I returned early from my camping/hiking trip for a variety of reasons, the biggest of which is that I hiked all of my distance in 2 days rather than the 3 I had set aside. So, I was back here in civilization much sooner than I anticipated. But, it's all going to come up Millhouse. A guy I work with had left two weeks ago for his vacation to Vietnam but he's stuck there because the one road into and out of the small fishing village he and his wife were staying in was closed due to a typhoon hitting Vietnam. So, he's still there without an estimate of when he'll be back to Baltimore.
Since I got back early, I decided to seize the opportunity and volunteered to work the rest of the week in exchange for moving the remaining vacation days to next week, when Annie will be back. This way, I get points for being flexible and a team player at work and Annie and I get 5 straight days of QT, which we really need after a summer apart.
So, I'll be back in the office the rest of this week and then Monday and Tuesday and then get Wed-Fri off next week. Should work out just fine.
I've also had to adjust my workout schedule. I'm still sore from my hiking, but I think I should be OK by tomorrow morning. I'll do an easy run tomorrow, speedwork on Thursday and either a recovery run or fartlek on Friday depending on how I feel. I am still undecided on the Full Moon Run on Saturday night, but am now leaning towards skipping it so I can get a quality long run in on Sunday instead. We'll see.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
Happy Otakon 2008
This weekend is one of my favorite times of the year in Baltimore. It's Otakon 2008! What's Otakon, you might ask? Well, from what I know, it's a convention devoted to a style of Japanese anime and manga fiction that is held once a year in Baltimore. Basically, thousands and thousands of fans descend upon Baltimore and go to the convention center to meet other afficionados, buy anime stuff and generally go on a two day anime binge. During that time most of them are wearing costumes of their favorite characters that they've made at home and they proceed to wear them as they mill about the Inner Harbor and downtown. While most of these people are teenagers or college students, there are always a few creepy adults wandering around as well in full costume.
Needless to say, it makes for great people watching. Just sitting and watching tourists and office workers who have no clue what's going on walk aroudn with the Otakon people is hilarious. The looks of bewilderment and a little fear is very entertaining. For those of us who live in the city and have experienced this before, it's like a little festival celebrating weird and eccentric people.
Their devotion to anime is supreme, as evidenced by the fact that there were people milling about in full costume this morning when I was out running. Mind you, it was not even 6 AM and they were out and about. By the time I finished my 4 mile fartlek run (more on the actual run below), there were hundreds of them walking about, freaking out the hobos and commuters alike. By the time I got to the office, there was a line snaking around the Baltimore Convention Center of people waiting to get in to the convention. Go to Google Maps and search for the Baltimore Convention Center to see just how big that building is and you'll have an idea of how long this line was.
Thus far the best costume I have seen is somebody (I couldn't tell if it was male or female) who was dressed in black pants, a brown trenchcoat that was buttoned and tied. They were wearing a black fedora and around their head was a pillowcase with the face of a jack-o-lantern drawn on it in magic marker. They were being led around by other costumed people in their party, which makes me think they didn't have the forethought to cut eye holes in the pillowcase. Unreal.
Anyway, I left the anime people in the Inner Harbor and ran into Harbor East and Federal Hill this morning for my first attempt at a fartlek run. I did a 1 mile warm up before alternating between fast and slow paces every quarter mile for miles 2 and 3. I then ran 1.5 miles to cool down. Overall, I was pleased with this, although I think I will begin to do half mile increments to get more out of the fast portions.
The weather was terrific this morning as well, 64 with a breeze and little humidity. Just about perfect for running.
Tomorrow I will do my long run in the morning (early to avoid the Otakon crowds) and then spend the rest of the day preparing for my trip to Shenandoah. I'm going to leave early on Sunday morning to have plenty of time to get there and get my bearings before setting off. Tomorrow I need to go to REI to buy a flint, a Power Bar or two and a small First Aid kit. I am debating the usefulness of buying a trail pillow...I might splurge on one. I also need to go to Wal-Mart and get some dried fruit or other snacks that will give me energy on the trail.
Tonight I'll be packing everything up to make sure I know the best place for everything. I have plenty of room right now, even with the huge dinners I bought at REI a few weeks back that I intend to use as the main source of my energy for the week. I'll be taking only a few pieces of clothing (other than what I'll be wearing on Sunday, of course) to minimize the load.
