5 pounds and drying out in the pool

That's what's on my mind today.

I had to weigh in for the no-weight-gain holiday challenge that Maggs is running. I was doing really well for a while, but obviously ate/drank too much this weekend, particularly at my friend's birthday celebration. I'm 5 pounds heavier today than I was on the morning I ran the Marine Corps Marathon at the end of October. I am 2.5 pounds heavier than one week ago, even though I ran a 12 miler and 3 miler this weekend. :( grrr...

Since I'm feeling heavy these days, I made myself go to the gym and swim some laps in the pool, even though today is usually a rest day for me. I also did about 45 minutes of walking/stretching/core work with my Fitness Club kids after school.

So I got to the gym hoping the high mineral levels in the pool had leveled out. Last time I swam I felt like my mouth/tongue/skin were super dry for days. Although it seemed a tiny bit better, I still couldn't stand being in there for too long. If it's not better in another week, I'm going to give the gym people hell. The swim was good, but shorter than I'd have liked.

And after all that, I still feel heavy, and now I'm all dried out and smelling like the pool...

"You're crazy"

I did not sleep last night. I was tired ALL day. It has been pouring rain since yesterday evening. The temp has dropped about 20* in 24 hours.

I could not wait to leave work and go for a run.

It was about 40* and raining buckets when I got home. I pulled my biggest running rain jacket out of the closet, threw on my capris and a couple shirts, my shoes, my hat, and my gloves, and headed out.

My jacket and capris were soaked within minutes.
My feet were soaked through within the first mile.
There were so many deep puddles, I had to run slowly to watch my footing.
The rain was strong through the first 3 miles, tapered to a light rain in mile 4, barely a drizzle by mile 5, and stopped shortly thereafter.

I wished it hadn't.

For an hour, I didn't care what I looked like.
For an hour, I didn't think of much besides my footing.
For an hour, I didn't care how slowly I was running.
For an hour, I enjoyed the raw nature around me.

I didn't run fast, I didn't run hard.
I didn't look at my watch.

I was soaked, I was invigorated, I enjoyed every step.

It was a great hour.

And to top it all off, a friend saw me running and sent me a message later that said, "I saw you running in the cold rain. You're crazy."

:D

4:30am, again.

I wasn't entirely sure I'd get up at 4:30 again today to run, but with heavy rains and big winds supposedly sweeping through this afternoon, it seemed like a good idea. We were having our huge feast at work today, so there was another good reason to run early -- running after eating all day wouldn't be fun. AND, I had Fitness Club after school, so I wouldn't get home until later. Then my sister said she would text me if she was up at 4:30 and she'd run with me. Ok -- all these things pointed to getting up early as a good plan.

'Cept I wasn't sure I wanted to get up early again. So I didn't set the alarm. I figured if my sister texts, I'll get up. If I wake up on my own, I'd get up. If not, I'll make the run happen later.

Don't you know she sent me a text at 4:37am?! "Getting dressed."

"Really?" I replied. I was surprised. Then the reality hit that I needed to get out of bed and get dressed, too.

She was at my house by 5, we donned all the reflective and blinky stuff I have, and I put on my new headlamp. And shorts -- it was 60* this morning! Awesome!

We did a couple miles around my development and then took the 3 mile park loop to finish up. As I showered and headed to work, I realized, again, how glad I was to get the run done in the morning. It just makes me feel better through the day.

Well, it also makes me tired at about 4:30 in the afternoon, too. I actually fell asleep answering email this evening. That's ok - it was a rainy, windy day anyway -- perfect for a short nap :)

I'm actually a little disappointed I have 6 on my mind to do tomorrow -- That's a tight squeeze to get done before work, so I'll do them when I get home. I guess that means I get to sleep in until 5:30am!

4:30 am wake-up

For the first time in a long time, I got up at 4:30 am for a run. I miss doing that, actually. I always feel good getting my run done before starting the stuff I have to do that day.

