Run Streak Day 65

We finally got a morning that felt like what we wake up early in the morning for. It was still a little sticky and warm, but it felt much better. While we had less time to get the amount of miles in, it was worth it.

It rained a few times throughout the day on Wednesday, which meant lots of good smells for Henri, which made a shortened window even shorter. Because it felt so good, I let Henri stop every time. The run itself felt easy and steady, different from my streak run the night before, which felt fast, but wasn't as easy. So, even though I only had ten minutes to shower and I went to work with my hair wet, it was a good run and a good time spent with Henri, which was exactly what I set out for this morning. 

Run Streak Day 62: Hot, Hot, Hot

Under threat of rain for Saturday morning, we woke up a little bit earlier to run in the dark before I had to go to work on Friday. Okay, it wasn't dark. First light had begun. Even with a dog attached to me, I always feel safer once the sun starts to come up. The sun is not getting up quite early enough yet for us to get much distance on the days I go to work earlier. We squeaked out a 5k, but there was no time for drying hair after my shower. At least I took a shower.

I should have gotten up on Saturday and ran my 10 mile "long run" as part of my marathon training, rain or shine. I can run by myself in the rain, but I would still need to get up before 5am to beat the heat. I don't think it ended up raining much if at all during that time, but I really wanted to sleep in, which meant Sunday morning long run before church. I mean, since I have to get up super early, I still have plenty of time to be ready for church afterwards.

I did just that. I decided it was a little warm to take Henri on a long run, so I head out by myself. I struggled a little the first few miles, so different from the late night run on Friday. So different that I had to stop and walk. I decided to keep moving, with the hopes that the pain I was feeling would subside and I could run the rest of my miles. It was a test to see if I could get past the pain and if I could continue the run after.

It took almost three quarters of a mile, long enough that I thought I was going to have to give up and go home. I decided to finish out the mile walking and try running again, staying close to home, just in case I wasn't going to make it. That mile did exactly what it was supposed to do. I felt much better. I was able to push through the miles with much more ease. I even felt cooler than before.

I developed a knot in my calf around mile eight and a half. I didn't want to stop for even a second. I was afraid it would get worse, so I just kept pushing through. Figures, the one time I decided not to wear my compression socks on a run longer than a mile.

Henri and I got up again this morning. I planned on four miles, if the knot in my leg didn't act up. I didn't know how it would go after running ten mile the previous morning. It was pretty humid, but other than that, the run felt pretty good. As we got closer to home and we still had a little bit left to get to four miles, I called it at three and a half. It felt cruel to turn away from home when Henri was ready for breakfast and he'd been out in the heat long enough. Hopefully the humidity will break soon and the early morning will be comfortable again.

I didn't make Henri turn away from home to finish our last half mile, but I did make him pause and take a picture near the end. You can kind of see the look of "Really?" on his face. 

Run Streak Day 57

My one mile streak run yesterday was fine, but as soon as I started my leg workout, I knew I was in trouble. Yes, leg day followed by an early AM run can be trouble. Sometimes I can wake up and get running before my legs know what's happening. Sometimes it feels like my quads are going to rip out from under my skin.

Having missed out run on Monday due to rain, I really wanted to push for six miles this morning. As I went to bed, my quads burning (or cooling because I put peppermint oil on them to ease the muscles), I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get through. Henri stopped to pee for the first time and I had to stop and start again. I had to do it again. Then again. Well, with each push forward, I was pretty sure I was going to be okay. Yeah, it hurt, but it felt better than leg day and with each step, it felt just a little better.

As we got closer to mile five, I had to make the decision to push through for six miles or listen to my legs that were slowly turning into rubber and stop at five. Henri was picking up on the pain and was starting to slow down too. I couldn't have that, so I asked him if he was hungry. This is why I don't feed him before we run. That put some pep back into his step! Off he went, helping me finish the five mile. We didn't really have time for another mile anyway. Give it another week and the sun will be up earlier. And so will we.

