Day 111--Race Day (#3)

I did not hit any of my goals today at all. It turns out that running a 5K after a week of food poisoning is not easy at all. I managed to finish, and my time wasn't horrific, but I wasn't in the top ten for my age group, or under 29 minutes. I suppose I should be happy with my 32:11, but it's a few minutes slower than my last outing and I really hoped to shave some time off.

I'm also 10 miles behind in my goal of averaging a mile a day, every day in June. I could still hit my goal, but only by running over 3 miles each day Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. I won't get a run in tomorrow because I'll be heading to the Pride Parade early tomorrow, and that will be my entire day.

My vacation set me back a bit, which I was expecting, but the food poisoning was not something I had expected. It wasn't the worst case that anyone's ever had, so I was able to keep eating some after it hit. That's the bright side of it. I guess the bad side is that I didn't lose much weight during it. :)

Day 110--Falling behind

I'm now 6 miles behind my running goal for June. I have the desire to catch up, but not the strength or energy. I have low blood iron, and am trying to get caught up, but it's taking me a few days. I'm taking supplements, and trying to eat more iron-rich foods. I don't eat meat, so this isn't as easy as eating a plate of liver. I go through this every year or so, so I know that it's easily treatable, but it's never as easily diagnosed as I'd like. The first day or so, I just think I'm sleep-deprived. If only I would start taking the iron at that point, I could keep myself from getting as exhausted as I currently am. I did manage to bike to work today, but my speed was off a few MPH from normal. I'm hoping I can get back up to normal by Sunday so I can get in a long run or two before my vacation so I'm not horribly behind when I get back.

Day 108--Back to the bike

I'm 5 miles behind in my goal of running a mile a day, every day this month. I planned on getting in a long run this weekend to get caught up, but it rained and rained. I may have to run a 5K or more when I get home from work to make up some ground. I'm not sure how much running I'll get in next week when I'm on vacation. The hotel does have a small gym with a treadmill, so I will pack running shoes and clothes so I don't have that as an excuse. I may still have exhaustion, time and alcohol as ready excuses though.

I weighed in this weekend and my weight stayed the same over the last week. I really don't think I'll get back to 120 before July 1st. I have lost some weight this month, which should make me happy, but I really wanted to hit 120. I may be able to hit the 125 that's on my driver's license, though.

day 107--Cycling

I didn't ride to work every day this week. Two days off for bad weather and today off because of the Hawks' rally outside my building. Wasn't sure where I'd put my bike without worrying about damage to it from the 2 million people who were in the streets. I'm also two days behind on my running, so I will need to get a long run in this weekend. I don't like running without a destination, so I'll need to figure out a good place to go that's at least 4 miles away, or find a good 4+ mile loop to run.

I also need to get myself on a scale. It's been about a week since I last weighed in. I have no idea if I've lost anything, gained some or maintained.

Day 106--Mile Run

I ran my mile in 8:18 today. That's over 10 seconds faster than my prior best time. I'm starting to think that 8:00 is really doable by the end of the month. That makes me feel better, because I'm less confident about my other goals. My weight does seem to be coming down, but still need about 8 pounds in 3 1/2 weeks. That's a pretty big loss in a short time. I will hit the mile a day average, but can't guarantee my standings in my 5K in June. I hope that my other goals will help me improve my race-day standings, but the standings have the "other runners" factor that I can't control. I plan on a long run again this weekend, which is something I hadn't done before, but seems to be part of everyone's 5K training plans.

Day 105--Big Run

I ran 4 1/4 miles yesterday in 55 minutes, which included an ATM stop. That got me back up to date on my mile a day goal. It was my longest run to date and I felt ok when it was done. This makes me think that joining my friend Kate in her 10K in September may be doable. My weight has come down a bit, too. I'm really close to 128, only 25 more days to lose the last 8 pounds. That's going to be a tough number to hit. My arms are starting to show more definition. I'm getting what I'd call runner's arms. I really need to get back in to the EA active for Wii, though. I tried to test my overall fitness using a test in Runners Magazine and I still can't do a real push-up with any decent form at all. I'm also losing flexibility. I really need to start stretching after my morning runs when my muscles are warm. Maybe the extra activity will help with the weight loss goals.

Day 104--Running

I tried running with Willie, and she is not good. She can't make it much farther than a block, and she doesn't follow a straight line at all. Once she gets a bit tuckered out, she tries to grab her leash, which is cute, but dangerous when I'm running. She dead stops in front of me and jumps at my hand to bite the leash. I will work with her to break her of that habit and to increase her stamina so we can run farther than a block.

I ran a mile on the treadmill this morning and I'm still at 8:30. That's the same pace I was at last week, which is going to make the 8:00 goal by 7/1/10 to be hard to meet. Maybe increasing the distance I run will help, too. I'm hoping to run to The Green City Market tomorrow. That's 4 miles away, and then I still have to get home. That will probably be a bus or walking. That will be my first real run longer than 3 miles.

Day 103--Otto

I'm behind 2 miles in my quest to average a mile a day in running. I spent most of Saturday painting and Sunday recovering from painting. Sadly, the last few days were spent dealing with my dog Otto getting really, really sick and having him put down yesterday. That kind of killed any desire I had to run. I decided that today's blog would be all about dogs. The other dog in the third photo is Willie, who was our back-up dog, but has now become the only dog. I hope to take her out for our first solo run tonight, but I'm not hopeful about her abilities. She tends to meander on walks, and only had a purpose when following Otto. I'm not so sure that she'll be able to run in any way that won't endanger both of us. I still have bruises from Otto's balloon attack of last Wednesday, and I'd like to avoid adding new ones to those.