Today's Run:
9 miles, 1:36:48
Mostly flat/minor hills, 68 degrees, humid

Well, naturally, once my long run day rolls around, it seems to get hot again! It was nice and cool this morning (high 50's) but warmed up pretty darn quickly. I think the high today was around 86 which is a bit warm for this time of year. Regardless, I had to run today, so I did.

I dropped the wee one off at church and ran on the roads behind the church. I usually do around a 5 mile loop there but I added a it on to it today to make it a nice 9 miles.

Well, the adventurous thing about running on the road is that you don't always know what you're going to get yourself into. I casually looked at the GPS and said "oh cool, there's another loop I can take right there - it will probably get me close to 9 miles once I get back to the church!" That extra loop took me on one of the windiest and sometimes busiest roads in the area. I made it - but I'm lucky I'm not dead! I wouldn't be so bad, but there's not a great shoulder, which means I felt like I had to stop a lot to keep myself from becoming a hood ornament. I miss city running on days like this!

I drank all of my water by around 7.5 miles. I ate some gels today, which I haven't done in quite some time. I got some of the GU chews and they were ok.

My legs felt pretty heavy for most of the run. I'm pretty sure it's because of a) my wonky sleep schedule this week, b) my longer runs in general this week, and c) everything about me is heavy. I have been wearing my compression socks this afternoon and will probably end up taking an ibuprofen before the day is over.

I need to log another 7 miles before the end of the month! I'm going to have to get creative to get them in - maybe I'll take the dog on a slow (so slow it could be considered a walk in most countries) jog tonight? Jog with the monster in the stroller tomorrow morning? Both?

Speaking of the monster... how cute is this picture?

Here she is sporting a NY fancy boutique sweater, PJ's, Brooks Ghost 4's, and drinking some "shock milk." Loveit! Baby's got style!

Today's Run:
5.5 miles, 57 minutes

I woke up late this morning, so I skipped out on my normal Tuesday morning obligations. Once I dropped the Monster off at church, I headed out to a local park to get some miles in.

Let me stop here and say that my child did not want to get out of bed this morning and it was tempting to just snuggle with her in the rocking chair all morning!

The weather was just plain gorgeous this morning. It was near perfect - low 60's, low humidity. I'm not sure why, but I really struggled with the run this morning. I'm thinking I'm just a bit tired? Maybe it was because I ran right before bed last night, so it was a quick turn around?

This park is a 1.3 mile paved loop. It's got several big hills - one of them is pretty steep. I'm such a wuss about hills. I can admit it. I should really do this route more often. It's pretty close to my work - I used to pack my jogging stroller and run there with Monster when I got off of work in the mornings. This was back when she was a bitty baby and slept all the time and I could "stay up" with her all day. In fact, my first run post baby was in this park. I bet that was a sight to see. HA!

I'm still dealing with a bit of touch of a right calf strain. I've been running with compression socks or sleeves and it seems to help quite a bit. It bothered me more today than it did at all on my 12 miler last Friday. I don't think standing on that hard floor at work helps at all!

That's all for now. I have enough time to shower before I have to go pick up the squishy at the church.

Get your run on today! You'll feel better when it's over. :)

Today's Run:
4 miles, 39:28
65 degrees, typical 5k loop with a bit extra tagged on, Arwen came with us! She still slows me down a bit. I'm not fast though - so let's be real.

Today was an odd day for me. I worked the weekend overnight this week so that I could celebrate the Monster's birthday with friends on Saturday afternoon. I slept for a few hours this afternoon and got up to try to get some stuff done. When the hubs got home (late I might add), we went on a family run.

The Monster was in rare form tonight - she requires naps and did not get a great one today. So she was crying. A lot. I wanted to rip my hair out!

The man pushed the stroller, and I took Arwen on the leash. She did much better today - which makes my heart smile.

I love fall. We got a late start, but it was amazing to run as a family and get to see the gorgeous stars.

I need to do some serious mileage this week because I'm a bit behind for my goal this month!

I have this serious "need" to buy some new running clothes for the fall. Someone remind me that I don't have a money tree in my backyard. Please?

