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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

What goes up...

This week has been good so far running wise.  I did a four mile run Monday night after work, it was pretty hot and then I did a little over six miles this morning, it was beautiful out!  I also did hills on both of those runs.  I must say running in the AM is a totally different feeling than running after work.  I wake up in the morning ready to go, running calms my head and I needed calming this AM!  My run this am pretty much went like this:

Start:  a little rocky, trying to find my stride (usually takes about a quarter of a mile to set my pace)  I listened to that song Titanium on repeat three times until I past mile one ha!  I am a classic repeat offender.  If I like a song I play the crap out of it!

Middle:  Easy, breezy.  Had a nice pace going, faster than my long distance paces, stoped at a water fountain for a quick drink, the weather was breezy and the pier was beautiful.

End:  Easier than expected.  Hills are starting to just feel like part of the run.  I expect them, I don't fear them, I coast through them.  In fact I look forward to them now.  They are always at the end of my run because I try to challenge myself at the point when I will be most tired.  I know as soon as I get to the top then it's an easy run down.  I really look forward to it now, who would have thunk it!

That is it in a nutshell.  Well that is it TODAY.  I am not sure how anyone else is when running but sometimes I feel like it's any given day how I will feel.  I might feel like total poop tomorrow. 

My run schedule is going to be a little weird the next couple of days.  I'm going to LA to visit two of my besties and I will be running on different terrain and at different times.  I have scheduled it out so I definitely will not miss them, but it will be a challenge to my will to get them done.  I am sure that I would much rather drink wine and chat all night every night, but that is out of the question as far as the nights before my runs :(  Damn the man!  I will try check in while I'm there.  I definitely will take a lot of pictures to log what it looks like to run in Hollywood ha!  Maybe I'll see a celebrity!  Here's hoping!

Monday, August 27, 2012

What weekend?

This weekend was crazy busy!

Friday after work I took the bus down to my mom's house (Toms River).  The bus ride down was pretty calm and I was able to finish my book.  No complaints!  My mom picked me up and we had pizza for dinner.  I grew up down the shore and I love it to death, but pizza stinks down there once you get used to Hoboken/NYC area pizza.  I'm sorry it just does! I went to sleep semi early (10am) knowing I had to be up at 5:15 latest to run.  My mom was making noise around 2:30am and it woke me up.  Well the anxiety about having to do 15 miles and all the traveling I would have to do during that weekend got the best of me and I couldn't go back to sleep.  Around 4:55am, I decided to just get changed and head over to Seaside to start my run.

It was pitch black ha!  Check it out, this is the beginning:


Yeah I was tired but ready to go!  I parked at my girlfriends family shore house in Seaside Park and started to run towards the boardwalk.  It is only about a 1/2 quarter of the mile away from the very start of the boardwalk so that wasn't that bad.  I was a little scared though, prob didn't help that the beginning of my shuffle was KORN ha!  Once on the board walk it was so peaceful.  Everything was closed, the boards where for the most part completely empty (either older people on bikes or left off drunken bastards).  The sky started to turn a beautiful purple, the air was cool and my legs felt great.  The sun started to come up just as I was hitting the end of Seaside boardwalk.  It was surreal.  Like I said in the last post I really tried to soak in the feeling of being alive and able to see moments like that morning.  Then onto Lavellette!  I got on that boardwalk, ran until the end, still feeling good.  Once that boardwalk ended I was ready to find my turning point.  Well my turning point was at least another mile if not more down the road :(  Probably should have taken a look at that!  I felt like my turn would never come.  By that point I had been running for an hour and 15 minutes and was getting nervous that I was running at a super slow pace or I missed my turn.  Well about an hour and 20 minutes I reached my turn around. That calmed my nerves and I settled in for the run back.

I had a great run back for the most part except for the fact that I thought the Lavellette boardwalk was a closer turn than it was so I ran down a street about (1/4 mile) then realized it was a dead end so I had to run back onto the main road!  Frustrating!  After my run was done I ran 15.5 miles (with one stop to go to the bathroom) in 2hrs and 38 minutes, about a 10.2 minute mile pace not taking into account time lost on going to bathroom.  I am definitely happy with that, however my run did not come at no cost.  I was torn up.  My feet where ok, but I got the worst under boob (sports bra) chafe ever!  It really looks like I got breast implant incisions under my boobs they are all cut up!  Gross I know, but hey if you are thinking about doing something like training for a marathon, I guess you should know the good, bad and ugly!  Below is a pic of me finished!  Thank god!



