Its official: I miss running

Over the last few years I have become what one would call an extremely casual runner. I no longer can get out there and run 5 miles willy nilly. Busting out a sub 7 mile is no longer laughable, but something i need to work at and up until now I have been ok with that.


However, I miss running.

Whenever I discuss running people tend to right off the bat ask WHY!?! Why do you run and why do you enjoy running? My normal answer used to be because I am good at it. I think that is why most people do many things in life. Why not do something you can be successful at?

Taking a deeper look I have a different answer. Running has always been something that is 100% honest and truthful.

I am a scientist. I like facts. The grey area and I do not get along oh so well even if i do admit there is so much of it. When it comes to running I am gifted with competition against myself and other, something that is for the most part healthy for me, an activity to be alone or be with others, and something that gives you visible results when you put hard work into it.

Though all of these aspects are wonderful there is one bonus that I think is a bit over looked. Running is not objective. You are either faster or not. You either finish the race or you do not. You either run a faster time or you do not. There is no maybe in the world of running. This is both a glorious and heart wrenching aspect to the sport.

Too many times in life is this not the case. Most sports teams hold tryouts. You may have the best jump shot on your high school team, but if the coach doesn't know you then you may be riding the bench the whole season. You may tryout for a play and nail an audition, but the director may not pick you because "you haven't paid your dues." Even in the working world you may be the best employee out there, but the amount of work experience, race, or gender could hold you back from getting that big promotion. Too many things in life are predicated on the opinions of other people. Running sets you free from that. Fuck everyone else. It is just you and the road.

So yeah i miss that and I think (though the snow will soon be falling) it is time to get back to my roots and regain that feeling. A feeling of accomplishment when hard work is put in and I am able to visibly accomplish a goal without anyone else holding me back. In the end, if i cannot complete a goal in running it is on me. I have no one to blame, but myself.  And knowing that I control my own destiny even in a small insignificant way such as running is a beautiful thing.

-JPL

Pardon me, have you seen my puppy?

Well Another wonderful day of running! Today must have been dog walker Thursday because honestly I saw 11 different dogs on my run today. Ten were with owners....the other I shall get to in a moment.

First of all...why does it seem that only ladies walk their dogs? I know this is a false statement since a guy I work with walks with/loves his dogs, but I swear I only see ladies with their dogs when I go out yogging. I think my favorite was the like....mini black lab looking dog that just stopped walking and rolled on her back until she was pet by her owner. So so so darn cute! There was also a good variety of diggity dogs as well. I realized that the more dogs that were around the faster I ran....thus today's motivation was  dogs...so here is a dog video for y'all.....ENJOY!

The sad moment of this dog story filled day was that I swear I saw a stray puppy. Unless it was my Indian spirit guide. Around mile 2.25 I was turning a corner and saw what I thought to be a puppy. About a foot and a half little tiny guy with a short tail that was black and white. When i saw it the dog scampered into the brush not to be seen again. I hope it was not a puppy, but it really looked like one. I asked all of the travelers if they were missing a dog and no one seemed to claim him/her. So fingers crossed the doggy or my imagination is ok!


Now for the running part of the blog.....

It was an easy five mile run outside of Kensington today. It is oddly hilly because I feel like the first half is mostly downhill....yet on the same route backwards it too seems mostly downhill. Odd. Anyways there was a crazy symmetry with my run today even if my miles were not even. First and fifth miles were 7:45. Second and forth were 7:56ish and the third mile was an 8:20. Good times had by all during this run. On my slower mile my knee and hip both felt really sore/crappy. When my pace picked back up they felt good. I am not exactly sure what this means, but am worried I really change my stride when I slow down. Interesting indeed.  Life is good and hope that you are all having a wonderful day! I actually had fifty views yesterday....not bad!

