Weekend of Ups and Downs

THE JELLY BEAN

Just a reminder to all who signed up for The Jelly Bean, get your race times/photos in today before 12noon CST.  I have not been able to respond individually to everyone, but please know that I have thoroughly enjoyed your photos and neat messages.  So many runners set new PR's in this virtual race... so congratulations to you!!  I've done my best this weekend keeping up with all the emails and entering in your times, but I did notice this morning some data was deleted/missing... so if you have a moment, please check the spreadsheet HERE to make sure your data is correct.  It's already sorted by first name, so just scroll down to your name.  If something's not right, just post a comment here please.  Thank you to all for participating and making it a fun event!

LESSONS LEARNED
On Saturday, my hubby raced in a 4mile trail race.  So I spent the morning with the kids cheering him on.  Sometimes it's nice to be a spectator, yes?!  Afterward, we did the kid-swap and I headed out for my long run.  It was rather disappointing, and I'm still trying to decipher why.  I did 8 miles that felt like 14.  By mile two, my quads were talking and my legs were just tired.  It's been a messed up training week since I took a couple days to recover from the Oshkosh Half and then raced a 5K.  But after much thought, here's  couple valuable lessons I learned...

• Take rest days seriously.  No matter how great you think you are, don't run 6 miles on the rest day.  And then expect your long run the next day to feel good.


• After a month of no chaffing problems, don't pick the first warm day to forget protective SportShield.  OMG, I got the worst chafe on both underarms!  It was the main reason I quit at 8 instead of the planned 10 miles. It's really hard to run without moving your arms...


• Friday night fish fry, followed by ice cream, is not proper nutrition the night before a long run.  I was up all night dealing with tummy reaction to the overload of grease and dairy.


These are all things I know... I was just very unfocused this week.

Forgetting about my crappy long run on Saturday, we had a wonderful Easter Sunday.

Do you even recognize me without the sweaty ponytail?

Followed by a joyous birthday party for Little Girl on Monday.

Look at me... I'm THREE!

Check out the cake I made for my daughter!

Now it's time to sharpen my focus on the task in 4 days...

 Illinois Half Marathon.

Bring it.