The best thing is that after I get back to the car on Wednesday, I can drive 10 miles to a campsite and pay $3 for a 15 minute shower before I have to drive back to Baltimore for 3 hours. That will feel wonderful after 4 days on the trail (although in my defense, I don't smell when I sweat, but I would prefer to smell like Nivea for Men body wash, all else being equal).
So, I will post sometime tomorrow afternoon once I get back from my errands to recount my run before leaving on Sunday morning. Still haven't signed up for the Full Moon Run, but I can wlays do that on Friday as it's only $10.
Needless to say, it makes for great people watching. Just sitting and watching tourists and office workers who have no clue what's going on walk aroudn with the Otakon people is hilarious. The looks of bewilderment and a little fear is very entertaining. For those of us who live in the city and have experienced this before, it's like a little festival celebrating weird and eccentric people.
Their devotion to anime is supreme, as evidenced by the fact that there were people milling about in full costume this morning when I was out running. Mind you, it was not even 6 AM and they were out and about. By the time I finished my 4 mile fartlek run (more on the actual run below), there were hundreds of them walking about, freaking out the hobos and commuters alike. By the time I got to the office, there was a line snaking around the Baltimore Convention Center of people waiting to get in to the convention. Go to Google Maps and search for the Baltimore Convention Center to see just how big that building is and you'll have an idea of how long this line was.
Thus far the best costume I have seen is somebody (I couldn't tell if it was male or female) who was dressed in black pants, a brown trenchcoat that was buttoned and tied. They were wearing a black fedora and around their head was a pillowcase with the face of a jack-o-lantern drawn on it in magic marker. They were being led around by other costumed people in their party, which makes me think they didn't have the forethought to cut eye holes in the pillowcase. Unreal.
Anyway, I left the anime people in the Inner Harbor and ran into Harbor East and Federal Hill this morning for my first attempt at a fartlek run. I did a 1 mile warm up before alternating between fast and slow paces every quarter mile for miles 2 and 3. I then ran 1.5 miles to cool down. Overall, I was pleased with this, although I think I will begin to do half mile increments to get more out of the fast portions.
The weather was terrific this morning as well, 64 with a breeze and little humidity. Just about perfect for running.
Tomorrow I will do my long run in the morning (early to avoid the Otakon crowds) and then spend the rest of the day preparing for my trip to Shenandoah. I'm going to leave early on Sunday morning to have plenty of time to get there and get my bearings before setting off. Tomorrow I need to go to REI to buy a flint, a Power Bar or two and a small First Aid kit. I am debating the usefulness of buying a trail pillow...I might splurge on one. I also need to go to Wal-Mart and get some dried fruit or other snacks that will give me energy on the trail.
Tonight I'll be packing everything up to make sure I know the best place for everything. I have plenty of room right now, even with the huge dinners I bought at REI a few weeks back that I intend to use as the main source of my energy for the week. I'll be taking only a few pieces of clothing (other than what I'll be wearing on Sunday, of course) to minimize the load.
The best thing is that after I get back to the car on Wednesday, I can drive 10 miles to a campsite and pay $3 for a 15 minute shower before I have to drive back to Baltimore for 3 hours. That will feel wonderful after 4 days on the trail (although in my defense, I don't smell when I sweat, but I would prefer to smell like Nivea for Men body wash, all else being equal).
So, I will post sometime tomorrow afternoon once I get back from my errands to recount my run before leaving on Sunday morning. Still haven't signed up for the Full Moon Run, but I can wlays do that on Friday as it's only $10.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Slow
Another weekend flew by as summer is quickly approaching fall. Saturday morning I woke up early and got my 8 laborious miles in. I've finally accepted just how much fitness I've lost since late March when I ran the National Half Marathon. I took it nice and slow on Saturday for my "long" run and it was still a tough slog. Hopefully it'll get better as August and September pass so I'm ready for the Baltimore Half.
By the end of the run, my legs were definitely tired and I knew they'd be sore, but I was happy to find that they never got really sore and felt OK by midway through Sunday. That's good news for my body's ability to recover from the longer distances. My ultimate goal is to continue to increase my mileage past the 13 mile mark to about 15-16 miles for my long runs. That will take me the remainder of the running season (late November or early December).
But, as for Saturday, no real problems. I think my pace will improve as I do more speedwork during the week and get better at it so I get more out of each workout. Speaking of which, I am going to do some tomorrow morning since it's Wednesday. The rest of the week should be speedwork tomorrow, easy recovery run on Thursday, and perhaps a 2 mile fartlek/tempo run with some easy pacing (1 mile) on each side on Friday.
