Chug-along-chica!

I was tired tonight before starting my run. 

I could've been OCD about running a little more to get to 2, but I decided to be OCD about not running past my house instead.  : ) 

I slowed waaaay down the last half mile or so.

Wow, what a boring entry.  Here's a couple little fun facts that are interesting but also kind of disturbing (sorry, I've been reading CNN):

1.  Yesterday my 2 year old pulled off the tail of my leopard gecko that I LOVE and I was so upset about it (she's not even allowed in that room) that I couldn't sleep last night.  : (  Poor Vixo!

2.  I have a dentist appointment today and I am seriously considering going in my pajamas just because I'm tired.  I figure at least the dentist is getting paid...

Yummy evening run with James...please notice the mileSSSS I ran...new distance record this training cycle (hehe).  I felt much better than last night.  My left hip was niggling just a little when I first started, but it went away relatively quickly.  Felt that delicious runner's high around .75 and then again at the end.  It's like "I'm ALLLLLIIIIIIIIIVVVVVEEEEE!" and fully awake.  Nice.

Odd thought, I have noticed something kind of strange since I started running again: I seem to need to spit a lot more than I remember doing in the past when I ran.  Weird, huh?  I was thinking that maybe it is because this training cycle I've been almost always going with James, and James and I talk the whole way. And apparently talking a lot combined with pumping those lungs somehow equals a bunch of frothy bubbles in my mouth that I don't want to swallow. Talking a lot while running mimics rabies....a little.  Real, or not real?

I felt really good tonight.  My time was faster than usual without more effort.  I wonder if it is because I had juice for dinner (vegetable juice mixed with protein powder).

Have you ever seen the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead"?  It's kind of like "Supersize Me," except backwards.  He starts out fat and gets skinny.  It is very motivational.  And darned if it doesn't make you REALLY want to buy a juicer and start juicing.

2 miles with James in the PM.  We were so giddy tonight.  We kept laughing and horsing around.  Actually, James was the one horsing around and I was just laughing.  He teases me about my perception of the many "uphill" portions (I think I can tell if it's uphill, even when most scientific instruments probably are not sensitive enough to detect them.  I'm amazing that way. *snort*).  And I pester him about trying to crush my spirit by tending to run just 2 feet in front of me.  It's like he's an old fashioned hubby who wants his wife to walk behind him and only look at the ground and stuff.  That's why I have to occasionally attack him on our run, to assert myself...you understand, I'm sure.

You know what? I think I am quite measurablely happier since I started running again.  : ))))  But then again, really good things keep happening.  James just finished his master's thesis tonight.  Yea!  Only the verbal defense left, which is nothing by comparison.  PLUS today I got like 900 square feet of free laminate flooring.  It is really light wood, ash, I think...soooo pretty.  I am very excited to use it to replace the carpet in the bedrooms.  It should make it much nicer for my asthmatic children--fewer allergens, you know.  Not to mention how much easier it is to clean up in the middle of the night in case the kids ralph on it.  (No one can ever accuse me of not being practical!)  But I digress...

My thesis statement for this day is that it was AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWESOME!!!  Hope you having a great day too, dear reader.

Wow, dear reader, if only you could smell the citrus trees in bloom in Mesa tonight.  It is a scent so powerful and so warm and sweet; it could end war, inducing everyone to sit, just quietly, and smell the flowers. (2 pts. if you can identify the quote.)  Unfortunately, my son is allergic to orange blossom, and he has breathing issues, so it's a mixed blessing for us. 

This morning was the TR5K for Values, which is a 5K fundraiser for the youth group at our church, where I volunteer (Mormonspeak=YW calling).  I was in charge of timing, and I was a real stress case yesterday, trying to figure out the computer program (racetimer.org) and prepare for any crazy situations, but everything went well.  Actually, it was so inspiring.  I almost cried, like I've been missing running so much all this time. 

Most of the people who ran the 5K were really just trying to support our young women (so sweet--dads running with their kids and so forth.)  Kids  were free. We did draw one elite couple, though, which totally made my day.  It was the lady's first race after having a baby and she pulled out a 19:22, which was good enough for 1st overall.  Now, if you had asked me yesterday what would make the race 3 thousand times more wonderful for me to watch, I would've said "for a chica to win 1st overall"  so I was super excited.  Her name is Dannika Braun, does anyone know her?  Her husband is super elite, spondered by Adidas and everything.  He didn't officially run, but he ran the course as a tempo run, and, I KID YOU NOT, he did the full 3.1 in 13:XX.  He is doing the Olympic trials (in 5K?).  They were a really nice couple from Flagstaff and all the runners from our church were super inspired to have them there.  Several people said that they want to do it again next year and maybe even take up running, which was very gratifying.  I'm so glad we did this instead of a dessert auction or something yucky like that. Overall, the race went off without a hitch, and it was a great experience to be involved.  I wish I could've run it.

BTW James won his age division with a 23:11 (which is just mostly jogging for him--he had to take it kind of easy because of his calf problem).  He came in 4th overall. 

Camille did this race too, which was GREAT!  Always fun to see her.  She was in Dannika's age group, dabnabitall.