Debbie Downer runs again

July 24   Plan: 3k steady  Actual:  3k steady

So this run really sucked.

I feel like I've been saying that a lot lately.  My runs have sucked.  I feel like I get tired so quickly and don't have the energy to get through them properly.  I feel slow and fat and hippo-esque.  My pace is getting slower instead of faster and the more I run the harder it seems instead of easier.  This isn't the way it's supposed to be!

See? Debbie Downer.  I warned you right in the title!

I guess part of it is running in the summer.  Today wasn't crazy hot but it wasn't cool, either.   But I'm sure that most of it is due to the excess bit of weight I'm carrying right now, extra pounds that just make it harder than it already was to run from point a to point b.

I'm sure I've said before that I've lost a boatload of weight over the past few years.  A few - just a few, thankfully -  of those pounds have crept back on and I'm attempting to deal with them yet again.  Believe it or not, losing weight is the easy part - it's keeping it off that's the biggest challenge of all.  Trust me on this.  And again, it's not like I've gained it all back, not by a long shot.  But I'm sure anyone out there would agree that you really do feel an extra 10, 15, or 20lbs when you run.

As I said, I'm working to get them back off again and I know I will.  I'm not worried that I'll return to over 330lbs.  No way.  Not even close.  Ever.  Not happening.   I just want to be at a lower, more manageable weight in time for my 15k race in September and the half this blog is all about in October and mark my words, I will be.   I WILL BE.

I also take into consideration that I'm going on vacation down south one week from tomorrow and I know that I'll come home up even more.  Just the nature of vacation and the way my body processes food.  And alcohol.  So I'm in this weird spot now where I'm trying to eat super well - give myself just enough to fuel what I need to run while taking off a few pounds to give me that buffer for when we go away.  The hard core weight loss work will start again when we get back. But I'm trying to be extra good this week and next in particular to mitigate some of the damage to come.

To top it all off, I have a race Saturday morning.  The Durham Quarter Marathon, starting at Oshawa city hall and running through some trails and parks, ending at the waterfront.  It'll be my longest race to date albeit not by much - 10.59k or something like that compared to Sporting Life 10k in May.  And I know I can do this distance, I've done it and more many times before.  But I'm down on myself right now because I feel so crappy and bloaty and tired and gross.

Fingers crossed tonight's run was like a dress rehearsal in the theatre.  Conventional wisdom dictates that a bad dress means a good opening night.  Here's hoping that theory applies to running as well!

So now I'm going to do my best to eat well, stay away from the new granola I tried that I think is making me bloaty, take some Advil to counteract the pain in my arm from getting a tetnus shot yesterday during a routine doctor's appointment (seriously - if I had known it would hurt this much and make every step of my run jar my arm I might have skipped it!!), get lots of sleep before the race and hope for one hell of an opening night.

If you've got a moment for some spare good thoughts Saturday morning 

Will be back to tell you all about it on Saturday!

It's starting to get dark at 5am...

July 22  Plan:  4k tempo  Actual:  4k tempo attempt

Just a quickie post for a quickie run today.

Since it's so damned hot here today I knew there was no way that I was going to run after work so the 5am wake up it was.  It was hard to get out of bed this morning.

Really hard.

Like, a hair away from impossible.

But I did it.

Dragged my carcass out of bed, threw on my clothes, and hit the road.

In the dark.

Yes, the light she is waning in these early morn hours.  Wait, that doesn't make sense at all.  It's taking longer to get light.  Yeah, that's it.
Light or no light, it was steamy as anything, even at 5.  I can't imagine attempting to run in that humidity later in the day with the sun beating down on you.  No thanks!

I think I'm taking tomorrow off - just too much else going on this weekend - then will be back at it on Thursday, likely after work because the weather's supposed to cool and I need my sleep.  The next few days at work are going to be borderline psychotic so I'll take all the sleep I can get.

I really really didn't wanna, but I did

July 20  Plan: 4k steady  Actual: 4.2k steadyish

Man, I'm tired today.  Slept in as I said I would but was still out of bed by 7:30.  7 frickin 30.  In what universe is that sleeping in???  Mine.  Sad but true.

Was still raining so I knew there was no point in heading out to do my 4k right away.  So I hung out in my jammies, had a cup of coffee and some homemade blueberry pancakes, and chatted with hubby about the merits of getting ourselves a new camera prior to our trip south in just under two weeks.

