week 11.

monday.
jamie runs again, take 2? my first run after 5 days off. it was okay. did 3.5 miles. was planning to do 3 but ran too far away from the house and had to come home. story of my life! my feet definitely hurt by the end but not crazy painful? but i don’t think i could have gone more than 4 or 5…

tuesday.
jamie runs 3 miles? feet hurt. but not terrible. but i couldn’t really have gone further without a lot of pain.

wednesday.
jamie likes writing in third person for this post and wonders who the heck would read this blog? if you are, you should probably leave. one of my friends said, “oh yeah. your running blog? i went on there. i was like woah. okay. this is kinda boring.” — yes i know. it’s for me, folks, it’s for me. okay, so I got sick on Tuesday night and felt awful. pretty violent random 24-hour flu. and i woke up with a fluish cold on wednesday. so no running for me. or anything exercise related.

thursday.
we’re in palm springs. we left at 5AM this morning. i’m still feeling sick. i’m not running today. i’m also starting to think this half-marathon on february 21st isn’t going to work out. researching march and april half-marathon dates. FRUSTRATED to say the least, but, i have nothing to complain about. God is good. there will be another race.

week 10.

monday.
i went out this morning and bought new nike’s. i hate buying running shoes. i like when they are broken in… but not worn out. i always buy the same brand: nike, and then the nike plus system so my ipod keeps track of how far i’ve ran. i bought a pair for $100 from a nice dude at sportchek. i also bought a sweet nike dryfit running jacket with handy-dandy pockets. that made me excited. even though it was $50.

& then i came home and set out to run 5 miles. most. painful. run. of. life. about one mile into my run, the balls of my feet start hurting. around mile 2, it’s hurting worse. around mile 3, they are literally SCREAMING to my brain: stop, stop, stop. i ran 4.5 miles instead of 5, and i’m not kidding you, said OUCH out loud about 35 times. easily. i felt like crying so many times. i re-tied my shoes about four times during the run and nothing helped. now my feet and arches hurt even more than they did after saturday’s run. GR. why is this so hard sometimes? so that’s my vent. enjoyed it hey?

tuesday
i went out to run 3 miles, because i wanted to see if my feet would still hurt. they felt good for the first mile, then after that they started hurting and once i finished they were definitely numb and burning and just not feeling good. i was frustrated.

wednesday
usually would be running 5 miles today, but i decided to rest as i’m switching my long 9 mile run from saturday to friday. so the plan was, rest wednesday, cross thursday, long run friday. well. i rested. but i also got really really depressed at my feet. and mad. and frustrated. and really PMSing and emotional about it all and FREAKING OUT because the half-marathon is 19 days away. i want to be the type-A-go-getter-accomplish-all-no-matter-what person that i love being and run through it. run through the burning and the pain and cry during every run from here on out for all i care. but i’m afraid. that if i run through this i’ll wake up five days before the half-marathon completely injured and unable to run.

i can’t help but keep thinking of the 9.5 mile run i did a week and a half ago. the one i LOVED. the one that was so peaceful. so perfect. made me feel like a long-distance runner. i felt strong and excited and it was awesome. and now even 3 miles hurts. i want to act like a five-year-old right now and throw a temper tantrum and ask Jesus with a face full of tears for some new feet. pronto!

so here’s what i have. it’s Morton’s Neuroma and it hurts. i bought new insoles that should help, but it won’t just fix what’s already been done. here’s the plan, stan. i need to NOT run for the next four days. so that means missing my long run. (i hate not following my training plan.) it means i’m going to be bored out of my mind on the elliptical. it means i’m going to complain on here a lot and have to ask Jesus to give me a personality transplant so i don’t act like a spoiled grouch about all of this non-running stuff. AND, it means four days from now i’m going to try to run again and see what happens.

this half-marathon means a lot to me. a lot. it’s something i’ve wanted to do my whole life and it’s 18 days away and i just want it. i want it really really bad. so i’d appreciate your prayers. and i’m thankful that this is just another opportunity for me to trust the Lord and His plan.

thursday.
40 minutes of cross-training at the gym.

friday.
30 minutes of cross-training at the gym.

saturday.
nothin’

sunday.
nothin’

week 9.

woo! i’m behind on this, okay. let me remember here…

sunday
mmm…. nothing? maybe i went for a walk. i was supposed to do strength-training. maybe a did a little bit of that. probably nothing though. because i’m lazy like that.