Week in Review & Monster turned TWO:

Wow, so I really let this week get away from me. I had a busy week celebrating my baby girl's birthday!

I did not go running last Sunday. I talked about it in my last post. I went to bed early and set my alarm - but when it went off, I could not make myself get up. I regretted that decision throughout the day.

Monday morning, the hubs had to head into work extra early so I slept in. We planned on doing a family run when he got home. We had changed clothes and were in the process of wrapping things up and heading out the door when our weather radio went off - alerting us that we were under tornado watch. It started pouring rain shortly after that, so we did not exercise. Instead, I stuffed my face with pasta. Take that.

Tuesdays are jam packed days for me! I have Bible Study in the mornings and have to drop the monster off at church beforehand. I go to lunch with a good pal of mine, pick up the baby, and we both come home and nap. I get up, shower again, and get ready for work. Then I work a glorious 14 hour shift during the night. So, getting up early enough to run before the hubs leaves for work on these days should be applauded. Ha! I thought about skipping out on lunch with my pal that morning to get a run in. But, when I checked the weather, it was supposed to be a 100% chance of rain throughout the mid morning to early afternoon and it was only a 60% chance of rain that morning. I took my chances. And I ran in the rain. And it was sunny all morning and afternoon. Go figure.

Side note: someone needs to invent a rain resistant jacket that doesn't make you so HOT!

I took my Aussie with me that morning - I got sad because she can't keep up like she used to. I know she's getting older - but she has been my bestest pal for years now. I got her before I started vet school. She has been through all of my biggest life changes with me (minus leaving home to go to college in the first place). I was very emotional throughout the day just thinking about losing her one day. Sad face. But, the hubs reminded me that she has been a couch potato since late spring (it got hot very quickly this spring) and she was really out of shape. Fine. I'll give him that, but I'm still allowed to be emotional because of my pal. Anyway, it was much less scary in the darkness and light drizzle with my friend with me. She's an extra set of ears and has been known to be very protective of me. I'm looking forward to our next run together!

Tuesday's details:
3.34 miles, 35:37
Raining, around 70 degrees, pre-dawn
Arwen definitely slowed me down a bit (seriously, you're a girl, must you pee on everything??)-- but she was worth it!

I ended up staying late at work on Wednesday morning because of a last minute surgery. It would have been a perfect morning to run - the first day of the cold front! I stuffed my face with Chick-fil-A instead. I'm sensing a trend this week.

Thursday is typically my long run day. I had to post pone it on Thursday due to my Monster turning the big TWO! I took her to church, came home, finished her adorable cupcakes (pictured below), and took them to her class at lunch time. Wow, those kids are cute. I loved being able to be there and see her interact with them! So stinking cute. There's no other way to describe them.

The hubs stayed home today to celebrate the monster's birthday and have some family time. I got up early this morning to do my long run. Of course, when I got up, the first thing I noticed was that there was very dense fog. Naturally. My last long run attempt had me running in 90%+ humidity, I got the chafe of a lifetime, AND I was unable to finish!

Today was a much better run. I left my car at my friend's house and ran on some trails in PTC. I had absolutely no close calls with any golf carts and I did not die of heat exhaustion. I did stop back by my car at around 8.5 miles and refill my water bottle, change shirts (I was soaked and was afraid to repeat a chafing episode), and realize that I had left my chews at home. Crud. The hubs had some peanut butter crackers, so I ate a couple of those and went on my way.

I was happy when it was over but felt like I could have kept going! I loved my hand held water bottle. But, I'm still not sold on the NUUN tablets. I stopped at Starbucks (yum). I stretched a bit when I got home - my hips were tight after being in the car - and I felt great all day. I didn't even take a nap! However, my legs did feel a bit tired this evening when I was standing in the kitchen making delicious food.

Speaking of, let me tell you - I found this recipe for spiced green apple and butternut squash soup. Uhm, hello, what? It was SO GOOD.

