Go Blue Hens!!!

Hey Bloggies!
  So, in honor of my (almost) official status as a member of the freshmen Class of 2015 at University of Delaware, I decided this entire post is going to be written in Blue-Hen blue.
   Delaware? What happened to UVA?
Well, yesterday, after wasting as much time as possible at the gym so as not to spend time sitting in front of my computer waiting for it to turn 5 o'clock, I scampered on home, hair dripping from the pool, and checked my UVA student account to see what the verdict was: rejected. Yes, I was a little bummed, yes, I cried a little, but life has its way of working out, and I truly believe that this is the way it was meant to be.
   I had told my parents Thursday night that last night was to be a celebration no matter what, because the UVA decision signified the end of the decision process, since it came down to just UVA and UDel. So, we had an Indian feast and watched Eagle Eye, which is probably the most intense movie I have ever seen in my life!  I may have gone to bed at 11 o'clock just so I could see the ending...

   I woke up this morning with plans for a 16 mile progession run, and intended on doing it basically until about 15 minutes before I was supposed to leave. My knee felt funny when I woke up, so I iced it for an hour this morning, but it just felt locked up and puffy, and when that feeling still wasn't gone at 7:00, I decided to be cautious and do the progression run tomorrow and do my easy 9-miler today. Of course, I went back to bed first, for another 2 hours, and then spent the day in a daze between looking up housing assignment info., eating lunch, reading the paper, and sleeping for another 2 hours (gee, I think this is my body telling me perhaps 6 hours ISN'T enough on a daily basis). I hopped off to the gym around 3 to do 100 minutes of arc-training while reading Frances Mayes' book A Year in the World.  I love her books; she writes so honestly and beautifully about her experiences, and her descriptions are such that you can almost taste the tapas, churros, and capuccinos she devours in this book! By the time I got off the Arctrainer, the book and the FoodNetwork shows I had been watching had made me STARVING.
   Naturally I devoured pb&crackers when I got home before hopping on the 'mill for a lovely, slow, hilly 9-miler. Proof that my stomach problems are due to anxiety: I started running maybe 20 minutes after shoving more Kashi crackers and PB in my mouth than humanly possible, and was met with no stomach problems other than hunger during the run! A banana-flavored Hammer gel solved that, though.

   I enjoyed another wonderful Indian feast like the one below, which I had for lunch, and now I am watching Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, and looking at marathons and halves to train for in college, because let's be real here, I am not going to be able to race NEARLY as much as I do now. I kind of want to pick a couple of big races to train for, and then focus on high mileage and more speedwork during the schoolyear. Might still have to come home for the local running fest. though- it's the only time the city is safe enough to freely meander around!!!

Blue Hen or Hoo?

or...    Which school will it be?


That's right bloggies: Tomorrow at 5pm, this crazy PB&J runner is going to know what school she will be running at for the next 4 years! Strangely, I am not nervous. In fact, I was more nervous for my track workout this morning..:
FINAL mile repeats before C-ville Half!!
2 mile WU, 5x1-mile with 2:00 easy 400 in between, 1 mile cool down.
9 miles down, 75 minutes (yeah, I took it super slow on the cooldown, and only did 1 mile instead of 2 because 1st period was calling...) but I did it!!!

I had been dreading that baby all week, but with some help from my iPod and some really awful reality shows, I got through it, and even managed to still have juice in the tank for the evening's 4 miles!!

   I now feel back to my caped, cuffed, SuperWoman self. My mileage hits 60 this week, I am entering a race on a total whim on Sunday (unless it snows, which is what they are calling for.. BOO), and I know that no matter what that UVA decision says tomorrow, college is going to R.O.C.K.!<----- This cat perfectly sums up my feelings on the white stuff. Get. Outta. Here.

  And now, I gotta kick it to bed because I have 8 miles on the schedule tomorrow and I want to have plenty of time to pack my gym bag (I am wasting time post-school tomorrow at the gym instead of going later because you can bet your bottom dollar I will be online at 5pm sharp to check that status!)

