Saturday's Six Mile Run (Win)

This morning I set out for a six mile run--and I finished it.  Aside from not being able to take a "short cut" home, I stuck it out and continued running, even if only running on the downhill parts during the last mile.  It wasn't a very creative route to take, but most of it was roads I was familiar with and that helped me feel safe. Plus, running in a giant rectangle I was able to pretty easily determine my distance based on my location.

This time I took different fuel with me. I brought a packet of maple almond butter to try on this run.  It was kind of tasty, a bit "grittier" than I expected. But it was hard to consume. I had trouble getting the packet open while holding a bottle in my hand, and then I ended up tearing it all the way across and it was too wide to try to gracefully squeeze a decent amount into my mouth while walking.  So, after a weird experience of licking gobs of almond butter out of a foil packet I decided that I'll save the chocolate hazelnut butter that I have at home for some toast or other tasty treat!  Maybe I'll experiment with Honey Stingers next.  That name just sounds like something so yummy.

Actually, I did kick a ton of ass this morning on my six mile run, but I am surprised how much my ass hurts from running too.  Yikes--and I didn't even do any squats this week!

But my ass-kicking needs to continue if I am going to run a 6.2 mile race on Friday!  I can't believe that it is coming up so quickly.

To get ready I will:
Not skip a day at the gym.
Run at least 4 miles on running days.
Eat cleaner this week than I have the last two weeks!

In six days, hopefully I can PR at my race for my second six mile run (or at least in my 5k time so I can finally get my new Birkenstocks)!

Happy Tuesday (Win)

This morning I set out on a four mile run. It went well except that my C25K app kept turning off and I had to restart it  But other than that everything went okay.  I was done in one hour and still had time to get ready for work and arrive at school on time.  I think that I am going to start doing the four mile runs during the week instead of the three mile runs. 

Yesterday, my mom and I signed for the series of runs that the City of Yuma is putting on starting in October and going through until March.  We signed up to do the runs as 10Ks instead of 5Ks.  Should be interesting, but by the first race I should have in at least one six mile run. This will just be extra practice.  We can call them "quarter marathons" in preparation for the half marathon we'll run in February.

Sunday I ran my first five mile run!  Yes--five miles!  I was really proud of myself and actually felt really great after my run. Better than I usually feel.  That route was a combination of two 3-mile runs and I thought that I would have trouble with it, but I didn't.  It was also the first time I had to fuel up while out on a run.  I took a small bag of 10 almonds with me to munch on and was over three and a half miles in before I remembered to eat them.  I ate only five, and felt great the rest of the time.  I'll have to remember almonds in the future.  This weekend I also bought some individual packets of almond butter and chocolate hazelnut butter at Target for $0.99 and hopefully they too will be easy to consume on a run.  

Someone flipped the weather switch in Yuma this weekend because the mornings have been very cool, almost chilly.  Such a difference from running in 80º+ weather.  But I love it.  Sunday it was pretty windy, but it kept me dry while running even if making it a bit difficult to listen to my audio book.  I am looking forward to training in much cooler weather!

Four Miles On A School Day?! (Win)

Today on the training schedule it said 4 miles. So, since my 4 mile run over the weekend was just under an hour, I set out to run my 4 miles before work today.  I made sure my alarm went off a few minutes early so that I could get on the road on time. I decided to do the same run I did on Saturday and see how my time was different.

Well, it was slower. But I still went!  I made it home a few minutes after when I wanted to be home, yet I was still able to leave the house on time for work.  As training continues there are 4, 5, and 6 mile runs during the week. I don't know if I will be able to keep up with that many week day miles, but I'll have to try it and see.

I've been getting a bit bored of my music while running. Yes, even bored of my Pandora stations.  I need to listen to music that I like, music that is fast paced, and music that I can sing along with out loud while I am doing especially awesome or just don't care any more.  This weekend I tried something else. I got an audiobook from the library and put the files on my phone and have been listening to that while I am out running.  I'm listening to Phantom by Norwegian writer Jo Nesbo.  I've read this book before, but it was the easiest to find on the library's audiobook website. Plus, the next book in this series is on it's way from the UK to my house--it is a nice refresher before starting Police! So far, I am just under two hours of listening to it and I am enjoying having the book read while I am running.  It gives me something else to concentrate on.

I am glad that I was able to survive my day at work even after a longer weekday run than usual, and no morning nap.  Five miles this weekend--hopefully that goes well!

