I Probably Should Make My Blog Public again

Ran in Chicago today.  Saw another woman 3 times on my run--had just enough time to figure out that we're both running the Chicago marathon.

I had a baptism today, had limited time to run, but I'm okay with what I got in.  This run felt easy.  When I first started I wasn't in a running mood, but after I stopped for a bathroom break (during which I went to the bathroom and then helped Chuck with the kids) I felt better.  By the time I was done, I wished that I hadn't put off my run for 1/2 hour while I supposedly digested, but really was just dragging my feet. 

Oh well.  Coulda, shoulda, woulda...didn't. 

Ran with the kids today.  Warmed up for 10 minutes, pushed it harder for 20 min, then cooled down for 15 minutes.  I'm just guessing on the distance--it might have been a little longer than 5 miles.

Ran a little on the course during the races today.  Not too much, but enough so I won't feel too guilty.  I may or may not run tomorrow--there's a cold going around at school and I felt it coming on today.  If I feel good I might run in the morning, but tomorrow's going to be a long day...parent open house.  Gotta put on my prettiest smile and pretend I love my students (ha).

I was running with the team today, so I kinda lost count on how many 400s I did.  My mileage might not be accurate.

I did a 3/4 mile warmup.  Then I did 400 repeats.  I started running with a group that was doing 90s to 100s per 400.  I did have to bow out of their group occasionally to check on some of the faster and slower groups, but even if I ran with another group, most of my 400s were still in the 90s.  They did 12 400s, I maybe did 7 or 8 with this group and a couple odd 400s with other groups.

Once my group was finished I ran with the slower group on their last 3.  They were running about 2 minutes.  For the last 3 I ran with a girl who struggles to run at 10 min pace--she hasn't broken 30 minutes for a race yet this year--and that's what her 400s were supposed to be.  I told her I'd pace her because my easy pace is 10 min.  I ran the 400s much faster than I thought (2 min each), but she kept with me the whole way.

She was excited. 

That's what I love about running and coaching--all runners, even slower ones, are pushing to do better than they think they can do.  I hate when people chastise slower runners or look down on them, or worse yet, drive them away from XC teams.  There's always room for plenty of ability levels on my team.

Did the warmup and cool down but in between I supervised the prerace 200s!

I'm tired of feeling sick and I'm tired of the rain.  I have a head cold and a cough, which is making it hard to breathe while running.

I got to the meet early and ran the course before the team got there.  Afterward my head hurt.  But medicine helped.  The course was wet and muddy, even before all the teams got to PBL.  My shoes were soaked and I wore flip flops once the kids started racing--I walked a lot, probably 3 or 4 miles (there were 5 races today).

Usually this course is fast, but several factors led to mostly difficult races for my runners.  The conditions were only part of it, but a lot of them are having issues with mental toughness.  The tension between me and my assistant isn't helping on that front.  But a few of them looked good out there.

I'm planning a long run tomorrow, but I am feeling severely run down.  I guess I'm not going to set a distance--I'm just going to make sure that I get in as many miles as I possibly can.  I'm going to push myself, but not to the point where I can't function for the rest of the day (especially because I have homework and planning to do!  Yay!  I love working 7 days a week!).  We'll see how it goes.

I hate being in the position where I have to either run the distance and possibly prolong my cold or cut my run short, risking wimpiness.