3.34 miles--Laura's birthday!

Today is my oldest daughter's 25th birthday!  Hard to believe that she is a quarter of a century old already!  Wow.  That sure makes me feel a little older.  Time sure does fly.  I can remember holding her in the hospital and thinking, "Wow, I'm going to be a parent forever!"  It didn't sink in until I held her that I would forever be a mom.  Now she is a mom herself with her own little bundle of joy.  
But, back to running.  I got out and didn't go much farther than three miles, but at least I ran.  My pace was pretty slow.  It was very muggy and I just wanted to log some miles.  I didn't work on speed or long distance.  Just ran. 

4.41 miles

Tuesday.   Lots going on, but I still managed to fit in a run.  Thank goodness!
Chris and I headed out together and ran a decent pace.  I like when I can fit in more than 3 miles.  If I run under that, I feel like I'm not challenging myself or doing as much as I possibly can.  Sometimes though, I may not have enough time to do more than three.  I guess some is better than nothing.  Unfortunately, it has been a week again since I last ran.  At some point I will get to run more often.  Right now, with all that is going on, this is the best it is going to get.   

5.07 miles~~better

At least it hasn't been over a week since my last run.  I somehow have to work running back into my schedule.  I don't like these long periods between my running days.  I prefer to have more running days than rest days, but now it is long periods of rest (actually super busy days) and then a few running days.  Life just seems to continue to interrupt! 
Today I ran 5.07 miles and kept a 13:20 pace.  Same as the last couple of runs, not fast, but not too slow.  Just plodding along.  It is hard to fit it in with summer school and trying to clean the basement for a remodel.  That is my goal, add more running days!

6.1 miles~~Virginia!

We had a great time in MS and Pensacola Beach, FL.  We got to visit with family and relax (something I needed to do).  I begin teaching 2 weeks of summer school next week, so I wanted to get a nice longer run in before then.  Today I logged 6.1 miles and ran at a pace of 13:20.  Not really fast, but that's ok.  I wore my Skoras again which have basically become my go to running shoe--they feel great and I barely notice that I have shoes on!  I really don't like wearing shoes, so that is always a bonus.  It was a great day!

5.04 miles~~HOT, HOT, HOT

We are in Mississippi visiting family.  I grew up in Picayune, MS (a long time ago) and somehow managed to survive the heat and humidity.  Now that I live in VA, I don't think I am used to the heat and high humidity.  

Chris and I decided we needed to run and get out and move, so we headed out around 9:00 am.  It was unbelievably hot and humid.  I wanted to run to the gate entrance of Chris' Mom's neighborhood which was 5 miles.  I made it there ok, but as I was running back, the heat really got to me.  My lungs were aching and I struggled to walk at times in addition to struggling to run.  I didn't bring my inhaler (I usually don't, but I probably should start carrying it) and basically had to just walk the last mile back to the house.  Chris was worried about me and met me about 0.5 miles away.  

Running in the humidity is really hard.  I am so thankful that I don't have to deal with it daily.  Once I got inside and took my inhaler, drank water, and relaxed, I felt better.  
Just a subtle reminder that I have a disease that I need to monitor.   

7.27 miles~~had to prove it to myself...

Well, so much for getting more runs in during the week.  My hours at work were long and homework and projects kept me occupied the rest of the nights.  So running was hard to do.
Today is Sunday and I decided since I couldn't get out and run every other day, that I had to do more today.  I headed out planning on doing 5 miles, but I ended up pushing myself and going farther.  When I reached the turn around point for 5 miles, I decided that I could do more (I do an out and back run usually).  Then I made it to the 3 mile point and went a little farther.  I was feeling pretty good at both points, but when I reached the 3.5 point, I realized that I still had to go back the way I came.  I turned around.  
It was hard, but not impossible.  I can tell that I am not as in shape as I was a year ago.  I have to try to get out there and run at least 3 times a week to stay in shape. Tammy and Shelly are also talking about running the Disney Princess Half Marathon again in February.  They've invited me to go again. We all completed our first half marathon at Disney in 2013.  So this would be a great race to do again.  I just can't decide if I can fit this in my schedule.  I do like a challenge though....

4.51 miles~~June is half gone!

Today is Sunday and I decided to get out and run before doing a ton of homework.  You would think that without having students I would have more time to run.  But instead, I feel like I have less.  It could be because I am working longer hours and have taken a class that is a semester long course to be finished in six weeks.  Yes.  That might be it.
But I did get out and kept a 12:44 pace for the run.  Must get more runs in and get myself motivated.  

3.58 miles...

Three miles seems to be my standard number.  I really don't want to run less than three.  Somehow that seems like I would be going downhill and backwards from all my hard work.  I really don't want to do that.  I want to maintain or improve.  Not go backwards.  

I ran 3.58 miles and had a horrible pace.  It was very humid.  I told myself all day while I was working that I was going to run.  Of course, with my bad luck, storms were headed this way.  Chris, Sarah, and I headed out to hopefully beat the storms and get some miles logged.  As I was running back to the house, it started sprinkling.   Luckily, we made it home before the storm hit us.  I wore my new Skoras again, and had no issues again.  I am able to wear them without socks and no rubbing what-so-ever happened.  So I might have found my new favorite shoe.  We'll see after I logged a few more miles in them. 

find them at skorarunning.com

6.6 miles

Ok.  I'm doing a little better, it has been only 4 days since the last run.  I'd rather it be every other day, but that's ok.  I got out and logged 6.6 miles.  My watch stopped at 4.6, but I was on the way home, so I knew the distance back home.  I don't have a total time, but that is just fine.  

I love weekend runs when I can get out there and got farther.  It just feels good.  I wore my new Skoras again today, second day.  No blisters, no rubbing, no pain.  Yea!  Why did I want new shoes?  Well, Vibrams are great, and I love them, but they only have a few millimeters of cushion.  So my balls of my feet take a beating.  The Skoras have 16 mm of cushion, and that does make a difference.  Of course, this is only the second day, but so far, it looks good.  Another pair to add to my shoe repertoire.  

3.76 miles~SKORA shoes

Today was Tuesday.  After working all day (and telling myself that tonight I was running) I came home to find my new shoes had arrived.  I have been looking for a new pair to try.  I have a pair of Altras, which are ok, but not what I really need.  I have an issue with my heels, and some shoes will rub and cause blisters.  Since I take forever to heal on my heel (sorry, I couldn't resist) it isn't good.  I actually take a while to heal anywhere that I have sores, cuts, abrasions.  I've gotten myself checked out and it just seems that this is how I am.  I do have very thin blood, so I'm not sure if that is a part of it.
But I digress.  I ordered a pair of Skora Fits the other day.  They are barefoot running shoes that have a stretchy upper and a rounded heel.  I put them on and they felt great.  I hate to say anything too soon, so I just decided to run with them and then see how it is.  It actually felt very good.  I didn't get any blisters, nothing rubbed, and running and walking was easy.  I need to try them out for a few more runs before I make up my mind for sure, but right now, they seem to be a good pair.  
Oh, I did log 3.7 miles in about 48 minutes.  Pretty slow, but I didn't run the whole time, so a decent day.