first run in a week, that makes me optimistic. now, maybe i am on track for good. it was another hot one, but i felt much better than last monday, for some reason. around 1/2 a mile i could tell i was running much faster than usual. i knew i should slow down but i felt so good, breathing was o.k., legs felt good, i figured it would end, but i just pictured Todd and Jeff up ahead and kept trudging. after mile 1.5 i decided to walk every half mile to drink since it was so hot and i was sweating so much. i walked a total of 7 minutes, but was still able to finish 6.48 faster than last week, nearly cutting 1.30 off each mile. here are the splits, with walking time in parenthesis:

.5= 4.46 153
1.0= 4.20 9.06 172 (fastest half mile in a long time)
1.5= 4.31 13.38 177
2.0= 4.56 18.34 177 (30 seconds)
2.5= 5.07 23.41 177 (30 seconds)
3.0= 5.24 29.06 175 (30 seconds)
3.5= 5.32 34.38 177 (45 seconds)
4.0= 5.53 40.31 174 (1 minute 15 seconds)
4.5= 6.25 46.57 173 (1 minutes 15 seconds)
5.0= 6.14 53.12 170 (2 minutes 15 seconds)

overall i was pretty happy with the run. I will be happier if i get more runs and work-outs in this week.

thought of the day:"It's never too late to be who you might have been" George Eliot. i keep thinking i might have been a runner if i had never stopped running when i got to college, but it keeps getting later.

Another Bust

this week was another bust. i have been eating better, but running (actually time to run) has been very small. i ran monday (posted) and now i am thinking about changing my schedule around since i am on call tuesday (which is supposed to be upper body and bike ride) since i never seemed to get to do it and i hate to get away from the house very far when i am on call. wednesday morning i started working a herd of cattle at about 5am (after getting to bed around 11:30pm tuesday night. i worked until 7:30pm (not working cattle all day but being at work. so i got home pretty late wed night. wed is supposed to be hill work, didn't get it done. tried to get a few things done around the new house and didn't get to bed until midnight. thursday worked until 7:30pm again and was feeling worn out. thursday was supposed to be another run. worked on emily's computer until 1:30am this morning and worked until 7pm tonight. i was thinking i could get a run in tomorrow since i was supposed to be off. however, one of the vets needed off to go to chatanooga, so now i work tomorrow morning and need to go do a few things on the farm i am buying. hopefully i will be able to get a run in tomorrow evening. i have to get back on track. i feel so depressed that i can't make myself do these runs, it has not been this hard in the past. i am now setting my running as a higher priority. too upset with myself to give a thought of the day.

Ouch

i said today was going to be the day i started back in full force. i got up this morning and had to take my truck to the shop. their loaner truck was wrecked so they sent me to enterprise to get a rental (they were paying for). at enterprise they were very backed up and told me it would be about an hour wait. by the looks of things i figured it would be more like 2. i called the dealership to see if i could get a ride to the clinic so i could just pick up my work truck. they said they had another truck i could drive. while at enterprise waiting for them i started feeling queasy. i got the other truck and came home and was still feeling a little sick. (i only had a granola bar for breakfast with a diet coke). i tried taking a nap, i think the phone rang at least 6 times in the next hour, i did not feel like answering it. finally, the phone stopped ringing and i was able to nap for about 1 hour. then em got home and we had to go meet a contractor about building our new building, he was in tn ridge. then em wanted to stop by paul's pizza, her favorite. by the time we got back home it was 7:45pm. i got dressed and headed out to drive to the running location, knowing i HAD to run today and knowing a big part of it was going to be in the dark. the first 3/4 of a mile i couldn't breath well due to the humidity, it was 86 degrees too. the next 3/4 of a mile i felt really good. then everything started going downhill, but not literally. i could feel my heart beating in my throat and i looked at my watch and it said my heart rate was 182, one of the highest i have ever had. from that point i started walking a lot and trying to run at times. no matter how low i let my heart rate get, it was only a matter of a minute or two before it got back up in my throat. for the last half of the 5 miles i walked more than i ran. i figure i ran a little over half the entire 5 miles. my gps cleared the distance when i started but not the last time, so i am not sure exactly how long it took, but it was around an hour.

so today was a good day, i splurged 1 extra piece on the pizza but didn't really eat near as much as i normally do in a day. and i got a run (or run/walk) in. i am back on the wagon and will have to work hard this week to stay there, i know the work schedule is going to be tough this week, but i am trying to get through this first week hoping that the rest will be a little easier. i need a motivator to keep me in check (J).

thought of the day:"Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them; but do not let them master you. Let them teach you patience, sweetness, insight" Helen Keller. running is one of my deficiencies, or maybe running fast or in hot, humid conditions. it has definitely taught me patience and given me insight. however, i am getting a life-sized poster of Todd to hang on my wall. since i will not be elk hunting this fall, i need a new picture in my head when i hit those hard walls. since beating Todd is my new goal it only seemed appropriate.