After my run was done, I got showered and me and my perfect nephew went on our journey back to Texas.  We had a blast!  Just the two of us, hanging out, goofing off flying!  I am lucky that he is a good boy, so there was only one potty trip on the plan and he was for the most part very quiet.  We ate pretty bad though.  I got a chicken cheese steak in the Philly airport, then in Houston (we had a layover on way to San Antonio) I had a chicken finger salad, no dressing though.  Either way wasn't the best choices but hell when you travel it's part of the fun right?  Right?

Our goodbyes made me very sad, so they were quick and I stayed at a hotel for one night, then again I was up at 5am making my way back to NJ.  Last night was a super early night needless to say and I did not run this am.  It is really nice out today so I'm going to try and get 4 miles in when I get home.

Overall, my weekend was a total success, run came and went, travel was easier than expected and got to spend some one on one quality time with the most fun boy ever.  It was just very fast!  This weekend will be no different.  I'm going to visit my best friend in LA on Thurs for the weekend, but we are pretty low key people so I think I will be able to relax for a large portion of the trip.  I have my 16 miles mapped and planned for Saturday, even though I will be on "vacation".  I am actually looking forward to it!

Friday, August 24, 2012

Stop and Listen

I listened to my body this week.  After my Tuesday run my calf muscle was tight and sore.  I decided to skip both of my short runs on Wed & Thurs and massage and stretch it out.  I will be doing the 15 miles on Saturday and I definitely think I did the right thing.  My calf is still a little tight and it is now Friday!

Overall this weekend is going to stink!  I will be taking a bus to my mom's house in TR after work.  Then waking up around 5am to get my 15 miles in, showering then off to Philly Airport with my nephew.  I am flying back to Texas with him :)  This is going to be a stressful exhausting day, but really I'm glad I get to spend alone time with him.  It is a day flight so I know he will be chatting up a storm :)  We arrive in San Antonio at 9:05pm then I'm off to a hotel for the night and then up and at the SAT Airport at 5am on Sunday!  Craziness, but at least I will be home in Newark at 1:45pm and still feel like I have some time to relax on Sunday. 

I am hoping that the busy schedule will keep my eating to a minimum.  I did really good this week and lost weight, it is amazing how just keeping it a little lower will make a difference when you are banking so much exercise.

Another reason for the Stop and Listen title is because I work in NYC about 10min walk from Empire State Building.  There was a shooting around 9:07am today.  I was in my office at 9:06am.  We live in a world that I am really started to be scared in.  Does anyone else feel this way?  Whatever side of the fence you are on re: gun laws, a gun never shoots itself.  These are humans making these decisions.  What is going on in humanity?  Life is scary and unfairly short for many people, please stop and be thankful, joyful, happy you are alive.  Maybe if we cared about life more then there would be less of these horrible tragedies.  I know my run this weekend will be focused on just that, my life.  My gratefulness that I am alive.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

When 6 Miles is a "short run"

This week started with me f'ing up my training schedule.  I was supposed to do Monday 4, Wed 5, Thurs 4.  Well Monday came and went and I woke up Tues and did 6 with hills and intended to do 4 today and 3 tomorrow.  Well this A.M. was a total fail!  I heard my dog crying in the middle of the night.  Sort of like a breathing wimper.  I waited a few minutes and it didn't go away so I went downstairs to check on him.  I pet him and he just kind of moaned like he was happy to get pet.  He didn't start breathing wierd again so I decided I would rest with him for a few minutes to make sure that it was nothing (it was prob a dream).  Anyway, I woke up around 7:15am and his paw was over my face and his head was on my pillow on the couch ha!  We were total sleepover buddies!  Also, he was fine and ready to start the morning, so I guess it was just a bad dream he was having.  He really cracks me up.  Look at this picture B took of us this Sunday (disregard the deer in headlights look on my face).  Clyde looks like a total pimp daddy dude getting pet!  What a weirdo!



Anyway the point is I skipped today too, ARGH!!! I am meeting up with my Outback girls (I used to work at Outback Steakhouse through college and a bunch of us girls meet up every couple of months and keep in touch, how cute right!) tonight so no fitting mileage in when I get home.  So my goal is tomorrow 6 miles.  That leaves me one mile short for my "short" runs during the week.  What are you going to do, life happens sometimes!  I'm not too upset although I would rather have had 3 to do tomorrow instead of six, but hey no one to blame but myself on that one!

