4.2 total miles, about 1 of which was walking with the stroller.

I ran 2.9 by myself, but noticed my sweat was drying up & my feet were hurting, too, so I stopped to walk and switched off with Jeremy so he could run. (Ryland was drinking a bottle, so we had to tip the stroller back so he was semi-reclined, and you can’t safely run like that). He ran 1.5 miles without stopping! I walked some and then ran a little bit more.

No Garmin because it was almost dead, but it was nice to just run for the feel of it, especially since it was so hot (about 90 when we started).

Ryland likes to bite down on his spoon and make it stick up like that. It’s pretty funny.

Oh, umm, be expecting a post about some changes and a question.

chelsearuns:

• Not all of my runs have to be up to a certain standard. Some runs are great runs. Some runs suck. That’s okay!
• Stop comparing yourself to other people. Your run is yours!
• It’s okay to run slower than all of the runners you look up to. It’s okay to keep getting slower as the Alabama summertime brings it more and more heat and humidity.
• You don’t have to be an elite runner to really love and be passionate about running.
• If running makes you happy, do it. If running stops making you happy… stop doing it.

Running still makes me happy :)

Fun weekend

Ran on Saturday, though I wasn’t sure if that place on my back would let me. It hurt pretty bad for about a dozen steps, then loosened up to just a bit more than a nagging pain. I had 1 mile just below 9:00, but the rest of the 4.3 were  slower even though Jeremy had the stroller. The humidity was stifling, and running faster jarred my shoulder more than I liked. It’s okay, though. I’m really not letting slower runs bother me anymore.

Are you going to get it looked at?

I won’t because it happen before back when I was teaching. It’ll go away eventually. I have no idea what caused it. The pain woke me up in the middle of Thursday night.

Saturday afternoon was our church picnic. I suggested to Jeremy that he taken Ryland on the playground   They went down a big, old metal slide. I’ll probably make a gif of the pics for funsies. (Interesting side note: there is no squiggly red line under funsies. apparently it’s a real word now.)

Then we ate and had a mini wedding shower for a couple that had a “private wedding” (aka they eloped by calling up our preacher and he performed the ceremony with his wife as witness). This meant I had desserts + wedding cake. But I made sure I had room for it all.

Then Ryland conveniently took a nap so that Jeremy & I could both play football. He was QB for a couple possessions and threw TDs within 1 or 2 plays both times. then one man called all-time QB so he wouldn’t have to run any more. (if you actually read this wall of text, message me you address if you want and I’ll mail you something.) I score 2 running touchdowns and also fell a few times. It was a lot of fun and everyone was sore at church yesterday.

I’ve had this slight pain in my heel since early last week, and after football, it was causing me to limp. It still hurt today, so I took 1 more day to rest it and plan to run tomorrow.

Sunday morning, Jeremy told me I looked “very pretty” 3 times. He’s not one to lavish on the compliments and never has been, so that was pretty special, especially when he said it when we were talking in the church building after worship.

Sunday afternoon, I cut Jeremy’s hair and we put Ryland in the jump up so he wouldn’t crawl in and eat Jeremy’s hair on the floor. He ended up falling asleep in the jump up. It was hilarious to watch because he would smile and jump a few times, nod off, jerk awake, and repeat until sleep finally won. We left him in there until I finished Jeremy’s hair. Then I took the above picture and put him down for his nap.

Today, before running, we met our friends downtown at the splash pad in the Alabama Riverwalk.

Ryland wasn’t too fond about it. The water wasn’t nice & warm like his bathtub.

I actually meant to run before going, but Ryland’s morning nap was a bit later (and went longer) than usual, so I didn’t get a chance. This meant that it was noon when I started, it was hot, and I was hungry. 

I ended up with 2.27 miles in 21:51. I ran in the closest (and hilliest) neighborhood. Oh, and I ran it all without even a stretch break, which is a stroller record.

By the time I got home, I was a bit shaky with hunger, but I ate my leftovers as planned, waited to see if that filled me, ate an apple, waited again, and ate some peanuts. I think I’m all right now.

Before we ran, I let Ryland play a little.

It was super muggy, so I took it pretty easy until the last half mile or so. I ran the first 1.9 without stopping, and then only for a potty break. The second half was also without any breaks. That’s the farthest I’ve gone with the stroller without at least a stretch break.

1. That was the first full-body post-run picture I’ve posted in months. I realized today that I shouldn’t feel ashamed, so I took one. If someone doesn’t like how I look now, they can unfollow. I certainly don’t care what size my followees (or followers) are, and if anyone who follows me is that shallow, then I don’t want them following me anyway.
2. I totaled my yearly miles again, and I’m up to 82/365 miles running (remember I started Mar. 4) and 311/730 total miles. I’m definitely on track to make both goals.

I haven’t been able to get online for a few days, so here’s my activity for the last three:

Sunday’s stats:

and today’s:

In both runs, I went a bit farther than I would’ve if I hadn’t been running for Gabe and all the others who can’t run.

I bought a running hat today because Jeremy noticed a brown area on my forehead. He’s afraid it’s a forerunner to skin cancer. Thanks to Robin’s post, I was able know to check out TJ Maxx. $25 hat for $5.99. Yes, please.

