I did it again - this time a two-fer

I am a little whipped right now... I ate dinner, then headed to the gym to work it off. I ran 1 mile, then swam 600 yards. It felt really good!

This is quite possibly my shortest post ever - but sometimes bed calls too loudly to ignore!

:o)

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Seriously?

I AM EXHAUSTED. Crash and burn baby.

I am about 2 minutes away from falling asleep on my computer here at work...

Ugh.

I had all the intentions of waking up this morning, driving towards work, and running the required 4 milers for today on the rails-to-trail system then heading into work to shower and get ready for the day.

Really. I did.

The lesson I have learned - do not take Tylenol PM (tylenol with a sleeping aid) the night beforehand. I went to bed at 9:30PM. Got up at 5:30AM and said - no way Jose! I am too groggy.

So I crashed and woke back up at 6:45AM. Way too late to get in that run.

I am really bummed. :( So now I have to do it this afternoon. What really is bothersome is that it is 70* right now. Perfect running weather! Perfect!

Oh well. Tomorrow is a new day. And it is only a 2 miler, so I can always get up at 6:00AM to run that around here.

Well, I hope that you all have a great day!!

~})i({~

Enlightenment on the run

I did it. 4 miles as planned. All my week-day runs are complete! All that is left to do is a 6-miler this weekend.



I really appreciate all of your comments and suggestions for my walking issue. Heck I realy appreciate your comments period. The support I have gotten here is unparalleled. Or however you spell it. Seriously.



I have an answer for you Ken - I did a lot of thinking about what you asked, WHY exactly is it that I have been taking walking breaks? Mental or physical? Well... it appears to be a little of both.

Somehow I managed to move to the middle of M.C. Escher land... where everything is up-hill. Including the down-hills.



Today I ran 1.67 mile UPHILL before I finally had to walk due to the pure hatred brewing inide of me. Well that and my right leg (shin) was really starting to be tender. I walked for just under 0.15 miles, then ran to about mile 2.3 or so. It is then when I hit the next 2 miles of hills. Oh yes - net UP hill.



I think that this is the reason why I have been walking the past two days during the runs... they are all on hills! Now why this is pretty good for hidden speedwork - it really does take a lot of energy. I mean. a lot. of. energy. *sigh* oh me so drained now. Plus running too many hill is not good for the knees or legs. And I am startin' to feel it taking a toll on me. My right leg (shin) is still tender. Hmmm.



Pat - it has barely broke 80* here the past two nights, so um yeah - Ken blew up my spot. It is PERFECT running weather. Not the 102* like you are seeing. I thought that I could hide in the weather - even given that it is nice here. Not so much!





So I think my problem has been a combination of everything, really. Tired legs (from walking the 4 milers at lunch), [way] too many hills, pushing a little too hard out of the gate, all resulting in physical as well as mental tiredness.

So I am going to incorporate all of your suggestions.

• I am going to walk only on non-running days.
• I am going to get in my shorter runs (under 4 miles) in the AM (that is a start!), and
• I am going to find a nice quasi-flat area to run at when I do evening/afternoon runs.

I may start running on the trail I walk during lunch as it is so flat... just wide open to sun, little wind, and pretty hot. LOL... well I guess that I really have no perfect solution. At this stage in the game I am still on trial-and-error. Like I said before I want to make all of these mistakes NOW, not come race time!

I am feeling pretty good after my run, but my loathing for the hills has returned for tonight. I am only 50 some days out from the race, but I now that I am on track. I feel good knowing that I am following my plan. I have faith in this plan. I sort of like this plan. NO DEVIATING FROM THE PLAN!



Next week is a repeat of this week - 4, 2, and 4 miles (7 at the weekend). My goal is to run the 6 miles this Sunday straight through - so I will be keeping it LOW and SLOW (thank you Big Cheese!) Time aint nuttin' but a number. ;)



As Ken said - I gotta slow my roll a bit. I have all year to gain speed... right now, I need that endurance pace. So if it is gonna be 12 minute miles or more - so be it! I am young (relatively I guess). I am in this for the long haul. And I think that these are two things that make for a decent journey!



Plus as a goal check - I still really enjoyed my run tonight!



I hope that everyone is having a great week! Tomorrow is a cardio rest day. *wipes brow* Thank you.... oh lovely plan.



~ })i({ RunnerGirl ~

Keeping the eye on the prize

SO I weighed myself today. OK I know that thi is bad but I have the habit of weighing in daily not for my actual weight, but to see how different things affect it. I weigh in at the same time every day, when I first wake up.

So today I was back down 1 lb. Wee! I am really focusing on my goal. I want to be down 4 additional lbs to make my total weight loss 20lbs on the dot. :)

I am trying to get in the habit of waking up early enough to get in my 3.5 mile runs before it heats up. I have been sick the past few days so getting the energy to get up has been troubleome. I think that I am now ready to give it a try next week. I need to get myelf ued to waking up as early as it will require to get in the runs.

Since I missed my 3.5 miler yesterday due to exhaustion, I am not going to make it up, but rather move forward. Today is 2 miles, and I can swing that in the heat this afternoon after work.

I think that I feel good, because in addition to running I manage to get in a 2.4 - 3.4 mile walk nearly every work day. This is helping me stay moving even if I miss the run. Obviously the running is what is going to get me across that finish line - but the walking for bonus cardio during my lunch hour is helping me loose the weight as well. And I will never miss a long run! I do not let myself miss more than shorter run during the week, as this is when I fit in some speed work sesssions. Well - Jenn-speedish-work. ;)

So tonight I have a 2miler, followed by leg/shoulders for strength.

I hope that everyone is enjoying the nice weather! Catch ya later!

~RunnerGirl

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