Wednesday, August 26, 2015

WWU - Shirt Twins!

Me and Diane - shirt twins!

I swear, we didn't call each other beforehand, but I love that Diane and I both wore the same shirt for Saturday's long run (it's by Underarmour and has a cool cutout on the back).  I have to say, we aren't looking too bad here, considering this was taken after the run - six miles for me and nine for Diane.  What you can't see is that I was more soaking wet than usual, thanks to an encounter with a stealth sprinkler that hosed me down ala Chris Farley in Tommy Boy near the end of my run.  Diane is having a banner year - last December she had a wake up call at the doctor's office, by way of a near-diabetes diagnosis.  She's lost 85 pounds (cut out refined sugar and most carbs) and is doing great...plus she's running like a champ!  I'm really impressed with her determination to live a healthy life.

Getting back to that six miler run, hooooboy, it was a run, alright.  Hot and humid weather (94%, ugh), no breeze, and air so thick it felt like you could cut out a cube and sit it on a shelf.  CC, Loretta and I started out 30 minutes earlier than the rest of the group because they had to be somewhere at 8:00 am.  It was so much darker at 5:30, and while not exactly scary, because there were three of us, it was a little on the creepy side.

I went into that run on tired legs.  I guess because we've been running so many long runs already (5, 6, 7 milers), I was thinking "it's only six miles" and ended up running Thursday with Jeff, and then Friday with Cary.  So I came into that run on Saturday with 5 recent miles on my legs, and I definitely felt less energetic than on previous Saturdays.  Apparently I really do need that rest day on Friday...lesson learned.  Any case, we had a pretty good run, started a new topic of conversation that made the last mile go by in a flash, and it ended up being nice to finish so early and get to watch everyone come in.

Our post-run trip to Blue Baker was excellent, as usual, with Brian spotting a wonky-frosted cupcake as they brought out a huge tray.  He called out "hey, you can't sell that one" to the baker, who said he'd cut it up for us.  I don't know who I was happier with, Brian for spying the errant cupcake, or the baker for giving it to us: 
Our hero!
Chocolate cupcake with strawberry icing - they take fresh strawberries and mash them into buttercream icing...and yes, it tastes as good as it sounds!
A little later the baker came by with a fudge brownie for us.  It was slightly chilled and just.so.good.  

Blue Baker is spoiling us, big time - and we all appreciate it immensely!

********************

This is a tough week for running.  We had 45 minutes on tap for Monday, and from the first step, my entire left side was aching.  Jeff and I made it through 2 miles and then called it a day...at some point, a run isn't going to get any better, plus I didn't want to hurt myself.  I'm sure the heat/humidity isn't helping, either - it was 79 degrees with 93% humidity when we ran on Monday morning.  Jeff and I ended up deciding to take an extra rest day and skipped the hill workout yesterday.  I think we were just plain tired - we are on week 7 of a pretty rough schedule, and it was time for a little break.  Hopefully by tomorrow I'll have my energy back for a 40 minute run with Cary...and then, we have 8 miles on Saturday, yikes!

14 comments:

  1. Haha, funny about the shirts! Congrats to your friend on all the weight loss. That is amazing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so happy for Diane - and I love that she was able to buckle down and do this on her own.

      Delete
  2. That's funny about the shirts and compliments to your friend for her huge weight loss.

    Good for you that you are listening to your body and take a rest day when you need it. I'm sure you will be at the start Saturday on fresh legs.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Eight miles on Saturday! That seems crazy--it just hit me. You're at 8 miles and we're not even out of August. And your goal race isn't until January, right? Oh well, totally a cupcake-worthy run, right? And yes, I am so so jealous of your BB visit this week! But that does give me a great idea for my next rare cupcake. You know how I like mashing strawberries :)

    That humidity is just unreal. You might as well be running in the rain! Great picture of you and Diane. I love her story.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are correct on all accounts - the only reason I'm doing this schedule is to run with Loretta, who had to defer her entry to the BCS half marathon last year. It has helped, so far, that by running her pace, I'm not dying out there...but no matter what, 8 miles is just a dang long way to run.

      Delete
  4. You're doing great with the running! Better to take a rest day than risk injury. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Blue Baker is totally spoiling you guys LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hope your don't hurt yourself. Please take care of yourself and take a rest day or two. Great job on the 6 miles. That's awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I want that cupcake!

    I told a friend on FB recently that humidity is a run killer and a spirit killer and all you can do is slog through knowing that you don't even have to actually do your best. We've been have 100% humidity all this week and yes that means I've been running in pea soup fog. Even a short run can feel exhausting in those conditions!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's what I try to remember - it's just time on our feet at this point, what with the humidity and heat. Come October, we might just feel like runners again.

      Delete
  8. I love how that diner is spoiling you - they should since you are there every week! Wow, congrats on your friend taking her life into control - I cannot tell you how many emails I get a week from other diabetics that tell me it's too hard to manage and that they are "okay" with consistent blood sugars in the 300-400 range. It's a pain in the ass, but it's manageable!

    I think you are doing great on the mileage too!

    ReplyDelete
  9. You both look so cute in those tops! My favorite color, too! :)

    Good call on the wonky cupcake. Ha! Last week my grandma was serving me a piece of cake and it fell over on its side and she apologized - I laughed and told her "it still tastes the same!!!"

    Hope you feel better for your LR this weekend!

    ReplyDelete

Comments are now moderated to prevent spammers from leaving, well, spam - but rest assured that as soon as I read a real comment, I will publish it. So please, comment away, even though the blog is officially closed. Thanks!