Today's run:
12 miles, 2:20:53
70%, humid/foggy, PTC golf trails

So, the good news is that I only need to shave off about 20 minutes and add another 1.1 miles. HAHA! I'm only kidding - I know I will run a bit faster when I'm with all those other people and I should at least be able to shave off another 10 minutes. I will really have to pace myself so that I don't go out TOO fast.

I was going to buy a glorious Garmin watch before my first 13.1 this season. BUT - I had to fund a pretty expensive repair on my car. Sad face. I hate being an adult. When I said I wanted to grow up, I didn't realize it meant I'd have to pay my own bills!

Gotta make the time...

I had to squeeze a run in this evening. I was feeling crummy and down in the dumps about not running this morning. When the hubs got home, he started making us some dinner and I took the opportunity to get a quick run in.

I'm so glad I went! My mood was instantly about 300x better.

Tonight's Run:
3.25, 31:28

I went on my typical loop in my neighborhood and the one across from mine. It's nice to have a 5k loop!

Here's another reason I love the fall: flexibility. Several weeks ago, I would have suffered from a heat stroke if I had attempted to run at 7pm. Tonight, it was in the low 70's and the humidity was pretty low. And I loved it. I'm telling you - fall rocks.

I work tomorrow and Sunday. If I'm feeling crazy, I might do another run on Sunday morning!

As a side note, I'm so glad that I'm scheduled for my normal days this week. I have had an extra shift thrown in for the past 2 weeks and it's amazing how much that takes away from being able to get things in life accomplished. And, it makes me tired... and I get cranky when I'm tired!

Thursday's Run:
6.23mi, 1:02:50
High 60's, moderate humidity
Gorgeous day!

I dropped Monster off at church on Thursday morning and I was already in my running clothes, as usual. However, I was not convinced that I was going to run. I was just not feeling it. I took an extra day off this week because my right calf was hurting a bit more than normal. Plus, I was suddenly feeling very apathetic about running despite the near perfect weather.

This happens to me usually about once a month. I'm going to assume it's hormonal - I just start feeling down about myself - especially my body - and then feel like doing absolutely nothing other than drowning my sorrows in cheese and carbs.

I drove myself to the same go cart path that I ran on last week. It was a gorgeous day, so I thought the lake would provide some uplifting scenery. It was also mentally important for me to "conquer" the location of my crappiest run to date.

I have ditched the Jeff Galloway program for the time being - the music was too repetitive and I was getting a bit irritated with all the walk breaks. I didn't think I was getting any better. Plus, I have work out ADD.

I did ok. The first two miles were easy and I went out a bit fast. I am still taking occasional walk breaks but they are not as long as the ones in the program. I felt zapped of energy at about mile 4. This is probably because I didn't even get to eat my full breakfast or have my full cup of coffee! Monster woke up late and had to have special clothes and special hair for picture day. I kind of forgot to finish eating - oops.

I didn't carry water with me and that was fine - the weather was perfect. I probably would have run a little bit better if I had brought something with me. I ordered a handheld water bottle which will hopefully work out better than that hydration belt (I was still sore 4 days later after its maiden voyage last week).

The beautiful thing is that I didn't feel drained for the rest of the day. In fact, I didn't feel like I had done anything at all. I went grocery shopping, played with Monster, etc. and felt great. I considered going on another run yesterday evening but decided to hang out at home instead. I slept like a rock last night, too, which is always appreciated.

I plan on doing a LONG long run every other week and a run that's a bit longer than my standard run on the opposite weeks. I did 10.6 last week and am thinking I'll aim for 12 miles next week. That will put me right on schedule for my 13.1 that I have scheduled on Oct 7. I hope to beat my PR (2:18:30). My ultimate goal is a 2h half - maybe that will happen before my child goes to college!

I think my chances are improving because I'm putting in the time for the longer runs before the actual race (imagine that). I have done the majority of my 13.1 races since having a baby (5 out of 6). I cut my training way back before my 1st 13.1 because I had found out that I was pregnant - so I ran it with a bit of a handicap. This is the first time that I have actually had the time or child care available so that I could put the miles in. Honestly, now that I think about it, I'm lucky that I'm not dead.

