It's a good thing I ran this morning...

My office just spoiled my with CalTor lunch and sundaes for dessert.  So yummy!  I'm completely full (and obviously unmotivated) and entirely grateful for such a nice bunch of co-workers who would do that for someone who is leaving.

***

Wednesday, July 28: Recovery run 3 miles, 10 min pace
Friday, July 30: Easy run 5.1 miles, 8:50 min pace
***
As I ran this morning, a refreshing rush of cool wind blew past me, and it spurred a thought.  In the summer, that cool breeze is welcome and wished for, during the winter, it's a frigid blast of cold air that seems to seep through my layers of Cold Gear.  So I started to think of other way running varies during the seasons.
1. During the winter, I'm most uncomfortable during the first 1/2 mile to mile.  During the summer, that is pretty much the only time I'm comfortable.
2. I follow a summer run by a quick, cool shower.  My winter runs are concluded by never-ending hot showers to rewarm my extremities.
3. In the summer, I contemplate wearing capris when it dips below 65.  In the winter, it's short sleeves for anything over 50.
4. I fear winter precip will leave me unable to run outside, where are in the summer, I pray for thunderstorms to cool it off.
5. I hate that my gatorade gets hot in the summer, but freezes during the winter.


As much as I'm a summer girl in every other regard, I do prefer running in the winter.  I'll take baseball, the beach, flip flops and tank tops over snow any day, but when it comes to running, I'd much rather be layered in Cold Gear, gloves and a cap.

Plowing through

There have been three snowstorms this winter in Nova, and if you check, they have all come on Saturdays.  While I know this pains kids and teachers, it also dismays me as my Saturday long runs are then also more difficult.


At the beginning of December, a strong storm hit, dumping big, wet flakes in my neighborhood.  I pursued, but only made it 10 of my 12 miles.

After the monster storm in mid-December, my 14 mile run the next day was done by running down my street and back 28 times.

When I got up this morning, the skies were overcast, although not in a foreboding way.  Having checked the forecast last night, I figured I was fine for my run.  Wrong.

About five miles in, it began to flurry. It was pretty, especially as I ran along the Potomac on the Cap Crescent Trail, and I enjoyed the serenity.  As I neared my turn-around point in Bethesda, the snow began to pick up.  By then time I was a few miles into my return trip, it was snowing hard.  I pulled my hat down in front of my eyes and trudged on.  As a ran past other runners, I remembered why I enjoy racing so much.  There is a palpable camaraderie among runners, which was evident by the friendly looks of encouragement I received from every runner I passed on the trail.  By the time I reached the C&O canal, I was pretty much alone.  The snow crunched under me, and I was able to forget for a few moments how utterly miserable I was.  Wet head to tow, cold and with my water bottles iced closed and icicles forming on my eye lashes.  I ran a negative split on the way back and was ecstatic when I caught site of my Civic waiting for me in the parking lot.

When I got back in my car, I took off my wet clothes and had dry sweatpants and a fleece waiting for me.  Unfortunately, the roads were not very clear and it took me almost 45 minutes to get home.  I took a hot shower, then got started on my post-run feast:

-Piece of honey seed break toast
-TJ's chicken chili w/ guac and cheese
-Cauliflower w/ rance
-Pita chips
-Goldfish
-Peanut Butter M&M Blondie

Annnnd I'm probably going to get more to eat soon.

Some Other Things About Me

Besides the fact that I'm training for a marathon, here are some random facts about me:
-I watch Jeopardy as often as possible
-I'm a massive bargain shopper. I almost never pay full price for clothes/shoes/bags/accessories
-I love giving gifts and tend to obsess over it a little bit
-I really enjoy reading and like it when I have a good book going at all times
-Crosswords are my other favorite lexical pasttime
-I'm a die hard Orioles fan and would do pretty much anything for them to be good again (Damn Yankees, anyone?)
-I have run four half marathons: Baltimore, National, Frederick and Baltimore again. My PR was in Frederick at 1:49:31 although I hated the race and vowed never to run it again
-I love to eat and pretty much do it all the time
-New Balance is my favorite brand of shoes because all styles come in D widths. My favorite running shoe is the 859 and I have an extra pair because I'm afraid they're going to stop selling them soon
-I love pink a lot more than I ever have before
-When I'm racing, I try to wear the brightest outfit possible so that I'm easy to pick out of the crowd. I also always wear a coordinating hair ribbon.
-Mexican food is my favorite type. I love guac, tacos and tamales, although they are hard to find.
-My favorite liquor is rum. Tequila is second, especially when mixed in a good marg.
-I don't have a favorite beer, but tend toward girly beer (BL Lime, etc) and German Wheat beers. It's in my blood.
-I blame my dad for my love of spicy food.
-I generally follow that "shop on the perimeter of grocery store" thing, although unintentionally. I eat a lot of fresh foods so I have shop every week. I will detour the cart down the Goldfish aisle.
-Labrador Retrievers are my favorite canine breed. I'm holding out on getting a dog until I have space for one.
-I want to travel the world.
-Even though I know my 2006 Civic isn't a sports car, sometimes I drive it like it is. After 7 years with a 1998 Sentra, it's pretty damn sweet.

*****

Also, I've come up with a few ideas for race day tshirts:
"26.2 ain't got nothing on me"
"26.2, what you know about that?"
"Don't Stop Believin'"

The joy of being sore

On Monday night, I went for my first "long" run of this training season. I did my six miles in 52 minutes (8:40 miles) which I was pretty happy about. It was just a little bit off of my race pace from last fall and it felt amazing. I woke up yesterday morning, slightly stiff from my run and realized that I actually miss that feeling. Since I don't belong to a gym any more and my runs have been fairly short, I haven't felt that mild achiness in a while.

I took yesterday off (I had a flag football game so I still ran around outside for a bit) and I'm thinking of finishing off the week with a few five-mile runs. My mileage is quickly increasing, and barring anything catastrophic, I'll will definitely reach and exceed my mileage goal.

I'm also trying to eat healthier. I like to think (and my co-workers like to tell me) that I am a healthy eater, but I know little improvements will make it better.
Some of my goals:
-Take a multi-vitamin daily and start taking Omega 3 supplements since I rarely eat fish
-Eat less ice cream
-Minimize random snacking (yesterday was horrible- at one point I thought I'd rather eat a bag of goldfish than a real meal for dinner, luckily I got over that and made chicken and vegetables over pasta)
-Drink green tea instead of coffee (I'm already doing really well on this one)