5K run

didn't do the full 4-mile out and back this morning. just didn't have it in me. My back was aching and I felt a little queasy from too much drainage from all the crap in the air right now. So I cut it short and did a 5k instead. I started to feel better by the time I rounded the corner near the house, but by then, it was almost time to wake up the boys for school, so I called it a day. It took me 20 minutes to talk myself into the run, so I count it as a bonus 5K that might not have happened on another day, if I was more convincing to myself.

Ended up the month of September with 83 miles -- a little short of the 100 I was shooting for, but more than any other month but March and May (those are the months of two or three halves each). October will be better, I'm sure, once we get all the stress and excitement of the house stuff over and done with. the countdown is on, with one more week to go before we close. We've done all the needed repairs to this house (really just maintenance we would have done this year anyway -- A/C service, weatherstripping, a couple of windows with broken seals so they fogged up) and have all the paperwork ready to roll. Now we just start the real packing and get ready for the signage and the trucks. wahoo. Like I said earlier, I'll be excited about it for real once I have the key in my hand and have locked the door behind me (the 8-foot, Texas star leaded-glass inset door! wheeeeee!!). Until then, I've got a ton of work to do to be ready to take a few days off next week, and the kids' school carnival this weekend, and, then, oh yeah, a big 8-year-old birthday party to plan. Fun times. Wouldn't have it any other way.

So, there. Gotta run and spend a few minutes with Elder Child before he hits the hay. He's having second thoughts about moving schools during the semester but I'm sure he'll find his niche once he gets there. It will be great, I'm sure. I just now have to convince him of that. Peace out folks! Have a good evening.

7.75 miles

meant it to be 8, but I took the wrong turn toward the end and ended up just under at 7.75 miles. Total time was 1:29:03, so that's slower than my last comparable run, but I was less concerned about pacing today and more about just getting a longer run in. The front of my right leg started aching about 2 miles in, and it was all I could do mentally to keep going, knowing that a few stretches would work it out (and it did work itself out soon enough, too, and is fine right now). I'm just working really hard to get the mental aspect of this down, and keep my motivation up when the results are not there, either on the scale, on how my clothes fit, or how fast I'm getting. I just keep working and still seem to be at the same starting point. It's a little discouraging, but I keep at it.

More later -- gotta go out and price window coverings for the new place -- 25 windows and no two of them the same size. We're thinking Roman shades will be what we will use for all the windows except the ones facing the front of the house -- those will be plantation shutters. But it's not going to be easy to find them all in the right sizes and without custom-ordering, hence the shopping expedition today. And we have a little more time, since our closings got pushed back to the first week of October instead of September 30. One more hiccup but we're still all systems go. So, I gotta run, but will be back later. Pinky promise.

6.5 miles the other way

so today, we had to stay in class until 5:00 (what up wid dat?), so I didn't head out to the lake until closer to 5:30. Ended up going toward Navy Pier from the hotel, then south on Lake Shore to the Shedd Aquarium and the planetarium. Just a couple of hours earlier, I'd chatted with Elder Child on the phone and he asked me if it was indeed windy in the Windy City. I had to laugh because, actually, it wasn't very windy at all yesterday. In fact, I was kinda wishing for a breeze yesterday because it was a bit hotter than I thought it would be. But today, it was a little windy today. But not until I got all the way around the planetarium, and then it was like running into a wind tunnel. Crazy. But I managed to make the back end of the run just about 8 seconds longer then the out end, so I thought that was a pretty good pace in any case. I think I like the northern route I ran yesterday a little bit better, if only because it was a little more natural and beachy, whereas there were just a lot of boats on the southern route. Whatever, both are a hecka nicer than the 'hood around my current house.**

So, I've got to try to get the afternoon-running arse out of bed early enough tomorrow to get a few miles in before class, since I'll be on a plane tomorrow night and won't have a chance to run then. It might mean that I'll miss Angel on TNT, too, which is a shame, since I just discovered that show. I sense that I'll be doing some DVD sessions soon -- it's a pretty groovy show and I'm getting pulled in right toward the end, it seems. But, I guess it will have to happen, right? And it'll be nice to see the sun coming up over the lake, too. That's all for now, I think. Time to tuck in so that I can get up and out the door in time, plus I have to pack. That travel day thing, you know.

