blue

A year ago we were running the Birch Bay Road Race... and getting lost and running too far. (Again, I'd like to point out that the entire pack got lost, okay?)

This year we've both been sick with colds, I feel achy and winded after a flight of stairs, and I'm not sure how to get started again.

I'm trying to let myself rest and recover a bit -- accept that I'm ill and that I shouldn't push it -- that there's plenty of time to get back on the wagon. Or off the wagon and onto my running shoes. But I am beginning to feel hopeless and uninspired. Not sure what to do to get back on track at all, and it's depressing.

Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's the economy; everyone seems to be in this mood. We're doing Spirit Week at work (yes, it *is* like high school all over again...). And it does amuse me, and to be honest I would have stayed home sick the last couple of days had it not been for S.W. and my wanting to participate. Yes, that's right, I've helped organize a week-long event to amuse myself. Purely to amuse myself. But I think it is also amusing others...

It's the end of March. I've failed spectacularly to reach my very modest running goal. But tomorrow is the start of another month. So maybe it will inspire me to get back on track... a little.

rainy run

Wil has come down with a nasty cold -- he's a messy, runny nosed little bear right now -- so when I got home today I quickly changed and went out for a quick solo run. I was dressed warmly, but not in waterproofs of any sort... the first big drops hit not far from the house, but I decided to stick with it. The downpour started when I was just reaching the midway point of my +35+ run. Oh well.

By the time I got home I was soaked to the skin... in part because my shoes felt really slippery on the pebbly sidewalks of Ballard so I ran extra slowly. Heck, I'm clumsy enough on dry sidewalk under a clear blue sky!

So the run was just okay ... but it was a run. And it was a run where I could have turned back earlier and didn't. AND it was a run outside -- why I have this intermittent dislike of running outside I don't know.

So a slow 3.95 miles today. I won't make my March goal, but even coming close to 40 miles will be something of a triumph this month.

sluggish

Not sure if it's the weather, the economic climate, or what, but I have been feeling extra sluggish. It seems like a lot of my friends feel the same way. Maybe the long lack of light -- and the lingering winter -- are finally getting to us. I don't know.

On the plus side, Wil and I ran twice in three days -- a +35+ run on Friday on treadmills at the gym, and a 4-miler on Sunday in the 'hood. Because the weather had been so wild on Friday -- fierce yet brief storms, bright blue skies, then another band of storm -- I really didn't want to run outside and get caught out in a storm. Even for a short run. So we went to the gym and plodded away. We ran in the small cardio room, which always makes me feel self conscious. I wonder if the treadmills in that room aren't as stable somehow? Or if it's just the relative quiet? I always just feel as if I'm clomping away so much that I keep trying to adjust my stride to something quieter. Probably not the wisest idea. Wil's right, of course; we should be running outside more.

So on Sunday morning we did run outside before the drizzle started. We ran up and over to the overlook, then back. Even just having run it on Tuesday meant that it was easier on Sunday. We ran faster and more smoothly. I am certain that it's the first time since the marathon that I have run 3x in one week.

Will I make my meager March goal of 40 miles? Probably not, as it means making every single run I have left this month. But who knows; maybe I'll get inspired to stay on track.

Oh, in other news, the dates of the 2010 Great Alaskan Maritime Marathon have been posted -- July 11-18. Given that we'll be in Europe for a couple of weeks in June, I don't think we'll be able to swing it. Which makes me absurdly sad. Maybe in 2012.

a real St. Pat's Dash

Was supposed to run the annual St. Pat's Dash on Sunday. Well, okay, I was going to mainly walk it with Suzanne, but we were registered and ready to go. On the morning of the dash, Suz and Megan (sp?) arrived at my place at 7:30 in the midst of, well, a snowstorm. (It was a storm and there was snow. Honest.) It wasn't light and fluffy snow... it was nasty, wet, gloppy snow. No one wanted to say it, but I did. "All in favor of skipping the Dash and getting breakfast say 'Aye'." It was unanimous. Vera's beat Henry Weinhards. Easily.

But then, after breakfast, as the weather flipped around between sun and hail and sun and rain and sun and snow -- but was consistently very windy -- we never got around to running. We ran some errands, we listened to the radio, we played with the cats. But we didn't get to the gym.

So today was destined to be a running day. It didn't have to be a long run but it had to be a run.

Here's something mushy. It's why Wil and I are so perfect for each other. He didn't want to run. He wanted to have run, sure, but not run. (If you know what I mean.) But I wanted to run. Enough to get convince Wil that we should bring our gym clothes to work. And then on the way home, we'd stop at the gym. Wil didn't want to go to the gym. The weather was okay -- not too windy, not too cold, totally dry -- but I still wanted to go to the gym. It's easier, it's easier on my knees, etc. But Wil wanted to run outside. Enough to convince me to just drive home, get changed, and hit the road out to the overlook and back. So while I got us started, he chose the path.

Maybe this isn't mushy to you. But as I huffed and puffed along on our run today, I was glad to be running outside in the fresh air. And it made me extra happy to have Wil for a husband and a friend. Because he's been by my side on this whole crazy running adventure every step of the way. People are often surprised that we run together -- that one or the other of us doesn't take off. But I can't imagine doing anything else. I'm just not competitive enough, I guess. It's nice to run with Wil. He keeps me going when I feel like quitting... and is willing to be persuaded to continue when he feels like quitting. He's ace.

a far-off dream...

I wonder when they'll publish the dates of this in 2010?

finally running again

Had a hallway conversation with Tracy on Tuesday. She asked me if I was racing on Sunday. Now, Tracy is a sub-8-minute-mile half marathoner. So the idea of "racing" with Tracy makes me laugh. A lot.

I told her that I would be walking it with Suz, but that we were going to be taking it Very Easy and we'd be done well after her. She told me that she hadn't run since the Las Vegas half back in December... and that she was starting to worry about being fit for the Rock and Roll half in June. She reminded me that we're 14 or so weeks away. Oh. Yikes.

So that was the last straw. I had actually brought my gym stuff to work with me, because I hadn't run in March. At all.

Now, I HAD been active -- Wil and I had been going for walks, even a tiny bike ride. So my battle against sloth was going pretty well. (Though I may have missed a day or two, over all, I'm winning.)

But on Tuesday I took the bus to downtown Ballard, went straight to the gym, and ran on the treadmill. Not super far, or super fast, or super long... but 4.4 miles in 45 minutes (5+35+5). Then on Thursday (today) I did the same thing, though I was a bit slower and only managed 4.25 miles in the same time/pattern. Both days happened to be beautiful, if cold. The time shift means we've got daylight until after 6, but for some reason I can't seem to make myself go out in the real world and run. Maybe next week.

okay, okay...

...so it's been forever since I've posted. No excuses, really. Got a brief run in while in Anaheim... but haven't run since. Feeling low and sluggish and fretful. Tonight, however, I went to a Sea Tri club meeting at REI where representatives of a bunch of upcoming races talked about this year's events. Cool to hear about the different events; it got me thinking about doing another triathlon or two this year. We'll see. Of course, the first step is to get back in to running!

Also (finally!) got myself and Suz registered for the St. Pat's Dash this weekend. Intrigued by the new course -- we'll see how we do. Oh, and I went on the tiniest of bike rides on Sunday -- first time on the bike since September's crash. Sheesh.

Am bound and determined to make some blog updates this week, so stay tuned...