Just keep swimming!! or running ;)

Speed Repeats Late-ish

Today I put off running due to feeling semi sick, but I also knew I had to run so I did while on my work "lunch/dinner"

I have been running slower miles like it was suggested to me, however I was worried that I would become too slow from it. I ran repeat miles on hilly terrain with 2:20 in between to jog/walk/rest. The first mile I did not want to look at my pace so I just sort of gunned it. I tried not going all out, but keeping a fast speed. I ran it in 5:46 which I was pleasantly surprised about. I felt fluid and did not kick at the end. I was pretty wiped out from it and pleased so my other two I made sure to take at a slower pace. 6:45 and 6:50 were the other two. I am not going to really call those speed miles, but fast enough for the day :)

My legs felt wonderful although my knee felt a bit poppy before I took off. The sun was setting since it was about 6:45 when I started. There were not too many people on the trail so a little less motivation as well. The one concern I have are my lungs. For some reason they have been feeling like I am some sort of smoker. Probably due to being out of shape, though I worry it is an effect from work or my apartment. I shall keep an eye on the situation.


As a bonus I wanted to add to every running post the song that was my motivation on each run. I will embed it as a youtube link to be enjoyed by all :)  (i edited yesterday's post to include this as well!)

Remember to smile!

Who would have thought?

Well.....I guess some people actually did used to read this blog. Go figure.


On that note I guess I will spiffy it up a bit and actually keep up with it! I am entering this crazy looking contest thingamabob where you have to run a lot in November  Sounds like a great idea since that is basically lets get fat month and lately I have been on the lets eat train. I set a goal of 40 miles per week.....probably a bit lofty, but not really.

The next race I am training for seems to be the turkey trot 10k though I may throw in something shorter/faster in between now and then.

On a side note what beautiful days for runs yesterday and today. I didnt run the best but a solid six miler seemed decent. I am trying to take "runnersworld" advice and run a bit slower for my training runs. I am really worried that I will/am losing my speed but at least I am gettiing in my miles. I know when I am running slow enough because I will sing a full song without being dead at whatever pace I am running. Go Team Go!

Stay Sexy everyone :)

I am back suckkahs......

Well good thing I basically gave up on my goals and aspirations with this run. A few freak injuries really threw me off....plus stopping this blog did not help.


SO I screw it.....back to running I will go. I have a solid month to train...by month I mean three weeks. Ouch. Oh well I can at least give it a go right? Why not at least just run. My life really falls apart when I do not. I need to stop concentrating on crap and get back to what matters in life!

today crappy run

I started the day with an intention of running 10 miles. Looking back that was a poor choice. My schedule gives me a day off between hard runs, but i said no big deal i can do it! I, ladies and gents....could not.

I started off with a pace goal of around 7:20/7:35 aka 30/45 seconds slower than my marathon goal. The first mile was a breeze, though my legs felt ....eh to say the least.  after my 7:15 I fell down to a 7:20 pace for the second mile. I started to really feel it since mile two is mostly uphill. by two and a half i noticed my pace was dying...8:04 pace. I just couldn't get one leg ahead of the other. At 3.5 i turned around and i took a 15 second walk. The 84 degree heat which didn't feel too bad at the start really began to get to me. My legs felt like lead and unlike yesterday I couldn't will them to move. I was also a bit disheartened because i feel like i have been quitting on my runs. Back in the day I took pride in finishing everything! I think i just need the confidence to really go after it again.

Another solution i have been thinking about is DOING WHAT IM SUPOSED TO BE DOING YOU PUNK! Along with a bit of a better diet. Ready set break! :)

7/9 Fun speed!

I did my speed workout today!on these days i have to run three miles of speed using repeats...i decided to do them in mile repeats with 1/4 jogs in between. I did a little less and just jogged around for 2:45 seconds. 

My mile goals were between 6:15-6:10 (10k pace). I found this out using the hand dandy mcmillan running calculator! http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/calculator/ Definitely check it out. My miles ended up being 6:15, 6:02 and 6:08. The last mile was mostly uphill so it skewed a bit. I may have gone a bit too fast today, but it was one of those i feel great sort of days. Hooray for not being too hot either.