It's Been Too Long

I know. I haven't posted since...Thursday? Time flies when you are running ultras, eating lots of PB, and watching wayy more Food Network than most people should.
  Friday morning was an easy 6 that felt ABSOLUTELY AMAZING after my massage the night before. My legs felt great, my playlist was fist-pumpin' good, and I sailed through the miles on 2% like I was running on flat ground. Coach Superwoman said to do 5 miles, but at 5 miles, I knew my legs needed another. I felt like I had another 13 in me, honestly, but I resisted, hopped off after 6, and went to eat some toast with PB and some cottage cheese and fruit. The rest of the day was spent at school, then at the library getting new books (if you haven't picked up Kristin Armstrong's latest book, Mile Markers, get yourself to the library or Borders and pick it up! The way she writes is the way I think on my runs- it is literally like reading my ramblings, and it is so enjoyable!).
      Saturday the fam was up early to get to the site of the ultra. I did a wonderful 4 mile warm up with my Dad around the neighbordhood, enjoying my time with him and the chance to get out in the quiet, sleepy neighborhood again, something I have not done recently since my longer efforts have been starting so late (note to self: STOP DOING RUNS AT NINE IN THE MORNING!). The hills in my neighborhood are ridiculous, so the pace was a little slower than normal, but I loved the chance to match pace again with the man who got me running. My Dad took me on my first run at age 13, and helped me push through the cramps and pain and fostered a love for the sport that will never die. Thanks, Dadio!!
    We got to the site an hour and a half early, so I took the opportunity to nap in the sun on the backseat while my Dad explored the grounds and my momma joined me in the napping. We woke up around 11:15, found the potty, I put on my gear, and we headed to the race site. The race involved a 3.7 mile loop followed by two 13.7 mile loops, and I was supposed to meet by buddy Jon at the start of his second 13.7 mile loop. Watching all the runners come in was awesome- some of them barely looked fatigued!! I sat in the sun, watching the commotion, until the race clock hit 3:17, when Jon showed up! I gave him the PB&B sandwich he had requested, we refilled his CamelBak, and then were off!

 Fast forward 3 hours, 12 minutes later, and my hero is heading to the finish and I am creepily smiling for my camera crew, aka my parents. The course was TOUGH; the websites description:  " The course is mostly single track trail with a mix of open fields, dirt road and some paved road. The course features nearly 9,800 feet of climbing. There is a starting loop of 3.6 miles followed by two identical loops of 13.7 miles. There are 4 stream crossings that can be challenging depending on the water level - there is alway the chance of getting wet feet" does not do it justice. The hills were MASSIVE, NEVER ENDING BIG'UNS, and the stream at the end went me+stream=water bottle falling=me going to catch bottle, slipping=bruised shin. Sounds brutal, but it was also awesome. REALLY awesome. One of those runs where you are hurting and want so badly to finish and think you'll never do it again, and six hours later you want to get back out there and do it again.
   I was dumb and did the elliptical after the race, because my legs were jumpy and I was too wide-awake for a nap. This was a bad idea. It lead to:
Monday: wake up in morning, go back to bed, go to school feeling jumpy and yucky for not running. Take off-day from Wednesday today, but go to spin class, lift arms, and go on elliptical instead of not exercising like Wednesday's schedule says.
Tuesday: Decided to do my four miler in the morning, meaning my workout is pushed til evening. Nearly fall asleep in Spanish, come home intent on running, go nap, wake up at 5:15 feeling like a truck hit me. Whimper that I am not invincible and my legs want sunshine and concrete and lactic acid, but brain tells legs to can it and rest like coach SuperW said to.
Tuesday night: Super envious of my Dad for running, but I know deep down I needed to take today off, even if it means doing 11 miles of workout tomorrow morning and splitting up the 7 I owe from Monday between tomorrow and Thursday.

 Moral of the story: I am not always as invincible as I think. I am actually human, and after running my first 55 mile week and working out for, get ready, 5 hours on Saturday, I need to be okay with being a slouch one day to let my body recover so I can knock the socks off the rest of this 60 mile week's workouts, including my final long progression run before C-ville!!

   So there you have it, bloggies. Even superhero ginger-runners can't always be on the ball 24/7. BUT THEY CAN GET ACCEPTED TO DELAWARE AND GETTYSBURG WITH SCHOLARSHIPS. BOOOO YAAAA

Whirlwind Week!!

Hi Bloggies! Did you miss me? Sorry I haven't posted since Saturday- it has been a week filled with workouts, projects, and not nearly enough rest.
  Sunday, I ran a 5k downtown with a St. Patty's Day theme.  That's me second to left- I sort of forgot to wear green.. Though I think my teal shirt kind of counts? Plus, I feel like my red hair gives me automatic costume points- I mean, I walk around all day long with Irish pride on my scalp!

