Rest Day!

Today was a rest day on the schedule!  I needed it.  After being up until 2 a.m., who knows why, I think I spend too much time on the computer or something, or the book I am reading is just fascinating I don't want to put it down?

In any event I struggled getting up.  Gus, dog #3 decided he wanted to snuggle between the hubb and I.  So he did.  It is hard to resist cuddling up with one of our pups between us, that is my excuse and I am sticking to it!  Eventually I did get up and Gus got what he really wanted, to stare in the the mirror in my room and then curl up in my spot once I got in the shower.  He is a very schedule/process oriented dog.  They all are really.

I called it quits about 2:30 at work and headed home the scenic route with designs on taking a short nap, then taking the elder two dogs to the park and maybe mowing the lawn.  I slept until 6.  And really haven't accomplished much since then.  Oh well... it IS a rest day after all!

Fireworks in the neighborhood are sporadic.  The three boys are besides themselves, while Sage, our girl just looks up with this mystified look on her face with a what are you three going on about expression.  Love her!

Monday Runday Funday

3.6 in the books, or 3.8 depending on if I look at my Garmin or my iPhone.  We will just call it 3.6, and try to resist the temptation to round it UP to 4.

On the books today were 3 miles and TRX.   I ended up in some meetings in the a.m. and didn't get out on the road until the afternoon, leaving me 90 minute recovery between running and TRX.  My PF was ok, my left knee was screaming, though.

My route:

Didn't make for an interesting GPS route picture.  But perhaps if the picture were rotated?   I love love love my coastal runs.  While my weekday runs are on the Long Island Sound and the Thames River, there is a decent enough breeze because the waters aren't totally blocked by Long Island.  One of my friends commented that she finally knows why I run.  I run to go from beautiful view to beautiful view.  I laughed this off, but noticed how freaking gorgeous my work day run really is.  A small sample below, who could beat this view from an early spring run.  I'll spare you the gorgeous sailboat filled marina for the present time.

Don't you just want to cop a squat in one of those Adirondack chairs and gaze over the sound to the Ledge Light Lighthouse?

Oh yeah, this was supposed to be about running or dogs or drinking?  Hmmm...  took the elder pups out to the park when I got home from all my running about (and buying THEM treats and food, so hey I'm not totally self focused!!).  We haven't been to this park in quite a while and whaddoyou know but they knew the routine and when I tried to deviate from the regular walking path they let me know that I was NOT doing this correctly.  Love those dogs and their so very schedule orientated psyche.

So here I am on a Monday night, nearly 11 p.m. and I am wide awake...  WTF was I not busy enough to be exhausted? 

Tomorrow is truly a rest day, NOTHING on the schedule for me.  Just a dog focused evening.  Oh and maybe I should pay some attention to my husband, he seems to be recovered from his recent wisdom tooth (all 4) extraction.  Then again I could sit on the porch and knit and drink Jack... one never knows...

Beth runs with a Friend!

On tap for today was a 10 mile run.  I committed to running with a co-worker.  Boy was I nervous!!!  I did run with Carrie (fellow Team Lung Lover) in the Providence Half Marathon, and we did pretty well.  For starters she was a girl.  My co-worker is a guy, a fast guy, like 7:30 5K pace guy.  Needless to say I didn't sleep well worrying if my paltry 10 pace was going to bore him to tears.  Yeah, yeah, I should have factored in that 10M is 3x as long as a 5K and he is a friendly runner guy, not an elitist runner guy, and he was warned I was 'slow'.  But still, I do like to worry on occasion.

My runner friend mapped out a nice route with water and pit stops.  I don't know the area so it didn't make much sense to me, I just knew it was 10.35 miles per his mapping program.  I was good with that.  I can run 10 miles, not a problem.

Let us not forget I ran 6 miles, barefoot, on the beach Saturday morning and didn't even factor this into the whole, lack of sleep nervous state I had gotten myself into.  I felt my usual craptastic miles 1 - 3.  Seriously, anyone else feel this way?  Is it mental?  How do I over come it? Mile 4 I was feeling pretty great and we kept on keeping on.  For starters it was down hill, and back towards the shore, shady, and yes back towards the car.  Did I mention downhill?

We chatted and ran, so I wasn't struggling with my pace, we were around 10 - 10:30, which he claimed was fine, and it was.  Mile 8 things began to fall apart a bit and we walked and ran till I just called it quits, apologizing the whole time.  We walked the last mile and called it a good 9 mile run.  Point of information, his Achilles tendon hurt, so he was happy for the reprieve walking allowed.

The surprise was the view at the 'end' of the run, where he planned we would walk.  OMG, stunning.  The picture doesn't do it justice, but here it is anyhow:

I got home, iced my left foot as my Plantar Fasciitis is acting up.  Didn't bug me when I ran on the beach, hmmm... and spent the balance of the day playing with the dogs, reading, and playing Words With Friends.

What did I learn?

1. If someone says they want to run with you, they do
2. It is not a race
3. If you need to take a break take a break
4. It is a little stressful running with someone for the first time, for both of you, cut yourself some slack