turkey trot recap and the elephant in the room

I hope all had a wonderful thanksgiving!
Last weeks workouts can be summed up very quickly:
I only ran one day last week, and it was a 4 mile race.
Nothing went as planned as far as sneaking in running but oh well. Family time trumps running time any day of the week.
Going back home and seeing family was priceless.

Nov 21-27
Monday-rest
Tuesday-4 miles supposed to be a travel day
Wednesday- 3-5 miles shake out run travel day
Thursday- 7.5 miles
Friday- 3-5 miles sick
Saturday-sick,travel day
Sunday- 13 miles rest

We were supposed to leave on Tuesday afternoon, but my husband ended up working later than expected, so we left on Wednesday morning. Longest trip ever. (11.5 hrs with 4 cranky kids and lots of traffic)
Thursday was turkey trot day! The past 2 years my sister, father,nieces and nephews have joined us but this year it was just me and my husband.

Race recap:
We have to wake up early to get to the race. Unlike last year,where it was a mad dash to the start line,we get there with plenty of time for me to warm up.
Ive got 3 goals for this race:

1)Faster than last year (27:3x)

2)Top 3 OA

3)Top 3 in AG

 I get in 1.5 miles warm up around MTSU track, which brought back memories of track workouts from high school. Our high school didn't have a track so once a week coach would drive us to the college to get in speed work. Ah, memories of the pain train from 20 years ago!

Its a cool 50 degrees outside. I leave my jacket in the car but keep the gloves on and make my way to the start line. Its a pretty large race with over 2500 runners and usually brings out a speedy field.

I'm in bright pink socks and black superman shirt

The gun went off, and I make it a point to start in front to decrease the amount of time spent dodging kids. The lead female takes off like her britches are on fire. I only see her for about the first 600 yards of the race before she disappears in front of the fast guys.

I wanted to run the first mile semi conservative. I use this mile to find a groove and then I see that I am 6th female overall. (Last year I placed 4th OA female). This got me started on a rabbit hunt.

Mile 1:

6:36

I pass an older lady. I zone in on 2 high school gals in front of me, and pass them around the 1.5 mile mark

Mile 2:

6:33

I have myself as 3rd OA female at this point. The course wraps its way around downtown and I am able to see the lead runners. I didn't even see the lead female but knew she was up front with the guys. As I'm making the loop, I see another female close ahead. I zone in on her heels and pass her as well as a few boys

Mile 3:

Hello hills. Even though I expected the hills the last half of the course, I didn't enjoy them a single bit. What speed I lacked going up them, I made up for on the down hill. I made it my mission to attack the ups and fly like a bat out of hell on the downs in hopes to keep my mile splits even.

That strategy worked well.

I see mile 3 at 6:29

(and according to Runners Alley app, I hit the 5k mark at 19:56-yay sub 20!)

Mile 4:

This last mile was spent trying to keep up with the boys in front of me.

I didn't want to slow down even though I felt like I was. I kept telling myself that even if I bombed the last mile I could still see 27 minutes on the clock. Then I told myself I didn't want to settle for 27, I wanted to go sub 26!
So I shifted gears and focused on passing one guy at a time. There are several hills during the last mile and I flew on the downs which helped me to get enough momentum to pass about 5 guys.
The last 800 meters is a gradual incline and even though I was keeping steady with my speed, I get passed at the line by all of the guys I passed on the down hill. Oh well, I still got mile 4 in at 6:24
and I crossed the line at 26:03 gun time.
Heres my photo finish, can you see my pink socks and black shirt???

#shorttinygirlproblems


When I crossed the line I was greeted by Santa Claus and he told me "I do think you are the cutest 2nd place overall female finisher I have ever seen"
That compliment put a smile on my face and I just had to give him a big hug!
I congratulate the lead gal and found out she runs for Alambama track and XC.
I then turn around and run back through the course to find my strong man.

We finish the race together and then wait for awards.
I get 2nd OA female and a huge trophy   which is the size of my youngest son.
First place male and female winners received fleet feet gift cards and a free pair of running shoes.
Next year, I am going to win this race. Mamma needs a new pair of shoes! (so watch out Alabama- I will be training extra hard next year in order to stay on your heels!)

