Saturday, July 31, 2010

71- market day + vacay

Ha, I made a title that rhymes!

Looong day today.  Got to work alittle after 5am, and didn't get back home till after 4pm.  Exhaustion led to a couple bowls of cereal, then passing out on the couch, only to realize by 6pm that I still had to get a run in...uggghh.  I really wasnt' feeling it, especially knowing I had to do my long run tomorrow morning.  But, Saturday is my easiest day and the thought of having a 'blank' in my training log pushed me out the door.  Plus, it was nice to run in the 'country' by my apartment.  All summer, I haven't been able to because I run too early (and stick to city streets), or run from the Bakery or other places with people.  6 cloudy miles at 7:57 pace, and I was back.  And happy.  But honestly, do you ever regret a run?

The market downtown was really fun.  Me and the guy I'm taking over for went down together.  We sold out of almost everything, which hasn't happened since the first market (when I worked!)  I like to think it is my sales skills, but it is probably just luck!  I was really tiring though- lots of set up and heavy lifting and moving product and such.  But such a nice change from being chained to the savory kitchen doing prep work all Saturday like I usually am.  Plus, more hours = more $$.

The cool news is I'M ON VACATION now.  I told my boss at the bakery that I needed a couple weeks off to get ready to teach, and thankfully she gave them too me.  I'm really behind and overwhelmed with my prep work and I feel like I never have a block of time to work because I'm always working or driving or running, and it is hard to do 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there.  Plus, I've worked since May 2009, pretty much without more than a couple days off so I really just want a mental breather to go into the teaching year refreshed and ready to go!  This means that I will hang out here tomorrow, then go up north for a week and a half!  I'm really excited to be up there for a block of time, rather than just 4 days in a row.  My mom and I have lots of fun things planned, and honestly, I am really looking forward to getting ready to teach.  And not having to get up at 4am for a couple weeks sounds pretty good.  So yeah.  I guess you could say I'm feeling pretty good right about now.  The market on August 14th will be my next work day.  Yessss indeedy.

Ok, early to bed = more sleep = long run time.  I'm off!

Friday, July 30, 2010

72- 85 degree cold front

You know it has been an amazingly hot and lovely summer, when you get excited about running in the 'cool' 85 degree temps at 2pm.  Yep, I did. 

11 miler immediately following the bakery shift.  I did my normal 8 mile route from the bakery, but added some distance downtown and such.  It went really well, except for the last mile when I started feeling pretty dehydrated.  8:13 pace overall, so decent enough.  That is the bad part about the bakery- I generally drink 2 cups of coffee and nothing else.  Yeah, bad call.  I still finished the run pretty strong and it was nice to just have one run to do because I've been doing doubles Monday-Thursday lately.  And all dehydration can be fixed by XL fountain diet coke from McD's.....

Other than that, I'm pretty pumped for tomorrowas it is my first day at the market downtown.  Well, technically my second since I did it in the spring, but my first of 'taking over.'  I'm going down there with the guy who's been doing it so he can show me the ropes before I start alone.  Should be a nice change of pace, although it will be a long day.  Gotta be at the bakery, ready to go at 5:30am.....ugggghhh

The granola bar I bought up north isn't gluten free. :(
It is pay day! :)

Happy weekend all!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

73- cross country..what!?!?

So, coffee shop time for me again tonite.  Back at the internet-less apartment.  So let's get to it!

Running wise, today was a designated 'recovery' day with 11 miles; 6 morning, 5 at night.  I started the day with a nice run in town with my mom.  We did a new route together that was actually really shaded and pleasant.  Good times.  Then we randomly bought sweatshirts at the old bakery that I worked at for the last 5 summers.  No worries that it was like 90 degrees....that's how we roll, spontaneous purchases!  Then, I took my mom on a scenic drive home because I wanted to go by the hill I ran up on my 14 miler yesterday because I thought it was sooo hard but I was worried I was just being a pansy.  It was decided that I wasn't as my mom said "I want to puke just driving up this hill!" lol.

Then it was driving, driving, driving, downstate.

So in lue of Thursday night running club, my club decided to do a low key cross country race that supports a small, local college.  I thought "5K, no big deal." Oye.  I forgot how intense XC is- NOTHING like roads.  The course was hilly, with rough footing and in ankle deep grass.  My 7:30 pace felt harder than my marathon!  I survived though, although Mike beat me....we then did some cool down miles before deciding we were too hungry!  So, I got my milage in, but it certainly didn't feel like 'recovery!' lol. 

That's all from here!  More bakery fun tomorrow, (plus running of course) then I get to go downtown on Saturday for work at the market!  I love being up north, but I love being here too.  Let the good times roll! :)

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

74- 'meh' run and ant attack!

Well, it was bound to happen.  After running a marathon Sunday, and having good training runs since, this morning's run was finally a FAIL.  On the schedule was a 21 mile day: 14 in the morning, and 7 at night.  Unfortunately, between being hot, hungry, and having a huge storm, I slept terribly.  And woke up with some stomach issues that lead me to begin my run late and a bit dehydrated.....I picked a new route and didn't know that there was a 2 mile uphill between miles 5-7.  I was dying of thirst and my pace was dropping fast when I came into town at mile 9.  Even a powerade zero and my 'magic muffin' that I've been eating during longer-ish runs didn't help.  Finally pulled myself home, but it was ugly.  Ugh.....

Needless to say, I was less than fired up about my 7 miler.  Butt, my excitement increased a bit when my mom agreed to pick me up from the beach.  I LOVE being able to have a destination and not an out and back or a loop course.  I seriously think of it like a treat!  Luckily, since I was better hydrated, this run was much better.  More even splits averaging 7:52.  Goood times.  So good to have a 21 mile day under my belt, glad I stuck it out.

On to the second part of my post title....

So I abandoned my powerade bottle and muffin wrapper in the bushes along my route this morning.  Sooo, being the good citizen that I am, I drove back tonite to pick it up.  I grabbed the wrapper and bottle, dumped them on my passenger seat and drove home.  Apparently I'm the most unobservant person on earth because when I got home and picked them off the seat, I realized that there were TONS of ants EVERYWHERE on the wrapper!  I seriously screamed, through them out the window, but there were still ants crawling in my car and on my purse!  Sooo, I ran inside and grabbed the two quickest 'chemicals' - bug spray and windex!  It must have looked pretty comical watching me windex down my entire front seats + purse + wrapper so I could throw it away!  Yeah, I freaked out.  I still feel like stuff is crawling on me, even though I took off and shook out my clothes.  Ewwwww.  I'm a dork.

Ok, I'm off to finish baking some muffins.  Plus, have a snack so I don't wake up hungry again tonite!  Have a good one!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

75- a "me" day

Do you know when you are asked (during an icebreaker or essay question or something) what your idea of a perfect day is?  And most people have some extravagent answer involving being on a tropical island or traveling somewhere exotic or meeting a rockstar or something?  Well, mine is none of those.  Instead, it would very closely resemble today.

Allow me to explain...

First, sleep.  Although sleeping in in the summer is a gamble running-wise in terms of temperature, it was a gamble I took today.  I am a person who needs alot of sleep so I took today to 'catch up.'  So good.  After a relaxed morning, I drove into the 'city' to run.  It was a perfectly sunny and hot day- just the way I like it.  I ran a new route through the 'city' and around a lake there, resulting in me getting lost and making it an 11 miler, rather than 10 miles at 8:06 pace.  The scenery and people watching were great and it was so nice to run somewhere different.  Since I parked at the beach (of course) I swam immediately after which felt amazing.  As well as getting a huge ass fountain diet coke from the gas station. yup, today I indulged in all my guilty pleasures...