Off The Wagon

yea i am off the wagon. i ran last week, then got my bike in and i was thinking i was back. haven't done anything since then. i signed up for the clarksville half and the st judes full this past weekend. i was on call this weekend and that is what has gotten me behind. i worked all weekend and pretty late every day but sunday and had to work late (because i was on call monday). i got home a little late last night and was really tired. i am really tired tonight as well even though i just had enough time to run when i got home. i am setting this coming monday as the date when all training commences and i am going to hit it hard, no matter what. i may have to find a safe place i can run after dark if i need to. last week i was just getting back to where running on the road wasn't killing my feet as bad, especially the days after the run. if i get any running in this week it will be a bonus. i have a meeting tomorrow after work, maybe i can get a few runs in this week. work is killing me, have to do something about that.

thought of the day: from here on out, the eating, running, biking, and hills are mine, i own and control them (sometimes that is bad because i am so easy on them).

Need More Hours in the Day

i ran the wilma rudolph 5 and 10ks this past saturday. unfortunately i did not beat my brother in either. i think both times were slightly faster than last years times but barely. i felt pretty good in both. for some reason they did not post my 5k time, luckily i timed it myself. their time would not have been accurate anyway, since they started the race about 4 minutes early, while i was still in the bathroom. i got to the starting line about 2 minutes after the race started and had to fight a lot of traffic-both walkers and cars.

i ran yesterday-5 miles. it was a tough 5. i was running on a road my brother told me was level. he didn't even say pretty level, just level. after running on a treadmill all winter, it was not even pretty level. it seemed like all hill, mostly uphill. when i started, my calves were really tight. they loosened up about 1.5 miles in. about mile 3.5 i felt pretty good, then my feet started really hurting. i had to slow and walk for .2 of a mile then i picked it back up again and ran the last mile.

splits:
.5= 4.41
1= 9.23 4.42
1.5= 14.12 4.49
2= 19.15 5.03
2.5= 24.19 5.03
3= 29.44 5.24
3.5= 34.58 5.14
4= 41.13 6.14
4.5= 47.56 6.43
5= 54.04 6.07

this is a little rushed, trying to get it done over lunch, along with many other things, so i really don't have time to give a quote today.

Keep on Moving

i am almost finished moving. that is good and bad. that means i don't have to move more stuff, but now i have to find another route to run and find all my stuff that was moved. luckily i kept up with most of my running stuff. i was trying to run with J yesterday but i knew he was going to head out earlier than i could or wanted to. so at 7 i headed to the storage unit to put some things in there and then to the southside clinic to park. i start my run about 7:15pm, it was still sunny, 83 degrees and very muggy. all of my gatorade is at my brother in law's house so i filled up with water instead. i headed out onto the new course, which was a little hilly but not bad. i was sweating bullets so at mile 3 i took a walk break and drank what i could stomach of some warm water. towards the end i could tell the hills were really slowing me down. i ran 5 miles in 51:46 i think (my watch is at the new house). it was a little slower than i wanted but it will do.

i will try to keep all my info posted timely, but with only dial-up internet at the new house i am not sure how that is going to work. i may have to start bringing everything to work with me and posting over lunch time. i usually have it all with me anyway, but after the run last night i had to help Zeke do some work at the clinic, drop something off to J, go get another load from the old house then drive back to the new house. it was about 11:30pm when i got home so i didn't feel like loading all of my running stuff since i knew tonight i would be on call and have to take my 4-wheeler to dover for some repairs after work. not sure if i will be able to get my bike ride in tonight or not. i have 2 races this weekend against J, don't think this will be the race i finally beat him.

thought of the day: i will be happy when i finally get moved and back in a routine, by then it will be time to move again.

Can't get on Schedule

i hope when i finally get moved i can get back on schedule, but i just can't make it happen lately. monday i was way behind on sleep from a sunday night frog gigging adventure. i only got about 3 hours of sleep before emily woke me up to help pack, load stuff and take it to her parent's house. we finally got home and i took about a 2 hour nap and if i had gotten up and gotten dressed i could have ran outside on the road before dark. however, i decided i needed to catch up on email and other stuff and would just go to the gym. i spent too much time doing other things and just didn't feel like going, even though i really felt mentally motivated i felt physically blah. i really wanted to run on the road tuesday but i was on call and knew i had better hit the treadmill so i could stop and get to the clinic if i needed to see an emergency. i did 6 miles in 55.35, about a 9.16 pace. that doesn't sounds too bad for as little as i have been running, but being on the treadmill makes a big difference for me. today, in between thunderstorms and phone calls, i spent loading the truck, etc. i thought i would be able to get a load moved and get back in time to run this evening, didn't happen. i am going to try my best to get a road run in tomorrow, i plan on running a 5 and 10k next weekend, and i really need to know if i can complete that many miles on the road. last year i finished both races right at the 10min/mile mark. hopefully i can do at least that good this year. i did get to see a large part of "The Green Hornet" while running on the treadmill. one funny thing happened during the movie. i was running and watching the screen which showed people in a car chase. the people being chased were looking at the cars behind them. then they turned around to see a semi coming at them on their side of the road. when i saw this i flinched, like it was going to hit me. i can't get away from cars even at the gym!

thought of the day: i saw this quote on a facebook post the other day, it really put me in the mood to go for a run, however, i didn't get it done. the quote is "either you ran today or you didn't." it's really that simple. lots of things can get in the way of a run, or make you put it off, but it all boils down to that simple little sentence. usually we really choose to run or not run, but if you get dressed and get out the door, something every runner has done numerous times, you run that day. if you don't do those things, you don't run that day. from now on i am going to try to do those few simple things to get my simple little runs in. if i don't get them done (90% of the time) i am just being lazy and anyone is welcome to call me out on this.