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

Every intention of running 6 miles.  Didn't intend on hot hot humid weather slowing me down.

Started out with MR.  After 1.4 mile of running, we had to walk/run and decided to just head home so he could get on the bike.  His calf is still bothering him. 

Got home, got ice water in the water bottle and tried to head out for the next 4.  Ran a mile, had to take a walk break to try and cool off. Repeat.  After I ran 4.1 miles, I just decided it wasn't worth making myself sick to keep running.  I walked another mile plus, then jogged home making my total 4.7 miles running and probably around 2 miles of walking. 

When I got home, we did a couple hours of yard work and called it quits.  It took me a couple more hours until I didn't feel sick from overheating.  I wasn't expecting July heat & humidity in September. 

Woke up early to try and beat the heat.  It was humid and foggy, but I stayed out of the sun for the first half of the run.

MR rode along and we found something stinky... upon closer examination we saw it was really a dead dog someone had thrown in a trash bag and tossed on the side of the road.  It made me sad.  Who would do that?

ugh.  Early dark foggy wet warm humid.  I miss the moon and the stars- darn fog has been ruining my dark runs for a week now.

Just glad to be back at it.

90 minute elliptical workout

first 30 min warming up, then 1 hour with the heat on

Another early morning 5.  Humid and too warm, even in the dark.  Someone said the words "cold front" and I got so excited I almost forgot I was a pirate.  

Nothing dead to report, but I liked this:

  My knees and piriformis wanted a break.  I almost had a mutiny on my hands- we went to mediation and had to compromise on an extra hour in bed, then walking to the front room for another hour in the recliner.  At least I got that walk in :-)

Finally got an awesome run in with Wyatt.  It was totally worth waking up at 5 am on a Saturday for!!  We had so much to talk about that we could have run another 8 miles just to fit it all in.  Good reason for another run next weekend.

We stopped to stretch for a minute after mile 6, but other than that, just kept on running.  I was glad I was able to run the 8.  In fact, I didn't even realize we'd finished the 8 until she asked what we were at, and it was 8.1 so we walked to cool down the rest of the way back to her house.

Greek Festival for a treat in the afternoon.  Baklava sundaes are super awesome!!

20 minutes on elliptical in the morning, then a 2 mile walk with MR in the evening

legs were still a little sore from Saturday, but I was so excited that it was cool outside I couldn't stop myself from running!!  It was actually under 60 degrees!  Man oh man oh manishevitz - I couldn't help but be happy I finally had a nice cool morning run, and there was a clear sky so I got to see the stars too.  Not sure where the moon is, but I'm keeping an eye out for him.

I didn't watch the garmin, just ran according to how I felt.  I tried to keep a good pace and wanted to run at what felt like "running" as opposed to "jogging."  I was glad I was able to run the whole time at a good pace.  Great morning, good run.

2 mile walk in the pm with MR.

20 minutes on elliptical in the early morning, then got mini-me off to school with some pancakes and coffee cake for breakfast before I went on a run.  It was around 8, so the sun was up but it was still nice a cool outside.  I am loving the nice morning weather :-)

MR rode the bike while I ran.  I ran easier today than yesterday, not sure what kind of runs I want to do on what days yet.  I'm just kind of running by feel for now. 

Ran home from work today for my workout.  The sun was out, but it wasn't too hot- and a little breeze helped with the cooling as well.  It really was perfect!

It's just under 5 miles to my house, but I was enjoying the run so much that when I got home, I took a loop around the block to make it 6.  One of those amazing days when the running feels effortless and the weather was wonderful.

Guess who finally got to see this morning?  My long lost friend Mr. Moon!!!!!

That's him smiling at me from above the trees.

Nice cool morning, beautiful stars & moon with an amazing show as the sun painted the sky with colors of light.

I was worried my legs would be tired after the 6 last night, but they were great.  I've really had a good week of running this week.  Wish they could all be this amazing.

20 min elliptical and a quick kettle ball workout video.  going to try 10 miles tomorrow.

Got up and out early with Wyatt to try our hand at 10 miles.  Nice cool morning with just a little fog.  It was dark when we started out, so we had our headlamps on to let the cars know we were "sharing" the road with them.  It's been a really, really long time since I've run 10 miles.  Maybe since May, I can't even remember it was so long ago.

