that was fun?

Today was my first attempt at running in the early AM before work. I tried to start on Tuesday, but I woke up to a DOWNPOUR. It was going to be miserable enough running at 6am, so I skipped it. I did do 45 minutes on the elliptical and a short arms & ab workout. Take that, rain.

Anyway, I headed out this morning right before 6am. And aside from the fact that it was 6am, it was not that bad. It was a welcome change to be running on the asphalt BEFORE the sun had cooked it for 12+ hours. It was still uber-humid though, even that early in the morning. I wore a short sleeved wicking shirt thinking that I might need the extra coverage of sleeves. Ha! It will be tank tops from now on.

All in all, it was a good run. I even had some company. I saw one walker and another runner out there with me! I run in a pretty small neighborhood and I've never seen anyone else out "exercising" so that was good to see. I'm not the only crazy person out there :-) In fact, the other runner was crazier than me because she kept going through the brief, but heavy, rainshower that hit me around mile 4. I hid out in my car for a couple of minutes until it passed and then I got back out there again for the last mile. I don't mind getting wet, but my Garmin and iPod do. Weak sauces.

I worried that when I got home this evening, I wouldn't know what to do with all the extra time I had. Never fear, I found plenty to do. I rounded out my long day with shopping for running shorts (more on that later), doing a new Jillian Michaels workout DVD (that was almost an hour long), cleaning the living room (dog hair galore), doing a couple nights' worth of dishes (with no help from D), and writing this blog entry (superb, isn't it?) And now I'm drinking some wine. I think I deserve it.

weather update!

The F-cast has changed a little bit since yesterday. In a good way. I may even start to think of the "F" in F-cast as Fun instead of F*&$.......... Now we're looking at a high of 74, a low of 62, and only a 40% chance of precipitation! Woot! Even better news is that the hourly forecast is now available and the outlook for 8am on Saturday is cloudy and 56 - that sounds like nice running weather to me!

In preparation for the possibility of rain, I've been doing a little bit of shopping. I am currently the owner of 2 rain jackets - neither of which I really like. Mostly because I'm cheap and I bought one at TJMaxx and the other at Marshalls. Don't get me wrong, these are 2 of my favorite stores, but you don't always get exactly what you're looking for. You don't pay 3-4 times as much either :) Anyway, one jacket is an Adidas wind jacket, which is a little too small and possibly not water resistant. The other is a Marker (some ski co.) rain jacket, which is a little too big, but it's made for the rain. I'm going to check out the TJMaxx and Ross stores near my work at lunch today and see what else I can find. Hopefully I won't need any rain gear at all on Saturday (please, please) and I can take them all back!

I realized that I haven't posted my pace lately and I don't know why because it's been damn good. In an effort to be nicer and congratulatory to myself - my pace for the past 2 weeks has been under a 9:00/mile in every run, culminating with last night's 8:26/mile :)

F-cast

Forecast for Saturday, March 28, 2009: Rain/Thunder. High 73. Low 59. Precipitation chance 70%.

Dammit.

4am.......

This is what time I wake up every.single.morning. I have no explanation as to why, except that Fresh Prince comes on at that time and maybe my subconscious really wants to see it? I'm only awake for a few minutes; just long enough to look at the clock, change the television station, and roll over. It's getting to be an annoying little quirk, and I'd really like to sleep through the night. OK? Thanks.

Aside from my bizarre sleeping habits, not much has been going on in this girl's life. The weather has been crap for the past few days, which made for a super fun 12 miler in the rain on Sunday. Annnnnnnd I made the mistake of trying something new before the run. I decided to eat a small breakfast - just 1/2 a bagel and peanut butter - about an hour prior. BAD IDEA there. I usually don't eat anything at all before a long run and now I remember why. My stomach cramped up to the point where I was gasping for breath and barely shuffling along. In retrospect, I should've just stopped, caught my breath, and then continued. But, on par with my inability to give myself a break, I kept going, albeit slowly. I finally caught up with my running partners when they stopped for a drink of water. I managed to finish the second half of the run more satisfactorily, but still felt kind of down on myself. Oh, and I ripped holes in the bottoms of my pants because I am an idiot. Lesson learned: don't wear long pants to run in the rain because they'lll get soggy and heavy and stretchy at the bottom. And will end up over and under your shoes. And it will suck.

Fast forward to yesterday - I ran 5 miles. At an 8:57 pace. It felt damn good. Maybe I will not quit running after all.......

rain, rain go away

It's been raining for the last 2 days here, and while we certainly need the precipitation, I also need to run! (never thought I'd say that) It hasn't slowed me down too much yet though. I had a 4 mile run scheduled yesterday and by the time I got home, it was drizzling. I decided to go out right away and hoped I could get done before it got much worse. Wellllllllll, let's just say that didn't work out. I was about a half-mile in when it started to thunder. *side note here: I am scared of storms, like hide under the bed and take a xanax kind of scared* For some crazy reason, I decided to chance it and keep going. I made it about a quarter of a mile further before a huge streak of lightning split the sky right above me. At that moment my fear (and common sense) kicked in and I sprinted to the car. I drove back to the house and tried to decide what to do.

The running bug has bitten me hard in the ass y'all. I made the executive decision to go back out and finish my workout. I checked the radar and it looked like the storm was moving away from the area, so I figured it would be OK. There were a few more rumbles of thunder and 2 crazy bright flashes of lightning, but I finished. It was dark out by that time and I almost collided with a deer, but that really made it more worth it. I'm especially glad that I made the effort since I don't think I am going to be making the effort today. It's raining harder today than it was yesterday and, on top of that, my legs are pretty sore. I've already done the 30 day shred workout today, so it's not like I'm taking the day off completely. It's still light out now, so I may change my mind - we'll see.