Did my 5-mile route this morning. My leg muscles were definitely still fatigued from Saturday's run, but not sore. I actually beat my best time for this run, making it under 46 minutes for the first time.

I was trying to practice mindfulness during the run this morning. I'm trying to be more mindful in my daily life in general, and running is great place to practice because it's a time when I would usually get lost in thought or worry. In particular I was focusing on sound as I ran -- my feet on the ground, the wind rushing past my ears, and the sounds of my breaths, passing cars, birds, and other things. When I noticed that my mind had wandered, I tried to bring it back to focusing on sounds.

Update on the efficacy of the ice bath:

I hate to say this, but it seems to have been kind of worth it. I had virtually no muscle or joint pain yesterday. Fatigue yes (quite a bit), but pain no. Today the very tops of my quads (which were the one part of my legs not to be completely submerged in the bath) are a little sore, but only a little, and the rest of me is completely fine. Usually I would be pretty sore after a run like that.

Argh. This means I can't justify refusing to do it ever again.

Oy, with the rain already. Today's team run was another very wet one. Coach Ethan had printed out little slips of paper with our route on it, and gave each of us a Ziploc baggie to carry them in so that they wouldn't be rendered soggy and illegible by the rain.

The course took us pretty much all over Ann Arbor, and was 13.98 miles. That's 53% of a marathon! It included a couple of big hills, which felt easier than the last time we did big hills, and overall went smoothly. I had to ditch my glasses again for most of the run because of the rain, and was lucky to be running with a non-blind teammate because without my glasses, I can't even come close to reading street signs. So, teammate Mandy served as navigator and made sure I didn't bump into things or fall in any holes, which was very kind of her! Silly rain, silly glasses.

The last 3 or 4 miles were pretty tough for me -- legs were very tired by then and I had a bit of a side cramp. I kept getting slower and slower... and slower... but I didn't stop to walk! The whole thing took me a little over 2.5 hours, including a couple of brief refueling stops.

On the way back from the run, I stopped at Meijer to get a couple bags of ice so that I could take an ice bath. Ice baths are sort of a rite of passage for runners, I've learned; they're supposed to prevent inflammation after a long run, thereby promoting recovery and reducing post-run pain. Jenne has sworn by them ever since I've known her, but I couldn't bring myself to do it until now. Procedure: dump ice in bathtub and fill with cold water until hip-deep. Get bundled up in a sweatshirt, make a cup of hot tea, undress from the waist down. Get in bath, scream and yell expletives that you may not even have realized were in your vocabulary, until about 3 minutes have passed and the extreme pain finally gives way to a chilly numbness. Sit there for as long as you can bear, shaking and sipping tea and reading a book to try to distract yourself from the fact that you are sitting in a tub of ice water. In my case, I had set the timer for 15 minutes, but realized a couple minutes into my bath that the timer was on the fritz, so I had to estimate; I think I was in there for between 10 and 15 minutes, and then I just couldn't take it anymore. My legs are still in the process of thawing as I type this. We'll see whether it was worth it...

Well, life kept on getting in the way this week. For a variety of reasons, I haven't been able to run since Tuesday. This is not the end of the world, although it probably won't make tomorrow's 14-miler any easier. The good news is that the kitty is all right and I should be able to get back to my usual two-or-three runs per week now.

On the plus side, my right hip seems to have gotten over its little hissy fit. That most definitely will make tomorrow's run easier.

5-miler this morning, felt fine. I've really gotten into a groove with this particular route. Even though it takes 46-48 minutes (which is a pretty decent chunk of time) I almost never find myself wishing it could just be over anymore. I just kind of do it, and don't think about what I'm doing, and it's not too terribly hard, and then I've done it. The getting out of bed to do it is much harder than the actual doing of it.

By the way...

I haven't been posting about my fundraising on here, because I really want this blog to be dedicated to my actual running activities. But, it seems worth announcing here that as of Friday, I've officially met my fundraising minimum of $3900! This is entirely due to all of your generosity, and I'm completely amazed and moved by everyone's willingness to contribute to this cause. Many, many thanks to everyone who has contributed!

