Here I go again!

It's 60 degrees here in DC! Cloudy in the morning but sunny in the afternoon. Tried to do too much and ended up messing everything up; live and learn. Will and I met up with Greg for a bike ride on Rock Creek Park - the first two miles were awful, trying to go around people walking or running on the trail... it was just waaaay too crowded, and a lot of people (mostly other bikers and walkers, most runners just stay nicely to the right) are completely oblivious to trail etiquette or simply common manners. The rest of the ride was better, cause they close the parkway to cars during weekends. Greg was riding on a road bike, Will on a mountain bike and I on my hybrid, so even though Will and I are pretty fast, we lost Greg very very fast. Will didn't have much time so we only rode 18 miles, and I rode 5 extra to meet him from my house. Man I am POOPED! That was a hard ride.  I relaxed a bit and worked in the office, then ran home at dusk - the moon was huge and right behind the Capitol, I wish I had my camera! As usual, my shins were very tight, especially the right, the first 2 miles, and then they relaxed and I felt better. It's been so long since I ran without shin pain, it seems like an unattainable dream...

My weight is up. That trip to the Argentine store last week was not a good idea. Need to eat better this week. Concentrate in increasing my protein intake and eat less carbs.

Got new shoes yesterday - Mizuno. I was hoping they'd cure my shin splints on the first run but that didn't work...

What a fun day. I wish the weekend was longer... Off to stretch, ice, and study!

Ran during lunch break on the C&O canal to Fletcher's - went slow for the 3 miles there, then picked up the pace for 2 miles on the way back - I felt like I was flying on the trail, but my splits weren't so good: 8:03 and 8:07... I need to get faster! Total running time was 51 and change. 48 degrees out and sunny! Shorts and a tank top, yeah! The canal was partly frozen over though, cause it still gets freezing at night. Let's hope it doesn't get too cold in the next few days - or that it snows lots! One or the other :)

Shins were ok the 1st mile, then they hurt a bit so I ran the special way (more landing on the ball of the feet) and felt better. The last 3 miles almost didn't hurt at all. Overall they hurt a lot less than yesterday. What a mistery!

Biked to school and home.

Happy Monday!

42 degrees here in DC, a beautiful morning. Ran to the office, 5.5 miles. Lots of runners out there - most of them nice. I don't get why some runners ignore you when they are coming towards you on the opposite direction... you can just smile, nod, say hi... it makes the run so much nicer! Shins hurt but pain wasn't intolerable. I have a little bit of pain and maybe inflammation just above the ankle on the outside of my right leg - probably I just misstepped on a rock, so I may not run home to let it rest. Now ice, compression, and ibuprofen!

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A weird day followed by an even weirder evening. First, while trying to help one of my very best friends get out of a funk, I said too much at the wrong time and hurt her badly. I hope she finds it in her heart to forgive me. Sometimes friends just need to talk and you just need to listen, and there are other times to voice your advice and concerns. Then while I was getting ready to go home, an unexpected event occured that made me think someone I trust was being dishonest with me. I was very upset and needed to clear my head, so I decided to run home. It was the right decision - I felt pretty good throughout the run, and decided to face my insecurities head on. An uncomfortable and somewhat shameful conversation later, and the misunderstanding was resolved.

With so many "bad people" out there, hearing friends dealing with husbands that cheated, and having been lied to many times myself, it's hard to give in and trust someone completely. But a life without trust is not worth living.

Lessons learned today: listen, trust, and run taking smaller strides.

70 beautiful degrees in DC today! My office building was so hot, not even funny. Unfortunately I couldn't get away at lunch for a run. After work I ran to the gym for 15 minutes in the stairmaster - a guy from school told me he was told it'd help with the shin splints. Man the stairmaster makes you sweat like a pig! I also did some "assisted" pull-ups to strengthen my pipes. Then I ran home from there - just in time to beat this strong but quick thunderstorm. It's global warming!!!

Shins didn't hurt much but my lower outside right leg keeps bothering me. Icing right now. We'll see how it feels tomorrow, I may have to metro in to work - wah-wahhhhhh!

58 degrees, a bit windy, blue skies shining on me, nothing but blue sky do I see...

4 easy miles during lunch - tried to get the guy I share my office with to tag along (he's going through a separation and hasn't been well lately, I thought getting out would cheer him up) but he was only able to go 1 mile and said his legs hurt... so I kept going around Rock Creek and Dumbarton Oaks park. Very pretty. Left shin hurt, right didn't, and just above my right ankle there's something tender, so I won't run tomorrow. I think it's just a sore muscle that needs to calm down, nothing serious - icing now.  

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Biked to Bethesda from the office in the evening, 10 fast miles against the wind, a gradual uphill, on the Capitol Crescent trail all the way. An awesome ride.

10 miles bike ride - Biked to the office in the GORGEOUS morning - this time mostly downhill and FLYING by people.

No running today as my leg/ankle still feels a bit sore - hopefully with a day of rest it'll be better - I'm racing the GW Birthday 10k on Saturday morning, my goal is to finish in 48 minutes... wish me luck!

Biked home at night, stopped at the gym for some stair work but ankle felt weird so I stopped to have it rested for tomorrow's race...

Ran the GW birthday 10k in Alexandria - did not quite made my goal of 48:00 but not too far off - course was a bit hillier than I thought it would be, with lots of turns and twists. A really nice day and the weather was just perfect, about 39 degrees with blue skies and some clouds, but no wind. Trick stayed with me the first 2 miles but then he fell behind - he hasn't been training much and on top of that he's been sick with a cold. First mile was 7:56, second 8:02, third 7:46, not sure what happened to the 4th mile - my watch says 8:43 but I think the mile marker was wrong - I had some stomach cramps on the last 2 miles so I slowed down a bit. Missed mile marker 5, but finished (unofficially) in 48:48. I forgot to check my overall place, but I saw that I finished 8th out of 24 in my category - will post official times/placement later. 

I think if I had been able to get better sleep last night I would've done better. But being a good person comes first, and I had to help a friend in need... Alcoholism is a horrible disease, and it's so hard to know what's the best thing to do for those affected by it. I helped as much as I could, but you can only do so much, and if you did more, it can actually end up hurting the person more than helping. Sometimes tough love is the best thing you can do... Please keep my friend in your prayers and thoughts while she goes into rehab. Thank you!

Happy weekend!

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Official results posted: 48:52, 7:39 pace! (for some reason I always think of a 10k in 48 minutes as being 8 minute pace - I forget that .2 matters lots!)

167th out of 659 total entrants, 8th out of 114 women in my age group, 30 to 39!!! Very very happy... good incentive to stop eating and lose some lbs to get faster! Anyone want to break my jaw again? :) thank you for the support!