Christmas Gift to Myself

No, no, I didn't get a dog for Christmas. I wish. Actually, I only wish if it was this pup pictured above. That's Dozer, my sister-in-law's dog. He's two year old Catahoula leopard dog mix and he's as sweet as can be.

Even though I'm taking a break from hardcore running I knew I wanted to get in a run while I was visiting Jason's family in St. Louis over Christmas. Why? Well, it occurred to me that I'd never run in Missouri in all the years we've been celebrating holidays at my sister-in-law's.

Plus, the weather was AMAZING over the weekend. It was 50 degrees and sunny on Christmas day. Did I need any other excuse to go for a short run?

I asked my SIL if I could take Dozer for a run with me and she said yes. For never having run with a person before Dozer did great. We did 4.5 miles with a short break around mile 2. I'd scouted out a route via Google Maps/Gmap Pedometer the night before so I leashed up the pup and off we went.

The first mile was a little speedy since Dozer was excited but then we settled into a nice pace. It reminded me of running with Trinka Deu.

The hills, though. Oh, the hills! In case you didn't know, St. Louis and the surrounding area are hilly. I think I avoided some of the biggest ones but there were still a few that were less than pleasant. Funnily enough, Dozer tackled those hills like a champ.

My left leg was a little sore post-run but I'm definitely glad I went. And Dozer? I think he enjoyed it.

Christmas in St. Louis by snmnstrz21 at Garmin Connect - Details

Motivation

Over the past two days I've run 17.5 miles.

On Sunday, after attending a semi-Halloween party and drinking two beers and a glass of wine and grazing on the buffet table I got up and met some running friends for 6 miles. I ran to and from our meeting place for a total of 9 miles. Thankfully my running friends were also at the party so we were all pretty much in the same place in terms of running. That is, none of us wanted to push the pace that much.

It was a good run and it went by fast. When I left the house Sunday morning I was running a little late so I booked it the 1.5 miles to our meeting spot. Sadly, I have no idea how fast I was going because my Garmin battery was dead. Oh well.

It was also the first time I'd run in almost a week. Like I said in my last post, I was super busy most of last week and by the time I wasn't I just wasn't in the mood to run. I'm really glad my running buddy said something at the party the night before otherwise I may have just gone a whole week without running. I fear I'm becoming someone who only wants to run with other people. There's not anything wrong with that, it just means that my motivation to just lace up my shoes and go apparently got up and went.

Except for last night. My husband and I made a rather difficult decision to rehome our greyhound and the magnitude of the situation just hit me in the gut as I left work. From putting out feelers to rehoming took less than 5 hours and for various reasons I didn't want to be around for most of it. He ended up going back to the family we originally got him from. I hope they cherish their second chance with him.

Anyway, as soon as I got home I changed into my running gear and took off for my Monday night run. I ran to the meeting spot and even though my Garmin says I was only going a 10 minute pace I felt like I was going much faster. All I could think about was running and not stopping. I was looking forward to seeing the usual group of runners so of course I did stop at the store where we meet. I ran 5.5 miles with them and then ran the 1.5 miles home for a total of 8.5 miles.

When I got back to my neighborhood I didn't want to go home. If it hadn't been so dark and cold and if my husband hadn't had dinner ready for me I probably would have kept going. So what if my knee was a little achy? So what if my hip flexors were sore? I just slowed way down and those things went away.

I've never really been one of those people who thinks of running as an escape but last night it was. It was both scary and exhilarating.

There are so many reasons to run. For a long time I did it just as a personal challenge. Maybe it's because I've now gone the 26.2 miles of the marathon and need other motivators that this week I found two more: running as socializing and running as an escape. I'm sure I'll discover even more in the future.

Why do you run/walk/exercise?

Ups and Downs

Source

Wednesday night was a good night. Track night with OPRC. Much better than my Monday night run. Although I was feeling tired and out of it the camaraderie of the other runners pulled me right out of it. In fact, I personally think these are amazing times.

Warm Up Mile - 9:55

1st 800 - 4:00
2nd 800 - 3:52
3rd 800 - 3:54
4th 800 - 3:48

1st 400 - 1:48
2nd 400 - 1:49
3rd 400 - 1:48
4th 400 - 1:50

Cool Down Mile - 9:56
Cool Down .19 - 10:07 pace

Total mileage: 5.35

Wednesday night was also good in terms of Trinka Deu. She was happily playing like her usual goofy self. I was looking forward to writing today's post all about what a good time I had at track last night.