 We rush back, get showers, get all the kiddos ready and head to my grandparents house for thanksgiving. We haven't had thanksgiving dinner with the entire family on actual Thanksgiving day in a few years and it was wonderful to see relatives surround my grandparents. We spent the afternoon playing corn hole, playing in the leaves, telling funny/embarrassing family tales and reminiscing of the "good ol' days"

68 years together and still going strong!

I don't usually get personal on this blog,but my emotions are just too deep and raw to keep from spilling to the surface.

Here is the big elephant in the room I mentioned:

This is my grandfathers last thanksgiving. He is living on borrowed time. We all know it, but all of us don't want to believe it,or acknowledge it. This thanksgiving was bitter sweet. I enjoyed the time with family, I loved being with my grandfather. But his sickness and cancer was front and center on everyones mind. He was having a bad day that day and was in a lot of pain. He tried to be social but it was obvious he was not feeling well at all. This was the very first time in my life I haven't seen a camera around my grandaddys neck or in his hand. He always loves to take pictures, of everything, so noticing this small detail made me sorrowfully aware that the man I thought could never die, the man who is supposed to live forever, is in the process of dying.

Our entire family rallied around my grandfather and tried to make as many memories as possible.

My grandmother and aunt are planning a big 90th birthday party for him in April. I am hoping he can hold on that long. As I was leaving I jokingly told him that I would kill him if he didn't make it to his 90th birthday. He just laughed and said he was planning to show up. This opened the door for more family stories so  he was smiling and laughing as I left. That's the memory I wanted to keep that day. I wanted to forget his frail frame, his tired eyes,his slow steps. I wanted to see the postives, hear his laughter and see him smile. This is the picture that will be branded in my mind from Thanksgiving 2016:

(our first ever selfie!)

Later that night my sister and her husband hung out with us and we all went to Cracker Barrel for dinner. Second time ever I spent thanksgiving eve in a restaurant!
Friday was more thanksgiving with my husbands family. It was a good time with more family and lots of food. We even went to the Christmas tree farm that sits behind my brother in laws land. We made the short walk up to the forest and had a good time seeing this little gem of a shop. Beautiful views, a quant little log cabin/gift shop/crafts area/hot cocoa fountain.

 Complete with hay rides, playgrounds, ziplines and craft areas, this Christmas tree farm was a pleasant surprise, nestled between the mountains!

That night my sister and her husband, terry and his brother and children and my children went bowling, played laser tag, bumper cars and arcade games. We all had a such a great time!

I started to not feel well after dinner and my stomach wasn't feeling good while bowling.
By the time we got back to my mother in laws home I was feeling nauseated. I got the kids tucked in and tried packing up because we had to leave bright and early on Saturday (T had to fly out of state for work on Sunday) but then I started top get sick and proceeded to get sick every 10-15 minutes for 6 hours straight.  We didn't leave early like we had planned. Thankfully my sister had some Phenergan and was able to get it to me that afternoon. Even though I was feeling horrible, it helped to ease the nausea a bit so we ended up traveling back home about 3pm and was home by midnight.We got to listen to UT/Vandy ballgame on the radio for a bit and my husband about lost it when Vandy won (yes he is a Vandy fan, its been 15 yrs since Vanderbilt won against UT in Nashville) Aside from the constant football updates, It was an uneventful trip and much shorter than the drive down to TN, but it was a LONG ride for me as I couldn't get comfortable and I just didn't feel good. I was thankful to be back home and in my own bed that night!
The next day was spent resting, rehydrating and decorating the house for Christmas. I love this time of year and love it that my children get excited to help decorate for the holidays.

 (pumpkin snowman! #pintrestsuccess!)
I'm looking forward to getting back in the groove of training this week and keeping my fingers crossed no one else gets the sickness I had!

Hope all had a wonderful thanksgiving!
Did you do a turkey trot?
Have you ever eaten at a restaurant for the holidays?
What is your favorite part about decorating for the holidays?

I’m linking up with Holly at Hohoruns and Tricia at MississippiPiddlin‘ for their weekly wrap link. Check it out and read the other posts here.

