Back to basics

I knew I was going to have a rough day at work today, so I decided to run after work. I brought all of my running gear and headed out after work.

Pretty much all of my runs this week are 5 miles. I'm supposed to run 12 on Friday night, but I've already decided I don't think it will happen. Instead, I'm going to try and run as far as possible in Vermont on Sunday. Initially that was going to be a 5 miler, but I'm just going to go as far as I feel like going (and still make it to my brother's wedding reception on time).

Today's run, however, was a perfect fall run. Some clouds, some sun, 55 degrees, slight wind, leaves starting to change, not too many people out...I ran as I felt, which happened to be right at a 10 minute pace. 5 miles in 50 minutes, worked for me!

We'll see how I feel tomorrow morning, I'm planning on doing yoga or strength tomorrow morning, but hell if I feel like running I will...otherwise, next run is Wednesday.

On a side note, I haven't been very hungry the past few days. I was worried that my run was going to be effected because of this. It was not. Apparently when I listen to my body in terms of what and when to eat, it really does tell me what it needs. I may be able to lose some weight after all :)

Less than one month until the half marathon! I don't know what I will talk about after that...perhaps yoga?

The return to racing

What a morning!

Weather:
Cloudy
Light rain
46-50 degrees
15-30mph winds (gusts to 40mph)
Peaks of sun

Race:
Disorganized
5 & 10k started at the same time, on a sidewalk
There was another walk occurring at the same place at the same time
The race took place on the lakefront path

Overall:
I'm very happy I did this race. The first mile and a half were frustrating with too many people in too tight of a space. Once the 5k people turned it was great until we hit the end. The end the walkers and the 10ker's were all together so I tried to sprint to the end and that just wasn't working too well.

This race was for a great cause, and that's how I'm viewing it. I had fun going back to racing, and I'm looking forward to the half marathon later this month. I'm also happy I was able to raise so much money for the cause!

Now off to celebrate my return to racing :)

Recovery time? I don't need no stinky recovery time!

Last night from 5:30-6:20ish I ran 5 miles. This morning at 6:30 I started running 4 miles. Just over 12 hours of rest in between...who needs recovery time!

It was fantastic this morning. The sun wasn't quite up yet, I went on a new route, and I just ran. It was fantastic (did I mention that?)

Tonight I get to go to a Yoga Sculpt and Bootcamp and I am quite excited about this! Hopefully it will stretch out all the muscles that I work when I run.

Since I ran 4 miles this morning, plan is for 3 miles tomorrow...we'll see how I feel after yoga though :)

Fantastic

This morning, I was not ready to get up. I opted to stay in bed, run 5 after work, and tomorrow deal with getting up for 3-4 miles and then yoga after work.

I'm so glad that I did this.

Wonderful run, under 10 minute pace! 9:50 to be exact. This really made me feel much better about Saturday's run since I proved to myself I'm doing just fine. The run was great, light wind, beautiful evening. Being out and running after work helped me to feel better about my day too.

Now that I'm home, made some stew for dinner, will relax a bit, go to bed early, and run in the morning...after work tomorrow is a yoga bootcamp which I will review :) Thursday is another run in the morning as well, then Saturday is RACE DAY!

I love running in the fall, it just makes me so happy!

Bad at updating this past week

It appears I neglected to post regarding two of my runs this past week.

Wednesday run was only supposed to be 3, but I felt good so went just a tiny bit farther, 3.25. It was a good run, but still more humid than a September run "should" be.

On Thursday, my hammy's were dead. I don't know why, but they just were so tight I didn't even know if I could do the stairs at work. I rested that day rather than push too much.

