Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Wednesday Workout Update - 8 miles!

Good night Irene, my last few runs here in Texas have made me question if I'm a runner at all.  It has been tough and I have struggled.  Plus, some dumbass (that would be me) planned our 8 mile route where we'd have a continuous uphill slog beginning at mile 4.25 until mile 6 - ugh.  What was I thinking?!  It was warm, humid, and I thought I would never make it to the turnaround.  Running is also harder when you're figuratively kicking yourself for the stupid hill placement, too.  Needless to say, I'm going to revisit the rest of our routes and make some changes...we will probably still have that slog of a hill, but I'll make it happen earlier in the run when our legs are fresher.

So yeah.  I ran 8 miles on Saturday and lived to tell the tale.  I am beyond ready for cooler temperatures to run in - having had a taste of that last month makes it feel even worse to run in the heat and humidity now.  Plus, I woke up thirsty, which was weird for me.  My new handheld water bottle was leaking like crazy and I lost about half the water between each water stop, so I was behind on getting my fluids in the entire run.  The company was good, at least - I ran with Cary, Becky and Amy for the first 4ish miles.  Then Amy broke off and ran back to the park (she's still getting over a bad cold), while Cary, Becky and I tackled the hill slog.  They kept me going - I was mostly not talking, but they were keeping up the conversation, which was a nice distraction for me.

Afterward, there was this:
Breakfast!  Best part was the cinnamon twist and coffee...

And THIS:
Cary holding baby Jayden

My running buddy Loretta has her first grandbaby, and her son brought the little guy to breakfast.  The baby got passed around but when he got to me, it was bottle time, so I got the honor!  Ahhh, getting a baby fix after such a rough run made everything better.

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Speaking of Loretta, you might have noticed that I'm haven't run with her lately.  Well, it's not for lack of wanting to on either of our part - sadly, she has a hip stress fracture injury that's left her on crutches.  Boooooooooo!  I hate this - she was doing so well with running, plus she'd joined Planet Fitness when they opened and was working out as well as doing a great job with losing weight.  Life is not fair sometimes.  I know she'll be back, and hopefully we can do a spring race - we were really looking forward to crossing the finish line together this coming Saturday at the BCS 5K/10K race, but instead, she'll be cheering everyone on as we come in.
I miss my running buddy, but at least she's been coming to breakfast afterward!

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I can't believe it's October 1st already.  We are heading into some big miles over the next couple of months - eek!  For September, my mileage totals were:

Running:  52 miles
Walking:  21 miles

I only went to Planet Fitness 4 times - mostly because I was in California, but also, I was trying to cut down on the frequency.  I think I succeeded, haha!

13 comments:

  1. Congrats to your friend Loretta on her new grandbaby. So sorry she is now injured.

    As far as your run, well, we all have those days. And P.S, I Know i'm not a runner but I keep pretending I am because I like getting the medals....lol

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    1. Good to hear I'm not alone in questioning my "runner" status!

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  2. I know you guys hated that hill placement but think of it this way: when you have to slog up a hill that late in your run, it actually teaches your body to keep going even though you're feeling fatigue. Honestly there are some training programs that purposefully tell you to do that type of thing - and it works. You have to overcome that mental devil who wants you to quit and you also learn to keep turning those legs over. So don't be too hard on yourself. And you can tell your club that your running guru said so! :D

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    1. Only one other person had something positive to say about the hill placement - and it was similar to what you said. I think once the weather turns cooler it might be better, both mentally and physically. Right now I'm still having nightmares. ;)

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  3. Wow! That is a ton of miles you chalked up! And congrats on your successful cutting back on PF :)

    You sure do like babies. Even though I loved taking care of sick babies, I don't have that inborn 'baby-love' that so many women have. I guess it all went to the dogs. Haha. I crack myself up.

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    1. Oh my Debby, I just posted my comment and now read this. I'm so like you, I never have had that feeling either but like you I do love love my dog.

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  4. I'm tracking running AND walking miles now too. Nice job for last month! Good for you!

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  5. Remember the good runs you had back in California next time it's tough and you will remember that you definitely are a runner!

    Great job on the miles last month. I hope to get more running miles in the next 3 months but it will still be the year I ran the least miles since I started this. But it's okay, as long as I still get out there at least once week I will be fine.

    Would you believe I have nothing with babies? When people ask me if I want to hold them, I always turn it down. Still wondering why I don't have kids myself LOL? I do like kids though when they are around 4 or older.

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  6. Aw, baby fixes are the best, aren't they?! I can't even remember the last time I held a baby.

    Great job on getting in the miles! I was hoping to get to the pool today to test out my knee, but the other two secretaries called in sick, so I can't take a lunch today. Boo! Since it's football tonight, I may do a quick walk in my neighborhood - just can't stand how early it's getting dark already.

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  7. We can never really plan the hills in our rides. They are pretty much always there and doing them a lot teaches you how to pace yourself when you know they are there. So, good training, at any rate :D

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  8. I'm not the "maternal type" but I sure AWWWW'd at baby Jayden! AWWWWW!

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  9. Those are some serious miles! Way to go!

    I've really enjoyed walking the steeper hills in middle TN the past few weeks. We have baby hills and inclines in Memphis but no good long hills that stretch out the legs.

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