9 Miles

I decided it would be a fine idea if I went out for dinner and wine last night, then met some friends up for drinks (water for me) until midnight. I couldn't have been more wrong. I got home tired, but excited about the run, so I slept like crap. It didn't help that DH came stumbling into the bedroom drunk and yelling at the dogs (of course they barked back) at 4am. All I could do was grumble and think that my alarm goes off in an hour. At 5am, I was so tempted to just lie there and go back to sleep, but I forced myself up headache and all. The temperature outside was nice and cool and slightly overcast. I forced down some cereal and gatorade and headed out the door. The majority of the group was planning an 8 mile run to downtown around the Astros stadium, then picking up any additional miles needed by running Heights Blvd. I aimed for doing 10. We set off along Dallas and right after I hit the first mile marker, my left toes started to go numb. I was doing what I knew I shouldn't and running a long run in my brand new shoes (which I've only run in 3 times). I was too lazy this morning to move my foot pod back over to my old shoes - bad idea. I managed to make it to the first water stop and sat down to remove my shoe. It took a good 4 minutes to return feeling to the toes. I watched as everyone drank water, took Gu and went on their way. I didn't think I could make the full route and finally put my shoe back on and headed off in the direction of my car. Then I noticed the girl I ran with last week across the street, and managed to talk myself into finishing (hey, my shoes had to be worn in somehow). So I crossed the street and joined her. I made it all the way down to the stadium and around it (man, I love that place). My feet were really starting to feel better by the time we made it to the bayou (the last 2 miles in to base). I think my shoes were finally starting to wear in and I quit loosing feeling and pulled my pace ahead a little. I felt great, tackled a few hills (my butt was screaming) and made it back to base in under 2 hours. Following the sidewalks along the bayou (instead of the street), I had added a mile to the course. All I needed was an extra mile around the base and I'd hit my 10. My garmin was yelling that my memory was full and refused to count any more miles. I should have just ran for another 10 minutes, but I was tired and it didn't occur to me. I stopped and joined the group stretching. 9 miles was good with me. I felt pretty dang accomplished figuring I had so little sleep (I even almost fell asleep driving home after the run - it's only a 5 mile drive).

By the way, I picked up a Carb-BOOM energy gel a few weeks ago during my Tuesday group runs. I'd been saving it for a long run to try it. Today was the day. I consumed it with water at mile 6. I've had a few different gels before and never been really turned on to any of them, but this one was actually good. I had the raspberry flavor - it was creamy, like a raspberry ice cream flavor (without being cold of course). I managed to gulp it down in 3 shots and even liked the aftertaste. My hunger pains subsided and my energy level increased (I even picked up the pace a little). I will definately be picking up a few of these next time I hit the running store. I'll have to try a few of the other flavors, although I can already tell the raspberry might be my favorite (the chocolate cherry is calling my name!).

Fun Friday

Ah, it's finally Friday! This has actually been a really good week - things are getting back to routine. I managed to run 2x this week, even with all the last minute after-work obligations that came up. I did a nice 3-mile tempo run on Tuesday, followed by another 3-miler on Wednesday where my legs proceeded to tell me "Screw you - we ran yesterday! We don't feel like working today, let's go back to being lazy." So, I had to stop and tell them who was in charge a couple of times. Needless to say, Thursday I decided to give them a break and not make them run. I went to DrillMax class instead. Big mistake. This class was uber-hard even when I was in tip-top shape! I mentioned to the instructor why I'd been missing the past two weeks, silently thinking that maybe she'd take it easy on me. Riiiiiggghhhtt. I think she just enjoyed watching me grunt. I loved how she kept telling me "30 more seconds" in her cute little French accent. Yeah, 30 more seconds is a long time if you've just collapsed trying to do yet another jumping pushup (you know, where you have to clap your hands between each one?) during your one minute interval. I was really kicking myself for having poptarts for breakfast (but they were S'Mores and so yummy!) instead of something healthy like yogurt and granola to prepare me for my butt kicking. But don't worry, I made up for it after class with a bowl of spicy ramen and a cherry Coke. Another bad idea. I followed that up with a spin class since I didn't think my legs worked as hard as my arms and abs did at lunch. I had a healthy dinner...consisting of probably 3 helpings of fried okra. Ooops.