   The race was INSANELY crowded, so my buddies and I only managed to find a spot in the middle of the pack to start. This meant that we started 3 minutes after the official start, but it was a blast to see them all again after not really getting a chance to do so all winter! We all met through a  Half-Marathon training through a local running store in the summer, and have since run tons of races together. They are such a fun bunch, and even though everyone is older than me, I love that they treat me like an equal and gab about tempos and gels as much as I do!
    My time was 24:22, mostly because the first mile I was elbowing half of the city's population to try and find a nice spot so I could settle into my pace.I think I could have shaved off 2 minutes if I had started nearer to the front, but I don't regret staying with my crew- we all danced along to the heavy metal playing at the start line and coordinated plans to gather as much free beer as possible (them, obviously, not me. I was more interested in some green sludge).  I ended up elbow 2 people, nearly ramming into someone, and running on the sidewalk for a good portion of the race, but I had so much fun I didn't even care! My legs felt awesome, which was a nice change after the drudgery of the previous day's long effort. I really pushed myself the last half-mile, and when I saw my coach near the finish line, you bet I kicked it into high gear! It was the first 5k where I was excited to keep running instead of dreading it, because I finally feel like I have a handle on a faster pace, so sprinting isn't scary anymore- it's exciting!!
    Monday was a morning 7-miler with Spin Class in the evening, which totally kicked my butt. My legs were exhausted halfway through, but I felt so good afterwards and the next morning totally powered through another easy 7-miles. I ran another 4 later on in the day, then spent some quality time with Paula Deen and the Arc Trainer- two of my favorite things.
   Today was a speed workout, with 20 minutes total speed and 9 miles when all was said and done. I woke up excited for it, but also covered in sweat... Fever? I went through the warm up miles convinced I was getting sick because I've been feeling nauseous all week and was so hot upon stepping on the 'mill that I didn't even need to wear a shirt to warm up in (my basement feels like an igloo, so I always wear layers to run in). The workout went really well, though, and I finished the rest of the morning routine feeling great. The fever? Turns out the heat in our house was up too high... The nausea? Nerves for the ULTRA I AM PACING THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    This is the type of scenery I will be spending my Saturday in- running 13.7 miles with one of my best running buds, enjoying the trails and trying to keep him sane while he completes 31.5 miles. I can think of no better way to welcome Spring!

Self-Confidence Battles, Boredom, and Curry

So yesterday ended up being quite eventful. I did a tough workout in the morning, since Thursday my calves were screaming bloody murder. The workout went well; it was tough, but in a good, know-it-is-making-me-better kind of way. It also had the added benefit of stretching out my calves!...and then an hour later causing them to once again tighten up and leave me doing to penguin walk down the steps for the rest of the day.

    After a gym session involving the beloved Arc Trainer and leg weights, I headed home to whip up some dinner for myself.

I made a delicious rice and egg curried hash with red onions and red peppers, and baked some sweet potatoe and parsnip fries to go along with it. Also included were two pieces of toast with laughing cow cheese, jam, and strawberries on them. If you have never tried this combo before, I HIGHLY suggest it. Your taste buds will thank you.

   I spent the rest of the night reading blogs and watching DC cupcakes, and right before bed, went online to check and see if there was anything posted about University of Delaware decisions, which are due to come out this week. I found out that they posted them last night, so I went to go log in to my account and see what the verdict was. Except oh wait! MY PIN YET AGAIN DOES NOT WORK. I reset it, and got a lovely message telling me the new PIN I made won't set in for 24 hours. My dreams last night were filled to the brim with anxiety over not being able to log in. Not exactly restful...

My dreams mostly consisted of me verbally beating myself up for not remembering my password, followed by everyone else I know finding out if they got in while I was left literally in the dark.

 

Then, this morning, I go to see if the PIN works, but oh hey! Nothing, yet again! I tried calling three different sections of the Admissions Office, but guess what? They aren't open on the weekends! So now my college acceptance/denial is floating out there in cyberworld and I don't know what the verdict is. Add this plus a serious lack of motivation and my 15 miler was pretty much craptastic. One of the upsides? I tried out a gel that actually tasted good- so good in fact that it even resembled the flavor on the package! When does that ever happen?!

