Okay...just a quick little check in here. I will post training etc. sometime next week...but....I lost 3 lbs!! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSs.. I am excited! I know I have eating and weight issues. I know I need to be careful. I have been eating sensibly (no starving or bingeing((how the heck do you spell that?)) ) I have been exercising (running!!). This is the first time I've had any luck with a diet in a long time. This round I have lost 17 1/2 lbs. That is since the beginning of March. 3 months. Too bad I started out at an all time high. I am going to hang in there though! My goal is to be down 20 more lbs by October 1st. I believe this is doable for me. 5lbs a month for 4 months. I can do it. (I can!!)

My long run on Saturday seemed to go well. I am starting to slow down again, just like during my Chicago training. Not sure what to do about that, but there really isn't time to develop much speed before Sunburst.

Friday: Rest. Went to my mom and dad's and walked around the woods. Took Ken Chinese for lunch at 8:00.

Saturday: 9 mile long run @ 13:40 ave. pace. My splits were a little more even, but I still start out fast and gradually get slower until the end.

Sunday: I had planned on just hanging out after Church and dinner with family, but I ended up riding about 15 miles on the bike while Clarissa ran her long run. I was slow and made lots of stops, but still somewhat tired by the end.

Monday: 5 mile run with Cheri. 12:32 average pace. Fairly even splits. This run felt good & I really think I am starting to put things together. This was supposed to be an easy run & it did indeed feel easy.

Tuesday: Rest. Sister Julie is going to do that "special conditioning" treatment on my hair tonight (wink wink). I threatened to jump out of a window if I didn't get an appointment this week (the basement window, of course). I am in serious need of a trim as well.

The weather is warming up & the rain seems to be holding off for awhile as well. I hope Sunburst is on the cool side, but I am not holding my breath. Anything can happen in 10 days!

Thursday: 5 mile easy run @ 13:22 average pace. I feel like I'm starting to develop more endurance lately. I still felt good when it was over. I realize I did not really push myself, but I did run 3 days in a row.

Friday: Today will be a rest day. I may do some cross training, but I'm not really planning on it. Possibly I will walk in the woods at my parents house before the mosquitoes move in for the season.

Saturday is my scheduled long run & my plan is to run 9 miles. Not sure when/how/where or with whom...but I will get it done.

Sunday: Planned rest day as well. Church/family/etc.

I feel better today than I have in awhile. I think I made a concious effort not to be depressed (not sure if that is possible, but that's what it feels like to me).

Things are going alot better at home. Husband has come around a bit. Hopefully they just continue to get better.

Quick update here:

Last night, Wednesday May 17th 2006 (aka my 26th wedding anniversary) I did 1/2 mile intervals with 1/4 mile recoveries

1. 5:01
2. 5:05
3. 5:08
4. 5:12
5. 5:12

The first two were done in the pouring rain. I am too stubborn to quit however, but it took it's toll on my last 2 I believe. Overall I am pleased though as speedwork is a relatively new addition to my training.

One more day until FRIDAY!!!

Yikes! I'm behind again

Thursday: Ran 3 miles on treadmill. 1 mile on Elliptical. 10 minutes on bike
Friday: Planned Rest.
Saturday: 8 mile run 13:22 ave. pace. Was sort of all over the place on splits, but some of my mile marks may have been off a bit. Felt like a good run
Sunday: Mother's Day & I was appropriately spoiled :) Nice kids and nice husband today...so therefore nice Me :)
Monday: Rest. Cold and rainy = Kathy whiny.
Tuesday: Tonight I am going to try to run 5 1/2. Still cold and rainy.

Boss is in a better mood. I am steering clear though whenever possible and not letting down my guard.

Tues: Rest. No run today. Too much to do & too tired. Sound like an excuse? I don't care. That is the mood for the day.

Wednesday: Thunderstorms at 4:30 so I held off speed work until about 7:00. I ended up doing them on the road instead of the track. Anyway, I ran 4 800's with 400 recoveries. They were as follows 1. 5:01 2. 5:20 3. 5:04 4. 5:01.

Thursday: Not sure what I will accomplish today. It is pouring outside and looks like no end in sight. I might try to run in the gym (ugh) I need to run five miles. We shall see.

