Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured

I very rarely ever run on Sundays, but Marcie is visiting and we never get to run together - A) because I live 2000 miles away and B) because she is speedy fast.   But since she is pregnant, we figured we would be about the same pace.   We ran on the trails and through the Colonial and back.   I told her to go on ahead at about 4.75 because my hip was killing me and she took off and I slowed down a bit.   It was at this point the boredom set in....long and hot and slow and painful.   Finished up at 8.5 and Marcie got 9 in.   I miss living by her - not that SL & SG are that close but we got to see each other about once a month.   Super glad we got out, bummed that the hip hurt.  Spent the rest of the day watching conference and over indulging in food.  Pretty much a perfect day!

Avg Pace 8:20

I had really debated even running today, but decided I would take it super slow and get in some miles.  I also decided to run in my Nikes at the last minute and that was probably the best decision I have made in a while.   The hip felt great most the time and a little tight towards end, but nothing at all like Saturday or Sunday.   I ran with Jenny and Erica and we were slow but it was great to see them.  Jenny and I got to catch up and talk about El Scorcho and Marine Corps... They seem so far off, but will be here in the blink of an eye. 

I met Annette at CVS to run the Parkway Palisades simulation route.  I had woken up with some nausea but told my self it was about nice even effort, not pace.  That was the goal on the 4 x 1.13 mile of hill madness.   I did a pretty good job of maintaining even effort on the first two, but as we were finishing the second I passed two groups of people heading up the first hill.   We finished the second and started on the third, I wondered if I could catch the last group ...  caught and past about half way and then caught the first group with about .1 left to go.   Effort was harder than I wanted, but felt so good to catch them.  I took the last one a bit slower and then recovered a mile back to CVS and then a mile home.

Avg Pace 8:36

No run...Up sick in the night and sick this am.  Met with the physician and nothing alarming, mostly because some of it was shoe related.   He did some ART treatment on the bad behaving leg and then gave me some stretches.   

Dare I say a Triple?   Kinda....

AM:  Met Annette for 6 miles on farm roads.   I felt pretty good the entire time, minus the pit stop.  Had to climb over  cattle grate to find a hidden spot.   Avg Pace: 8:55

Lunch:   I had time to sneak out for a lunch time run.  4 miles in the most shade I could find.   The 82 degree temp wasn't too bad, it was the sun.   Avg Pace:  8:21

Dinner:  The Fort Worth Runner's Club was putting on an Easter Kids run for members so I took my youngest down to the park and ran with her.   She did great and finished her mile in 10:44.  We ended up staying for the egg hunt and BBQ.  It was nice to get to know other runners and just relax...I don't get to do that very often.

Annette and I met for an early run out on the farm roads.  I really enjoy running out there in the peace and quite with very little traffic.  Unfortunately there are a LOT of dogs.   Most of the dogs today were behind fences, but they were loud!    We had a good climb on mile six and then turned around and headed back.   Also, another pit stop in the fields....this has got to stop. 

I knew this week, along with the next two, would be very difficult to get runs in and it has lived up to my low expectations.   I had early flights on Monday and Tuesday and ended up only getting 3 hours of sleep Monday night.   Tuesday was a little better, but not much... here is hoping tonight will yield 6 hours.    

I headed out to meet Annette and headed straight up the hill (we live about halfway up the hill) and I had to tell myself to put one foot in front of the other and will myself up the hill...not a good omen.   I plugged along for about 2/3 mile and actually got passed by another runner ( this does not happen much, most the runners are 10+ min miles) and it was enough of a shock to wake up my legs.    I ran 2 mile to meet Annette, we did 6 miles of rolling hills and I had another mile back home.   The pace was okay -8:55 min/mile, but the effort was extremely hard and my heart rate was high most of the time.   I was completely dehydrated and exhausted.  

I spent the day at work, putting on a BBQ for the staff and then reviewing and audit we completed for a potential new client....more busy days ahead.  

AM:  6 miles with Annette.  We warmed up for 2 miles and then did 1 mile of 1 min off/ 1 min on, 1 mile of 2 min on/ 1 min off and 1 mile of 1 min on/ 1 min off.   I had wanted to target a 7:00 min pace on the on's (target 5k pace) and the on's were right there at 6:55 - 7:10.   Not to bad.   My right hip tightened up but I was able to complete with ouch much nagging.  Avg Pace 8:21

PM:  In Amarillo for work and did a 5 mile recovery run at 9:20 pace on the treadmill.  Boring.

Oh the conditions...Low 70's temp, high 70's humidity and 20 mph winds.... if I hadn't planned on meeting Annette, I would have pulled the covers up over my head and stayed in bed.   What a blessing she has been!   We met at the 9th grade center  early, early and ran 11.2 before we had volleyball.  My life used to revolve around running, now it is volleyball.   The wind helped keep things cool but it also made running south a beating.   We had a faster than expected pace, my legs are still tired from Thursday's attempt at a speed work.  

In the usual Saturday tradition, I found my way to Mexican food and ice cream.

Avg Pace 8:30

I am in Phoenix for a conference and how nice it was to be in the desert.  This makes me homesick for my SG, crisp mornings and dry air.   The plan was for an easy 6-8  but I picked it up after three.  

I headed east for 3 miles and then turned around and I figured I would add a .25 out and .25 back at each intersection I came to to get me to 8.   The way back had some down hill which helped with the pace, but really once I got down into the 7's it wasn't too hard to maintain - just hard to get there and why is that?

Splits:  9:13, 8:36, 8:12, 8:04, 7:51, 7:47, 7:33, 7:44 & 8:29 for the last .26

Avg Pace 8:08

 PM:  4 miles on the treadmill at the hotel.   Progressive starting at 10:00 min pace and ending at 8:06 min pace - speeding up every .5 mile.   Hot and sweaty. 

Easy, or what was supposed to be easy miles around Scottsdale.   Ended up a little faster than planned but felt good. 

Avg Pace 8:37

Another beautiful desert morning.  It was crisp with the scent of desert blossoms and the sun was rising....it doesn't get any better!

I had planned on taking it somewhat easy, but that went out the window pretty early on.  I ran the same route as Monday, just added a little on to the out/back piece and did not do the .25 turns.  Mile 3 was a gradual climb that I picked up the pace and went sub 8, I knew that wasn't what I had planned so I slowed Mile 4 down to just over 8 but mile 5 was right back down to sub 8.  Mostly due to the slight downhill grade but also because I was trying to pick off a runner  - accomplished!

Avg Pace 7:59

After 10 days of travel, volleyball, chaperoning and catch up at work, I finally was able to get out and run.  7 miles with Annette that were harder than they should have been but had a great pace - 8:23