Saturday was my 10 miler. This was a big deal to me since when I ran long distance more frequently a couple of years ago, 10 miles was my favorite distance to run. The weather was more September like. 55 degrees or so, north or northwest wind 10-15 mph, sunny, and just that feel of fall running. I opted to head to the lakefront but ran from my apartment so that takes a good 2 miles. I ran north into the wind for 3 miles, just wanting to hit my turn point. I was not as fast as I wanted to be, but I just kept going. There were lots of people out on the lake, and many of them passed me, but it was ok. I hit my turn point and then had the wind at my back...or so I thought. For most of the 3 miles it felt at my back, but every once and a while it was in my face. Then I started heading west, and the wind was back. I just kept going, I no longer cared about my pace, I just wanted to keep going and get home.

Once I got home, some how I was short about 3 blocks, so I kept going until my garmin told me I was at 10 miles. Perhaps I ran a bit further, which explains the 10:22 pace, but even if I was just at 10, I finished the 10.

I felt out of shape.

How you ask? 10:22 pace made me feel out of shape. My body was fine with the distance. My breathing was fine with the distance. I just felt out of shape. I realize, I ran 10 miles. Most people never run 10 miles. I remember why this was my favorite distance, but I have a ways to go before it becomes my favorite distance again.

The good news is, I have more opportunities to run this distance. I am officially signed up for the half marathon on October 31 which is good.

I am also signed up for an important 10k this Saturday. The AIDS Run & Walk 10k in Chicago...I'm still looking for sponsors, so if you can, please donate before Saturday right here:

http://afc.aidschicago.org/netcommunity/flobear100

Tomorrow morning 5 miles is planned, so I will do my best to write up about that at some point tomorrow.

Hot & Sticky, yet inspiring

This morning was a hot, humid mid September morning. I don't know how high the humidity was, but I know that by mile 2 I was drenched and feeling dehydrated. Something you do not want to feel 2 miles into a 4.5 mile run, dehydrated.

How would I fix this next time? Always remember to have at least a few sips of water before going out for a morning run. Potentially bring water with you on a hot morning run as well.

I've noticed I've been lazy about bringing water with me. I have a fuel belt so it's not as though it's difficult for me to bring it, I just don't for some reason.

At the end of the run I realized that I really do want to start doing a race or two. October 2 is that date. I was scheduled to run 8 miles, instead I'm going to complete a 10k race (6.2 miles). I am running the AIDS Run & Walk 10K.

Anyone feel like donating to a great cause? Go here:
http://afc.aidschicago.org/netcommunity/flobear100

It's good to give when you're doing something that you love...especially a great cause like the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.

The next step is to officially register for the half marathon, something I plan to do later this week. I'm happy that I'm able to get up and run in the morning. I'm happy that I get inspired to run after work at night. I still don't know if I'm a morning or an evening runner, perhaps that makes me both :)

For now though, I need to stretch some more and drink more water...but the pizza I had for lunch was well deserved!

Long runs, rain, poop

Once you start training for something, there is this natural tendency to become obsessed with your poop and your poop cycle. This is an important part of the long run since you really do need to poop before you go out for a long run since, well, there aren't always places you can go to poop, and really, do you want to while out on a run? Long run especially...though short runs you should try to poop first. Short runs in my mind are less than 5 miles, long runs are greater than 6 miles...that's just how I view them. On a short run if you have to poop you can always run home and either go back out or be done with your short run. On a long run that's not usually the case. It also depends on where you're running. If you're driving someone to run any distance, that can play a factor as well.

See, you start talking about poop and then there are all of these different factors that pop up regarding your poop! My general rule of thumb is this: long run = empty out the tank...that may mean more than one poop! So be sure to give yourself enough time before you run to empty out the tank.

Rain...rain is an interesting thing that runners deal with. I love running in the rain, but I hate getting the motivation to run in the rain. A few things about rain you should know:
1.) Rain does not soak your shoes, puddles do
2.) Once you reach a certain wetness, you no longer feel the rain
3.) Rain keeps you cool while you're running
4.) There are very few people you will run into when you're running in the rain and you all will give each other the nod, and sometimes hear the "way to go"
5.) When you're done with your run in the rain, you feel extra good
6.) Running in the rain is fun and really can just make you feel like a kid again

That's how I motivate myself to run in the rain. Once I'm out there it's fine, it's the getting out there part, but trust me, it's totally worth it!

