Wednesday Workout Update - Oh, Who Am I Kidding...It's All About The Running!

As I told you on the Friday Mishmash, I ran for 30 minutes "with" my friend Matt. That was my last run before Saturday's epic five miler - I say epic because I hadn't run five miles since, like, June. Or July. Whatever - it had been a long time, as I discovered over the summer that Texas heat and humidity did not make for successful long runs. And at the beginning of the week, when I knew I was facing a five mile run on Saturday, I was nervous, apprehensive, anxious...you name it - if there was a bad feeling, I was feeling it. But then came my run with Matt, and even though it was only 30 minutes, which equaled out to 2.6 miles for me, I actually relaxed quite a bit about the five miler. What is funny is that when I went to California and was going to run that 10K with Barbara and was all nervous about running such a long distance? Matt offered to run with me and I calmed down after that run. So what I'm saying is that apparently he is the Run Whisperer - the Cesar Milan of marathons. The Jennifer Love Hewitt of the long haul. The Robert Redford of running. OK, I've beaten that one to death. But you get the idea. I was remarkably composed going into Saturday's run. Here's a picture of me beforehand, all calm, cool - and oh, glowing in the dark - as I discovered that my new green shirt does under streetlamps:

See? Calm. OK, and a little bleary-eyed - it was 6:15 am after all!

So I got to the park. And after our little meeting, we were off...I have to admit, I miss running with my halfs (halves? - still not clear on that one) - they had a relaxing two mile run, and there is a lot more fun chitchat during their run. We fulls are all business; we have to be - you pretty much need to save your breath to get through the long run! My goals were pretty simple: to run the entire way, even if it meant running really slow and being the last person in. The first mile went well - I was under 12 minutes when Ricky Bobby chimed, which meant it was time for a drink - I ran as I drank some Gatorade. Mile two - still going strong, although I decided it was OK to walk for the few seconds while I was trying to drink, rather than choke and sputter the liquid down. Mile three - more than halfway there. Mile four - this is where the bargaining began. I started promising myself all kinds of rewards if I would only finish. Then I saw a deer. That's right, a deer walked across the street just ahead of me! Very cool - I needed that distraction, Mr. Deer. Back to the rewards. Funny, most of them were food. Some things never change, I guess. But hey - whatever works. At the stoplight (which was at least a minute long, thank the running gods!) Coach Dale caught up with me and we ran the last half mile together - and even kicked it toward the end, which was a lot of fun. I did it - I ran five miles...and it took me less than an hour! Um, not much less - my time was 58:33 - but hey, at this point it's all about completion, not speed, for me. And I completed.

After I got home, I took an ice bath and had some chocolate milk and a banana. Then a short nap may have been taken. Later, we went out for my food rewards - I split a turkey sandwich with Jeff, followed by frozen yogurt (of course). YUM. Vegetarian pizza for dinner - I had two slices and was pleasantly full...believe me, I still marvel that I can stop with two pieces of pizza. Who am I again?!? But the best thing about running five miles? Sleep. Glorious, glorious sleep. I laid down in bed to watch some TV and was out before 8:00 pm - and get this - didn't wake up for the first time until 4:10 am - a true miracle for me!

On my training schedule this week was a 30-minute run (done); a 45-minute hill run...wait, what? Hill? Here??? Apparently our running club coaches figured we might have a problem finding a hill to run up - you think I'm joking, but seriously, they are few and far-between in this part of Texas. I know of one hill in a really fancy golfing neighborhood, because I ran up it for a freakin' mile during this race back in April, but that's about it. So Tuesday evening, we met just south of our town in Coach Jan's neighborhood and what do you know? Hill!

Sorry the picture is so dark - it was nearing sunset when I took it. Click on it and you'll see it better.

I know - it looks more like a slope than a hill, but let me tell you, it kicked my butt nine ways to Sunday! First, we did an easy warm up run of about a mile, then we dropped our water bottles on the side of the road, lined up in either the "fast" group or the "slow" group (if I tell you that this picture is of the fast group can you guess which group I chose?), and then we were to run pretty darn fast up that slope hill, to the fire hydrant (which is hard to see in the picture) and then walk back. Repeat six times. I think the fast group did it eight times. Well. This did not go great for me. My left calf started hurt hurt hurting big time during the second time up. Cramp? I don't know. It made me limp. I speed walked up for the third go-round with Coach Erica, and then ran the last few times with my half buddy, Julia. Not sure what happened - being that we met at 6:30 pm, and it was warmer temperatures than I'm used to running in, maybe that messed me up. I did drink what I thought was a lot of water throughout the day, but I guess it wasn't enough.

I came home and threw my arsenal of cures at my leg - ibuprofen, coconut water (potassium), rolled it with the Stick, and finally iced it with my trusty bag o' frozen peas. And it's much better. I kind of feel like a baby - what happened to the person who ran five miles a few days earlier? They say each run is different, and I guess "they" are right!

Rest day for my legs today - although I will be doing my arm exercises with the tube, push ups, and also some ab work on my stability ball. Tomorrow the Run Whisperer and I will do another run "together" - this time for 35 minutes!

If you haven't already, don't forget to enter my giveaway for that gorgeous "Mind Over Miles" necklace from Lift Your Sole - entries accepted until 10:00 pm Thursday night.