I’m Back on the Trail

I ran today!

For the first time in (I looked) TWO WEEKS!

I thought I would be horrendous.

Also, I couldn’t stretch very much before hand because I have all the blisters on the back of my feet from shoes. Like, what the HECK! I thought summer shoes were supposed to be comfortable?! Anyways.

I ran. A LOT faster than I had expected. AND! I didn’t even run only the required three miles! I ran four. It was fantastic. -Ly hot. But also just fantastic!

Today was a cool day. It was like 88 degrees or something when I went running and I kid you not, it felt cool! It’s crazy what a change ten degrees can make! We all kept saying, “Oh this weather is so nice! How relieving!” even though normally this would qualify as hhhotttt! So, despite the fact that generally I wouldn’t leave my nice air-conditioned room in this heat, I went for a run cause it felt cool! And I ran a sub-8 minute mile also!!! 7:49 minute mile, which I think is PRETTY good for my first day back after that looooong break!

So, needless to say, despite my sore muscles, I am in a VERY happy mood! And hopefully this “cool” weather will last so I can get some more runs in and get my abs back in shape! 😉

Have a good night you all!

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I ran today.

But it wasn’t my usual afternoon run.

It was an evening, after-dinner run.

It was amazing.

Just what I needed.

I told myself that because of my sickness I would just take it slow and run three miles, four if I felt up to it.

I know: I am such a tough trainer.

Anyways, it was slightly humid but over all beautiful. I could feel the rain coming on as the air got wetter and wetter but I didn’t care. The sun was setting. The clouds were all different colors. It smelled amazing. People were coming home from work. It was such a different atmosphere from what I’m used to at 2:00.

As soon as I set out, I knew that I was going to run four miles. I had already mapped out the whole run in my head before even changing into my running clothes. Go down our street, turn onto the next street, then onto the trail. Down and then back.

I passed other runners on the trail, but I was mostly by myself. Just me and my iPod.

It was darker than usual due to the time and the clouds, but I didn’t mind. It wasn’t really that dark so I wasn’t scared or anything.

I got tired pretty quickly and my throat got all dry because I am kinda sick. But I kept going. I just kept thinking, “If you stop now, you will be mad at yourself!” and “Come on, Claire! You’ve already made it this far! Why not just finish the stretch?!”

So I did.

I ran my four miles.

And I ran it in 31:37 which is a 7:42 minute mile. I was pretty surprised actually. It felt like I was going a lot slower. Especially around the middle, when I was the most tired. Usually when I run, I start out strong, then in the middle I burn out a bit, and then somewhere inside of me, I find a little bit of energy left and I can pick up my pace by the end of the run. But today, I just felt like I was going slow.

In fact, when the run was over, I didn’t even think to check my average mile so when I saw it just now, I was like, “WOW!”

I am pretty excited about our road trip tomorrow! I will hopefully get to run while I am on the trip so I should be able to AT least fit in the last mile to meet my weekly quota, if not more!! (*fingers crossed*) And at the hotel I will get to swim too I am hoping.

Anyways, I will not be posting until at least Monday which is when I am getting back. So everyone, enjoy the rest of your week! Feel free to leave comments below telling me about your running pursuits, or the weather where you live, or what fun things you are doing this weekend (“nothing” is actually included in “fun” because “doing nothing” doesn’t really happen that much this time of year!)!

And I will be back on Monday to tell you about my magnificent weekend (sans photos because I STILL can’t find my camera. Grr)!

 

It’s a Windy Day

Remember how in this post I was talking about how I make these grand plans at 11 at night and then the next day I have no motivation to run.

Well, last night, I decided I was going to run five to seven miles. Totally do-able.

Except for one tiny little fact, the wind.

Actually it was a huge fact.

It’s always easier to run when it’s not windy out. Obviously. But in most states, the wind is fairly mild (unless you’re in Kansas during tornado season or whatever). Unfortunately, in Chicago in the spring, we get these INCREDIBLY strong winds.

