Just Plain Stupid

The downstairs bathroom confuses Buddy. If you go in there, he's pretty sure you have left the house. He patrols upstairs and checks all the rooms to try to figure out where you've gone. The upstairs bathroom he understands, and if the shower is on, he knows someone is in there, so he'll hang out at the top of the stairs or in the office to wait for you to come out.

Buddy is extra fancy right now with his new pirate bandana from the kennel where he stayed while we were at the lake house.

I came home to fun mail the other day - a pair of Pro Compression Marathon socks that I won off of Sally's blog. She also has an adorable dog, so if you need more cute dog pictures in your life, you should definitely check her blog out HERE.

I think my body glide is officially dead. It's been limping along for a while, and I should probably track some down one of these days.

I finally hit my breaking point on running in the heat today. I made a promise to my body that I would stop trying to run in the middle of the day on hot days. It's not intentional, it's just when I like to run. I hate waking up early, and when I try to run later in the day, I tend to skip it. But these last few weeks have shown me that I need to suck it up, listen to my body, and run a little smarter. Trying to push through the heat is just plain stupid.

So, at least on super hot days, I'm going to either run early, or late. It's going to happen.

Probably.

Buddy helped me with some yoga after my run today. Looking cute is helpful, right? He's really good at it.

Marathon Training Week 6

This week was a tough one. I wasn't good about managing my time, it was hot, and we went up to the lake house. I was actually feeling like I fell off the training plan because I didn't get my long run in, but when I actually look over my training log, I hit every other goal for the week. One missed run isn't going to wreck my training.

Monday: Cross training. I did an hour of yoga with my new yoga app. It's called Yoga Studio, and while I feel like the instructor voice is a little too breathy for my taste, I really like the app so far. The beginner level poses are actually things I can do (there's nothing like an impossibly difficult pose to make me instantly stop doing yoga) and they're really well explained too.

Tuesday: 4 miles. Tuesday is when the well pump died and we didn't have any water. It was a late run, hot and humid. I also wanted to go home pretty much the whole time. I wouldn't have gone out at all, but Tom had a run as part of his workout and we started out together. 4 miles @ 9:48 pace.

Wednesday: 7 miles. I really should have woken up early and run before work, but I didn't. Instead, I ran in the heat and walked up a lot of the hills. It was the hottest day of the year (so far) and I have no one to blame but myself for this run. 7.01 miles @ 10:39 pace.

Thursday: 4 miles. We were planning to leave right after work to head to the lake house, so I actually woke up early to run. And then I tried to convince Tom that I should go back to sleep. He had 5k to run for his workout, so he convinced me to lace up and hit the road. 4.02 miles @ 9:24 pace.

Representing Rivertown Runners on the boat dock

Friday: Rest day. I had major plans to get my runs in while we were at the lake house. I was planning on shifting things around and taking my rest day on Sunday. It didn't quite work out as planned. Friday I worked my way through a disturbing number of bugs (I don't even want to talk about it) and polished off 7.18 miles at 9:40 pace.

Saturday: 7 miles. Saturday ended up being a relaxing day at the lake house. We spent some time out on the boat and lounging/reading by the dock. Not a bad way to spend a day!

Sunday: 15 miles. This just didn't happen. It's a 6 hour drive from the lake house back to our house, and I had some things I wanted to get done once we got back. While missing my long run for the week makes me feel like a bit of a failure for the week, I realize that one missed run isn't going to make that big of a difference in the long run.

I'm short on miles for the week, but I'm putting it behind me and ready to take on my next week of training. I'm hoping the heat will cut me some slack and I'll be able to pick up the pace a little bit. It would be good for my mental health.

Miles this week: 22.21

Rusty Showers and Hot Runs

We ended up getting a new well pump yesterday. It turns out that the bottom of the old pump had rusted off, so the well guys were surprised we had any water at all!

For now, we're not drinking our water, and it's not exactly coming out completely clear - it's more...rust colored. They stirred up a lot of sediment and rusty bits yesterday, so it will take a few days for it all to settle again. We're also going through about one sediment filter per day. But at least there are showers now!

I was going to be super lazy and not run yesterday afternoon, but Tom had a 2k run as part of his workout, so we ran a bit together. He turned back to finish his workout, and I trudged my way through the heat to 4 miles. I don't think I was fully recovered from my 14 miles on Sunday, because I was slooooooooow and not feeling it. I took so long that Tom had started to wonder if he should hop in the truck and come look for me.

Buddy wasn't ready to wake up this morning, and found a nice spot in the office (under the desk) for an early morning nap.

It was supposed to hit 95 degrees today, so a rational person would have planned to wake up early for their 7 mile run, but I am not a rational person. I am a person who likes sleep. I was, of course, regretting this decision at noon (after work, I didn't sleep until noon) when I headed out the door. And in case you're wondering why I didn't wait until it cooled off later - it isn't supposed to start cooling off until around 9 tonight. No thank you.