So today's run, 8 miles. This is the first real long run I've done in this training. It felt fantastic. It's amusing how the first half of the run seems to take forever and the second half is done so fast. Even more funny when time wise my split was totally off and my second half was about a minute longer than my first half. The first 4 miles were into the rain, the second 4 miles were into the wind, but it was just awesome. I'm really looking forward to next weeks long run of 10 miles. When I used to run long distance all the time, 10 miles was my favorite distance, so this is exciting to be back in shape enough to go out for a 10 miler in one week! For now though, I will be very happy with my 8 mile run today. I came home and enjoyed a glass of dark chocolate almond milk, a wonderful recovery drink due to the mix of carbs and protein, and well chocolate almond milk is just damn tasty!

For the rest of the day, I will enjoy myself and be excited that I did more than most people in terms of working out today....well except for people running the Chicago Marathon, they ran 20 today (or tomorrow)

4.5 at a 9:38 pace

Well I found (or perhaps refound) the secret...stop thinking, just go how you feel. I figured out my route earlier in the day and lucky for me, it was into the wind first. I started off feeling pretty strong, and I just went with it. Yes, I stopped at 4 lights, but not for long and ran in place.

I ran how I felt, I did not look at my time, and only checked my distance twice before I was near the end. I checked near the end to make sure I had enough distance. I ended a 4.5 mile run in 43:17, I was really pleased with myself. This week, even with sore legs, I'm getting stronger and just going with it. I'm really looking forward to the 8 miles on Saturday...after that I think I'll officially sign up for the race and not just keep thinking about signing up for the race.

I still haven't decided if I'm a morning or an evening runner, but I've been running for 7 years and I always seem to alternate...hell I even did afternoon lunch runs for a couple of years.

So my secret discovery is to just run how I feel...yes eventually I'll go back to planned runs with intervals and sprints and easy etc, but now it's just go how I feel, but hit the distances I need to hit.

I felt so good when I came home that I decided to do a little bit of strength, just biceps and triceps, but still, that was great.

OK, now, relaxation!

Body aches

Well, yesterday I ran my scheduled 3 miles though I was exhausted. I ended up running faster than I have since I started training. Under 9:30 pace, I think about 9:27 or so. It's awesome!

Today I am sore, but that really good sore feeling. I have to run 4.5 tonight after work, but I'm going to try to run home rather than run around work then walk home.

Funny story on yesterday's run. I work at a psychiatric facility where individuals live and receive treatment. One of my resident's saw me on the way home and got confused, starting running with me and couldn't catch up...he asked me to slow down and I tried as best I could, but it made me feel wicked fast.

Today's run should be good...possibly a rainy run and that works for me :) but now, off to work

After one week off

So because I was sick last week, and had an important wedding to attend (my boyfriend's sister's wedding), I did not run last week. It was a light week of running, so I decided it wasn't too bad of a decision.

Last night I went out for my schedule 4 mile run. It, was, fan-tas-tic! I had the wrong pants on which will cause a problem for this evenings run, but whatever, I'll deal.

4 miles, most of it on the lake, just lovely. I was very consistent and I felt great. Today my legs are slightly sore and I think after running today and once more tomorrow, my legs are going to be dead on Friday...so long as they heal up for Saturday it'll be fine.

I still have not actually signed up for this race yet, I'm thinking after I get paid on Friday I'll just do it. I think I'm pretty much ready.

One word to the wise...wash all new running clothes before you run in them. Also...when you try them on in the store, run in place a little bit...my thighs did not like these new pants, but hopefully they will get worn in quickly.

Also...missing one week of training will not kill you and it can make you mentally stronger.