Monday, August 20, 2012

What a Band Aid could do for you

Happy Monday!

This weekend was really awesome!  Friday was a low key night.  I got out of work a couple hours early and B made grilled chicken, asparagus and rice and beans.  Bed was pretty early, around 10:30pm.  I checked the weather for Saturday and saw it was going to be rainy and cool so I decided to let myself wake up natural time since the weather was not going to be that hot. 

I got up to drizzle, bleh.  I walked Clyde with B and decided to walk without an umbrella to get myself used to the drizzle :)  It wasn't a pour like it was a couple days ago but just a light drizzle.  After a 30min walk, I got home, changed into my quick dry gear and bandaged up my foot.  Now I have been having blister problems for almost a month now.  It has been a big issue on my long runs.  My friend took me to Duane Reade and we picked up what he uses for his bad blisters.  Two awesome products: Friction Bock and Band Aid Blister Bandages.  Now my blog is a small little thang that I am not sure if anyone even reads so this review is purely based off of my experience and complete LOVE of how my feet felt.  When I tell you that for 14 miles I did not feel one ounce of pain or irritation from my blisters I am telling the 100% truth.  My only complaint would be the Bandages are hard to get off, but I read I'm supposed to leave them on, so next time I will.  Guys, this run was the longest I ever ran and so far this training the best run.  I was faster, stronger and having fun!  The drizzle was welcomed!  I really kept me cool.  I didn't feel like I was sweating until around mile 7 or 8.  The sun stayed away until I was on my way back, maybe the last 30minutes of my run.  My feet felt like a million bucks and I got my motivation back!  I needed it, all this training was getting to my head and this run put it all back to the motivating force I had in the beginning.  I can do it! Ha!

After my run, B and I had an awesome brunch at our friends, then had pizza and beer at our other friends for dinner and watching a dismal Jets game :(  Seriously, being a Jets fan is soooooooooo hard! 

Sunday was a super exciting day for me.  We went to have brunch with my Dad, Step Mom and B's parents at The Stone House, where we are getting married in one year!!!!  I was a little nervous because I have not been back since we booked it in April.  B and I go there early and just walked around the organic gardens they have on premises.  I really fell in love with this place again.  It is perfect and I cannot wait to get married there, like now!!!  The food and drinks where awesome and our families LOVED it! 

I skipped my run this am because I didn't want to get up and I knew the weather would be cool enough to go tonight.  So tonight I'm going home, running then watching a movie!  Movies rule!!!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Tired

I feel exhausted, worn, tired, etc.  I completed all my shorter weekly runs and I am starting to understand why you need to do them.  After the 13 miles this weekend I didn't take a long break.  All week I have been running on tired legs from the 13 miles (and dancing all night) I did on Saturday.  It is weird but today I felt the strength I was getting from running on tired legs.  It is a fact, I'm going to pushed to physical exhaustion on November 4th, my legs will want to stop moving, I know this.  What I also know is I can run when I'm tired.  I can keep moving one step in front of the other until the pain goes away. 

Ok, so it doesn't really go away, it just becomes euphoric.  I read a really funny analogy this morning in the Metro.  They compared S&M to runners high and at first I laughed then reading further down I understood.  The pain at a certain point becomes euphoric.  Now I am not saying that after a certain point I am having the most mind blowing orgasim I have every had, although that would be freaking amazing, all I am saying is that the pain seems to subside and then you have a burst of energy and calm.  That is what I am feeling now on my long runs, pain then steady calm.  On my shorter runs this week I felt worse in the beginning, like the first mile than I did at the end. 

Overall my run today was consistent with a tough long hill included.  It is at the end of the three miles and I like it now because I know once I get to the top the downhill is nice, long and easy.  Dare I say I am enjoying hills?  That statement will bite me in the arse when I do the 18 mile tune up in Central Park.  UGH, I hate those hills.  I actually think I might try next week's 15 miles in CP just so I can do a tune up to the tune up ha!

Tomorrow I have an off day from running, but I'm going to try do some light weights and squats to build up some muscle.  I'm going to dinner at a fancy spot in NYC tonight because I do not have to run, you know since my life revolves around my runs now! 