But now it's Friday, and my lazy day so that I can prepare for my long run with Kenyan Way in the morning. I'm not looking forward to the 5am wake-up call, but I am ready to kick it up a notch. I think we're running to downtown and back which I've never done, so I'm kind of excited about it. (And don't worry, the eating habits are getting back on track - I haven't had anything horrible today...yet.)

8 Miles!

Well, almost. So I was good Friday night. I went out with friends for Korean BBQ and only had 2 beers. I wanted more, but I knew I had to be good if I was going to try to put in a decent run the next morning. Hubby and I went home completely stuffed and after 2 glasses of water, I went to bed around 11. It was later than I wanted, but I figured I'd survive. I tossed and turned all night - I kept dreaming about waking up late, the storms outside, and everything else that had me all worked up. I hardly slept. The alarm went off at 5am and my mind tried to find ways to talk myself into staying in bed. What is wrong with me? I haven't run in two weeks and all I want to do is sleep in! I managed to slide out from under the covers, get dressed and have a bowl of cereal while watching the weather on TV - storms. It wasn't currently raining and the news promised that it would hold off till 8. I put my shoes on, crossed my fingers and walked out the door.

I got to Jackson Hill in plenty of time to find parking and sign up. There were runners everywhere! It was like I had morphed into a different world. The mileage posted for today's run was 7.5, but there were other routes on the board in case you wanted to do more or less. The runner's I had seen while parking had gotten up earlier than me and were running extra miles before the official club run started. I figured I'd start with the group and turn around if I felt I couldn't do all of it since it was just an out and back route. I stuck myself in the 10:30-10:45 min/mile pace group so that I wouldn't push myself too hard in the beginning. I felt great, the weather was cool, yet muggy, but no rain. I made it to mile 5.5 before the cramps came and I stopped to walk. My sides were screaming. A very nice runner came up behind me and asked if I was ok - it gave me the motivation I needed to start running again. I kept her pace and we talked the last couple of miles back to the start. The group had a yoga instructor there that was conducting 15 min stretching sessions, so I joined in.

All in all, I finished 7.75 miles in 1 hour 24 minutes. Not bad for my first day back. I really enjoyed running with Kenyan Way and will definately be joining them again this Saturday.

Lazy Again

Ok, so I've already started slacking off about this blog thing. I've been trying to keep myself fairly busy so that I won't notice that I'm not working out. I guess it's worked, cuz now it's 14 days post-surgery and I'm ready to hit the roads. I know how hard it's going to be to start up again, so I've made a date for tomorrow morning at 5:45am (gasp!) with Kenyan Way. I met a guy at my Tuesday running club meetings that ran with them last week and he really enjoyed it. So, I emailed the group, told them I was interested so they'll be expecting me. I can't let them down, alas I must get up early. I really want to do well in this half marathon and I only have 5 weeks left of training. The countdown is officially on.

On another note, I've been testing my eyesight lately. I managed to sit at the back of the room at my dive meeting last night and see every tiny little fish displayed on the projector without squinting or any bluriness. I'm loving being able to see when I get out of bed in the morning and not dealing with the hassle of glasses or contacts. I've already thrown out my last pair of contacts, but I still have my glasses. They are sitting on my dining room table just staring at me...like the mops on those Swiffer commercials. I almost hear the music playing and them begging me to wear them. Ha! I showed them!

What should I do with my glasses? I mean, I've had them for over 10 years, don't they deserve some kind of party or memorial or smashing???

Doh!

I actually woke up this morning and felt great. I removed my goggles (gah, 4 more nights of them!) and thought: I should go for a quick run before work. Here I was thinking it was such a great idea and just as I was about to kick off the covers, I realized what was in my left hand: goggles. I just had eye surgery. Grrr....no strenuous activity for one week! Isn't the saying "one week makes one weak"? I'm really hoping that this week off doesn't hurt my running too much. October 17th is just around the corner and I'm really hoping to beat my previous half marathon time of 2:15. I'm ready to get my butt in gear - if only the doc's would let me.