Seven Minutes And Four Seconds Faster! (Win)

04:31 this morning is when my alarm went off, but I have already been awake for a while.  I was waiting for it to be a reasonable time to get up so that I could go for my run.  It wasn't that I was super excited about this Saturday morning run, but that I haven't been sleeping well the last few weeks, and 03:30 am did not seem like a reasonable time to go for a run.  In only that when I leave just before 5 am it is not long before the sun starts peaking over the horizon and providing me with light.  However, I was more tired getting out of bed around 04:45 than if I would have just got out of bed when I woke up.

But I still went for my run!  Four miles is what I set out to complete today.  Since I was sick a few weeks ago I have had trouble jumping back into my half marathon training. I don't seem to be able to run for as long in between walking breaks and I don't seem to be able to push myself as hard as I was before. But this morning, I decided that was all going to change!  While working on increasing my distance, I will also work on increasing my time spent running. This is going to be more challenging--but I think that I am up for it!

Looking at the forecasted weather for the next ten days, I am excited to see some morning lows in the 70s (and even the 60s--but I doubt that will actually happen).  I hope that running in the cooler weather will help me stick it out on my runs and push myself a little bit further each time.  

Tomorrow is three miles, and Monday is a rest day!  Next weekend--FIVE miles!  Wish me luck, no, remind me that I already know that I can do it!

Post-Rain Morning Run (Win)

When setting out for a run in the morning there are a few things I need to do before I get started.  I turn on my music, I get my C2 10K app going, and of course I start my Endomondo. But this morning I was all out of order because I was enjoying my music already while getting my pack and water ready at home.

It wasn't until I was over a mile and a half that I realized I hadn't heard my Endomondo tell me how far I had gone, and surely I had already gone a mile. It wasn't until my late wake-up alarm starting going off and my music stopped that I noticed the message on my phone that the GPS was turned off and this would interfere with how Endomondo tracked my workout this morning.  CRAP!  I was almost two miles into my run and only the timer was going. Oh no! Luckily, I know how far I was running this morning so I was able to update it online. Because 1.28 miles in 42 minutes is really horrible!

Last night we had a huge storm pass through and so thankfully it was cool and damp out--perfect for running!  I checked the weather and while it was 72º outside there was 74% humidity.  Still, it felt cool and nice.  I was up a half hour early and was on the road just a few minutes after my early alarm sounded. I was really hoping for a little bit of rain while I was out on my run this morning, or at least some sprinkles--but there was nothing.

I enjoyed running in the cool, damp morning and really can't wait for cooler weather for running before the sun comes up.

Tomorrow, 3 miles again!

Running in an Oven (Win?)

When waking up this morning I decided that I could not check the weather because I knew it was going to be a warm morning. If I knew exactly how warm it was supposed to be before I got dressed and out the door I probably wouldn't go. But stepping outside... I was certain I stepped into a pre-heated oven!

Yikes! 88º F, 66% humidity and a quote from wunderground stating that it felt like 97º. Wowza!  I felt like a wilted flower as a went only a short distance this morning.  In exchange for the shorter distance I decided that I would push my self more than I have in my last two runs.  I would run a full mile--that was my goal.  And, I about did it.  I have to take a quick walk break towards the end. But, overall I ran the whole thing.  It was disgusting!
Dis.
Gust.
Ing.
But I did it!  I went out and did something, which was more than I had done for the 12 days I was sick. Tomorrow I'll try again.

Maybe it will rain already and suck this humidity out of the air and we can go back to living like normal, happy flowers in the desert southwest!

Monday's Four Mile Run (Win)

This morning was a tough morning all around.  I was off to a late start. I almost set out on a three mile run, but then picked the four mile route on my phone and decided to go with it.

There was a lot of walking, but I still went the full distance.

Tomorrow is a rest day, then Wednesday and Thursday are three milers. Friday is another rest day before the race on Saturday!

Sunday Morning Run (Win)

It has been 12 days since my last run, and before that I had only two runs in 10 days.  The start of the school year has not been good to me.  Also, I've been sick for the last week so the extra half hour to sleep in each morning has been great. Today's run is a "win" because I went. That was all I set out to accomplish this morning (even if I did walk quite a bit).

This morning I decided that I'd had enough. I was going to get up and run and do my best with junky lungs and unused legs.  I didn't set any goals, but I did get up and run this morning. Today was three miles, tomorrow I am going to try for four miles.  Saturday I will be running the Aloha Run 5k in Mission Bay, San Diego--so I need to be ready!