For a couple of days, it has been super windy and stormy.

Today I decided that I’d run down to the track and just do my run there so I’d be close to home in case a spring storm sprung.

It didn’t rain but the wind was very strong.

I read in a running magazine that when you run into the wind you burn like 10 percent as many calories or something, so I can’t complain there . But the wind was dragging me around. I could feel it whipping at my feet as I ran the curves of the track and then in one direction the wind pushed me and in the other direction I pushed against the wind. That’s why I only ran 3.5 miles. It wasn’t five miles and it most definitely wasn’t seven miles but I’m still okay with it. It was REALLY windy and I also played basketball and roller-bladed with my little brothers so I think that I got my exercise in, even if it wasn’t through running! 🙂

But, tomorrow I might make up for my lack of mileage today… just cause… 🙂

How’s your training going? On second thought, how’s the weather?

So, today I ran six miles.

It was a really pretty day for running!! 🙂 The sun was out, it was cool. The wind was a LITTLE strong but… I didn’t really mind! Not nearly as bad as it had been on Monday.

I told myself to just go slow because I wanted to run at least six, maybe seven, miles. Apparently, slow is no longer in my running vocabulary.

Okay that sounds REALLY stuck-up. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I have a certain amount of energy pent up inside of me and I just have to run my heart out until it’s gone. I have no pace meter whatsoever.

Anyways, so I ran my six mile run and… PR’d. Again.

I do realize that I am coming across as kind of bragg-y. But here’s why I am so thrilled about this. See, there are those runners who are always improving. And they are like amazing runners who run fast for long distances. Yea.

I’m not those runners.

At all.

I kinda hope that someday I will be. I mean, even though I’m improving, I’m not AMAZING.

Anyways, so then after my half-marathon (obviously a BIG improvement over my start where 1.5 miles may as well have been a half-marathon), I declined. Rapidly. So, I realized in January that this spring was going to be “catching-up” time to the rest of the running world. I mean, this past winter was an improvement for ME cause I didn’t run at all two winters ago.

So, my point in all this is that I wasn’t expecting to be fast. Or to be able to run far. I do realize that it’s April now. So technically I’ve had enough time to train for a half. I mean I COULD be farther along. But I knew that wasn’t going to happen.

I am just so psyched by how much better I have gotten, BETTER than I ever imagined I would be.  And I gush about it on here! 🙂

So, just to clear things up, I’m not trying to be boastful (well, maybe just a little!! I mean, I need SOMEONE to appreciate my awesome ness!!! 😉 Just kidding…) or condescending. I am just… “alerting you all” to the facts of my running career. YEAH!! 🙂 That’s what I’m doing!

How’s your running going?

Randomness (need I say more?)

I ran 3 miles today. It was a hard 3 miles. With a time of 24:38, it proved to be my second worst time I’ve ever run that distance (that counts anyways). But it was also really fun.

John rode his bike with me and talked the whole time. Now, it was kinda hard to hear what he was actually SAYING, cause the wind was a-blowing, but it was nice to have his company!

The weather was simply beautiful. At first, it was cloudy and warm. Then it sprinkled a bit. And then it was sunny and warm. I love springtime! And this is starting out as a beautiful spring! All the daffodils are popping up and the weather is so warm!! I hope we’re in for a hot summer!!

I am super pumped for my Shamrock Shuffle!! This is me:

Me: OOOOH!!! I LOVE Shamrock Shuffles!! They are so good!!! I always get kinda sick when I drink them but they’re so worth it!!

Everyone else: (in unison) shamrock SHAKES! Claire, it’s a shamrock shake!!!!!!!!!

Oh…right. I always call it a “shuffle” even though I mean “shake”! Sometimes, I think I’m even tricking myself into saying the right thing! But I always say the wrong thing! 😛

For the record, there is NEVER that much whipped cream!

But in this case (before I got off-track) I really WAS talking about the Shamrock Shuffle which is a RACE!!!