I kept an eye on my heart rate, and walked up a lot of the hills, but I got my 7 miles in. And then I sprawled on the floor for about a half hour afterwards.

This was my view from the middle of the living room floor:

He's so cute.

Well Then...

Our water stopped working this morning. Luckily, we already had coffee made, so it wasn't as dramatic as it could have been. 

Buddy was unconcerned. 

Good thing it happened before I went out for a run - things could have been a lot sweatier.

Fortunately, we were able to get some guys out to check out the well this afternoon. They pulled some really, REALLY, rusty pipes out of the well (no danger of anemia in this house!).

I don't know what all is getting fixed and/or replaced, but they're still working away. Fingers crossed that we have running water again soon!

In less dramatic news, my PRO Compression grab bag came today, and I am really excited about the colors I got! I can't wait to take them for a run - you know, when I know I can take a shower afterwards. 

We'll see how the well progresses, it may end up being an unplanned rest day for me.

Marathon Training Week 5

This was my highest mileage week so far this year. I managed to get in all of my scheduled workouts, though I wasn't really happy about some of them.

Monday: Cross Training. Yep! I did PiYo Define: Upper Body and Lower Body. I also bought a yoga app, because I'm determined to actually stretch sometimes.

Tuesday: 4 miles. This was a terrible run. I felt horrible the entire time and actually wished I had never signed up for a marathon. I was even still grumpy about it when I was done running, which pretty much never happens. I also had a pinched nerve in my neck/shoulders over the weekend and it was still not back to normal. It was just not a good day. 4 miles at 9:45 pace.

Wednesday: 7 miles. I ran this without looking at my pace the entire time. I set my watch to distance, and just ran by feel. I needed it after Tuesday. I was hoping to run faster than I did, but I was infinitely happier than I was on Tuesday. 7.07 miles at 9:47 pace.

Thursday: 4 miles. First run in my new Wave Sayonara 2s! I ended up running in the evening, which I almost never do, and it was actually a cool run with low humidity. 4.04 at 8:42 pace.

Friday: Rest day. Tom had a Warrior Dash to run on Saturday, so I swapped my workouts for Friday and Saturday. I really didn't want to run, and I was the queen of procrastination, so I ended up running in the heat. 7.05 miles at 9:17 pace.

Saturday: 7 miles. Nope, rest day! I spent a lot of time driving and spectating. The race had Tom running up and down a ski mountain on top of all the obstacles - he had a lot of fun! I can't get any of the pictures off Tom's camera right now, so please enjoy the one picture I took with my phone of this guy in a cat unitard.

Sunday: 14 miles. I woke up early so I could get out the door before the heat and humidity took hold. Unfortunately, just as I was getting ready to go, and for a while afterwards, the radar looked a bit like this:

I finally got out the door around 8 (I was hoping for more like 6:30 or 7) and made it 2 miles before another downpour hit. I stood under a tree for a few minutes until it lightened up a little. I started listening to The Pillars of the Earth on audiobook to pass the time (so far, it's depressing). 14 miles is far, you guys! And, I don't know if I've mentioned this enough, but it is NOT flat around here. Check out that elevation:

I was hoping to be around 10:30 pace, but the hills just about killed me. Plus humidity...and heat. Why am I running a fall marathon again?

Miles this week: 36.4

Running Negotiations

It was almost cold this morning. Buddy was curled up in a little ball, so Tom gave him his blanket.

My run today was full of negotiations. First it took me absolutely forever to actually get changed and get out the door, and then there was a whole lot of lying to myself.

Ok, you can take a break at the two mile mark.

Just kidding, keep going.

Ok at the turn around point you can stop for a minute.

But then you would have to start going again up a hill. Just keep running.

At the top of this hill you can take a break.

Are you kidding me? It's downhill now, you don't need a break! 

Long story short, I ran the whole 7 hilly miles without stopping (and it was hot out!). Ok I stopped for a split second so I could jump into a ditch rather than get hit by a car, but that doesn't really count.

In case you're in need of some compression sleeves, PRO Compression has a deal going on right now. 3 pairs for $33 using the code CSGB - plus free shipping! Check it out HERE. (I gain nothing by you clicking this link, I just like sales).

Mine are already on their way :)

We're having Chinese takeout for dinner and I'm more than a little excited. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but running makes me hungry.

Tom is running a Warrior Dash race tomorrow - I'll try to get some fun pictures again!

Seen On My Run

I thought of you today. No, really, I did! I was about to head out for my run and decided to throw my phone into my fuel belt (I almost never bring it with me) so I could take some pictures for you guys.

Most of these were taken while running, so kudos to my phone for making them not look like I took them while running.

This tree has problems.

There are usually a bunch of cows by the lake, too. It's a pretty place to run if you don't mind the hills.

I also got fun mail today - new shoes! I have a couple of pairs that either already need to be retired, or are almost there, so these were definitely necessary.

I'm already excited to run tomorrow!