Rice Owls 5k Run

Distance: 3.1 miles
Start time: 8:00 am
Run Duration: 31.01 minutes
Average Pace: 10.00 minutes/mile
Temperature: 29 degrees
Humidity: 74%
Location: Rice University Campus, Houston, TX

I didn't know how to dress, so I layered and ended up taking off the windbreaker at mile one. The cap and gloves came off soon after. That left me with running tights, stretch pants, a knit turtleneck I ski in and an Underarmor long-sleeve top. I was fine - as far as temperature goes - for the rest of the race. My asthma bothered me in the cold air, but not too much. More of a nagging cough than anything else.

Let's go back to 6:00 this morning. I was in such a hurry to get out of here because I didn't know if the roads would be icy (they were). I forgot my watch. That will play into my run later. My car doors were frozen shut. My windshield wipers were frozen to my windshield. I have a decent ice scraper but it still took me a good 15 minutes to make sure my car was safe to drive. I made it to the Rice campus and realized I didn't have my watch. Too bad. No way was I going to drive back home. I'd just set my pace at what felt like ten minutes/mile.

The point of this post, for me is:

(More than one point.)

Set your gear out the night before.

It always takes longer to de-ice a car than you think it will.

I've been training at ten minute miles long enough now, I know what they feel like.

I was surprised to see a 5K run in my training schedule - at this point in my training for the half. I think I understand now. I'm not in this for the time, I'm in this for the run. As I typed that I felt a nudge at my metaphorical brain, but I don't want to deal with it at this time. I'll save it for later. It feels too heavy and I'm feeling happy and don't want to deal with heavy right now.

Lifting up my gratitude today for perseverence

Cool Running

Distance: 4 miles
Start time: 11:47 am
Run Duration: 42 minutes
Average Pace: 10.5 minutes/mile
Temperature: 49 degrees
Humidity: 46%
Location: Hermann Park, Houston, TX

Chilly! Windy!

I packed boxes all morning and thought I'd better hit the running trail before I was too worn out to run. I used my new Spi Belt today. Love it! My keys didn't bounce around and my hands were free. I don't know why I didn't buy one sooner.

The weather is supposed to turn really bad later in the week. Snow is predicted for Friday night and I have a race to run Saturday morning. It's at the Rice University campus, with parking right at the stadium, so that's a good thing. I'm confident in my driving skills on icy streets and it will be early in the morning, so hopefully traffic won't be an issue. We'll see what happens.

I'm over 3/4 packed and am more excited than ever about my new place. Onward and upward.

Treadmill Tuesday

Distance: 2 miles
Start time: 4:30 pm
Run Duration: 20 minutes
Average Pace: 10.0 minutes/mile
Temperature: 85 degrees (Oh. My. God.)
Humidity: No clue. Wasn't going to stick around and figure it out.
Location: The hell known as my apartment complex

The rain is here. I knew it would be. My training schedule is forgiving and I'm allowed to switch days. Wednesday is supposed to be two miles, Tuesday four. I actually thought I could get in four on the treadmill. No way could I stick it out in that heater. Whew! After two miles I'm soaked through and thinking I better get out into the fresh air before I pass out and become a story on the six-o-clock news.

I'll get to the park tomorrow. My legs didn't really enjoy that treadmill anyway. Or Oprah talking on the TV. I'm beginning to see why people just hang their clothes on those things and don't exercise. Outdoors for me.

A Day Off

My training schedule called for "stretching and strength" training today. I got up at 5 am, I realized my blackberry was not working. I had to get to work early and try to get it fixed. I'd workout tonight. No go. I was in surgery until close to 6 pm. I was fried, kind of like my blackberry that's still not fixed. Friends called and asked me to go to dinner. I accepted and put the workout on ice.

I'm supposed to run tomorrow. 4 miles. It's supposed to rain tomorrow. I'm not going to set my alarm. I'm going to get some much needed sleep, hope it's not raining tomorrow evening, or hit the treadmill. Sometimes we need to adjust.

Also, sometimes we need to recognize things for what they are. My day is spent. I'm spent. I need to rest and rebuild. Exerting myself more than what it takes to brush my teeth wouldn't be beneficial. Tomorrow will be there...tomorrow.

Sunday Six

Distance: 6 miles
Start time: 8:09 am
Run Duration: 68 minutes
Average Pace: 11.3 minutes/mile
Temperature: 62 degrees
Humidity: 92%
Location: Memorial Park, Houston, TX

I feel like I loafed it this morning. I wasn't exactly hustling as I made my way through my miles but as I give it more thought, I'm right where I should be. This is the pace I want to run for the half marathon. I'm on track. This is good.

My training schedule says I should run a 5K race next weekend. I thought I'd be bumping up to 7 miles, but that's not until the next week. Guess I'll go find a race. Or I'll just run 3.1 as fast as I can.

