Running for Jen

I have family in town, therefore I got up early to get my run in beforehand.  It was fairly comfortable out as it was overcast and rainy.  The run wasn't great, but it was better than yesterday.

I made sure that I got up for my run this morning as today was my family's last day in town and we were going to be heading out to eat.  Once again, my time was terrible, but I felt alright and was happy to complete the distance.  This visit has been a lot of fun, but I am tired.

My friend from Tampa arrived this morning at 5:00am.  I went back to sleep after her arrival and she went to sleep.  Once we were both up, we decided to go for a run.  It was after 11am, but since it was overcast and mild out, it wasn't bad.  Unfortunately, I was not running well as walking seemed like a nice idea on more than one occasion.  She pushed me to run and I pushed her distance-wise as she has barely run more than four miles in quite a while.  About half-way through, we were rained on, but it was nice as it kept us cool.  It has been a few years since we have run together, therefore this was really nice.

I had a really nice run this morning with my friend from Florida this morning.  This was our 2nd run together during her visit.  We went to my usual Saturday location where I was able to show her what we call our game-day run (our first game day of the fall is still a few weeks away).  She enjoyed the run and the scenery, especially once we got onto campus.  We both had a good run and we both managed to push each other in a very positive way.  Happy Saturday!

Today is the first of four days in which I will need to get up early to workout as I have to work our Freshman Summer Transition Academy.  I felt alright getting up and chose to run outside as it was mild and since the sun would be up soon after I started.  It was a nice way to start the day.

These are WALKING MILES!  I got up this morning not feeling so great.  I wasn't sick, but my eyes were not feeling so hot as they were a tad sensitive to the light.  I chose to go with my glasses instead.  I attempted to run, but that didn't feel right either and just chose to walk.  I figured that walking was better than not doing anything.

I did not get enough sleep last night, but felt the need to get up this morning anyway for my run.  I am glad that I did as it was a nice way to start the day.  I also put in a new pair of contacts, which helped make me feel better.

I decided to join some of the others at 6:30 so that I could drop off a wedding present.  This gave me the opportunity to run with one of the women in our group who normally runs faster than I do.  I was able to keep up with her, but that was only  because she was running slower than she normally does.  It was nice to catch up and make my body move quicker than it has in awhile.  We ran the first 7.25 miles together and then ran the rest on my own.  It was amazing how I managed to slow down once I was alone. 

I finally got out the door after sleeping in and walking the dogs.  It was after 10:30, but fortunately, not too hot out.  My run was alright, as I tried to push myself harder than I have been.  Distance completed, goal for the day accomplished.

So, I ran today, sort of.  I felt so beat up and I don't know why.  I walked way too much and almost cut the run short due to an appointment that I had this morning.  I did suck it up and made sure that I hit my goal of 6 miles, which was really the only positive that I can pull from today's run.  Tomorrow is a new day (although I believe it will be a day off).

After taking the day off yesterday from running (I did take the dogs on a relaxing two-mile walk), I was back outside this morning.  It was probably a  tad too warm to be running outdoors, but I chose to anyway.   I have been wearing my glasses the past couple of days instead of my contacts due to some eye irritation.  I didn't feeling like messing with my glasses and headphones at the gym, so I put on a visor to help block the sun and went for it (I don't feel the need for headphones when I run outside).  It was warm, upper 70's and sunny, but I was alright for the first 4 miles.  I noticed the heat a bit more for the final 2 1/4.  Once again, my time was not good, but in trying to be positive, it was better than how I did on Monday.

I can honestly say that I had a pretty good run today.  I decided to change my route a bit and run a loop that is around 2 miles long.  It felt a tad long at times, but it was a nice change and it was a bit flatter than my other routes that I take when running from home.  I ran miles 4 and 5 at a 10:01 pace, which for me, especially lately, is good (I know that this pace is slow for just about anyone out there that would read this, but I will take what I can get right now). My overall time was a good 3 minutes faster than what I have been doing. 

I had the opportunity to run with my running buddy for the first time in almost two months.  Because we are slowly getting her back into the swing of things, she decided to limit herself to 5 miles and we just went at a pace she was comfortable with, including walking at times.  We were together for an hour and covered 5.25 miles.  I then went back out, turned on my music and ran another 5.35 miles.  I was concerned that my legs would feel sluggish from the slower pace, but I felt pretty good.  The only issue that I had was with my headphones.  There is nothing like starting the weekend off with a 10+ mile run.  Happy Saturday! 

I had some trouble sleeping last night and almost stayed up when I let one of my dogs out.  I chose to attempt to go back to sleep, which I am glad that I did as I was able to get the rest that I needed.  When I did get up, I walked the dogs and then went for my run.  I thought that I may see some rain, but instead met the sun.  It wasn't too bad, especially considering that it is mid-late July.  My run actually went alright as I pushed myself.  With each mile, I ran faster with the exception of number five.  I finished in 1:02:55.

My run today wasn't too bad.  I am still wearing my glasses, which I am used to, but am definitely ready to put the contacts back in.  Hopefully, I will be cleared to wear them again soon.  After I walked my dogs, I hit the pavement. The first couple of miles were definitely on the slow side, but I was able to pick up the pace for the last 4+ miles.

After sleeping in and walking the dogs, I hit the pavement for my morning run.  It was a tad warmer than I would have liked, but that is a consequence of sleeping in during the month of July.  With only a week left until I have to go back to work, I am sleeping as much as I can.  I started out slowly, but then picked up the pace with each mile, except for mile 5.  I felt like I had worked and was content when I was done.

Once again, I woke up in the middle of the night and had trouble falling back to sleep.  By the time I got up and walked the dogs it was already getting warm outside.  I still chose to hit the pavement instead of the treadmill.  I probably should have considered the gym.  It wasn't awful out, but it was warm.  My time wasn't awful, but it was worse than it has been the past few runs.  I did improve over the first 3 miles, but miles 4 and 5 were slower, with improvement on my final mile of the day.

Once again, I did not sleep well last night.  I did get up early so that I could meet my group at 6:30.  I ran with my running buddy for the first 6.4 miles.  These miles were a combination of running and walking as my friend is still getting back into the swing of things.  I then ran the last 4.6 on my own with company of my music.  I ran these last miles at a nice pace, with most of them dropping under 10 minute miles.  Happy Saturday!

Due to sleeping in after a late night, I decided to go to the gym instead of run outside.  The sun made its presence known and it was just getting a bit toasty. My regular treadmill was not available as the whole row of treadmills was gone due to renovations.  Once I found a machine I liked, I hoped on and ran my typical workout.  I felt good even though the first couple of miles seemed to take quite awhile. 

I made sure that I got myself out of bed this morning at a decent hour since I needed to go into work for a little while.  After walking the dogs, I hit the pavement.  It wasn't too warm, although I did get out to a slow start.  Thankfully, I did pick up the pace during miles 3, 4, and 6.  Happy Monday!

Since I officially go back to work tomorrow, I decided to sleep in and run today instead of taking the day off.  It was actually quite nice out this morning.  My pace wasn't anything to write home about, but I did improve during the 2nd half of the run. 

After having a pretty good 1st day back to work, I decided to take advantage of the mild temperatures and go for a run (this also would allow me to sleep in tomorrow).  This is one of the better outside runs that I have had in a long time.  I ran one of my typical routes near the house and completed the first 6 miles in just over an hour.  Outside of mile 5, I was able to pick up the pace after each mile.  It was such a nice feeling.