monday
up at 5AM for a shoot in Vancouver, got home at dinnertime. exhausted, but made it to the gym after dark to fit in 35 minutes of cross-training cardio.

tuesday
5 mile run.
outside.
ran the first 3 alone, the last 2 with my friend amy.
my knee hurt from about mile 3 – 5.

wednesday
in vancouver at a workshop all day. got home around dinnertime. didn’t work out. thank goodness i don’t work in an office 9-5. i’d never get any working out or running done.

thursday
5 mile run outside.
felt pretty good actually.
55 minutes? not bad. not super fast, but pretty good.

friday
just a half hour of cross-training cardio at the gym.

saturday
10km run outside. i put this off ALL day. i woke up and went for breakfast with the parents unshowered and unmake-up’d, wearing my running clothes, in a separate car. i was planning to run after breakfast. well. it was  raining. and i was lazy. so i stayed in my sports bra and running stuff ALL day until about 3 o’ clock when i got up the nerve to run my 6.2 miles. can i just say NOT FUN? probably the most painful run to date. my running shoes are completely worn out. my feet hurt from mile 1. the last 5 kilometres were not fun times, but i finished and it made me stronger and whatever.
- but. it’s to be noted: definitely the most mentally challenging run yet. grrr!

sunday
i was icing like a fool all night saturday and sunday afternoon, because my knees feel wrecked and the arch of my right foot is REALLY strained. so i definitely did nothing at all on sunday even though i was supposed to strength train or cross-train. gah. though i did second-shoot a wedding. and have to stand in two church services. for a long time. so my feet hurt. lots.

THAT’s a wrap.
3 weeks left.

week 8.

monday
4.5 mile run.
48 minutes or so?
outside. beautiful day. dad ran half of it with me again. i like the company.

tuesday
short run day. yay! 3 miles.
ran outside: 32 minutes?

wednesday
i used to consider 4.5 mile runs long, but now they are a welcome break from the longer distances! hah! ran 4.5 miles in 48 minutes again, i think. dad came with me for the last 2.5 miles. he’s improving too. go daddyyyy!

thursday
rest today.
it. is. SO. needed.

friday.
the most beautiful day of the week! it was about 12 degrees (Celsius) and sunny and just so perfect outside! The idea of going to the gym to do 50 minutes of the elliptical/stairstepper for crosstraining was not thrillin’ me. My mom & I went for an hour’s walk (hilly and tried to do it fast?) at Derby Reach Park. So, I counted that as exercise. Hah!

saturday.
mm. the biggest mountain to conquer yet in training: 8 miles. only one other time in my life (my 15K) had I run farther than that. i slept in, had half a bowl of cereal and a huge bowl of oatmeal. gave it an hour to digest and drove out to where i was planning to start. i parked my car, was feeling all nervous and just shaky about the whole thing. i’m not sure why. it wasn’t race day or anything! but i was really nervous. i went to the bathroom. started running.

now, it’s a funny story that i want to re-count on my photo blog, in a more entertaining way, but LONG story short, i ran 9.5 miles instead of 8. because i’m a little directionally challenged. BUT. the most important thing is that I did AWESOME. I am so so so SO proud of me. I felt amazing the entire way through. The entire way! No wall, no aches (Well, my knee always hurt around 5 or 6 miles but I ignore that. No biggie,) just smooth sailing. My 6 mile time was 1 hour, 2 minutes. I was SO impressed. The run was GORGEOUS, saw so much of my city that I had never even driven to (random farm roads.) I finished and ahhh, just felt so good. So good. I was a happy runner. I love it.

Summary: 9.38 miles.
Time: 1 hour, 38 minutes.

week 7.

sunday
so, as stated at the end of week 6, i caught a cold. an annoying one. y’know, different than all those lovely-non-annoying colds? anyway. sunday is strength training/stretching. i stayed in bed most of the day.

monday
i wake up and my cold is worse. completely congested. awful. i’m a little frustrated because i’ve yet to miss a training run and i was set to run 4.5 miles that day. i decided i needed to rest. resting bothers me. so does missing a day of training. GRR! i was at prayer monday night and my friend olivia prayed for me in my sickness and my training coming up and all that.