We also made sure to sign up for the next round of the Rescue Run Club 30/30 Challenge starting in June. I wore my shirt to make sure I remembered. We already run for Henri, to give him some much needed energy burn, for me, for exercise and for each other, for our bonding time. We're running the miles anyway. We might as well run for other organizations and fund raising. It's pretty perfect.

Run Streak Day 53

Even on the weekends, I have to remember that it gets warm very quickly as the sun comes up. This morning I woke up early enough, but I rolled over a few too many times. 

I was making sure that it wasn't going to be raining. A few days of strength training have left me legs and body feeling tired and weak. I knew I was going to have to push through these five miles, but I didn't know I was going to have to push this hard. It's been a pretty decent week with the new shoes. I've felt strong and refreshed...until today.

We started out strong enough. I seem to push a little in mile one, to start at a good pace, which tends to wear me down just a little bit in mile two. Unfortunately, mile two always brings us to the park. Sometimes I can get through the park with little struggle. I decided to do two loops through the park. I don't know why. I do this to myself.

Overnight rain had kept the sun at bay for a little longer, but the clouds broke just as we were running through the park. I had already been wiping the sweat off my face repeatedly. I was drenched. Henri wanted to lay in the shadow of the skate ramp. I became concerned that I wasn't going to make three miles, let alone the five we had set out to do. 

We slowed down. Miles run are the same, run slow or fast, strong or weak. Thankfully, we pulled out of the park and I felt much better. Maybe it was just the fact that coming out of the park means we are on the final stretch home. Sure, two more miles, but they were two miles not run in the park, a fairly straight shot home. It was a mental game. I was now winning.

We finished. A little slower than I would have liked, but not by much, considering. We're just not good with heat. It's going to be a long summer.

Run Streak Day 50

Dang it! I keep writing these blogs and falling sleep before I add the picture, but who wants a blog without a picture?

This is the weather I was looking for when we switched to early mornings. It is still May after all. With threats of rain overnight, I wasn't sure we were going to get it in, but, of course, the weather report was wrong and we got a nice, breezy sunrise run.

I'm still breaking in my new shoes. Since I've never been running the amount of miles that I am currently running when getting new shoes, I'm not one hundred percent how to do this, so I'm just letting my body tell me what to do. It's difficult to tell the difference between strength training muscle soreness and new shoe muscle soreness, but I think I'm liking the new shoes. Four miles run today, four consistently paced miles that felt pretty good. If I had realized it was Run Streak Day 50, I probably would have pushed for five miles. It's probably best that I didn't, but still.

Henri was enjoying himself. While he was sniffing around quite a bit due to some drizzle, he's also enjoying the pace that we've been keeping. I'm sure he's thrilled with the cooler AM temps as well. He's having fun and that's what matters the most. 

Run Streak Day 48: Early Rise

(From Monday because I feel asleep before posting this. It's like I got up early or something.)

New shoes, who dis?

Yes, I finally got new running shoes. They were long overdue. My body has been complaining for at least a month. I went with the intention to have them order me a pair of my current Asics in a different color. I could have ordered them on Amazon, but I got a $20 coupon after the half-marathon. I was hoping they would be able to order me a pair of my current shoes in a different color. As I sat there, looking at this wall of shoes, I wondered if there was a better pair of shoes for me. I tried this once before and I made the mistake of getting my Mizunos, which I love, but they hit my ankle bone wrong. As soon as I put Asics on again, I felt like I was home. Did I dare try something new again?

I did. I bought a pair of Brooks. I tried them and the Asics. I ran on a treadmill with both, first the Brooks, then the Asics. I'm sure that any pair of shoes was going to feel good after the time I've spent running in these old shoes, but the Brooks felt better. Today was the official "test run".

