Thoughts from a Marathoner in Training

I've been pretty proud of myself  with how my "Goofy" Challenge training has been going. The plan I am following calls for runs on Tuesdays, Thursday, and Saturdays. I've modified it for Monday's, Wednesdays, and Fridays ( and will use Saturdays as my extra day just in case I can't make a run during the week). I'm sure glad that I had the extra day last week because after being violently ill on Friday, I missed my run and moved it to Saturday morning.

So Saturday Morning I was up and at the Island Trail by 6:15 am. Here are my random thought as I ran.


* I've been experimenting with different types of running shoes lately. Today I'm gonna use my old favorites. We'll see how they still work for me.

*Yay! It looks as if all the debris and fallen tress have been cleaned up from the storm!

*Gee, it's really early. I wonder if it's safe to be running these trails by myself. I hope there isn't anyone hiding behind these trees.

*I wonder why some of these trees are roped off around them? Maybe they are ones they plan on cutting down?

*Hmm, I wonder if my mom and I will run RnR Vegas together at the same pace or if we will do our own thing.

*I know I already paid for the RnR Half Marathon, but maybe I'll just go down to the quarter marathon and run that with my dad.

*No, I' think I'll continue with the RnR Half and run with my mom. I think she'll wait for me and run at my pace.

*It's so early I can hear the bullfrogs. Hmmm, I must tell my parents that I hear bullfrogs. They were talking about getting some frogs for down at their pond.  ( Not as if they are going to come down and take these Frogs at the Island..lol)

*Okay, time to run off the island. I'm approaching a hill to get up over the bridge. Okay, what was it that Pam from WE RUN DISNEY said about approaching hills? Take larger strides? Was that right? Well, I'll try that.

*That hill felt good, now I'm on the bridge and my pace is really picking up. I like the song that is playing on my I-pod now ( Story of my Life).

*I'm not a fan of running over bridges. I hope my visor doesn't fly off.

*I'm running through town now. I wonder if that new bakery is open yet? (Not that I would stop in, just curious). It's not?

*I'm running through a little park in town. What nice benches and a gazebo. Looks like a nice place to relax but I wouldn't even want to sit on these benches. The benches sure do need power washed.   Hmm, I wonder who I could call about that? The Town Council? The Mayor?

*I see another runner coming the opposite direction. LOVE her shoes. They are Saucony.  She has such long hair and its not tied up or in a hat or anything. How can she run with all that hair?

*Time to turn around and head back over to the island.

* I notice my 5K time stinks. But then I remember that I am training for a longer distance and not to worry about that time.

*Wow! It's the squirrel without a tail again! ( Last fall I saw a random squirrel tail laying along this road. The next day, I saw a squirrel without a tail...coincidence?) Now today ( several months later, I see the tail-less squirrel). Could it be the same one?  What is the life span of a squirrel anyway? This one is one lucky squirrel.

* I see an old fashion truck with a beautiful Golden Retriever riding in the back. I wave to it! 

* I wonder about what my plan should be for the Tower of Terror Ten Miler coming up this fall.

* Oh, another walk interval is coming up. Darn, that means that I will be on a run interval when it is time to run up on the bridge.

*Okay, I'm up on the bridge. An Entenmann's Doughnut truck passes me. Yuck! I don't like doughnuts anyway, but the thought of them this early in the morning,,,double yuck!

*As I leave the bridge and descend back on to the island, I notice that I only have a half mile to go. My Garmin should be beeping soon for my next walk interval, but I am going to ignore it and run the rest of the way instead.

*my phone beeps. I got a text. It's either my mom or my friend that I texted good luck to earlier this morning ( because she was running her first 5K this morning). I don't look at it though. I need to finish my run!

* I finish! Although I always say that I just want to run and not worry about my time, I still have that "time" in my head that I want to beat. I did it!


Forgetting that it wasn't even 7 am, and that everything is still covered with dew, I sat down on a bench and got my shorts all wet. I rested a bit and then went over to the play area to do my stretches.

Wow. I feel like I accomplished so much already!

What are some random things you think about during your runs?

37 comments:

  1. Happy to hear that Goofy training is going well! I'm following the same plan and am getting back on track this wk :)
    Karen @karenlovestorun

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    1. I'll be sure to follow your training and see how you like the plan.

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  2. Yay, to training! I love that shot of you with all the pink! I did a few 'thoughts' posts last year when I was training for Boston and my readers seemed to like them. Lately my thoughts are pretty boring I think, lol. I usually am thinking about paces, racing and food when I run. Sometimes I think of coyotes if I'm in the trail.

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    1. Yikes! The thought of coyotes would scare me for sure!

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  3. I am so with you!!!! So many random thoughts on those long runs!!!

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    1. And the longer the run, the more random thoughts you have...haha!