tuesday
we were out of nighttime cold medicine the night before, so i didn’t taken any. i expected to wake up congested but my nose was completely free! it was sweet to breathe through both nostrils. convenient. i was in vancouver all day and had energy to spare! i came home and ran 3 miles outside and it felt so awesome. it had been 72 hours without a run. so rare that i go that long! thank you jesus for health. colds never leave this fast!

wednesday
4.5 mile run
dark and rainy outside. so it was on the treadmill
51 minutes
a bit of strength training afterwards.
thoughts: i felt good while i was running… but i definitely did a lot of mental arguing. i’d be running and thinking, “ugh. i just want to STOP. this is boring and hard.” then another voice would say, “jamie. shut up. why do you want to walk? because it’s easier. of course walking is easier than running. get over it. stop always wanting what’s comfortable.” and so i continued. and ran. lots. gahh! i spent the rest of the day sitting and driving in my car and didn’t stretch properly. i had the WEIRDEST restless leg syndrome around dinnertime. it was so bad, i couldn’t sit. i was just pacing around my room on my iphone. haha!

thursday
rest day. i love rest days. they are just so easy. i can wake up in the morning and fully get ready for the day knowing that all my work won’t be undone with a second shower in the afternoon. it’s glorious.

friday
crosstraining day!
30 minutes on the elliptical
20 minutes on the stairclimber.
thoughts: well. i did it. and burned some calories. not that exciting. my running shoes are killing me. i wear through my shoes so quickly, that reminds me, i need to order a new pair of nikes right now. running is an expensive hobby folks! i go through about three pairs a year! (or one every five months?) tomorrow i have a seven mile run. EEK! the reality of this is starting to hit me. that’s a long way. only ONE other time in my life have i run seven miles.

saturday
hello long run.
seven miles.
1 hour, 15 minutes.
thoughts: my dad ran the first 2.5 miles with me. it’s always nice to have him there and keeps me paced right. it was a beautiful sunny day. 7C. perfect running temperature. i dropped him and my dog off by our house and i continued to run the rest of the 7 miles. around mile 3 i was smiling, thinking, “this is great.” it goes to show you how much mental energy is needed in running. when i set out to run 3 miles, i’m dead by the end. but when i know i have to run 7, 3 is just the beginning. i ran a new route, down kind of a busy road, but i didn’t mind. i listened to jesusculture music the whole time. BEAUTIFUL. around mile 5, i was still smiling. mile 5.5 my knees started hurting so i stopped for twenty seconds and did some stretches and continued on. made it back to my house just as my distance hit 7 miles. it was so beautiful. just a great run in every way! i walked in the house and my dad goes, “how was it? you did it?” and i said, “dang right i did. i’m in great shape. boom!” haha. it’s a nice feeling. being proud of yourself for something like a long run.

and that wraps up week SEVEN!
the race is now less than five weeks ago. frightening!

halfway there, sister. halfway there.

i’m not sure where i got this crazy idea or why i’m paying $65 to do it, but i’m halfway through my training to a little thing called a half-marathon. halfway to the half-marathon. catchy. i’ve officially finished week six of my twelve week program and i’m starting to get really excited… and scared out of my mind. i haven’t run anything over six miles for a YEAR.

the next few weeks hold some hard runs.
week 7 = logging 19 miles total.
week 8 = logging 20 miles total.
week 9 = logging 19 miles total.
week 10 = logging 19 miles total.
week 11 = logging 22 miles total.
week 12 = logging 21 miles total.

i’m praying for good weather on the long saturday runs so i don’t have to run inside. i mean, even if it’s pouring i can still run outside. it’ll be fine. maybe i’ll do that. i’m super thankful God has decided to hold back the snow from Vancouver this winter. it feels like october and that’s fineee by me right now!

week 6.

monday
4 mile run outside.
50 minutes.
THAT was pretty embarassing.
kristen & i were feeling so great and cocky after our awesome, amazing “i-can’t-believe-we-just-ran-six-miles” six mile run on saturday that we thought four was going to be easy peasy. well it was raining. and we didn’t listen to music at all. just talked. and we were pooped. we walked so much. hence the 50 minutes. worst. time. ever. some days are just hard.

tuesday
strength training at the gym. 15 minutes.
one mile on the treadmill.
ten minutes on the elliptical.

wednesday
another four mile run with kristen.
we determined to not be as embarrassing as monday’s run.
we succeeded! we ran a hilly route around my house and finished in 42 minutes. YEP!

