Wednesday Nakey Run

4.1 miles in 47:00

Just a slow, easy run in the cool of the morning. Yes, this particular morning actually had a cool part. I ran in my Vibram's again - really love those. My right hamstring (the one I hurt in June) started talking to me after the turn around. I walked for a minute or two and drank some of my nuun. Felt good and finished strong.

My average pace for this run was 11:35. This was a a pace at which I could carry on a conversation, possibly even breathe with my mouth closed. The cool part is that this pace was unattainable for me a year ago. I was running every run at about a 13:00 pace, and really struggling to even complete a 5 mile run. It was SUCH a long way back from my 4th pregnancy. Partial bed rest and excessive weight gain nearly squashed me.

Feeling great. Wondering what I will be rejoicing in a year from now...goal - triathlon!

Clothed Naked Run

3 miles / 33:30

Normally, I try to do a "naked" run once a week...you know, without clothes... NO, without GPS feedback! Since I have this new miCoach program, I wanted to give it one more shot with the GPS tracking feature.

It worked really well today. The scheduled workout was 5 minutes in Blue Zone followed by 20 minutes in Green and then a cool down of 5 minutes in Blue. I think that my Green Zone may be a bit high - the program has me running that as my Half Marathon pace. The range is 11:09 - 10:09. In my dreams... If I run my next race at 11:45, I will be ecstatic! No big deal, I will just go in and adjust the zones.

It was EXCEPTIONALLY humid this morning. The temperature was 75 degrees, but it had just rained and the humidity was at 95%...growing gills would have helped. I really struggled to breathe that first mile - but once I acclimated - it got easier. I was glad that I had eaten some salty snacks last night before bed, my body sure used that extra sodium this morning. I normally store excess sodium in the tissues of my legs and feet - but running in the terrible heat and humidity has helped sweat out the excess.

My tooth socket didn't hurt at all. I still don't dare chew anything on that side, but that will just take a while. I went today and had the packing removed. He said we would "leave it out and see how it goes." Here's praying that I don't wake up in the middle of the night with tooth agony!

Bunny Run

3 miles / 33:15

Another beautiful, morning run with the bunnies and the squirrels. Wore the Vibram's and the calf sleeves. My left calf is feeling pretty sore - may have to assess my footwear choices for my long run on Friday. Don't want to over-do this "gradual" transition.

Not sure if I will get my Yoga in tomorrow or not. Vacation Bible School has been a fun replacement for my evening workouts this week - albeit a little hard on the cross training schedule. I'm really committed to making the training for this Half Marathon injury free. I have a conservative mileage ramp planned and am including one day each of Yoga, Cycling, and weight training each week. I SO wanted to run more than 3 miles this morning - BUT - I've planned my work, now I need to work my plan!

On a nutrition note - I've upped my calories a little to see if I can burn off this last 15lbs stuck to my tummy and hips. So far, so good - the scale is moving again and I'm not teetering on the edge of starvation all day.

Fun Run

3 miles / 34:16

Just a fun, no GPS feedback, no music, run to start the day. I have, apparently, spoiled my feet in to thinking that they don't really need running shoes. I spent the first mile of the run trying to convince them that we HAD to wear shoes today. It was incredibly hard to practice my forward foot strike with THESE giant clod hoppers on. My feet also felt very hot, no bueno.

It's hard, for me, to do things moderately. I operate with the needle buried most of the time. Attempting to retrain my running stride has built more than my calf and foot muscles! I'm building my patience muscle as well.

Who knew?