Only A Few Long Runs Left!

Well I only have about a month and a half left in training! My last two long runs have actually been good. Last week I hit the bike trail were the race a majority of the race is going to be run. I did 19 miles and was quite pleased with the outcome. I was feeling strong the first 12 miles or so. Then I started to get really hungry. By mile 15 I had nothing left in the tank so I did find myself walking a lot towards the end. But I still had a decent pace of 11:46. It was nice running somewhere different. The change of scenery was a motivation in itself. I also tried listening to a book on tape. It was the best decision I think I have ever made. I am totally hooked on them now. They really make the time go quickly and I find myself getting so involved with the story and focusing less on my pain and suffering. I have been listening to thrillers so it makes me want to run so I can find out what happens next. So far I have finished "Runaway Jury" by John Grisham and "The Overlook" by Michael Connelly.

My long run today was 20 miles. My pace was a little slower, but I expected that because it was 90 degrees out by the time I finished. When I started, at 6:30 AM, it was 70 degrees. I knew the moment I stepped out the door that today was going to be a challenge. Once again I was feeling pretty strong till about mile 13, but then the heat really started to get to me. I did what I could to cool off, but you can only do so much. I dunked myself in a sprinkler at one point and it felt oh so good. I also stopped at Safeway twice and filled my hat with ice cubes from the soda machine after I filled my bottle with ice water. At one point I was out of water and had to stop at Starbucks for a refill. All in all I had to make 5 pit stops to refill my water. About a mile from my house I saw some construction guys spraying something out of a hose. I was going to ask them to spray me, but as I got closer I noticed it wasn't water, it was some green substance. I was thoroughly disappointed.

Overall I do feel a great deal stronger than I did when I started this training, but honestly I have no idea how I am going to be able to pull this off. I keep a positive attitude, but I know some sort of miracle is going to be needed. I suggest everyone should start praying for me now, I'm thinking a last minute prayer isn't going to work!

Fight the Boredom

I went to the library and I got a few books on tape to see how those would entertain me on my long runs. I'm starting to run out of podcasts so I needed a new plan. In addition to getting the books, I also got some audio CDs so I can try and learn to speak Italian. I figured I might as well use that time to make myself smarter. I'm not sure how well it will work out, but it's worth a shot. So if you see me running down the road and it looks like I'm talking to myself, at least you'll know I'm talking to myself in Italian!

Week 12 Wrap up: Is it October Yet?

Time got away from me this past week because I went away for a three day weekend to San Francisco. Last week my runs were okay. I was very pleased with my long run on Friday. I wanted to get it done before we went out of town because I really didn't want to map out an 18 mile route through the streets of Frisco. The run itself was quite warm, as I got out a little later than usual. Even though I did walk some at the end, I ran most of it quite strong. Forty-five minutes after completing my run, I was in the car and driving down to the Outside Lands musical festival in Golden Gate park. Once we got to the motel, we have to walk two miles to the show and then I spent another 3 hours or so standing and then walked 2 miles back to the motel. My legs were quite tired after all of this and they let me know they were not pleased with my actions. I ended up taking Saturday off and swimming at the motel inside of running.

On Saturday we changed motels and went to San Leandro and stayed at the San Leandro Marina Inn. It was fabulous! Sunday morning I woke up early and took a 4.5 mile run along the bay and the marina. The weather was perfect and it was a pleasant change from the streets of Folsom. The picture above is a shot of the marina from our balcony. I was going to take my camera on my run but I forgot it. When I got back I indulged myself in the best continental breakfast. I wish I could do that after every run.

Week Eleven Wrap Up:My Time to Whine

I am not going to lie. I am so sick of running right now. Everyday is a battle between staying in bed or getting out to hit the pavement. Of course the pavement pounding always wins, but the battle is exhausting. I'm bored with all of my running routes despite how I change them up. I'm sick of all the songs I have on my I-Pod and I'm running out of my favorite PodCasts. What am I going to do? I still have 2 months of training left!

The good news is that I have been in this predicament before and I was expecting it. The bad news is, that in the past when it's gotten to this point, I only had a few weeks left of training, not two months. My runs last week were nothing to write home about. I did go back to my old hill that I used for hill repeats the first six weeks and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it now was. It was very apparent that I have gain a lot of strength over these past almost three months.

My long run was not too great. I had a few stomach issues early on and had to spend a good mile and a half walking to Safeway. My new mantra was "get me to Safeway, just get me to Safeway!" It was also very warm and I just didn't feel good. I met my dad at mile ten and he helped me get through three more. I called it quits at that point. My dad drove me home and I had something to eat. Despite not feeling that great, my guilt of not doing my planned 18 miles got the better of me. I changed into my shorts and tank top and went out and ran another 2 miles. I figured 15 miles was a good compromise and I'm glad I decided to go back out.

