Defeat of Jesse James Days 5K

OK, I'm not doing so hot at keeping up with this blog. On Friday, I went for my first bike ride since RAGBRAI. It was only 1/2 hour, but it felt great! I actually missed my bike, and didn't know it. I'm looking forward to riding my bike more often, at least until the snow starts to fly.

Yesterday, I ran in the Defeat of Jesse James Days 5K in my hometown of Northfield, MN. Greg was so excited to run with me, but he is still recovering from his cold/swine flu. So, he brought Skeeter the Wonder Dog to cheer me on. It really means so much to have a cheering squad out there for you.

In past years, there have only been about 50 runners with me. This year there was easily 200 runners. Missing from the crowd was my dear friend Kari, who didn't have the vacation time to come up from Dallas. It wasn't the same without her, but I completely understand why she couldn't make it. Also missing, the blind man who kept passing me. I really wanted to see him too!

2 blocks into the run, I saw a member of the James Gang on horse back. It was so cool! Then we were headed up a short hill. 1 mile into it, there was a pretty good hill, but not as bad as I remembered it. A little over 1 mile into it, I passed a local girlfriend of mine, Sarah. Her 11 year old son then smoked me! 1 1/2 miles into it I hit the hill that haunted me 4 years ago. However, this year it was like an ant hill. I can't believe that hill made me have to walk back then.

At 2+ miles it felt like most of the course was downhill. I remembered it being almost all uphill, but now I realized that there are some big ups, but it mostly a gradual downhill course.

The last 3 blocks of the course had people lining the streets and cheering us on. It made me grin from ear to ear. Again, this is very different from 4 years ago when I was quietly flipping off the crowd. Greg and Skeeter were at the finish cheering me on. It was wonderful!

I forgot my watch that day, but Greg timed me and said I finished in 31 minutes flat! What a difference 1 year can make!

Hey fever, a Cold or the Swine Flu

Week 2 of the 1/2 marathon training began today. I ran 30 minutes. This isn't too bad so far. It's pretty much where I've been for the summer.

However, when I hit the trail, I felt odd. I'd been stuffy all day. Now, my back muscles feel odd. I think it's hey fever. It's pretty bad here right now, with everyone feeling the hey fever itch. Then again, Greg has a pretty bad cold right now. Or, Greg may have the Swine Flu. They symptoms of both are so similar for him. He is slightly stuffy, but now he has a pretty deep cough. I just hope he slept better tonight than last night. He looked pretty rough today on Skype.

Tomorrow is cross training day. I'm planning on going for a bike ride in the morning. It will be my first time on the bike since RAGBRAI. I can't wait!!!

1/2 Marathon Training

Yesterday, Greg and I officially began training for our 1/2 Marathon. We will be doing the Rock-n-Roll Vegas 1/2 Marathon in December. It's scary, but should be so much fun. We're starting at one end of the Vegas strip, running to the other end, then back again. It's going to be so flat! Yeah!!

So, back to yesterday. I was to run for 30 minutes. It was supposed to be speed drills, but with my sore foot, I decided just to concentrate on keeping my pace up for the duration.

It was a good run. My first mile was 10 minutes, which is really good for me. I'm getting slowly faster, and it feels great. I'm excited to see where I will be come December.

I think the training plan I've chosen will be so good for me. It's time based for the majority of the week, with the mileage days on Saturdays. It seems do-able. I can't see doing 13.1 miles, but then again I never saw myself doing a triathlon or riding my bike across the state of Iowa for a week.

This should be a trying and amazing time. I'm so excited!