With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams...

Did warm ups inside, then ran the first mile slow...10:47 pace.  Things were feeling great so I picked up the pace.  9:15 then 8:53 to finish up.  The moon was so bright outside this morning, it was beautiful.  Then as I was running back home, I could see the sunlight starting to light up the eastern sky.  It was breath-taking.  I've missed the sunlight during the dark winter.  I'm going to be enjoying it during my morning runs for the next two weeks until daylight savings time pulls that rug out from under me.

Stretching & strengthening after.

Loving the running, but still not in love with 4:30 am.  So I got up at 5 and knocked out 4 miles.  Overcast- the moon was giving off such a faint glow through the clouds it was hard to find it.

Tempo was 10:06, 9:08, 9:02, 8:56.  Lost my red blinking light that I wear on my reflective belt, so when I got home I had to jump in the car and drive my route to see if I could find it.  As i was driving I remembered one point in the run when I felt something on my leg, but I just thought it was a stray branch.  I drove to that point, and there was my little red blinker, face down in the grass.  I never would have found it if I hadn't remembered that spot.  So hooray for small miracles!

Strengthening and stretching after...warmed up inside before. Great day.  Missed the morning lights coming up when I was running because of the clouds, but when I was driving home from my lost blinking light adventure, the sky had turned a very pretty violet inbetween the clouds.  Beautiful. 

2 hour school delay, so I stayed up late, and slept in late, but didn't really net any extra sleep hours. 

It was nice to run in the daylight, although it was really overcast and I didn't get to enjoy the sun or the moon.

6 miles  35^o - 9:58 for the first mile, then the others were around 9mm.  The last .8 I was trying to go a little faster and had 8:29.

Stretching & strengthing. 

headed out a little earlier than I have been going this week- so no sunshine on my shoulders-

snooze button took up 2 miles worth of time, so I only got 4, but I tried to make them count

paces 10:08, 8:58, 8:35, 8:10         didn't have time for strengthening..I'll have to do it tonight

Went on an out and back on a less traveled road out in the country.  No real shoulder on the road, but it wasn't very busy and we ran in the grass/dirt when we needed to.

went pretty slow, which was great because I wanted to go easy on my hip.  paces were between 10:55 and 10:06..averaged about 10:30.  Ran with a friend and Mr. rode the bike along with us for support/safety. 

It's a good thing too, because just after mile 4, a HUGE sheep came darting out of a driveway and started running out after us!  No joke about the sheep, but he wasn't a real threat...a car came by and he stopped and went back to his own yard.  He was plopped down like a huge pile of fluffy stink when we ran back.  I guess all the excitement wore him out.

 Got to have a meet & greet with a mule & couple of horses too.

Nice run, great memories. 

4 mile progressive run

no problems, nice run

I was going to do 6, but when my alarm went off I said, I don't need to run 6 miles today.  3 will be fine.  Then I went back to bed. 

I was enjoying my run and kind of regretted not having enough time to run longer.  I wonder if that will help motivate me out of bed tomorrow.  Did a slower pace today on purpose because I want to try some speed work tomorrow.

37 degrees out this morning, but it's supposed to be 70 after work.  YEAH!!!

Didn't have a real plan other than just going fast every now and then...

My first fast section was .79 miles...too long.  I got really tired from that one.  Then I kept the sprint bits shorter after that.  .2 to .3. 

My avg pace was 9:03.  Fast times were around 7, slow around 9:40.

good run, but I guess the pollen was out strong because I'm in allergy prison now

best of all ..... 56 degrees at 4:45 am.  Yeah, baby, yeah.

Rest last night was wonderful.

4 miles @ a comfortable pace...kind of a recovery from yesterday.

9:47, 9:20, 9:06, 9:06

54 degrees at 5:15 am.  

fun country run again..... 

got a "welcome to the neighborhood," got to help Mr. find his way out of the ditch he drove into on his way to see us (our running splendor distracted him too much and down he went...), and took a pit stop at the Hardees for a drink refill and to snag a few fries off Mr's plate....

probably one of the more interesting runs I've ever been on..........  love that country runnin'

avg pace 10:10.  Up from 10:30 last week. 

nice walk..tree blossoms are just starting to burst...color will be great next saturday

lots of daffodils up & out...mine are getting there

some strengthening at night

dark again....no moon.....

progressive run from 9:47-9:04

strengthening/stretching

They say the pathway to hell is paved with good intentions.  I hope the pavement isn't too hard on my knees.  Mr said he's driving the bus there, so maybe I'll just get a ride from him when I can't run anymore.

my 4 am wake up call for an early run so I could try and help little one understand algebraic equations before school turned into and epic mother failure with sleep, a quick run, and no math (which didn't bother said child at all).