She's running the distance (halfway)

On Friday, when I had planned on running my long run, I caught a bug that's been going around. It's hard to tell if this is a summer cold or a flu like thing, but it stinks. I had body aches, stuffy nose, sore throat, headache, you name it I had it! I opted to not go for my run on Friday since I had the body aches. Typically, I've been told that so long as you don't have a fever you can go running, I just did not feel up to it or anything for that matter...well except for crochet class :)

So yesterday (Saturday) I worked a full day and then decided I had to try to go running. I had felt like poop all day, but kept taking medicine that seemed to be helping. The body aches had gone away, I was just dried out (thanks to the cold medicine). I brought a full fuel belt of water (since I was so dried out) and figured I'd give it a shot. If I didn't feel well within the first mile, I'd turn back...otherwise, I'd go for it.

Since I was running from work, I opted to go to the lakefront. There was a strong breeze out of the west so it didn't matter where I went on the lake. For Labor Day weekend the lakefront was empty...I guess 65-70 degrees will do that...happy for me, it made my run very enjoyable. I opted to go north on the lakefront, up past North Ave beach, Fullerton, and up to Diversey. Rather than turning around and running on the same path, I opted to go under the bridge at Diversey and run around the harbor. I really liked doing that...must run that again! I ran past the zoo (thought about running through it but there were still people mulling about so opted against that). Then on North. Again, I didn't want to run the same area twice yesterday, so I opted for Dearborn, Clark, and LaSalle back to Division rather than just running on Division. When I got to Wells I realized I was short about a block or two...so I went south on Wells and turned around before sprinting to Orleans.

I made it all 6 miles and I felt great.

While running my nose was clear, I was still dry but water helped. I felt at one with nature and just in a happy place. The weather was perfect, my attitude was right, my pace was slow but I was just enjoying myself out there.

So now I must officially sign up for the half marathon since I was able to run half the distance yesterday, that means I can totally run the whole thing. My brother once told me, if you can run half, the rest is just mental. Of course, he had told me that because we were training for a 16 mile race and he had only trained up to 8 before a minor injury...but he managed to make all 16 miles.

What did I learn from this?
When you are sick, you can totally go running...just be prepared that after feeling great again during the run, when you start to feel like poop afterwards it can be doubly hard, since you just felt great.

Rainy start

I opted for a triple workout yesterday...triple if you count my walk home a workout.

4 mile run in the morning
1.5 mile walk home
30 minute cardio & strength workout (Gilad)

In light of the extra workout yesterday, I understand why my training schedule says to do the run and strength workout the day before a rest day. My body was dead this morning. I'm sure the rain outside had some impact on that as well, but for sure the extra workout did some (good) damage.

I've brought everything with me to run home this evening though...something I haven't done here yet. Yes, it's 1.5 miles home, so I'll add onto the run down here a bit, but still, should be a good run and possibly still raining out.

I do love running in the rain, but it's hard to start the day off running in the rain. I rather end the day running in the rain, unless it's a long run on the weekend, or a race, then it's fine to start the day with.

I think it's just the thought of going to work after working out in the rain...I'm weird, I understand and accept this.

On a side note, I think I need to identify what's going on in my brain. I seem to be turning into a cynical individual rather than my positive, cheery disposition individual that I adore. I need to work on this and see what is going on. It may be some of the thing occurring at my place of work, or the attitude of the individuals I spend time with at work...or perhaps my own self questioning and thinking since I've gone from no free time to all free time...something to ponder indeed.

Getting out of bed in the morning, tricks and tips

This morning I did not want to get out of bed.
I knew that I needed to get up.
I knew that I needed to go for a run.
I knew that at 6:00am it would be the coolest temperatures all day for me to run.
I knew that I would feel better if I got up.

I was all curled up in bed, cuddling with the bf and the dog jumped up to cuddle too. My legs were achy from all the miles that I've been putting on them recently, my tummy was still full from the Indian food feast I had the night before (gave up on dieting), I started to convince myself that running after work would be a better idea because it might be a stressful day...

