didnt go get the 4ish miles done. I'm sure Boy does too!

Tempo

Tuesday we went out for our tempo run. Sorry, I didnt get pictures. It felt pretty easy to me, I remember thinking that if I kept a slower pace, that I could definitely complete the 15K next weekend, its only - twice as far :P

Boy started off really well, used common sense and slowed his pace when he started getting tired. Toward the last mile he was down to walk run intervals, but mostly a slower jog. He mentioned that he wished it was cooler! Buddy don't we all!!

He is doing very well!!! I am so proud! :D

Tuesday: 10/26 @ 6:30pm
Distance: 4.23; Pace 48 minutes (that's what it said..)
80 Degrees / 80% humidity / Feels like: 80 degrees :)

Finally Getting Serious

Life just got crazy there for a little while! We just got back from a wonderful vacation, and have nothing else planned until Thanksgiving! So that is 5 weeks to kick butt and take names!

We started on Wednesday, heading out for a nice 5 mile tempo (which really just means finishing 5 miles at the fastest pace I can handle - all my runs are tempos - why drag it out, right?!) I had a Clif bar not long before we left, it was overcase and just slightly drizzling and I felt FANTASTIC! But Boy, not so much! He had to walk at mile 2, and didnt pick it up much after that. We finished the 3 miles, but it took 37 minutes. Ah, better luck next time!

Date & Time: Wednesday, 10/20 @ 6:15pm
Distance: 3.0 mi
Time: 37 minutes
Weather: ~75 degrees, no breeze, cloudy, slight drizzle


We decided to give the legs a break on Thursday. The boy's legs, that is. I decided to do New Rules of Lifting, Stage 1 Day 2 - it includes several deadlifts and lunges..... So, today when we decided to take off for the hills (uh, that would be the bridge - HAHA!!) I didnt keep up so well.

Here is Boy, strategizing? Plotting his revenge? Day dreaming of sitting in front of his computer with his TV? Who knows! This was on our way to the boardwalk to park - and I remembered to pay the meter today!!

I let him know ahead of time that I was not going to stop him for photo ops today and to go ahead and run ahead, dont worry about pokey Mom! "I'll catch up with you on the bridge" I said! Having complete confidence that the incline would kill him but not affect me! I am proud to announce that we both made it to the top and down the other side without slowing! Which means of course that I did not catch him!



He was kind enough to slow when he didnt know where to go, so I caught him around mile 2.5, just in time to turn around because the sun was going down and we had just enough time for a 5 miler....

The turn around is where I just couldn't go anymore. I later found out the east wind was kicking at 16 mph, combined with going uphill - NOT my thing today with my sore rump muscles! Not only that, but I was a dummy, all coffee and no water today and yesterday was leaving me cramped. Here's a picture of what I saw as I trudged up the causeway - do you see how far ahead of me he has gotten in just a couple minutes?!




I love him so much and I was so proud of him for powering back up that causeway I didn't catch him until the bottom of the other side! We stopped at 4 miles and walked the other mile back! Here he is on our walk feeling pretty darn good about his 4 miler!




Date & Time: Friday, 10/22 @ 5:30pm
Distance: 4.0 mi
Time: 43 minutes
Weather: ~76 degrees, 16mph gusts, sunny

I thought this was a heck of an improvement from Wednesday... So he got his "good boy" treat when we made it back to Starbucks! :D



I had to take a picture of the moon when we got home! Its so gorgeous and full tonight!




We are heading out again on Sunday! Stay tuned!

First Long Run

This morning we parked beachside and planned to run our 7 miles over the causeway, around downtown, and then back to the car where we would buy a delish frappe for all our hard work. We got started late, because I chose to stay up until the WVU/LSU game ended which was after midnight. I think it was around 8:30 when we got there and already hot - around 80 degrees, but felt like 88. Felt like more than that going up the bridge, just ask Boy. It took him out. After we got over the first side of the bridge, which we both ran up, but only I ran down, I realized the GPS was off. Dang it! I waited at the bottom of the hill for boy, we walked/ran the rest of the route (the other 6 miles) and Boy does not walk fast. At all.

Here's a picture of him before we even got to the hill. I think he had a groove going on and I asked him to stop for a picture so he wasn't happy with me. Now that I see he actually lost the groove, I will not be stopping him for any more great photo opportiunities, sorry :( When he stopped to walk, he mostly complained that his stomach was cramping. He had a full bottle of gatorade at mile 2.5 and it was gone by mile 3.5, so he has to learn rationing like the rest of us have. Rookie trial and error. He will find what works for him. He refused my chocolate power gel.

I ran the bridge on the way back, Boy told me to go ahead. I stopped at the top and waited to get a picture. He didn't appreciate that either. I was saying, come on run for just a minute so I can get this picture, but...no... he said he head was too hot! By this time he had drank from a fountain. I had him wet his hair in it, and he drank the better part of my drink bottle that we had filled up there. Another park with water fountain was waiting at the end of the bridge, so I got him to run *part* of the way down the bridge. That was a tough run. Next time we definitely need to get out earlier. Wondering if we should change the day to Saturday. 1 hr, 45 minutes later, When we got back to the car, I think I have a ticket because there is not money in the meter - but it turned out, its just an envelop for a ticket. I don't know what that means?!

Week 1 (so far)

Boy had wrestling practice on Monday. He said they ran sprints and practiced technique - and he ripped skin off 3 of his fingers trying to get his locker open. He was SORE from those sprints. I ran the 2 mi on Tuesday (9/21) solo. I tried to through in some farklets on the streets here in the hood. I felt like I did very well. The cardioTrainer didnt reflect the same, but that's ok, it felt great!!