45 degrees & black as the pit from pole to pole

8:55, 7:50, 7:40 (last .5)

warm up was over 10, but the other 4 were at a 9:30 average pace...

little cooler at 38* than it has been, but I can't complain because it's above freezing & there's no snow

Got in a groove at one point and wasn't paying attention to which way I was supposed to be going..I ended up taking a short cut, but I figured out a way to make it up and still get home around the 5 mile mark.  Funny how my legs just take over and let my brain sleep.

Warm up for a mile, then I ran a comfortable pace for the straight parts, and when there was a circle, or spoke off the main road, I would try and sprint on those parts.  They ranged from 460 feet to .38 of a mile. 

average pace overall was just over 9.  I think my average slower running speed was around 9:35 and the average of my 8 sprints was 7:35.  My sprints last week were faster, and I wonder if I was slower today because I did speed work on Tuesday too.  Either way, I feel like I'm done with speed work for a while.  It felt good to do, but it wears me out more than my normal piddley-runs.

Not sure about the temp outside, but it had just sprinkled a little, and smelled like it was going to rain.  There's a word to describe the smell of "going to rain," but I can't remember it.  It's something you smell more often in the desert than out here..it was like comfort food for my nose.

15 miles avg pace overall 10:02...a little faster than last week...

sunshine, nice weather-60s to 70s

all the flowering trees are in full bloom...it's beautiful

ran with squatting dog while her mr & my mr rode bikes behind us and taunted us...good fun

passed "dolly" the sheep's house...she was hanging out in the shade by the watering hole with a goat & didn't pay any attention to us, but we gave her a shout out as we ran by

had a little trouble driving the car into the garage with the bike still mounted on top....oops

looks like we'll be in the business for shopping around for a new roof rack, bike rack,, primer/putty & auto paint.......never a dull Saturday run 4 us.  We thought we'd missed the boat when we were driving home and nothing interesting had happened. Forgot to knock on wood.    We'll laugh about it someday.

Went to Civil War re-enactment.  Not as captivating as I'd imagined....or maybe it's just not like I remember it being portrayed on tv/movies.  It was something interesting to see, glad I was able to go.

Found a book for sale in one of the tents.  It is titled "What's a Poor Girl To Do? Prostitution In the Mid-Nineteenth Century."  Very informative.  Not quite Oprah book club material, but still something new to "expand my horizons."

short on time..sounds like a broken record

nice and warm...in the 60's, but windy

warm up mile was 10:1?, then 9:07, 9:01 for the next two miles

The record is still broken.  I guess it's going to be chauffer week for me in the am, so unless something really inspires me to wake up before 430, my miles will be lower in the morning.

But that's okay, because it's just for a week and I CAN do it!

paces 9:40, 8:20, 8:01

stretched a little, but didn't get any strengthening in...other chauffering to be done today

How horrible will I rate on the "mother as a failure" scale if I sneak in 2 miles after work and miss the first 20 minutes of mini-me's soccer game?   Do I get any extra points since I found the shin guards at home on the bathroom floor and delivered them to the school? 

ran slow for a mini "recovery" run.  paces were 11, 9:50, 10

 tried to run in the pm.  It was freakin' gorgeous outside.  Sunny, 75, blossoms on everything.  I accidently left my watch in the house, and by the time I noticed, I didn't want to have to go back in for it.  I decided to just run very easy and get some great sunshine miles in.

Whether it was from lack of sleep build up, being worn out, being dehydrated (I really don't see how), or too much Texas Pete on my chili at lunch, I started having some real troubles about a mile into my run.  My head felt disconnected, and sort of dizzy.  It didn't get any better, so just after mile 2, I thought I'd try walking for a while to see if it would help.  It did help, but I just walked home instead of trying to fit in another mile somewhere along the way.  My goal had been 4, so I didn't meet my goal.  Got home, pulled some weeds & had some gatorade type stuff.  

