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

nice 2 mile morning walk.  birds chirping, the world is green, just a great day.

back to life ... back to reality......weekend ended too soon. 

ran a comfortable pace, picked up a bit the last couple miles.  Avg pace 9:16.

Went to run bleachers after school, but there was a soccer game so I just ran the hood around school.  3.24 miles at a 9:24 avg pace.

My bed's tractor beam had a hold on me this morning.  I tried getting out, but it wouldn't release me.   I finally found my jedi force and used it to get out of bed, I got dressed (except for my shoes) and bent over to kiss my husband good-bye, and the stupid bed pulled me in again.  I cried out, "no, no!  Let me go...I have to run."  But my cries were muffled by the pillow my face was laying on. 

It took a lot of effort just to get back out of bed.  There isn't a spot on my blog for "effort exerted to get out of bed & out the door."  I may need to add one.   Got my water bottle out of the kitchen, and was doing my leg/hip warm ups (in the dark) when squish, I stepped in a pile of cat hairball/vomit.  That finally did the trick and woke me up.  Changing my socks and cleaning up the mess set me back a few more minutes, so by the time I did get out the door, I only had enough time for 6 miles.

I did a tempo run today so I could get some benefits from a shorter run.  My warm up first mile was 9:40, then I stayed around 8:30 pace for the next 4 miles, and finished with an 8:01.  My watch said my avg pace was 8:38.  I felt like my effort was good, so I was pleased with the way I felt after the run.

Ate b-fast with mini-me.  I have a new favorite b-fast.  It's my usual oatmeal, but when I cook it, I dump in a bunch of cocoa-powder (the kind for baking w/o the sugar).  Then when it's done cooking, I add fresh strawberries and some strawberry yogurt.  It's chocolate and strawberries for breakfast.  AMAZING!! 

Got up & got out.  I thought I'd be running in the rain, but I made it home before the rain came.  Which was nice, because it was beautiful temp & partly cloudy (partly stary) on my run.  Just me & Peter Rabbit out this morning.  I'm pretty sure there was a whippoorwill out too.  Sounded like one, but I'm not sure. 

Avg Pace 9:30.  My distance & pace are almost the same today. 

Running felt good this morning.  Didn't see any rabbits :-(  Had my music on so I didn't hear the birds, but enjoyed the tunes.

Avg pace 8:52 -  progressive run

Added some whipped cream (from the can) to my chocolate/strawberry oatmeal this morning, and what do you know????? Delicious.  I couldn't decide if it was breakfast or dessert :-)

Bleachers after school for 2.18 miles.  Wasn't fast, wasn't super slow.  Just one of those "get 'er done" kind of efforts.

sleep, easy effort. 10:50, 9:49, ? for last .5

schedules were different this morning, so I got to run as the morning dawn was lighting up the sky.  It was pretty bright outside when I finished, but the sun still wasn't up yet.  When I did see the sunrise around 6:50, it was so glorious.  Orange sky..looked like sunny delight.  I wonder if that volcano is making the sunrise/sunsets more dramatic in colors.

Two eight mile loops.  Mr. wanted to run, so we ran one loop with him, then went back & had a quick little break while he got the bike out and then we ran while he rode the bike for the second loop

The loops were different, which was nice.  We didn't have to see the same scenery.  For some reason, it was just a hard day to run.  Maybe the pollen in the air, maybe the lack of proper fueling the day before, maybe no good reason at all.  It was just tough. 

Had a light-headed spell around mile 9.5.  Drank water, ate a GU, and it went away.

Lots of dogs running today.  My friend had her pepper spray, and we had our 2 guys with us.  I forgot my pepper spray, and my garmin died as soon as I put it on, so I didn't have that with me either.  

It was a great run to finally finish.  Our avg paces were 9:45 on the first 8 and 9:43 on the second eight.  We walked for a while, and had some breaks on the second 8.  My friend had her first run-in with a side ache/stitch.  She stretched, did breathing, and all that stuff, but it wouldn't go away.  I ended up running the last 1/2 mile solo while she took a shortcut walk home. 

The yummy protien shake she made afterward was such a treat.  Pancakes with berries and ice cream for lunch later :-)   That made it all worth it.

Made 5 batches of strawberry jam later in the day.  I had to taste some of every batch to make sure it was good. It was.  I thought I'd have more to show for my labors, but the jam doesn't go far.  11 pints, 11 half-pints, and 2 mini jars.   Love strawberry jam!!!