    The run was awful partly because my legs were tired from yesterday's workout, but also partly because I literally ran out of road. I got 13.41 miles down and had nowhere left to run. So, I hopped onto the treadmill for the last 1.59, so angry and upset that I didn't even pay attention to what the show on Food Network was that I was watching. It didn't help that when I checked my Garmin, it said my average pace was 9:10. NOT OK. Yeah, I did A TON of hills, but I felt like I could have gone so much faster. You know that light feeling you get in your legs when you know you could have pushed harder? I had that today, and it bugged me so much I almost (almost) parked my car on the way to the gym and went for a reset run around town. I didn't, choosing instead to save up the energy for my 5k tomorrow and get my Arc Trainer on tonight, but I think next time I have that feeling, I am going to go with it.

   I guess that I am mostly frustrated that I am not where I want to be with my fitness. I am an impatient, stubborn person by nature (When I was 5, I wouldn't let my Mom teach me how to tie my shoes because I wanted to learn how to do it myself. Consequently, I now sort of stink at tying my shoes), so not being able to run the 7:30 pace that I want to is a constant thorn in my side. I know I only started running daily a year ago  (actually, a year ago almost exactly!!), and I have increased my pace, stamina, and endurance substantially since then, but I want to be FAST. NOW. I know that the heavy summer training I plan on doing will help, but even that seems forever away..

   So what do I do in the meantime? Stick to the schedule, kick butt during my workouts, run my heart out at every race, and keep on using the recovery socks (literally, those things are a miracle). I know I have the ability to accomplish everything I want, but I guess part of what scares me is not knowing how and when it is all going to happen. How will I train in college? How can I get sponsorship? Can I make it to the Olympic Trails in 2012?

      With all these thoughts, I needed some time with my stove and oven, so I whipped up this delicious feast:

Spinach with Parmesan Cheese, Oven-Baked Veggies, Pita Pizza with Canadian Bacon and Mixed Greens. Just what the PB&J girl needed!!

   After some Degrassi watching (I recently re-discovered this show after a two-year hiatus of not watching it. BOY was I missing something..), blog reading, and mindless lounging, I whipped up a pudding-smoothie:

It was yummy and thick, filled with frozen fruit, protein powder, 2 rice puddings, SF chocolate sauce, and cocoa powder. SO. GOOD. And the piece of SF chocolate with it made it all the better...



So now I am off to watch Wedding Crashers, try not to think about my lingering AP tests, and research some sponsorship and team possibilites.

Calf Cramps and Green Food

So the past 24 hours have been totally boss, except for the aforementioned calf cramps. I took my first spin class on a whim last night and LOVED it, (though now my calves hate me), finish all my service hours for National and Spanish Honor Societiess (yes, I am a nerd), got the 4th highest grade in my class on my AP Stat test (see previous paranthesis), swam a mile for the first time since the summer, got Subway, AND got a new flavor of NSA TCBY. Basically, most awesome Wednesday-Thursday ever.

Wonder if they sponsor athletes... Froyo counts as race fuel, right???

 My calves totally cramped up after spin, though, so my workout this morning turned into the seven miler schedule for tomorrow, and then after 3 miles, my calves told me to hop off the treadmill or risk a weekend confined to ice and compression socks. So, I now have 4 miles to make up. This works out in my favor, though, because I can do them as a warm-up/stretch-out run before my St. Patty's Day-themed 5k on Saturday!!! After the tri, I found out I actually perform better at 5ks when my legs are REALLY warmed up and a little fatigued. Who knew?  

So onto my awesome dessert tonight. It was St. Patty's Day theme and totally increased my love for pudding. Pistachio flavor? Delicious. And totally went with the Green Powerade.

And now, I have to limp (again) to bed to stretch my once-again misaligned nerve (every 3 months, the nerve in my left glute moves out of position and requires severe kneading that only a masseuse can do, since I can't bear to inflict that kind of pain on myself with the foam roller. Not even when House is distracting me...), and wake up at 4:30 to do my hill workout! Main set: 2x 4x 2:00 @ 7.0 @ 4%, 2:00 @ 8.5 @ .5%.

I have a second run to do later tomorrow as well that I wish could be done outside, but alas, it is raining cats and dogs. Flood, no school? One can only hope...