I've decided to go ahead and leave for Shenandoah NP a day early, so will be heading out on Sunday instead of Monday. That means that my long run will have to be on Saturday. In other words, I will finish my week at (hopefully) around 25 miles and then head out to hike 17 miles over the next 4 days. Then I'll be back in Baltimore to get some runs in before the Full Moon Run next Saturday! It'll be a very active vacation, to be sure. I may decide to take next Friday completely off to rest for the Full Moon Run, even though it's not a race (just a fun run in the pitch black of night...) so my body can take 24 hours without running/sprinting/walking/hiking/climbing, actually.
By the end of the run, my legs were definitely tired and I knew they'd be sore, but I was happy to find that they never got really sore and felt OK by midway through Sunday. That's good news for my body's ability to recover from the longer distances. My ultimate goal is to continue to increase my mileage past the 13 mile mark to about 15-16 miles for my long runs. That will take me the remainder of the running season (late November or early December).
But, as for Saturday, no real problems. I think my pace will improve as I do more speedwork during the week and get better at it so I get more out of each workout. Speaking of which, I am going to do some tomorrow morning since it's Wednesday. The rest of the week should be speedwork tomorrow, easy recovery run on Thursday, and perhaps a 2 mile fartlek/tempo run with some easy pacing (1 mile) on each side on Friday.
I've decided to go ahead and leave for Shenandoah NP a day early, so will be heading out on Sunday instead of Monday. That means that my long run will have to be on Saturday. In other words, I will finish my week at (hopefully) around 25 miles and then head out to hike 17 miles over the next 4 days. Then I'll be back in Baltimore to get some runs in before the Full Moon Run next Saturday! It'll be a very active vacation, to be sure. I may decide to take next Friday completely off to rest for the Full Moon Run, even though it's not a race (just a fun run in the pitch black of night...) so my body can take 24 hours without running/sprinting/walking/hiking/climbing, actually.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Weekend
I always look forward to the weekend, and this week is not different.
Last night I went out to a happy hour with some people from work and was at the bar until about 9. By the time I got home, I was so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open. As a result, I felt terrible this morning, not so much from a hangover but just exhaustion from the week, and did not get out for my 5 miler. While it felt great to get that extra hour of sleep, once I was awake, I wished I had gotten up to run. To compensate, I am seriously considering getting some real cross training in at the gym later tonight after dinner. We'll see.
Tomorrow I will get up early and get my long run in before heading out to the country for my cousin's wedding. While I am happy to attend (with the full expectation that he and his wife will be at my wedding in October), it will consume a large swath of my weekend. I'm going to minimize that by going out tomorrow and then driving back late Sunday morning. I want to stop at the Bed Bath & Beyond in Hagerstown and spend an hour or two adding to our registry in the areas that do not require Annie's stylistic opinions. I would also like to be back in Baltimore early enough to go to the gym before it closes at 4PM, but that is not a firm goal at this point.
In other news, I was browsing some running blogs yesterday and came across one guy who had a pretty neat idea. To chart his running progress, he created a map online and periodically posted his mileage in the form of virtual progress from New York to San Francisco. It took him a couple years to get there, but now he's running up the west coast (virtually speaking, of course) towards Seattle. Pretty neat idea and one that I have shamelessly adopted for my site, although with proper credit, of course. I think I will probably make entries on a monthly basis (maybe semi-monthly) so I don't have hundreds of dots on my map making it hard to see my progress. I'll also have a progress entry on the sidebar here.
With that, I'm off. I'm dying to get out of the office for a few days and will post on Sunday upon my return from the hills of West Virginia. Hopefully my country cousins will not behave too badly at the wedding tomorrow. Hopefully.
Last night I went out to a happy hour with some people from work and was at the bar until about 9. By the time I got home, I was so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open. As a result, I felt terrible this morning, not so much from a hangover but just exhaustion from the week, and did not get out for my 5 miler. While it felt great to get that extra hour of sleep, once I was awake, I wished I had gotten up to run. To compensate, I am seriously considering getting some real cross training in at the gym later tonight after dinner. We'll see.
