This weekend was the time to celebrate our country in its fight for independence against England (tyrants...yeah, I said it) to become our own country (July 4). Thankfully, July 4th fell on a Monday and even better, we had the friday off. So, I had a 4 day weekend and a plan to run a lot. Yeah, it didn't happen quite like I wanted, but not as bad as it could have been. Normally, I'm drinking and skydiving all weekend and then watching fireworks.
Thursday
Thursday evening (at 6:30 p.m.), MaloRee and I ran by her house. We walked up to this little area that had a pond (one side was closed off) and ran the outer loop, then the inner loop. Mal thought it was the uglier side, but it could've been worse as far as scenery goes. It was also a nice, quick warm up to get the muscles heated. However, our main goal was this 0.75 track a mile or 2 away from her house. The plan was to run it 3 times...yeah, 3 times. So, we walked over to the high school where the track is and there was a lot of people around playing soccer, hanging out, or stupidly doing what we were doing...running.
By this time, I am getting really hot, but I didn't think much about it since it was 7 p.m. when we got there to start our run. The theory would be that it should be cooling off at some point. Well, yes, it did cool off for areas that had shade. We didn't have the finer things in life since most of our run was directly in the sun.
As soon as we hit the track, we started running. I was feeling the heat and wishing I had sunglasses to ward off the sun that was directly in my face, but I kept on running. About halfway through, I had to stop for water (while waiting for this considerate lady to move out of the way so that I can get my water...note very high sarcasm). We picked up the run again after we walked from the water fountain to the corner. We ran until we reached the point at where we started. At this time, cue dying, heaving, and stopping to save my life. Gosh, it was so very hot. We walked for a while before we picked up the run again. I stopped for water, we ran, and then we stopped to walk again quickly thereafter, because I felt dizzy. Heat exhaustion was on its way. So, we walked the rest of the way to the starting point and then headed home.
Overall, it was a good workout (even though, I felt like a wuss for not making it around twice). Plus, we got catcalled at, stared at (the guy almost crashed in to the gas tanks), and honked at on our walk home, which any form of flattery no matter how annoying is a good thing. That night, Mal made us apricot pork chops that were delicious and then we went to see Bad Teacher (had only 1 beer). It was not a good beer nor a great movie.
Friday
Friday was not a typical exercise day, because I WENT SKYDIVING. YAY! I had finally had enough keeping out of the sky and went with my friend Simon to jump. It was different going to a dropzone that was not my home; however, under the circumstances, it had to work. Even though we only got 2 jumps in, they still felt great, awesome, almost orgasmic even. It's been a LONG time. And it's always a good arm and leg workout. The first one was just a freefly jump where we docked a couple of times and I got used to doing all this again. The second jump sucked, because it was an emergency exit (supposed to be a 5-way freefly jump). The 3 guys in front of me pulled out the door and so did I. Simon kept on going and I was wishing that I did the same thing instead of playing with my canopy for 10,000 ft. I've done that enough. We tried to get on another load, but it didn't happen.
Sunday
Mal came over, because we planned to go out to dinner with some friends that night. She turned to me and said, "Want to take the dogs for a long walk, get some exercise?" I couldn't say no. So, we took the dogs to the big open field (about a mile roundtrip) and threw the ball. Naturally, they only lasted maybe 12 minutes. It was good to have an extra hand to help with the dogs. And it was a good little walk.
July 4th Running
Since Mal stayed the night, we had a plan to run in the morning. Little did I know that it would be me making this happen. I woke her up at 8 something in the morning. The temperature was hot, but not unbearable like on Thursday. We got dressed, stretched, and then headed out the door for our run. Now, I have mapped this run out on google maps, but I haven't yet run it since it's been so hot. It's 1.8 miles to Hermann Park from where I live and the Marvin Taylor Exercise Trail at the park is 1.98 miles.
Mal and I walked the 1.8 miles to the loop in the park (and yes, Mal, it is 1.8 miles...I checked again). As soon as we hit the park, we started running. The track is a nice pea gravel type of track, which is easy on the knees. They had the rest of the loop blocked off and then we started running inside the park by the golf course. There was mass confusion, because there were no markers or loop this way signs. We almost ran in to a building area that prohibited runners. We had to circle back and then went this other way, which cut the loop in half. I had a quick stop when we probably got to a little over 1 mile, which was AWESOME. I ran a mile without stopping or dying or a combination of both. I even said, "Let's run again til we get to our starting point." And we did. Since we didn't do the full loop, we probably only did 1.25-1.5 miles. Without markers, we are not completely sure. Wait, I take that back. I just I looked at the map and it is 1.5 miles total for half of the loop.
Then, we walked back for another 1.8 miles. When we got close to the street that we turn on to get to my apartments, I said, "Let's run to the street." And we did.
What a great run/walk it was and then we rewarded ourselves with a well deserved swim in the pool (doing water exercises in there, too) and a nice, healthy breakfast with egg whites, asparagus, onions, and feta cheese. Yummy.
Our plan is to run again on Thursday night, have vegetarian fetticini, and then go out to Whiskey River for some country dancing. I am going to try to run beforehand or at least do my Extreme Abs video. Something.
Hi KWB, Just found your blog and wanted to comment as I ran my first half marathon a year ago. So sorry to hear about your ankle. That, I'm sure, was frustrating and I remember thinking after all my training how mad I would be if I had an injury. But it did all work out and I felt great after I finished the race with my daughter.
ReplyDeleteI did stop running after the race for awhile, but now have started again, and back to running about 3 miles. Good luck with your training. It is easier when you add a mile every week, not as painful as I thought. I was shocked at how far I could run. (I'm older than you!) Good luck and great idea to blog about it!!
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