Leg Conversations and I love Pudding

After listening to my Mom just scare me to pieces about how if I get less than seven hours of sleep a night I will fall asleep at the wheel and my cells will not grow and replenish and I will not be as awesome an athlete as I can be (okay I added that last part...), I am making this a short post so I can hop/limp to bed. So, here's a quick recap of today and yesterday:

Yesterday's conversation between me and my legs:
Me: Legs, why aren't you working properly? Don't you know this is a recovery run?!
Legs: Can it, sweetie. We ran 24 miles and feel like poop.
Me: (decreasing treadmill speed): arggggg

Yup. Yesterday's run was the worst I have had in as long as I can remember... not because I had to decrease the speed, but because my legs just wouldn't pick up! On the elliptical in the afternoon, I nearly fell off I was so exhausted. I know, you say: Dumbo, why didn't you! I  answer: I committed myself to 90 minutes on that thing, plus I was in the middle of a Runner's World article...
    My thoughts on the leg fatigue? Not even carb replenishment... I focused too much on protein and salt this weekend... Darn you, nutrition!

 Today:
2.35 warmup, 5x :40 @ 8.5, :20 @ 6.0; 2x 1:40 @8.5, :20 @ 6.0, 2.5 mile cool down.
Verdict:  That's right, I'm Wonderwoman. (I am totally getting a tattoo of this or superwoman after my first Kona/Boston) My legs felt heavy at the beginning, but I stayed positive and knocked the socks off that workout!!!

And then tonight I celebrated Fat Tuesday with a delicious Frittatta made by my papa, some french toast, and more fritatta with all the leftover veggies. I think I might become a vegetarian just so I can eat more veggies... I love them more than chocolate (that is the truth). I also had my last chocolate cocoa cookies until Lent is over. I am addicted to them, so I decided to give them up. 40ish days without them? Not sure how I'll deal...

And now I am off to bed, because I have a 7 mile run tomorrow morning and I am determined to rock it no matter how my legs feel. Hopefully my playlist full of techno and Jason Mraz will help...weird combo, I know, but try it. The boy's soothing voice makes me forget all the lactic acid building up in my quads.

Also: Do yourselves a favor and go make some sugar-free instant butterscotch pudding. It is the most delicious thing in the entire world and makes me feel like I am 5 again, sitting in my kitchen in the summertime and watching my Mom pour Jello packages into my favorite blue bowl for summer cookouts. Ah, summer...

Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum

24 mile Weekend

So the totals for this weekend are...
-24 miles running
-7.63 miles biking
-.75 miles swimming
-1.63 arc trainer-ing

Needless to so, I am one tired chick. My legs feel awesome, though, since yesterday I picked up a pair of these: Do yourself a favor and buy a pair of DeFeet compression socks. Your calves will totally thank you. (I have been having calf cramps and tightness all week. I wore these to bed last night after a 14 miler and 45 minutes on the arc-trainer and this morning felt like I hadn't even run! AWESOME.).
  Yesterday's run was a little scattered; I was supposed to do it with my running club, but when I met them at the usual place, the only girl who was going as long as I was planned on doing 3, running back to the start, meeting a few women, running another 3, doing the same thing, etc., and frankly, I just wanted to get out there and get 'er done! So, I hopped on home and took a 3 hour nap (unintentionally that long...I had only planned on a quick 30 min. cat nap to keep me from falling asleep on the dreadmill, since I nearly fell asleep driving back from the meeting place....), then ran that sucker into the ground. I did a boatload of inclines, and felt pretty good, though my stomach was a little too tight for my second gel at mile 10, which lead to a lack of energy a little later. It's okay, though, because I got to catch up on my favorite little Southerner:  I may/may not plan my elliptical workouts around when I can watch her show in the evenings... It seriously makes my day!!
   After the run, I gobbled up this delicious feast:

Pictured: Spinach, Tomato, Red Onion Omelete and Cottage Cheese with Berries and Kamut Puffs

 Plus....

A pita pizza! So good with Parmesan cheese, Spinach, and black pepper on top. Pop it into the oven at 350 for 10 minutes and eat yourself silly.

Other than that, the rest of my day was spent getting new running shoes, buying those socks, and seeing The Fighter. Have you seen this movie? If you love Mark Wahlberg, are a goal-setter, or really like Massachusetts accents, all of which are a yes for me, then get your butt over to the theater!!

 

So. Beautiful.

I absolutely loved the movie, and not just because you got to see him in all his fine-chiseled glory at least 19 times. I totally identified with his character, Mikey, and the struggles he went through in order to make his dreams happen and the sacrifices he had to make. The guy was constantly in the gym, on the road running, and strategizing for his next fight. The movie is based on a real boxer who ate, slept, and breathed his matches,and I think that guy, Mikey Ward, just might be my new hero.