I'm a couple of days behind - so here goes:

Sunday's run:
3.13 miles, 30:14
Perfect weather - 61 degrees, moderate humidity

I'm not going to lie to you. I love fall. I love the decorations, scented candles, crock pot stews, foliage, pumpkin spice lattes - you know, ALL OF IT! It's also the start of my "racing season" - so I get a bit extra pumped up. I say racing season, but we all know I'm not really racing anyone. I'm slow; I couldn't win a race to save my life. But I have fun and that's what counts (that's what I tell myself).

Anyway, we have gotten a little fall teaser here in the ATL and I am loving it. I was so excited about this cold front that I got up at 5am before my Sunday shift to run.

I usually do not run on my work days because I work long shifts and am on my feet all day. I think of it like conserving energy. Let me tell you though, this was a great decision. I had a busy day at work, but I was no where near as stressed or irritated as I could have been because I had some endorphins on hand. I might need to make this a regular event - I think my co-workers would approve!

I did not have a lot of time so I was only able to squeeze in a 5k. My hamstrings were a bit tight from Thursday's long run - but I warmed out of that pretty quickly. It felt great to get my legs moving.

It was well before sunrise, but usually that doesn't matter because I run in my neighborhood and one directly across from it. I did get myself pretty wigged out at one point when I encountered someone out on the road in semi-casual clothes walking slowly at 5:45a. Thankfully, no one was harmed (and by no one, I mean me) and it just made me run faster for a brief period of time! I will now be running with my australian shepherd, Arwen, on mornings such as this. She loves running with me but has not been able to because of the HOT weather. Now that it's cooling off, she's back in the game. I feel safer when she is with me. I also need to look into some kind of mace. Here's a possible situation: "Sure, you can approach me, weird man. Have you met my guard dog? How about my chemical irritant?"

Anyway, the hubs was quite surprised when I got up to run on Sunday morning. I told him that I really wanted to run in the weather but also felt I needed to run because I am working another 4 day work week this week and wouldn't have time otherwise. He told me he felt I was officially a runner. Apparently runners run despite their schedule instead of making excuses for their schedule. He gives very interesting compliments sometimes..

Monday's run:
3.55 miles, 34:37
7pm run, 72 degrees, low humidity

I was really tired when my alarm went off this morning. I sleepily told Ryan that we should do a family run when he got home from work. I was really hoping he'd forget and I was happy to get some extra snooze time. When he got home, we got changed and went running. I'm glad he didn't forget!

My legs were pretty tired from my two 12 hour shifts this weekend. Ryan pushed the stroller and I just wore a cute skirt (and Body Glide - I'm not letting that mistake happen again). It was a pretty good run. It was brief, as I had to go into work, but it felt great. I did have a wee bit of right calf discomfort again, so I stretched a bit more when we got home and foam rolled for awhile. I wore my compression sleeves to work, too. I had to take them off after about 6 hours (they start hurting, does that happen to anyone else?) and it's feeling pretty good right now.

Monster was so excited to go on a run tonight. She did not want to get into the jogging stroller until she had a "bed band" just like Mommy. She went through my stash to find a "blue one" and wore it for almost the entire run. She spent a great deal of time giggling and shouting "RUNNING" while we were out. I love it.

Here's a cute iphone picture for you - I know what your'e thinking - it's too cute for words! I don't think I ever looked that cute in this "bed band"

For the record, this band is only worn when running the Peachtree Road Race. Yes, it matches my obnoxious patriotic running skirt.

I'm still mad at myself about my run last Thursday. However, every person I've talked to about it was shocked that I even left my house that day because it was so notably hot and humid outside. It makes me feel a little bit better. The leg chafing is almost gone, too. Now that walking alone is a bit more tolerable and I don't feel like my thighs are on fire, I have decided that I will continue this running gig and press on for the 26.2.

I am at work now and work again tomorrow night. I will either today when I get off shift or get a quick run in on Wednesday morning when I get home.

It's fall, y'all, it makes a woman crazy (and happy).