Jedi Jen's Quest to 26.2 - Week 7

2/16/2012:

I took an entire week off from running, but stretched every day. I was determined to get over this injury. I finally decided to run at one of the Red Coyote social runs & I was successful. Overall my leg was good. I felt it at times, but since it wasn't awful I kept going.

2/18/2012:

My doctor told me at my last visit that I could run, just needed to STOP if I felt any pain. I decided to go up to the Landrunners run & see what I could do. I met up with Landrunner & OKC Zebra friends, Erin & Jessica. They kept a good eye on me & were great company. Erin had plans to go the full 16 and Jessica was doing 8. Since I was feeling good, I stayed with Erin the entire time. I actually felt no pain during this run. I couldn't believe it! 

OKC Zebras!!

Erin & I - thumbs up to 16 miles!!

So happy to get 16 done!

My zebra sisters!

Jedi Jen's Quest to 26.2 - Week Six = Week Sucks

Well...it finally happened. I got hurt. I am not sure what caused it exactly, but it seemed that my calf muscle was enflamed. Here was the run I attempted on Thursday of my training week & my entry.

Warning - this is not a positive update & contains my "poor me" story, so do not continue on if you want something positive. UGH. I am not a baby when it comes to running. Ever. I have never had to fight tears (in a negative way) or stop a run early. Ever. Dealt with being sick all last week, then had some bad food which led to losing a lot of fluids. Then had an 8 hour headache yesterday. My legs started feeling better last night & I felt pretty refreshed this morning. I don't know if this is a mental "injury" or an actual injury. I could not get moving this morning. Could not. My lower right leg feels tighter than normal but like I said - I usually tough it out & go. Things are a little stressful at work right now & I'm approaching my first Valentine's Day since the divorce. So maybe I just have a bad attitude. Going to do some praying & take a deep breath and try to move on. Thanks for reading if you got this far. :)

I went to the doctor and the physical therapist in Purcell to get stuff checked out. They couldn't find anything major so they just prescribed me to "rest." Haha, that went over well. ;) I was frustrated, but tried to make the best of it. I worked the water stop for the OKC Landrunners at the Frigid Five race. It was my first race to forfeit but I knew it was the best thing! (Even though I thought my fingers were going to FREEZE off! It was so cold!!) The next day I got to help Red Coyote with their water stops for the OKC Landrunners training run!

With my fellow RC racing team member, Katie!

With my mentor teacher, Charlie! This was his first 5 mile race!

Dell & I at one of the Red Coyote water stops!

Jedi Jen's Quest to 26.2 - Week Five

1/31/2012:

Start of week 5. Negatives: got up too late. Weekly mileage starts increasing next week - need to work on waking up. If I could just run faster, this wouldn't be an issue. ;) The wind gusts of 25+mph about blew me over or made me feel like I wasn't moving. I barely finished under 45 mins. Positives: The wind gusts woke me up & made me work harder. I love my new kicks! They have the comfort of the Kinvara 2, but little more shoe on the bottom. I finished under 45 minutes. ;)

This run also concluded my miles for January...total of 77 running miles!

2/2/2012:

This was the excuses run. I tried to think of anything to get out of this run. I'm too tired. My throat hurts. I have too much to do before the long day ahead. I'm too gassy. It is trash pick up morning on campus. My legs are sore...blah, blah, blah. Even though this was a mentally tough run, I feel much better on this side of it!

2/5/2012:

I met up with my twitter friend, Joleen, for this run! It was our first time to meet in person! I was super nervous because I knew she was a faster runner than me. We ended up having a great time! We met downtown & ran by the river. Afterwards we rewarded ourselves with chocolate milk & IHOP!

Joleen even did the thumbs up pic with me! :)

Jedi Jen's Quest to 26.2 - Week Four is out the door!

1/24/2012:

Tuesday's run called for 4 miles - and I ended up doing them with negative splits, even in the wind!!! :)

1/26/2012:

Thursday nights are usually reserved for the social runs at Red Coyote in OKC, which is a little over a 3 mile run. Since my plan called for 5, I decided to do 3 in the morning and then 3 that evening. 

I didn't feel like either run was amazing, but at the end of the day it felt good to have the miles completed.

Thursday morning route

Thursday morning splits

Thursday night route

Thursday night splits

1/28/2012:

After a very stressful week, I was extra giddy and a little nervous for this long training run. I had a hard time getting to sleep the night before because I was so excited to wake up and go run with some of my favorite people! Even though Rachel and I had gone 11 miles the previous week, 12 miles still sounded so far. The miles flew by and I had a fantastic run with Rachel! This run started and ended at the Devon Boathouse - which is amazing by the way! The community with the OKC Landrunners is simply incredible, I am so happy I joined this group! 

It felt great to not only beat last week's time of 11 miles, but also to have a good overall pace!

Rachel and I after finishing our 12 miles! We had a wonderful time! 

So proud of Rachel pushing through. Her foot started to hurt around mile 9. 

It still isn't feeling great, so keep her in your prayers that she can pick up her training again ASAP!

Some of the OKC Landrunners (and OKC Zebras!) after the week 4 long run!

Band directors who also run thumbs up pic! 

Although I felt great during and after this long run, my legs were pretty stiff. I probably didn't stretch as much as I should have and I probably ran a little faster than I should have for 12 miles but... :) 

I decided to try my first ice bath. It was chilly, but I think it helped! 

