La la la

I'm not writing, but I'm still running. Some. I'm busy, and I've been sick. I still don't really have the energy for a full-length discussion of the running, but I should at least try to catch up.

Since I last wrote, we've done an 8-miler, a 6-miler, and another 8-miler. I've largely failed to run much during the week due to a combination of illness and a period of general ennui. I substituted walks for some of my runs, and I flat-out skipped others. I haven't been good about the training, really, and I need to get back to it.

The long runs haven't been terrible. The first 8 mile one was pretty slow and involved a lot of walking and my stomach having a brief freakout, but it still felt decent. The 6 miler was a lot better, and actually felt somewhat comfortable. The 8 miler this past weekend was good, I think.

I ran the 8 miles this weekend with a couple of the girls, and I felt strong most of the way. Company really does help on these things. We alternated walking and running, and that seems to work fairly well for me - I finish faster, even if I don't feel that much better.

This weekend's run took us into the Uptown Park area, and it wasn't fun to run by both Crave and the Tasting Room. Luckily, it was too early for them to be open, or I might have had an early end to my run!

So, yeah, short entry. Hopefully I will get better about both the running and the writing =)

Wait, how far?

I really am bad about updating this thing in a timely manner.

Saturday's long run went pretty well, surprisingly. I'm really not sure why some runs are so much better than others. We did 6 miles, and I got to runs parts of it with 2 different awesome ladies, so I definitely enjoyed the company. The run really did feel tons better than the week before, but I was still glad to be done with it. Running is hard. I know I've said that before, but I really mean it. I have lots of respect for people who do this regularly. I'm glad I have such a great cause pushing me forward.

Fueling is going better. The Clif Shot Blocks really work for me, so I think I'm going to stick with them for now. They taste good and aren't all weird like the gels, so I'm happy. And they haven't made my stomach screwy yet, so I'm taking that as a good sign. I haven't figured out the best time to start taking them, though, and I haven't figured out what to eat for breakfast on run days. I need to figure out SOMETHING that I can eat an hour before a run without feeling sick.

This week hasn't been great for running for me. I skipped my Monday run for book club, and I didn't run Tuesday (though I did still go work out with my trainer, so it's not like I didn't get a good workout it, I just didn't get any mileage down). My workout on Tuesday definitely hurt, and my core, arms, and butt are still in pain, so I know I'm getting my money's worth there.

My trainer gave me her pulmonologist's information because she thinks I might have a disorder similar to the one she has. It's like asthma, but it's not quite the same. Her symptoms are really close to mine - weird troubling breathing when working out (but not like traditional asthma attacks), breathing problems significantly affected by the weather, tired all the time, weird lethargy. She started naming symptoms that I hadn't even considered as symptoms but totally have. They're all basically caused by lack of oxygen. I'm really hoping that I'll learn something if I see the doctor - she says it really isn't normal for me to have so much trouble since I really am in decent shape. And what she has is treatable with daily meds. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to breathe when I run?

Yesterday's run didn't exactly go as planned. Kelli and I were going to show up to track practice, say hello to everyone, then just run the loop at Memorial instead of doing track. We both felt like we needed to get a little more distance in this week, and track just wasn't what we were looking for.

Unfortunately, one of our coaches was out of town, and the other had her car break down, so we ended up having to lead track practice instead of running a loop. We ran several laps around the track, but we were both feeling exhausted and run down, so we didn't do nearly as much as we probably should have. Shame on us!

On top of the lack of running, I got destroyed by the park's fall mosquito convention. Not a great week training for me.

I ought to go run several miles tonight to gear up for the 8 mile long run on Saturday morning, but I have to go to associate night at Hanszen instead (hey, it's a worthwhile volunteer position at the residential college that shaped my university experience - it trumps running =)). It's Western themed!

Here's to not wanting to die on Saturday!