First Practice

I had my first official practice on Saturday at 6 am. I was a little worried about getting there due to the flooding we've had in Ames and I am not really familiar with the Des Moines area. We ran 6 miles on the Clive Greenbelt trail. I was actually really surprised how easy 6 miles was! I have run that far before, but it has been a long time since I ran on a regular basis. I got to the 1/2 way point and I thought it was the 1/2 way point for the 1/2 marathoners... so really I had run 3 miles instead of 1.5. At that point, I didn't have to convince myself to keep going even once. I did have to put in a little effort to keep up my pace. I stopped to stretch at the 1.5 mile mark because I was sore from running on my own, but that is pretty standard for me. I was also surprised by how little my asthma affected me. It is usually hard for me to run that early due to the humidity but I started the morning not feeling too great, and ended the run feeling strong. I did have a weak stomach the rest of the day, which I tried to remedy by filling it with lots of good food :)

Ryan and I ran this morning around the apartment. It was a rough morning for both of us-- I was sore and his allergies were bothering him. We ended up walking most of the 2.5 miles, but at least we got out and did it. We made eggs and homemade hashbrowns with a smoothie and some vitamins. We looked at bikes this afternoon. I feel a little more educated on the subject... but I am still not looking forward to paying for a good bike. I guess I didn't realize that I could buy a bike that is worth more than my car... or at least that the market was there for those bikes to even catch on.

In other news, I made $76 at work by "selling" a dozen muffins. I must say I am quite impressed by my co-workers' generosity. Work donors: Bruce Ehresman and Pat Schlarbaum, that I know of. There is some cash that is unaccounted for, so I think some others have been chipping in as well. It hasn't shown up on the website yet because I have to send it in still. Rachel Stork, my sorority sister donated $25 as a bribe to get me to visit her in Chicago... not that I am complaining. :) She has run a marathon before so it will be nice to get some advice from her as well as just spend some time with her. We used to be roommates and were pretty close in college.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to my success so far-- I am taking cookies to work tomorrow to sell and will be printing off my letters to send to potential donors. Look for yours in the mail! I plan on running at least 5 times this week and MAYBE going for a swim. Saturday practice: Clive Greenbelt, 8 miles.
Stay tuned.