I had a hectic day yesterday. The hour long lunch trial so that I can go home and let Charlie out is over (back to 30 min) so I basically had to create time out of thin air. Fun. At work, I heated up a Healthy choice meal and tried to scarf down as much as I could during pauses in phone calls and while reading medical records. Sadly, the roasted beef merlot entree was bland and unappetizing so I only managed to finish half of it. Those things are just about 220 calories which left me with a whole lot of nothing for energy.

I clocked out for my 30 minute break and rushed home to let him out. We just can’t stand the thought of him holding it in for 8 1/2 hours. I mean look at his face. This is what I pictured except he would be waiting at the gate in the kitchen wondering why I wasn’t coming.

I kept reminding myself this as I proceeded to almost get hit by truck, a mini-van, and a brick of stress as a result. I got home let him out, gave him a treat, hopped back in my car, drove back to work, and clocked in with only a minute to spare. It sucked. I was breathing hard as I sat back in my desk after running to the building and up the stairs to make it back in time. Would having a child be this hectic? worse? I’m not going to think about it.

I had packed my gym bag in the morning with everything I needed to run right after work

Inside my Reebok bag I got from Fitbloggin’ was:

Handful Sports Bra: I’m testing this out and really like how it doesn’t flatten my boobs. For smaller chested girls this is a must!

Oiselle Mesh Tank: Such a sexy top. I think it really stands out with the mesh panel on the back.

Nike Tights from the Pura Vit Subscription box

Mizuno Precision 13s

Glitzy Glam Chica band: Always a must whenever I run so that my bangs stay put.

Thin Reebok socks (from Fitbloggin’)

Lola a.k.a. Garmin 610: Our love affair can be found here

Ipod Shuffle: my new toy! I bought it so I wouldn’t have to run with my new iphone. See I cracked my last one before upgrading when I got startled by someone so you can see why I’m paranoid now about carrying it for long.

I changed at work and reached into my bag for the final touch, Lola, when I realized she was dead (insert ugly sad face here.) #*@$ and $&*! ugh. WHY!? How the hell would I know when I reached 4 miles now like it says on my schedule?? I had no other choice. I had to ditch garmin, my new shuffle, and just run with my new iphone . I mulled over this for a full 5 minutes and dreaded it even more in the car on my way to the route. Was there any other way I thought? Nope.

I held it for dear life and made my way down to the starting point near a park. I didn’t exactly plan this route out so I just went on my way with a general idea of where I wanted to go. I knew I wanted to avoid bridges/hills since they were on my schedule for the next day, and I knew I wanted to run the boardwalk.

I succeeded in one of these. I couldn’t skip both bridges if I wanted to hit the boardwalk so I chose the smaller of the bunch. And now for the recap:

Training Run #1:

My easy pace felt hard. I felt every single one of those missed Summer running days every time my feet hit the ground and jolted my knee. Muscles I haven’t used for a while were suddenly called into action. Like an army reserve soldier thrown into battle, my body felt out of its element. I had to concentrate every step of the way and played quite a few mental games with myself to keep going. I didn’t walk although I wanted to after my knee started twinging. I stopped only twice to drink water and carried on.It was like I never ran before except I had the experience to know that I had to keep going and finish this workout. Though my body wasn’t ready, my mental game was on point giving me the strength to finish. I knew that:

A. It would feel easier after mile 1.5 when my muscles were warmed up so I kept trudging with this in mind.

B. A power song was all it would take for me to pick up the pace. Role model came on featuring Justin Timberlake and I was suddenly flying.

C. Finishing this workout no matter what would give me so much more confidence to keep training than it would be worth it to give up.

When you know your body and spirit, you can push through and accomplish anything. It all worked and I ended up running 4.72 miles (a little over the 4 on the schedule) plus a 1.2 mile cool down walk back to my car.

Note to self, do not try to run a point to point route. It won’t be so easy to walk back after a long run.Luckily this time it wasn’t that far of a walk to my car. I enjoyed the cool breeze and some really pretty views.

O.k. so I guess Jacksonville has some redeeming qualities. Don’t tell anyone I said that!

I’m a little sore today around my knees mostly and have 4 miles of hills on the schedule and packing to do. Tomorrow I head out to Pennsylvania and begin Runner’s World weekend with a BBQ at their headquarters.

Gah I hope I get to sleep early tonight.

Did you run yesterday? How did it go?

Have you ever had to walk back to your car and cursed yourself for parking far away?

 

Ciao,
Road Jane

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