Unfortunately, our attempt to avoid the heat by running in the morning brought us face to face with a lot of humidity. I guess we were lucky that we got out before the sun heat things up any more. I had the time to run five miles, but I wondered if that would be too much as I tried to break in my new shoes. I talked myself down to a simple three and a half or four miles. I was enjoying my new shoes. They squeak a little as they hit the concrete. They were light. I was feeling fast. My body was feeling pretty good, until a little into mile three. My legs started to wonder what was going on, so I decided three miles was going to be the best I could do.

Henri seemed to enjoy the new shoes, or at least the speed I was running in them. Despite the heat, we were moving at a pretty decent pace, until my legs got confused. Henri was looking up at me with joy on his face. For a boy who hadn't gotten his breakfast yet, he was in a pretty good mood. It had to be the shoes.

My legs are sore. My left ankle/calf/something cramped up real good as I was cooling down, but I'm happy with the shoes thus far. I mean, they're many colors of blue. I might be a Brooks convert. 

Run Streak Day 46

Finally, I was able to run with Henri again. It has been far too hot for my Henri. It's been far too hot for me, but I have kept up my run streak with one mile runs, one day at a time. I did have a unplanned three mile run in there, but mostly it's been one hot, miserable mile a day. I still need new shoes, which is not helping even my one mile runs. My body is not being protected and as I have been working it hard with strength training, half-marathon training and run streaking, I'm ready to give up on something. Today, I just wanted to run with Henri.

Running with Henri now means running in the morning. Next week I am planning on making the switch to early mornings, but for today, just morning would do. Henri was kind enough to let me sleep until 9, which was needed, but as soon as I opened to door to let him out for his morning potty break, I knew we had to get out there. Sixty degree weather is way better than eighty.

The first two miles were pretty decent. I mean, the first mile was great, but I'm getting really good at one mile. The sun started to come out from behind the clouds after that. I knew Henri was hot. I was getting annoyed wiping he sweat from my face. He stopped to roll in the grass to cool off. We were getting so close to five miles, the farthest I've run since the half. I coaxed him along and we slowed down a little bit more to finish and hang out in the shade by the lake. Looking at our pace, we actually did really well and I'm so glad I got to do it with Henri.

Not currently looking forward to early mornings, but if it means that I get to run with Henri more than once a week...any bets on how long until I say I love running in the early mornings?

Run Streak Day 35

I sweet talked Henri into a run today. It was 84 degrees. I didn't want to go either, but I knew we both needed it. He tried to lay down and refuse to go. That's where the promises start. "You can stop when you need to." "We'll eat dinner when we get home." "We'll just run a mile." Then we ran three miles.

It was fine. Honestly, I have been sore since I ran my one mile streak run on Sunday. I don't know if it's half-marathon soreness that didn't get activated until that one mile. I don't know if it was the new strength training that I started on Monday. The point is, I was perfectly fine taking it a little slower in the heat to be able to run with my boy and shake out my muscles. Of course I kept an eye on Henri and would have stopped if he seemed to be struggling. We stopped frequently enough and he rolled in the grass to cool off. He didn't want to stay there though. Must have been the promise of dinner waiting at home!

I was doing a little math - because running is all about the math - and I ran 110 miles in April. Only 44 of them were with Henri due to the rising temperatures, half-marathon training and my little one mile warm-up runs that I don't always take him on. That's a lot of miles though. I know a lot of people run many many more, but that's a record for me. I ran 34 miles last week alone. Yeah, that probably explains the way I felt running the half-marathon. And maybe my soreness now. Maybe.

Medal Monday

Don't worry. I have continued my running streak. Yes, even the day after running a half-marathon I took Henri out for a quick mile. I am now on day 34.

I forgot to point out that I added a special touch to my outfit for the half-marathon, because I cannot run without my Henri. I took his pawprint, cut it out of an old running shift and put it on my leggings for a dose of puppy power when needed. Whenever I needed him, I just had to reach down and there he was.