An easy 3

I decided that I needed to do a short recovery run tonight to keep the limbs limber. I ran the Comm ave loop through Allston, Boston and back to Brookline. I left around 7 and returned a short 27 minutes later. My shin is still hurting, so I am icing it and I made an appointment with my pcp to get it checked out. Dx tbd.

Reservoir 6 + 1.5x Summit

Took off for a run this evening to make up for the slacker week I had. Hit Beacon to do the usual reservoir run as the sun was just starting to set. This is my favorite time to run the reservoir because it's starting to cool down, it is peaceful and quiet and there aren't a lot of people that get in the way. Saw a couple guys fishing again and I wonder a) if they actually catch anything and b) if they caught something, would they really eat it?

My run continued back down Beacon and all of a sudden, I had an idea. Summit. Yes, the monstrosity of a hill that I conquered oh so long ago. In true relay fashion I passed off the house keys to Amina and told her I'd meet her at home. I then stormed down the street and took a left onto Summit just as Ingrid's Tu Es Foutu (You Are Crazy) began playing on my iPod.

My favorite part of this run is on the way down. I know it's torture on your joints, but it is such a great recovery from the pain that ensues during the time it takes to run up the thing. And oddly, tonight, as I ran down it, the following thought crossed my mind, "That wasn't so bad. How about a repeat?" Since I had already gone 5.5-ish miles by that point, I cut myself a little slack and went halfway up to Bellavista and ran home. I've come to the conclusion that I'd like to own a home on Bellavista. The houses are huge, are surrounded by plenty of trees and they all have large yards. As I was contemplating how many years it would take me to save up enough for a down payment on one of the BV chateaus, I noticed that the vibrant orange sun had just about set behind the trees. Gorgeous. I finally zipped home and made myself a salad with corn and frijoles negros. And now, here I sit on my living room floor, ice pack on my left leg, munching on sheep's milk gouda, watching women's diving. Such a relaxing way to end what turned out to be, a very enjoyable weekend.

No running

Yeah, you read correctly. I haven't been running. Well, for the last 2 days anyway. After my awful Sunday run, I decided to give my left shin and right knee a break. So what, you ask, have I been doing in the interim? Watching the Olympics of course. Childhood dreams of winning the gold have passed me by, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the synchronized diving, water polo and gymnastics does it? One question though, why does the women's beach volleyball uniform consist of a barely-there bikini when the men's team uniform is a baggy sleeveless t-shirt and long shorts? My vote: the men should be forced to go sleeveless t-shirtless. But I digress.

(interesting...an hour after I posted this, it looks like I'm not the only one asking that question http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/slideshow/ss.76)

On tap for tomorrow: a spinning class! Yep, back to the gym I go at lunch time to get in a little cross training. Gonna take my old tennies for a spin on the bike. Hope I can keep up. The last time I did this, I had one of the best (and sweatiest) workouts ever. In the evening, perhaps a run. I'm going to be exhausted. But maybe, just maybe, I'll finally be able to get a full, uninterrupted 8 hours of sleep tomorrow night.

One good, one bad

Did the reservoir run yesterday in about an hour -I was finally able to put the much needed 6 miles under my belt. It was a beautiful morning, I felt strong the whole time and I had a surprisingly nice finish. Today, however, was a different story. I headed out to do a 5 mile run around the river and was in pain not even a mile into it. Could have been because I didn't stretch properly, could have been because my muscles were fatigued. I did finish, but it was such a sloppy run. Tonight I rest, ice my leg & watch the Olympics.

7 at 7:30

Did another 7 today with the group at 7:30 this morning. Had an egg & chocolate Gu for breakfast and then headed out to the river. Temperature was great when we started - overcast & in the mid-70s and then as usual, warmed up along the way. The run couldn't have been better. My legs were going strong the whole time and had it not been for some rather annoying GI issues, I could have gone farther. After we finished, Amina & I headed to the South Shore Mall for some shopping. Bought some new work clothes and had shredded beef tacos for lunch (which made my afternoon, I needed the protein & guacamole). Got home and crashed. Ate a salad for dinner and then went to JP Licks and had chocolate & oreo ice cream for dessert. What a great day.

Another humid run

This week has been light in terms of mileage. I bought some new Asics, (which I love) and have been trying to break them in slowly. We did 4 on Sunday, 4 on Tuesday (with the group) and 5 last night with Vik (who is preparing for a full marathon and has already hit the 12 mile mark in only 7 weeks of training).

After an extremely long day at work, a forgotten appointment with a plumber, a potential roommate interview and my stomach full from dinner, we ran to CHB in what seemed like 15 minutes (probably more like 45-ish). What a difference it makes to run with someone new. I think this may become a regular Thursday run.

One random thought...what am I going to do once this half is done and I have nothing to train for???

An almost perfect ten

A consistent sleeping schedule still eludes me...I woke up at 3am this morning to the sound of my AC blasting cold air at me. It took about an hour of tossing and turning for me to fall back asleep. Just as I was settling into a rather nice dream, my alarm starts blaring at me. It was 7am. I debated on whether or not I should just turn it off, roll over and resettle into my sleeping bliss, but then I remembered that today was the day that Amina and I were going to attempt to run our longest distance yet - 10 miles. So I threw back the covers, walked into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of bread and water and started eating my 'breakfast'. I need to go grocery shopping badly. I then walked to Amina's door and knocked, only to hear her mumble something incoherent to me. I responded with a cheery "Good morning...you ready to run?" hehe.

So here is how the rest of the morning went down:

We left at 8am and headed to the reservoir. Temperature check showed a balmy 74* with 80% humidity. I was dripping with sweat by the time we passed The Publick House. A quick water stop at DD set us up for a quick tour of the reservoir. While at DD we took out the Gu and downed it. Belgian chocolate is apparently a primary ingredient and I have to say, it actually didn't taste half bad. Once we sped through the reservoir, we headed back toward Harvard street, stopped off at SB for some more water and ran down Babcock to Comm Ave. Another H2O stop at another DD where we saw the cutest little guy (couldn't have been older than 3 or 4) in a power rangers outfit and green rain boots. I smiled at him and he flexed his muscles and stared us down. I think he was flirting. Ah, they start so young these days.

Back out on Comm Ave, we headed past Paradise (MGMT is sold out) and over the BU footbridge onto the Esplanade. We headed to the Mass Ave bridge, crossed it to Cambridge and ran toward the BU boathouse where we paused for another water stop. This was the last leg of the trip and can I just say, I was tired. I think I should have brought one more Gu with me. But I shuffled along back over the BU bridge to Comm Ave (pausing yet again for water at the BU gym) and back home. I won't post the total time because it is longer than I would like to admit, but I felt so good once we were done. I had a bit of foot pain - my right arch cramped up on me about 1/2 mile from home, but other than that, it was a beautiful run.

This afternoon, I am off to Marathon Sports to buy a new pair of shoes...