On our way home from the run we stopped at REI and my dad bought me some anti-chafe balm. I used it today and it seemed to work well. The real test will come on my next long run. If it does truly work than I will be able to wear shorts on my long runs so I'm less likely to overheat.

What have I gotten myself into? This all seemed like a good idea three months ago. Why do I put myself through this torture voluntarily? I ask myself these questions daily. For some reason I feel I need to prove to all the non believers that I can do this. Why I feel I need to prove this, I'm not sure. I can't figure out why I need to challenge myself to do this. It's beyond the point of wanting to do it, I need to do this. I guess I will just have to ponder these questions on my next 18 mile run.

Week 10: Wrap Up and Shoes

Another week completed! As I look back on this past week, I really feel as though I struggled. I'm not sure why. My runs seemed to wear me out regardless of the distance and I thought there were weights tied to my feet. I'm thinking it was more mental than physical. I feel stuck in a running rut and I'm not sure how to remedy that right now. My long run was okay. I went 17 miles at an 11:06 pace. I found myself having to walk more than I did the previous week, but my finish was much stronger. My dad ran with my again the last 6 miles or so. Joe the Kenyan had the week off so he didn't show up at the end like last week.

On the way home from my long run my dad and I stopped at Big 5 and I bought a new pair of running shoes. I stayed loyal to my Saucony despite the fact that they have changed the inside of their shoe in the past year. The older models use to have a lot more cushion, bounce, and overall better feel on my foot. I use to be able to grab any pair of Saucony and they would fit perfectly. Since they changed the placement of arch support in some of their newer models, finding a pair that work has been a challenge. This time I got the Grid Tornado 3. They seem to be a good match. Hopefully they will make a difference in my future runs.

Meet the Crew

On race day I get to have a crew. I'm thinking this is going to be a good thing because you get to see them every six-ten miles. I figure this will help to break the race up into manageable sections. Here are my three crew members so far:



My Mom: Sharon O'Neill, a constant smiler and my number one cheerleader. My mom will provide the "rah rah" for the day. I'm hoping her peppy spirit will keep me going when times get tough. She's always been my best supporter. Even if she thinks something probably isn't going to work, she still cheers me on anyway, just in case she is wrong.





My Dad: John O'Neill, local running legend, AKA:Joe the Kenyan and my coach. I'm actually trying to convince him to enter the race too. If he's running these long runs with me, he might was well have them count towards something other than helping me out right? Plus I think it would be fun. As I've mentioned before my dad is my running hero so I'm excited to know he is going to be by my side on race day. Unless I'm dead, he won't let me quit, and even if I were dead he'd tell me to quit faking and get running! I know I'm gonna need the tough love in those late race miles.


My Husband: Jim Young. I know race day is going to be boring for him, but he will be there anyway to support me. I don't think he totally understands me need to do this but he goes along with it. Odds are he will have his radio with him the whole day so he and my dad can listen to whatever game is on that day.

So that is team Morgan. i'm glad they are all going to be there becasue I sure don't want to tackle this by myself!

I Beat Joe the Kenyan: Week 9 Wrap-up

I can't believe I've already completed nine weeks of training. I'm pleasantly shocked at how fast the time is going. All in all I would classify this as a pretty good week. Even though I started the week feeling stiff and fatigued, I was able to loosen up and finish strong. I'm loving my new socks and I found some new material to put on my I-Pod. I also downloaded my stats thus far from my GPS. During this training I have:

Run 235 miles
Burned 30,000 calories (but haven't lost weight)
Kept an average pace of 10:47 a mile
Spent 44 hours running

I may still weigh the same, but I have lost a few inches and 2% body fat. If I can lay off the sweets then maybe I can drop a few pounds. Now on to my long run.

My long run this week was surprisingly good too. I ran the first hour and forty-five minutes by myself and then met up with my dad for the rest. All I can say is that my dad must really love me because he ran an hour and a half by himself and then finished the last hour and fifteen minutes of my run with me. If that ain't love then I don't know what is! The last few weeks we have been starting from different locations and then meeting somewhere in the middle. It's pretty fun and it works well. You never know where you're going to meet because neither of us have a set time as to when we are going to start. So you have to keep a lookout for the other person. Plus I work much harder when I'm running with my dad, so it's nice to just go my own pace for some of the run and then have him keep me going the last part when I really need extra support. This week I was keeping a great pace even by myself. When I met up with him I was feeling strong and the time was just flying by. I got to mile 13 and I just hit the wall. It all happened so fast. The last 3 miles were really a struggle but Dad, as always, got me through it. The last mile or so he decided we were going to race. He was "Joe the Kenyan" and I was "The Girl from Folsom." I kept telling him I didn't want to play that game but eventually I gave in and passed him up. He narrated the entire performance. It was hard, but I beat Joe the Kenyan.