Then I sat up.

The true secret to getting out of bed in the morning is sitting up. Once you sit up you realize that you're really not as tired as you think you are, and that you are ready to start the day. It will also identify if you are sick and need to return to bed. So the secret to getting up and out of bed in the morning is...sitting up.

Once I sat up and realized I needed to stretch a bit and just go running, it was easy for me to get out of bed. I got dressed and used the couch to crack my back (that has been getting a bit worse recently). Then it was out the door into the 95% humidity and 75 degree pre-sunrise morning. I decided to go further south than usual rather than run south and then more north...this was decided since the wind was coming out of the south and I wanted that resistance in the beginning of the run, not the end.

Mile 1 I went faster than I've been running recently, 9:43 I want to say. Mile 2 I struggled a bit, I'll blame the wind as I was at 10:18 I think. Mile 3 was a weird one because I had just hit mile 2 later than I had planned, thinking that I should have hit it blocks before I did. I began worrying if I had gone far enough or if I was going to need to add extra blocks on at the end. Mile 3 was 10:08 I want to say. Then came Mile 4. The Indian Feast started to make itself known and at the same time, my body wanted to push and feel the strength. I took that as a sign to push myself more than I have been. I now realized that I was going to be really close to the 4 mile mark but perhaps slightly short. I sprinted that last few blocks only to have to turn right before my house for half a block to get the full 4 miles. This of course is only if the garmin was 100% accurate, but I wanted to hear that beep and not short myself. Mile 4 was 9:40 I think. Over all my 4 miles was 39:53 so I may be a bit off with my guesses above, but just shave it off of mile 4 if I am.

Tonight, since this work day is turning interesting, I believe I will walk home and also do some strength. If the bf is out running I may do yoga instead...but I need something other than the run. Tomorrow morning is another run, then off for Thursday and long run Friday this week. Mixing things up to keep them interesting :)

There will be a post in the near future that will not be tagged for half marathon training and will discuss expectations and realizations of my career change and place of work choice...but not today.

Week 4 begins

This morning I opted to change up my schedule and went for a run rather than strength. I'm moving things around this week due to a schedule change at work. 3 mile run was scheduled for today with the new schedule...I went out and did 3.1 slowly. It was very humid out and I was drenched within a block...that plus this weekend was a lot of going out with friends, so I needed to get the remainder of the beer and wine out of my system.

I plan on walking home this evening and potentially doing some strength this evening as well. It all depends on how hot the walk home is. Forecast says 90+ and humid so I may just walk on home and call it a day.

I am feeling much better each time that I go out and run. My weight is going up somehow rather than down, but I feel that things are fitting better. It's only the beginning of week 4 so I need to give myself a break (I realize this) but still...I want to see better results!

I also decided I haven't been having enough carbs post workout, so this morning was a smoothie and a piece of toast. Smoothie = 1 banana, 1/3 cup blueberries, 4 or 5 strawberries, vanilla almond milk and 4 ice cubes. Sooooooo yummy!

I'm going to keep this up and I think if the 6 miler on Friday goes well I will officially sign up for the training.

5 miles again

I feel fantastic! I forgot how you can get into a grove once you get to a longer run. This morning was 5 miles and I was right on my 10 minute pace. It's weird to be back at a 10 minute pace since I was down to a 9 minute pace, but starting from zero again makes that happen.

We had gone out and were out pretty late last night, so this morning I went out a little later than I had hoped. 9:30ish this morning I was out there, sun was bright and hot, but it was fine. Once I got home and had some water I wanted to keep going, so I did my strength workout today as well. My plan is to move the schedule around this week with runs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday.

Also on Friday...crochet class! WAHOO!

Back to running...I've found that the more I do it, the more I love it again, which makes me quite happy.

Now off to enjoy the rest of this summer day.

