So I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, but last weekend was so miserable and rainy that I just couldn't run in it. It wasn't the slow drizzly kind of rain, it poured. Friday night, all day Saturday and Sunday. Bleh.
I wound up splitting my eight mile run and completing it on Monday and Tuesday--here are the stats for those two runs:
Monday:
Distance: 4 miles
Total time: 50 minutes, 4 seconds
Average pace: 1231
Best pace: 910
Weather: 73* with 98% humidity (feels like 73*) at 0500
Song o' the run: "Crazy Love" by Van Morrison
Tuesday:
Distance: 4 miles
Total time: 48 minutes, 13 seconds
Average pace: 1201
Weather: 76* with 96% humidity (feels like 79*) at 0515
Now is about the time I sart combining runs. I have had very good luck with dividing runs up over three days...one day is for the half marathon distance, the other one or two days is for the full marathon distance. For example, this week I ran four miles on Friday and then ran nine miles on Saturday. Doing the 39.3 miles takes quite a bit of a toll on my body, so I've managed to stay injury free (so far, knock on wood) by not doing 30 miles in one day or anything crazy like that. I tend to back them off a bit and allow my body some recovered time. When I do need to do a total of 30 miles (10 one run, 20 the next) I might do three consecutive days of 10milers or I might divide it into two days of 15 miles each. Or I might just bite the bullet and do the 10/20 split. It all depends on what else is happening around that time.
I have seen some odd things while running, and this week was no exception. For example, one day I ran very early in the morning--about 0430. Now, I wear a headlamp when I run that early, mainly so cars can see me I don't get run over. As I'm running, I'm watching the bugs that are attacted to my light...then a bat swoops down about two feet in front of my face to grab some of the bugs. Lemme tell ya--if you've never had that happen, it'll wake you up, lol.
Yesterday, I'm running along and I see a car coming towards me and hear the dogs that are getting a ride in it barking at me, which happens quite often. Then I see a dog head hanging out of the window...then I see that the dog looks like it's going to jump, I'm about to yell "NO!" to see if I can get it to stop, but it jumps out anyway. It's a little Sheltie and it tumbled tip over tail for a couple of seconds then walked over towards me. I grabbed it, gently, and held it in a sitting position while the lady that was driving got out of her car and came to get it (if the dog was injured, it didn't know me and I don't want it to either get the dog more upset or get bitten from a pain/fear reaction). She tells me she thought she had locked the windows but everything happened too quickly to stop it once she realized what was going on. The dog seemed very shocked but okay...I asked her if she needed help getting it to the vet (which I hope she took it to one--seems like the dog might either have broken bones or had internal injuries) but luckily her husband was walking up to us at that point and they left. Lesson learned by me: lock the car windows.
Distance: 9 miles
Total time: 2 hours, 6 minutes and 14 seconds (yup, it was a slow one)
Average pace: 1402
Best pace: 1015
Weather: 80* with 96% humidity (feels like 86*) at 0545
Song o' the run: "Pain Killer" (by Freestylers, featuring Pendulum)
I'm still at $225 for my contributions! I know it's a long way out but if you have a couple of dollars to give, I know the EOD MasterBlasters would appreciate your efforts to help their cause. Please donate! =^)
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Week Four
I had to run my seven miles this on Friday morning because of a funeral I went to on Saturday. The running seems almost irrelevant this week—I’m feeling very reflective on what I heard and saw yesterday.
What I experienced almost seemed to reinforce my goals for running, in a sideways sort of way. LaShana Douville, the widow of TSgt Daniel Douville, said at one point “your tears do not impress me. If you don’t like something, then do something to change it. Do something.”
While I cannot change what happens in Afghanistan, I feel like I’m doing something by raising money to help those that are injured. I don’t know, maybe this seems off the wall, but it feels to me like this is the only REAL way I can contribute to what is happening to these men and women. I know they do what they do, not for glory, but to simply help. To stop others from being injured or killed, to contribute in a way that only they, as a collective group, can contribute.
My efforts seem minor to me but at least I feel as though I’m doing something.