Now I just have to run a marathon... no problem. :-)

Well, life got in the way of posting about my run yesterday: my mischievous little kitty, Havilland, ate a poisonous plant right after I got back from the run, and therefore I've spent all weekend engaged in emergency veterinary activities. Finally now we've got her back home, and it looks like she'll probably be OK. Who knew running 12 miles wouldn't be the biggest challenge of the weekend? Dealing with the unfriendly vet techs at the emergency animal clinic all weekend was much harder!

Anyway.... it seems a little anticlimactic now, but the 12-miler was fine. It was a gorgeous day for a run -- sunny and cool and not humid. It was a mostly flat course (just one very short hill and one longer but very gradual hill), and if anything, it felt a little easier than last week's shorter-but-hillier run. The TNT energy product box contained a new product this week: the PowerBar Gel Blast. I happily ate a package of lemon ones after Mile 5 -- and only then discovered that they contain gelatin. D'oh! Vegetarianism fail. Bummer, because they were actually pretty yummy.

I felt tired afterward, but didn't completely pass out after the run. (This may have been partly due to poisoned-kitty panic, which turned me into one of those mothers who suddenly have superhuman strength when their babies are in danger.) I did take a nap later in the afternoon, but it wasn't out of control like last weekend. My body does feel pretty tired today. I'm having a problem with my right hip, which is aching a lot and actually keeping me awake at night (including Friday night, so it's not just the result of Saturday's run). I'm not sure what to do about this and hope it goes away soon.

Another 5 this morning. I'd been a little concerned because on Tuesday afternoon I twisted my left ankle again a little bit (not due to stinky bus people this time, but due to stepping off a step without realizing there was a step there -- very graceful, Amanda). And also my left knee had been complaining a little bit, So basically, minor mutiny of my entire left leg. It did OK on the run, though. The knee was fine and the ankle was only a teeny bit sore while I was running. Also, I tied my own best time for this loop, so I must not have been too uncomfortable!

This morning's 5-miler was my first run since Saturday's monster. It was chilly out! After two rest days, everything felt good -- no muscle fatigue, no major aches or pains, and everything seemed to be pretty well in alignment. Five miles really does feel easier than it used to. Maybe there's something to this whole "training" thing...

I've been timing my last few runs of this loop, and it's amazing how similar my times are -- all have fallen within a minute of each other. I may not be speedy, but gosh darn, I'm consistent.

I always see a bunny at the exact same place on this loop. Every time, my passing startles it and sends it hopping into the bushes. The bunny is consistent, too.

So, yesterday's team run can only be described as an experience. First off, the course was 11.4 miles -- you heard me right, ELEVEN POINT FOUR. This is 2.4 miles farther than I had ever run in my life, and we were promised two major hills on the course. Yikes!

We started out at 7:45 and within the first quarter-mile, there was a massive clap of thunder. We were running next to the river, and we could hear the downpour coming across the water before it reached us. Turning around, we could see this massive wall of rain moving over the river toward us -- and there was NOTHING we could do to avoid it! The rain hit us 10 seconds later -- huge drops, and a lot of them -- and by the end of our first mile, we were completely drenched. I couldn't have been wetter if I'd just gone swimming. There was also a lot of thunder and lightning going on, to the point where the marathon coordinator actually gave us the option of stopping the run. But no way was I going to stop after a mile, so I kept on going, and the storm passed by about Mile 4. (In the meantime, I'd ditched my glasses for the remainder of the run, since with all the water and humidity I could actually see better [though not well] without them than with them.)

I will say a couple things for running in really hard rain. First of all, it lends this kind of comic "What the hell am I doing out here?!" atmosphere to the run, such that you can hardly help laughing a little at the ridiculousness of it all. Second, while my mind often tends to wander/worry/ruminate/anticipate during runs, in conditions like that it's very easy to stay in the present and be aware of what you're doing. Hard rain facilitates mindfulness while running, at least for me.

