I worked until 8:30 tonight, hit my apartment around 9 and all I could think about was how I should have been on the track tonight with my friends and how my running has fallen by the wayside this summer. I thought about just getting my run in tonight, but for once the choice between 9pm and 6am has the latter as my obvious decision.
One could argue that for someone who trains as hard and as passionately as I do during marathon season, a lazy summer scattered with fun runs might actually be a good thing. But I'm not "one" and I really dislike myself when I'm not dedicated to training. I feel sloppy, tired, fat and lazy, just to name a few choice adjectives. And just for the record, that spare tire I've been complaining about since April is still large and in charge.
So tonight, in lieu of a late night 5-mile run that I knew wasn't in my best interest, I sat down and planned out my training for the B.A.A. Half. I'm a few weeks late starting (like 4...), but luckily I'm neither starting from scratch (i.e. no fitness) nor trying to significantly break last year's PR. I just want to finish in or around the same time as I did - give or take a couple of minutes.
The good news is I have a plan written on a calendar, which means I'll stick to it and fall back into a running habit. The bad news is I have NO idea how I'm going to pull it off, with the current schedule I've been keeping. To be honest, I'm so concerned about it that I'm even starting to wonder how the heck I'm going to do DFMC this year. I mean, I'm expected to run Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sun; cross-train Wed, Fri; fundraise, work absurd hours because we're under-staffed and the economy is crap, pay my bills on time, clean my apartment, keep my relationship afloat AND get enough sleep to keep me functioning and healthy? Uhhh... Riiiiiight...
Any suggestions on how to balance all this and keep my job, family, boyfriend and Jan (head of DFMC) from dropping or hating me? I suppose I should just sleep on it. Everything always works out in the end. Why should I believe that this won't?
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
New Kicks, Walden Pond and Getting Hosed
Greetings, readers! Once again, I've been depriving you of sweet bloggy goodness. Sorry about that - Summer sure is flying by... Lots to blog about, though!
First the biggest deal - NEW SNEAKERS! Yes, Goldilocks is trying out another pair. I scooted over to Marathon Sports on a recent day off from work and learned that based on my feet/needs, my world of running shoe options is as big as three sneakers, two of which I've been running in for the past 6 months. So I figured why not give the third model a whirl. I can't remember the model name, but I'm checking out some sweet Asics that are supposed to be both supportive and cushiony. I dig them because they seem to put a bounce in my step, literally (think Tigger, but 5 feet tall and blond). I also opted for gel insoles which are probably also contributing to the "boing" effect. So far so good, I think. And they sure are comfy. Two thumbs up!
In the same day that I bought these sweet new kicks, I also made my first-ever trip to Walden Pond. Noah needed to get a swim in, I wanted to get a run in and I had the day off, so he had the brilliant idea that we kill two workouts with one trip, then have a pic-a-nic (my pronunciation, not his) on the pond. After all, what's the point of working out if you can't pig out on yummy food afterwards? While I never did seem to find the paved bike path he recommended and my attempt at a trail run ended VERY quickly when I realized how narrow the path was and how many people were walking on it, it was fun exploring a new running area and finally getting to check out this Walden Pond thing I've heard so much about. I of course also took the opportunity afterwards to kick off the Asics, toss on my bathing suit and dust off my underwater handstand and cannonball skills. Still got it ;)
Last but not least, this past weekend was the Falmouth Road Race and a fellow DFMC-er was kind enough once again this year to open up his beautiful home in Brewster for the gang to crash at for the weekend. We fished (I caught a 34" striper! The biggest of the day - and our dinner that night), we made a bonfire, we grilled out, we walked the beach and yeah, I guess we raced too.
While the actual running part was a bit frustrating for me, once again everything was well-managed, the course overflowing with water stops and volunteers, and the post-race spread was out of this world. I also reveled in the joy of being hosed down by friendly locals who live along the course and proving that yes, my Garmin is water resistant.
What's that? You want to know about my finish time? Only 10 seconds faster than last year, but please take into consideration that by circumstances out of my control I was placed in the very last starting corral and it took me 2.5 miles before I finally passed all the walkers, joggers, old people and little kids and finally hit my stride. So when you take into consideration how slow my first couple of miles were, you can easily say I totally kicked ass on pace in the last 5. Plus, I was able to shake off the 10 year old girl who was pacing me for a mile (I beat her by a full minute...) and I finished feeling strong.
What more could a girl ask for in a weekend on the Cape, besides beer at the finish? No, there wasn't any. But there were hot dogs. Glorious, delicious, wonderful hot dogs. And this, dear reader, is why I will run Falmouth every single year.
First the biggest deal - NEW SNEAKERS! Yes, Goldilocks is trying out another pair. I scooted over to Marathon Sports on a recent day off from work and learned that based on my feet/needs, my world of running shoe options is as big as three sneakers, two of which I've been running in for the past 6 months. So I figured why not give the third model a whirl. I can't remember the model name, but I'm checking out some sweet Asics that are supposed to be both supportive and cushiony. I dig them because they seem to put a bounce in my step, literally (think Tigger, but 5 feet tall and blond). I also opted for gel insoles which are probably also contributing to the "boing" effect. So far so good, I think. And they sure are comfy. Two thumbs up!
In the same day that I bought these sweet new kicks, I also made my first-ever trip to Walden Pond. Noah needed to get a swim in, I wanted to get a run in and I had the day off, so he had the brilliant idea that we kill two workouts with one trip, then have a pic-a-nic (my pronunciation, not his) on the pond. After all, what's the point of working out if you can't pig out on yummy food afterwards? While I never did seem to find the paved bike path he recommended and my attempt at a trail run ended VERY quickly when I realized how narrow the path was and how many people were walking on it, it was fun exploring a new running area and finally getting to check out this Walden Pond thing I've heard so much about. I of course also took the opportunity afterwards to kick off the Asics, toss on my bathing suit and dust off my underwater handstand and cannonball skills. Still got it ;)
Last but not least, this past weekend was the Falmouth Road Race and a fellow DFMC-er was kind enough once again this year to open up his beautiful home in Brewster for the gang to crash at for the weekend. We fished (I caught a 34" striper! The biggest of the day - and our dinner that night), we made a bonfire, we grilled out, we walked the beach and yeah, I guess we raced too.
While the actual running part was a bit frustrating for me, once again everything was well-managed, the course overflowing with water stops and volunteers, and the post-race spread was out of this world. I also reveled in the joy of being hosed down by friendly locals who live along the course and proving that yes, my Garmin is water resistant.
What's that? You want to know about my finish time? Only 10 seconds faster than last year, but please take into consideration that by circumstances out of my control I was placed in the very last starting corral and it took me 2.5 miles before I finally passed all the walkers, joggers, old people and little kids and finally hit my stride. So when you take into consideration how slow my first couple of miles were, you can easily say I totally kicked ass on pace in the last 5. Plus, I was able to shake off the 10 year old girl who was pacing me for a mile (I beat her by a full minute...) and I finished feeling strong.
What more could a girl ask for in a weekend on the Cape, besides beer at the finish? No, there wasn't any. But there were hot dogs. Glorious, delicious, wonderful hot dogs. And this, dear reader, is why I will run Falmouth every single year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)