Week 1, Run 2:

Today was a measly 2.69 miles, and I don't feel good about it. A few drinks after work yesterday afternoon left me feeling lousy all night, and this morning I was sluggish and grouchy-- even after coffee. Boo.

Week 1, run 1: 3 miles in 28:22

I fell off the running wagon!

I kept trying to get back on at the same level I fell off at, but today I realized I need to start over, or at least start low and work back up. This last month has been a lot of laziness, which is fine, but it's over.

Today I ran 3 miles with the goal of run 3 more times this week, 3-4 miles each time. And I will do it!

Pretty good pace, at least.

Waaaay behind!

Ugh.

I had promised myself that vacation would not keep me from running. Since my birthday arrived four days into it, Phil gave me a Nike + SportBand-- yay! I had a lot of fun with this, despite it badly needing to be calibrated. I chugged away the first week: two 4 mile runs in Covelo, and two 3.5 mile runs (a little more, maybe) in San Diego. I also started the second week well, because I started the Nike+ training program, which had me do two 3 miles runs. It was after this, at the end of my vacation, that I conked out. And then returning home with jet lag and a nasty three-week-old cough that just won't shake, I still have yet to run.

As of yesterday I had only missed two scheduled runs, according to my training schedule: a 4 miler, and a 5 miler. I was supposed to do 4 miles this morning, but jet lag screwed me again and I woke up too late. I'm free all day tomorrow so hopefully I can do my first run this week tomorrow and at least try to fit i two runs this week!

I shouldn't feel like a lazy bum, but I do!!

Trudging on through!

Week 5, Run 4: 4 miles in 36 min.

I guess what this run determined is that my body is definitely not used to working in the morning and running right afterwards. My last run was after work, but it was in the evening, and I had come home, relaxed, eaten dinner, etc. This 4th run was right after work, and I was so tired! I work from 6:30 am -2:30 pm, and usually when I get home I'm on the verge of crashing.

The benefit of the run was that it kept me from wasting my day. I ran, showered, then went out with a friend. If I hadn't run, I would have taken a nap and then been tired for the rest of the day. I find that if I distract myself through the 'sleepy time of the day' then I'm not tired for the rest of it.

New goal:
Stretch every day (not just after runs)

"Ahh... fart city..."

Week 5, Run 3: 2.9 miles in 28 minutes

Warning: if you don't think farts are funny, don't read this. Also, what's wrong with you? They're hilarious.

Never has that line, whispered by my ex's younger sister at the tender age of 4 (who, consequently, is a month or two older than me), applied more to any situation in my life. But it must apply to us all at some point, I suppose, and tonight was my night.

It took me all day to get motivated for my run, which was supposed to be 4 miles around my neighborhood (and the bordering neighborhoods, i.e. in Bella Vista and Society Hill). I had an awesome dinner that consisted of a tofu and basil "ricotta" cream over whole wheat pasta and sauteed mushrooms, zucchini, and onions. Sounds good, right? I suppose the mistake I made was in my greens: Brussel's sprouts and cashews browned in a thyme lemon "butter" (SoyGarden). I love Brussel's sprouts. But they give you gas.

So, yes, I was a little gassy while waiting to digest this meal, but an hour passed and I figured I would be fine. I took off down the block and no sooner had I crossed Passyunk that one cramp hit. Then another. They were neatly positioned on either side of my abdomen, present but not mind-numbing, so I thought, "I guess I'll just keep going." I considered walking them off, but I didn't want to shorten my run and I had told Phil to be worried if I was gone over an hour, since it was dark outside.

"La-dee-da-da," I thought, sans music as usual. It was nice out in 'Philadelphia's First Neighborhood', so I tried to think about that instead. "Oh, look at that dog. Mmm, the scent of beer and cocktails wafting from those drunk people finishing dinner at the French restaurant." But it didn't work! Soon the pain was joined by nausea, and then the nausea became a feeling of food creeping back up my throat.

No. I would not stop. I could not stop. If I blew my run today I'd have to go through the same song and dance on Saturday (which is that I hate running after working in the morning shift so I put it off all day and it just hovers over me, making me feel bad). I was here, and I would finish it! The only thing that would stop me was if I vomited, and hey, if I vomited I guess I'd feel better and I'd still be able to run.

That was my thinking at the time, at least.

I ran about half a mile more when the reason for my cramp finally hit me (and anyone who may have been hiding in the shadows nearby): the Brussel's sprouts. Oh.

Needless to say, armed with this discovery, I was able to let off most of my steam (hardy-har) but I did not finish my 4 miles. I did almost 3, including a walked block, because the nausea persisted through to the end. I had an out a mile early, and I took it.

In other, non-fart related news, I registered for the Rothman Institute 8k in November. It starts just 15 minutes after the Philadelphia marathon, which my sister is running, and I'm so excited! I would have loved to shoot for a longer distance, but I thought I should get some shorter races under my belt before I tackle a half marathon. If I ever tackle one! Plus, I know I can do this without any problems.

The power of a porta potty.

Week 5, Run 2: 6.37 mi in 60 min, n/i cd.

Today was my first long run (I plan on doing another on Friday... maybe.) this week, and I was pleasantly surprised with the weather when I stepped through my front door this morning. The sky was completely clear and blue, but there was a nice breeze and it was about 70 degrees and not humid. Nice, I know! Last time I did my run I forgot to check what time I left and so I sort of estimated my run time. This time I took my cellphone and left it in my mailbox so I could see exactly when I left and returned! I'm so clever, I know.

Of course, the first mile felt great. Then I realized I had to pee. Not horribly, but I was only 10 minutes into what I assumed would be an hour-long run. Actually, it's pretty amazing this hasn't happened to me before-- wait, it has, at the gym where there are bathrooms. There are no public restrooms that would appreciate my sweaty-self on the dirty streets of Philadelphia, so I guess I thought I'd just run as far as I could and then take it from there.

Well, bless you Philadelphia. You put porta-potties on the Schuylkill river trail.

However, they're disgusting.

They didn't smell, though, (are they magic? they will filled with goodies) so I just closed my eyes and did not touch anything but the toilet paper. They were exactly at my turnaround point, so I did my business and set on home.

The rest of my run was difficult. Whenever I reach 4 miles, my body starts to say, "Stop!" and I really have to push myself to go on. I don't listen to music when I run because I like to think about random crap, but this always backfires when the random crap becomes a little devil on my shoulder telling me to stop. Luckily the angel on the other shoulder is apparently much larger and more powerful than the devil, because I made it to the end without stopping.

I think I will try to enjoy this beautiful weather today...

Catching Up

Week 4, Run 2: 4 miles
Week 4, Run 3: 4.4 miles
Week 5, Run 1: 4.5 miles in 39 minutes

I sort of lost my blog updating motivation last week-- whoops! I'll do better this week, I'm sure.

This weekend eded up being busier than usual and I wasn't able to fit in my long run, so I missed a 4th run altogether, sadly. I plan on doing a long run both tomorrow and on Friday (my two days off this week) to make up for it.

Today's run was great, expecially since I didn't run all weekend and I felt like crap! Gosh, it sure is easy to get addicted to those endorphins, huh?

On another note, after this Friday I'll be working 7 days straight before leaving for California on September 6th. I plan on using Runner's World to map my runs on my 2 week vacation, and I can't wait to be exposed to some other areas! I've run in Covelo before, but never more than 2 miles, and San Diego will definitely be a new experience. I'm also looking forward to the lack of humidity and nice, cool mornings. :)