Yesterday I slept in a little, sat around the house, played on my computer, did a little house work - and I felt guilty because I didn't run.  Yesterday was a scheduled rest day!  I wasn't supposed to run!  Why was I feeling guilty?  Upon reflection (today, while I WAS running), I started thinking that maybe it wasn't exactly guilt but was something different.  Yes!  What I was feeling was something new.  I wished that it HAD been a run day.  I missed it!  My husband told me that I was weird - like it was something I didn't already know. Ha!

So, after feeling like I was missing out on running yesterday, I got up bright and early today and headed out.  My run was solid.  No improvement.  I'm not quite where I want to be for my Chicago run in 12 days, so I need to work hard for the next couple of weeks.  But I was happy with my performance.  It was a great start to the day, which was followed by a very promising meeting about a new job, then lunch back at home with hubby.  Hoping to hear about the job later today or tomorrow.  It will be good, since my previous position simply disappeared during a reorganization as of July 1.  I can't complain about the time off, but have to admit that it has messed with my schedule and I do a lot better with running when I'm getting up at the same time every other day to  run before work.  Consistency is very helpful in keeping me on track - with everything.  We won't even talk about how I'm doing with Weight Watchers right now, but it is proof positive that a consistent schedule is the way for me to go!

It doesn't look like the Chicago Perimeter Ride is going to happen this year.  It's usually in August and there hasn't been even a murmur about it yet.  We were looking forward to it, and I was confident that I could do the 100-mile ride, since it's a leisurely, all-day, event.  Bummer!  But, we found a different cycling event that we're going to do, instead.  It starts in Mackinaw City, MI and has 4 different routes, taking you as far as Harbor Springs (just NW of Petoskey) before heading back to Mackinaw.  You can choose to ride 25, 50, 75 or 100 miles, and it's a non-competitive ride.  Since it's a little more hilly than Chicago, I think I'll aim for the 50 mile ride, then the next day all of the participants ride across the Mackinaw Bridge at dawn.  That's just over 2 months away and I think it will be loads of fun.

There was a small group of runners out this morning, and they kindly let me join them for a while.  I liked them!  They made me feel pretty speedy!  Here are the 5 members that I saw first, but when they joined the others, they unanimously decided to go swimming instead, while I continued on my run, alone.  I'll be back again on Thursday, running the same amount of time, so I'm looking for a little more distance in that run.

Improvement in just one run!

Okay, it wasn't great improvement, but improvement just the same.  I wasn't able to run yesterday because I had my final physical therapy appointment at 7:00 am and then we were busy doing "homeowner" stuff in the evening.  I planned to get up this morning to do it, but slept through the alarm a bit and didn't have time, so I did it tonight.  Next run is scheduled for Saturday.  That one will be right on time!

It seemed a little more difficult today, but my pace improved by 1/10 of a mile.  I didn't see anyone outside while I was running - which is why I waited until it was nearly dark out!  A couple of cars passed me, but that was it.  I looked back at my run log from last year, and I wasn't running any faster then, so I'm confident that having a running coach will help that a lot this year.

I signed up for the Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Mini-Marathon in July and am very excited for that!  It's actually only about 5K, but you have some of the experience of the Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon on a shorter course.  I've booked our hotel about a mile from the start of the race so it should be very convenient!  I have also decided to to a Century bike ride in Chicago in August.  It's a ride around the perimeter of the city and I'll be doing that with John.  Guess I know what some of my cross-training will be, huh! The ride isn't actually scheduled yet, but they've been doing it 10 years so I'm hoping that it is going to continue.  I'm really looking forward to it.

Well, there isn't much else to report on today.  I'm adding a link to Hanson's Coaching Services to my side bar.  That's where my coach, Luke, works.  I'll report back on the weekend with a summary of my first week back on the road (and maybe something more entertaining, as well)!