Tomorrow will be rest from cardio (4 days in a row!!!), but I’ll try to squeeze in some ab exercise whenever I can.

I don’t know how much I’ll be around but I’ll try to update again on Thursday after my next run.

My parents are coming Saturday!!!! We haven’t seen them since Christmas.

Post run and post Ryland grabbing my hair. It did look pretty nice considering how gross it actually it.

Run in all the colors! My compression sleeves & shirt are actually more different than the photos show.

I think it’s time to reincorporate Nuun to hopefully help balance out my electrolytes so I keep sweating like I should. Hydration couldn’t possibly be the issue.

.

While walking with Jeremy afterward, we saw a hawk fly to a tree and then get pecked on by several much smaller birds. They ended up chasing it to another tree and then one small bird followed it into the sky flying around its head.

Not something you see every day.

My run.

So parts were fast. It was breezy again, which makes such a big difference with the stroller.

During my cool down walk, I went to this little amphitheater and did 10 bench jumps. It was about 22 or 23”. My legs were beat after the intervals. I stepped down instead of jumping down because there’s no reason to make my joints cry.
 

I tried to get it out of my head that everyone I passed (especially while walking) was judging me for my shirt. They most likely weren’t, and if they were, they have their own issues to deal with.

Throwback Gunshow Thursday- Oct. ‘11

After I took this picture, I set a new mile PR at 7:12. (Several months later, I ran one in 6:59.6.)

I haven’t worn that shirt in nearly a year- ever since the heat started slowing me down last summer. I didn’t feel like I deserved it.

Debating whether or not to wear this shirt while running today. I’m not nearly as fast as I was back then, but I think I do pretty well considering the stroller.

I always ran exceptionally well (for me) while wearing the shirt because I didn’t want to let the shirt down.

Maybe it’s time to bring it out again while I find my (new) fast.

Side note: wow my left arm was skinny then. My arms are much more even now thanks to Ryland.

Pictures from Sunday afternoon:

1. I can do this with my eyes closed.
2. Hey, Daddy, look at this grass.
3. And now I eat it.
4. And one of Jeremy he didn’t know I took because ♥ 

Yesterday’s run:

I had one walking split (should be between 7 & 8) that I deleted when I meant to delete the last one, but still… This was by far my best stroller run. I didn’t even feel like I was pushing all that hard, but still maintained under 9:00 for 1.5 miles. 

It was a great run. I went out into the neighborhood adjacent to the park- something I often do- but for this park I had only stayed with in. I got to run on nice, black, springy asphalt part of the time and past fallow lots filled with white, purple, and yellow wildflowers. I also ran on the sidewalk some when it was busier and past lots under construction, but you take what you can get.

I’m not expecting to be able to run with the stroller at that pace once the heat is here to stay, but that’s okay because I’m finding my own fast.

Happy Sunday!

Since this morning was pretty cool, I wanted to wear my mustard tights & boots one last time. Don’t know if the mint belt works and don’t really care because I like it. I also made my hair flat today.

I had an awesome run yesterday!

5 miles with a sub- 9:00 ave. pace! I realize that it’s only because my first mile was significantly faster, but I’m not really concerned about negative/positive splits right now. I’m just trying to build my ability back up and (mostly) enjoy it. 

I ran the first one faster because I realized that it would probably be my last run cooler than 70 degrees for maybe 5 or 6 months, plus Jeremy had Ryland, so I needed to take advantage. I didn’t push too hard because I wanted to try to run at least 4 miles, but 5 if I could. The first 4 miles actually are about equivalent in effort. I only pushed moderately hard for the last one because I wanted to see if I could keep my average under 9:00, and I did!

As I said in response to Melissa on facebook, “ I finally had a run where I thought, ‘YES. This is what it used to feel like.’”

Then I tried to find Jeremy:

Lots of backtracking, as you can see. With the bit on running I did then, I actually totaled about 5 1/2 miles!

I finally found him and Ryland sitting on a bench waiting for me. He thought he was where I would easily see him, but I was looking for the stroller out in the park.

I have some pictures of Ryland to post tomorrow (surprise, surprise), and I’ll go over the rest of my weekend then (if I remember).

Me post run/ Ryland says, “hey.” That’s his new thing.

It was tough to push out those running intervals. I thought my arms would fall off on that last one.

Oh, apparently I ran over 100 speed bumps or something:

Yesterday’s run

No picture.

Also, no running for a few days because my allergies finally caught up with me, and I have a pretty hardcore cough. I will try to ride the bike at home, but it’ll be at an easier pace because I need to kick this cough.

Ryland is pretty pitiful with his teething + runny nose + cough + low fever. He also decided that he wants less milk and more food, but we had to figure that out by chance. Hopefully he won’t getting any skinnier now that we started giving him more food. We’re trying a baby food with  chicken for the first time tomorrow. 

Oh, I haven’t mentioned this in forever, but I was doing the 365 miles in 365 days thing this year, except that I didn’t start running again until Mar. 4. I’m up to 52 so far. I also set a goal to reach another 365 other miles, which would include biking, walking, hiking, canoeing (if we get to go this year), and extra running miles. I’m up to 241/730.