However, this morning was not so good. Trinka Deu's cancer took a turn for the worse and, in the end, we had to put her to sleep this afternoon.

My Deu dog, and first four-legged running partner, is gone. Normally I would have run at lunch today but, of course, being with my pup during her last few hours was more important.

I'm still traveling to Cleveland this weekend to run a 10K with a friend. My hope is that a weekend away with people I love doing something I love will temper the heartache.

Thank you for all your kind words on Monday's post. It means a lot to me.

Trinka Deu: 2000(?) - 2010















Good bye, my Deu dog. You will always have a super special place in my heart.

Sad Face Run

Last night was the usual Monday night 5.5 mile run with my running group. It was also technically our "run of the month" meaning that we would go out to dinner as a group afterward.

However, I wasn't really feeling it. None of my regular running buddies showed up and everyone left me way in the dust during the first mile. I had a headache, was obviously dehydrated, and my heart just wasn't in it. Each mile felt like a struggle and I even thought about turning around and only doing three miles instead of the full 5.5. But, I stuck to it and ran my own, slower than normal pace even though I really just wanted to stop and go home. And in the end I ran my dreadful 5.5 miles alone and then went home to a bowl of cereal for dinner.

I wish I was the type of person that found solace in running alone with just my own thoughts. I wish when I was upset I could go out for a run and feel better. But, I'm not. Running alone gives me too much time to think and when I'm sad or upset that's all I think about.

So why am I sad? Well, you remember this gal?



That's Trinka Deu. She's my 9 year old German Shepherd/Husky mix. Last Thursday she was diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer. We've explored our options, thought long and hard about it, and on Monday we decided not to pursue any treatment. The last vet she saw today gave my husband a hard sell for the treatment but, in the end, I think we're just going to let her live out what's left of her life. Which may be only a few weeks to a few months but it's either that or spend a lot of money, time, and emotional energy putting her through chemo that has an icicle's chance in hell of curing her.

Of course, my broken heart was all I could think about on my run. Every time my thoughts turned to her tears would threaten to well up. And when I cry I have a difficult time breathing. And, of course, I spent most of Monday crying, too, which lead to the dehydration and the headache. Plus, when I'm sad I don't have much of an appetite which is always a recipe for disaster when it comes to running.

I know there are people out there that would find solace in a good, hard workout. I'm not one of them. It just hurts too much.



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Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 628 ft Location: Forest Park, IL Elev. Gain: +3 ft Date: 05/10/10 Up/Downhill: [+22/-19] Time: 06:35 PM Difficulty: 2.1 / 5.0 Performance Distance: 5.50 miles Time: 0:52:59 Speed: 6.2 mph Pace: 9' 38 /mi Calories: 648 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 14 -0' 24 6.5 +0.3 0 ft 2 9' 26 -0' 12 6.4 +0.1 -9 ft 3 9' 55 +0' 17 6.0 -0.2 +3 ft 4 9' 44 +0' 06 6.2 -0.1 +7 ft 5 10' 08 +0' 30 5.9 -0.3 0 ft end 9' 22 -0' 16 6.4 +0.2 +3 ft Versus average of 9' 38 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Running with the Grumps

This is totally how I felt on Saturday.


You all have my husband to thank for this post. Yes, he's a computer geek but you're not thanking him because of anything related to that. No, instead, you're thanking him for the fact that I even have a run to blog about.

On Saturday I was feeling lazy and irritable. Sure, the temperatures had warmed up to above freezing but all that did was cause the snow to melt. Everything was damp and gray, all the plants, trees and grass are still brown and dead-looking, and the moisture makes it feel colder than it actually is. I didn't want to go outside into that mess. Yet, I didn't want to sit around the house anymore, either.

So, as a way of feeling less like a lazy slug, I suggested we leash up the dogs and walk to one of the grocery stores so I could grab a few things for dinner. I was a little worried about running due to some foot pain I experienced on the treadmill on Thursday. Instead of running, I was envisioning a nice power walk to accompany the errands. The husband, however, was envisioning a nice leisurely stroll. In the end, he suggested I just go run off my grumpiness. "Stay in the neighborhood," he said. "That way if you have pain you won't have very far to go to get home."

I leashed up the Phil dog and he and I went for a run around the neighborhood. Probably close to 1.5 miles. I didn't take the Garmin so I have no idea how fast or slow we were going. There were a few stops (boy-dogs like to pee on EVERYTHING) but we made it the whole way. I dropped off Phil and leashed up Trinka Deu. Sadly, Trinka Deu seems to be no longer interested in running. We trotted along for a bit but she decided early on that she would prefer to walk. I turned towards home and tried to hurry her along. I wasn't really dressed for just walking!

