Drivers Can Be Hazardous To Your Health

More like your life, when you're a runner! I hate that we have no sidewalks in our neighborhood. It's really not ideal to have to run in the street, but I've found that most people in our neighborhood are pretty good drivers when I'm running, slowing down and giving me a wide berth. Not today though!

I had Laura in the jogging stroller today, and as usual we were running against traffic, with Moxie closest to oncoming traffic. I always figure she is the most expendable (sorry Moxie!) and today that's exactly what almost happened. Coming around a corner we were almost creamed by a lady texting on her cell phone (which is illegal in North Carolina now). The best part is that this wasn't a teenager...I'd say she was at least 45 or 50. Mature enough to know better, right? I pulled Moxie out of her way and just stood there in open-mouthed horror as she looked at me and drove on. This is not some corner with bad visibility, mind you. I saw her was she was still about 6 houses away.

Later, running on a straightaway, this time it was an adult man, yapping away on the phone and driving about 40 mph. He swerved and slammed on his brakes, but kept right on his way once he passed us.

All of the adrenaline, plus this being the first time I've pushed Laura in quite some time, plus me gasping for air, plus unseasonably hot weather made for a 12 minute run. Ugh. My half-marathon is looking pretty impossible right now.

Running in the Rain

Well actually, more like drizzle. In trying to keep with my every-other-day running regime, I suited up today, stepped outside, and saw that it was drizzling. Moxie said she still wanted to run (at least that's how I interpreted her pathetic whining) so off we went. My main goal today was to return home with a dog that was as dry as possible, since Moxie seems to have the wet, smelly dog thing down pat. We fairly flew (for us) over a 1.31 mile course and made it home in just under 13 minutes, giving us a 9:54 pace.

I do have to point out though, that my average pace is always lowered a bit at the end by my final sprint. It's just something ingrained in me-you sprint at the end of a run. I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do, but it's always nice to know that I have a last little kick in me, and that I can in fact run a 7 minute pace, even for just 20 seconds. So I often think that recording my pace right at the end is a bit of a lie. It said I did 9:54 this time, but I'd say most of the time I was at about 10:15, and my sprint at the end was what lowered the pace. But it's what I've always been doing, so I guess I'll just keep with it.

After A Week Of Torrential Rain...

Some nice weather! In fact-perfect running weather! I'd say it's in the upper 60's and sunny. Not a speck of wind either. The only downside was the smoke from a nearby fire, but around here that's not cause for concern like it is in California. It was probably just someone burning leaves. It wasn't too smoky, but there was enough to dry out my throat and make my breathing feel pretty ragged. Since it's been a week since my last run, I set my goal at 1.5 miles. I did it, and shaved almost a minute off of my time. Last week I ran the exact same amount (1.52 miles both times-not sure how I managed that!) Last time I did it in 16:31...this time 15:35.

I will say that I was definitely pushing myself, but still, I'm glad I had a day of a somewhat "normal" pace. 10:16 is much better that the almost 11 minute miles I was doing before. I'm sure if I run in a few days I'll be back to going slower, but it really is more important to build my endurance first. A fellow mom from Laura's class was telling me about the half marathon she did a weekend ago, and if she can do it, then I should be able to too! It seems impossible right now, but I hope I can manage one sometime in the next year.

Not As Good, But....

I really don't mind! I'm continuing to have problems with my asthma so I am pleased I did any running today at all. Moxie was so desperate to go outside that I figured we would walk and maybe run for a few minutes. Of course though, I wasn't satisfied with just a few minutes, so I told myself I'd like to do 1.5 miles. So I did!

The slowness continues though, it took me 16:31 to do my 1.52 miles. I really look forward to getting my pace back down around 10 minutes. But for now, today's run is accomplishment enough.

Complaining, Part Twenty Seven

I feel like I complain a lot on this blog. I would say that I don't mean to, but I've come to realize I'm kind of a complaining kind of gal. I'm getting so frustrated with the fact that any time I take one step forward with my running, I have to take about 3 steps back. As usual, my steps back are the fact that I'm getting sick. Luckily it's not H1N1 (yet...it's going around my daughter's school right now!) but rather my usual asthma-related sickness I seem to get every time this year. My breathing is labored even walking up my stairs.

And yet...I had a pretty good run today. I felt like crap the whole time-breathing heavily, calves hurt, running super slow, but I broke the 2 mile barrier again! I ran for 22:19 and did 2.03 miles. I'm sure you can work out that that means my pace was slow. 10:58 slow. And the only reason I got it under 11 minutes is that I sprinted at the end to force the overall pace down. Kind of cheating I suppose, but it had to be done for my ego.

The bad part is that looking back over my past runs shows a pattern-I always seem to have a really good "final" run before a sickness, and then go about 2 weeks without running, and undo all of my hard work. I really hope that isn't the case this time.

PS. I ran on Wednesday as well, 16 minutes at the park, but I chose not to write about it because Moxie was being obnoxious and trying to kill squirrels the whole time.

Brrr!

I guess I'm not used to running in chilly weather again, because today felt so cold! It's 54 degrees, which I'm aware is not that cold, but with the wind it felt downright nippy. I really bundled up and of course was regretting it pretty quickly.

I did 17.5 minutes today, a minute increase over last time. I keep telling myself I just need to slowly but surely add to my time, and soon I'll be right were I want to be. Unfortunately my pace is still embarrassingly slow-10:46 overall this time. I feel like I should be walking if I'm going to go that slow!! But there's nothing I can do about it now. I'm in no position to work on speed when I can't even hit 2 miles.

Regardless of my slow speed, I'm happy that I'm building my time again. It's been almost 6 months since I was consistently running 2 miles, and I'm desperate to get back to that point. It seems like a never-ending battle, this running business.