Back in the saddle?

Trouble sleeping last night...I am pre-blogging my anticipated 5 miles later today.  It will be on the boring treadmill, but at least I'll have my iPod!

It's a recovery week-yeah!

PM-I got it done.  I ran at 1.0 incline.  The first mile was in 9:40, and the rest were 9:31.  I'm glad that I'm able to pick up the pace a little bit, even if it is on the treadmill.

I have to pre-blog again!  I feel lazy for not getting up, but I feel very refreshed now after 9 hours of sleep!  My husband is still injured, so I'll meet him at the gym tonight: treadmill for me, elliptical trainer for him.

PM-I did it.  5 miles on the treadmill at 9:31 pace.  I must say, I feel refreshed with the extra sleep I am getting this week.  I can stand doing 5-6 miles on the treadmill, but next week I'll be pounding the pavement again.

Pre-blogging yet again.  I slept 9 hours last night!  I might do 6 tonight, but I haven't decided.

PM-chiropractic adjustment.  Hopefully my neck issues will go away...

PM-At the last minute, I decided to do mile repeats on the treadmill and get the painful workout of the week over a day early.  I started with dynamic stretching and then warmed up for 1.5 miles at about 10:30 pace.  I did all three mile repeats at 8:19 pace with .25 miles after each (took about 3 minutes).  I cooled down with another 1.5 miles between 10:30 and 11:00 pace.  Then I did the anti-sitting stretches.

I guess the good thing about the treadmill is that I am forced to keep up the pace.  On the other hand, maybe I could have gone faster.  I probably could have...a little bit.

The other good thing is all the sleep I'm getting this week!  I still get to bed around 10:00 and sleep until about 7:00!  Next week I'll be back to the 7-hour nights.

The neck issues were still there when I woke up this morning.  :-(

I am pre-blogging again.  I might do 5 miles instead.  I want to keep my mileage around 32 miles this week, and with my Saturday workout already planned, I think I just need to do 4.5 miles today and tomorrow.

I am going to start keeping track of my weight too.  The weight is starting to come off now.  I was at 142 this morning.  I have been around 145 for most of the past 1.5 years.  I would love to get back down to 135.

PM: I changed into my running clothes at work, planning to go to the gym to hit the dreadmill outside.  Then I walked outside and it didn't feel too bad.  So I called my sister, who had instant Internet access at that moment, and she said it was 99 degrees.  Below 100 degrees at 6:00 pm in Phoenix in July!  So I drove home to run outside-yippee!

I ran without the iPod (stormy looking, and I don't want to be a lightning rod), tucked ice into my hat, and went for it.  Well, 99 degrees is HOT!  I made it, though, with an average 9:44 pace.  I am VERY happy with that pace for two reasons: (1) the heat most definitely made me slow down, and (2) my legs are usually VERY tired and sluggish the day after a speed/tempo workout.  Which, of course, might also mean I could have stepped it up more yesterday.  I am finally getting faster!

I just jumped in the pool.  It felt more like a bathtub.  Now it's raining!

Ohhh, the neck.  It's so weird how something so far from my legs can affect my running.  I can barely move, so running is out of the question.  Usually it gets better throughout the day, so maybe I'll be able to get in a few miles later.  I'm bound and determined to do my 5k time trial tomorrow!

It is 87% humidity here!  I'm going to have to change my blog name!  It rained all last night-we desperately needed it!

On a positive note, my weight was down again, to 140.5 pounds.

I learned something new about myself today: I do not do well with solo time trials.  I could not even finish the 5k!  I made it 2.5 miles going about 7:55 pace, and then I thought I was going to explode.  My legs felt like jello all the way home.

Two years ago, I had a lot of mental toughness.  It is now gone, and I desperately need to get it back.  Any suggestions?

It was very humid this morning, but cooler than normal.  My neck is really jacked up too.  I still only have about 50% range of motion, even after being awake and moving around for a few hours.  The other thing is that my training wasn't very focused this week.  I think, because it was a recovery week, my brain just checked out, which is ironic because I'm kind of following a BRAIN training plan.  Ha!  I think those are the reasons for my bad run.  But, I think it was truly a mind-over-matter thing, because my body probably could have finished the 5k.  Heck, I've been running 40+ miles a week-it had better be able to. 

On my way home, I saw a really creepy-looking guy, and he stared at me in a really creepy way.  I guarantee you, if he had been following me on my bike at mile 2.5, I would have set a PR!

10 minutes later: I read some other blogs and got mad at myself for throwing in the towel.  So I went out again!  I did 3.5 miles at 8:56 pace, which I will designate as marathon pace.  Full disclosure: I actually went 4 miles but walked .5 of them.  I did the first two miles without stopping and then walked a bit.  It is 85 degrees with 57% humidity, which is a whole new feeling to get used to!  It felt good to end the week on a better note.  Time for a swim!