When we finally made it in the door, Jason was sitting on the couch eating lunch. I realized I was hungry. I came thisclose to calling it a day. Instead, Jason encouraged me to get back out there for a little bit longer. So, I hit the streets and, since my foot was still feeling fine, I ended up doing another 4.8 miles. I took the Garmin that time :-) Total for the day? 6.3 miles. It certainly wasn't a speedy run (I believe I averaged 9:53/mile for the part I had the Garmin on for) but I still felt like I was working really hard to maintain that pace and I totally could have taken the world's longest nap when I got home. I just keep telling myself that when I looked up training plans on the Runner's World website they all indicated I should be doing my long runs even slower than that!

Speaking of training plans, I still need to talk about my upcoming training and racing plans. I think I'll do that tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Here Comes Santa Claus

moar funny pictures

Happy Christmas Eve to those of you who celebrate! I've been fortunate enough to have Christmas Eve off work and school since at least 2002! The joys of working for government and then academia after college graduation. However, I've never quite been able to celebrate it the way I did this morning.

Last night I laid out my outfit for the group run this morning. Black tights, green long-sleeved shirt covered with a red long-sleeved shirt, red gloves, white fleece headband, and, the topper, my Santa hat headband! Jason was still asleep so I didn't ask him to take a picture. So, here's what you get:



When I went into the bedroom to grab something Jason asked sleepily from the bed, "When did you grow a horn?" I suppose in the dark it could be construed as such. However, I thought it was awesome! So much better than a full on hat that would make me overheat while running!

I met up with the running group at a local coffee house/bakery/deli. We had an excellent turn out! Although the sidewalks were super icy, the streets were fairly clear and the freezing rain the forecast called for held off until after we were done. There was quite the assortment of red outfits and Santa hats. But no one else had a Santa headband like mine! Lots of pictures were taken but I don't know when I'll see them. If I get them at a later date I'll try to remember to post them. I didn't get many compliments on my headgear, but I did get a lot of congratulations on my two 10K PRs in November. The results were listed in our latest newsletter which just came in the mail this week.

I started out running with a small group of "slow pokes" like me but lost them after half a mile when one of them slipped on some ice. I stuck with another member until he turned around at the one mile mark. The problem then? We were going a new route and I didn't know it! I tried to book it to catch up with the rest of the group which is why mile 2 was my fastest. I didn't quite catch up to them, but I managed to keep them in my sights for the rest of the run and I finished up right on their heels.

I'd brought my YakTrax but didn't wear them. There was only one super slick section of sidewalk where I wished I'd had them but I managed to get through it with only one almost-slip.

After running we hung out at the cafe drinking, in my case, Chai tea lattes and eating muffins. We had so many people we practically took over the place with our chatter and laughing. I loved it. I took off after an hour, ducked into Old Navy to grab myself a little something, and then I went to the gym! I mean, I was across the street. How could I skip it? One of the running group members was going to sit in the steam room. While that sounded heavenly, I didn't bring appropriate steam room gear. So, instead, I did about an hour of strength training.

A five mile run followed by an hour of strength training on Christmas Eve morning? I can't think of a better gift to myself.

Except maybe tormenting my dogs. Who knew a Santa hat headband could be so versatile?

Phil


Trinka Deu


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Stats

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 629 ft Location: Forest Park, IL Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 12/24/09 Up/Downhill: [+52/-52] Time: 08:07 AM Difficulty: 2.5 / 5.0   Weather: Overcast   32 F temp; 75% humidity   32 F heat index; winds E 8 Performance Distance: 5.05 miles Time: 0:47:06 Speed: 6.4 mph Pace: 9' 20 /mi Calories: 598 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 45 +0' 25 6.2 -0.3 0 ft 2 8' 27 -0' 53 7.1 +0.7 -9 ft 3 9' 17 -0' 03 6.5 +0.0 0 ft 4 9' 43 +0' 23 6.2 -0.3 +22 ft 5 9' 24 +0' 04 6.4 -0.0 -3 ft end 9' 00 -0' 20 6.7 +0.2 -9 ft Versus average of 9' 20 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Oh Christmas Nine!

Image from Complete Running


I may have a bruise on my kneecap. The sidewalks may be spattered with snow and ice. I may have had a to-do list a mile long. But, I still managed to run yesterday. My wonderful husband offered to take care of a few things on the to-do list so that I could go get in a run.