Puppies and a 5k recap

I have to start off this post with the cutest pictures EVER! I feel like a proud grandma so brace yourself for some puppy cuteness overlaod! (yes I have 11 puppies, 12 if you include their mamma!)

 And here is their Mamma:

I am currently fostering this family. To know more about their story and how to make one of the puppies yours, please click HERE
And please go HERE and SHARE the link as much as possible, please!!!!
The rescue is on the verge of collapsing. We need your help. The best thing you can do is SHARE the link on social media.
https://www.gofundme.com/grandstrand-golden-retriever-rescue/

Ok now that you have puppies on the brain,lets talk about last week.
Last week was busy in real life (but life with 4 kids,-plus 13 dogs- is never NOT busy,right?) so I am glad this was a lighter week with running. My legs needed the shorter, slower miles!
11/14-11/20
Monday-rest (core/hip strengthening)
Tuesday-4.5 easy miles
Wednesday- 4.5 progressive (7:12-6:24)
Thursday-rest (core/hip strengthening)
Friday-5 easy miles
Saturday 6.5ish including a 5k
Sunday- 10 slow miles (core/hip strengthening)

After the half marathon last week, my legs felt pretty tired, and my hip/SI joint/knee/quad/ankle hated my guts didn't like me very well. I've been foam rolling, stretching, Epsom salt bathing like crazy which seems to have helped. I took the day after the half off from running as well as Monday. (I also have been eating like a pig)

Tuesday I went to the chiropractor and got adjusted from the top down and I left the office feeling 75% better than when I walked in. I have moderate  scoliosis so even with a strong core and supporting muscles, I will always be prone to have biomechanical "injuries". ie I will always have a leg length discrepancy and hip/SI joint issues. However, being adjusted once a week has helped tremendously to help realign my body so I can function with minimal issues during the week.

Wednesday was the local pub run. I saw a handful of our track crew there and found Mark, who was willing to get in a tempo. About 2 miles into the run we see Dan, another runner who likes to use the pub runs as a workout. When mark and I get to 3 miles, we turn around and get Dan and finish with him. The splits were 7:12,6:59, 6:36 and 6:24 (with a half mile jog from mile 3-3.5). I have really enjoyed doing the pub runs this year. There is always a great turnout of local runners!





After the run it was time to foam roll and play multiple games of rock, paper, scissors in order to win prizes






I didn't win anything this go around, but oh well. It was nice getting in a few good miles with a speedy mile in there to get some turnover. I wanted to see how my legs felt post half marathon...(not the best).

 Thursday was a weird day. I had to take my youngest daughter to a  Drs appointment. When we were done we headed over to the ice cream parlor for a treat. As soon as we sat down with our frozen yogurt, I got a phone call from my youngest sons pre school. He started to run a high fever and I had to pick him up asap. Poor little guy spent the next 4 days on the couch.

 Strep throat,colds and ear infections are running rampid  in the Cunningham house. I hate it when my children are sick. I just hate germs in general. Add in the air quality issues we've been having for the last week (which wreak havoc on those with respiratory issues like my oldest daughter) and its just hasn't been fun at all this past week. I hope all the sickies leave before we travel!

Brief 5k recap:
Saturday was race day. This race was originally planned for October 8th but got rescheduled due to hurricane Mathew. Prizes for overall winners were Publix gift cards. I was on a mission to win a gift card so I could buy steaks dinner!The course was paved trails with a few curbs to jump over. Parts of the trail were not even due to tree roots under the pavement.

