for you

To K. .. . my running partner and dear friend.

Three years ago you called,

"Let's run."

So we did, never looking back.

Blistering heat, snow, ice, rain, lightening

nothing holds us back.

It never will hold us back.

Everyday you inspire me to do more for my body, myself.

Our friendship nourishes my soul.

________________________

a training update is below.

mixed bag

8/28 I ran 5 miles today in about 49 minutes and included some intervals. But the signal for my GPS was weak and would fade in and out. I was also booking it hard and the pace it displayed never really made sense based on what I know I am capable of. Anyway, the gist is that it was a good run, and despite the displayed time I think it was fast (for me anyway).

__________________________________________

I found out at my Weight Watchers meeting that I gained 3 pounds over the course of the last 3 weeks. I knew I wasn't being that good with my points, but I also wasn't being that bad either. The 3 pounds made no sense especially considering that I ran 27 miles this last week.

I had walked in there feeling great about running so hard this week, and I was happy (for once) with what I saw in the mirror. But the reality was that I really screwed up somewhere. My leader said I actually need to eat the extra points I earn through activity, but I have never done that before. It actually doesn't seem logical at all. I mean, if you burn more calories than you take in you should lose weight not gain. Right? Logic tells me that I should have lost weight these last few weeks, not packed on 3 freakin' pounds! Yet, she insisted that I try it and assured me that she thinks I'll loose this time. Not sure I buy it, but I'll try it.

Any thoughts?

running hard

8/22 I ran 6 miles in one hour.

8/24 K. and I ran 13 miles over the weekend in about 2 hours 15 minutes. Good for us!

8/26 I ran 3 miles in about 27 minutes. Ok, so that time isn't great, but I felt like I was running really hard. It was also an afternoon run, so it was a little warmer than my usual 7am runs.

2 more runs

8/18 4.72 miles 47 minutes 39 seconds

8/20 3 miles--don't know time or pace.

updates

8/9 3.91 miles 37 minute 31 seconds

8/10 5.62 miles--I did this run with K. while we were camping and although it wasn't far it was HARD as hell!! We hiked a gorge trail to the top of a waterfall and the hills were killer. It felt more like a 10 miler, for sure.

8/13 4.30 miles (with intervals) 44 minutes 24 seconds

8/15 4.72 miles 48.31 seconds

8/1610.05 miles 1 hour 45 minutes 9 seconds

So it wasn't a stellar week but it wasn't too bad either.

today's run

My GPS batteries are recharging so I can't check my exact time, but I ran about 5 miles in about 50 minutes today. The run felt great, and the puppy had great stamina the whole way. In the fall I'd love to get her up to a 7 mile run.

On a couple of my recent runs I tried some energy snacks right before and midway through. Not sure if it was just the placebo effect or not, but I felt pretty energized. So far I have tried shot blocks and sportbeans. I like the sportsbeans better as they are smaller and easier to carry, have some extra vitamins, and taste like, well, jelly beans! The shot blocks taste ok, but are larger which makes them harder to carry.

I'm going to try some hammer gel in the next week or so, too.

more runs

8/01 5.03 miles 51minutes 35 seconds
8/03 5.99 miles 58 minutes 11 seconds
8/05 about 3 miles in 30 minutes