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  4. I did Vegas RnR last year so much fun!
    Confessions of A Mother Runner

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  5. lol... I love the random thoughts. I did half of my Sunday run alone and without music (so about 30 minutes) and surprisingly did not feel bored. But for the life of me I can't remember what I was thinking about at all!

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    1. I actually went right home and typed all these things down before I forgot!

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  6. Ever since I started doing long runs with my group, I have very few random thoughts during them. We are so busy chatting about everything that I don't have time to let my mind wander! shorter strides and lifting your knees higher is the hill advice I received!

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    1. Yea, I guess I should be more focused on my run, but I'm not!

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  7. I love your random thoughts and am happy your training is going well! I actually don't think too much when I run, I just sing to my music (mostly in my head bc no one want to hear me belt it out!) My only thoughts are usually, just get to the next mile.

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    1. I wear my headphones but half the time I even forget I have music on!

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  8. I always worry about finding bathrooms, avoiding potential kidnappers, and usually something totally random in regards to something I see. What intervals do you use?

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    1. There is a bathroom right in the center of our park so I don't worry about that but for some reason I do worry about some of the creepy people I see. I generally use 3:1 intervals but I mix it up sometimes. That works well for me for now since I am just coming back from my injury. I don't want to push too hard.

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  9. Woohoo, way to get that run in before 7 AM! I loved this post, it was so fun to read your thoughts during a run. I am surprised that you saw a girl running with her hair down, that would drive me up the wall lol!

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    1. I've been doing well with getting early morning runs in but then I am exhausted by lunch time...lol

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  10. Glad to see you rebounded after getting sick. My thoughts on Friday were in the "man I'm out of shape" range. Because I am.

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    1. Thanks Lesley. Whatever I had came on so suddenly but by Friday evening I was starting to feel better.

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  11. I love posts like this!!!!!!! :) Awesome job!

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    1. Thank you! Which marathon training plan are you following?

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  12. You had me at "Story of my life"! :) love that song, too! You made me laugh...I often think similar things about other runners shoes, and the long hair! I definitely can't do that! Have to have mine pulled back and in a pony tail! Lol

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    1. Yes, her hair was much thicker and longer than mine too. I don't know how she did it!

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  13. Bobby pins help is you're afraid of losing your visor. I use them in the wind. I'm glad you feel better and got in a run!

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  14. So you can say you wet your pants at the end? OK ;)
    I hate when run intervals fall on the hardest part of a outing.
    I love this kind of post :)

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  15. I love this random thoughts post! Another gal I follow set a challenge to do this (a while back) and it was just when I got back into being able to run a mile at a time. I tried so hard to remember what I was thinking so I could get home to write it down. My mind kept going off into dream land, by the time I got home I literally only remembered 4 things, LOL. So I am super impressed with your random thoughts, I'm going to guess you are great at focusing!
    I have too long of hair, and let me say I don't know how girls run with it not tied up! I used to only put it in a ponytail and found even then it would be in knots and take me forever to pick through it with a ton of conditionier, now I just go with a braid:)

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  16. These posts always make me laugh because I am totally the queen of random thoughts. I also love how I am thinking the same type of things and immediately change my mind about things a gazillion times! :) I keep forgetting you're doing ToT- we definitely need to catch up at some point while we're both down there!

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  17. Loved this! Nice picture of your run with words.

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  18. My thoughts are all over the place when I run but much like my dreams, I rarely remember them later. Although this summer it goes like this: "It's so hot. It's so humid. Can I quit now? Just a little more. I may die it is so hot." :)

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  19. Haha all of these cracked me up! My thoughts are exactly like that and I had the exact same thought about someone hiding in the woods along the trail I run on. I'm so paranoid! I also always think about what I'm going to eat after I'm done running... priorities :)

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  20. Hahaha, yep, that sounds about right to me! I don't run with music, so my mind is all over the place when I run.

    I've been thinking about possible changing to the full marathon in Vegas. I'm going to wait and see how I feel after Wineglass, before deciding though. ;) We runners are totally crazy.

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  21. Love this post! My thoughts start off with concentrating on running, but then tend to lead to work related thoughts. :/ I turn up the music to zone out and just run. :)

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  22. Thanks so much for fixing the Comments problem so I can post!
    Just wanted to tell you that the rule is actually to shorten your stride when going up hills, not lengthen! LOL

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  23. I'm impressed that you got out the door so early! Yay for seeing dogs on runs! I always get a boost when I see a corgi haha!

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  24. Glad your Goofy training is going well! It's good to have a backup day in case of illness, injury, etc. Sorry to hear you were so sick! Hope you're feeling better now. I usually make lists in my head of what I need to get done that day, or I'm trying to figure out the rest of my running path to get the right time/miles and end exactly a few blocks from the house to get in a cool down walk :)

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  25. I'm finding that I do my best thinking while I'm out running. Its amazing how many random thoughts us runners have while we're out running!

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