I get to the race with time to get my race packet and run a warm up. It was a chilly 43 degrees so I tossed my jacket but  kept my gloves on. As I am warming up I see the lady who won the half marathon the week before. *sigh* looks like I wasn't going to take first but I still had a shot at 2nd or 3rd. A small group of us (160) make our way to the start.  Gun goes off and I make my way to the front. A couple boys and the lead gal lead the way. The race itself was uneventful.I ran alone for the majority of it.
Mile 1:6:39
I spy a highschool boy in front of me after the first mile marker and pass him.
mile 2: 6:36
The last half was a mental battle. Yes my legs were still tired and heavy from last week but after I hit mile 2 ,I TOTALLY GOT why long distance runners (those who prefer to race the half and full marathon distance) hate the 5k. For a brief moment I actually thought that I would rather be running a half marathon than a 5k. *gasp* I know, whats wrong with me,lol!
Mile 3 just sucked. There was no one around me, I knew had 2nd OA female and I just didn't have the drive to push myself to negative split. I see mile 3 at 6:51
and cross the line at 20:13. The course was a little bit short, but seeing as much of the race was along heavily wooded trails, GPS was off.
The best part about the race was meeting the overall female winner and getting a cool down with her before awards. Turns out she is on a mission to qualify for the Olympic trails. She moved back to the area about a month ago and is trying to get back in  running gear. She is already a really fast runner even when not in "Olympic qualifying shape". The cool thing is that she is a personal trainer/fitness guru and gets the weight lifting life on the same level as I do. I may or may not have tried to recruit her to the Wednesday night track group. She knows a handful of the fastest runners in the state so she has connections to those inner circles as well. I'm looking forward to watching her progress and reach her goals!

I had to leave right after the awards. I managed to win $50 gift card and a medal and of course grabbed a few free cherry lime iad cards from sonic and some publix plastic containers. These things are awesome for keeping snacks in!

And yes, we did have a steak dinner!!

Sunday I managed 10 solo treadmill miles while my youngest slept on the couch. I really missed Amy, who I usually drag along with me for the longer miles. I almost texted her to complain about how those 10 miles  really really sucked without her company but thought against it as she is currently injured. The last thing an injured runner wants to hear is how "sucky" someone elses run is(yes ive so been there-it sucks to be injured and hear about others complain about running when you feel you could give your right arm just to run a mile pain free and uninjured!)

I used those 10 miles as thinking miles and have been making a plan for the last few weeks of training for the final races of the year. I've got 3 races on my radar, possibly 4.

Now its off to start cleaning the house and packing up for our trip back home to TN. I've got a hilly 4 mile race there on Thanksgiving day. Last year I placed 4th overall female. My goal this year is to make top 3!
Hope all have a great week ahead and have a happy thanksgiving!
Are any of yall doing a turkey trot this year?

I’m linking up with Holly at Hohoruns and Tricia at MississippiPiddlin‘ for their weekly wrap link. Check it out and read the other posts here.

Please do not forget to share the following link. I am trying to get 1,000 shares by the end of the year.
If you are still reading, copy and paste the link asap!

https://www.gofundme.com/grandstrand-golden-retriever-rescue/

THANK YOU!!!!

Half Marathon recap!!! November 7-13

Taper week can be summed up pretty easy
Monday-rest
Tuesday-rest
Wednesday- 3 miles including 4x400's
Thursday-rest
Friday-4.5 miles easy
Saturday- 13.3  miles
Sunday-rest

This past week has been busy and hectic in life to say the least. I'm glad I didn't have to worry about nailing the workouts!
After last Saturdays 10 mile tempo run (my longest and fastest tempo run ever) in addition to the 8 miles on Sunday, my body felt like it was going to fall apart. My ITband has been acting up over the last couple of weeks, in addition to my left quad, ankle, SI joint, hip,knee and hamstring.
I hobbled to the track on Wednesday night, and only got in 4x400's as opposed to the 8 I had planned. The good news is that the 400's were really fast-
the not so good news is that my hips, knee, quad and SI joint felt every second of it.



I had an Epsom salt bath almost every night of last week, stretched and foam rolled like crazy.
Friday I got in a very easy 4.5 mile run and shook some of the soreness out but truth be told I was nervous all week that I wouldn't be able to see the time on the clock I wanted on race day.
And then I got a text from Amy with this link:

https://www.mandysciacchitano.com/thesoulshack/tealburrell

It makes for a good read and discusses the mental aspect of running ie
negative self talk and doubt leading to getting inside your head and running poorly. However, changing the negative self talk to positive and focusing on different things can lead to a better race. Basically you should aim high, dream big and then go for it with all you have instead of thinking you cant achieve your goals.

"Far better to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure,than to rank among those poor spirits who neither enjoy or suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat"
--Theodore Roosevelt

After I read the article I decided to try positive thinking during the race. After a full week of stressing over the race in addition to the hectic week I had in real life, I really needed a breath of fresh air.