**Oh, and in neighborhood news, Hub called me this morning and said that the cops were parked outside arresting the kid who lives next door. Said it was just like the scene in Boyz in the Hood. 7:10 in the morning, so who knows what was happening or what he was taken in for. I do know that I've caught the kid messing with the mailboxes up and down the street at least once, and when I warned him not to do it, he threw attitude at me and shrugged me off. And at least two other folks on the street have told me that he's bad news. So, yeah, I know, innocent until proven guilty and all that, but still.

6 Lake Shore miles

we got out of class a little bit early today (shhh, don't tell!), so I laced up the new kicks and headed out of the hotel toward the lake today. Did a nice out-and-back from the hotel down to Navy Pier and Olive Park, then up the Lake Shore bike trail to Lincoln Park, where a bunch of guys were sitting on park benches playing chess. Pretty cool. Lots of people out and about enjoying the mid-70s weather, and it was just a really nice run. Ended up measuring out at just under 6 miles in 1:07, but that included waiting for lights and cars at the corners on Illinois. Not a bad run at all.

Got upgraded to a suite, so I'm sitting in the living area contemplating what I want to have for dinner. Not really feeling like cleaning up to go out, especially by myself, so I'll probably just go out and bring something back in. I'm not at all freaked about running out in strange cities by myself at all hours of the day, but something about going out to a restaurant by myself I just can't do. Weird, I know, but whatevah. Gotsa run. Hopefully I'll have a chance to run around the blogosphere and be a commenting fool later tonight. Peace out!

Random updates

Went for a great 5-mile run on Saturday morning that was punctuated by a nice conversation with my new neighbor and a break to visit with my chilluns before coming home. Yep, that's right, we have gotten another buyer and have an official date set for closing and moving into our new home. Yippee! I ran over there Saturday morning just to look around a little closer -- I had been avoiding the street since we hadn't had a buyer and the possibility of the builder taking it back was just too painful to deal with. So as soon as we were set last week and had the inspection on our current home Friday, it was full speed ahead and I couldn't wait to see it again.

So I ran there and walked around the property a little. When I came out from the back yard, my new neighbor was there and he and I had a nice chat. He was in pretty much the same boat as we were, having a hard time selling his previous home, except he got saved by his in-laws purchasing his home. Bad news all the way around for existing homes, I tell you what. So, after chatting him up for a while, I let him get on with his morning and then ran back toward home. I stopped in at my in-laws to get a bottle of water and see if my boys were awake yet. They'd spent the night per usual Friday night, and I wanted to know if they were expecting me to pick them up for breakfast or if they were goingo to chow w/Grandma. They had just woken up, so I had a good hour to get home, clean up and find breakfast for myself before they were ready to be picked up. I ended up doing a total of 5 miles in 55 minutes, so it was a nice slower pace for the day. Pretty good considering there is a wicked hill coming out of our new neighborhood - I will enjoy going up that thing on every run, I tell you what!!

Yesterday, I opted for the lazy morning instead of the scheduled 9 miles. Part of that may have been influenced by the shot of Patron I had at my friend's 40th birthday Saturday night. I'm not a big drinker at all -- in fact, I can go (and have gone) years without any kind of alcohol -- but when I do drink, it's only one serving and only either champagne mimosas or good tequila. I only had one very teeny half-shot glass worth, so I don't think it was that it affected me. I think I was just lazy. So that meant that today, which is usually my rest day, instead called for 4 miles. I will try and go out again tonight for another 4-5 to make up the mileage so I can hit 100 miles for September, if not, no worries.

I'm heading to Chicago tomorrow evening for three days of training and I'm looking forward to having good fall weather up there for outdoor running along Lake Michigan. It's been a while since I've been on the road, and I'm not sure how the kids will respond to it, but since it's just a few days and then I'm home again long-term, they're actually looking forward to it. So, there you go. If I don't have a chance to update before I get out, hope y'all are enjoying the fall weather and have a great day and a great week!!

Oh, yeah

so, same route, same time of day, same shoes as yesterday.

