Oh Boy, Here We Go!

Hi Everyone! I hope you're all doing well! Things are going pretty good here. After the 15k last Sunday, I felt fine after the run, but then later that night my left knee was pretty sore (I think I jynxed myself with my earlier comment that I've had no issues so far!!). So, I adjusted my training schedule to try to give my knee more rest. But, I am committed to getting in the miles that our training plan has!

Yesterday (Saturday), I ran 11.8 miles! I know it's about .8 because I mapped it on http://www.mapmyrun.com. That website is awesome! If you ever wonder how far you went walking, biking, running, etc., you can map it out on there and get a pretty good estimate!

So, anyway, the run yesterday was really beautiful. I love fall - the colors are just beautiful!! I left at 7 am and got back about 9 am. I walked every couple miles or so because of my knee, but it didn't feel too bad until afterwards! I had bought a camelback for running (a glorified fanny pack, except it carried water/liquid!! hehe), and had that filled with water, and I courageously tried a complete "gu" 45 minutes into the run. "Gu" is this pasty high-calorie not-so-great tasting semi-liquid paste (I would liken it to the consistency similar to toothpaste!) that comes in a small tube. It has caffeine and helps for about 45 minutes. It definitely helped! The 15k I ran out of steam at about 1 hour into it, so the last 1/2 hour I was starving and not very energetic! This time it was much better, but I should have had 2 "gu's," because I had the same thing happen to me the last 1/2 hour or so. But, I didn't have any problems with it, which was awesome. The camelback worked great, as well. My parents had bought me a biking camelback for the SS150, which also worked great. So, now I have two! I have no excuse not to drink on a run now. :) Yes Mom, you can stop worrying now. hehe.

The rest of the weekend was spent cutting, splitting, and stacking firewood, which I look at as a good arm workout! The only thing bothering me was my darn left knee. Luckily last week I set up a doctor's appointment with a Sports Medicine doctor, which will be on Wednesday morning. I hope it's just something really simple and it will go away! I MUST run!! I'll let you all know what happens with that.

Next weekend we have a nutrition clinic and a 13-15 mile run with the TNT group. These are fun runs - everyone on the team is just awesome! It's really wonderful being part of such a great cause, with people committed to the same thing - curing blood cancers!

Also, in case anyone is interested, I signed up to run a 10k on Thanksgiving - the Berbee Derby. It is in Fitchburg, and there is also a 5K walk and run. Below is the link - you can register online or mail in the form. Should be fun! Let me know if you sign up - we can meet up there!
http://www.berbeederby.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3&Itemid=8

Thank you again to everyone for all of your support and generous donations! Your generosity amazes me, and I am so lucky to have you all in my life!

Have a great week!
Katie