The body speaks, but when to listen?

One thing about being in training is I feel I need to listen to my body more. When I get a "craving" I need to be able to identify if the body is "craving" something or is my mind or heart "wanting" something.

This morning was supposed to be a light 3 mile run. Instead it was a more difficult 3.25 mile run with a sprint or two in there. I need to start doing interval training, body is telling me. I was also supposed to just run today, but instead, I lifted when I got home. I had the energy and my body wanted me to do it. I feel great because of it!

Prior to the lifting this evening though, I had a craving for a glass of red wine. I walked home, lifted, had some water...still craving red wine. I have had two sips so far and my body is reacting, in a happy manor.

So I must need more antioxidants? I'm going to investigate more, but that's my initial gut instinct. Also, I realize I have not had enough fat today so need to have a heavier fat dinner (about 700 calories short too) so a glass of wine and some pizza (and veggies) makes sense to me.

Tomorrow morning is another run...I'll be sure to state how I feel on that one.

Other things to pay attention to. My back, my hips, and my knee. While running my knee sometimes aches a little. I had surgery on this knee in 1999 and every once and a while it acts up. Once I stop running it goes away. Need to keep paying attention to that. My back, upper back is achy but not when running. Lower back (where I had surgery in April) is starting to act up at the beginning of the run, but then goes away within 5 minutes. Continue to monitor. Hips are sore...which I think is just running and not stretching enough...so need to start doing yoga a couple of times a week.

I hope that paying attention, listening and responding to the needs of my body.

A country run, a city run

On Saturday we were up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (da U.P.) visiting the bf's family. It was a great weekend. We got up on Saturday morning and went on a lovely little trail for the 4 mile run. The bf is a faster runner than I am so he pushes me a bit. I was able to keep my pace up and we were pretty even with our pace (9:40, 10:01, 10:03, 9:50) and it was so good to be out in the fresh air running. We saw some wildlife (blue jays, chipmunks, other birds) and just enjoyed being out there.

This morning it was back to my morning running routine. 4 miles for me this morning as well but city run this time. I don't know my splits, but I know that I'm back to being just under a 10 minute pace. This makes me very happy as I like being under the 10 minute marker for some reason, don't know why. The run this morning put me in a great mood and I'm beginning to wonder if I should add some short runs on my "off" days of Monday and Friday. I mean, Monday is strength day and Friday is "off" but I tend to walk home each of those days...but maybe a quick short run in the morning to start off the day...hold off for now.

Tomorrow is 3 or 3.5 I believe and 3 miles on Thursday plus strength...I did do my strength workout yesterday after walking home which helped me feel better. I'm looking forward to the walk home tonight as it really helps me calm down at the end of the day. So tonight...walk home, laundry I believe, and then spending time with the bf.

As an aside, I have listened to the bf and I am eating more...I was not consuming enough to keep up with the training (I was averaging about 1400 daily) so I'm trying to up my intake to 1700 especially on running days. And, I am promising not to measure as much (ok honey) :)

Busy busy busy

Sorry I have not been keeping up to date with the running logs.

My body is achy, it's a good ache, but it's achy. I also found that three days in a row of running when you have not been consistently running, it can make you a little extra achy. Also note don't be a moron like me and then decide to wear heels to work...that's just crazy (especially on fire drill day).

I have been keeping up with running in the morning before work all this week (Tue, Wed, Thur) though I did oversleep a bit this morning (that might have more to do with today being day 10 in a row at work).

Yesterday I felt great on the run and actually ran over. I had a good pace going too (though slow) and just overall felt that things were going great. I had wanted to do yoga post walk home but the bf was working out, and running 4.25 miles in the morning and walking 1.5 miles home after work is enough working out for a day I suppose.

Today, as I mentioned, I overslept slightly. I still went running in the morning and was glad that I did. Today was just 3 miles, and I went about 3.1 (just under). My back is kind of the most achy, my hips a little, but really it's not that bad.

