Wednesday Workout Update

Have you noticed lately that these posts are all about running, and I'm not mentioning swimming?  Um, yeah.  That would be because I have not been to the pool in a few weeks.  What can I say - since I've been able to run more, I've been interested in swimming less.  Maybe when the weather turns hotter, starting my mornings out with a nice swim that keeps me cool for several hours afterward will be enticing.  Or maybe if the gas prices keep going up, I'll drop my membership because it does seem a little ridiculous to drive nearly 20 minutes each way to swim.  We'll see...but for now, here's another WWU, and it's all about the running.

Last week (except for the 5K on Sunday) was not the greatest for me in terms of running - but I'm not discouraged, as I know from prior experience that not all runs are great.  I figure that as long as I'm getting out there, I'm ahead of the game, and the next good run is just around the corner.  That said, here's what I looked like about a minute after finishing my 5.5 miler on Saturday (please note that I not only managed to grab a bottle of water and an ice-cold washcloth, but also a mini ice cream sandwich...I have my priorities, people!):

Red-faced, squinty-eyed, sweaty...oh, I was a sight.

And if you're wondering why I looked so bad - well, that was a rough run.  We were in the hills (seriously, they DO exist in my town, if you drive about 20 minutes), it was quite warm and humid to begin with, and HELLO.  Hills are hard!  I did run the first 2.2 miles without stopping, which was good, but then?  It got really difficult.  And hot.  And there were periods of running, and periods of walking.  At one point, around mile 3, my face was burning from the heat and the sweat - it felt like I was on fire.  Luckily a breeze seemed to come up and that helped, but this was just not a pretty run at all.  And that's OK.  Because in the end, I completed 5.5 miles of hills, and that's a heck of a lot more than I've done in a long time.