On a non-running note, I saw The Dark Knight Rises last night.  It was good, I loved it, but there was someone who came and sat behind us and he was alone.  Immediately I got nervous.  I really hate that this psychopath has made me think this way.  I go to the movies by myself.  I love going to the movies and now I have to get anxiety about it?  Not only did he destroy so many peoples lives and their loved ones he affected a simple pleasure in peoples lives.  I know in time those feelings will subside and that is why the human race is so resilient, but last night it just got the best of me.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Noodles vs Squash

I love sspaghetti squash!  There I said it!  If you are ever hesitant on trying a to substitute pasta with spaghetti squash just go for it.  You are not going to have the same texture or taste of pasta, but you will have a crunchier, veggie concoction that works perfectly with pasta sauce and it is so easy.  I had a small squash that I had B cut in half (cutting it in half is probably the hardest part) and then you scoop out the seeds and place in the oven at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.  Some people put olive oil on top, but I add the oil and salt and pepper when I am finished.  Once it is done, you take a fork and start scooping out the squash.  They call it spaghetti because it looks like angel hair spaghetti when you pull it out.  Here is a picture of the finished product, without sauce.


Add some sauce, cheese & red peppers and there you have it!  A yummy low cal dinner!  Totally filling!

While the squash was cooking I went for my 3 mile run.  The first mile was rough.  I said it before but I will say it again, running at night is a completely different experience.  It is never easy for me!  My shins where sore, my legs felt tired, my energy was low.  After the first mile, I started to get into the swing of it and finished the run fast and added two large hills.  I felt great knowing I knocked it off my training list and had my squash ready to eat!  ALSO, I put my 3 miles into my count today and I made it to 50% of my 365 mile resolution goal!!!  Hell yeah!  Marathon training is pushing me to my goal fast and furious!  I did get a blister again. 

The item I didn't touch on yesterday is the mental exhaustion I'm starting to feel.  Every run day, I'm tired.  Even the small mileage.  The night before my runs, I am thinking ok I need to go to bed to get sleep for my run, I need to eat cleaner foods for my run, I need to give myself enough time to get ready for work after my run, blah blah blah all revolving around my runs!  It's exhausting.  All this thinking, all this preparing and it is still 81 days away!  I really commend people who run many marathons but I am perfectly fine doing just this one for now and maybe ever.  You have to commit a massive amount to the process.  I am sure the race will near kill me with the physical strain I am going to put on my body, but the training is breaking me down little by little mentally. 

Monday, August 13, 2012

Halfway

This weekend was a fun one.  The usual exhausting but FUN!  I took Friday off and went down to my Dad's down the shore.  I got to spend some quality time with my lovely nephew.  We went to the mall to pick up a windbreaker for him.  We were going to a minor league baseball game that night and he needed a windbreaker just in case it got chilly.  We also picked up a plane we could put together and fly, a puzzle and some hot wheels car set thing.  The rain let up when we got back so B and Gavin and I went to the park after a quick stop for some ice cream (I passed).  We flew the plane all around but the tail broke after Gavin fell on the plane after it landed ha!  Nothing a little duck tape couldn't help!  After that, puzzles and getting ready for the game.  It was PERFECT weather!  Warm with a nice breeze.  We had a massive group.  My dad remarried so it is kind of Brady Bunch.  Everyone had a great time and ate all the great baseball goodies, except me.  I had a great time, but I knew that I had 13 miles Saturday am and I wasn't going to load up on food that was going to make me sick or slow me down.  I had a Chicago Style hot dog then after we got home I had grilled chicken and hummus and peppers.  I was hungry!  Here is a picture of me at the game with my sis and nephew, check out the cheesy grin!


Saturday morning came fast!  I had the alarm on for 7am but I didn't need it.  My nerves got me up at 6:15.  I forgot my water belt and Ipod at home!  Son of a B!!!  I borrowed my dad's Ipod and I went without water, knowing there would be a few water fountains on my run.  I must say I felt so flipping good.  The weather was nice, same as last night when I started out.  The music was, well, weird.  My dad had everything from Irish music, Christmas Songs, Rihanna, Flo Rida and Fleetwood Mac.  It definitely was an interesting music experience, but in the end it worked out well.  I got to my 6.5 mile turnaround spot and still felt great.  The lack of water definitely was hitting me though.  On the way back I had to stop at a Dunkin Donuts and ask for tap water.  All in all my breathing, legs felt great.  Dehydration was an issue for sure this run.  I got a little sick after, but I was sure to fill up on carbs and water as soon as I got home.  As good as I felt, this run made me scared.  Doing another 13 miles after it seemed really intimidating and I am starting to read around the Internet to get some mental calm about doing the whole 26 miles.  I am halfway there.  Usually I'm a "glass is half full" type of girl, but hell this halfway seems like an ocean away! 

