When You Don't Expect It, Something Really Cool Happens

We met a new friend last night at the track. :)

Towards the end of our run, this darling woman (in an athletic skirt, no less!) had started some walk/run intervals. When we were finished stretching and headed for the stairs, she stopped us and asked us if we knew how many laps around the track made up a mile. When I told her 13, she looked shocked, then laughed. She then went on to ask a few more questions about starting a running program, nutrition for runners, etc. She said her husband had told her about our running, and it inspired her to try it.

Incredibly awesome.

Just goes to show, you don't know what you're sending out into the universe, even when you're totally wrapped up in your own little world. Getting other people moving is a great motivator for me - I will think about this encounter every time I want to be lazy.

Ugh. I have to run 50 minutes AGAIN?

This week has been a little grueling.

Tuesday we headed to Hunstville, AL to visit the US Space and Rocket Center so we could see the latest Star Wars exhibit. Awesome, but that meant I had to get all of Monday and Tuesday's workouts done on Monday, which left me feeling a little worn out. We got home from Alabama near midnight on Tuesday night, and I had to rise and shine bright and early yesterday for my volunteer shift at the aquarium before work. Then, after work, hit the DEVO show with a friend. Another midnight homecoming. Today, I am worn the hell out.

I refuse to let my tiredness derail my training, though. It's gonna suck, but I'm running tonight, come hell or high water.

Less Easy, But Still Not Too Bad

Last night, I banged out another 50 minute run. It was not the lighthearted romp of Tuesday, that's for sure! I had to eat on the run. I had a lot on my mind. But somehow, I kept plugging away, and the minutes ticked by.

I am having a hard time imagining what it will be like to run an hour at a time.

But then, I once could not imagine running 5 minutes. So it's all relative.

Huh. That was easy!

Despite my fear of NEVER being able to make it through the 48 minute barrier (Thursday's fail really shook me up) last night's run was a breeze from start to finish. All 50 minutes of it - two of which were extra!

When I first began running, I was thinking, "This feels easy... uh oh... better be careful not to burn up all my energy early on." But I managed to keep a pretty consistent pace and I felt good -- really good.

The time flew by. When I hit the 1/2 way mark, I started questioning my own clock math. "If I started at 7:12 and end at 8:00, that's 48 minutes, right?"

My math was fine. I was just having an unusually good run. I hope I have more of them. I even sprinted the last minute. Wheeeeeee!

Performance Anxiety

Ok, after Thursday's disappointing performance and a distance run on Sunday that could only be described as half-assery, I am a little trepidatious about tonight's run. I am keenly aware that I have not had a "good" run in a week, and I worry that I might have trouble getting back up to speed, so to speak. (Using the words "run" and "speed" in the same sentence when referring to me is hilarious.)

Also, part of me wonders if I am feeling a little bit of runner burnout. I think because I am on my self-established training plan to prep for the Disneyland and Wine & Dine 1/2s, I kind of just feel like every run is just being done to check off my requirement (or in my case, use a pink highlighter on it). I hope the joy returns. It might be that I feel burned out because I seem to be hitting this developmental wall, so my brain is just associating negativity with the whole thing. In any case, I shall endeavor to move past the current blahs.

Let's just see how tonight goes.

Some Experiments Fail

Yesterday, I woke up too late to get in the sculpting workout I had planned for the morning. "No problem!" I thought. It's only a 30 minute workout -- I can wedge that in before I go running tonight.

Oh, foolish mortal.

The sculpting workout was fine, but my run suffered terribly. I hit 30 minutes and started walking. Damn! I think normally,around the 30 minute mark, my body starts cranking out endorphins and that allows me to keep going to the 48 minutes I have worked up to so far. But last night, my body was all "Um, hey, idiot, you used up your endorphins on the beginning of your run, after your 30 minutes of weight training! You're cut off!" What a stupid struggle of a learning experience!

At least now I know one more thing about what my body is willing to do.

WhyDoIBotherItis

Ok, I know that I shouldn't compare myself to others. It's stupid, and is a recipe for dismay and heartbreak. Last night, however, I was thinking as I ran about my performance and the ways it has and hasn't changed over the last couple of years. I got to wondering about how I will do in the Disneyland 1/2 in September, and then my inner Eeyore kicked in with this gem: No matter how much you train, Tricia will probably blow right past you now that she's quit smoking, whether she trains or not.
What a bitch my inner Eeyore is! That's just mean! Besides, it doesn't matter. Our first 1/2, she came in ahead of me, this last one, behind me, and it didn't really matter one bit either time. I don't know why I let my brain sass me like that sometimes.


In fat-assedness news, I am becoming progressively more angry with my scale. It's down three pounds, up five pounds, down two, up one. I know our bodies wax and wane and carry extra water for various reasons. (I do love my sodium!) Even so, the downward trend has not really happened in a while. I dropped eight lbs. right out of the gate at the end of May, but spent all of June just wobbling back and forth up and down the same five pounds, even though I'm doing everything right. Frustrato. On the upside, the body fat percentage has gone down, which does support my "water, water, everywhere" theory. Blar. I have this fantastic vision of reaching goals and having smaller numbers, but reality is not playing nice with my dreams!

Clearly, I'm traveling through a patch of negative thinking. Gotta figure out how to turn it around!

Will I Ever Have Endurance Outside? During a Race?

I can run forever indoors. Ok, not forever, but 46 minutes, at least! That often seems like forever, so I think my statement is valid.

Anyway, once I get outside, even on a lovely day, it seems I can't run nearly that long. Some of it, I know, is mental. But I also worry that I am training myself to be a wuss.

Admittedly, I have no big desire to run outside in Atlanta in July. But I need to be able to handle running outside the safety and ease of my air-conditioned indoor track.

Sigh.

I don't wanna.

Peachtree Road Race 2010...

... or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Just Follow the Crowd

Sunday was my 2nd Peachtree Road Race - 6.2 miles down Atlanta's most famous road.

The weather was lovely - much cooler than last year. The company was the same - Molly and Heather, my two lovely girls.

The race itself didn't do much for me this year. It's not the race; it's me. I just wasn't as enthused for some reason. It's possible that I'm so spoiled by Disney races that all others seem kind of meh by comparison now.

Things seemed a little more crowded this year, though I have heard other runners say the exact opposite. It's probably due in large part to the fact that we started way back in the T wave. By the time we were done, the park was insanely crowded. Brian was having trouble even getting into the park to meet us, so we left to meet him. We were routed with everyone else up 8th st. to the train station, which took a long time and was a very crowded walk. MARTA was a nightmare, though Heather had the smartypants idea to take the southbound down one station and then switch to Northbound, which was a perfect plan. There's a reason she has all those degrees.

But, once we got home, things got rolling for our cookout, which was a blast! So yay for food and friends! And oh, yeah, Independence.

One Extra Minute, and Peachtree Here We Come!

I had one of those runs last night where my mind was wandering and the time flew by. Before I knew it, I was halfway done, then only had 10 minutes left, then, I had hit the 45 minute mark and was finished... except I wanted to add one extra minute. I don't know why. Just to say I did? Just so I know I can always do a little more than I think I can? It's a mystery. But I sure feel accomplished afterward. Who knew that 60 seconds could inspire such pride?

And last night was my last run before the Peachtree Road Race on Sunday! Wooohooo! Another early early morning on MARTA, waiting at the start, and trucking through 6.2 miles of the city. Afterwards, relaxed and groovy cookout at our place! Wahoooooo!