A Balance, Redefined

Two nights of sleep in a row, I guess is the baby's limit. Last night was rough again. I'm going to take today off and step back on the mileage this week. I'm hovering around 1/2 mileage from before I got hurt but don't have plans of increasing more than 15 miles in the next 1-2 months. So after 2 months of steady growth I'll drop back just a little (mainly just by the day off)...

Despite a late night and not meeting my personal deadline I’m in a relatively good mood this morning. Just have to get to it and do what I can. I got in extra early to set up and get my run in. The first three miles were into the sleeting wind at about 36F. However, after turning around and having the wind to my back it was almost pleasant. I think I saw Chad this morning heading down Federal Heights as I was heading up (~6:45am) but I was half asleep and on the sidewalk. By the time I realized it was probably him he was gone. I didn’t think about pace and spent most of the run thinking about the writing and presentations I have this week but didn’t mind. I just liked getting a head start to the day. Avg. 8:57 HR 140

Opposite mood this morning. Definitely not a head start day. Reset my alarm for an extra hour sleep and then slugged into work with a commuter run toward SH then The U. The weather was better, about the same temp but without the sleet. That being said I was WAY over dressed. Avg. 9:02 HR 133

Just keeping my eyes dead ahead. I have to keep looking forward and maintain momentum. The previous few nights Sandra has taken 100% of baby wake-ups. Kristen is very anti-bottle and that has made things more convenient for me but so much harder on Sandra. That has to be the next parenting thing we work on with Kristen. Now 3-months we’ll let her cry more but until she’ll take the bottle the overall household stress if rough. Last night was particularly bad with Kristen waking for an hour every hour starting at 2am… By the third wake-up I gave it a try but wasn’t able to help much. Got into work an hour later than planned and then out the door for my run. I did see Chad today and confirmed the sighting this time by actually stopping to chat for a little. It was good to talk to him again. The conversation though brief really made me hungry for competition again. I just want to be able to run hard again every now and then. Avg. 8:47 HR 134

This was a full day so I’m just updating now. I got into work early via commute run. I had three meetings today as there was a visiting speaker who is a leader in the field of transcriptional biology (what I did my thesis work on). He presented seminars in the AM and PM and I presented to him in the early afternoon. Overall, a productive day in the thought department but no time for “real” work…

The commute run was fine but very slow. It was as cold as the day before but much windier. Avg. 9:19 HR 137

So far off to a good start. My daughter had a little fever yesterday but slept fine through the night. My younger daughter didn’t sleep as well as the night before but didn’t seem to be too bad. One additional wake-up but each of them were less than ½ an hour (I know easy for me to say as I slept through 2 of the 3…). I ran from lab today and decided to pick up the pace a little. As is my fashion when I’m breaking into new ground (or rebreaking into old ground) I like to stack the deck in my favor. So I did my City Creek overlook out and back and pushed the Firehouse mile. I now know I can still move my legs, about a minute slower than this time last year but it was still something. I hit that mile in 5:43 HR 179. It felt good but as far as being goal marathon pace it felt more like 5K effort… Avg. 7:31 HR 167

Just about 7hrs of sleep. That was nice.
The morning was a little slower as toward the end of the night Kristen started waking up frequently. Sandra took care of her though.
My plan was to run 10 miles ending at the East High track to see the finish of Bill's 5K. Then finish off with 2 miles home. I only got in 9.5 as those guys were flying. The leader came through just under 14 min. There was a little gap and then more or less solid from then on. Saw a bunch of faces I haven't seen in about 6 months or more. Actually got to talk to a few of them. Fiddy nearly broke 15 min. Really wish I was in racing shape and charging down that hill with them today but maybe next year. My knee is sore today between the one fast mile yesterday and my longest run since Oct today but not enough for drugs so that is a good sign. Avg 7:47 HR 153