Still Going....Sort of...

I'm Baaaack....

It's been a couple weeks, yes. I have not run since my long run two Sundays ago when I "bonked."

No, I have not been bitter or feeling like a spoiled little runner who didn't get her way. I just have been so busy with school and working at night that I haven't MADE the time. Oh yes, I have the time - every morning the sun comes up and I could get up with it...I just have chosen to lay in bed instead. So, the fault is mine and I take the responsibility - I also apparently am supposed to take a weight gain of 5 pounds (bastardes!).

This week...well, I'm going to try. It is so hard, really - I'm trying not to complain and be whiny - but 5:30 is just really early in the morning....

But...I can't run around the neighborhood anymore - it's too dark to go alone in the morning....so I have to go to the gym, which is technically on the way to school, sort of...but I have to get up early enough (5:30) to get dressed and out of the house so I can get there early enough (6:00) to be done (6:45) to get a shower and not have to wait and then be able to get dressed (7:00) and be at school by 7:30....and that would really only give me time for about a 30-45 minute run (yes, better than nothing...but 2 hours of planning and crap for 30 minutes of running....).

Is it worth it? (Oooh! New poll! See above)

Not sure if it's "worth it" time-wise, but energy and body-wise, I guess it is. I've really missed running the last couple weeks and today's run reminded me of that.

Today was my last official 5K of the season. I ran the Susan Komen 5K in Albany. It was a fun run and I had a fun time doing it. I kept my pace steady and pulled it out at the end. It's a fairly hilly course with a great downhill at the end, so I was expecting my time to be about 29:00 or even 30:00 (given that it's been 13 days since my last run); the last time I ran this same course was back in July and I ran it in 31:??...it was hotter than hell and I hated it.

So, today I pulled out 28:32 - not bad at all - especially for "not trying" and just doing it for the fun of it. So, today was a great day for running - the weather was great, the cause was great, and it helped me appreciate how much I miss the sport.

So....I'm going to try....Tuesday and Thursday morning this week I'm going to plan for a 5:30 wake up and run at the gym. I will be honest, it is getting cold, and that makes getting out of bed that much tougher. But I'm going to try my hardest to stick to the schedule for one week and see how it goes.
Monday and Friday afternoons and the weekend I can still do cross training and running (I just haven't the last couple weeks because of scheduling problems - meetings, going out of town, etc).

On a side note, Kerri (best friend, VA, I'm running the Half with her), had her longest training run today (she joined a half marathon training group down in Richmond and they have been running the actual half marathon course for the last couple weeks) - she ran 14.5 miles and did it in 2:35:00 - that is an excellent time! Her goal is to run the 13.1 in 2:30:00, so she obviously can do it (as long as race day cooperates). I'm really psyched for her and send her out my Congrats. I'm hoping that I can keep up with her on race day! :)

So...last 5K of the season is done....and I have only about a month of training left - holy crap. Well, I know I can do it....I know I can finish. Yes, I have that 2:20:00 goal in my head which I think I may have to up a bit....but really, I just want to finish - and be in good enough shape to be walking and partying it up afterwards!

More soon!