After the run, I did nap but I spent the day swimming, then walked the boardwalk and danced.  Needless to say my legs where Jello on Sunday and are still tired today.  I'm going to run when I get home, but only a short one, I know my legs need a break.  Sunday was good, but mostly I just chilled and played with my nephew and ate.  My mom made a massive breakfast, which included amazing homemade doughnuts!  Then I was craving Chinese so B and I ordered Chinese food for dinner.  I ate a lot on Sunday, but I'm not crying about it!  Tonight B is making fresh gravy for pasta.  I'm going to substitute my pasta for spaghetti squash.  Such an awesome substitution!

I have really been feeling the sacrifice of training, but I'll touch more on that tomorrow.



Thursday, August 9, 2012

Out of sync

Monday was another super hot day, so I decided against running.  I will not put my body through that again!  Tuesday the alarm went off and I got my arse up and ran and ran and ran some more.  It was supposed to be a four miler, but the weather was perfect and I was feeling really great so I went for six and did some hills.  My days are all out of wack this week.  I didn't run on Wednesday and I am supposed to run when I get home but I am not 100% sure I'm going to do it.  It is hot again and I may just do some Yoga, abs and lift.  If I skip tonight I am not going to run until Saturday and hopefully will reset my schedule.  One week of skipping two small runs isn't going to kill me but a pattern of it will. 

Good news is I have off tomorrow, yay!  I get to spend the weekend with my nephew and down the shore again.  I'm so excited!  Tomorrow we are going to go to a Blue Claws game.  I will be sure to take some photo's and tell you all about it and my 13 mile run!  Sorry this is a short one but I am super busy today.  Have a fun and healthy weekend Internet world!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Feeling the Heat

This week was amazing, my long run was horrible!

Saturday started off super early.  B and I got up around 5:45am.  I took C out for a decent walk and about five seconds after stepping outside I knew my run later that morning was going to be shit.  This heat was bad, like sucking your breathe out of your body bad.   Clyde did his business and wanted no part of being outside.  We packed for our night out down the shore the night before so we where on our way down around 6:45am. 

My run was to start in the beginning of the Asbury boardwalk and then run the coast north, pass my dad's house go another mile and half north then back.  That would have been 13 miles.  Straight to my dad's is 10 miles.  B dropped me off about 8am.  I started running as soon as I hit the boardwalk, with a slight stop about 1/2 a mile in to go to the bathroom.  The public bathrooms at the Convention Hall in Asbury are gross!  Ok, so after that pit stop I was back on the road. The following is my mileage transgression:

One - hot but OK
Two - hot pouring water on my neck, face and drinking
Three - is it getting hotter to anyone else?  running low on water
Four - everything is soak and wet with sweat, cannot seem to get cool
Five - looking for shade is not easy on the board walk.  out of water.
Six - found water fountain, filled water, sun is glaring
Seven - ran off the boardwalk onto main road, searching for a path with any shade
Eight - am I seeing spots?
Nine - thank god I brought two bucks, went to krausers and got a cold Gatorade.  drank it all in seconds.
Ten - I'm going home and I might puke.

That's right, I couldn't go past ten miles.  I'm not really bummed.  I know it was the heat that got the best of me, and it wasn't because I was not prepared or my legs hurt or something like that.  I would have gotten sick if I stayed out there.  I know it.  It is supposed to be cooler this Saturday so, back to the pavement...

After my run I got to spend the day with the best little boy around, my nephew!  He is 3 going on 4 and a ball full of happy energy.  He is really just a joy to be around.  We made castles, he tore them down, ran around the beach then went home and I napped ha!  B took my nephew to the park and let me sleep.  I am seriously marrying the best man!  We ate dinner, played hungry hippos (check it out below) and then my happy boy went to sleep. 

After Gavin went to bed, B and I headed further down the shore to Seaside to do a bar crawl down the boardwalk!  I haven't been to Seaside in years.  Oh how I have missed the people watching!  We had a really great night just walking, drinking, talking and taking in the "scenery"!  My legs where tired the next morning for sure.  I might not have put in the mileage I wanted, but the days events definitely made up for it.

Sunday we went back to Hoboken early to take out Clyde (we only had a walker for Sat afternoon and night).  It was super hot yet again, so after the walk we just slept.  I got a much needed pedicure.  Really I feel horrible for the lady.  My feet are something awful since training.  I had a wedding to go to at 4pm on Sunday so I really needed a pedi, even if it meant I had to show my embarrassing tootsies to someone.  I gave her a nice tip to make up for it.

