Better Late Than Never

So it's been awhile. And the roomie keeps bugging me to update. So here I am.

Things have been a bit hectic, so my running has been more erratic than I would like. I moved out of the NYC apartment on August 10, the day after my 14-mile run. 8 hours in an air-conditioned car after that run and after spending most of the summer in constant motion wreaked not a small amount of havoc on my muscles and joints.

A couple of days later I ventured out into my parents' rabbit-warren of twisting suburban streets to try to replicate the speed "test" we did earlier in the summer. The kids in NY would be doing it later that day, so I thought I should too. I mapped out a mile. I did a little warm-up. I started running fast. And it kinda sucked a lot. Also, I forgot the Claritin again. So I settled for a very short run and headed back to the house before I got too annoyed with myself.

At the end of the week I was again in the car and on my way to Ann Arbor. The day after I moved, I did a 9.5-mile run. It was a challenge to map out a coherent route of that length in this small town, and I ended up writing it out on a piece of paper that I carried wrapped in a baggie in my wrist wallet. I always knew there were some hills in Ann Arbor, but I didn't fully appreciate the extent of them until that run. I felt like I was on level ground maybe 20% of the time. Most places that I ran that seemed flat were at a slight incline, and a couple of the hills were pretty intense. Given the hills, the moving, and the irregularity of my schedule, I know I should be glad I did as much as I did, but it was a bit discouraging after the 14-mile run.

Last Wednesday I started a cross-training routine using a book I got last spring and a couple of 5-lb hand weights. Right now the whole thing takes me about 45+ mins, but once I get into the rhythm it should get faster. I'm planning to do this twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays. That gives me 6 workouts a week and one day off. I might switch it up by using the machines at the gym sometimes, and also by replacing one or two of my running days with an elliptical machine to take some of the stress off my joints. But that will have to wait until I can start using the school gym (next week. sigh.).

I should have run 15 miles on Saturday, but I was in Atlanta at a conference, and there was no way I was going to be able to put aside 3 hours. So I settled for an hour on the treadmill in the cardio room at the hotel. While the fresh towels and the a/c were nice, the treadmill was so unbelievably boring, and I didn't like the unnatural feeling of maintaining an exact pace. It was way better than trying to run outside though.

I'm feeling a little stressed about losing my schedule, but I also know that it's a temporary thing and it hasn't really been that long. We just got a "catch-up" schedule from the coaches, and the email said we should follow it if we've run less than 11 miles. So I'm not quite "behind" yet. Also I need to start hydrating again.

One more thing: I will be having some fundraisers soon. I'll be posting details, and if you're around you should come by.