IOU

I owe some blogs to becoming tri-Kate!
First of all I need to share about my marathon training. It is coming down to the final weeks. The feeling is both dread & relief. The thought of running 26.2 miles now that I know how hard it will be is dread! & relief in knowing in just a few short weeks I will have my life back! Well, my early Saturday morning & fun Friday nights! I don't plan on eating poorly or stopping training but the long runs are no joke & you have to eat right & get rest or you will suffer.
Now the week after the 18 miles was a scaled back run just 8 miles! I was stoked 8 miles is nothing! We met at the grand opening of road runner sports in Carlsbad. I avoided the store but there was snacks set up for us before the run & a mini expo after the run. I did not snap pics of that but did grab some free samples ;) I am a fan of GU brew electrolyte drink now & sport beans (jelly beans for energy).
The run was great! Knowing I had an easy run & didn't need to worry about saving my strength I pushed it & enjoyed every step. I went to fast for my pace group and we had a sub coach. I also wanted to get it done! It was cool I finished so fast I was able to make my sons karate stripe test. Take my kids to the park/bay to play & still get to work!
Ran along the coastline


One of the things I love about the running club is the encouragement! When they can they write messages to us along the route!



My run this past Saturday was a whole different story. I was expecting it to be another easy one. 14 miles in Poway around the lake. I read the email just in time to see it described as a hilly trail run.
Long runs start well before Sat. Morning. In my case I have been good since the half marathon of my pre-run activities. In this case (and this Friday) I had a can't miss event. My friend Natalie is getting married! For her bridal shower Desirae arranged (a surprise) private wine tasting at this very cool wine parlor!
Me & the bride-to-be


All the Leyba girls


This is NOT a good idea before a run!


My $9 dress "I got it @ Ross"


Needless to say, wine & staying up late the night before my run I was already at risk for difficulty.
Little did I know the torture I was about to endure! The trail started out simple enough but quickly turned very hilly!
Then as we looped around Stacy points out where we are running too! It was a dam up a steep gnarly MOUNTAIN. The run turned to hike/walk & was incredibly hard for 80% of the runners I think. Some people seemed to run up effortlessly. Then my phone/pandora quit working so I switched to my iPod (on my phone) & THAT was acting up. Running & fussing with it was NOT helping my situation so I abandoned music from mile 4 or so on.
Poway lake






I love running & enjoying the beauty of God's creation! I would never experience this view if I was not training for this race.



This is THE dam


No one chalked any messages on this hill but I could have used the encouragement


The view from the top.


The top of the dam was only just over 5 miles! I was really dragging at this point already! I did a package of sport beans (love them cause it's the only way I can eat jelly beans guilt free) and shortly after a GU too. This is also about where I ran out of water. This point in the run I started to trail behind my group. Once again alone...I'm beginning to think this is all par of God's plan. With out music I was able to hear the rhythmic sound of my feet hitting the ground & my breathing. Thump thump inhale exhale. I praises God in that moment for my body, how He created it to function, how He carries me through each step. I found joy in that moment (briefly) then thoughts of where is the turn around came back!
I reached the turn around and the group had waited there. We turned around and most the group pushed ahead. It was me, Stacy & coach Christian together. We chatted I tool the opportunity to ask some training questions, we discussed cancer, my brother, Christian is doing 14 races this year, etc etc. We were all struggling so when Stacy mentioned a short cut all 3 of us unanimously opted for it. It skipped that hilly first part of the trail and took up on a flat trail out to the street & back to our start. I ended up doing 12.5 miles but because I didn't know how hard the run would be I also had some commitments that I had to get to.
This week is another train run 21 miles. Friday night is Natalie's wedding reception which doesn't even start until 9pm.
I keep trying to decide what to do! Skip it for the sake of my run or not miss this important event Stay tuned I guess....
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