I Probably Should Make My Blog Public again

I skipped my 10 mile run on Sunday.  I got back to Chicago at noon, and it was already over 80.  No thanks.  

Easy miles today.  Running feels like a chore again, but it's probably because of other factors...

Ran a couple miles to the track, only to discover that there was a meet getting in the way of my planned 4 x 1600 workout (darn kids!).  I cursed briefly, and then did my 4 fast miles with a 1/4 mile recovery on the streets.  

My splits were 7:28, 7:27, 7:38, 7:38.  I felt okay with that.  It was windy through portions of the run, but somehow wind doesn't feel so bad when it's warm.  It was mid 60s.  It felt pretty good, but it was a little on the hot side.  I was thirsty when I was finished.

I'm starting Ken Follett's Fall of Giants, which I checked out from the library (digitally).  But I'll be racing the clock.  I have 13 days to read it, and it's pretty long.  I'm pretty sure I can do it in 7 days or less.  We'll see.  I'll let you know too if I liked it.  The only books of his that I read were Pillars of the Earth and World Without End.  Those were both pretty good, but I suspect very different from this one.

An easy 4, then on to Euchre night, where I lost again.  I was in the running till my partner (who happened to be my husband ) and I tanked in the last round.  There's always next time.

This run was bad.  I had tummy issues, and had to decide at regular intervals whether to continue running, trying both to clench my cheeks AND run fast, or run slower home.  I figured that I should just finish the workout and that I would get back faster if I ran faster.  But I questioned the decision regularly :)

Splits for the fast portion were 8:00, 7:59, 8:08, 7:59, 8:16,  8:03.  It did not feel good at all, but now that I'm done and relieved of the extra pounds I was carrying, I feel good.

TMI, I know.

I have a cold that is moving into my chest.  Usually when I am running I "ahem" a lot anyway, but my coughing this time around was deeper.  My throat was hurting before I started my run, but it didn't hurt on the run because it was wet.  My watch stopped at 5.7 miles.  I had a route in mind, but when I got to 6.25 miles (approx), it started pouring.  I headed home, and then the rain slowed about 10 minutes later.  So I decided to stick close to home, but ran around to add on as much as I could.  When I got home I estimated that I was just a little over 11, and I was supposed to go 12, so I ran past the house a quarter mile and then ran back.  

Before I mapped my run, I guessed I was at 11.7.  But I mapped it at 11.5, which is good enough.  I know that my run was slower today, more like recovery pace (probably around 9:30 pace based on the time I left and returned), but you can't win them all.  I actually felt strong in the end, so I'm not incredibly worried about my 1/2.  I would have liked to do the full 12, but I won't go any longer than that before the race.

Now I just hope I kick this cold before running again on Monday.