Race day
Alarm goes off at 4:45am, race started at 7am so I wanted to be up in time to have breakfast. I needed something more substantial than a banana. I lay in bed until 5:20, not really wanting to recognize race day is finally here.
Once I finally get moving and get the dogs outside and love on the little puppies

I grab 2 pieces of toast with peanutbutter, am able to only choke down 1 and 1/2 pieces of it, drink a diet Dr pepper, and take some Excedrin headache pain reliever.
I get dressed, grab my race bag I packed the night before and leave my house at 6:15. I live about 10 minutes from the starting line, which is always a perk. I drop off my bag at the local fleet feet, hang out there for a few minutes to chit chat, stretch and try to get my head in the game. I make my way to the line.I see several friends and training partners from the Wednesday night track crew, including Larry the Legand.
Larry gave me some solid advice a couple weeks ago when I was questioning my abilities. He told me one of  his stories about running the NYC marathon with Billy Rodgers, and reiterated the word "determination". Up until he ran NYC his fastest time was 2:47 for a marathon. That day he was able to run a 2:29. It was sheer determination.
So with that in mind this is what I wrote on my arm the morning of the race

"Determination"
"Run for those who cant"
And also what my splits should be at 3 miles, 6 miles and 10 miles (21:30/43/1;11). I suck at mental math while running, so I thought this would help (it did!).
A small crowd (around 350-which is twice as small as last year) toes the start line and off we go.
The weather was cool  and windy (around 44 at race start, 52 at end) so I didn't wear layers, just shortsleeves and gloves. "Aint My Bitch" by Metallica is playing on my ipod. I find it fitting for the race, so I turn it on repeat. (I know you are looking that song up on you tube right now,its ok!)

Miles 1-3
I have to force myself to run conservative. This was hard to do since 7 females take off and pass me right out of the gates. 2 of them looked really speedy and I knew they would be the leaders for the ladies. I tell myself "No one ever wins a half marathon during the first mile of the race"
I make a point to keep the ladies in my sight and run conservative until mile 6. I cant believe race day is here already and I'm actually running this. I try to convince myself this will be "fun".
7:33
7:09
7:15
21:58 for split at mile 3. I'm going too slow to reach my target. I tell myself I can make up the time in the later miles.

Miles 4-6
I have 2 guys running with me at this point, (one is Richard, who has shown up to a couple of Wednesday night track workouts) They keep looking at their watches so I'm assuming they are trying to keep a certain pace. I am aiming for 7:11 on my fitbit. I check my watch constantly to make sure I keep it at or under 7:11. (I really really suck at pacing myself.) There is a gal in front of me and a pack of 4 gals further ahead. I pass the gal directly in front of me, as well as a couple guys. Richard follows me along, the other guy drops back.
7:15
7:09
7:12
I'm at 43:43 for the 6 mile split, still almost a  minute slower than my target. I remind myself my body is capable to go faster.

Miles 7-9
Right when I see the mile 6 marker I make up my mind to start the race.
The winds are picking up, I zone in on the gals in front of me and pass them. I needed to pass them NOW and get some distance between us as I wasn't sure if passing them would pull me up to 4th or 3rd place female. At mile 8 is when I start to feel the struggle. My knee had been hurting since the race started and now my hip,quad and ankle started to get gimpy. I focus on my form,my stride my breathing. I tell myself I can hold on until mile 10. Its just a 5k after mile 10. I am confident I can handle a 5k!
6:54
7:24 (mile 8 pain train)
7:12
I was running alone until mile 8, but then the Richard catches up to me and he pulls me to a faster pace for mile 9. We run together the rest of the race. I try to do mental math and predicted I would see 1:37 if I slowed down the last 4 miles. I wanted to start jogging but told my self I needed to hold pace and see what I had left in my tank. Mile 10 couldn't come up fast enough!

