I Probably Should Make My Blog Public again

I accidentally set my alarm for 4:30 instead of 5:30.  I groggily turned the alarm off, so I punished myself by running in the afternoon in hot, windy, humid, and sunny conditions (81 degrees, wind in gusts of 18-24 mph, 70% humidity).  I wanted to do some tempo running once I ran a couple miles, but I just couldn't get my pace where I wanted it.

First 2.1 miles averaged 8:45 pace (but the first 1.1 miles were more like 9-9:15 pace).  Then in my tempo portion, I ran 7:09 and 7:37.  Both too fast (I was shooting for just under 8).  I don't know why I had such trouble hitting the pace because both felt too fast.  Like, they felt really bad.

Then I cooled down (but I really didn't cool down--it was icky) at 9:15 pace.

An easy run to the track (2.25) and then one fast mile on the track (7:25) that felt incredibly comfortable and then the rest was nice and easy.

Going out I knew I just wanted a slow run, but I wasn't sure the distance.  It was a lot hotter than last night; it was 81 degrees with a humidity of 59% when I started, but humidity climbed to 65% and temp dropped a couple degrees by the time I finished.  So I just went by what I could do.  I did my usual 6.25 mile route, and felt okay, so I added a mile before coming back home.  Average pace:  just over 9 min.

My back is bothering me lately (probably a combo of increased mileage and picking up Eli) so after 4 miles I stopped to stretch out my back.  I was laying flat on my back and a car stopped and asked me if I was okay.  That was sweet, but also kinda embarrassing.

I had a lot to think about on this run.  First and foremost was that I forgot to let my SIL's dog out on Monday, and even though I apologized profusely and he didn't have an accident, my SIL is really mad.  My husband thinks I should apologize again.  Then when I was thinking about how guilty I feel about forgetting in the first place, I realized I was going slower, so I thought about the info I am covering in the classes I'm taking.  They are all about leadership style and whatnot.  Interesting.  I had to take a whole bunch of quizzes to figure out my leadership style, and apparently I believe people are mostly lazy and a leader has to threaten them to make them do work (I don't actually believe that).  But at least the quizzes make me think.

Remember when my principal (in not these exact words) told me he would never hire me as dean?  Well today he brought me in his office and told me that they weren't hiring a new dean for next year, but they were keeping the position as a possibility and I should hurry up and finish my degree, and then asked, "You understand what I'm telling you?"  Talk about mixed signals.

A nice run on a nice evening.  It was rather windy, but a lot cooler than it's been recently.  

The track is on my 4 mile route, so I started the route and stopped after a bit less than 2 miles at the track.  I stretched well, concentrating mostly on working the kinks out of my lower back.  It feels a little better, but it still sore.  So are my hips, so I made sure to stretch my hip flexors and ITB better than I have been later.

Then I did 400 intervals for 3 miles (6x400 fast with another 400 after each effort).  I was shooting for 1:49 on each.  My times were 1:40, 1:49, 1:50, 1:48, 1:44, 1:45.  After I finished my 3 miles on the track I went the rest of my route home.  It is gearing up to storm, so it was getting windier towards the end of the run.  It felt good, even though it made me slower.

2 miles with a crabby kid on a bike and another in the jogging stroller.  We stopped at a couple parks along the way.  It was not much of a run.

As soon as I started my warm up, I threw all expectations for this race out the window.  I have never run this trail before and I ran my warm up with a school parent.  I had already done a bit on my own, but we ran 2 miles along the trail. 

You know that a race is going to be interesting when the explanations of the trail along certain miles call them "butt kickers" (except they used the other term).  I knew from running along the first mile of the trail that it was rough.

I started off too slow--I was running with a school friend and I didn't know her pace.  After about 1/2 mile I said my goodbyes and sped up a little bit.  But even at a good effort, the trail kept my pace in check.  Lots of rough terrain, mud, hills, etc.  But it was a great time.  The trails were narrow, but I was still able to do a lot of passing and was only passed twice.

The last 1.5 miles was flat and open, so I was able to go faster.  At the end I kicked it because I had just passed a couple of women and I didn't want to be overtaken by anyone.  It was a good workout and now that I know the conditions a bit better, I'll have expectations for next year.