Tomorrow I will get up early and get my long run in before heading out to the country for my cousin's wedding. While I am happy to attend (with the full expectation that he and his wife will be at my wedding in October), it will consume a large swath of my weekend. I'm going to minimize that by going out tomorrow and then driving back late Sunday morning. I want to stop at the Bed Bath & Beyond in Hagerstown and spend an hour or two adding to our registry in the areas that do not require Annie's stylistic opinions. I would also like to be back in Baltimore early enough to go to the gym before it closes at 4PM, but that is not a firm goal at this point.
In other news, I was browsing some running blogs yesterday and came across one guy who had a pretty neat idea. To chart his running progress, he created a map online and periodically posted his mileage in the form of virtual progress from New York to San Francisco. It took him a couple years to get there, but now he's running up the west coast (virtually speaking, of course) towards Seattle. Pretty neat idea and one that I have shamelessly adopted for my site, although with proper credit, of course. I think I will probably make entries on a monthly basis (maybe semi-monthly) so I don't have hundreds of dots on my map making it hard to see my progress. I'll also have a progress entry on the sidebar here.
With that, I'm off. I'm dying to get out of the office for a few days and will post on Sunday upon my return from the hills of West Virginia. Hopefully my country cousins will not behave too badly at the wedding tomorrow. Hopefully.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Faster?
Got out the door this morning to do my weekly hill sprints. I bumped it up to 6 this week without really feeling like I was going to keel over and die or anything. I take that as a good sign and encouragement to keep at it. I think that maybe next week I'll do some flat speedwork on Key Highway to mix it up a little. I ran a nice 1 mile warmup this morning and then did 6 X ~0.1 mile hill sprints. I didn't have time this morning to download them onto the computer so I don't have any times or caloric burn stats, which I have decided I need to start recording on here again. I got lazy with that as well. Tomorrow's workout will consist of a nice 5 miler along the usual course. Nothing too strenuous because I have to do my long run this Saturday since I'm out of town on Sunday morning and will want to sleep in one day this weekend.
I registered for the St. Joseph's Medical Center Run to Remember 5K on September 11. I didn't find out about this race until the day of last year and thus missed it with great regret. It goes through downtown Baltimore and around the Inner Harbor, as most Baltimore city races tend to do. They hold it every year on 9/11, which is kinda cool. It'll be at 7AM, so I should be able to run it and be at work by 8:30. Only cost me $23 with the Active.com ripoff charge included.
I am getting closer to making a decision on the Full Moon Run on the 16th. I may shell out $10 to move my campsite reservation back a day so I can be back in Baltimore a day earlier and thus get two runs in before the race on that Saturday night. However, I am loathe to spend money uneccesarily, especially for a trip whose greatest attribute is its cheapness (taking the one time charges of the gear out of the equation, the entire week long trip will cost me around $150 including gas and park fees). However, having that extra day in Baltimore might be worth $10.
Finally, this week's theme for Runner's Lounge Take it and run Thursday is "Look Back, Look Ahead". I didn't remember setting goals for myself back in January, but a quick look through my archives proved me wrong. Here are some of my resolutions and the status on them:
1. Run at least one half marathon: Done! I made it through the National Half Marathon back in March and have plans to run the Baltimore Half in october and hopefully the Richmond Half in November.
2. Run my first full marathon (tentatively Baltimore in October): This one is on hold for at least the next year as the CFA is quickly consuming what free time I have. I barely have enough time to get in shape for the half!
3. Improve to a sub-8:30/mile pace: In progress. I'm consistently running an average pace of about 9:00-9:20, which is OK all things considered. Speedwork and tempo/fartlek running and getting to the gym for non-running exercise will all help me get this resolution down.
4. Reduce my consumer debt by at least 50%: To date, I've reduced my consumer debt by about 40% overall, so I will demolish the 50% goal by December. The wedding/honeymoon has put me back some, but it's a worthwhile expense and one that I can pay off by passing the CFA in December. All in all, this is not a running resolution, but the less money I have to send to Visa, the more I can spend on races and shoes. I should be consumer debt-free by this time next year.
To this list I would add some amended resolutions:
5. Pass CFA Level I in December (in lieu of b-school or law school)
6. Incorporate strength training into my workouts.
There were some other resolutions that won't be met simply because my plans have since changed (i.e. I won't be going to law school ever, and business school isn't for a while yet) but they've been replaced by new ambitions. Overall, I think I am making great progress on my resolutions (both old and new) and should be happy with my end result come Decemeber 31, 2008.