Then, it was on to my favorite organic/hippy/coop cafe for lunch and prep work.  Now, let me be clear that doing 'work' isn't necessarily part of my ideal day, however feeling accomplished and getting ready for the school year is a good feeling.  More importantly, upon ordering my sandwich for lunch, the cashier informed me that they didn't have their normal hommade gluten free bread, and would have to put in on another kind.  This was sad because their bread is so delicious and the sandwich is pricy so I wanted my money's worth!  No worries though.  Because this was MY day, the sandwich girl obviously was able to read my mind and made me TWO sandwiches, because she said the bread was 'smaller.'  Don't even worry about it- I ate them both.  TOTALLY got my money's worth!

Prep work + iced coffee + getting hit on my an old man......yeah that was weird.....

And it was off to my favorite market in town for their delicious Turkey Jerky.  Mmm hmm, I saved that puppy for tomorrow.....

I decided to take the 'scenic route' back home along the water.  It is a beautiful drive- the bay on one side, vineyards and cherry orchards on the other.  Along the way, I found a road-side beach park.  Since I needed to get in an easy 5 mile evening run, and I am a woman of crazy spontaneity, I pulled into it and changed into running clothes again (new ones, don't worry, I never travel without several running outfits!).  I knew the area loosely enough and set out on a loop.  I got alittle lost, and ended up running a bit extra, but it was all good.  The bad part about running randomly in Northern Michigan is you have no idea about the topography.  In this evenings' case, it was a VERY hilly route.  I just kept repeating the quote "hills are speedwork in disguise" in my head, and before I knew it I was back at my car with a 7:58 pace to boot!  Swim #2 followed, this time with lots of jumping in the waves because no one was around so it was ok to act crazy....who am I kidding, I would have done that nomatter what!  Glorious.

Then, I headed home with the windows down!  And here I am, reading blogs/blogging.  The only thing that would make today more perfect is if I had some frozen yogurt for dinner.  Oh wait!  I'm going to have that in about 5 minutes! ;)  What did I tell you- today was 'my' day!

Ok, that was waaay too long, so here's the recap of my 'perfect day':
- 16 miles of running in two places I dont' usually run
- swimming x2
- 2 sandwiches for the price of one at lunch
- iced coffee and accomplishing prep work
- frozen yogurt to come verrrry soon (+ chillin with my cat!)

Hope everyone's day was as 'ideal' as mine! :)

Monday, July 26, 2010

76- a summer day that slipped away

Seriously, where did today go?

I feel like it was such a good day, yet it went by sooo fast.  Running an easy 6 miler with my mom on our 'hill loop' this morning.  Reading outside.  Skiing the afternoon away.  Falling asleep on the couch with the breeze blowing off the lake.  Running 5 miles  (partly with my pops).  Eating burgers on the deck from our favorite take out place with my pops.  And now, watching trashy ABC family shows while blogging.  Yep, good day.

In running-related news, let it be noted that I felt NO effects from yesterday's marathon.  I say this, knowing that I'm usually the most sore on day #2.  But, the fact that I not only ran the day after a marathon (I usually take 2 or 3 days off) but ran 11 miles (6/5 split) was very encouraging.  I ate a burger tonite, just in case, to top off my iron stores...lol.  So. good.  I'm really hoping to still feel good tomorrow and keeping training hard.(er)

I'm also in the middle of "Born to Run" which I admit I didn't like at all at first.  It was slow to start for me and I waited to really get going on it.  Now, I'm obsessed.  I like the story and the stuff in the book.  Although I'm not totally convinced on the whole "run barefoot through the mountains for 100 miles at a time" the book does have some good points.  And it has made me rethink my own running/style/reasons/form.  And, I kind of do want to try running barefoot through a corn field or something when I'm reading it!

Oh!  And tomorrow will be glorious!  Not only can I FINALLY sleep in after lots of early wakeups, but I have a 'me' day planned.  Going into town to run along the bay, swimming immediately after at the beach, my coop for lunch (plus bringing my prep work along...), and getting Turkey Jerky from my favorite market in town.  Yessss, good times ahead.

Happy days everyone! :)

Sunday, July 25, 2010

77- surprise! #9 done and done!

Good afternoon! 

Finally up north with some actual in-home internet!  Weee!

So I mentioned back after my Bayshore Marathon fail in May and my announcement/decision to run the Chicago Marathon on 10/10/10 that I have run 8 marathons.  Anddd, since 10 is my lucky number, I wanted Chicago on 10/10/10 to be my 10th marathon.  Do you see where I'm going with this?!? Yep, that's right this morning I completed my 9th marathon in Saginaw, MI at the smallest marathon I have run.  And it was glorious.

Allow me to explain.  I've been contemplating this marathon for awhile because I knew that I had to get in #9.  There were lots of problems with finding a 9th marathon because I had so many restrictions.  I have limited $$ so it needed to be drivable from one of my houses and require no hotel stay.  I work on Saturdays.  I wanted it to be atleast 2 months before Chicago for lots and lots of recovery/training time after.  And I wanted it NOT on trails (trail marathons are popular in Michigan.)  So this was pretty much the only marathon that fit those criterion.  However, I also didn't want to treat it like a marathon.  Hense why with the marathon I had about a 100 mile week this week.  I wanted to just go out and have fun and treat it like my long run for the week.  Today I had a 20 miler scheduled, so I just figured, what is a few more miles between friends? ;)

So, my day began bright and early when I woke up before my alarm at 2:45am.  I actually slept really well, but awoke with the race adrenaline pumping!  I arrived at the race sight (a high school in the middle of nowhere) a bit before 5am after multiple detours in the dark.  Paid my $70 (gulp) for an oversized COTTON t-shirt that doesn't even say 'Marathon' on it because it was a 'festival of races' (ie 5K, 10K, 20K, and 'mini marathon' 8.66 miles)  Did my normal pre-race prep stuff in the car, including changing the settings on my Garmin so that I could only see the milage and the elevation.  That is how much I didn't even want to be tempted to look at my pace or time.  I recently got a pair of Nike Lunarglides (I run in Nike Pegasus and Nike Triax but the running store guy convinced me I would like these).  When I put them on before heading to the start they felt AMAZING.  Extra cushiony and springy, even though I've wore them for a few runs.  That is how I knew it would be a good day. :)

We headed to the start in the near-darkness of 6am.  I lined up close to the front because there were no chips or chip start even!  The course was 3 loops of 8.7 or so miles.  I had stashed some crack (AKA blue powerade zero) and my magic training muffins that I have been eating on long runs, in the bushes next to the road so that I could get them on the loops.  And then, we were off.

I saw one woman sprint out ahead, but otherwise it was just men ahead of me.  I planned to try things during this race, foremost the idea of NOT going out hard and then dying.  But no worries, I felt relaxed from the start.  It started to get light, but was still overcast.  The loop was very flat and paved, but was windy along the Saginaw River for the first few miles.  About mile 3, the woman passed me which was odd because I never passed her.  I found out later that she had stopped to use the bathroom.  She was pacing with a guy which bothered me because I was basically running in no man's land with no one for the first 14 miles or so.  There was also pretty much NO crowd support other than water stations every 2 or so miles.  But that was somehow OK.  It added to the feeling of relaxing on the run.  The first loop felt great.  I had no idea how fast I was running but I just felt FREE.  I kept waiting to start feeling bad/tired (at Bayshore I felt terrible by 4 miles in) but it never happened.  The last mile of the first loop I kept repeating "muff-in, muff-in, muff-in" in my head because I was excited to get to eat one!  Not because I was in need of fuel as much as the fact that they are simply delicious!