We went out and back and took the quieter of the few different roads so we could run and chat without cars bothering us.  On our route back, someone had let their pit-bull dog out in their yard.  He ran out chasing at us, and came out into the road with his lips pulled back and his teeth showing.  Not really looking friendly, and from the sound of his growling and barking, not sounding friendly either.  I sprayed my pepper spray as he was approaching me, and he turned away a little, but came right back at us (we were standing in the middle of the road by now).  So Wyatt, in true-grit fashion, fired a warning shot into the air.  That got his attention.  It also got the attention of his owner who came out from the back of his trailer (surprise) and called at the dog.  Wyatt yelled, "I didn't want to hurt your dog, so I fired into the air."  Owner answered "Thank you," and we were on our way again with a little pep in our step from the adrenalin pulsing through our veins. 

A man drives by later asking if we were the ones yelling at the dog.  Umm..yes!  Then he says that old familiar phrase, "Don't worry, that dog won't bite you."  Puh-leeze.  I am really tired of being told that by people as an excuse for them to let their dogs chase out into the road after me with their fangs showing and barking at me like I were a baked rabbit.  Just keep your dogs in your yard or on a leash.  They're dogs after all, and don't have the same ability to reason that a human should have.  I'd like to bite their owners.

Came home, cleaned out the garage with MR and went to a very sad local ren-fair where the best part of the whole fair was when the crazy lady started screaming at a female soldier (who was in uniform) during the horrible sword swallowing act.  It never amounted to anything more than a one-sided screaming match, but crazy kept coming back for more and I really wish someone would have hit her with a tazer.  One more dream that never came true.

I am glad I was able to get the 10 miles in, but I can feel that the day after, my muscles are terribly sore.  It was a great week of running, but I'll be leveling off or even rolling back my runs a little this next week as I acclimate to the miles again.

I was worried that my legs would be still too sore for a good run, but after the first warm up mile, they felt really good.  I was able to get some good paces in for the last 3 miles.  Got a chance to ride my bike home from work since mini-me rode it there and took my vehicle.  I could have gotten a ride, but it was so nice outside and I haven't been on my bike for at least 6 weeks, and it was a lovely ride home.

I did my 10K route this morning.  It was warm and humid out again this morning.  I think it's going to be cooling off again in the next couple of days and I'm looking forward to it.  No moon, rather overcast, but pretty daylight colors coming out on my run home.

I enjoyed my bike ride home from school yesterday so much that I decided to ride it to/& from again today.  It made my morning routine really rushed, so I'm going to have to give myself more time if I do it again...no, when I do it again.

I got really lucky riding both ways today.  As soon as I arrived at my destinations, it started raining.  Dry rides, then rain when I finished.  Lucky me!  Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for the afternoon, so I tried to use my weather forecasting skills to decide if it was safe or not.  I'm not a meteorologist, but I have spent the night at the Holiday Inn Express :-)

9.8 miles on the bike total- not really long, but a good workout for me anyway. 

3.5 hours of sleep last night, and not all at once.  My sleepless night involved extra crispy colonel's chicken, and 3:30 am homework.  I really don't think my nights should be this complicated or delicious.  So I did not get out this morning to exercise.

After work, I thought I'd try my hand at running home again.  Wasn't sure how my body would do- but I managed to get home (although it was a little slower than my other paces the last couple weeks), and didn't have to stop at all on the way.  It was just amazingly cool, with some sun but mostly cloudy, and a very nice breeze.

I've had dinner, it's 6pm, and I'm going to be heading off to sleep soon.  I hope the KFC fairy lets me sleep tonight- unless it's boneless bbq wing night, and then I may be open to another midnight snack :-)

After my run yesterday, I was walking across the lawn and my knee did something funny and was still a little sore, but I needed some activity this morning to wake myself up.  I ran a good progressive pace. second mile 60 seconds faster than the first, then another 30 seconds faster than that. 

