Chug-along-chica!

Morning mile on treadmill at 11:15.

This evening, I tried to run a fast quarter and almost died around the 300 yd. mark.  I don't think I've ever sucked wind like that.  I've definitely noticed that my cardiovascular system holds me back much more than my legs.   I can run pretty far at an extremely slow pace, but if I go faster than 5.5 miles an hour, my breathing gets panicky.  What's the best way to strengthen cardio system? 

I'm not as sore from the race on Saturday as I thought I would be--just a little bit in the quads, and just a little less energy than usual.

Long day.  My grandpa's funeral was today. : (  I enjoyed the services, but still feel emotionally wiped out. 

Yesterday I never got around to running, so feel a little blah about that.  This morning I intended to run 2 miles while pushing a cantankerous non-jogging stroller.  I made it 1.5 miles.  That's still better than nothing, nevertheless, I felt lame.  Battling a little discouragement.  Why am I so tired?  I've been getting good sleep. . . . I do have a very sore throat, but it doesn't seem to be progressing into a real illness.  Oh well, just keep on keeping on, right?  Ying and yang. 

This evening I really enjoyed taking my 6 year old for a run.  He did a good mile at what seemed a pretty confortable pace to me--probably about 12 min.  I feel so proud of him that I didn't even think about getting tired or wanting to stop. 

Half a mile with my four year-old.  He looked really comfortable.  I didn't have to encourage him to keep running at all.  His pace is getting faster, although I can't tell exactly how much.  I am just surprised how well he is doing because he's always been my little guy with the least amount of strength.  He was diagnosed with mild low muscle tone and needed physical therapy to learn how to walk (at 18 months) and jump.  Now he is able to run a good 800!

A mile and a half by my self in the rain.   Ahhhhh it was so beautiful.  You have to be in the desert to really appreciate rain.  Everything is so still and muffled by the pattering drops.  It smells good, it sounds good, it feels good (if it's not to cold).  Yum!  I actually didn't want to stop when I finished.  Let's see, the last time I felt like that during running was  . . . NEVER.   

I wonder if part of the reason I felt so good today was that I started out super slow and sped up as I went along.  Usually I do the other way around.

Just a quick family jog to Kinkos and back.  Not too impressive.  However, I practiced the piano for 6 hours today, and if anyone on the blog can beat that, I'll eat my laptop.

Hey look at that.  I like green.  Especially on mile markers. 

I just finished 2 miles on the treadmill at 22:48.  I tried starting REALLY slow (4 miles an hour) and gradually increasing the pace to 6.5 miles an hour by the end.  I like the switching of speeds.  It almost feels like I use different muscles when I speed up a little, and I don't notice the fatigue.  I am pretty happy that I didn't labor with the breathing as I got faster.  I could still run with my mouth closed until I got up past 5.5 miles per hour--which was around the 1 mile mark.

You know another thing I like about running on a treadmill?  I watch movies on a little portable DVD player.   You know, the kind that you can put in your car?  Well, they fit perfectly on the little book rest on the treadmill.  One of the hardest things for me during running is what goes on in my head.  Without a distraction, I usually end up staring at the little screen, watching each .01 of a mile tick by.  Or if I'm at the track, I start doing infuriating fractions.  "Look, I've already done 3.25 laps and I'm going for 8.  That means I've only got 19/32nds left to go (get a pencil and paper--it's right) . . . now I've done 3.5 laps . . . ."  Good grief.  Talk about neural fatigue.  I've got to get some really great music to listen to--I bet that would help.  What do you guys think about while you run?