In other news, today was an easy 10 done at 2% at an 8:47 pace inside, because it was raining cats and dogs, and while I really like running in the rain, I don't like catching colds or getting a visit from my cold-induced asthma. I may be whimpin' out, but no way am I getting sick before my two biggest mileage weeks ever (note: in two weeks I hit 58 mpw!!!!!!).

And with that, I leave you with this recipe so I can go slip on my compression socks, read some of Pride and Prejudice, and try to go to bed before 10:30.

- 1 container greek yogurt

-1/2 cup fruit, frozen or fresh

-1/4 cup milk

-1/4 cup strawberry protein powder

-3 ice cubes

1. Blend in blender, adding water if mixture looks too thick.

2. Pour into bowl and stick in fridge for 30-45 minutes.

3. Take out of fridge, top with SF choc. sauce and whipped cream, and dig in!!!



TCBY and A Better Schedule

This is what I felt like on Thursday:

That is, until my momma surprised me with this:

 

Obviously I didn't want to wait to get the camera before scarfing down my NSA Chocolate with Blueberries. My mom is basically awesome, and TCBY gets way too much of our bank account...

    The day was pretty awesome after that... I got a lovely apology email from my coach, and a new schedule filled with higher mileage and two-a-days, so I was a pretty happy camper. I still think I might switch to self-coaching for the summer, since guarding can get really hectic and trying to make someone else work around my schedule would be pretty difficult. Plus, I kind of want to see if I can stay as disciplined and focused if I am my own personal coach. I think I can, I think I can...

   Yesterday's workout was 6 miles done all at 2%- first time I have ever lasted that long on that incline! Normally I have to do intervals to stay on there... Evening workout included ellipticaling, arm weights (10 lb. dumbells this time!!), and 42 laps in the pool, all freestyle. First time I have used 10 pounders in a while, and first time I have done that much swimming with just freestyle!!

   Today I tried to take it semi-easy since I have a 14-miler tomorrow and I really want to stay on goal pace, 8:45, so I just did 6.5 in the morning with hills intervals at 2 and 2.5%, and then elliptical in the evening. The elliptical almost doesn't even feel like a workout sometimes... I mean, I get to watch cooking shows AND read magazines. I would honestly stay on there or the treadmill with my NHL network all day if I could...sure beats all those AP classes....





Signs of Stress and Exhaustion

Hi. I haven't washed my hair in 4 days, got maybe 5 hours of sleep last night, forgot to put on deoderant the other day, and actually managed to nearly fall asleep during 2 of my afternoon workouts. Signs I need to go to bed earlier? I think so.
  Therefore, this post will be short, because I think after seeing my konk out immediately after my afternoon snack today, my mom is going to carry me into bed if I don't walk there myself. Gotta love my parents. Without them I would be a sleepwalking, cranky zombie.
   After Sunday's race I was a total doop and didn't replace enough of my electrolytes or glycogen stores, so I have been experiencing that awful depleted feeling I know oh so well now. I took action today and used this:

Has anyone tried these Nuun electrolyte tablets? They taste like a cross between seltzer water and gatorade, but I definitely think they replaced some of my salt loss. Plus, they turned my water a really pretty pink color.

I put them in this lovely little guy:

I bought it on Sunday at REI and it was truly the best 25 dollars I have ever spent. It has a built-in filter so I won't have to continue injesting the traces of lead in the school water. Hooray for public pipe systems!

                  

Other news of this week includes a serious contemplation about my coaching. My coach is not always the best at communicating, and frankly, this week she really didn't do well. I didn't get my schedule until today, so my workouts are now all discombobulated. After lots of contemplation last night, I was sure I was going to tell her I no longer wanted her as my coach and that I would coach myself- I even got really excited and started making my own schedule. Then, today she sent me a really nice, apologetic email that almost made up for it. I will still have to see how it all works out, since this isn't the first time she's forgotten about my schedule and not responded to emails, but we'll see how it goes. What are your thoughts on coaches? Necessary, not necessary?

Part of why I was so set on doing my own schedule is that I am hunggrryyyy for more mileage. Looking at that page in Runner's World that gives you an elite's typical schedule is currently making me drool:

87 miles a week? I hope that is me someday soon....