Miles 10-12
This is the part of the course where the winds picked up and it was a little bit "hilly" if you can call them hills. There were several inclines that my legs weren't prepared for so I could feel my pace dropping. Me and Richard pace off each other. When he falls behind me, I motion for him to get back by my side. Once I see mile 10, I was like YES just a 5k left! Miles 11 and 12 were really windy and I was praying my body would stay together. At mile 10 I changed my song from Metallica "Aint my Bitch" to Ozzy Ozbourne "Silver". This is my go to song when I need that mental push!
7:18
7:27
7:24
Mile 10 split was 1:12-truth be told, I was very  disappointed when I saw that but changed gears quickly to stay positive-- I hadn't slowed down as much as I had thought. I was still on track for a PR. Right at the 12 mile marker, a volunteer told me that I was 3rd OA female and I that the second place gal wasn't far ahead. He yelled at me "You can catch her, GO,GO,GO!"

Mile 13 and last 0.18
6:45
6:51
I turned my music down and gave a thumbs up sign to the 12 mile marker volunteer. Richard catches back up and passes me. I tell him to keep going and that I would try to keep up. He surges ahead and motions for me to get back up there by his side. I catch a glimpse of the gal in front of me and I pick up my pace. My hip hurt, my knee hurt but my legs were still moving and turning over so I just went with it. I close the gap between Richard and I and try hard to stay on his heels. He is yelling at me to stay with him.I'm closing the gap on the female ahead of me. I see the 13 mile marker as I make the final turn and I knew then it would be slightly long course. It took FOREVER to get to the line. My momentum slowed that last .18 But I was so happy to cross that finish line. I never caught the gal in front of me but mile 13 was my fastest mile at 6:45 with my "kick" at the last bit was 6:51 pace.
My finish time was 1:35:08. A new PR by almost 4 minutes.

 And of course, just for kicks and giggles I plugged in the distance for 13.18 miles on the Runners Alley App to see if I was really on pace for a 1:34 half (which is what my 3,6,10 miles splits were based off of.....

And of course it showed up that I would have ran a 1:34:31.
That made me feel a little better!
After I cross the line, I give Richard a hug and thank him for helping me push my pace.
I wait at the line for my friends and cheer Jon and Larry in. Larry ran an impressive 1:39 and was thrilled that his first half marathon in years and first race back since his hamstring injury last month felt smooth and "easy".

I make a bee line to fleet feet and grab my bag and change clothes and stay in the store for a bit foam rolling and stretching my aching body.. I find my friends again, grab coffee and wait for awards.
A majority of our Wednesday night crew placed in their AG. I am so proud of everyone and am very thankful to have found this motley group! They are awesome!

I ended up placing 3rd OA  (missed 2nd by 20 something seconds) and won $75 in cash, a beer glass and a Sweet Tea Half 13.1 car decal.

Final thoughts
My original goal for this race was 1:33
A goal was 1:33
B goal; 1:35
C goal: anything under 1:38:51 (previous PR)
Goal D: Top 3 overall if a small race
Even though I didn't get my secret goal time, I am proud of the race I ran. I negative split this race having a 43:43 for the first 6 miles and 42:45 for the second 6 miles. I didn't doubt my abilities very much and was able to refocus on the positives quickly.The last mile being a 6:45 gives me confidence that I had more left in my tank than I thought I did. Which leads me to believe that the next 1/2 I decide to do I can set my race goals a little higher and believe I can achieve those goals.

With all of that said, I have been resting, EATING like a horse, icing, foam rolling, stretching and Epsom salt bathing like crazy. I woke up Sunday feeling like a truck hit me. I hate getting old. My body hurts, I am hesitant to say I am injured as I know all of my aches and pains stem from biomechanical issues. I will be rehabbing the best I can to get me through the final weeks of November and December. I have 4 races coming up. A 5k this weekend, a 4 mile turkey trot on thanksgiving, and 2 5ks in December, which are my goal races for the year. I just hope I can get this eating business under control. Is it normal to feel this hungry after running a half?

Heres hoping my body stops hating me very soon and I am able to end the year with some solid races!
Hope all have a great week ahead!
How do you recover from a race?
Are you starving after the longer races?

I'm linking with the lovely ladies, Holly and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap. Do head over, check out their awesome blogs, and see what everyone else has been up to!