thursday
25 minutes on the treadmill i think? didn’t keep track of how far i ran.

friday
rest day.

saturday
saturdays are usually my long run day, but my training schedule has a 5K race day built into the 12-week program. today was supposed to be my 5K race. it was dark outside and rainy, so i went to the gym and just tried to run as fast as i could. that’s never my goal. speed. just distance. so different focus. i ran 5k in 32 minutes i think? nothing spectacular but i tried. fast isn’t my thing. also doesn’t help that i woke up friday morning with a cold, so i was coughing every few minutes and snorting back snot with every arm pump. ughh!

week 5.

oh boy, i suddenly got back at this updating four-blogs thing. okay.

sunday
don’t remember.

monday
4 mile run outside.

tuesday
absolutely nothing. (the night before i pulled an all-nighter with my youth group until 8 in the morning!)

wednesday
4 mile run.
on the treadmill. i think.
once again, i forget. but i know i ran it.

thursday
rest day.

friday
40 minutes of cross-training at the gym.
even though i stayed up until 4AM.
committed, yo.

saturday
LONG RUN!!
now this is the fun one.
kristen & i ran six miles together.
1 hour, 10 minutes.
we walked for the first three minutes.
so more like 1 hour, 7 miles.
we ran downtown seattle.
it was amazing.
SUCH an easy run, i couldn’t believe how well i felt.

sunday
did nothing. SHOULD have strength trained. i always skip that. bad jamie.

i love this.

yesterday i went for a long run, as it was a saturday. and that’s what i do on saturdays. i go for my long runs. it all makes sense now, hey? so i had to log 5 miles. my dad came with me for the first 2.5 miles and he did a walk/run. whenever he’d stop running, i’d run up ahead a few hundred metres, then run back and then by then he was usually ready to run. if not, he’d keep walking and i’d keep running. we have a great little system.

the fog was magical yesterday. simply magical. this was noon, but the fog was still hanging out in the air in all its glory. if i ran too far ahead of my dad, i’d look back and not be able to see him. so then i’d turn around and run until i could. i love it. on some of the long stretches of road i found myself smiling and thinking, “i LOVE this. i really really do.”

the feeling of putting one foot in front of the other. the practice of breathing steady and consistently. breathing in fresh air. lately on my runs i’ve been listening to hillsong, hillsong united, revolution band, christian city church. i have a tendency to over-spiritualize running but i really feel and KNOW that i can do ANYTHING with jesus. and running is a practical example of that. yes, i can put one foot in front of the other even when i don’t want to, even when it hurts my knee, even when i’d rather be home on the couch, because with Him, all things are possible. when the music builds i run faster and concentrate on moving my legs, and when the music slows down, i think about the words. think about His words and His promises. how can i not run with all my might while listening to music that exalts Him? then i get to the end of my run, i sit on my front steps and i think, yo. this girl just ran 5 miles. what WHAT!!!!! & i smile.

i’m such an happy runner.
i used to laugh at people like me.

week 4.

december 21
3.5 mile run
treadmill
i ran at dinnertime which felt weird. i was out all day, rushed to the gym at six, quickly fit in a 40 minute run, changed and got ready and sped to the theatre to meet my parents. saw invictus. it was great. love sports movies. love love love. i hate watching them on days where i haven’t worked out though. because then i feel lazy. but after a hard run? greatest feeling. makes me want to go run a half-marathon… oh wait. i’m already going to.

december 22
plans calls for cross-training or running 2 miles. i split the difference and ran a fast mile, and spent 12 minutes on the elliptical. pretty easy work out. my dad came to the gym (he’s newly retired so now he’s free to do that!) and he walked on the treadmill beside me. fun times.

december 23
3.5 mile run
dad felt so great about walking the other day, i come into their bed at eight this morning and he says, “are we running?” and of course, i take advantage of that question and answer, “yes,” even though i was feeling anything BUT “let’s run 3.5 miles together at 8 in the morning!”-ish. but we did. 37 minutes. and my first outside run in a long while! praise the lord for mild december weather. above freezing, no rain, lovely.

december 24
glorious rest days. i always need these so bad when they come.

december 25
cross-training day. i did a pathetic little walk with the family for a half hour? good enough.

december 26
oh the dreaded long run days. saturdays.
five mile run outside. 54 minutes.
the fog was magical.
i love running. i really really love it. long runs show me that.