I got to my muffin bag (thankfully no one had found/disturbed it), chugged a few sips of powerade, and took my muffin 'to-go.'  At this point I had caught up to a couple of guys (who am I, actually passing people!?!?  I'm the one getting passed always!)  I must have looked odd biting the head off of the muffin while making 'mmm' noises.  But I couldn't help it!  It was so good and I just felt good enjoying the whole experience!  Plus, trying to eat a muffin while running made the next mile go by fast!  The second loop was great.  I was dreading it originally, but I was so excited to get to the last loop that I felt energized.  And suddenly, I was at the high school again and ready to start the final lap.

I wasn't feeling the muffin, so I just sucked down ALOT more powerade.  I can't believe that I used to do all marathons/training runs with zero fluid.  I still believe it is possible, but I think drinking provides a phychological advantage more than anything.  I caught up to a group of 3 men about a mile into the last lap.  We chatted it up for awhile- they too were training for Chicago and doing this as a training run.  I told them my story and asked them not to devolge our pace as I still had no idea how long or fast I was running.  It was actually really nice to chat with the one guy.  I am a total social runner, hense why I love running with anyone.  I am all for the zen "me" time of running to some extent, but I love the comraderie the most.  Running the first 2 hours or so in silence with no one made me appreciate talking it up with strangers- even if about stupid things like my 10th on 10-10-10 goal.  We were actually from the same town and the guys run at the running shop less than a mile from my apartment.  Small world, huh?  The one guy said they had planted a cooler in the middle of the loop ~ 4.5 miles to go.  He offered me Gatorade when we got there.  He also told me at this point that he was pacing the other guy (his friend) for a BQ.  Judging by their age, I knew about what pace we were on at that point...

When we arrived at the cooler, I accepted the Gatorade.  It had gotten very sunny and hot the last loop and I wanted the mental advantage.  He also handed me a panty hose filled with ice (yeah, no joke) and told me to put it on my neck.  This was pretty much the most random thing ever, however, I did it and it felt amazing.  Him and his friend got alittle ahead of me at this point as I fumbled with the Gatorade and panty hose.  Infact, this may have been my slowest mile.  But, when I was done with it all I realized I felt GREAT and the last 4 miles would be lovely.  I caught them with about 3 to go, yelled thanks, and pressed on.  My legs didn't even feel tired.

The finish was anticlimactic.  I actually went the wrong way, ie added time/distance as I started on a '4th' loop instead of turning into the high school.  The woman from earlier beat me, so I was second place overall.  But I didn't care/try to catch her.  And the moment you have all been waiting for...

26.27 miles in 3:28:27

So. Happy.  Not because this is a PR (10 minutes off of that).  But because I did this with little thought/prep and I just ran so FREE.  It was so liberating- it felt just like the day I PR-ed and I had *almost* lost hope that I would ever have a run like that again.  And my splits (upon looking afterward) were spot-on.  7:56 pace and my miles were 7:40-8:08 which has never happened.  This was my second fastest marathon ever and I have not run that fast in the last 2 years and 5 marathons.  I guess today just showed me that I CAN do it, as cheezy as it sounds.  11 weeks until Chicago and I am more focused and excited than ever to train.  Bring it.

3 hour drive later with my pink compression socks on, lots and lots of food, and I feel great.  I was contemplating a few shake out miles, but the lake looks so inviting I may head in for a swim instead.  Then, fro yo for dinner tonite.  I may go crazy and get a medium! lol.  And days ahead of me full of up-north-ness and not working.  Yessir, I'm happy.

*disclaimer: I hope that this doesn't sound like I'm tooting my own horn, I'm just really happy with how today went and needed to let it out!  I'm a very modest person in real life- honest!  I still have a long way to go and a lot of work/learning ahead of me running-wise, but for today all was well.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

78- work, short run, swim, packing, sleeps

The title pretty much sums up my day....

I was so glad when 2pm rolled around and I was done with work today.  Crazy storms (brought on by the crazy humidity) came through the area yesterday evening and knocked out the power.  My apartment didn't loose power, so I didn't even think about it until I got off the freeway at 5:50am and noticed that no traffic lights were working and McDonalds and several gas stations were completely dark.  Then, I had this fleeting excited moment in my mind where upon I would arrive at work and there would be no power and therefore I would leave and return home to my bed for a few hours before having the whole day ahead of me to enjoy.....yeah, that didn't happen.  Although all of the other businesses in the industrial park area where we are located we off/closed, we were not.  A huge ass generator was powering 'select' parts of the Bakehouse.  (ie ovens, *some* lights, *some* fridges.)  No AC.  No lights in the bathroom.  Several of our big fridges had been turned off so stuff was moved around everywhere.  The kitchen where I work was 90 degrees, no joke.  The whole day I spent sweating, and looking for stuff.  Normally I don't like being called up to work in the shop during my prep shifts, but today it was actually nice because that was the one area in the building that had AC, lol.  But, I just reminded myself that it possibly is my last Saturday prep shift, as I will be doing the markets from now on.  And I forged on through sweat and salami....

Hot, short run, quick swim, and now I'm doing my online stuff early because I have to get up at 3am to race tomorrow morning.  The race starts at 6am and is almost 2 hours away (toward up north) and I'm not signed up yet.  So it will be an early morning.  I'm pretty pumped, as I love racing.  And this race should be...interesting...details to follow tomorrow, and I don't want to reveal too much now....

Gotta run!  8pm is my bedtime tonite! :)

Friday, July 23, 2010

79- humidity x 1000

Today was a record level of humidity in Southeast Michigan.  Ohhh man.  I seriously thought I was going to die running at 2:30pm after work.  I was supposed to do 11 miles, but I ended up running a new route and ending up at the Bakery at 10 miles, and honestly my pace had dropped to such an extent that I was questioning the effectiveness of teh run in general.  So, I stopped.  Tomorrow I have a very short run planned, as Saturdays' are normally my easy day, so I'm just going to tack on an extra mile then.  Anddd, I'm racing on Sunday.  Which we'll see about...It was just so gross that I literally could 'ring' my drifit shirt out of sweat after 4 miles...ewww.  It felt like someone was breathing hot air on me the whole time.  Yeah, y'all know how it is.  I'm just glad to have that run behind me....

Now I'm a the coffee shop and it is pouring.  I'm glad that it is only 5:30pm and I don't have anything else to do tonite...besides prepping my classes...which I'm avoiding...I don't even have to pack because I am not going up north until Sunday (my race is halfway up, so it makes more sense.  Good times.

In un-running related news...I got a good offer from the bakery today.  The person who normally takes our product to a huge farmers market downtown on Saturdays can't do it anymore.  So my boss offered me the position!  This is cool because a) I love doing farmers' markets (ie talking with people about our products and selling them! b) This will replace my normal shift of 6am-2pm on Satudays and be more fun then doing prep work all day, and give me more hours because the market means an 11 hour workday and c) 'more responsibility =  more money' = I GET A RAISE! :)  Alll good.  I love my boss and the bakery.  So. Pumped.

And I'm off! Have a good Friday everyone!  I gotta scronge in my purse for spare change to use to buy the little chocolates that they have sitting by the register here...