My friends wedding was awesome!  It was at a Jewish Center and everything was really nice.  I wasn't sure what I expected, but it was perfect! The food was out of this world good, the atmosphere was clean and classic, my friends where at our table so that was a blast and we were in bed by 10:30pm.  Overall, it was just a super fantastic weekend and definitely needed!  Now, back to Monday blues! 

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Hills

I ran 3.5 miles this am and incorporated hills.  I know there will be some bad hills in the NYC marathon, at least bad fro someone who is used to flat terrain so I definitely have to make sure my quads are used to some hills.  The highest hill we will have to do is from the start....Verrazano Bridge.  We start on the bridge about 100 feet up and climb to a little over 250 feet, then trek down.  There are some steep hills in Hoboken, the Verrazano is a bit more gradual but the height is almost the same.  There are other areas which the climb will be comparable (other bridges) and the bastards have mile 23-24 a gradual climb up Fifth Ave.  Bastards! 

I did two loops up two sets of decent hills.  The first loop was ok.  The trek up was not fun, but not horrible I kept a decent pace and did not feel out of breathe.  The second loop was a whole other story.  My pace felt like it was at a stand still.  I know I was moving but it felt like it took forever.  I used the decline down to catch my breathe and finished another mile easily after that.  Overall I am tip toeing into hills, but hopefully come November I can do more laps.  The 18 mile tune up race in Central Park is Sept 23rd and that is three loops around Central Park, which is very hilly so that will be a good test to see if I am up to par or if I need to do more strength training. 

Brendan made an amazing dinner on Tuesday night and I ate the Chard Casserole, this is the recipe.  I highly recommend it, it's quite healthy and hearty enough for me to eat as a meal.  Anyway, I always like casseroles better after the first night, they just get more flavor or something.  I got myself a big ole piece of casserole and watched Bizarre foods. Brendan loved this one because he is a big shellfish lover and it was about the fishing area in Greece.  I do not like shellfish.  Something about the texture just grosses me out.  I have tried them all more than once and on one I can kind of like (king crab).  Anyway, I had to look away because watching them catch, cook (sometimes) and eat the fish was literally making me want to throw up chard all over the couch.  I really do like that show, but not when I'm eating.  Eating is a sacred time for me and when someone even talks about something gross my mind can make a chocolate cake taste like a sea urchin.  Weird but true!

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Weathering the Storm

The title of this post has more than just the literal meaning for me right now, however on my five miles this am, I did literally have to run through a storm.  I was about one mile in when it started to drizzle and then in mile two it poured.  I mean POURED.  My attire was definitely not the best choice.  White cotten shirt and cottonish pants.  I did have a blue sports bra on, thank god!  Once my shirt got wet you could see my back tattoo and everything!  I am definitely not fat, but I am not someone who should be running in a sports bra only if ya know what I mean, ha!  The rain actually felt kind of good, cooling me down at first.  Once it wouldn't stop I was not happy!  My Ipod crapped out.  I did pick up a poop bag from a dog park I passed to run with my Ipod in the bag, but it was too late.  I had to finish my mile and half without music.  After the rain eventually subsided, I felt 10 pounds heavier.  Hell I probably was 10 pounds heavier and right then and there I decided I hate running in the rain.  Soggy shoes, wet clothes, no music, rain is for the birds man!  Anyway, when I got home I decided to show ya'll a picture of my sogginess.  Aren't you lucky!  The good thing is I did five miles and felt really good breathing wise.  I only had to do 4 but I decided to do a little extra to push myself in the bad weather.  The weather on November 4th might be brutal so I guess I should prepare right???


The non literal part of this quote is just some family issues that are eating at me.  We have been dealt a round of sadness with a side of stress and really both situations we are completely helpless.  Fate will have to take it's course.  There are definitely times that I feel overwhelmed and sad, but right now I'm really happy I had that run to do this morning.  I know it is very "Tom Cruise" of me to say but I am a believer in exercise of any form.  I clear my head.  I think.  I refocus.  I know many people have sadness they cannot control (depression, bipolar, etc), but I am lucky.  I do get sad.  I do get overwhelmed.  I know it is not a sickness though and what helps me is focusing on running.  When there is nothing you can do to mend a problem you have to start looking at ways to help the individual whose problem it REALLY is and that is exactly what I am going to try and do.