Boy had wrestling practice again on Wednesday, this time running the stadium stairs. He was pretty whipped, then had to turn around and go to soccer practice this evening - So I let him off the long tempo run today. It really wasnt a tempo run for me though. it was more like a "try-to-survive 5 miles with no food or coffee when it feels like 87 degrees outside". I got to 4.4, not at tempo pace, but close'nuff.

I think we have an easy run scheduled for tomorrow, and our first official long run is Sunday!

Beachside Run

While Matt is out of town, we took advantage of GRANDPARENTS ;) It was fun to head beachside for our run this morning! The plan was to get there for sunrise, but the sun rising is what woke me up. I realized later, I was depending on my weekday alarm on SUNDAY!

We set off around 8am and zig-zagged our way up from 5th ave to first. Boy had taken off when we started, and by the time he got to first, I was almost a whole street behind him! Boy had to wait on me to catch up. I just could not get it together! It was warm, humid and really windy! For a little while it drizzled on us which felt fantastic while it lasted. After I caught up with him, he just couldn't get it back. We started run/walking for about a mile until we hit the beach, and then we walked/ran back to the beach house on the sand. The gps tracker on the Droid auto-paused, I'm not sure why, so I don't know our exact distance. And my music player kept flaking out, so I kept dinking with the music player. I need to figure that out before next weekend!


I offered to run a little more on the beach, but Boy said he didn't want to, but he would if I wanted to. Well, we had just been walking too long. We decided we should just walk the rest of the way back! Then we sprayed off the sand, jumped in the pool to cool off, changed, and headed to breakfast. I don't even know the name of the place. It was yummy though! More than 5.32 (probably 5.75?) Time: 01:14:58

**Next run is the very first official training run!! **

Random PreTraining Run

My view during our run tonight. He is soooo going to kick my butt!! :)

I used the gps on the phone tonight to map our run, except I didnt realize when you lock the phone, you essentially pause the application. So, we are missing almost half a mile on our totals - and it was a pretty fast, kick butt half mile too. However, I knew there would be a learning curve. Also, I'm a bit spoiled with the garmin - this thing doesn't give me splits or anything! Just total distance, total time, and a very nice map of our route. The website leaves much to be desired, do I have any room to complain? I mean, it is a free app and I dont have to take additional gadgets with me on the run. Decisions decisions. My garmin only works part of the time. So, its really not a lot better. Magda has me wanting an upgrade now because her 405 is super cool and garmin's web interface that connects with it is NICE.

So here I am, rambling on about gadgets when Boy cares nothing about them and this is essentially his training journal. So, here goes.

We took off right before dark, before dinnertime. Boy got a new pair of headphones today - that SUCK. sigh. He left me in the dust for the first 1.5 mi or so (picture above) but once we got off the dirt he slowed down to a walk until I caught up with him. He stretched his calves and said he had cramps and for me to go ahead. I got another mile out of him before we called it quits.

It was a nice run, the temp is lower at 82 degrees and the humidity is low - feels like 85. The winds were kickin though! 14mph East winds - and you could definitely *feel* when you were heading east! Whew! Love that feeling (for short periods of time, of course!).

We ended up walking on the path behind the house for a cooldown and chatted about the his crappy head phones, the state of the Amenity center, and a country who's total land area is 1 sq. mile. :)

He's Out of Excuses

We went to the clinic today to get the paperwork done for the Boy to start sports at school and begin formal HM Training!

He is VERY healthy so there is nothing else to wait on! He is cleared for all sports activities! He has agreed to get up 30 minutes earlier during the week for his short runs. Wow, giving up his mornings... the boy amazes me! (I don't even really want to do that, but shhh! don't tell him.)

On your marks....Get Set.....

This weekend, Matt and I went to Disney World while Grandma & Grandpa C sat with the kids and animals. We left on Friday morning and came home Saturday afternoon. While we were there, I got a little carried away in the 'Disney Spirit' - I guess that is the point, huh? Anyway..now the Half Marathon with Boy is ON! And I am finally over the TOP about it! Here is the map to our Donald medal:


We checked out the Polynesian resort since that is where the crew came to cheer me on last year. Nice place...NICE PLACE...right there between mile 4 and mile 8. Oh YES! Then we went to Downtown Disney and I bought Boyce and myself matching personalize Family Team shirts -- in bright orange! :D We are going to get everyone else one when we know who all will be there... right now we will get Matt, Hannah, g'ma & g'pa C one :)

Ok, so after forking out the dough for matching team shirts - I figured we are in now! When we got home I signed us up and reserved our room - wow - expensive race and expensive rooms!! But after doing the full last year, I know that everything is done with the Magic of Disney - and it will be soooo worth it for my boy's first half marathon!!!

I worked on our new training program last night and printed it out. We begin next Monday! WHOOT!!! I added grid to it in highlighters so its fun and colorful - every week has its own color (that's, uh, 16 colors!). Its hung up on the fridge and all ready to go! I put 2 hours on the calculator so that hopefully if we train right, Boy can beat 2:00. I would love to beat 2:00 as well, but its going to take a little work - see below!

My goals for a sub 2:00!

1. I have to lose 10 lbs. Fat slows me down. I need to be a lean & mean running machine ;)
2. Never skip a long distance, and don't take the "SLOW" part of LSD (Long Slow Distance) more seriously than the rest of it!
3. DO the interval speed and hill workouts. On weeks of the hill workouts, we will do the LSD on Friday p.m. and take a Sunday morning run on the causeway.

I'm thinking about mapping a run from the dance place so that me and the boy can do our run while she is in her classes. Something to ponder...

Stay tuned for updates. I am going to journal his first marathon experience, since I know he wont. I hope he enjoys mommy's perspective one day ;)