I wasn't sure I'd have a chance to run after work today, so I got up, packed all my stuff to shower and head right to work from the gym, grabbed my lunch, and was running shortly after 5am. I'll admit I'm not taking to the TM well yet. It's been soooooo long since I've run on a treadmill (since I almost passed out doing speedwork last spring!) and I'm not comfortable with it yet. The pace seems off, my legs seem off, it just doesn't feel great.

But I got 4 miles done and then got showered and dressed for work. And then I realized I left something at home that I needed for work. Rats!

Somehow I was able to swing by the house AND stop for coffee and a breakfast sandwich AND still get to work by 7am -- just in time :)

14 miles and a swim

That's what I did this weekend.
(Well, besides some Christmas shopping, marathon coffee session with Fitness Guy, nephew time, night out in Philly, and laundry.)

Ran an 11 miler yesterday. Aimee jumped in with me for a bit. Not sure why, but my legs felt this run more than they should have -- not so much during, but after. Maybe it's because I was dealing with a head cold all week, maybe it's because I ran a lot of hills this week, maybe it's because I just haven't been as good about my stretching. Probably all of the above. I was tired, too; after showering and getting some food, I accidently napped for a short bit.

Met up with friends for dinner and drinks last night in Philly, and then took my time getting out of bed this morning. I've kind of enjoyed getting my LR done on Saturday so I can enjoy my Sunday mornings a bit more. After some coffee and a light breakfast, I went to the (jump-rope, balance board, exercise band-free -- grr!) gym and did a solid 3 miles on the treadmill and then jumped in the pool.

I haven't swam since the Endless Summer Tri at the end of September -- and that was in the 6 foot waves of the rough ocean. Although the pool had high mineral levels due to some maintence last week (they swore it was safe to swim in!), which were a bit overpowering and gross, I got a bunch of laps done -- nice and easy -- and it felt really good. I'm only a little concerned that my mouth/tongue and skin still smell like the pool and feel dry, even after showering, and I'm hoping those high mineral levels even out in the next few days so I can get in the pool again soon.

Not a bad weekend.

I need a few things

Today I needed a good 6 miles. (For the record, they ended up pretty good.)

While I was running, I needed my legs to not feel so heavy.
I needed to not feel like I had 10 extra pounds on me.

I need some direction in my running. I'm not sure what paces are appropriate for me anymore. I'm not sure what my next goal race should be, and what I should focus my training on.

While I'm at it, I need some new clothes. I hate clothes shopping, and much of what I have has been in my closet since I was a size 8.

I need someone to come in and clean my house. I hate doing that stuff.

I need to drink more water. I haven't been drinking enough lately.

I need more sunlight. I'm going to work in the dark and getting home with maybe an hour of daylight left.

I'm sure I could list a whole bunch of other things I need. And if I really think about it, most of this list consists of wants, not needs. I realize that.

But today, I feel like I need these things.

The new gym

kinda sucks.

Ok, it's cheap -- like, $25 a month -- so I should understand what I bought into:

* the treadmills are old. I can't program anything in (like speed intervals), can't pause them, etc.
* the club opens at 5am, but I can't swim in the pool until 6am -- which means I can never get a swim workout in before work
* even though it's close -- 2 miles -- to my house, it takes twice as long (just under 10 minutes) to get there as my old gym did (also 2 miles away) because of where it is and all the traffic lights on the way.
* the parking lot is always packed and it's not well lit at night. shady.
* there are plenty of cardio machines, but to be distracted from the monotony of the TM, I have to watch one of the tv's hanging from the ceiling that I can't even hear. I can't even plug earphones into the TM and listen -- only two tv's have sound, and those are ones I need to tune my old-school walkman radio to the appropriate channel to, to link up to the audio.
* so far, I can't seem to find any balance boards, jump ropes, or exercise bands. Sooner or later, I'll ask about 'em, but I haven't seen anyone with them yet, so I'm not holding out much hope.

I'm sure there's more to note, but I've only been there twice. I'm sort of forcing myself to go when I have a shorter run to do because if I go 120 times in the year, I'll get money back from my insurance company toward my membership. I'd much rather be running outside, though. I do think it will be good to get in the pool this winter, so I'll use it for that, definitely.

For $25 a month, it'll do. It'll serve its purpose.