I registered for the St. Joseph's Medical Center Run to Remember 5K on September 11. I didn't find out about this race until the day of last year and thus missed it with great regret. It goes through downtown Baltimore and around the Inner Harbor, as most Baltimore city races tend to do. They hold it every year on 9/11, which is kinda cool. It'll be at 7AM, so I should be able to run it and be at work by 8:30. Only cost me $23 with the Active.com ripoff charge included.
I am getting closer to making a decision on the Full Moon Run on the 16th. I may shell out $10 to move my campsite reservation back a day so I can be back in Baltimore a day earlier and thus get two runs in before the race on that Saturday night. However, I am loathe to spend money uneccesarily, especially for a trip whose greatest attribute is its cheapness (taking the one time charges of the gear out of the equation, the entire week long trip will cost me around $150 including gas and park fees). However, having that extra day in Baltimore might be worth $10.
Finally, this week's theme for Runner's Lounge Take it and run Thursday is "Look Back, Look Ahead". I didn't remember setting goals for myself back in January, but a quick look through my archives proved me wrong. Here are some of my resolutions and the status on them:
1. Run at least one half marathon: Done! I made it through the National Half Marathon back in March and have plans to run the Baltimore Half in october and hopefully the Richmond Half in November.
2. Run my first full marathon (tentatively Baltimore in October): This one is on hold for at least the next year as the CFA is quickly consuming what free time I have. I barely have enough time to get in shape for the half!
3. Improve to a sub-8:30/mile pace: In progress. I'm consistently running an average pace of about 9:00-9:20, which is OK all things considered. Speedwork and tempo/fartlek running and getting to the gym for non-running exercise will all help me get this resolution down.
4. Reduce my consumer debt by at least 50%: To date, I've reduced my consumer debt by about 40% overall, so I will demolish the 50% goal by December. The wedding/honeymoon has put me back some, but it's a worthwhile expense and one that I can pay off by passing the CFA in December. All in all, this is not a running resolution, but the less money I have to send to Visa, the more I can spend on races and shoes. I should be consumer debt-free by this time next year.
To this list I would add some amended resolutions:
5. Pass CFA Level I in December (in lieu of b-school or law school)
6. Incorporate strength training into my workouts.
There were some other resolutions that won't be met simply because my plans have since changed (i.e. I won't be going to law school ever, and business school isn't for a while yet) but they've been replaced by new ambitions. Overall, I think I am making great progress on my resolutions (both old and new) and should be happy with my end result come Decemeber 31, 2008.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tired
I fully intended to get some speedwork in today but that idea fell through when I awoke this morning and was just as tired as I was when I went to bed the night before. It seems that I always go to bed later than I want and that I run out of time each evening. By the time I get home from work and fix dinner, it's between 7:30 and 8:00. Then it's at least an hour of CFA studying, taking me to 9:00 at which point I should start to get things together for the next day (lunch made, running clothes laid out if I'm running the next morning, etc), but usually I just want to chill out for a while. Then it's 10 and I'm behind the 8 ball to get to bed, which usually doesn't happen until closer to 11. That leaves just 6 sparse hours for sleep, when I would really prefer 8. But going to bed at 9 PM just seems obscene to me so in bed by 10 is more realistic.
Anyway, last night I was watching a special about the professor from Carnegie Mellon, Randy Pausch, who recently died after fighting pancreatic cancer. He's most famous for his "Last Lecture" at Carnegie Mellon, which I would encourage you to check out on You Tube. The interview was definitely worth staying up late to watch. If I ever have to face accelerated certain death (because really, we're all facing certain death if you think about it) from cancer or some other malady, I would hope I could do it with as much Zen-like strength as he did.
They talked to several people who had been inspired to embrace their lives after being diagnosed with their own illnesses or having confronted some other seemingly immovable obstacle in their lives, and I think they captured Randy's real message. It's not really dying with grace or dying well, but about what you do with the time left, that matters. To paraphrase John Keating, he squeezed the marrow out of life without choking on the bone. You could actually see him doing this at the end of the interview, when he spent the day at the Pittsburgh Steelers' training camp catching passes from Hines Ward and kicking field goals and talking to the players. As he was standing there, he looked around, savoring the moment with the look of a man who has the luxury and the terrible burden of knowing exactly when he is going to die and filling the pages in between with as much happiness and as many dreams as he can. Awesome.
Now, I realize that for most of us, it's not so easy to embrace that aspect of our minds. Without something as horrible as cancer staring us in the face, we always latch on to our more tangible responsibilities (bills, jobs, etc). I'm no different as you don't see me quitting my studying for the CFA so I can devote more time to my dream of visiting every major league baseball stadium at least once. But I think Randy is most inspirational to me because he never lost sight of those dreams (including being a professional football player) even as cancer shortened his life.
