I said I was a-goin' runnin' but my legs said no, no, no!

I'm not sure who stole my legs, overnight, and replaced them with a pair made of lead, but I didn't appreciate it!  My legs had a bad attitude this morning and we're going to have a talk a little later!  They MADE me take walk breaks!  Consequently, my speed was slower than it has been, but that's okay...  I'll be out there again tomorrow, increasing my time, so I'll be sure to get out there early - with excellent results!

I went out at 7:50 and it was already feeling kind of warm to me.  Not like it's going to be later today, when we clock in at 90 degrees... it was only 64 degrees but the humidity was near 90% and there was barely a breeze. Are you seeing a trend in my posts?  I really hate heat and humidity.  Maybe I should live in Saskatchewan!

Other than my ornery legs, my run was supremely uneventful!  I saw a couple of people being walked by their dogs and only a couple of cars.  Looking forward to tomorrow and a longer run!

What a great day for a run!

Done running and headed for refreshments!

Fantastic weather for the Dexter-Ann Arbor Run! I'm here, just past the finish, watching the runners come in. Feeling very inspired. Men, women, all ages,all shapes and sizes. Most people looking satisfied... Every one of them a winner! There are people wearing banana costumes and people holding signs to encourage and motivate their friends, loved ones and teammates. My favorite sign so far: "Run like you stole something!" Seeing the heartfelt "congratulations" and hearing runners telling other runners how great they looked out there really demonstrates the relationships among the running community.  There was a man with his son (about 3 years old) watching for his wife to come in and they cheered for her when she came into site.  She waved and continued on to get some fruit after the finish line and then circled back to see them.  The little boy ran to her, and greeted her with a hug like he hadn't seen her in a week, and said "you ran fast, mommy!"

That's the way to relax after a race!

I ran this morning, too! Not as far or fast as these people!  But I ran, and am happy with that. It felt great with the exception of the humidity making the air feel really heavy to me.  I got to see my favorite things along the way... the new red Charger and the old El Camino, so that was cool.  The Charger hadn't been there for a while so I was worried that it may have actually been a visitor and I wouldn't see it regularly.  My training is changing, starting on Tuesday.  Rather than going for a specific distance with each run, I'll be running for a certain amount of time, and getting as much distance out of that as I can.  I'm looking forward to the change and seeing what kind of difference that makes in my speed

What is all this outside?

Wow!  I went out just after 9:00 am and I am definitely NOT used to running at that time of day. First of all, it's bright out!  Pretty overcast, but still kind of a stark bright, that I'm just not accustomed to.  It was windy, too!  Also, our neighborhood is having a community-wide yard sale this weekend.  We aren't participating, so I forgot about it completely.  There were cars everywhere. I never have maneuver around that much traffic!  Not to mention that everyone could SEE me!  In my bright yellow shirt!  Ugh!  Actually, one guy drove by - probably around 18 years old - and smiled and waved at me as if he approved of my efforts, so that made me feel a little better.  Why?  Still trying to figure out why I feel so uncomfortable when people see me run.  I'm doing something good for me and it has nothing to do with the other people out there.  I persevered and finished my run, and was proud of myself.  This afternoon I'm going to reward myself with a bike ride at the Metro Park.

I did have a bit of pain in the arch of my foot, so I slowed down a little for the last mile.  I finished up with a sprint and that was fine - or at least not any worse.  I'm thinking that it may have had something to do with the ankle sleeve or the way I had my shoe tied over it because it went away when I removed the shoe and sleeve.  I'll have to pay closer attention to how I put that on, tomorrow.

Running again tomorrow morning, before I go watch a bunch of other people run at the Dexter-Ann Arbor Run.  That will be inspiring for me.  I love seeing people finish their races, and hope to inspire others in the same way.  I think I'll do my blog from there tomorrow and post a few race pics. Til then...

Not quite up to standards...

Actually, not at all up to standards!  I had some difficulty and had to bag my run halfway through.  I went into my house and called a re-do, which will be re-done tonight.  I deleted this morning's outing from iSmoothRun on my iPhone and did not export it to Training Peaks, so it's like it never happened.

Choices, priorities, realizations

I have to say, right off the bat, that I haven't run in a couple of days.  That's a bad thing!  Gwen, the girl on my runner girl necklace is feeling a bit neglected - and I don't blame her.  I'm feeling a bit neglected, myself and the person doing the neglecting is me!  Since I ran late on Saturday I decided to put off my next run until Monday morning... but it was storming out, so I put it off some more.  Decided that I was going to run this morning, and the alarm went off at 5:20.  I turned it off to get up, and don't know what happened.  I awoke again an hour later.  And I felt like a total loser!  I did some hard thinking this morning - when I got done bitching myself out - and feel a bit better, and somewhat enlightened.

