MIA

I've been gone for the last week or so. The family and I went to Florida to visit some relatives and go to Disney. Other than the driving, we had a good time. The weather was nice for the most part, and the kids had a lot of fun at Disney.

Unfortunately, I did not run a step while I was there. I had good intentions and even brought all my running stuff, but it just did not happen. And now that I'm back, I'm sick. I left work early today to come home and try to rest. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow, but I'm not setting my alarm to get up and run.

Kid's Race Debacle

Saturday morning J and I took the kids to run their first race. There was a one mile kid's race at the local 5k, and the kids seemed interested when we asked them if they wanted to run a race. I left early to register everyone while J stayed behind to get the kids ready. I should have known there would be trouble when I lost one of the chips, although I'm still not sure why they wanted to use chips for the one-mile kids run.

The race started and j wanted nothing to do with it. He was grumpy since we had to wake him up to get to the race on time. b was having fun, until we were about a half mile in and he fell. He was not happy after that. But we finished the race, and then the kids got to play on the playground, so it wasn't a total loss. I didn't think it would be, but a mile is too far for a three and four year old to run. Next time we'll find a 1k.

As far as my own running, the race with the kids Saturday was all I ran, and then after a late night out Saturday I took Sunday off. Monday and today I ran six miles. This morning was the first morning in a while that I've felt pretty good.

Another Day, Another Seven Miles

Nothing too exciting to report today. I ran seven miles, out and back along the parkway. It's cooled off here, and it drizzled a little this morning, but thankfully it didn't rain any harder. Tomorrow morning we're taking the kids to their first race. Good times.

Wednesday Nights

Wednesday nights lead to tired Thursday mornings for me. It seems like pretty much every Wednesday night I have something going on. Last night I was out and so I got to bed a little late, and I contemplated sleeping in and skipping the run. But when the alarm went off the second time a few minutes after I hit the snooze, I was awake and I got up and out the door.

This morning's seven miles was ultimately disappointing. I was attempting to stay focused and maintain a decent pace, and it felt like I was, but when I got to the six mile mark and looked at my watch, it was not as fast as I though. As I finished up the last mile, though, I did think at least my stomach didn't give me any problems today.

A Quick Recap

I've been a little disappointed with my training lately. I've been taking too many zeros without a good reason. Just a lack of motivation on my part it seems.

Saturday I ran six miles. I didn't feel to good and just couldn't get moving. Sunday I didn't run and Monday I ran about five miles. I was feeling OK a first and then my stomach started to bother me, so I cut the run short. Tuesday I ran seven miles which went better than any other of my runs in the past few days. This morning I only ran about three miles, due to my hitting the snooze button a few times before I got out of bed.

Running Again

I didn't post anything yesterday because I didn't run yesterday. Another late night led to another night of sleeping in.

This morning I got seven miles in along the parkway. I really didn't feel too good at all about two miles in and seriously contemplated turning around and cutting the run short. But I persevered, and got better and even picked up the pace a bit the last two and a half miles.

Pace really seems like a mental thing with me. I think sometimes when I'm running early in the morning and am tired and not mentally into the run, I run slower than I could be. This morning I made a conscious decision to pick up the pace and felt fine.

Lifestyle

Being the best athlete you can be requires a lifestyle. Sure, you may be able to be pretty good just doing whatever you want, but to truly be the best you can be you need to live it. You have to take care of everything, not just the easy things or only the things you want to take care of.

That being said, I did not do a good job living the lifestyle yesterday. If I had, I would have been asleep when J got home from her meeting instead of still awake. Since I was still awake, I stayed up later and then wound up sleeping in this morning rather than running.

But tonight is another night. Tonight I can get to bed on time and run tomorrow morning.

Darn that Tasty Mexican Food

Ever since J made guacamole a couple weeks ago, I've been craving Mexican food. My dad happened to be in DC for work for a few days this week, and we met him for dinner last night at Austin Grill. I took the opportunity to indulge in some fajitas, rice, and beans.

I ran seven miles along the parkway this morning, and while my stomach didn't feel great the whole way, it didn't get really bad until the end of the run. I barely made it back home in time.

Today was the first day I've noticed my legs not feeling too great. They were heavy and overall I felt kind of lethargic this morning. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow.

Why?

Why can the Steelers not play games that end at a reasonable hour? Out of five games this season, they've played twice on Sunday night and once on Monday night. These Sunday and Monday night games do not leave me very well-rested the next morning.

Even with the less-than-ideal amount of sleep, I got out for eight miles this morning. I haven't run today's loop in a little while, with the injury and all, but it's much nicer now that they widened the road and added an asphalt path alongside it. The weather's still nice, it was around 50 degrees this morning.

Zero, Again

I don't understand why it's so difficult for me to get out for a run on weekends. You'd think it would be easy.

This morning J ran the Army 10-Miler, and I watched the kids. The plan was to feed the kids and then run on the treadmill. That didn't quite work out. I just got to be too late too quickly, and before I knew I didn't have time to run and get ready to go pick J up so we could go the the birthday party.

What I need to do is give myself a schedule and stick to it. We'll see how that works next weekend.

Zero

No running today. That's what happens when you have a sick kid who keeps you awake later than you'd like and you're lazy and don't get up in the morning. I hope to get back on the wagon tomorrow.

A Little Discomfort

This morning I ran seven miles again, this time on the path that parallels the parkway. It was another nice chilly morning in the 40s.

Even as I was just beginning to run I had some GI discomfort. I thought about running loops and staying close to home, but then I figured experiencing a little discomfort during training might not be a bad thing and I went out the way I planned. I was fine until I had about two miles left, at which point I needed a quick bathroom break in the woods. Once that was taken care of, I finished up the run without any problems.

I'm still not running as fast as I'd like. I don't want to PR on each run or anything like that, but my easy day pace is slower than it used to be. Thus far I'm chalking it up to the layoff and lack of sleep, but I'm hoping it improves.

Easy Day

I'm experimenting and seeing if I can actually write in this thing every day for a week.

This morning's run was an easy seven miles. I had been hoping for more sleep last night, but I actually felt ok this morning. The route goes through the neighborhood near my house. It was the first really cool fall morning with temps in the 40s. I love this time of year.

Today showed me what I need to do to reach my goals. Get up, get out the door, and get running. No complaining, no excuses.

Lackluster

If there was one word to describe my running lately, lackluster would probably be it. Sure, I've had some good days, but I've also had some short days and even some zero days. I'm working on getting the mileage back up. This week I'll be around 35 miles, and next week my goal is to get into the 40-45 range.