They Keep Flying By

So it's almost the end of July. How did that happen? I feel like everything is going by at top speed and I am eternally grateful to the TNT team and coaches for having a schedule and such. Otherwise I'd be sitting here thinking, so much for that marathon idea.

This morning I randomly facebook-messaged a friend of a friend whose photos popped up in my feed when the friend commented on them. She just did a triathlon with TNT. My immediate impulse was to write to her in solidarity and congratulate her. I keep being intrigued by the idea of doing a triathlon. As the roomie says, it's just got so much other stuff associated with it. I've spent a small fortune decking myself out this summer (though I plan to use everything for years to come), and that's just for running. Maybe one day when I have something resembling an income and a stable life. It's something else to shoot for anyway. In any case, as someone who never did much in the way of sports, it's really fun to have a team and feeling like I'm working with people toward a goal.

On Tuesday we did more repeats on Cat Hill. Up and down and up and down... I met someone new and we started talking while running, which is a fantastic way to pass the time when you're doing something vaguely unpleasant like running up and down hills in 85% humidity. She joined a little late so she was keeping a slower pace, so I guess I could (should) have worked harder, but it was nice to just chat and feel companionable.

Last night I did a short run (just under 3 miles). My pace was reasonable, slightly faster than the last race. Before I ran, I took a long window-shopping walk through SoHo, then went to Trader Joe's and lugged a heavy grocery bag full of stuff a mile home, so I figured a short run was ok.

My knees are starting to bother me more; I need to talk to the coaches tomorrow. I'm fairly certain icing is the way to go, but I'm not sure what besides strengthening exercises I can or should do (or avoid). I'm thinking it's probably due to my historical lack of muscle tone, my arthritis, my flat feet, and so on. One of the other interns at my office was debating whether to run the NYC half marathon this Sunday (she hasn't been training) and when she offered me her place I was really tempted. It's a tough one to get into because so many people want to do it, and I thought it would be amazing to say I'd done it. But while intellectually I know I could finish it (albeit slowly) I'm just not sure that I'm psychologically ready for 13.1 miles, and I was afraid of hurting myself besides. Also, tomorrow is going to be a fantastic long run: 9-11 miles across the GW bridge and through Palisades Park.