Redemption Run

Last week didn't turn out quite the way I had planned. I failed at many of my workouts and didn't replace them with anything. Not sure what my problem was, but I was definitely low energy and high eating. In the end the damage wasn't too terribly bad, but I needed something to kick me back in gear. 

This weekend was incredibly busy schedule wise, so I was struggling with when I was going to find 2 hours to get a run in. In the end I decided that Saturday afternoon made the most sense. We got through TKD and swim practice, I had lunch and then set off. I had in my head I wanted to do 8 miles. I had done 7 last weekend and have the 17.75 (km) race coming up in two weeks. I can't slack off on my mileage now! 

Lonely left over snow rock. 

Due to our non-snow/but still precipitation event I wasn't sure how muddy the trails would be. Being as I was game to run with as few hills as possible, I decided to set out that way. It has been quite awhile since I have run outside, but the weather was treating us to a springlike day and I didn't want to miss out! 

I started the path and felt good. I haven't been having such great runs since the Princess, so I was a little nervous. I felt strong, maybe missing those workouts was a good rest! 

I had purchased new earphones at Target this morning as my old ones had gone through the wash. I had tried them out and they seemed to be shorting. My original pair, that I love go over my ears and I picked them up in the checkout line at TJ Maxx. You know where they stuff all the candy/food from who knows when and other odd assortments. Yup. Just sitting there. Any rate, due to this, I know I will never find them again. The new ones from Target seem way to big. I didn't have time to fiddle with them, so I plugged in the old ones hoping they would at least be on for most of the run. Of course, they worked perfectly the whole time! Why didn't I try them before I ripped open the other package?? 

Anyways, I set off on the trail. I was pretty sure I had a 7 mile loop I had run in preparation for Woodrow Wilson, but wasn't exactly sure. I decided to wing it. My extended neighborhood has enough loops that you can pretty much do as little or long as you want. I followed the trail from our park to another park, which is about 2.5 miles. Felt good and I had hit upon the 5k to 10k podcast from kissmyblackass.org. She was running me 12 minutes with 1 minute walks. Feeling strong I headed onto the sidewalk, which is where the hills begin to come into play. I walked up the first big one and then started another 12 minute cycle, still going well. Jogged into a few cul de sacs to add to my distance and then finally headed towards the school my kids go to. Got up a big hill by the school (running!) and then took streets to get from the front of the school to the back. Headed down the street a little further and I found an entry to the trail I hadn't taken before. 

So headed back and then I was at about 7 miles. I had taken a few walk breaks, but the sun and the perfect air temp were pushing me on. I ran past the playground my kids and I have spent many an hour at and grinned at how many people were there. Love when folks take advantage of good weather. Looped through my neighborhood proper and headed home. 

In the end I finished my 8 miles about 1 hour 40 mins. SO much better! That is a pace of about 12:45, which is where I have been for the most part. Redemption for the 16:10 pace at Disney! 

The day was beautiful and I am so glad I was able to clear the decks of responsibility for my run. I am also happy because I used to allow myself 15 minutes per mile when scheduling my runs. While it isn't a big difference finishing 8 miles under 1:45 seems like a big win to me! 

Friday night we celebrated my son bridging over to Boy Scouts, I am so proud of him! 

One out of Two Isn't Bad

Well, all I can say is the snow was a big bust. It started out promising. School was cancelled, Governments closed, snow coming down from the sky. However, the weather goddesses weren't cooperating and the temperatures just couldn't come down far enough to keep the snow from being a big slushfest. The kids made it work by sledding and generally run around in the rain/sleet/snow.

Even though my office was technically closed, I had calls scheduled with a vendor, so the show must go on.

I did get a 3 mile run in and bumped up the speed just a notch the last .25 mile. This is my pattern before I move up to a new speed for my weekday runs. Its a slow progress, but I seem to be able to make it work for me so far. Afterwards I took time to stretch. This is so important, but I don't always do it. (see all the entries where I am running up to the minute before I need to go someplace)

After that I decided all was not lost on the arm workout and I went to clear our sidewalks of the remaining slush. It was heavy, but with a corner lot, we get a lot of traffic. I wanted to make sure it was clear so tomorrow it will just be wet rather then iced over.

I now have the kids in bed, a fire in the fireplace and a glass of wine in hand. Relaxation is on deck for me and then some heavenly sleep. 2 more days of this hectic week to get through!

Who Cares About Running....Its Going to Snow!!

I live outside of DC and we haven't had a good snow storm for 2 years. It is going to snow starting in a few hours and I am EXCITED. 

Courtesy of  Capital Weather Gang/Washington Post

Isn't it beautiful? 

I am sorry to say that I slept through boot camp this morning. Silly alarm mistake, but an honest one. When the cleaner comes through our rooms and dusts she always manages to turn the volume way down. She hasn't done it in awhile, but my alarm was screaming with no voice this morning. 

When I woke up I was a little upset. I had planned to be at boot camp 3 times this week, and this was going to throw a wrench in things. Tonight was my son's first Boy Scout meeting and they were having a parent meeting as well. I wanted to go and meet the other parents, so today became a rest day. I think it will be ok, as tomorrow is shaping up to be a big upper body workout. (see above!)

All seems right with the world right now, so we are going with that.