Thursday, July 22, 2010

80- mmm, coffee shop internet!

Hello blog world!

Back at the coffee shop for an evening blog/email/read blog session.  Today was quite a day.  Not everything went as planned, but I got it all done.

Starting with the bakery at 6am.

I didn't run pre-work because I was supposed to do a 5/6 split today, but planned to do 8 with Mike tonite at Run Club.  So, I thought I'd just squeeze in the miles pre-Mike because today was a 'recovery' day anyway.  Besides, I wanted my legs to have a bit extra rest after bigger milage yesterday.  Anyway....

I was dreading work, but it actually went by fast.  Lots to do on Thursdays and this week is especially crazy because this huge Art Fair is in town (seriously, it is a huge deal.)  Since our bakery is "kind of a big deal" it really increases our business.  Ie: I end up making 100x more sandwiches then usual which increases my prep work for the next day and so on.  But I digress.....

Once I got home ~3pm, things got more messed up.  I was starving (perhaps because I didn't eat enough yesterday with all my traveling and such for the milage) so I ate a big snack.  I've gotten much better about heading out after eating, so I headed out for my short run.  I ran up to CVS to get a battery I needed and ran home for a quick 4 miler.  Then, I had about 30 minutes before leaving for run club and I started feeling HORRIBLE.  Nauseous and plain gross.  I felt fine running, so it was weird that perhaps the snack was effecting me so much later?  On top of everything there was a tornado warning and my run club meets about 25 minutes from my apartment.  Sooo, change of plans.  I ended up going back to sleep from 5:30-6:30pm.  I felt *alittle* better upon waking and it was raining and there was 'only' a tornado watch.  I knew it was then or never for me to head out- so I did.  8 miles.  No ipod.  No Mike.  Just me.  And the rain.  And it was good.

On a semi unrelated tangent, I planned the route to go by my freshman dorm on campus.  I won't to into details, but my freshman year of college wasn't a good year for me.  Infact, it was horrible.  I have lots of less-than-great memories of that dorm and that time in general, so I've literally never gone back since.  Today, I ran there.  It was deserted and I just stood for a second in the rain.  I tried to remember.  But the cool thing was, I barely can remember that year and the person I was.  I have changed so much in the last 5+ years that I can barely relate to the scared, lonely, sad girl I was then.  Because now I feel like I am flourishing so much and enjoying life.  Enjoying being an adult and my life and the possibilites.  And it's all so exciting.  A total 180 from those days of the past.  So I turned and ran away.  It is in my past.  And I felt proud of the person I have become.

Wow, that was random and kinda heavy for this running blog!  Anyway, I got my 12 miles in and now I'm doing my coffee shop thing before turning in for the night.  Life is good.

Have a great day everyone! :)  

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

81- back at it

Quicky tonite, because its been a long day and I still need to drive an hour back from my parents' house to my place. 

This morning was fun though.  15 mile mid-week mid-long run.  The run went better than expected.  I started off sluggish and slow and finished stonger, which as I've mentioned...never happens.  I did a couple of miles of it with my mom, and then she met me in town (after a swim in Lake Michigan and a quick change) we walked around the Art Fair.  We got cool $5 necklaces and I got a rug for my kitchen.  Then, it was back home to pack up for me.  I made the trek back downstate to pick up my car and return my rental.  I had to stop by my parents' house too, because my dad accidentally took my phone Tuesday morning when he left.  Since it was 5:30 and I didn't want to sit on the freeway in traffic, I did my shakeout 5 miler around here.  The legs were tired, but OK.  Now I'm all ready to head back to my place and the traffic should be clear.  Tomorrow, back at the bakery for an early morning.

In summary:
20 mile day
back to no internet once I'm at my apartment
Bakery tomorrow
I miss up north already!

:)

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

82- one of the best days of the summer. period.

Today was just that- one of the best days yet.

It all began with an around the lake run of 10 miles at 7:55 pace.  Felt good, except for being drenched in sweat when I finished and it was only 8:45!  But don't worry, the day only got better...

It is difficult for me to explain, but my mom and I road trip every year to a nearby small town about 2 hours away because it is a totally random town and fun to shop and such.  This year, we also added another town to our tour on the way.  We make a day of it by stopping for brunch first, and just driving and enjoying the day together with lots of stops.  And today was just perfect start to finish.  From a delicious meal, to random shopping (I won't bore everyone with all the details but lets just say it included a plate for me shaped like an avocado- oh yes, that's how we roll!) to eating ice cream in the car, to deep conversations, to silly jokes.  It was all good.  From one-of-a-kind shops, to farmstands, to the mall on the way home - we really hit it all.  And it felt so good.  My mom and I are close and I feel fortunate for that. 

On the way home, after a long day it was almost 8pm and I still had to do my 5 miler for the night.  So, in typical Tmart fashion, I simply pulled over on the side of the road 5 miles from our house, grabbed my clothes/shoes from the backseat, and started running.  I knew it would be hilly, but it turned into a glorious running, hitting 7:31 pace without hurting *too* bad, and the last mile in 7:05 (finally downhill then, lol).  When I got home, the day was capped off with a delicious dinner my mom had prepared that we enjoyed on the deck.  Perfection.  It was the type of day that you want to hold onto and remember when days are not so perfect.  Or runs not so effortless.  Yes indeed.

Tomorrow, I have a long day of driving.  I have to tack on some time to go turn in my rental and pick up my car that has been in the shop from my parents' home town.  Then drive back to my place and get ready to work bright and early on Thursday.  Let the good times roll.

Hope everyone else had great days!

Monday, July 19, 2010

83- new carpet smell

So random fact about me: I love the smell of very extreme (probably hazadous) things.  Examples: paint, gasoline, new shoes, rubber, plastic, and most of all NEW CARPET.  The gym in my apartment recently got new rubber tile floor and I swear that I go there 90% of the time just to smell it!  And I breath in really deeply when I walk through to go to the pool.  On a related note, my parents just got new carpet in their room and I love it.  I'm watching TV in their room right now, just to smell it.  Probably killing brain cells but SO worth it!

With that randomness aside.....

Today was a normal Monday recovery day with a 6/5 split.  I did my morning run fairly slow with my mom around the next door lake.  It was fun though, chatting it up the whole way.  Sometimes my mom and I 'save' conversation for when we run together.  I also like it because my mom likes me to talk to keep the focus off running, so she pretty much will let me ramble about anything.  If we were just at home or something, she would probably walk out of the room, lol.

The afternoon was great.  Perfect temperature and wind level to hang out on the boat for a couple of hours and let the waves push us around.  I got totally burned because I'm not a huge sunscreen believer, but it will turn into a tan in the next couple days. 

Early evening brought time for my 5 miler.  Faster than the morning, (8:03 pace) but still relaxed.  Then, cocktails and skiing (the best way to ski is after 1 drink IMO) and a late dinner.  Now, just chillin.  Good up north day!

Tomorrow= some serious running with a road trip in between!  My mom and I are doing a random road trip to some small northern Michigan towns.  Should be randomness and good times as is the case when my mom and I are together!  Plus, brunch out and probably some ice cream in there too- can't beat it.

I'm out... peace!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

84- 17 *ok* miles

*ok* refers to the fact that they were not great, but not horrid either.

At first, I felt great.  At 2 miles, I even entertained the idea of throwing in a few marathon-pace miles.  But that idea died fast.  At 8.5 miles, I finished looping around the first lake.  I swung by our house, and picked up my dad and we set off to run halfway around our lake.  At the halfway point, my mom met us in the car and her and I finished the loop.  Running parts with each of my parents' was nice, even though the pace was a wee bit slower.  I still value this time more than anything. 