Time: 42:23

Mile 1: 10:14
Mile 2: 11:04
Mile 3: 10:58
Mile 4: 10:06

Yep, so we negative-split the thing. And that even counted stopping for a 10-second or so regroup at the start of mile 3, just to get the head straight and talk myself into putting it out there just a little bit more. And a brief stop midway through mile 4 to talk to a little lost kitty (not interested in conversation, apparently, she ran away as soon as I got close enough).

So, yeah, I'll take it. And I've decided I'm going to keep running this route for my weekday runs to measure my progress in the next two weeks. Should be interesting to watch (at least for me - -you might be bored out of your mind by it). Gotta blast, it's Friday, after all!!

progress

we're seeing a little bit of progress. maybe it's the shoes. I got new Saucony Grid something or others the other day and ran in them for the first time this morning. Just as cool out today as it was Tuesday. Same exact route. Time today: 43:05, for an average pace of 10:46, compared to 11:08 on Tuesday. I'll take it. And we won't talk about the fact that I used to be able to do that same exact route in 39 and change. Not this year, mind you, but still.

So, there you go. New shoes, better times. Gotta love it. Happy Thursday, peeps!

4 miles

four miles. left the house at 5:30. It was downright chilly, but felt great, especially after a few days of high humidity. Total time was 44:31, so I was going at over 11:00 miles, but I don't really care. Not today. It felt good all the way through, with no residual soreness from Sunday's long run. The speed will come back, I know it. Just a matter of miles and time.

that is all for now. gotta get some work done before I have to leave the premises for yet another showing. more later, if I get a chance. have a good Tuesday.

8 miles on the schedule*

wow, been a while since I did this distance and felt so good doing it, too. Average pace ended up at just over 11:09/mile, but I'll take it. There's plenty of time to bring that down to 10 and change like it used to be. I had a couple of strong stretches, like not walking up the hill near the monastery (yes, there is a monastery in my neighborhood), and not taking the shortcut home, making sure I ran the full 8 miles on the schedule today. And ultimately, the weather here post-Ike was just short of glorious, so I couldn't bear to not be out and on the streets early enough to see the sun rise out of the clear sky. Fall is almost fallen here in North Texas, and that means lots of good mornings on the road.

*And, yes, there is a schedule again. Which means there is an event at the end of the schedule. I *really* want to do the full in Austin, but I think the hills would be too much for my knees, and I have no real hills to train on here. So instead I think I'll stick close to home and finally do the full at Cowtown. I've done the half so many times, and I think it's time to get that full medal.

There. I said it. Now I have to do it. The goals are yet to be determined, but really, the real goal is to make it happen and be ready to roll on February 28. Peace out!!

it's the only thing that helps

just a little bit. makes me feel not as bad. to just get out and run. Never mind that it was stifling hot out, even after the sun went down. But I had to go out today, even though I missed Hub's hockey game because of it, because I never made it out last night after skating and scouts and coming home and realizing just how depressed this whole stupid situation with the house is making me. I just couldn't do it. At least (I guess here is where we put in the Small Victory for the day) I didn't gorge myself on bad food as I often find myself doing in that situation. I just didn't have the mental energy to go out for a run. And I should have, because right now, it's about the only thing that makes me feel good. It's the only thing that makes sense to me right now. The stress is making itself known in every aspect of my life and I don't know how else to deal with it except to just go out and run.

ORN: 4.61 miles in 54:50. Avg pace: 11:53. In my defense, it did include stops for fixing my hair, fixing my headphones, waiting for lights, and drinking water from the fountain at the park. Yeah, right. Whatever.

The makings of a very bad day

I knew it. Buyers backed out of the contract on our house. Said their daughter has allergies and they weren't convinced we would have cleaned the place thoroughly enough to get rid of the cat hair. Never mind that we were already giving them $1K to re-do the carpet. Nope, not good enough. Did they think we were going to wipe the cats on the walls on our way out the door or something?? leave furballs in the vents? Dude, what more do you want us to do besides shampoo the carpets and have the rest of the bare floors and tile professionally cleaned? Whatever.

So now we're back to the drawing board. We had two other offers we turned down and now we're having to go back to them and say, "um, yeah, hi... please buy our house..."

F#@$ me.

And just to throw a little salt in the wound, TDP DinoBoy looked at me last night and asked earnestly, "Mom, do you think we'll move to our new house by our birthday? I want to have my party there."

