Just me, the lightning bugs, the trail... and Enya?

Good morning. Thanks for taking a look at the latest edition on my running blog! Thanks to all of you that support me in my training process. I have purposely told a lot of people about my upcoming half-marathon because, I want to be accountable to someone. As a wellness coach, I am the person that provides the accountability for so many people. It is nice to be on the other end of that for a change.

This week was pretty good, all things considered. I was sick last week with serious allergies/sinus junk (yes that is a real medical term). I was craving to go running, but I knew if I didn't take care of the sickies (another real medical term) first, it would take a lot longer to get better. So, with that said, I didn't run on my usual Monday and Wednesday last week. My training schedule had me set for 6 miles on Saturday. I was ready mentally, but probably a little out of shape physically since I hadn't run at all that week.

I mapped out a 3-mile trail on runnersworld.com and headed to the park around 8:00 PM. It has been near 100 degrees for several weeks now plus a lot of humidity (I prefer dry heat better). With heat index, it has been around 105. So I headed out on my first of two 3 - mile loops around Breckenridge park in Richardson Texas. This park has a really good walking/jogging trail with parts of it heavily wooded and others out in the open. Part of it wraps around a small lake and follows creek. It is really a nice park. When I finished my first 3 miles, the sun was starting to set. After chugging half a bottle of Gatorade and my water bottled refilled and in hand, I turned around to do the loop again, this time in the opposite direction.

This was when the run just got really beautiful. It started around the 4th mile. I headed into an area of the park with a winding path and big oak trees. It was much darker in this area of the park. I started to notice lightning bugs aka fireflies. There were a ton of them. It was really pretty. After crossing the creek, I started to round the lake. By this time the sun was pretty much set, the sky was orange and pink. I was the only one around. There were ducks in the lake swimming and the reflection of the sunset was on the water. I took a mental picture of that. It was really pretty. Finally, I was headed into the last mile. It was in a heavily wooded area of the park and the sun was down. It was really dark at this part of the trail. I was a little nervous but I went ahead anyway. The lightning bugs were everywhere. It was so neat to have the trail lit by their little spurts of light. At this stretch of the trail, Enya came on my i-pod. It was the most peaceful run that I have ever had. Just perfect! I felt so rejuvenated after the hour long run. My legs are still recovering today from the run, but the discomfort is well worth it.

My apologies for the length of this update. Every time I start to post something, I think that it will be a short posting, but I can't seem to shut up! Thanks again for all of your support!!

A case of the Mondays & Tuesdays

Hi y'all! Thanks for checking in on my blog. It has been a difficult couple of weeks. If you read my previous couple of posts, you would know about how little time there was for running a couple of weeks ago while our friends were in town and other friends moving. I was so glad to get back to some normalcy.

Last weeks runs went pretty good. Wednesdays are now speed work/interval training. I was suppose to get 5 miles in on that but was only able to get 3.5 before I was on empty. On the weekend, we went to my in-laws in Texarkana (border town of Texas/Arkansas). It was so humid there! The humidity really affects your run. Saturday, I found a local park with a 1/2 mile trail that went around a pond. I went early in the morning to get the run in while it was still cool (80 degrees). My goal was to get in 6 miles. I could only do 4. It felt like I could not cool off while running. I would rather run in Arizona heat than run in Texas Humidity. In dryer weather, the sweat evaporates from your skin, keeping you somewhat cool. In humidity, your sweat stays on you. After a few miles it feels like you are covered in butter, you can't keep the sweat out of your eyes and, lets just say, its chafing season. I think that I need to start running with some water or Gatorade to rehydrate as I go.

So we came back home Sunday. I hate doing any type of work on Sundays but I had to get the lawn done. I work 11 hour days on Mondays and Tuesdays so the lawn had to be taken care of. I was mowing part of our back lawn that use to be a flower bed (letting the grass fill in now) when dust was getting everywhere. My allergies got really bad that night and by Monday they were terrible! What started as sneezing turned into sinus pressure and runny nose and sinus headache. There was no way I was going to get a run in Monday. Yesterday, I felt even worse. Today I still feel sinus pressure, but allergy symptoms are decreasing. I hope to run today... I feel like I am full of excuses, but legitimate ones. I still am planning on running in this half-marathon. I need, and will, step up my training. Have a great week!

Last night.

