I ran a 1 mile warm-up, 6X400 hills (easy on the downhill), and a 1 mile cool-down.
All of that is actually pretty approximate. I couldn't see where I'd put down my Garmin watch when I got ready to run from my sister's house today what with all the diapers and blankets and kids and such that I'd just deposited all over her entryway. I tend to just spill and spread all over her house when I come by. I figured I didn't really need the watch anyway since I knew the hill I wanted to run and I knew where a mile was from her house.
What? you say. You don't need a watch just because you know the distance? Aren't you running hills? Don't you want to know your pace?
Nope. I didn't. I definitely didn't because I had no problem seeing my watch on the floor in front of the diaper bag the second I stepped in the house after finishing the work-out. I've got some serious serious work-out issues to work-out. I'm still very afraid to hold myself to a time. I'm still mighty frightened by anything other than a comfortable run day. That's one of the reasons I'm here.
So everything was going hunky-dory with me watchless, pressureless and content on my warm-up. Then I got to my quarter mile hill that I knew was a quarter mile. The only hill I knew for miles around that was exactly a quarter mile. And suddenly running across two streets and a grassy yard was a dumb little brown barking dog. Yeah, ok, I'll be upfront. Saying he weighed ten pounds is just me trying to make myself look good, but he was a persistent fella and came right up to my ankles and layed out on his forepaws all mennacing and sneering like, barking madly all the while. I figured I'd just keep running but it only got him more excited and closer to my ankles. Besides, you know what they say, its not the size of the dog that matters - its the size of his teeth. Think parana - they're small but those doggone teeth - yikes. I really, really, really wanted to yell in the window of the dog's owner, "Could you please remove your public nuisance from my ankles," but I didn't know which window of which house to direct my anger. I did do that once - I yelled at somebody's house who let their dog harrass runners that came down their country road daily. I yelled with all sorts of gusto, "Could you PLEASE come get your dog." Nobody came that day, but the dog was behind the fence next time. And I felt so much better having gotten my feelings off of my chest. Anyhow - my next recourse of action was to run into my sister's house real quick and find out who's dumb dog was keeping me from my 400 hill. All I got from her was a, "Yes! Now you know! That dog is always chasing me when I go running." "Who's dog is it?" I ask trying to get to the point, not too worried about her vindication. "I don't know, it's somebody in the other ward. But yep, he's always out there." So all I could do was curse the dog and his unknown owners and go try to guess how far a 400 was on another hill. I think I guessed short, but looking for the hill lengthened out my warm-up and cool-down so I still figure I was somewhere around 5 miles.
So two lessons:
1) Tie up your dumb dog or get a fence.
2) Get some guts and don't "lose" your Garmin watch.
I did 4.5 miles at an 8:32 pace. This was a hard easy-day run. My legs were clunky and heavy from the get-go and never really worked out of it. I felt like a sandbag was in the middle of my brain cavity sloughing its weight around my ears. And I could feel the the ridge of my eyelids all along my eyeballs - they wanted to close sooooooo bad. I didn't run until the afternoon and I'm usually a morning runner so that might have been part of the reason for the tiredness. The other part comes in thirds - a 3 year old third, a 21-month old third and a 3 month old third. All of them have chosen to have sleep issues through the last couple of weeks. It would be nice if they all coordinated their issue at once - say at 2 o'clock in the morning or whenever o'clock in the morning that they agreed upon. But instead they tag-team it and one of them wakes me up every two hours like its shift work. POOOOOOR ME!!! Now my husband really is a good guy and is helpful when he isn't thousands of miles away - but he's thousands of miles away for the year. So as I said, POOOOOOOOOR ME!!! These things come and go, though. So I'm recording my sleep hours here just so I can feel all the more gratified in three to six months when I can put a big chunky 8 in the sleep box every day.
I ran from my sister's house again today. She took my three kids along with her two kids to the park while I ran (she's a trooper!). We all left at once and my three year old started running after me as I went down the street. He yelled, "Be careful Mom! I don't want you to run into those trees." "It's alright. I'll be careful. Stay with your Aunt." I ran a few more steps with my little boy huffing after me. "Be careful Mom. I don't want you to run into those cars." "Yep. I'll be careful buddy. Thanks. Stay with your Aunt." But stay with his Aunt he wouldn't. I had to walk with him to the park and then run from there. As I went running off from the park I wondered if I should be flattered that my cute boy cared enough to worry about me, or deflated because he thinks I'm such a clutz (:
I ran out at my sister's yet again. This time I ran in the morning before the sleep deprivation effects could really sink in. I wish I could blame my kids for me getting no sleep, but this time I stayed up too late talking to my sister and her husband. Unfortunately they are way too easy and fun to talk to. It kills me every time. Anyhow, I was able to keep an 8:20 pace and it felt nice and easy and relaxing. I'm not sure if I should be pushing my long-runs any harder. Right now I feel completely unintimidated by them because I know I'll let myself relax and I always hit a groove around mile two or three. By the time I get up to fifteen or sixteen miles the intimidation sets back in again, though. That's something to worry about later.