My Saucony Kinvaras are amazing shoes, but it was time to get another pair of shoes into the rotation since my mileage is going to increase soon. So, after a trip to Red Coyote - I got a new pair of kicks! The Saucony Cortana! These feel just as good as my Kinvaras, but have a little more rubber on the bottom, which should help them last a bit longer. I can't wait to start putting miles on these beauties! 

Jedi Jen's Quest to 26.2 - Week three recap

1/16/2012:

Day fifteen marked the start of week three. Usually I run on Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday, but I needed to switch up my schedule a bit for this week. I woke up on Monday morning and got in my four miles before the professional development at school all day. It felt like my body knew it was off schedule because I had an especially difficult time waking up, but I woke up eventually. ;)

1/17/2012:

Today was the start of week two of the Newbie Training at Red Coyote. It was awesome to have another great turnout with the cold temps & wind. My sister is doing this program & I did the intervals with her. I gave her a goal to keep our walking/running pace under 15 min/mile and she definitely met that goal! She really pushed herself too as she had boot camp earlier that day - so proud of her! 

1/18/2012:

The seventeenth day of training turned out great! I ate a little better before the run and people were actually out running! I love exchanging a friendly "morning" to those crazy enough to be out with you! I wanted to finish my four miles under 45 minutes...and I did! 

1/21/2012: 

Long run day! All week I find myself being excited for my weekend long run. My middle of the week runs give me a burst of energy, but the long runs make me feel so accomplished and I usually get to share them with friends rather than run alone. Thursday through Saturday I was in Tulsa for a music educators conference so I had to miss my time with the OKC Landrunners, but I got to run in Tulsa! My friend, Rachel, is also a band director who is training for the full marathon so we got up crazy early (4:30am) to get in our 11 miles before our band business meeting. My plan called for 10 miles, but hers called for 11 so I went the extra mile with her. It's only a mile, right? ;)

The weather the previous two days, at day and night, had been incredible. Well, Saturday morning it was...different. Before our run the temp was:

Yeah, it was a bit chilly. But, we didn't let that get us down. We went after those 11 miles!! We ran along the river in Tulsa. This was also our first double digit run since the Route 66 Half Marathon we ran in Tulsa in November. Around 5:45am or so we started seeing other runners out - it was just fantastic. I love running in Tulsa. They make it available & easy and the community is runner aware! The last mile we ran into the wind and I found it a bit tough, but we didn't give up. Felt great to accomplish those 11 cold & windy miles...and get to talk about girl stuff and band the whole time! 

And btw, it got colder as we went. Our water bottle actually froze! Post run temp & wind chill:

Right after finishing our long run down by the river! :)

Thumbs up to great friends & great training runs!

Bring on week four!!

Gen's Day

2007 was a big year! I graduated with my bachelor's degree. I had the opportunity to go to Europe for the second time. I had an opportunity to go the graduate school for close to no cost, but I ended up not going because of the next thing that happened...I got my first "real" teaching job! I realized without a doubt during my student teaching semester that I was meant to teach. I am still with the school district where I started my teaching career. I work at a truly special place - the students, the admins, the parents, my co-workers, etc...great place to work!

Within my first month to work in Purcell, I met friends that I know I will have for a lifetime. First, I want to tell you about Genevieve, or Gen. (Although her undergrad friends call her Genna, she's Gen to me!) :) In 2007 she was dating a guy named David, who she later married! David worked for us as a brass technician and Gen came down to help also. Gen & I quickly became great friends - an instant connection. David and Gen are a true match. Part of their connection is they both know the pain of losing a parent. David's father passed away when he was in high school and Gen's mother passed away when she was 11 I believe. (Younger than David was, but I can't remember if it was 11 years old or not.)

January 15th is Gen's Day. Her mom passed away on this day several years ago. Although I never had the opportunity to meet her mother, I know that her mom is alive in Gen. Genevieve wouldn't be who she is today without the impact of her mother's life. Recently Gen visited her brother in the Denver area and got to see more pictures, letters, and other items from her mother's life, specifically with her mother's battle with cancer. Since Gen was so young when all of this happened, I am sure her view wasn't quite what it would be if she were older. I know every year, every holiday, every day has to be a challenge having the absence of your mother but I think this year might be a little more difficult but also a little more comforting for her.

One thing that Genevieve has carried on through her mother is her mother's view of the buffalo. Buffalo? Yes, buffalo! Her mother called her supporters, helpers, family her buffalo. The buffalos made her strong. Around OKC, there are some buffalos. Here is an example of some that around the interstate near downtown. There are also statues around the city that are buffalo. I know this has been a sign of strength to Gen (especially during her first half marathon!) but it is also to me now that I know her mom's story.

If your mom is still alive, give her a call or hug today to say I love you. Even if you don't have the ideal relationship, I can almost guarantee you that your mom is your buffalo. Moms are always there.  And if your mom isn't here on this earth any more, I pray that your can feel the comfort of your buffalo even if you can't feel it physically. 

Here are some of my favorite pictures with Genevieve!

Genevieve's wedding day! December 31, 2008! 

After Gen's performance in the pit orchestra for "Tommy" in OKC!

Genevieve's birthday is on Valentine's Day. This is from her birthday in 2010!

Spring Break 2010 was the year of the staycation! We drove to Meers for a famous burger and then went to the top of Mt. Scott after a trip to the Holy City. It was such a fun trip, especially for St. Patrick's Day!

Jen, Jenn, & Gen! This is before the Midnight Streak in 2010 - Jenn & Gen's first 5k!!

After we finished our first half marathon on May 1, 2011!!