TwentySixPointWhat?

So what if it's been over a month since my last post?! I'm posting now and that's what is important. We've had an unusually cool past couple of days and I'm soaking it up. It feels more like end of September or October instead of August with the days in the mid- to low-80s and at night it gets down to around 60 degrees. Yesterday we had a 'once a century' earthquake that registered 5.8 but that really doesn't have anything to do with running so I won't go into details. But it did affect my running this morning so it deserves a nod. I had a really great 8 mile run yesterday starting just before 0700. The temps were in the mid-50s to low-60s and I ran more than I walked because it hurt to walk. Go figure. This morning, however, I met Lynne at 0525 (instead of 0515 for some reason) and we ran our usual 4.5 mile loop. I don't know if it was nerves, or what, but I couldn't sleep last night. The past couple of nights I've been getting at l

This morning I woke up at 0515, my alarm was set for 0620, and decided that 0515 was as good a time as any to get up and get running in order to beat the heat of the day. Weather.com has a headline across the top of their webpage, 'Dangerous Heat Engulfs East Coast' - man am I glad that I slogged through those 4 miles this morning. For the first time ever I put together a training schedule last week; as in I created a schedule on a calendar and am planning to stick to it. Next week I start my training and I can say 'goodbye' to my nice short morning runs. I don't see anything shorter than 6 miles unless it's a speed workout. Such is the life of a marathon runner.

Today I start my 'detox' diet. Really it's just a protein diet that cuts out most carbs, sugar and dairy. The basic diet is: whole wheat toast with egg whites for breakfast, all the fruits and veggies I want with a piece of fish or chicken for lunch and all the fruits and veggies I want with a piece of fish or chicken for dinner. I'm looking forward to the restrictions and am interested in how I will feel sans alcohol. So far this morning I've had: 2 cups coffee 4 strawberries 3 egg whites 1 slice bread 1/2 cup blueberries Add 3 miles in humidity. I'm tired and hungry. Friday morning I got out early and ran 9 miles through downtown. It wasn't anything fancy, just nice slow running with walk breaks as needed instead of every 8 minutes like usual. About 3 miles into the run Thursday night's dinner of spicy Thai hit me and I made use of the port-a-john at the dog park. Thank goodness for randomly placed port-a-johns. After the pit stop I continue

I've been negligent in keeping my 'running' log updated. . . visions of a well-intentioned New Year's resolution are surfacing. I'll try to be more diligent. . . hopefully This morning I had a very difficult time getting out of bed and then my run sucked. Yesterday morning was horrendous but somehow L- & I were able to run 5 miles in the exact amount of time we did it two weeks ago, even with my two desperately needed walk breaks. I stepped on the scale after my ridiculously short run and just about fell over. I'm preparing myself to go dry on 05 July. . . Don't get me wrong, I love beer, but it's not helping my waistline, nor is it helping my training.

I've decided that if I'm going to get to running and not be overheated this summer I need to get running at 0'Dark Hundred. Special thanks to K- for swinging by my house to pick me up at 0530 for an easy 5 miles.

This morning was a sort of coming round of sorts. For the past year I've been saying that I need to get my butt in gear and start training seriously (again) and somehow I've always managed to come up with an excuse and go about my business. Being able to continue running marathons, and now ultras without so much as a hangup really hasn't helped convince me to train, either. But today, today I decided that I'm going to start doing this right (again) and put in the effort to get the results that I want. Hello, long boring Saturday morning runs (solo). Hello, 0500 training runs to beat the heat. Goodbye staying up late (as if I do this anyway). She's back in training mode. . . for today.