The worst part about the run was the humidity.  Although it was 'cooler' being about 80 degrees and overcast, it was unbelievably humid.  At the halfway point, my shorts and shirt were soaked to the point where it looked as though I had went swimming.  It felt aweful having my shorts stuck to me so much like a wet garbage bag!  Not. Cool.

I don't know why, but I'm stressing a bit about running lately.  I've completed my 3rd week of training, and they just get more intense from here.  I feel like I'm having *some* good runs, but they are few and far between.  And my milage is up, but I've been consciously keeping my pace down which I thought would feel easier than it has been feeling.  I guess I want to feel my fitness increasing and I'm not.  I'm still struggling with alot of fatigue and aches and pains which I know aren't helped by the fact that I work on my feet a few days a week, ski, and hardly ever stretch.  I guess I'm just worried that with 12 weeks to go, things are 'clicking' yet. 

I went for a sunset swim this evening, which felt great.  My body was so sore laying on the floor watching TV with my parents that my mom suggested it and it was the perfect idea.  The cool water did wonders, as I'm hoping a good nights' sleep will too.  This week promises to be crazy running-wise as I look ahead to my schedule.  I only hope I can handle it and succeed.......

Saturday, July 17, 2010

85- from Slacker to perfect evening...

So there was no way I was going to get up at 3:30am to run this morning before work.  Even though I had my easiest, shortest run of the last 3 weeks, it just was not going to happen. I felt stressed just thinking about it going to bed last night, so when the alarm went off, I reset it for 4:45 and fell back asleep.  I wrote off the day as a rest day as it has been over a month and I felt exhausted.  So, I headed off to work 6-2, then immediately onto the drive up north.  Suddenly, I felt very positive about everything.  My 'workweek' was over, and I realized that I would be up north by 6pm.  Why not run then? 

So I did.  And it was a perfect evening.

I got up north, said 'hi' to the parents, and immediately headed for the hills.  I took some short trails and sort of just 'ran around' without looking at my Garmin.  6 miles went by fast.  7:38 pace on the hills of up north.  Felt good.  Glad I did the run and stuck to my training plan. 

Immediately upon getting home, my pops already had the boat uncovered.  We hopped on with drinks and had a 'booze cruise' (lol) + skiing.  Skiing was amazing tonite.  The lake was perfect.  Everything felt right.  Late dinner on the deck post-ski.  Perfect as well.  Good day.

Long run in the morning.  As much as I would love to finally succeed in 'beating the heat,' I'm realistic enough to know that it won't happen.  Sleep will win!

Happy weekend! :)

Friday, July 16, 2010

86- dragging

I wouldn't say that I 'like' getting up at 3:30am to get my first run in on days that I work.  However, most of the time I don't mind it *too* much.  But every once in awhile, read: today, it stinks.  I laid in bed from about 3am to 3:30am counting the minutes.  I started going through scenarios in my head: Could I get my milage in later? (no) Could I get my milage tomorrow? (no) Would I feel more well rested getting up at 5am and going straight to work? (no)  Would I feel crappy because I skipped out on my run? (yes)  Am I alittle crazy for running at 4am? (yes) Am I OK with being alittle crazy? (yes)  Needless to say, at 3:29am, I dragged my butt out of bed!

I decided to do my shakeout morning 5 miler on the treadmill at my apartment.  Something about hitting the dark streets kind of freaked me out this morning.  It was actually really nice.  (Obviously) no one else was at the apartment gym, I got to rock out to my ipod, and I got to catch up on World News via closed captioning.  I nice change of pace.  Plus, my morning runs have been so slow based upon the darkness and my lack of mental focus, so this allowed me to dial in a respectable pace and go.  Overall, good.

Work went fast as usual, and before I knew it I was changing in my car at work for run #2.  I debated doing yesterday's planned tempo, but honestly I was just too tired.  I'm glad I did the run and got the milage in, so I decided to be OK with that.  Besides, it was 91 degrees and in the middle of the day so I just let my legs guide the pace.  6 miles at 8:09 pace is what they wanted on a new loop around the Bakehouse.  Overall, a good recovery day.

Now, I'm at the coffee shop for one last evening.  It is 5:48pm and I'm seriously ready for bed.  Tomorrow, just one short run (Saturday's are my easiest days of the week) + Bakeshop shift and then driving up north!  Hopefully skiing + running + relaxation are on tap for the next few days, plus a roadtrip with my mom.  Should be good times! :)

I'm off to pack and SLEEP.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

87- brrrr...

I'm sitting here at a coffee shop freezing right now, although it was 90+ degrees during my evening run.  Why you ask?  Because I'm soaking wet after running in a hail/thunder/lightning storm!  It was crazy.  Hot alll day, then the skies got completely dark 5 minutes before 6pm and it started POURING.  We debated waiting it out, but then decided to be hard core and head out in it.  It seriously hurt and people kept honking, pointing, and staring.  Mike and I agreed that it was the hardest rain that we have ever run in.  Unfortunately, this made it impossible to do our planned tempo.  Our usual loop is a dirt road loop that would have been underwater.  Instead, we did 7  miles at 7:58 pace which was fine considering the conditions.  I've been feeling totally wiped out today, so I was fine with that.  I don't know if my body is still recovering from all the blood loss of yesterday, or the shock of early wakeup, but I'm seriously dragging.  And my appetite is all but gone.  Totally weird for me.

This morning, I had a much less eventful 5 miler around the deserted 4am streets.  Lots of drama at the bakery today too.  Always keeps things interesting!

Time to bounce to get ready to do it all over again.  Tomorrow I have nothing 'scheduled' besides working from 6am-2pm (and my runs of course, but they are both on my own time) so I'm feeling a bit more relaxed.  Plus, it will give me time to clean my apartment and pack to head back up north Saturday.  See, if I stated that I'm going to clean on the blog, maybe I'll actually do it?!?!

We'll see....

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

88- what NOT to say.

So today I had a physical for the first time at a new doctor.  I've had some health problems in the past + I voiced a few concerns to the doc, so he ordered lots of blood tests, then said the nurse would be in in a few minutes to take blood.  Mind you it was about 1pm and I had been fasting since the previous night + ran 5 miles that morning (ie STARVING and woosy).  So, the nurse comes in and immediately holds up SEVEN empty viles and says with a smile "Hi, I'm here to take LOTS of blood from you!  Hope you don't have a history of fainting!"  Umm, yeah.  It seems as though in nursing school they should put that on the list of what NOT to say to patients!  Upon looking at my tiny veins and blood pressure, she decided to take me to the lab to have it done by a more seasoned nurse.  This turned out to be a good thing, because the previous nurse had no idea what she was doing, even to the point of not knowing that one of the viles wasn't supposed to be exposed to light.  Then, after they sucked me dry of my blood, these two nice women handed me a juice box and a cup and said "time for a urine sample!"  So I'm no doctor or nurse, but it seems like kind of a bad idea to take tons of blood from someone, then ask them to squat over a cup in a locked bathroom immediately after.....Don't worry I handled it like a champ though!  Waiting until 2pm in the day to eat....not so much.