Knee was sore again after that and was for the rest of the day.  Dang it all.  I wanted to run home from work again, because it's so nice outside and a good de-stresser.  But I went home and paid bills instead.  Hooray :-(

Knee felt good all day, so I decided to go for a run after work.  It was beautiful outside.  A little warmer than I wanted it to be, but so much nicer than the summer heat that I really should not complain.

About a mile into the run, MR called me to tell me he was already home.  I had him meet me around mile 3 on his bike, and got myself a waterboy!  It was just under 10 miles to my house, so I ran a little further to make it 10.  Just a great run!  Everything felt good after the run :-)

Did my long run yesterday so I slept in today and spent it with my family.  I'd forgotten how nice it can be to just hang out (and do the shopping- which is not nice).

Went for a bike ride with MR.  It was over an hour, but we only managed to get in 16.68 miles.  We tried riding into the wind on our way out so it would be an easier ride back, but we failed miserably and had a really bad headwind the whole ride home which slowed us down considerably.  It was just great to be out on a cool, sunny morning enjoying the day with my first-mate.

We saw 2 opossum- one was sun bathing in the road, and the other was doing yoga in the road.  Saw 5 snakes.  2 were dead little snakes, 2 were dead bigger snakes, and one was a big green snake that I rode over with my bike and it was alive and slithered off into the grass.  I really thought it was just a long green piece of grass or palm frond or something that was not a snake.  Guess I got one for the Gipper today.

Here's a pix of snake #1:

I was going to wake up early and get a little run in since the weather is so stinking nice.  But laying in bed was really nice too, and I figured I would just run after work again today anyway, so I slept in.  I did get up and do 20 minutes on the elliptical to wake myself up before work.  I really enjoy running in the dark in the morning, but having a pm alternative is so darn tempting when it allows me to sleep in.

I feel like I'm gambling a little though, because I never know what's going to happen during the day that might make the pm run not happen.  But I'm going to try and not stress over it, because life goes on, and it's not worth the worry.

Got in a super special run with Wyatt after work.  It was amazing and wonderful- I had so much steam to let out and she kept the pressure cooker vented just enough that I didn't blow up.  

Kept the run shorter today since I'd done a longer run last night.  Then I rode my bike to work, and rode it home (took the long way home because it was so beautiful outside).

 Bike was 5 to work and 9 home.

Got to run early with Orion keeping an eye on me and being stalked by Venus.  Missing my moon, but enjoyed the beautiful night sky and a colorful sun rise.  Good paces, just ran how it felt and didn't look at watch.  Glad it felt good to run a little faster than usual.

Morning 10k to the p-town light and back.  Nice progressive run, but not big increases in speed- just slow & steady.  Lots of field fog, but I could still see the stars.  Kind of strange running with the fog all around me, but not really above me.  Made for an interesting dawn.

After work, I ran home for another 5 miles.  It was warm, I'd forgotten my ipod for music, and it was still just perfect.  I didn't run fast- kept a pretty constant speed the whole time.  After I got home, I could feel some soreness in around my ankle- I think it's just from running on the edge of the road on the silly slant.  I'm taking tomorrow off running, so I'm keeping fingers crossed it'll be perfect for Saturday.

On a unhappy note, a guy in MR's frisbee golf club was struck by a hit and run driver while running yesterday morning.  He's in ICU with traumatic brain injury.  Makes me so sad.  I thought of him every time I saw a car while I was running today.  Prayers for him are appreciated.

Wyatt bailed on me, so I was getting ready to head out alone when MR got up and came with me as my waterboy.  It was dark when we headed out, and stayed overcast and cool the whole time.  

I started out slow- really slow, but after 2 miles I was able to get close to my goal pace for the day and I stayed there the rest of the run.  My ankle area that was sore Thursday night was still a little sore the first few miles, but I switched to the other side of the road where the incline is opposite, and the soreness went away the remainder of the run (even when I switched back to the left side of the road).  Glad it's just a little thing and I don't want to irritate it so it turns into a big "thing."

Spent the rest of the day helping to paint the deli our neighbor will be opening in a week.  Best part of the day was the lunch she made for us! 

20 min on elliptical to try and work some of the soreness out of my legs.  I think all the bending I did while painting after my run was harder on my legs than the run!