My plan? A minimum of 8 miles at whatever slow pace I wanted. And what did I end up doing? 9 miles at a 9:43 average pace. It felt great!

Sure, it was a little cold when I left the house. And, yes, it sucked having to wait at stop lights in the chilly air in sweat-soaked clothes. I jumped up and down and paced around to keep my legs from freezing up. But my knee didn't bother me at all. I did feel a few twinges in my right Achilles tendon, though. Have to keep an eye on that. Also, an English muffin with peanut butter and a homemade lemon bar for breakfast are not really appropriate running fuel. There was one point when I felt rather sick to my stomach, but thankfully it passed.

I ran on the street for much of my run. The streets were almost totally clear of snow and ice but many of the sidewalks were not. I do own YakTrax, but the issue is that they don't work as well when the pavement goes from snow and ice to clear and then back again. So, the street it was. Although, noon on a Sunday in the residential neighborhoods I run in means not many cars.

And when I got home, I was greeted by one of my most favorite smells in the whole world:



While I was out running I ran past a Christmas tree lot and thoroughly enjoyed the smell of the evergreens. One of the to-dos that my hubby offered to do was go buy our Christmas tree. Running past that lot made me look forward to getting home to our very own tree.

I also "ran" a few errands and then ended up run/walking around the block with the dogs after dinner. Let me tell you, sprinting to the end of the block with your greyhound after drinking a beer and eating pizza for dinner? Blugh.

Also, trying to take a photo of your sweet but stupid greyhound in front of the Christmas tree? I'd rather run 9 miles :-)



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Stats

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 625 ft Location: Forest Park, IL Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 12/13/09 Up/Downhill: [+45/-45] Time: 10:58 AM Difficulty: 2.8 / 5.0   Weather: Overcast   36 F temp; 85% humidity   36 F heat index; winds W 6 Performance Distance: 9.01 miles Time: 1:27:31 Speed: 6.2 mph Pace: 9' 43 /mi Calories: 1073 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 52 +0' 09 6.1 -0.1 +4 ft 2 11' 32 +1' 49 5.2 -1.0 +6 ft 3 9' 26 -0' 17 6.4 +0.2 0 ft 4 9' 35 -0' 08 6.3 +0.1 -9 ft 5 9' 39 -0' 04 6.2 +0.0 +10 ft 6 9' 51 +0' 08 6.1 -0.1 0 ft 7 10' 06 +0' 23 5.9 -0.2 -3 ft 8 11' 33 +1' 50 5.2 -1.0 -6 ft end 9' 45 +0' 02 6.2 -0.0 0 ft Versus average of 9' 43 min/mile

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PITA

And, no, not that kind either.

I think we should consider it a miracle that I ran at all this weekend. I think we should consider it an even greater miracle that my run was good!

See, on Thursday afternoon we got a new addition to our family. Meet Phil:



Phil is a 9 year old greyhound who we adopted from another family. Phil is taking awhile to settle in. Phil was getting on my last nerve. Saturday I had what I term post-adoption depression. My motivation to do anything was non-existent. I didn't want to run. I didn't want to clean. I didn't want to do errands. Plus the weather was crappy (cold and rainy) which decreased my motivation even more. So, in the end, instead of running, I did Level 1 and Level 2 of the 30 Day Shred.

Saturday night Phil howled in his crate all night. Finally, at 6:00 AM I dragged myself out of bed to deal with him. It was only 30 minutes earlier than I'd planned to get up. I had plans to go apple picking later in the day so I wanted to give myself plenty of time to get a run in. So, after dealing with the dog (who I think had an upset stomach) and taking a quick cat-nap on the couch, I got out the door for a run at 7:30 AM. The plan? 8 miles at 10:00 minutes per mile pace.

The outcome? 8.5 miles at just a hair under 10:00 minutes per mile pace. Success! This run felt awesome. I don't know if it was the cooler weather, the fact that I was escaping a stressful environment, or what. I ran from my house to the starting point for my usual Monday night runs, did the Monday night route, and came home. I had to stop at some intersections, of course, and at one point I had to stop and put a dog back in his yard. I paused briefly for a drink at a water fountain. But otherwise I was flying. I was in a groove. I could have gone for way more than 8.5 miles. In short, it was exactly the kind of run I need when I'm in a funk. I felt so good when I got home that I didn't even mind cleaning dog crap up off the kitchen floor.