However, this made it difficult to do my second run of the day with Mike.  As mentioned, I had done an easy 5 miler in the morning, and had 9 miles on tap with Mike.  My doc recommended no strenuous activity after all the blood, but 9 miles isn't all that strenuous, right?  Unfortunately, it was 90+ degrees at 5pm when we met up.  I had had limited time to eat/drink since the appointment.  Luckily, we did a loop around Mike's house that allowed us to stop back and drink about 5.5 miles in because I was feeling totally woosy and getting the chills.  Atleast we got it done.  At a 8:19 pace, which is slow for us, but considering the conditions I'm OK with it.

So, tomorrow I'm back to my crazy 3 day schedule of working.  Or should I say run + work + run.  Mike and I have an intimidating tempo planned for tomorrow at run club so I'm hydrating tons for the next 24 hours so I'll be prepared.  Tempos make me nervous!

Alright, well I'm back to being amish at my apartment (no internet, 2 channels of TV) so I think I'll head back for a quick swim before sleeps.  Early wakeups begin again tomorrow!

:)

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

89- the two day rule

I mentioned before that after skiing and stuff these days, I am actually more sore 2 days after the activity.  Well, I'm pretty sure that applies to running too.  Yesterday I felt great....today, not so much....

I set out for my 'medium-long' mid-week run of 13 miles this morning.  It felt almost "chilly" out, although that basically just meant that I wasn't sweating just walking outside, which was nice.  Although this run was scheduled for tomorrow, I decided to flip-flop days because I'm having a physical tomorrow at noon which means no eating or drinking besides water beforehand.  So the thought of a 13 miler with no food before and/or after was rough.  Plus, I don't want to go to the appointment totally dehydrated because they have to take blood.  But I digress....

So 13 miles today it was.  I planned to do a loop around our lake (8 miles) then a loop with my mom on our "hill" route (5 miles) named for the 1 mile intense hill that one must tackle at the start of the run.  Honestly, my legs were tired from the start.  There was only about a one mile period around 5 miles in where they actually felt good.  I managed to keep the pace decent, but there were no sub-8 miles in today's run.  The loop with my mom was good though.  I never tackle that loop in the middle of a run because of the uphill, but having my mom with me made it OK.  I'm so fortunate to have that time to be with her and my mom is a pretty bad ass runner!  Anyway, I completed the run, jumped in the lake, and jumped in the car to drive downstate. 

I'm now at my parents' house chillin with my dad.  My physical is around here + I needed to drop my car at the shop around here, so I'm staying for the night.  I've actually been *semi* productive this evening planning my Physics curriculum for next year.  Last year, I sort of flew by the seat of my pants at times with teaching (it was my first year, afterall) so I'm trying to really go through everything and make it better.  I want to be really solid going into the school year, which unfortunately requires some summer prep work.

Tomorrow = easy run in morning, physical, driving back to my place, and an evening run with Mike.  Sounds good to me!

Off to enjoy the true glory of the town I grew up in.....TCBY for dinner!

Monday, July 12, 2010

90- recovery-tastic

Good evening!

Today was a lovely day for recovery runs.  My legs felt better today than they ever have post-20 miler which I contribute to hydrating better on the run and wearing my recovery socks to bed even though they were super hot! 

On the schedule for today's recovery was a 6 mile morning, and a 5 mile afternoon run.  Both felt good.  Ran the morning half alone and half with my mom.  Then went for a nice swim.  In the afternoon I went into the "city" to do my second run along the bay.  It was SUPER windy and the waves were white-capping, but I love running along the water.  Plus, the people watching was great today- lots of characters out there.  I also felt very energetic running 7:38 pace, with my last mile at 7:22.  Although I am trying to do slower recovery runs, I also don't want to forget what MP-ish feels like.  So my stipulation to myself when I feel my body going faster at the beginning of a run is that I need to finish it as fast or faster.  None of this going out hard and dying stuff that I do so well!  Even on a short run!  I parked at a public beach and jumped into the Bay immdiatly post-run.  Which was amazing, playing in the waves and wind and all.  Until I lost my headband, which was sad because I have an unhealthy attachment to inanimate objects....so yeah.

Now I'm just getting packed up and ready to head back downstate for the work week.  I have to make a stop at my parents' downstate house tomorrow night, then back to my place for a few days of early mornings + bakery shifts.  But that also means running with friends! :) And I love my apartment, so its all good.  I just wish summer wasn't going by so darn fast!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

91- I kinda learned....sorta....

Well, after last week's hotter-than-hell 16 miler that I started at 10:30am, I proclaimed that I would never let my need for sleep get in the way of me running appropriately early enough to beat the heat.  That is really easy to say when you don't remember how tired pre 4am wakeups for days in a row make you!  Today, I just kept rolling over in bed until *gasp* 8:30am.  This + need to eat pre-run made my departure on my 20 miler about 10am.  Which was slightly better than last week, however it was counteracted by the fact that I was running 4 additional miles more and therefore would end at basically the same time...alas.

The good news is, my mom volunteered to run with me for the first 8.5 miles around the lake next door to ours.  This was amazing because a) I love running with my mom b) I love running with other people in general and c) that is further than my mom usually goes.  So it was a long run for both of us today!  It also forced me to start my pace more 'conservatively' (see mom, I didn't say slow!) so that I could pick it up once I dropped her off. 

I say that I 'kind learned' because although I started the run at basically the same time and it was 88 degrees throughout, I took better hydration measures.  I stashed some powerade zero at the end of our drive so that I could chug it (and grab my ipod) when I dropped my mom off at 8.5 miles in.  Then, my mom amazingly brought me an additional bottle of crack juice at the 14.5 mile mark because I was running to a nearby town for the second leg of my journey and there is literally nothing but open country roads out there. 

The hardest part/biggest mistake was the fact that I ran to the opposite town of last week.  You see, our lake is in between two towns, both ~11 miles away.  However, the winds are constantly out of the south lately.  So last week, I ran to the town south of us = good call.  This week I ran to the town to the north = bad call.  11 miles against the wind!  Yuck.

But the good news is, today's run was waaaay better than last weeks.  I picked up the pace alot after I dropped my mom off and finished strong, which was the exact opposite of the draggin-my-ass feeling of last week.  And the fact that I popped of a 20 miler at the end of my week with my 'tempo' race yesterday left me feeling pretty accomplished.  92 mile week which is a happy place for me too.

The rest of the day was spent in an amazing up-north fashion; making GF pizza for lunch, napping in the sun, swimming, and getting fro yo for dinner which I plan to consume in about .5 seconds.  Unfortunately, I also *started* and need to continue to work on my prep work.  Yeah, I hate to think about it, but this teaching this is going to start up again in a month and a half and I gotta actually be prepared to mold young minds again!  Craziness!

Happy Sunday everyone! :)

Saturday, July 10, 2010

92- tempo-race, and the flat lake is mocking me!

I'm writing right now, because I'm looking at the lake and it is sooo flat!  Which normally would be amazing for skiing but I'm waaay past sore and there is no possible way I could hit it tonite.  Buzz Kill.

As expected, I woke up extremely sore from skiing last night, in combo with my running + working from the week that my body hasn't quite adjusted to.  I think if I hadn't already paid my race entry, I may have *gasp* even considered skipping this morning's race because I was so tired and knew I wasn't capable/going for a PR.  But alas. do you ever regret a run??

