Boston Marathon Training Day 2

YEP you read the title correct!!  Today was my 2nd run of the training cycle.  Last week took a while for my feet to heal from total mileage on the weekend.  I am being smart and not pushing myself too hard because this is a race of a lifetime for me! 

I am so proud of these 8 miles today because I was able to interval them ALL!!!  The weather was a bit windy and chilly so it was a great challenge to run and since Boston's weather can be a bit on the cool side I thought let's see how this goes.
 

My left Achilles is still an issue so I decided I needed to do some stretching for it after my run....Another way I am being smart!  Tomorrow is the start to a new week and I plan to incorporate stretching in the morning after my tea.  To help my Achilles feel better, I will be doing a towel stretch, calf raises and a Soleus stretch.  I will also begin core exercises for my booty!  I know that doing hip bridges will help so those will be part of my routine. 

Ragnar Relay sent me a workout kit and some fun prizes for my Mom's Run This Town chapter!  Above is a picture of them on a yoga mat.  I plan to utilize the dice for cross training purposes.  One dice has numbers to represent the number of repetitions and the other dice has exercises.  So in the middle of the week, I plan to take my yoga mat outside to a local high school track and do some cross training.  I do plan to run a lap and then do an exercise.  I will challenge myself to see how many rounds I can do so stay tuned to see what my results are.

These are the bands I wear from time to time so that when I get tired, all I need to do is look down to my wrist and do what it says!!  There was no beast mode today since it was a long run and I took it easy on my pace.  I really did have to power through the miles because I allow myself one 2 minute walk break at the top of every mile.  I need the reminder to be kind to myself on all of these runs.  It is so easy to negative self talk and I have been working hard to break that habit.  

I treated myself to a yummy veggie quinoa chickpea soup tonight!  I made a big batch and it was super yummy!  

Thanks soooo much for reading!!  Don't forget to send in a donation to my charity!  I need to raise $10k and I am 10% there as of today!!!  Here is the link - https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/brain-aneurysm-foundation1/lisasammons1

  

Boston Marathon training day 1

So week 1 didn’t go according to the plan I set up last Sunday. Why? Because I was lazy. I’ll admit it, I sat my butt on the couch more than I should have and watched Netflix.

Why was today different? I didn’t turn on the TV. I ate some oatmeal and drank lemon water while checking my business group on Facebook. The whole time thoughts like this were running in my mind. Who’s gonna know if you don’t run? Your not ready for 11 miles, are you crazy? Anyone else have thoughts like that before you begin a training plan?

BUT it is BOSTON!!! And I have a huge fundraising goal.....$10k! How can I ask anyone to donate when I am not putting the work in to get myself successfully to the Famed Finish Line???? Hmmmmmmm 🤔

So I am super proud to say that I completed 11 miles today!! 6 of them were interval running and 5 of them were walking. Was I successful today? YEP! Wanna know why? I didn’t quit!!!!!! And I started!!!!!  As I finished that last mile, I had the biggest smile on my face!!  

I stopped running at 6 miles because my knees were feeling a little weird. I changed out the shoe laces on my running shoes so maybe I need to adjust them. I also wore different socks than I normally do so I am going back to my regular running socks. I also got a blister on my foot in a place where I typically don’t get a blister.  Going to look up why that may have happened.

I need to work on my walking pace for my intervals and was thinking about that while walking! This will be key in maintaining my endurance heart rate and giving my legs a quick rest.  I walk 30 seconds and run 60 seconds.  I love love love this style of running!  
Today is unseasonably warm in Virginia, it was so cool to be outside in short sleeves!! I also took the opportunity to truly break in my hydration pack since I will need a strategy for long run hydration and nutrition. I love my hydration pack much more than I thought I would!
Here are some cool pics of the stream that I run next to and it is practically in my backyard!

The charity I am running for is The Brain Aneurysm Foundation #bafound through the Charity Teams!  I am so grateful to be able to run this race in 2020 BECAUSE it is on my birthday!!!!  That's right on marathon day I turn 51!!!!  I would be supremely grateful for your assistance in helping me to meet my goal for the current fundraiser I have going on. 

YOU COULD WIN A THOUSAND DOLLARS! Purchase a square for the amount of that square and get that many entries into the drawing! (ex. Square 27 = $27)The square is equal to the number of chances you get to win! Doesn't that sound amazing!!! Please visit my personal Facebook page to find the latest square grid so you can see what numbers are left - https://www.facebook.com/lisadellingersammons

Welcome to my BLOG

Welcome!

I am new to blogging and am planning on posting at least 2 times per month here!  How many of you know someone who is on the Autism spectrum?  What topics would you like me to be real about?  I will tell you if something you are requesting is not in my forte of experience.  

My KIDDO
My kiddo wasn't officially diagnosed until 3/4 of the way through 5th grade.  BUT we did see ChildFind when he was 3 and they never mentioned anything regarding Autism or Asperger's Syndrome.  I put him in general education classes, not the small classroom settings.  I wish I would have known about the IEP process when he started Kindergarten.  I would have had him evaluated for one.  That was back in 2002 and now there are so many more resources to find and read!!

RUNNING
When my kiddo entered high school they had a 5k fundraiser for the after graduation all night party so I signed up for it!  My age at the time was 42 and the bib they gave me ended up being number 42......i took that as a sign!  I am a big believer in signs but don't go searching them out.  I try to pay attention and recognize them rather than brush it off as coincidence.  Whew that was a tough 3.1 miles and my boyfriend (now husband) was at the finish line waiting for me so I tried my best to run it all and not take walk breaks.  8 years later according to Athlinks my stats are as follows:

122 races total completed!
They total 1,325 miles!
5k PR is 32 minutes even!
Marathon PR is 5:17:13 although my Garmin watch shows 5:10 (i paused it for my 7 minute bathroom stop at mile 10)!

TURNING 50
I just turned 50 and I have had some struggles fining my mojo, my why and my inner wonder woman.....don't we all feel that way at some point.  I placed my 50th birthday on a pedestal for many goals that I didn't achieve and I feel like that frustration, disappointment and feeling like a failure caused my mental decline.  I have to state that my actual birthday weekend was FANTASTIC in EVERY WAY POSSIBLE!  We stayed at a B&B surrounded by mountains, took a hike, book ended it by 2 date nights in a box, had perfect weather and amazing B&B hosts!!!!!  Sooooo I am extremely grateful and thankful for that!  

I made a decision that my 50th journey around the sun 4-20-19 to 4-19-20 will be the most epic 366 days of my life!!  There are many weekends planned with some crazy races back to back and I survived my first weekend as a 50 year old with awesome Richmond Ragnar and GW Parkway Classic races!! 

ok that is all for now....hope that those of you who read this like it and will comment.  If you don't like it please also comment and politely tell me why.