More of the week

I decided not to go to track practice on Wednesday. That does not mean that I didn't run. Since I am still working on getting my body adjusted to the idea of running, I felt that the run I missed on Tuesday was more important than the speed work that we do at track practice, so I opted to do a 30 minute run instead of practice. It turns out that none of the coaches showed up at track practice, so I guess it was a good choice.

Of course, I won't pretend that my decision wasn't a bit influenced by wanted to get my run out of the way so I could go play Bocce with friends, but it really was better to get a solid run in.

The run really didn't go so well. I mean, I made it the 30 minutes without stopping, but I felt awful. The stitch in my side was acting up a lot, and trying to change my breathing tends to speed up my pace, so I started to wear out pretty quickly. When I finished, I felt worse than I have after running in a long time. I'm sure running right after work in the heat doesn't help at all, either.

Thursday's 25 minute run went a lot better. I also did it right after work because of a concert we were heading to, but it was a little cooler. I had to take it easy because I rolled my ankle a little bit on Wednesday, and I wanted to be sure that it was ok before pushing it.

I ran directly from my apartment both days. I have found lots of different paths that I can take, and it's easier not to have to drive somewhere and back (especially when I have somewhere I want to be fairly early in the evening).

Saturday's run went much better than the weekly runs. I'm not sure why, since the Saturday runs are much longer, but I am happy to have my long runs go so well.

This weekend's run was somewhere around 6.5 miles - that's half of the distance of the half-marathon. I am really, really excited that the run went so well for me. My confidence is definitely on the rise.

The weather was fantastic Saturday morning - at 6:30 in the morning, we were chilly waiting to start the run. Once we got going, it felt great. I can't wait to have weather like that more often.

Our route left Memorial Park (which is still dark from the hurricane), ran down to Waugh (where there was a water stop), ran down Waugh to Spott's Park, ran a loop there (including a set of stairs), and headed back.

My lower back hurt a little bit as we started out, but it seemed to work itself out as I went, and I made it to the water station with no real problems. The water stop was decorated because the fall training group was doing their longest run of the training season (12 or 21 miles), and they had a big support group there cheering them on. Of course, they also had tons of things like candy at the stop, and it took a lot of self-control not to eat any of the candy. I know it would have given me problems on the run, though, so I stuck to Gatorade and a really short stop before moving on.

It was interesting to do a loop at the park as part of the run. I actually do some of my weekly runs there (James introduced me to the place), but it seemed like a much shorter loop as part of a longer run. The set of stairs wasn't fun, but it didn't seem to hurt me too much.

The run back went surprisingly well. I actually felt at my best a little over halfway through the run. I felt strong, and my pace felt decent. I actually felt happy to be running. It was a little weird.

I managed to finish strong (no walking!), and I actually felt like I could have gone longer (it would have been rough, but I could have pulled it off).

I didn't have too much trouble with the side stitch on the run, and I wasn't really concentrating on my breathing. I need to figure out what makes my Saturday runs go so much better than my weekly runs. I'm wondering if it's just mindset starting out. It might also have something to do with the time of day I run.

I had some oranges and Gatorade at the end of the route, then I picked up kolaches on my way home. I definitely ended up feeling a lot better since I managed to put food into me, but I still don't enjoy eating after a run. I am working on the fueling aspect of this running stuff, for sure.

I did manage to get a blister on the bottom of my big toe. It didn't hurt at all when I was running, but it gave me trouble for the rest of the day. I am really glad that today is an off day so I have more time to heal before running on Monday.

In other news, the fundraising is going pretty well. I want to thank everyone who has donated - it means so much to me that you guys are helping me support a cause that I really do believe in. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to go to my page and look at how much money you guys have helped me raise. I still have a long way to go, though. If you haven't had a chance to donate, please visit my page at http://pages.teamintraining.org/txg/houston09/khughesw0s

Yay for off days!