Finally pulled myself together, had a shower, then we left to do some in store browsing which, of course, turned into a purchase.  On the way home we stopped and since it was National Ice Cream Day I grabbed some Baskin Robbins ice cream.

Now, I don't eat ice cream generally speaking.  I go to Menchie's for froyo every once in a while but real ice cream?  Almost never.  So yeah, this was one hell of a sweet treat.  So sweet that it was almost overwhelming!  But thankfully I only got a small serving and was able to enjoy every last bit.  Which made my run that much more important - all them calories weren't going to burn themselves!  Well yeah, they would, eventually, but still.

I really really really really didn't want to go.  I was tired and comfy, sitting right here on my couch.  I didn't feel like getting dressed to run, let alone running itself.  But I hauled my ass upstairs, put my shit on (including my new Moving Comfort bra, which I now adore!!), and got outside.

Hells bells it was steamy!  Still overcast so no sun to speak of but man, I was dripping like never before when I got home, after only 4k!   I felt like I was completely overheating so I peeled everything off and hopped right into a cold shower.  Bliss I tell you, pure, unadulterated bliss!

Pretty uneventful otherwise.  A hot, steamy short run to round out the week. Rest day tomorrow, then an early morning run Tuesday since it's going to be insanely warm.  Until Tuesday!

Back in double digits

July 19  Plan: 9k LSD  Actual: 10k LSD

The Running Room schedule calls for the long slow distances to be done on Sunday, mostly, I guess, because that's when their run clubs are, but I much prefer to do my long run on Saturday.  Not sure why, just do. This weekend was no exception.

As I've said over the past few days I haven't felt great, like I was coming down with something.  I didn't run Thursday night even though there was 3k on the schedule, but between being out for dinner with a friend Thursday and therefore getting home late and just not feeling well I knew it wasn't going to happen.  So I just didn't do it.

Then Friday I felt like this cold I've been battling was making real headway so I wasn't sure if I'd be in any shape to run today.  Thankfully I woke up this morning and didn't feel any worse than I had previously so I got up and went out to see how I'd feel.

The plan was to cut it short if it felt horrid but thankfully, all good.

The best part was that it was overcast and not too hot when I started out shortly after 8am.  This beautiful sky, as photographed here, is a runner's dream.  Well, this runner's dream at least.  Not threatening enough that I had to be worried about getting drenched, but just enough to ensure that none of my much needed energy was sapped by the killer summer sun.

These delicious conditions continued for the first 5k of my run but alas, all good things must come to an end and the sun started to come out in earnest on my second half - unfortunately the part where my run is on a slow, steady incline.  Perfect. 

All in all it was still a nice run. Felt good to get back into double digits again - it's been a few weeks since I've been over 10k.  Even though the plan called for 9 I felt it necessary to stretch it a bit in preparation for next weekend's Durham Quarter Marathon that I'm signed up for.  10.59kms through the streets and trails of Oshawa.  Looking forward to it, and feeling more ready for it now than I have been for the past few weeks of shorter distances.

In other general notes about the run, I saw at least four bunnies in my travels, starting with this guy in my own backyard just before I left.  Not sure about everyone else, but these guys are living up to their prolific reputation this year like never before - they're truly everywhere! 

4k steady on the schedule for tomorrow.   Bought two new running bras today and am looking forward to taking one of them for a spin.  Will likely go in the evening because I really really really need to sleep in tomorrow - that's right, it's not a want, it's a real need at this point - but also because it's supposed to rain in the morning and I'd rather avoid that if at all possible.  We may be taking the dog up to a puppy festival in Port Perry with friends in the late morning so that helps solidify things time wise.

And if all else fails, there's always the dreadmill.   Ugh.  Fingers crossed for decent afternoon/evening weather!

Have I mentioned how much I hate the treadmill?

July 16  Plan: 4k tempo  Actual:4k treadmill

As I mentioned yesterday, today was the 20 minute challenge at the Running Room.  I signed up but decided that I'd go only to pick up the hat and not to run with the clinics.  I had a lot of other stuff to do today so decided to get my 4k run in before I left, meaning I had to get right to it the minute I got home.

Which is precisely what I did.  To save time - and because there were some pretty ominous looking clouds overhead - I jumped on the treadmill we're currently borrowing from friends. 

I know I've said it before, but I really, truly hate the treadmill.  I love the convenience and the flexibility it gives me, but that's it.  I find it so much harder than running outside, I can't even begin to describe it.  That 4k damned near killed me.  4k! 

