Week 12 Complete - 6 weeks to go!

This was a tough week. I couldn't bring myself to wake up on time Tuesday morning so I completely missed my run. As I hit snooze for 1.5 hours, I told myself I would run after work instead of 5 a.m. in the pitch dark. After work, I ended up falling asleep on the couch for 4 hours. I then had a difficult time falling asleep for real so I only got a few hours of sleep before the alarm started going off Wednesday morning. I only snoozed for an hour this time and somehow managed to get up to walk Bailey. The whole time I kept saying to myself screw this I'm going back upstairs and going to back to bed until I have to get ready for work- I'll really run after work this time. I remembered I had something to do in the evening so I had to run before work. Ugh. I was SO miserable trying to get dressed and ready to go I was almost crying. I told myself if you go run 7 miles you can buy a new Coach bag. lol. This training program is costing me a small fortune!!!!!!! I did run the 7 miles and did go to the Coach store after work but didn't buy a bag. I would have but remembered I have yet another pair of running shoes to buy before the big day in 6 weeks so I have to prioritize.

I did have a nice treat Friday - rest day - when my dear friend Heather came into the city with her baby Tommy. We had a nice lunch and walked around Millennium Park. Gorgeous weather in Chicago these days. Better enjoy it while we can! Saturday's short run of 12 miles was pretty uneventful. Only 7 girls ran in the pace group - holiday weekend and the short distance probably kept most to do it on their own. It was pretty humid but not as high of a temperature as the previous Saturday. I was prepared this time and washed my legs and arms off at each water stop. No goosebumps or swollen fingers this time! One funny thing did happen - at the last water stop before the final stretch the girls couldn't stop laughing. A little butterfly had perched on the top of my hat and was holding on for dear life for the last mile... I was feeling pretty great so I took off from the pace group and hauled ass the last 2 miles home. Ran like an 8-minute mile the last mile. I really wish I would've jumped up a pace group because I do not want to run an 11-minute pace marathon but oh well. We'll see how it shakes out in October. Oh yeah, and the butterfly was still on the top of my head. At the finish spot, I looked at my reflection in a car window and sure enough the little guy was just hanging out on top of my sweaty Nike hat flapping his wings. lol. Guess he just wanted to hitch a ride. It finally flew away before I got back home.

A recap of Week 12:

• Monday - rest day
• Tuesday - xx (couldn't wake up)
• Wednesday - 7 miles (the Democratic National Convention is killing my sleep schedule - can't not watch though!)
• Thursday - 5 miles (notice how that Thursday mileage increased?? - more of that to come next week)
• Friday - rest day
• Saturday - 12 short glorious miles
• Sunday - cross-train (cleaning, walking)

I recently received a generous donation for P.A.W.S. from my good friend Fannini - you go girl! Her motto is 'keep hope alive' and I think that's fitting for my next 6 weeks. Keep the donations coming - I still need more than $300 to meet my goal. Have a great week everyone! :-)))