First of all, this is something I'm choosing to do.  No one is making me run.  My job doesn't depend on it and neither does my life.  But I AM choosing to do it.  I want to be a runner!  So why the sporadic difficulty?  I clearly haven't developed the running habit, yet.  But that's a pretty lame reason!  The truth is that I haven't set any priorities.  I haven't made running a priority, and I haven't really made myself a priority.  I've certainly had days when I've felt totally committed, and there has been no doubt in my mind that this lifestyle is achievable, but then, some days, morning arrives so early and hits me over the head and tells me to go back to sleep, or it's too rainy, or I have a long day ahead of me, or a host of other reasons why I don't need to run right then.  Obviously family and work are also priorities, and work does take up a lot of my time - over 10 hours each day, 5 days a week, but I don't have children, so my family "duties" aren't inflexible.  I easily have an hour, or so, each day that I can put myself first and get my butt out there and run.  I just need to make it clear to myself, above all, that THAT has to come first.  My running coach gives me a schedule to run by, and goals - but I have to make myself a priority and he can't help me with that!

Also, I realized that I need to do more than just run.  I'm not talking about other exercise, or even eating right (which I already do) but every single night I set myself up to fail the next day.  I said that I eat right - and I do!  I have time set aside every night to make my breakfast and lunch for the next day, and enter it in my food journal, so I know that I will have a successful day, food-wise.  And I do get my running clothes out and ready to go the next morning, but then I don't go to bed.  Why would I feel committed to my goals and choices at 5:30 in the morning, when I've only had 5 hours sleep - on a good night?  Duh!  I need to get more sleep!  So I'm going to make some changes.  Because I CHOOSE to be a runner, I will make myself a PRIORITY and, now that I have come to the REALIZATION that not getting enough sleep is really detrimental to my choices, I will get ready for bed and be tucked in by 10:00.  I know this is long for a day that I didn't even run.  Thanks for reading and I'll be back tomorrow!

Indoor running... I don't think I love it, yet.

So we recently joined Planet Fitness and tonight was the first time that we used the gym.  We had been members of a much larger gym with more amenities that we simply didn't use and decided that a gym with fewer extras (and a lower monthly fee) would be a better choice for us.  The equipment was very nice!  I warmed up on the ArcTrainer and it didn't make any grinding, or thumping, noises at all.  I, then, moved on to the treadmill for my run.

I'm not used to running on a treadmill and it was a little more difficult that I anticipated. First of all, I'm used to having a bit of a breeze when I run, and there was definitely none of that inside the gym.  The treadmill stays at a much more consistent speed than I run on the road, which is a good thing, but felt a little harder for me while I was running, because it was - I couldn't slow my pace without actually changing the speed on the treadmill.  Not what I'm used to.  The run felt good, if a bit slower than I had hoped.  After my run I put 5 miles on a stationary bike, so I did get a little more variety into the workout, as a whole.

The most disappointing thing for me was the fact that the program that I use on my iPhone to record my runs didn't work on the treadmill.  I suspected that would be the case, but was still disappointed when it turn out to be so.  My runs are recorded on iSmoothRun and then I send them to Training Peaks, and I was able to enter my run manually into Training Peaks so it's all there, but I love all the details that I get from iSmoothRun.  I can't turn the little bit of information that I know about my runs into the nifty graphs that I normally get to see on my iPhone.  All in all I'd say that running on the treadmill is fine in a pinch - maybe better for consistency - but my preference is definitely to run outside when I can!

Of course, since we were already out and about, my gym workout was followed by a visit to a local pub where I had a beer, along with a chicken breast and broccoli.  The number of places to get a meal at midnight is somewhat limited, so the pub worked out well (with the kitchen open until 2 am) and the beers were on special, so I HAD to get one, right?

Tomorrow I have a longer run scheduled.  I'm not sure if I will do it on the road or at the gym.  Either way I will be increasing my distance by 50% and am looking forward to seeing how it goes.  Just 4 more training runs before the Cinco de Mayo run in Detroit, so I am excited to keep moving on, and after that I don't have another 5K for about a month.  I'm hoping that I'll be in the company of a few of my DetermiNation friends, but am not sure that any of them are doing this race.  Regardless, the run is followed by a parade and there are tons of activities to celebrate the holiday so I think it will be a fun day!