Apple picking later that day, though, was a literal pain in my ass. I always forget how sneaky that Jillian is. My quads and glutes were so freaking sore after doing the DVD and running. At one point I squatted down to pick something up and could barely stand back up. I'm still sore today, actually. Normally I'd have a run tonight to work out the soreness, but I might not be running on Mondays for awhile. See, Phil doesn't know any commands. So, we signed him up for obedience classes. The only one that worked for us? On Monday nights. I might alternate with Jason and have him take Phil to class by himself some weeks so that I can still go running. I'm kind of irritated at having to miss running group but I know that, in the end, a well-behaved dog trumps running. I'll just have to figure out how to push myself on my own.

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Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 626 ft Location: Forest Park, IL Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 10/04/09 Up/Downhill: [+52/-52] Time: 07:30 AM Difficulty: 2.4 / 5.0   Weather: Mostly Cloudy   49 F temp; 79% humidity   49 F heat index; winds W 10 Performance Distance: 8.58 miles Time: 1:25:40 Speed: 6.0 mph Pace: 9' 59 /mi Calories: 1016 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 53 -0' 06 6.1 +0.1 +3 ft 2 10' 45 +0' 46 5.6 -0.4 +6 ft 3 9' 54 -0' 05 6.1 +0.0 0 ft 4 9' 49 -0' 10 6.1 +0.1 -9 ft 5 9' 54 -0' 05 6.1 +0.0 +13 ft 6 9' 51 -0' 08 6.1 +0.1 -3 ft 7 10' 21 +0' 22 5.8 -0.2 +3 ft 8 10' 00 +0' 01 6.0 -0.0 -13 ft end 10' 11 +0' 12 5.9 -0.1 0 ft Versus average of 9' 59 min/mile

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Take it and Run Thursday

Today's Take it and Run topic over at Runners' Lounge is brought to you by none other than...ME!



How do you decide how far/long to run when you aren't following a predetermined training plan? I have a few short races (5Ks and 8Ks) coming up but I'm not planning to follow a training plan for them. I just finished my most recent half-marathon on July 19th and now I'm at a loss as what to do now in terms of distances, etc. I almost always run with a training plan but I'm not sure if I should now or not. Or, if I should be, what I should be looking for in one.

I’m lucky enough to live in area that has lots of options for running. I can run laps around my neighborhood for 5K distances. I can do out and backs through my town for runs between 3 and 6 miles. I can drive to the 7 mile-long bike path that starts a few miles from my house if I want to get in a long run with minimal stops. I can run along the lakefront path in downtown Chicago after work or at lunch for any distance I want. I can do speedwork on the track near my house. Or I can stick to the treadmill in my basement.

So, not only do I have the difficulty of choosing what distance to run, I have the challenge of deciding where to run. And, really, they’re all such great places, how would I ever decide? Here’s a sample:

Click here if the slide show doesn't show up.

Which leads me to what I want to know from you: How do you decide how far to run? Do you base it on a training plan? On the route? Or on something else entirely?

Last night I decided to mix it up and do 3 miles half in my neighborhood and half on my route through town. I figure I did just over 5 on Monday and 4 on Tuesday. If I did 3 last night it would be like my own little taper.

I ran the first 1.5 miles with Trinka Deu. Who, by the way, was having none of it. She lagged behind me the entire time. She wanted nothing more than to stroll along at a leisurely pace. Well, that's all fine and good, but I wanted to RUN. As it was, we did our first mile in over 11 minutes. Sigh. At least I was taking it easy? I picked up the pace after I dropped the dog off at home. I stopped the Garmin when it hit mile 3, but I actually ran a little bit after that and walked about a quarter mile more.

And now, after three days of running in a row, I'm off to rest up for my 5K on Saturday. Never fear, though, I have a fun surprise for all of you tomorrow! Stay tuned!

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Stats

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 620 ft Location: Forest Park, IL Elev. Gain: -3 ft Date: 08/12/09 Up/Downhill: [+16/-19] Time: 06:20 PM Difficulty: 2.0 / 5.0   Weather: Fair   76 F temp; 48% humidity   77 F heat index; winds E 9 Performance Distance: 3.00 miles Time: 0:30:21 Speed: 5.9 mph Pace: 10' 07 /mi Calories: 353 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 11' 14 +1' 07 5.3 -0.6 +3 ft 2 9' 53 -0' 14 6.1 +0.1 -4 ft end 9' 12 -0' 55 6.5 +0.6 -3 ft Versus average of 10' 07 min/mile

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A Brief History of Dogs

As you know, I occasionally take my dog, Trinka Deu, out running with me. But I don't think I've ever really told you anything about her. She's a German Shepherd mix. Possibly part Husky. Maybe Malamute. Maybe something else entirely. We adopted her from the Champaign County Humane Society in May 2006. She was allegedly 6 years old, an owner surrender, and 30 pounds underweight due to undiagnosed parasites. Now she's allegedly 9 years old, 80 pounds, and sweet as can be. Rather over-enthusiastic when people come to visit, but that's just because she can't wait to play!