The course for this race is flat, except for a huuuge 1 mile hill halfway through the race.  Intense it is.  I decided to run at my MP for the run, which turned out to be 7:29ish because I had to compensate for the slowness of the hill.  Have I mentioned that I'm a horrible hill runner?  Because I am.  As a tall person with super-long legs, my strength is my stride and hills break that, throwing me off.  Anyway, the race started at 8:15 which was much too late/too hot.  Other than my sore/tired legs and back I felt pretty good.  It went by fast and my aerobics felt really 'on.'  I ended up finishing in 70 minutes, which is much slower than my PR there of 63:something, but that's OK because today wasn't a PR day.  Tomorrow, I tackle the long run.....

I got in a quick nap, and spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with my friend.  My dad is preparing for a Triathalon in the morning, which is another reason we are not heading out with a ski.  I'm hoping after some rest, my body will be ready for a LR in the morning but honestly, I don't know.  I'm going to try to not make last week's mistake and get up and get going earlier, but who knows if it will actually happen because I need to catch up on sleep so badly!

Hope everyone had a great day! :)

Friday, July 9, 2010

93- my day in bullets

- 3:30am wakeup
- 3:45am run
-6am-2pm work
-2pm-6:30pm drive up north
- foods, baking
- h2O skiing on flatttt water :) :) :)
- boat ride with the parents
- blog
- sleeps
- 5:30 "late" wakeup in the morning for 15K race~! :) :)

Peace!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

94- wet run and one more day!

I can't believe how fast my 'week' goes by!  Between working and running, I can't believe that it is already time for me to go back up north tomorrow for play time!  (Well, truth be told, I need to actually start working on prep for next year's schoolyear, considering I'm teaching two new classes and haven't touched anything since the last day of school.  but I digress.....)

Today is Thursday which meant another workout with Mike at Running Club.  My Thursday's call for a 5morning, 6 evening split, but since Mike is doing workouts on Thrusdays, I've been just doing what he's doing at Running Club.  Tonite was an 'easy' workout that called for 7 miles, with 2x1 mile at 6:42 pace.  (Sidenote: this morning was an easy 5 miles at its-4am-and-dark-and-my-legs-are-still-sleeping pace).  Actually, all day going outside was horrible because the humidity was so intense that it literally felt like you were sucking air through a straw.  After I got out of the Bakeshop at 2pm I had no time for a nap which stunk because I headed into the workout sleepy.  But I digress again....

Driving to Running Club, the sky turned grey and it started to rain.  Not in a good way.  It was not a cooling lovely shower, but rather a hot, slug.  The second we set off on our route it started to pour.  Mike and I seriously laughed about this.  Just our luck.  After an all too fast 2 miles, we started off on the first repeat.  Since we both haven't done speed in forever, we hit 5:50 pace the first 100 yards and had to back off.  We were running down dirt roads, spraying water everywhere and were completely soaked.  Very fun, truly.  Mile 1 = 6:35.  800 jog rest.  Mile 2 = 6:38.  Both felt *fairly* easy up until the last 400m or so when I looked at my Garmin every 2 seconds or so, lol.  I actually felt strong which is good.  I'll take what I can get.  It felt good to break back into speed.  And it was enjoyable to run the 2.5 mile cooldown with Mike looking like we had just gone swimming!  Certainly a run to remember.

Now I gotta go.  I'm smelling up this cafe in my running clothes and I have to get home and pack for up north so I can leave when I get off work at 2pm.  Plus, setting my alarm for an early run.  CAN'T WAIT to get back up north.  My 'workweeks' here are short, but intense.  All good though.  I'm loving life at either location!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

95- my new favorite part of the day

As ghetto-tastic as it is not having internet at my apartment lately, I think I'm creating a new favorite part of the day in my evening coffee-shop internet-mooching time.  The coffee shops around here are way more quiet than during the school year and I love being done with my runs, and just chillin in the air conditioning drinking iced coffee and blog reading.  Good times.

Speaking of good times, I had some good times running today.  Starting with a 6 miler at 4am.  The combo of it being early/dark/not eating or drinking beforehand seems to pretty much kill my pace, but I'm not too worried because right now it is about getting my milage up.  So, I ran nice and slow around the dark streets.  I just love getting back to my apartment before 5am with a run already in!  Makes me feel bad ass.

Speaking of bad ass, my second run of the day was just that.  I needed to get another 8 miles in and had alot of stuff to do this afternoon/evening.  Heat advisory?  Ha!  I decided to brave it and head out at 2pm- the minute I got off work and do my hilly bakeshop-> downtown and back route.  The temp read 96 degrees, so I decided just to take it slow and stop to by a Powerade Zero halfway through.  The thing that made me feel the most bad ass is the fact that I only saw one other runner.  Mind you, I live in a college town that is very active and normally on campus it is like a roadrace there is so many runners.  Is it wrong that this added to my satisfaction?  Further adding to my satisfaction is the fact that I kept an 8:05 min/mile pace despite just getting off of working on my feet all day + the heat.  I'm not gonna lie, it was hard, but I felt strong inside.  I'm hoping my fitness is increasing afterall.  Jumping in the pool at my apartment after was the icing on the cake!

Ok, that's all I got.  Gotta regroup and get ready to do it all again tomorrow....

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

96- new workweek and H.O.T.

It's back at it for me with the 'workweek.'  I drove back to my apartment today and am working 6-2 for the next three days at the bakery.  I got Saturday off to do a race up north that I have been doing for 6 years ago.  It is a 15K, and even though my training is just starting, I wanted to to it 'for fun.'  I still have no internet at my apartment and some am mooching off of yet another coffee shop immediately post-run before I go home.  Since I am spending half weeks up north (with internet) and half weeks at my place (where there are alot of nearby coffee shops) I probably will just deal with the no internet for the rest of the summer to keep saving $$$.

In other news, it is HOT.  And I like it hot, but it is hot even for a person who likes it hot!  Case and point, when I got back to my apartment after the drive south today and had .2 seconds to change before meeting my friends to run, it was 87 degrees in my apartment!  And all the blinds were closed and everything!  I turn my air off when I go, but I'm pretty sure that it is not legal for me to let it get that hot in there.  I'm hoping it has cooled off when I get home tonite so I can get some sleeps!

Running wise, good day.  My schedule called for a 10/4 split today.  I did 10 miles this morning up north- 4 with my mom, and then I dropped her off and ran into town for the additional 6 miles.  Luckily I had a 5 dollar bill in my pocket because I was so thirsty when I got to town and was waiting for my mom to pick me up.  Mmmm Powerade Zero....As I was walking down the street from the IGA to where my mom was meeting me (while chugging my powerade zero) my shorts were so wet that they were "swishing" like I had just been swimming.  Yeah, gross but true.

Then it was drive, drive, drive.....

I got home and changed to meet Mike + others for a chill run around town.  We stuck to subdivisions to optimize shade.  We ended up doing 5 miles, so it was a 10/5 split for me.  What's an extra mile between friends? ;)

That's all I got.  I expect the next few days here to fly by due to basically being consumed by running and working.  Just the way I like it! :)

Monday, July 5, 2010

97- delayed soreness and double run recovery day

Good news:  I'm not at all sore from my 16 miler yesterday, which was my longest *single* run since the marathon. 
Bad news: my shoulders + back + arms are soooo sore from skiing two days ago.  Seriously, even the motion of running hurt them!  I find as I get older, two days after I do anything different/strenuous (ie first ski of the year!) I am sore.  This was certainly the case today!

But alas, there were miles to be run.  It looks like most of my Mondays are structured pretty similarly this training cycle.  Since I am doing my long runs on Sunday, Monday's are 'recovery' days.  Which looks mostly like 6/6 splits.  The rationale is that milage stays up by still getting 12 miles in for a recovery day, but it is less taxing on the body by splitting it with time to recover/rest/eat/drink in between.