I remember the first time I was in training for anything I just didn't know the best approach and just went running for 30-45 minutes a day. I think I skipped a few days, but just went most days. I'm glad I know now to only go about 4 days a week for runs, especially when you haven't been consistent. I will admit, now that I'm back into a routine of running, I can see myself returning to a 5 or 6 days a week running habit...there are worse things in life.

Post this half marathon I already know I'm running my normal Turkey Trot, but the 5 or the 10k...that is now that question. And the other question...do I run the 16 miler in January? I'm going to be wondering that after the half though, no reason to worry now.

Things that I'm realizing as training is happening:
I need more running clothes
- new and more sports bras
- more running capri pants (I'm not big into shorts)
- more socks that work well
- more headbands

If I keep going with what I have, I need to do laundry weekly and sometimes I like going every other week. I also believe that I will need more winter running clothes since, well, I think I'm hooked on running again kids :)

I do want to go for a long bike ride, but that will have to wait until next weekend as we're going way up north this weekend. I can't wait for a 4 mile run out in the country, that just makes me so happy.

Anyway...must look into new clothes, continue to push forward with my am workouts...and I still have to walk home tonight and the lift (run & strength day). I'm really happy with my decision so far, over a week later!

Magical sheets

Never underestimate the magical power of clean sheets. I forget about that magic quite frequently and the bf and I do not change our sheets nearly enough. I think one should change sheets weekly, but I don't think we've been keeping up with that goal.

I believe it is because of our wonderful clean sheets that I was able to have a great nights sleep. I woke up once around 4:30 and told myself 90 more minutes before it was time to wake up and go for a run. When the alarm clock went off, I felt rested!

I was out the door for my run by 6:20 and did a nice little stretch and warm up, then off for about 3 miles. The weather was amazing. 70 degrees, sun was not pounding down yet, wind out of the west (so I went in that direction first) I'd say about 10-15mph but it felt refreshing. I did get hung up at a couple of lights and jogged in place but kept the garmin going. My total time was just under 32 minutes and total mileage 3.1 miles. I do believe that I was closer to being under 31 minutes, but will say I was at a 10:15 pace for the time being.

I am getting more confident in my runs and know that my pace will return eventually, but right now it is about endurance and consistency. I do prefer morning runs to evening runs because the air feels cleaner and there is less traffic (foot and car) so it is more enjoyable and less judgmental.

I am hopeful to do my 4 mile run tomorrow morning as well. I think something that will help is trying to fix the calorie issue I'm having right now. Yesterday was a major fail...I was at about 600 calories until 9 at night. The thing is, I'm eating lots of good food, they are just very low in calories. I also knew that we were having frozen pizza for dinner so I may have been trying to save up for that. Regardless, laundry took longer than expected so dinner was not until 9, and then I really wasn't hungry but ate my slices anyway. I think that if I eat better during the day today and earlier and healthier dinner tonight, I will have more energy for the 4 miler in the morning tomorrow.

I am really happy with my progress so far and hope to continue with this optimism. The bf and I have decided to go away this weekend so this weekend's run will be in the country, that makes me very happy as well!

Cross training

I will admit, I was a bit lazy yesterday with my cross training. I opted just for bike commuting and since I had bike commuted the day before with my "long" run, I felt some rest was ok. This morning I woke up feeling much more sore, now I'm doing a bit better though.

Today's planned workout is the normal walk home followed by some strength training. I'm debating doing some of the strength training at work since I just found a new "10 minute office workout" that sounds interesting, and well I've been at work a long time today.

I am excited that today is Monday though since last week I couldn't start thinking about the weekend. Today is Monday and today is pretty much over...Friday I get to leave early and go on a quick weekend trip away...thus lots to look forward to.

I am very ADHD with this post, so I think that's a sign to stop. Tomorrow we return to running so I plan to have a better post tomorrow...perhaps I'll even run before work!