Running in the Rockies

I thought it was going to be cold today, so I took a long sleeve shirt but it turned out to be too much. By the time I went it was 50 degrees with no wind and plenty of sun. Beautiful day for a run! I went 2 miles at a slower pace but with NO walking!!!!! It's funny -- it seems that if I can get past my halfway point without walking, then I can always make it home without walking. It's that first half that's the hardest mentally, and even physically, for me.

Good run this afternoon. No walking and no pain!!! The only problem with waiting to go running until it warms up a little is that I don't end up showering till the afternnon and I feel like a sloth the whole morning. I might have to figure something else out. I went today at 1:00 and it was 45 degrees. Running much colder than that is tough; after I run, I end up coughing for the rest of the day. So. . . we'll see.

Today I might've had an inkling of what the "zone" feels like. On my second mile, I realized that I didn't have to convince my legs to keep going - it was just automatic and my breathing had finally found a rhythm that wasn't so close to huffing and puffing. It was quite an epiphany, actually.

I had a couple of firsts today!!! First time to run 3.1 miles without ANY walking! First time to run in the early evening as the sun was setting (I'm a bit of a safety freak - I always vary my running time and route)! And it was my first week to run 4 days in a row!!! Yea!!!!

5K in 37:07 minutes - only about 30 seconds slower than my race, which I was very happy about! My splits were:

1 - 11:25

2 - 12:39 (gradual uphill the whole time)

3 - 11:57

I started walking after the 3.1 benchmark and then stopped to talk to a neighbor, so my other times are not very helpful. The only problem I had on this run was with my back ... well, actually my rib! This silly rib has been giving me problems off and on for a month now. It usually only bugs me when I cough; but after 3 miles, I couldn't breathe deeply without being in a lot of pain. So when I came home, I massaged it, and now I'm feeling much better. But it's probably time to head back to the chiropractor. I think the rib issue is just an occupational hazard of having little ones to pick up all the time, plus I'm still nursing. But other than the rib - no knee or hip problems, no walking, and I'm feeling great!!!!

I finally broke my 7 week record of not running on Mondays today. (It's about time!!!) Both babies were asleep and the weather's unusually warm this morning, so I turned the baby monitors up loud for my husband to hear and headed out the door!!

Beautiful morning - a little chilly with the wind - but sunny and happy. No walking again today! Brent, you were right about the 3 mile hurdle. Now that I've gone 3 miles, I certainly don't want to wimp out on the 2 milers. I feel like I'm finally improving. The first 2 months felt like such slow progress, it almost felt like a hopeless cause. But now I'm more confident and stronger!

It was a beautiful, warm autumn day - amazing for November! Unfortunately it was one of those days that I hung out in my sweats all day without showering ... waiting for an opportunity to run; but it paid off! Two miles on a dirt path. No walking. I didn't take the Garmin today - just the iPod. I had to put a few new songs on since I was getting tired of the same old tunes.

Nothing really eventful in my run today. Two miles - no walking - nice temperature - felt good. I'm tired this evening, though ... and grumpy, truth be told. :o)

5K in 35:22!!!!! That's over a minute faster than my race time!!!! Woohoo! It's funny; I thought I was doing terrible. The first mile and a half were on a gradual uphill and I wasn't sure I was going to make it without walking; and then the way home was getting dark and I couldn't check my pace. So, when I finally looked at 3.1 miles, I was soooo surprised and happy!

I've thought a lot about what you said, Brent. I'm going to work to make sure none of my runs are "uneventful." I can see that feeling blah about my running will lead to not wanting to run more - and then stopping eventually. So, I'm going to look for something in each run that makes it eventful and interesting! I told this to Lybi and she said I could always TP a car or something. ha,ha - probably not what you had in mind, huh, Brent! But it sure would make it eventful!! ;o)

Woohoo, I ran on a Monday again! I took the heart rate monitor today, just for kicks. I'm quite certain now that my route is downhill on the way home because my heart rate kept getting lower and lower as I headed home. But I was actually surprised the my actual heart rate was not much lower than it was over a month ago. I still get up in the 170 range, and even 180's when I'm really dying (steep uphill). But on my way home, when I'm warmed up and going slightly downhill, my heart rate was in the 150's and 160's. So I'm not sure if my cardio has really improved yet or not. I know my will power has improved - to push through the desire to walk. But I think I'll check my heart rate again in a month or so.