I met up with my friend for run #1.  She was up north for one more day and I'm really glad we got to run together.  Ironically, we live in the same town downstate (and I've known her my whole life) because she is going to med school and I still live in the town I went to school in, but we never run together.  Although we have kept in touch via coffee and such over the years, she just never showed interest in running with me and always insisted I was too fast (not true) or that she would slow me down too much (also not true.)  I'm so glad we've gotten a few runs together over the last few weeks and I'm hoping it can continue.  This morning's run went by so fast with us chatting about our families/summer/running.  I'm doing pretty good at keeping the pace relaxed on these recoveries, today was 8:11 average, with all the miles fairly even.  More important, I just enjoyed being with my friend!

The afternoon was spent in a normal, up north rainy day kind of way-swimming, reading, napping, and playing around online.  My family went out wine tasting (so NOT my thing) and once they left and I procrastinated sommore, I headed out for run #2.  Although I felt stiff and sore at first the run was great.  I had alot of stuff on my mind and it felt good just to GO.  I did a normal boring route up and back a bunch of times on a flat-ish road.  Once I hit 4 miles at just over 8 minute pace I decided just to let my legs do their thing.  I knew the last 2 miles would be up hill and so I challenged myself to hit it hard.  7:10 and 6:52 were my last two miles splits.  :)  I was happy with this and it pushed my run to a 7:47 average.  Maybe not so 'recovery' but sometimes you just gotta go with the flow!

Now, I'm watching 'Silence of the Lambs' on TV and waiting for my family to come home so we can watch 'Food INC'.  Frozen yogurt from the local place for dinner- perfection.  Time to bounce! :)

Sunday, July 4, 2010

98- yeah, that was a bad idea

So amongst my tired-ness and freaking out last night, I decided to 'screw it' to getting up early and running, and just do it later/post ski.  As it turned out, there was so ski because it was crazy-windy even from sunrise here.  And, because I'm a nice daughter/sister/sister-in-law, I instead made french toast for them for b-fast with bread from the bakery.  It stinks to work at a great bakery and be gluten free!  So, it was cereal for my b-fast.....

So, I headed out the door for my 'long run' (aka 16 miles so not too long) at 10:30am.  Yeah.  It. was. hot.  And I love the hot, but the sun+ heat+ wind was intense.  I planned to run a long route into a neighboring town where my mom would pick me up (a nd get groceries.)  I ran the first 2 miles with my mom and pop, then they turned back.  About a half mile later I ran (literally) into my friend who was also on a run and we ran a couple miles together.  At this point all was good.  About 8 miles in was when I started feeling the heat.  I was over an hour into running and was thirsty.  I ran a half mile out of my way down to a beach to get water.  Let me tell you, I am a germ freak and I spent lots of time drinking out of a drinking fountain there which I haven't done in YEARS.  Desperate times......

As it turned out though, I'm pretty sure this helped me alot.  My pace picked back up and I was able to complete the 16 miles.  That is the good part about a point-to-point run- you have to get there somehow!  The rest of my day was spent drinking, shopping with my mom and sis, hanging out with my friend at her place, cooking out, and boating.  Now, I am wanted down by the bonfire.  People on our lake do a good job with fireworks so I'm off to watch the 'show!'  Happy 4th everyone! :)

Saturday, July 3, 2010

99- Long day and 1st ski!

Ok, this is going to be short for realz because I am so.  tired.

I awoke at 3:30am for an 8 miler.  It was slow because my stomach was hurting from rushing out the door so soon.  But, I did feel hard core having a decent length run pre-5am.  Work 6-2, then drove up north.  Up north by 6pm.  By this point I was really tied, wanted food and was cranky!  My whole family was here already and it was beautiful out, but I think my tiredness of the last few days from run-work-run was making me feel out of sorts.  Honestly, I just wanted to sleep.  After dinner, the lake was really rough, but the boat was uncovered as my family had been boating later.  A ski was suggested and I am powerless to resist!  Actually, I was really nervous because it was the first ski of the year for me and I always doubt my ability. But alas, out we went!

My dad went first, did well even over rough waters, then it was me!  And it was great.  It felt soooo good to be out on the water, despite my tiredness.  And, now the first one is out of the way, so I'll be ready to hit it hard tomorrow!  Although I will be sore.....

Ok, bed time.  I actually have to get up early tomorrow to run my long run so that we can ski when the water is still flat!  Although early is relative these days......

I'm out.  Happy weekend!

Friday, July 2, 2010

100- my lack of internet is getting old...

It's deja vu here!  I'm sitting at a (different) panera, immediately post-run, blogging and checking email.  My stupid bootleg internet is still MIA.  Atleast today it is earlier.

My today was much like my yesterday, so I'll spare y'all the boring details.  4am 5 miler.  Oddly I woke up a few times last night *excited* to get up early and run.  I'm usually OK with running then, but I wouldn't describe my feelings as 'excited' by any extent.  I think I am becoming more addicted to these runs!  It was a tiny bit faster than yesterday, but not much.  My legs were stiff from the tempo. 

Work was uneventful besides the fact that it was payday!  That always makes for a good day! ;)

I had a quick appointment right after work and I could feel my motivation declining for run #2.  It is in the high 80s here and sunny, which is beautiful weather, but I was feeling sleepy and stressed about packing and getting all ready to go back upnorth.  What is my solution to make sure I get my run in?  Pull into nearest parking lot and GO.  So that is what I did.  I gave myself permission to go as slow as possible because a) my legs felt tired and b) I'm trying to run slower these days on my easy days.  Well, it turned out that my legs felt pretty darn good!  I ended up running 6 miles @ 7:42 pace with the last mile @7:22.  I didn't NEED to do this today, but I didn't want to fight it either.  I'm hoping that I'm pushing through the wall of increased training and coming out the other side.

Ok, now I really do need to go!  I gotta get home and get ready for up north tomorrow!  I gotta run pre-work again so I can leave right at 2pm from work and hopefully get up north for dinner (and perhaps a ski??)  We shall see....

Thursday, July 1, 2010

101- tempo-licious

Gonna make this quick for real, because my internet is still out at my apartment, so I'm online at panera and it is after 8pm which means it is getting dangerously close to my bedtime....

Slept horrible last night, which made for a sluggish 4am run.  I was tired, but had tons on my mind and it tossed and turned.  5 miles at 4am were not great, but I'm glad I got it done.  And, it was 45 degrees!  Brrr!  Off to work 6am-2pm; the shift flew by! Always a good thing.  Came home and passed out from 3pm-5pm.  Also a good thing!

I was super-nervous for the first 'tempo' of this training cycle.  I actually had an easy 6 miler on my schedule for tonite and wasn't planning any speedwork this week (just more milage.)  But, Mike had a chill tempo on his schedule, and he knows I can't say no!  So, we ended up doing 7 miles with 4 @ tempo pace.  The goal was to average 7:10, and we averaged 7:09 so that was perfect.  I was surprised with how good I felt.   Not "I-can-do-this-for-26.2-miles" good, but not like I was going to die.  It gave me hope that I haven't lost all of my speed in the last month that has been free of speedwork.  It was hot though, especially compared to this morning.  Now, I'm freezing because I'm still sitting in my sweaty clothes at Panera.  Because I'm classy like that.

Tomorrow, double easy runs, with work in between, doctors appointment and packing to head back up north on Saturday after work.  Good times! :)