I’ve Been Running! I Swear!

Friday, 6:18 PM, somewhere north of Wilmington, DE headed south on the local train to Washington, DC [I love the train]… 

You wouldn’t guess it from recent blog posts, but I am still a runner. I’m sticking to my training schedule, and getting in my miles. But I have to say, I like the way I feel extra-tough when I am sore all over the day after from a strength & conditioning class at the gym. Maybe I’ll be able to flex one day and have a bicep, or something. Thursday after work I went to the gym hoping to catch the Core Conditioning class, but I was the only one who showed up and Popeye totally flaked out. Instead I did a bunch of crunches with a medicine ball, planks, and 17 push-ups (on my knees). Is that pathetic? It was all I could do without making strange grunting noises and my arms wobbling me up unevenly. Must avoid public grunting, I always say. 

So, the running bit. This week was one of those triply-booked weeks where if I overslept one day I would be unable to adequately rejig my schedule; there was simply no wiggle room. Luckily, there were no SNAFU’s.* 

Tuesday I ran with my Twitter friends. I love how this is becoming a regular occurrence. These are people who share random strains of their lives with the world on Twitter, so I have all this disjointed information about them. Where they run, how fast they are, what they’ve watched on TV for the past few days, who has pissed them off or amused them. Then, all of a sudden, there we all are, bunched together by Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, chatting and getting ready to run 4 or 5 miles together. During those few miles, details from the other parts of our lives are shared. We laugh, we vent. 4.12 miles in 36:33. Average pace 8:52; fastest mile 8:32; slowest mile 9:21. Plus 1 mile warm-up to Bethesda Fountain from the office.

Wednesday I had to run in the morning since I was meeting the BFF for bevies at the Oyster Bar Saloon after work. It was freezing, dark and windy. I never warmed up—I was buffeted as I ran back & forth over the Queensboro Bridge—and my times reflect that. Regardless, 6 miles in the bank.  6 miles in 59:54. Average pace 9:59; fastest mile 9:20; slowest mile 10:25.

Thursday I ran in the morning again, but it was about 10 degrees warmer and there wasn’t a wisp of a breeze. Of course, in response to Wednesday’s temperatures I overdressed, and ended up running with my hat and gloves in my hands. The upside was that I had my ipod in—it’s been over a week since I’ve run with tunes and it was a real treat. I also decided to see how much I could push the pace in three miles without racing. It’s not always easy for me to run fast in the  morning since my body just it’s awake enough yet, but I think I did alright on Thursday.  3.07 miles in 27:36. Average pace 9; fastest mile 8:47; sloest mile 9:07.

Now, I am headed down to Washington, DC to visit my friend EM and her husband LS ( I attended their wedding in Ireland a year ago). They are living in Washington, DC while LS is stationed there in his role as a diplomat for the Irish government. Saturday morning I’ll run 13 miles somewhere through the city, and Sunday I need to run a 5-mile pace run. I am hoping I can find 5 flat miles uninterrupted by traffic lights for that. I am looking forward to exploring DC on foot, and am looking forward to the warm weather (I packed my capris). But most of all, it will be a pleasure of the first degree to spend a weekend with dear EM. 

*Since I am headed towards our nation’s capital I feel compelled to use military acronyms. I also like FUBAR. Did I ever tell you I used to date a West Point cadet when I was in college? Yes; he was so honorable he wouldn’t even have sex with me, preferring to remain pure until “we got married.” I kid you not. He now has like ten thousand children with a Greek-American woman who surely has unnatural levels of body hair.