Want to know a funny story? Once upon a time a persons boss was having a bad day. While boss was "reading" in his office with the door shut a lovely teacher brought in a chair and put it in the middle of the outer office. The person did not know what the chair was for, so the person ignored the chair. Dragon boss awakens from slumber, er...reading & sees said chair. Dragon takes chair and throws it at the door. Then Dragon leaves. Person just watches in horror. Glad dragon is gone. Dragon is a L.F. The End.

So far this week:

Friday 5/5: Walked 2 1/2 miles with Cheri. She got to listen to me vent about a number of subjects and I felt much better.

Saturday 5/6 I ran 7 miles with my sister Janice on the bike. That was very nice and it made the time just fly by! She did this alot with me while I was training for Chicago last year. I hope she will again this summer as well. Then we went to Dairy Queen and had ice cream. Yummy :)

Sunday 5/7 Planned rest. Church and then family dinner at my parents house. My Aunt was here from Belleville/Los Angeles & that was nice. I took a nice walk around the woods at my mom and dads. It is just beautiful there. It is a lovely sanctuary. I have always loved that spot since I was a kid. I am so glad they built their new home there. I got to talk with Kelley on the phone and find out how her race went. I was happy to hear that she PR'ed and had a great race!

Monday 5/8 Cheri and I ran an out and back course. I ran 5 in 105:26 for a 13:05 average pace. I tried to stay at an even pace and not start out faster like I usually do. My splits were 13:06, 12:54, 13:36, 13:54, & 12:06.

Today I am planning on running 800's on the track if all goes as planned. I may do it tomorrow instead.

I seem to be saying this alot lately, but I am in control of how I react to things & I am in control of my feelings. It's a good thing I have running, I don't know how I would cope otherwise. Boss has moderated at bit, so now it is time for husband to start up again. I honestly don't know what his problem is this time, but it doesn't look very promising. I am also extremely worried about him & I don't know if there is anything I can do or not. Ok....back to running.

Tues. I ran 800's w/ 400 recovery. 4:53/5:03/5:25. I was going to run 5 total but kind of pooped out after 3. I will do better next time. Clarissa and I ran of the track & it felt fairly hot and humid today.

Wed. 5 miles @ 13:40 pace. Fairly even splits, 1st and last mile were a bit faster than middle 3. Cheri, Clarissa and I ran Chamberlain road. They ended up with 4 1/2 miles.

Thursday - I put off running until 7:30 or 8:00. I ended up running 4 1/2 miles at a 13:01 pace. I think my mile marks may have been off a little bit as I had one 14 min mile and two around 12. I didn't notice myself speeding up or slowing down.

Friday - Planned Rest. I may walk with Cheri tonight.

Saturday is my scheduled long run of 8 miles. I feel ready for it!

I need an attitude adjustment today. I have to understand that I cannot control what others do, but I can control how I react. I'm a touch worried about myself as I have never gotten this far with my anger before. I am far beyond sitting in the corner screaming the "f" word. I feel quiet calm & I am afraid I am internalizing too much anger. On the other hand, perhaps I am letting it go in a healthy manner. I am just so angry at my boss.

Saturday I took Scott and Sarah to the bus station at South Bend airport. I did a drop and run so that they wouldn't see me crying. They are so happy & I think things will turn out fine for them in the end.

Sunday I did indeed skip church & Clarissa, Cheri, Cheri's friend Kim and Kim's friend Easter & I went to Notre Dame and ran the "Biolojog...1st annual race"

There were less than 100 people there & a good deal of them didn't finish. It was a fund raiser for the Humane Society & probably 15 or so people ran with dogs. I only saw one of them finish.

It was extremely disorganized, started 45 minutes late & had alot of students helping who would have rather been in bed. It was a ton of fun though. I now see that I have alot of work cut out for me before Sunburst.

I settled in between two groups of girls & the ones behind me (wearing Notre Dame God Country sweats) were literally on my heels the entire 1st mile or so. I slowed down so that they had to go around & then they played this game where they would walk until i caught up to them and then sprint. At about the last 1/2 mile one of them made the mistake of letting me pass her before she started running again & she was quite ticked off when I ended up beating her. It gave me alot of incentive to speed up and the look on her face at the end was priceless. My time was 32:18, I think...they didnt tell me an official time and it isn't posted. My time at Thanksgiving was 31:54 and I was hoping to beat it, but I don't feel too bad because I ran out of my way on this course at least once due to insufficient directions.