Usually, Thursdays and Fridays are my rest/recovery days, but this week I had to modify it. On Wednesday, I headed out to a middle school to run on the track. When I got there...the storm that wasn't suppose to get to Wylie for an hour was closing in. Just as I was about to get out of the car, Melissa called and said that there was lightning really close to the house and didn't want me out running. I thought that was a great reason to skip Wednesdays run.

So I ran last night to make up for it. On Wednesdays, I work on interval training. So I was suppose to do a 1 mile warm up, 2 x 1600m (l mile) at a fast pace with 800m recovery jog between each set, and another 1 mile to cool down. Well I did my warm up, followed by a fast-paced one mile run (8:00 pace). I did my 800 m jog, and started my 2nd fast mile. I got about 800 meters into it when I got a side cramp that brought me to my knees. I've had cramps in my side from running in the past but these were 10x worse than any other side crap I've had. I had to cut my run about 1.5 miles short. I was so angry at myself. Taking last week off from running really hurt me. I need to pick it up this weekend. To make up for crapping out, I am going to do a 2 mile run tonight in Texarcana (where the in-laws live) and 6 miles on Saturday. I just need to find a good place to run out there.

Kicking it up!

Last night we had dinner with our friends that were in town. I was so tired after working 11 hours and eating out and then driving some more for a long time. Needless to say, I was not in the mood for running. My thanks to Melissa for sticking to her promise to make me run when I don't want to. I am so glad that I went running last night. I only did my short 2 mile loop but it was the best quality run I have done since starting. I think my body was craving to run. I usually pace about 9:00 pace per mile (PPM) but last night I ran a 8:30 PPM. I usually take a while to get zoned in on the run, but I was good to go from the start. It felt really good to get out there and run!

Off the wagon and back on again!

Well, as I said last posting, last week was difficult. I literally had no time to run except for Saturday, and even then I had to cut my mileage in half so I could get back home just to leave again. I am disappointed but it was a good learning experience. I learned that there will be days when running just won't happen. I really would prefer to run in the mornings because I would have more time at the end of the day but I can't get up any earlier than I do (4:45 am).

Monday night was guys night with a farewell to my good friend Trever as he moved to Austin this week (lucky!) Tuesday was girls night so I stayed home with Levi. Wednesday we had a going away party for our friends that moved. Thursday I had a softball game. Friday our friends from AZ came over for a BBQ. Saturday we spent 5 hours at a car dealership negotiating the cost of our new car (we won and got a steal of a deal thanks to Melissa's negotiating skills). Saturday evening we picked up a puppy that we rescued from being euthanized (a long story... now we are trying to decide whether or not to keep him or find him a home). Sunday we had church and I don't run on Sundays.

I always say that excuses are like farts...everyone has them and they all stink! "No Excuses...Just Results" is one of my favorite quotes. I need, and will pick it up this week. The last obstacle in the road will be when we go on vacation next month. I will go running in the streets of Nauvoo! That will be sweet!

Running is fun!

I didn't think that the time would come when I would say it but... running is fun. I went on such a fun run on Saturday. There is a really cool park in West Plano called Arbor Hills Nature Preserve. The thing that I love about this area is that there are actually hills (something very unusual about the Dallas area) They have 2 miles of paved trails and some unpaved, natural trails. I did my research and mapped where I wanted to run and did about 4.5-5 miles. I ran with a friend from church. We ran mostly on the unpaved trails. I ran in front to keep an eye out for snakes, luckily we didn't see any, and really had a good time on this trail. I wish that there were more unpaved trails around Dallas. We made really good time too, averaging about 8:30/mile. Not quite exact on that number as the trails we ran on were not marked very well.

This week is going to be a tough one. Our good friends are moving to Austin this weekend so last night we had a guys night, tonight is the girl's night, Wednesday we are having a farewell party for them, Thursday I have a softball game, and later this week, Melissa's best friend will be in town for another friends wedding reception on Saturday. I was suppose to do my usual distance of 2 miles yesterday, but I can do that tonight instead. Wednesday I am suppose to do 5 miles total, 3 of which are suppose to be at a faster pace than normal. Saturday I am suppose to do 6 miles. I haven't decided on a location just yet, but I would like to do another trail run if possible. Anyway, it's a busy week to say the least.

One of my all time favorite quotes: "Your attitude determines your altitude in life. You will go as far in this life as your attitude will let you." -Paul H. Dunn