Mile 5 was the major hill of the run. It was kind of a two-humped hill, with the second hump a lot steeper than the first. I got up them, albeit lagging a bit behind the four teammates I was keeping pace with. It was actually the stretch just after the top that felt hardest, because once you're no longer going uphill, you realize just how much you're gasping for breath, a sensation that makes me feel like I might be dying. (Not literally dying, but... you know. It makes me feel a little panicky, like my lungs might not be able to recover.) Those were the moments when I thought I might not make it through this whole run, because I knew there would be another big hill later in the run. But I just kept on plugging away. It was fortunate that there were several of us sticking together as a group on this run, because my usual running buddy Sam had to call it quits after Mile 6 due to a nasty blister left over from our last waterlogged run. I'm not sure I could have made it without others running around me to keep the pace.

We stopped to refuel back at base camp and then embarked on the second loop of the run. The second hill turned out not to be that big after all, which was good, because my legs were feeling a bit rubbery by the time we reached it. After that, my last three miles were very, very slow -- the legs just had nothing left. I fell behind my running mates and had to walk for maybe a quarter-mile, but then was able to jog again at a slow, steady pace. With about a half-mile to go, Coach Ethan caught up with me and jogged alongside me for the rest of the way, which helped a lot! There's a lot to be said for being distracted from all the pain you're in. :-)

So, I made it! My knees and one ankle were a little sore afterward, but I iced them yesterday and am not too stiff today. I slept like mad after the run -- a three-hour nap and then a 12-hour sleep last night. It wasn't by choice, either; my body just completely shut down. I need to get used to the idea that from now on, my Saturdays are going to be pretty much shot. It's a bit humbling, just what I'm asking my body to do.

Just found out that tomorrow's run is 11 miles, not 10... and with hills! EEK!

So I ran 5-milers yesterday and this morning. Yesterday's run was the easiest I've ever had, even though I beat my Monday time by about two minutes. Everything felt good, nothing hurt. This morning was harder, partly because of muscle fatigue, partly who-knows-what run-hardness. But it wasn't bad, either.

By the way, if it seems like I'm complaining less about the humidity lately, it's not because I've toughened up or improved my attitude. It's just because it has been much less humid. :-)

Rest tomorrow, then 10 miles on Saturday!

Did my five-miler this morning. It felt good, in spite of only having gotten a couple hours of sleep. When I started getting tired in the last mile, I pictured the look on Deena Kastor's face from the movie last night as she tried with all her might not to lose her lead at the very end of the race. By comparison, my legs didn't feel so tired after all.

I successfully did my 9 yesterday morning! I wouldn't say it was substantially easier or harder than last week's 9. It was another gorgeous morning. I did try the Clif Shot Bloks in the orange flavor, which were not too gross. They made me feel very caffeinated. Today my legs have been pretty tired, but I'm going to go out again tomorrow morning.

This evening, courtesy of Jenne, Andrew and I watched the movie Spirit of the Marathon, a documentary that follows several runners (both elite and not) as they prepare for the Chicago Marathon. It was pretty good! It definitely made me understand how someone could get addicted to running marathons, although I don't know that I personally will be that way. One of the elite runners they followed, Deena Kastor, had maybe the most amazing legs I have ever seen. And, she's not even tall -- she's my height, 5'4". If legs like that on a fellow short person aren't inspiring, I don't know what is. ;-)

I just realized that there is actually no team run scheduled for tomorrow since it's a holiday. Meaning I'll be doing another long run on my own... sigh. I'm gonna do another 9-miler and save the double digits for next Saturday when there's moral support around. I really do need to do a long run tomorrow since I haven't gotten enough runs in this week.

On the plus side, I got a couple packages of Clif Shot Bloks to try out tomorrow per Jenne's recommendation. I'm kind of excited to try them. :-)

On the ugh side, I twisted my ankle a little bit getting off the bus this afternoon. I guess I was a little too eager to escape the powerful stench of the guy sitting next to me, and didn't notice that there was a big gopher hole there. Oops. Hopefully this won't interfere with my run tomorrow.

As of yesterday afternoon we have a functioning vehicle again, which meant that I was able to run this morning! I did my 5-mile loop and it felt good -- no aches or pains or tired muscles or excessive humidity. What's more, I think the season of Amanda's Excessive Allergies may have passed. Cause for celebration all around, don't you think?

Also, I think you should all know that I'm playing fetch with my cat as I type this post. If you would like to see a video in which she (rather than I) is doing most of the running, check out my video of the two of us playing fetch in my first Tucson apartment.