I am so grateful for these last 5 days off work. I needed it. I was so homesick, though. The holiday was wonderful with my friends but I miss my family incredibly. I'm happy that I was able to talk with them. It's just not the same. I'm packing up all my things, getting ready for this move. I think coming across a photo here, a trinket there is not helping my mood. I should probably get out of this apartment for a little while this afternoon and go for a change of scenery. I'm thinking of buying a running belt to hold my keys while I run. Maybe that will take up an hour or so.

Have a great week, readers. Hopefully all the leftovers have been eaten or otherwise disposed of. Anyone want to run a race with me next weekend?

Does Your Wife Know You're Here?

Another etiquette post? Isn't that a bit much? Might I be hitting the rules thing with more vigor than is considered comfortable in polite company? Ah, I do apologize for my enthusiasm around this topic, but it's on my mind.

My training schedule called for forty minutes of crosstraining. What better than dancing? I met my friend for dinner (yes, I had the grilled fish and veggies) and an adult beverage (no, I'm not a saint) and we made our way to our favorite dancing spot.

Upon paying the cover charge and entering the room, we were pleased to hear the band playing Motown. That meant we'd spend more time on the dance floor than in our chairs. Last week the band was not good and certainly not playing anything much worth dancing to. We situated ourselves at a table, left our wraps to claim our spots and began to enjoy the evening.

When the two of us (both female) go out together, we may dance with each other, we may dance with a man or two, but mostly we're just out to dance. It's fun, we like the music and we enjoy the exercise. Most of the time it's just a nice, care-free, evening. Sometimes, there are drunks who get a little pushy. We deal with that, like ladies. This isn't what I'm writing about this morning.

We'd been dancing for about a half hour and decided to take a break, having just returned to our seats, when I noticed many people around us looking toward the other side of the room. That's never a good thing in a bar. Yeah, a woman was on the floor. She wasn't getting up. I told my friend I'd see what was going on and I walked over to the small circle of security guards and club management that was surrounding her. The woman was conscious and moving by then. I ascertained from the manager that EMS had been called (she apparently hadn't even started drinking yet, so she certainly needed to be checked out). I let him know that I was medically trained and available if he needed me and I backed away, back to my chair. I watched from that distance as she was walked out of the club. I didn't give it much more thought.

More dancing, another drink. It was time for a Ladies' Room break. As I walked toward the door, a man reached out and touched my elbow. "Are you medical?"

I stopped to answer his question. I told him I was, so was he. He'd noticed me checking out the situation earlier. He's a radiologist and as luck would have it quite attractive, near my age and charming. We talked for a few minutes. He paid me a compliment on my willingness to help a stranger earlier and asked if I would help him if he developed symptoms right then. "If I fell down right now, would you come to my aid?" I told him I probably would, but I know I flirty line when I hear one. He laughed and said that would be one way to get a kiss from such a pretty woman. Wow, this guy was pouring it on thick, but...he was attractive...we had something in common...

I still needed to get to the loo. I reached out my right hand, introduced myself and told him it was nice to meet him. Then I reached for his left hand. I knew it. Gold wedding band. You know...I just turned and walked away.

His attractiveness level plummeted from about an eight to a minus four. You can't come back from a minus four. It's just plain rude to flirt so blatantly when you're married. It's not rude to the target of your flirtation. It's rude to your wife. Someone should teach that somewhere. Manners matter.

I Love Babies and Dogs - I Promise.

It took over 24 hours to find the times posted for the 17th Annual Sheltering Arms Turkey Trot. Initially, only clock times came up and I was disappointed to see mine at 1:07:23. A couple hours later the chip times came up and I was listed at 1:05:46. That was what I thought I ran, so I was happy to see it.

In the time I was waiting for the times to post, I logged onto active.com and watched the comments start to come in. The negative feedback far outweighed the positive around the race and honestly, I agreed with most of it.

The organizers obviously weren't prepared for the large crowd, or they didn't seem to be. The pace markers at the starting line were set very close together and we couldn't hear the announcer. Chip collection at the finish was immediately after we crossed over the line and created a bit of a bottleneck at that point.

But the real problems, the REAL problems...

...walkers, and strollers, and pets, oh my!

Sure, it's a great morning for families to get out and enjoy time together, but for the love of all that's good and safe, get the heck out of the front of the pack and get out of the way! There is no reason on earth that people who are walking need to be standing in the 8, 9, 10, even 11 minutes/mile sections. They're in the way and they're dangerous. Thousands of people were trying to take off and run yesterday morning and they had to navigate past toddlers, people pushing strollers and even dogs on leashes. Not cool, not cute, not sweet. Not. Not. Not.

I know some will say we're grouchy. Some will say we're not friendly. Too freaking bad. I'd rather be grouchy about this than grouchy about a sprained (or broken) ankle on one of us. I'd rather not accidentally knock over your little darling. I like kids, I really do. It would ruin the day for all of us if someone was injured. It's just common sense. You're slower, you don't need to be in the front. Is this that difficult?

Good. Thanks. See you at the next event. Have a great day - and give your kids and dogs a hug from Auntie Michelle.