ALSO ---- As those who follow this blog know, I am a foster for Grand Strand Golden Retriever Rescue. I started a go fund me page for the Ginger, the Founder of this rescue due to her recent and unexpected diagnosis of Breast Cancer. She starts chemo TODAY and needs help to keep the rescue alive. Please share this link below as much as you can via social media!

https://www.gofundme.com/grandstrand-golden-retriever-rescue

Thank You!!!!!!

Wk#12 and Taper time!

First week of November and we are just now getting some fall temps.
Whoo hoo!
I cant believe my last week of hard training before the race is over. This is what it looked like at a glance:

October 31-6th
Monday- rest (but I did get in a good 2 miles around the neighborhood trick or treating)
Tuesday- 4.5 miles easy
Wednesday-5.5 miles including 3x1600 repeats
Thursday- 5 miles easy
Friday-rest
Saturday- 11 miles including a 10 mile tempo run
Sunday- 8 miles easy

I'm glad rest day was on Monday because my Monday was pretty hectic. Halloween was fun though. It is one of my favorite "holidays" but this year it was bitter sweet as my oldest son thought he was too old to trick or treat so he stayed home to hand out candy. It didn't phase him when most of his friends stopped by our house in full costume.
*sigh* at least I've got close to another 10 years of trick or treating before my youngest outgrows it. Maybe he never will though? I trick or treated until I was 21. (Hey,when you are the size of a 10 year old, you can get away with it,lol!)

Wednesday I wasn't planning on mile repeats, but that's what happened. I think I loath mile repeats more than  800's. BUT  my friend needed to get it done as part of preparation for the Savanah half marathon so I was like, well why not, I've got a half coming up as well......
  Also,in the back of my mind I know the workouts I hate the most are the ones I need the most. We ended up going faster than expected, and I felt surprisingly good after the workout. It is so much better doing a track workout with friends. I was also happy to see a few of our iron man triathletes back at the evil oval! These folks are just friggin rockstars!!!!

On Saturday I needed to get in one last tempo before the upcoming taper. I managed to get in 10 miles of a tempo. On the treadmill. Let me tell ya, I wasn't looking forward to it. I was already struggling from a mental standpoint before the run and being on the TM just made it more challenging in my head. I felt good up until mile 7.5/ 8. (The pace was comfortably uncomfortable.)After that it was just hard getting in those last 2 miles. My hips hurt, my quad hurt, my knee felt wonky. Mentally I was over it after the 3rd mile. This workout did not give me any confidence whatso ever that I will reach my A goal or even B goal. But it is what it is. I just have to trust that on race day the stars will align and I will have a good race!

Sunday was a lovely easy 8 mile run with Amy and the Onshore group.



The weather was amazing and I enjoy running through the scenic parts of Charleston. Its always nice having good company to help the miles tick by!

This upcoming week is taper week and my body is SO ready for it!
I think Ive been feeling extra tired these past 2 weeks due to Mamma Nyssa and her 11 puppies!

 She is starting to come out of her shell a little bit and knows the sit command perfectly. She also walks great on a leash and is house trained now!

She is still preoccupied with other things other than her sweet babies though.....

She is such a happy puppy when she isn't focused on trying to get a hold of my sweet Fanci Pants.

Fanci has been enjoying her mandatory confinement upstairs away from mamma and puppies. She doesn't mind sleeping in her humans bed one bit!

Its still killing her having another dog in the house that doesn't want to play with her. She just doesn't get it. Ive made sure that she still is having fun. She's been getting extra walks and play time. But Her favorite thing to do is to chase after ducks. That stinker made a break for it when she saw the chance.

She even swam laps after the ducks flew off. (no worries, she didn't get the ducks-they flew off and she just kept swimming for the fun of it)

So that about sums up the week.
I'm already nervous about the half marathon in 6 days. I'm apprehensive that I am getting in my own head too much. I will be doing my best this week to think positive, taper like a champ as well as stretch and foam roll all my aches, pains and niggles.
Hope all have a great week ahead-
Welcome November!!

How do you handle taper week?
Any advice?

I’m linking up with Holly at Hohoruns and Tricia at MississippiPiddlin‘ for their weekly wrap link. Check it out and read the other posts here.