Yes! I have decided to resort to Google Images because I NEVER bring my camera with me. And on the rare cases that I do, i never take pictures. 🙂

Once again, I failed at stringing together a coherent post!!

Sorry for the squiggly, shaky arrows… But I think you get the point! It’s your basic essay!

The blog post topic is about… WHY YOU SHOULD DO YOUR SCHOOL

Supporting Point 1. So you can learn (duh!)

Supporting Point 2. So you won’t get behind on your homework and miss summer catching up

Supporting Point 3. So you won’t be a loser

Then conclusion.

Once again: WHY YOU SHOULD DO YOUR SCHOOL

Supporting Point 1 of Topic: So you can learn (duh!)

Random Thought 1: Why do I always add in rude things like “duh!” to my blog posts.

Supporting Point 1 of Random Thought 1: Because I want to be tough/funny

Supporting Point 2 of Topic: So you won’t get behind on your homework and miss summer catching up

Random Thought 2: I love summer!

Supporting Point 1 of Random Thought 2: I have SO many plans for the summer!

Supporting Point 1 of Random Thought I didn’t put in blog post: I like Britney Spears’ older music… is that bad?

Backtracking: “Going back to my original thought, you should do your school!”

“Funny” Joke about my Randomness: (sorry I can’t be funny on command, or for that matter at all. but you guys have all read my blog  enough to know what I’m talking about)

Lame Attempt to get back to the Main Point: So, yeah, you should always do your school.

Conclusion

Wow! That part of this post was so fun to make!!! I love making fun of myself!! I also love making ClipArt that no one else is going to understand!! For those of you did understand my pictures, I hope you enjoyed it! For those of you who didn’t, well, stinks to be you.

Just Sayin…

I think, overall, I can have no complaints about Daylights Savings Time. I mean, when it starts, I do have to wake up “earlier” the first couple of days, until I adjust to the new time, but it also means that summer is coming! And when it ends? Well, yes, it’s a wake-up call that summer is long over and winter is near on the horizon, but at the same time, it’s also kind of hard to hate it, because for those initial two weeks, it’s still bright in the morning. I remember this past fall, right after DST ended and I was given about two and a half more weeks of early morning running. And it was bright out. I recall, that first day, I bolted out of the house, full of an extra hour of sleep and surprise by the bright 6:30 morning I had not been expecting. But today, even though I yawned through the whole day, I was quite content because I know that spring is coming. And to make this day even better:? It was a balmy 65 degrees. Warm enough for shorts! Not that I wore shorts.

I’d like to advertise the fact that after my long week of minimal (meaning zero) exercise, I ran 5 miles on Saturday. Applause is  expected accepted. Now, just for a LITTLE background, the last time I ran 5 miles was February 17, over a month ago. The last time I had run was March 1st (9 days before Saturday). So the fact that I could run 5 miles, in and of itself, is pretty impressing. Now, let’s add in that it was extremely windy. The weather has been severely windy lately. The kind of wind that smells amazing and whips your hair around your face. The kind where, if you’re light enough, it can almost pick you up off the ground and whisk you away. I do love it. But, the wind is always working against me: pulling my skirt up, blowing me sideways, blowing hair into my mouth when I have no free hands to pull it out. And during this particular run, I was running INTO the wind the majority of the time. And when I wasn’t running into it I was running perpendicular to it. And! The most amazing part of this WHOLE INCREDIBLE FEAT is that I ran those 5 miles at an average pace of 8:11 min./mi. That is faster than my goal pace of 8:30 min./mi. for the race and WAY faster than I was even dreaming of running yesterday. I was very thrilled with the results. I am more than ready for my race!

There are more things I could talk about but I think this will suffice for today. I am trying to get my posts to be more understandable! I feel like my ADD-like ramble of thoughts confuses all of you! 🙂

ONE MORE THING!!!

Aren’t all you Chicago-ans just LOVING THIS WEATHER!?!?!?!?!?!