My pace is still pretty consistent - average 11:52 (faster for downhill stretches, and slower for uphill, obviously).

It's been a loooong week! My husband has been out of town and my oldest daughter has been throwing up and had diarrhea 3 times this week. I know that I could've done aerobics after the kids went to bed at night, but I never seemed to have it in me. So today, I think I headed out for my run within an hour of him getting home! It was a tough run (which I knew it would be since I haven't been out since Monday!) but my pace didn't suffer and I still didn't walk. So, here's for husbands coming home from business trips!!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!

(My poor husband -- when he finally got home, all 3 children had been crying/screaming for the last hour and a half and nothing I could do was enough; I could comfort 2 of them, but the third would be crying! So by the time he got home, I was in tears to see him too! I told him that I was so happy to have him home, even if -for the moment - it was 95% because he could help me!! Long week.)

I got out earlier this morning and was feeling great, but started to feel so tired that I turned around early (I was afraid I would wimp out and start walking). But when I got to my street, I was bummed that I wouldn't have at least 2 miles, so I kept running. And then I kept telling myself that I would run to a certain spot and then turn around, but when I got there I kept going!! ha,ha! So, I ended up getting a decent run in anyway! I sure have felt tired and wasted all day -- maybe I'm coming down with what my daughters have. Eeech.

Ave pace: 11:39

I'm not even going to make excuses for last week. Even though it was cold, I could've done aerobics or the elliptical. So . . . moving forward! I'm determined to run every day this week!!!!

Today's run was very slow and highlighted by many dogs scaring the life out of me! I don't usually have a problem with dogs, but today, I must've smelled especially suspicious. When I got home, I couldn't find my husband or the girls but I noticed there was a voice mail; when I checked it, it was my husband!! He had forgotten a doctor's appointment and, since I never carry my phone when I run, he had to take both babies to his appointment. Poor Daddy! I've had to do that many times and it is so un-fun. ;o)

I didn't have much time between having the missionaries over for lunch and a doctor's appointment, but I didn't want to fail on my goal on the 2nd day! So, I ran to my friend's house to lend her a book. Although it was a short run, it was a mammoth hill (I have conveniently avoided going that direction on all my runs just to avoid it!)

I'm terrible at remembering to eat after my runs. Yesterday, I only ate a granola bar after my run, and that evening I kept feeling sick and ache-y until after dinner. Ridiculous, huh? I thought I was just getting more sick (I have a sore throat and the sniffles - who doesn't this time of year!?!) but when I felt better after eating, I knew I had not replenished my system enough after running. Duh.

My doctor's appt was yuck. I've had a stye in my eye ever since February and it has never gone away! So, I finally had it lanced today. Yuck. I hate eye things!!! I was white knuckling it and almost hyperventilating during the whole procedure. I hope I NEVER have to do that again!

Man, I have GOT to remember to take gloves tomorrow! Yesterday and today, my hands were freezing for the first mile. Luckily, I finally warm up; but it sure is uncomfortable! It's above freezing when I go, but it's been windy lately.

I'm apparently very clumsy these days: yesterday I tumbled down the stairs and today I tripped and fell on my run (on the gravel, as I was turning around). When I first started this run, my shoulders were so sore from my lovely fall down the stairs that I was practically grunting! But after a while, the pain subsided. So, it was actually a nice run today, even considering the soreness in my back and the fall. It's weird when you can say that, huh? But when I came home and was stretching out, I was thinking how much I'm enjoying running.

It was much warmer today so I didn't need to try running with gloves, but it was so windy that I almost lost my hat a couple times! I don't know if it was because of the wind, or my last 2 weeks of slacking, or the handful of contraband Oreo's before my run (that gave me a slight cramp the whole time-- though still worth it!) but I couldn't seem to go very fast. So I just went as fast as my body wanted to go, which was only 12:26 ave pace. After my run and stretching, I took a really hot bath instead of a shower and right now I feel GREAT!!! The bath helped the muscles that were still tender from my many tumbles lately. Although it was hard to get out the door today, I feel great now!

Went running today with gloves and it made a big difference! I only went 2 miles so I can go a little longer tomorrow. Nice run - felt good! Gotta go make dinner ...