There are a lot of good qualities about where my sister lives as far as getting a running work-out is concerned. There are nice rolling hills, ubiquitous enough that a gal can't get lazy and find a flat long run route. There is very little traffic so a mother doesn't have to worry about orphaning her young children all because she didn't want to muff her pace. There are empty fields that run into a lake that you can see a snow-capped mountain range behind so some of an aesthete's running pain can be dulled by the beauty. And there are lots of other runners out on Saturday mornings to motivate an overly-competitve soul to look like and act like a fast runner. But best of all, the very, extremely best of all thing about where my sister lives for a runner is that there is lots of new construction going on. And at houses that are being constructed there are often porta-potties for the workers to use. And they are never locked. I really, really, really value that.
I ran an easy 8:40 pace. I had to use the treadmill to run tonight. Ugh. My daughter had a Dr.'s appointment in the morning so I lost my chance of running early. There were some positive things about the treadmill run though. One, it made freezing cold weather look down-right enjoyable and two...hmmm...two...uhhhhh...well at least I have some motivation to run numb-faced again.
I did get the treadmill with the remote control on it. How lucky is that - I must've done something good today. So I turned the T.V. to PBS and watched a documentary about Seabiscuit, the hero horse of the 1930's who won a big horse race after what was thought to be a career ending injury with a rider who should have been done with horses himself after some serious broken bone-age. It was all very inspiring and made me think that maybe if I lost an arm or a leg it might be easier for me to get that sub 3 hr. goal. Hopefully just running when it is really, really cold will do the self-sacrificing trick. I do wonder if the girls running around me thought I was a boring old lady for having the T.V. on PBS - snoresville.
A piece of good news: I thought I might have to move out to Baltimore where I would be babysitter-less this summer in order for my daughter to get a surgery she will need. Today I found out the surgery can be done here where we are in a place with babysitters galore. That means a fall marathon can still be in the works for me. Phewph! Oh, and there will be less disruption in my children's lives and all that not-focused on me and my needs stuff. It was a good day.
1 mile warm-up, 5x800 with 400 easy in between, 1 1/2 mile cool-down
800's at 3:22 (downhill), 3:38 (uphill), 3:26, 3:29, 3:30
I have felt invincible to the running blah's since I've returned to running from this last pregnancy. The pukes, hunting down babysitters, cool weather - nothing has discouraged me. But today when I walked outside and felt the freezing cold and thought about how I was going to have to push myself in my work-out, I was really grateful that I had my mother-in-law inside watching my kids who I want to continue to bamboozle into thinking I'm a tough girl. It's really important to me that people think that I'm unnaturally tough and so I overplay the card quite a bit which, I'm sure, just leads folks to the correct conclusion, that I'm a bit of a pansy. My labor nurses would be able to confirm on that one if you're one of the those that I've been able to pull the wool over on. I did warm up eventually, kind of, by the end of the run but I don't think I'll be putting the hat and gloves aside anymore. I was thinking that there needs to be a little loop on all winter running pants and hooks on hats and gloves so that you don't have to carry your hat in your hand once your head starts steaming up. I think I'll make that one of my future sewing projects that never happens. Consider it on the list.
I feel pretty good about the times I ran today. Of course I want some vast improvement over the next six months, but I felt like I was working hard and that's mostly what I ask of myself. Although I do wonder if I was really working as hard as I could. One thing I want to improve on in this next marathon is my mental game. I want to be a little less cautious than I have been about going at a harder pace. I'm sure the speed work-outs are the place to work on my ever-conservative, pain-fearing mind. So I'll try to keep track of my mental status on speed and hill days. Be afraid.
I'm playing catch-up AND I just realized I am posting a week behind where I should be. Wow. Do I have it together or what?? I'll just call this Thanksgiving week and skip the next week and then I should be all solved. Yipes. This 4 mile run was done in a panicked rush on a morning I was trying to get ready to go to my sisters for a few days. It was slow and unfocused - but at least I made time for it! Oh and I had another yippy dog experience. PEOPLE!!
I meant to do a 5k this morning but poor circumstances prevailed. It made me sad. I have to force myself not to get discouraged about trying to carve out running time for myself. It seems like a constant battle and infringement on others. It keeps me sane though, so I've got the motivation to keep carving.
I did 1 mile warm-up and cool-down. 4X400 hills with a 400 back down. I ran into the dog from my last hill work-out - darn dog - and I was pretty brazen about getting him home. Maybe I'll come back into this blog when I have more time and detail the whole gory story. No time now though with the baby in my lap. The hills felt decent, but the dog kept the work-out from being as intense as it should have been. Yep - blame it all on the dog.
This was a glorious, fantastic, marvelous, escapist run - just what the momma ordered. It was a pretty, cool morning. I kept an 8:12 pace and it felt like a moderate run. Again the first 2-3 miles felt stiff and slow with the last 3 feeling fast and free. I love the fast and free - just the way I was meant to be.
I came out to visit my parents for the next couple of weeks. Oh Colorado, I do love you. I did a night-time run since both of my parents work. I looped through the unfinished neighborhoods - equal part field and dream-house with a lake and a golf course to boot. Running in the dark always makes me go fast - something about not seeing the road stretching in front of me and trying to keep a step ahead of the bogeyman. I ran a moderate pace and averaged 7:54. I was good with that. My baby was screaming out of control when I got home. I've never seen him so upset. Sigh. The downside of running.
I've got to get more sleep. Its a matter of discipline.