But before her we had other dogs. Our first dog was Spot.



We met Spot when I was still in college and volunteering at a no-kill animal shelter outside Oxford, Ohio. Spot was a mutt (possibly a border collie-whippet mix) around 9 or 10 years old who had spent his life first in a basement and then at the shelter. We brought him home in June 2002. It took Spot awhile to break out of his shell, but in the end he was the sweetest, calmest, most loving dog. When he passed away from lymphoma in November 2005 we were heartbroken. In fact, as a tribute to him, I got his name tattooed on my foot.



But Spot wasn't our only dog. Shortly after adopting him we also adopted an alleged 7 year old Golden Retriever/Aussie Shepherd mix named Ashley. We also got Ashley from the Champaign County Humane Society.



We always joked that Ashley was like the grumpy old lady who would yell at kids to get off her lawn. She loved people and was a sweetheart to anyone who would pet her, but was very picky about her affection to other dogs. Ashley passed away in December 2008.

So, as you can see, we're strong supporters of adopting dogs from shelters. Which is why last year when I heard about the PAWS Chicago Run for Their Lives 8K race I knew I had to do it. You can read all about my experience here.

I'm doing this race again this year on September 27th. I feel like this race is the perfect melding of two of my favorite things: dogs and running. My registration fee counts as my donation to the cause, but I'd love it if you would also consider donating a few dollars.



Click on the picture above to go to my personal donation page

Or, if you're in the Chicago area, consider doing the 8K run or the 4K walk. Or just coming out to cheer! Whatever you choose, Trinka, I, and all my future shelter adoptees thank you!

Loop de Loops

I didn't really want to go for a run last night. I thought about skipping a workout all together, but then my husband said he'd go with me. We decided to do the same loop I did on Monday except he'd do one loop and I'd do at least two. That would give him about a mile and a half and I'd get in at least three.

So, we leashed up the dog and went out for a family run. Jason was running faster than me. When he was running anyway. The outing didn't go so well for him. He was feeling dehydrated, his chest was hurting, and then his shoulder started hurting. I was sort of struggling, too. When he would stop to walk I would keep running and just circle back to catch up with him. It felt a lot hotter than it did on Monday and, well, I just wasn't really feeling the run. Even though I was running slower than Monday it still felt hard. At least I ran negative splits!

I think some of it had to do with the fact that I was ravenous when I got home from work last night. I find that how good I feel on my run is very dependent on how many calories I've had prior to lacing up my shoes. I still haven't figured out the perfect amount, though.

Anyway, I ended up taking the dog and finishing up the first loop while Jason walked home after a little less than a mile. I dropped off the dog and headed back out for my second loop. Part way through it, though, I decided to mix it up. My neighborhood is laid out entirely in a grid pattern so that made it easy to run up and down streets without getting lost. Also, I kind of wanted to avoid the old men I ran past during the first loop. They seemed a little too over-eager to say hi to a girl running in a skirt and tank top.

Overall, I did just under 3.5 miles. I admit, I was kind of hoping for 5, but whatever.

I did see some fun things, though. Like fire hydrants laying along side the road waiting to be installed. I'd never seen a fire hydrant that wasn't sticking up out of the ground. I almost went back to take a picture of them but, well, I was hungry for dinner.

I think my next goal is going to be to run up and down every street in my neighborhood at least once in the same run. I wonder how many miles that is....

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 620 ft Location: Forest Park, IL Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 07/29/09 Up/Downhill: [+13/-13] Time: 06:30 PM Difficulty: 1.8 / 5.0   Weather: Mostly Cloudy   74 F temp; 44% humidity   74 F heat index; winds E 8 Performance Distance: 3.44 miles Time: 0:34:18 Speed: 6.0 mph Pace: 9' 58 /mi Calories: 403 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 10' 48 +0' 50 5.5 -0.5 +3 ft 2 9' 49 -0' 09 6.1 +0.1 -3 ft 3 9' 37 -0' 21 6.2 +0.2 0 ft end 9' 13 -0' 45 6.5 +0.5 0 ft Versus average of 9' 58 min/mile

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