THOU SHALT BE A COMEBACK

Church was good today.  Brandon graduated from high school.  We had a barbecue afterwards at our place.  It was good to have everyone together.  Our extended, blended family has been through a lot.  I did not expect to be emotional but I am a little bit.  Now the hard work really starts for Brandon, I hope he finds a direction soon.  It's been a great day, and after we drop Brandon off at project graduation for the lock-in I think I am going to have a drink--as in a real drink.  I haven't decided yet if I want beer or something more fruity.

1:21:27/8:58 pace.  By last night  my cold I have been fighting got me in full force.  I skipped the beer I planned on having and just went to bed.  Slept like a rock.  Woke up with a stuffy nose, sore throat, and laryngitis.  Decided to run but take it super easy.  Halfway through I made a phone call to my husband and managed to croak out hoarsely that I would like some water.  I even stopped and stood there and drank the water and didn't try to run and drink.  Amazingly, by the last few miles of the run I started to feel a lot better!  I am still hoarse and can't breathe through my nose but the fatigue seems to have lifted--for now anyway.  Also surprising is my appetite despite the fact that I can't hardly taste my food.  Put away an egg, a few ounces of grilled chicken, and 4 or 5 pancakes at breakfast.  I have always been a girl who likes to eat.  My husband said one of the things that attracted him to me when we first started dating is how I shamelessly cleaned my plate when we went out to eat.  Nothing's changed!

1:16:45/8:27 pace.  Still struggling with this cold.  It has moved into my chest and I am coughing a lot.  Hope I cough it all out and start getting better soon.  My voice is a bit better today so I won't be croaking at my patients.  This cold has me feeling crummy but for some reason when I am running I feel better and breathe better--that doesn't make any sense to me.  Strange.  Came home and gulped water(I was thirsty), did one circuit of strength drills, ate breakfast(a little bit of hashbrowns, egg, milk, juice, banana), then did another circuit of drills.

1:15:56/8:53 pace.  It is hot and windy today, and I am tired.  Still fighting this cold.  Was planning on doing an all-out mile tomorrow on the track to see if I could take a swipe at my high school PR, but I don't feel well so I will probably postpone.   Off to another day of work.

I still have a cold, but, my husband was all about coming to the track with me and calling splits so I figured why not and down to the track we went.  My workout routine needed a little variety today anyway.  Warmed up 5 laps then decided to go for it.  My official time 1600 meter time--6:06--still 8 seconds away from highschool pr.  Splits were 89, 90, 96, 91.  Clearly I totally lost it in the third lap.  The good news is, the pace did not feel overly strained, but it was definitely hard work.  I am kicking myself for letting it slip in the third lap--I think I could have hit 6:00 on the nose if I had concentrated.  Maybe I will try again next week with no cold and focus on the third lap.  I think my high school pr is in reach.  I am curious, though, as to what my top end speed in the mile is.  Only time will tell.  The strange news--my husband commented something I used to hear all the time when I was younger--that it was strange to watch me run.  He said my stride is noticeably short, and it is astonishing to see me run that fast.  He says it is just "strange" to watch and words cannot describe it, that it just looks odd.  I have heard this and similar comments again and again--things like"I've never seen anything like it" and "it is just odd" and "I don't know how you do it".  That's it--I need a videotape of myself running to see what all the fuss is about.  Anyways, enough talk about how weird a short, stumpy girl looks when she runs.  Ran 800 to cool down, drove home, and then ran 4 more miles easy at 9:01 pace.  The last 2 or 3 months I have been having small cutbacks in mileage every other week and this probably helps keep me injury-free so I will keep up the pattern.  Last week was 55(highest ever), so I will probably hit 49-50 this week.

First 6 with Vanessa in the stroller--I forgot to stop my watch at first but it was about 9:00 pace--hard work for a slower run as always.  After 6 stopped at the playground so Vanessa could get out of the stroller and play, and stretched while she played.  Next drove home and ran 2 more on my own as a cooldown at 8:45 pace.  Will do strength drills a little later.  Right now I am just too tired from my late night at work and my way-too-early morning.  We are supposed to get off at 11:30 and right when I went to log off we got dispatched.  Oh well.  Overtime. Got home about 1am, took a while to fall asleep, and then the phone starts ringing at 6:30am.  So much for sleeping in.  Maybe I will get 8 hours of sleep tonight(a rare treat).  Cold is better.  I am still a little hoarse and my breathing, while not difficult, is a bit noisy and rattles from the gunk I am coughing out of the back of my throat.  Hopefully this thing is about over--I do feel better.

1:21:45/8:11 pace.  Up at 5am for an early run before the kids get up.  Cold is almost gone, just a little bit of a cough and sniffle left.  I am now an advocate for running through a cold, I seem to have recovered faster.  Did two sets of drills afterwards.  Nicholas has Hershey track and field practice today.  He is doing the 400 meter dash, softball throw, and long jump.  His meet is next Saturday--I can't wait and neither can he!  I really need to scope out some high-energy summer activities for the two younger boys in particular--they need a good outlet for their incredible amounts of energy.