Cross It Off the List

Run - check.  And now, to do the 101 other things on my to-do list tonight...

Miles logged: 6.3
Miles I was supposed to log: 6
Pace: 9:40 / mile

Better Days Ahead

The whole time I ran today, I was thinking about my upcoming long run this Saturday in Oshkosh.  I cannot wait to be that far north and do an outside run in 60-70 degree weather.  It's that exciting, that I am mostly able to ignore my (always in the back of my head) fear that I won't be able to find a bathroom if necessary on an unfamiliar route.  But I guess that's why I run with a stash of toilet paper in my water belt.  TMI?!

Miles logged: 5.65
Miles I was supposed to log: 3
Pace: 9:15 / mile

Red Light. Green Light.

I got my groove back.  Or I feel rested.  Or whatever.  But I had a nice, normal run today, minus the frequent interruptions at 10 minute intervals by the boy, who was insistent than I come join in his game of pirate.  To me it felt more like a game of red light green light.  (Poh-tay-toe.  Poh-ta-toe.)  The joys of motherhood.  I say this with not one ounce of sarcasm.

Miles logged: 5.65
Miles I was supposed to log: None
Pace: 9:15 / mile

Masochist

For pretty much all of week 4, I've ended each run thinking "well, it was ugly, but it got done."  The combination of this particularly awful July heat wave plus the little bit of strength training that I added to my workout on Monday was no doubt the main cause of my sluggishness / discomfort / soreness this week. Today was no different (well, except that I was no longer sore from the strength training.)  But with ample water breaks (where I walked as I drank), energy gel, timing my run for the crack of dawn, and the fact that this week was my first mini-taper in long run mileage, it got done.  And yes, I still happily inflict this pain on myself.  (Although this week, I was just a little less happy to do this than others.)
Miles logged: 8.2
Miles I was supposed to log: 8
Pace: Somewhere between 9:30-9:40 / mile (exact pace hard to say -- a multitude of traffic lights and a bathroom break made the math hard, since I don't exactly know how much time was lost there...)

Too Hot to Function

Unless you live in Seattle or have not left your house in a week, you are likely being tormented by the ridiculous heat wave scorching the country right now.  Well today, it officially hit us here in DC.  I have been hot since I walked the dog at 7:00.  And even running on the treadmill tonight, in a temperature controlled environment, I was still feeling the heat permeate from the window in front of me as a ran.  (Yeah, our windows are crap.)  I was so not feeling my run today.  Furthermore, I am completely dreading the long run scheduled for Saturday (as the low Friday night is only supposed to get down to 81.)  If I'm lucky, when I head out the door at 6:00 a.m., it will only be in the low 80s.  Yuck.  I'm over this heat, and wishing that I still lived in San Luis Obispo.

Miles logged: 5.65
Miles I was supposed to log: 3
Pace: 9:15 / mile

Pour a Little for My Fallen Homies

It was over 3 1/2 years ago that we bought our treadmill.  At the time, I was trying to get pregnant but had not yet been successful.  I started walking 2-3 miles a day on the treadmill, and within the month, I was pregnant.  No kidding.  Clomid did nothing for me except to make me hormonal, crazy and stressed out, but a little bit of physical activity, and all the sudden I was knocked up.  I walked all of the way through a particularly complicated pregnancy, which I am quite positive kept me healthy enough to handle all of the randomness that happened health-wise during that time in my life.  I took six weeks off post-partum to recover from my c-section, and then back to it.  When after a few months, I decided I wanted more of a challenge, I threw a little bit of running in during my daily walk.  By the boy's first birthday, I was running 5 miles a day, and the rest (as they say) is history.  Today, I run because it keeps me healthy.  I run because it makes me feel strong.  I run because I can.

All of this to say that I think my treadmill is close to death, and that makes me sad.  I figure I've logged a little over 4680 miles in the last 3 1/2 years, about 2/3 of which were on that treadmill.  My mechanic is working on it now to see if we can coax a few more months out of it, but if it lasts that long, I'll be impressed.

Miles logged: 6.35
Miles I was supposed to log: 6
Pace: 9:30 / mile

Boom-boom. Boom-boom.

Today, my quads feel like massive tree trunks, and I am totally feeling the lunges I did yesterday.  I didn't run so much as I stomped along on the treadmill.  Hopefully, tomorrow I will feel normal again.

Miles logged: 5.65 + a whole lot of downward dog to stretch out my legs after the run
Miles I was supposed to log: 3
Pace: 9:15 / mile