 Maybe it's something in the air.  The flowers on the trees were putting off some strong smells.  Those flowering pear trees are soooo beautiful, but holy cow, they smell horrible!

 Mini me helped me cook dinner & we treated ourselves to dinner on the sofa while we watched New Moon again. (the boys were both doing other things). 

 Nothing productive accomplished, but it was nice to chill.  I even got to put her hair up in curlers :-)  Good times.  Way better than two more miles.

Hopefully this is my last seminary day for a while.

Went easy because I've got a long run tomorrow.  Ended up being progression.

10:40, 9:35, 9:30, 9:02 (last .45)

warm weather - had just rained and was nice outside

What a beautiful day for a run!  Not too hot, sunshine, a little wind, & great running company.

It's been a couple months since I've run distance like 17.  Funny how there's such a difference between 13 and 17 miles.  I felt those tired legs kicking in around mile 15, but it was so nice to have that feeling again. 

Had to zip off right after the run so I didn't have time to cool down/stretch out properly.  I felt it later that day

Avg pace: 10:11. We had great paces the first few miles, and gradually slowed down.  The last couple we went considerably slower...it's the first time my friend has run more than 15 miles, so it was a challenge.  But how neat to be with her to experience the new higher mileage mark!

The route her husband pick out for us was great.  Half of it was totally new country livin' roads.  There were quite a few times I looked out and saw the farm houses in the middle of the fields surrounded by big flowering trees, and I wanted to capture the moment to keep forever.  It will be one of those visual images I look back on and remember fondly. 

I hear he's already got a new route planned for us.  It will be another adventure to love :-)

No stray barnyard animals, ditches, or torqued bike mounts & luggage racks.  Mr. stayed home for much needed sleep.  We missed him :-(

2 mile easy walk to help wake me up and work out any of the left over aches from Saturday

Beautiful morning.  Took my jacket off after mile one.  Lovin the Spring.

I found that other excuse I was looking for!

Someone has a birthday at our house today, and I wasn't prepared for it. So I went out early to get back in time for a shower & trip to wally-world for b-day b-fast and treats.  So up at 4:10 am, but I still only had time for 3 miles due to warm ups, cool down, and showering before 5:30 take off for seminary.

It was warm outside, so I didn't wear a jacket.  It was also lightly raining when I started out.  No biggie, I just watched out for the puddles on the road to keep my feet dry.

By .75 miles, the rain picked up....and by picked up, I mean turned into a torrential downpour.  I was getting drenched, but still trying to avoid the puddles.  Until I took a turn on a darker street's corner and landed ankle deep in a puddle.  Then the game was over, and I just decided to have fun.  Everything I had on was soaking wet, and my shoes were full of water.  I had to take of my glasses because the wind was blowing the rain everywhere.  Then I just had fun running in the rain.  It was renewing in a way & I ended up really enjoying it.  Who would have known my rainy Monday morning run would be so fun?

Just as I finished my run, the torrential rain let up and turned back to the sprinkle rain.  I guess the monsoon was just a little gift for me :-)

Paces were 9:50 for warm up, then 9:05 (a little faster than I wanted) and 9:13.  Hard to think about pace & form when you can't focus. 

Lucky for me I had my new pink Mizunos in the closet waiting to be broken in, because my shoes from yesterday are still saturated/soaked from the rain puddles.

Pinky Gladys Gutzman- because Pinky is my favorite color....a little shout out to my favorite kindergarten student Junie B. Jones.

No rain, no clouds, awesome moon that lit up the night.  Shorts & light jacket.  Perfect weather.

Just ran a comfortable pace.  Overall pace was 9:28. 

Some people in our 'hood are already running their sprinklers in the mornings.  Which confuses me since we got 1.5 inches yesterday.....but what do I know?

Monday's shoes are still damp.  So Pinky and I went out again this morning.  Paced a little faster, and tried some speed work, but ran into a cramp on the back of my knee where my brace is.  I think the brace was too tight, and that caused the cramp.  So I stretched out the cramp, loosened up the strap and just ran the faster pace without the speed work. 

Average pace was around 9:05. 

The moon was brilliant.  Enjoying my time with it this week.