Anyway, it was worth watching and missing my workout this morning. I'll be out doing my sprints tomorrow, of course. Chasing my dream of that 7:00 mile pace that is so damn far away right now!
Anyway, last night I was watching a special about the professor from Carnegie Mellon, Randy Pausch, who recently died after fighting pancreatic cancer. He's most famous for his "Last Lecture" at Carnegie Mellon, which I would encourage you to check out on You Tube. The interview was definitely worth staying up late to watch. If I ever have to face accelerated certain death (because really, we're all facing certain death if you think about it) from cancer or some other malady, I would hope I could do it with as much Zen-like strength as he did.
They talked to several people who had been inspired to embrace their lives after being diagnosed with their own illnesses or having confronted some other seemingly immovable obstacle in their lives, and I think they captured Randy's real message. It's not really dying with grace or dying well, but about what you do with the time left, that matters. To paraphrase John Keating, he squeezed the marrow out of life without choking on the bone. You could actually see him doing this at the end of the interview, when he spent the day at the Pittsburgh Steelers' training camp catching passes from Hines Ward and kicking field goals and talking to the players. As he was standing there, he looked around, savoring the moment with the look of a man who has the luxury and the terrible burden of knowing exactly when he is going to die and filling the pages in between with as much happiness and as many dreams as he can. Awesome.
Now, I realize that for most of us, it's not so easy to embrace that aspect of our minds. Without something as horrible as cancer staring us in the face, we always latch on to our more tangible responsibilities (bills, jobs, etc). I'm no different as you don't see me quitting my studying for the CFA so I can devote more time to my dream of visiting every major league baseball stadium at least once. But I think Randy is most inspirational to me because he never lost sight of those dreams (including being a professional football player) even as cancer shortened his life.
Anyway, it was worth watching and missing my workout this morning. I'll be out doing my sprints tomorrow, of course. Chasing my dream of that 7:00 mile pace that is so damn far away right now!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Embarassing
Once again a combination of laziness, foolishness and weather have humbled me. I initially was going to wake up early and get my run in before the day got too hot, but once again I went to sleep way too late and thus overslept, not rising until just after 8 AM. By the time I walked out of my building, it was near 80 and just about as humid as it's been this summer in Baltimore. Ugh.
The run itself was horrid and I was reminded what running just two days a week for several weeks in a row will do: nothing. I didn't gain anything from those weeks of slacking and in fact have lost quite a bit of fitness; very discouraging. I eventually just stopped and walked the rest of the way back to the apartment; there was no point in running as I wasn't getting anything out of it.
It seems that whenever I try to get back into a training routine, something comes up to distract me and my effort flags. I just need to make it a priority AND start going to the gym on my off days to improve my anaeorbic capacity, which is just atrocious right now. My legs weren't getting tired today and making me stop, but rather I felt I couldn't get enough oxygen to my muscles and my core was getting tired. Of course, I'd stop and walk for a few minutes and feel fine, which was even more frustrating, but proof that my legs are in fine shape and that it's my actual fitness that is severely lacking.
So, I'm going to strive to get 4-5 days of running in and then complement that with mornings at the gym on the stationary bike or in the pool, etc. Anything to avoid feeling like crap on my runs! I'm tired of it!
The run itself was horrid and I was reminded what running just two days a week for several weeks in a row will do: nothing. I didn't gain anything from those weeks of slacking and in fact have lost quite a bit of fitness; very discouraging. I eventually just stopped and walked the rest of the way back to the apartment; there was no point in running as I wasn't getting anything out of it.
It seems that whenever I try to get back into a training routine, something comes up to distract me and my effort flags. I just need to make it a priority AND start going to the gym on my off days to improve my anaeorbic capacity, which is just atrocious right now. My legs weren't getting tired today and making me stop, but rather I felt I couldn't get enough oxygen to my muscles and my core was getting tired. Of course, I'd stop and walk for a few minutes and feel fine, which was even more frustrating, but proof that my legs are in fine shape and that it's my actual fitness that is severely lacking.
So, I'm going to strive to get 4-5 days of running in and then complement that with mornings at the gym on the stationary bike or in the pool, etc. Anything to avoid feeling like crap on my runs! I'm tired of it!
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