By the time I was done I was a sweaty, disgusting mess.  Ugh.


Finished up, then hopped into the car to go grab my hat.  And here it is!  Not too shabby for a 15 minute drive to my local store.  Fits well, has a mesh top which might allow my hot head to breathe a bit when I run.  And it was free.  So all good in my books. Grabbed a new bra when I was there - looking forward to seeing how it will fit and if it will do the trick. 

3k on the schedule for tomorrow.  Will make a game day decision about whether I actually do it or not.  Am having dinner with a friend so might get home too late to make it a good idea.  And I'm okay with that! Time will tell. 

The short ones sometimes seem the longest...

 July 15  Plan:  3k tempo  Actual:  3.3k tempo-esque

Why oh why do the 3 and 4k runs seem as hard if not harder than the uber long ones?  Sheesh. 

I suspect tonight had a few things going against it.  One, I'm not a huge fan of running in the evening, even before dinner, but the schedule for the week made it a necessity.  At least I managed to get out before I ate but even then I still got those telltale stitches in my side.  No fun.

The wind was also my enemy this evening - holy gale force, Batman!  There were times when I was running straight into it and it felt like I wasn't making any progress at all.  So much extra energy to get a shorter distance.  Rawr.

Then there was the sun.  It had been a cool, cloudy day earlier on but this evening the clouds parted and out came the sun. And at 6pm on a mid-July evening, the sun is still quite high in the sky and there's not a lot of shade.  Which means a hotter run than I'm used to.  And it sapped my energy.

I decided to go a different direction for this short run because I just needed the variety - I'm already getting sick of going down the very same path multiple times per week. 

This is a general route I've done before but haven't in a while so decided to go for it.  Glad I did, if for nothing than the variety that I sorely needed!  There's a nice long stretch that allowed me to do something resembling tempo work so I was happy I was able to kick it up a notch for a least a part of the run, as per the plan.  I did a lot of walking, even during this 3.3k, but was able to get my pace a little faster than it has been for the past short while.  So all was not lost.

Another tempo run tomorrow and we'll see what happens.  It's the 20 minute challenge at the Running Room so I'm supposed to be going there to do my run.  I signed up mostly for the free hat and to just participate, but I'm painfully afraid of trying to do a tempo run with the half clinic. 

I know I'd just hold everyone back and I can't deal with that right now.  Too much stress for something that's supposed to be good for me.  So I think I'm going to go, in my running clothes, get my stuff, then come home and run around here like I normally would.  Or, if I really get my shit together, I'll get my run in BEFORE I get there and then can just come home and have dinner, get on with life.  Time will tell!!

Like I said before, I really don't run well with others - I much prefer to just get out there and do it on my own terms.  Me and, with all this sunshine today, my shadow.  :)

 

This is why I don't run after dinner...

July 13, 2014  Plan:  3k steady  Actual:  3k very slow

Sigh.  I pretty much never run after eating dinner.   It's like my body laughs at the very suggestion of running post meal.  Which is why I've learned my lesson and pretty much don't do it. 

Because the second I do, up pops a stitch.  Instantly.   Do not pass go, do not collect $200.  Boom.  Stitch.  And tonight was no exception.  Alas.

Since this morning was rainy and I was desperate to sleep in, I decided that I do my lowly 3k run tonight instead of earlier in the day.  Which is fine, but I kinda ran out of time before dinner so I had no choice - run after or skip it.  Since I really didn't want to skip it, post dinner it was.

The weather was nice enough so I elected to go out instead of the dreadmill.  So that part was okay.  It was humid still but I wasn't being attacked by the sun as I was earlier in the day.  The last thing I needed was more sun on my sunburn!

Started out really slow and stayed that way for the entire 3k thanks to the stitch - this might have been my slowest pace ever!  But I didn't really care - I just tried to enjoy being out there. 

One of the joys of running at this time of day is the availability of public washrooms along my route that just isn't there at 5am.  You can see I took a wee detour shortly into my route for a much needed pop into Menchie's for a bathroom break.  Would have loved to have stayed for some frozen yogurt but it was a quick in and out.

I did, however, eat a bug along the route.  That was fun.  Not.  I get enough protein in my diet, thanks. 

So that's pretty much it.  Short post dinner run, terribly slow, mega stitches, ate a bug.  Back at it again on Tuesday.