Oh yeah, I actually like running

I met a ton of other runners through the fleet feet learn to run program. The training programs have a break in between them. I made a facebook group called Lost in Pace so that we could have a place to connect and plan runs during the break....and also plan homework sessions during the program.

The group has really taken off! I planned a run for this morning on the canal path with breakfast at Simply Crepes after. There were three 5k's this morning and a lot of people ran in those but 7 of us met this morning. 

The canal path is nice because its a pretty run on the water with no traffic or cars. Its gravel so its better on the knees than pavement and there are trees for shade. Its also very flat and there are restaurants and ice cream shoppes and little stores that make it a lot of fun.

I'm happy to say I had a great run! The weather was perfect at 60 degrees with a cool breeze. It was bright with a clear blue sky. And I felt great the whole time. My legs felt good and my heart felt good. 

We did an out and back since people were at different paces. I did 3 miles and had negative splits! The last mile is my fastest mile to date!!! So happy because I really needed a good run. I have been actually asking myself if I even like running. Its hard running with Hawksley and my last 5k was so awful because I was pretty sick....I needed a good run and today more than fit the bill.

The next Nobo session starts a week from today. Really looking forward to it!

At Simply Crepes I got a goat cheese, asparagus mushroom crepe. It was pretty darn good but my mom got a creme brulé oatmeal that was out of this world. My friend got a brie, ham and apple crepe. Yum.

When I got home we took Hawksley to the dog park and then went grocery shopping. I have been relying heavily on frozen dinners (Lean Cuisines) because I feel stretched so thin in the summer. I want to be outside enjoying life not inside cooking!

Hawksley is sleeping still exhausted from the dog park. A tired dog is a happy dog!

Less than Fun Run

I woke up late this morning for my 6am run. Which under normal circumstances would have just been annoying but since I was meeting 4 people it was rude too.

After throwing on clothes and my Garmin and my wrist water bottle, Hawksley and I were out the door.

Despite being 110 pounds, Hawksley is only 7 months old and still in training. I feel bad in saying that recently I have chosen to leave him home more often than not when I go running because I haven't wanted to be bothered with the frustration of a training walk. Hawksley is the best behaved dog in the world! (In addition to being the handsomest!) Here he is at the dog park at my apartment...with his favorite thing...a stick in his mouth :-)

But when I start running (which is not a run for him...when I'm running he is walking quickly), he goes bonkers!

He starts jumping backwards and biting the leash. This only lasts about a minute but it still hurts my shoulder and is very annoying! Once he calms down its much better and he is back his good old self. We are working with a trainer and I realize it goes much better if I get his energy out before my run.

First we do a training walk to the dog park and then I let him run around there. Then we go for a run. Whew!  A lot to do in the morning but we both feel great after and the whole day is so much better!

I wish I could say today was a great run but it wasn't. I woke up with my hip bothering me. Right off the bat, Hawksley drops a deuce.  When I bagged it up, it got on my thumb! Ew!

Then my ankle started bugging me. I was going to do a short slow run. Then Hawksley went #2 again. (Because, oh, another fun fact? My running gets him so excited he poops a lot. Loose ones. During my run....so I'm stopping and bagging poops that look like they were dropped from pterodactyls periodically during my run...are you hating me less and less for leaving him home yet?) As I cleaned it up it got on my wrist water-bottle. Ick!

That's when I decided we were done. We did a training walk back to the apartment. Was more walking and stopping than running for sure!

Oh well. I try not to get upset about a bad run.....cuz there's always another one around the corner. I'm running tomorrow morning too. Hope it goes better.

My next running class session is starting soon! I signed up for No Boundaries 2.0 at my local Fleet Fleet running store. I'm scared and excited at the same time!