jedijen11: Jedi Jen's Quest to 26.2 - Entry 3, Week Two complete!

And just like that I am already done with my second week of marathon training!

1/10/2012:

Day nine started off my second week of training with 4 miles. Since I had plans for the evening of the 10th, I knew I had to get my miles in before school. This was the first of my early, early morning runs. I went to Norman and started on the campus of the University of Oklahoma. It has a lot of sidewalks and street lights, plus the added security of emergency phone booths. I didn't eat exactly how I planned, but I still got some food in my system before heading out. I put all of my clothes out the night before, which REALLY helped the getting ready process!!

I ended up going a little more than the planned 4 miles because I guesstimated wrong, but I figured it was the fastest way back to my car! Overall this was a great run! The city was asleep and I felt like I had total alone time.

That evening I got to help coach the 5k Newbie Class at Red Coyote Running & Fitness in OKC. (http://www.redcoyoterunning.com/index.php?newbie-training-program) Over 100 people showed up and they all did a fantastic job! We walked to a nearby track and back, which totaled a mile, and then followed an interval schedule. Our intervals were run 30 seconds, walk 90 seconds repeated for a total of 8 reps. I really enjoyed getting to know some of the beginners and sharing with them about Red Coyote, RunKeeper, the OKC Landrunners, & dailymile and how they have all helped me get where I am today. Not only do I care about runners getting started, but my sister is doing this training program. I am so happy for her and hope she sticks with it. I remember how intimidated I was when I started training for my first 5k almost two years ago - but I think this program and 100 other people will really help her push through this!

1/12/2012:

Day eleven called for another 4 miles! Usually I run at the Red Coyote social runs on Thursday evenings, but they are taking a couple weeks off so I decided to get my miles in before school. This time it was easier to wake up and I ate better before heading out. "Arctic air" blew in the afternoon before this run causing the wind chill to be 16F - and there was a wind advisory! It was a REALLY tough run. This was the first run I hadn't enjoyed in a while. But, it happens. And I felt much better just getting the miles in regardless of how bad I thought it was at the time. Also, since it was so cold - my nose was sno. tty. So I got an opportunity to work on my snot rocket technique.

I took a picture afterwards to remind myself that I pushed through

and finished my goal even though it was a tough run!

1/14/2012:

Day thirteen of training - long run day! 8 miles were on the schedule for today and I have been looking forward to it all week! Crazy how giddy I get over doing the long runs. I enjoy driving to the city for them, I enjoy the company of other runners even if we never talk, and I was especially looking forward to the time with my friends. I was able to bring up some friends with me for this training run! Today was my last chance to run with Katie before she heads back to Kansas so she came along to get in some miles. My friends, Connor (also training for the full) and Jacob (training for the half) also joined us! We stayed in my car until time for the announcements before the run began. At 7 AM, we took off! I think over 400 people were there today - awesomely crazy!! My friend Clinton (training for the half) ran to the water stop with me and then he headed back. I saw Jacob and Katie (they each ran around 5 miles) after they turned around and then later saw Connor on his way back. (He ran the full 8.) Overall I felt great about this run. I felt like my breathing was good and that I maintained a good pace for myself. In the last mile, I met another woman training for the full. This isn't her first full, but it is her first time to train with the Landrunners. I got to talk to her a bit and invited her to the next Red Coyote run! (And my last mile was the fastest out of all 8 miles!!)

After I returned back to my car and waiting friends, we went to Starbucks! We all talked about our runs and enjoyed each other's company. Jacob has needed new shoes for a while and Katie has had some hip pain lately so we went to Red Coyote to see what they could do to help! Both Katie and Jacob did the video gait analysis and got new shoes. I hope this will help them while training for their big races!!