F$#@# me twice.

Hot & Sweaty

ugh, hadn't been that bad in a while. Yesterday morning's run was just sticky and nasty. I had to walk a bit toward the middle of mile 4 since it was just so humid that I had a hard time keeping up my pace. But I got it done.

Today, both Hub and I were up at o-dark-thirty to finish up some deadline-related work, so no run this morning. The plan is to dress in running gear for skating and scouts this afternoon so as soon as I get home about 7:30 I can hit the road for a quick 5 miles before the boys to go to bed. That way I won't be up as late trying to cool down and unwind. That's the plan, at least. Maybe since it's been raining a little more that tonight's run won't be so hot & sweaty as yesterday's. heh. Yeah, never mind.

under 11 again

went walking yesterday morning, with Alicia. we miss our weekend walks, which was our main time to catch up with each other, so we've started them up again. it should get easier to do once the weather starts to cool down for sure. then, the rest of the day I kinda had to myself, since I met up with TDP DinoBoy's godmother so she could have him for the weekend and Hub took the Elder Child dove hunting. I spent the afternoon just hanging out and leisurely shopping for stuff for the new house.

Yeah, the new house. We *finally* got a contract, but until we actually move in, I'm not going to get too excited, especially since these people are now starting to be total a@@holes and demanding all kinds of things, many of which are unreasonable. Whatever. So I wouldn't be surprised if they back out of the deal, seriously. Just total pr!cks they're being.

Today, I ran 6.5 miles in just under 1:12, so I FINALLY made my pace back under an 11:00 mile. It was tough for a bit since it got so hot so fast -- I didn't leave until well after 7:00, and by then the sun was full up. But I felt pretty strong, and didn't walk at all, so I think I just need to force my body into remembering what it's like to run. I'm also mulling over the possibility of doing Cowtown as a full marathon in February. It's just a thought right now, but I do love the half course there, and it's always a very nicely supported run, even if the expo is a little lacking. But we shall see. For now, I'm happy just to be out and running 4-5 times a week and catching up to my yearly mileage goal instead of falling further behind like I did earlier this summer.

Gotta go -- it's getting late, and I have another action-packed week to get ready for. Peace out!!

it's 6:00 am

and I'm at the rink. have been for an hour. wheee!

I LOVE being home, can I tell ya? The BEST part? I'll be back here in about 12 hours for TDP's skating session. double-whee!

Ran yesterday -- 5 miles in just under an hour. getting faster, but just barely. Mostly, it feels good mentally to just run. And FYI, Tom Petty's greatest hits is fabulous running music!

it's not a good thing

when you turn on the car, and the car engine is on, but the dash is dark, right? like, comnpletely, totally off? Like, the little dials and gauges and the dealy that tells you how hot it is outside (um, that would be a Thermometer...) are all black? And the radio is on, but the display isn't? and you can't really drive, because you don't have any way to tell how fast you're going? And you don't know what song is playing, which is about the worst thing ever.

Crap. Guess I'll be spending the day at the Pontiac dealership tomorrow. Wheee.

still here, still running

still slow. I did the Nike Plus Human Race thingy on Sunday. I had to dust off the Nike+ receiver and tape it to the tongue of my shoe, and reclaim the iPod Nano from the boy to do it, but it was done. Very slowly. Even without the HR monitor (and, yes, I know, I probably set myself back even further by disregarding my HR for it, but I really just needed to run, y'know?) I still only managed slower than a 12:00/mile pace. Yes, it was hot, but still, that's just pathetic. I'm convinced it's the extra weight I'm carrying, and the fact that I spent the summer walking instead of running. Damn. But, hey, I participated in the biggest marketing event for Nike, so I'm still cool, right? Right?

anyway, that's it for now. just wanted to let everyone know that I hadn't drowned in my own sorrows yet. We have one more week to get a contract on our house or the builder sells our new one out from under us. Nice. We had about twelve showings over the weekend, which meant we couldn't even relax and enjoy ourselves at home since we always had to vacate the premises. A couple of them seem promising, but until we actually have something in writing, and they have decent credit, it's not worth geting our hopes up.

So, yeah, that's it. Whee.