Thank you, TSgt Douville and to all of those who proceeded you in this war.
Miles: 7
Total time: 1 hour, 22 minute
Average pace: 11:45
Best pace: 9:27
Weather: Humid temp was 74* at 0600, but it was 96% humidity
Song o’ the run: Ready to Run by The Dixie Chicks
What I experienced almost seemed to reinforce my goals for running, in a sideways sort of way. LaShana Douville, the widow of TSgt Daniel Douville, said at one point “your tears do not impress me. If you don’t like something, then do something to change it. Do something.”
While I cannot change what happens in Afghanistan, I feel like I’m doing something by raising money to help those that are injured. I don’t know, maybe this seems off the wall, but it feels to me like this is the only REAL way I can contribute to what is happening to these men and women. I know they do what they do, not for glory, but to simply help. To stop others from being injured or killed, to contribute in a way that only they, as a collective group, can contribute.
My efforts seem minor to me but at least I feel as though I’m doing something.
Thank you, TSgt Douville and to all of those who proceeded you in this war.
Miles: 7
Total time: 1 hour, 22 minute
Average pace: 11:45
Best pace: 9:27
Weather: Humid temp was 74* at 0600, but it was 96% humidity
Song o’ the run: Ready to Run by The Dixie Chicks
Monday, July 4, 2011
Week Three
I forgot the golden rule of running. The night before a long run, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. I did drink quite a bit in the morning before I left, but even still I could feel this run within minutes of beginning. Then I got a dehydration headache at mile four. Bleh. But since I was already at mile *four*, I figured two more miles wouldn’t hurt me (I was hydrated enough to be sweating the entire run and didn’t have chills so I knew I was okay to finish, at least). But it made for a long run…and not in miles.
But I did see lots of things as I was running. Turtles were my biggest audience on Sunday. There was one that I thought was a leaf until I got right up on it and realized it was a baby and another one that had to have been the size around of a five gallon bucket…I didn’t even know that got that big here. I’ve had pretty good luck at the wildlife I’ve seen. Nothing dangerous (though there is a bear that lives in my neighborhood) or too questionable (coyotes always make me worry) just turtles, a raccoon, deer, lots of bunnies and squirrels, and several types of birds (the hawks are cool, the buzzards are creepy).
When I run in another area--Timberlake—I see a lot of footprints back there, though not so much the animals themselves. But I’ve seen bear, raccoon, deer, a very large coyote (or some other canine species) and a few other prints. I always like going back there though; the dirt road kind of records the life around us that tends to hide when it sees humans coming.
This week I’m at $225! I’m moving slowly, but I am moving. =^)
Here's my weekly stats (per my nifty Garmin):
Miles: 6
Total time: 1 hour, 19 minutes
Average pace: 13:17
Best pace: 10:21
Weather: Humid temp was 74* at 0600, 96% humidity
Song o’ the run: Ex-Girlfriend by No Doubt
But I did see lots of things as I was running. Turtles were my biggest audience on Sunday. There was one that I thought was a leaf until I got right up on it and realized it was a baby and another one that had to have been the size around of a five gallon bucket…I didn’t even know that got that big here. I’ve had pretty good luck at the wildlife I’ve seen. Nothing dangerous (though there is a bear that lives in my neighborhood) or too questionable (coyotes always make me worry) just turtles, a raccoon, deer, lots of bunnies and squirrels, and several types of birds (the hawks are cool, the buzzards are creepy).
When I run in another area--Timberlake—I see a lot of footprints back there, though not so much the animals themselves. But I’ve seen bear, raccoon, deer, a very large coyote (or some other canine species) and a few other prints. I always like going back there though; the dirt road kind of records the life around us that tends to hide when it sees humans coming.
This week I’m at $225! I’m moving slowly, but I am moving. =^)
Here's my weekly stats (per my nifty Garmin):
Miles: 6
Total time: 1 hour, 19 minutes
Average pace: 13:17
Best pace: 10:21
Weather: Humid temp was 74* at 0600, 96% humidity
Song o’ the run: Ex-Girlfriend by No Doubt
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