Crap...I gotta blog!

This has been one of the longest, fastest weeks ever. I don't mean running-wise. I can't even keep track of what day it is or what I did this morning or yesterday or New Years or how many days ago New Years actually was.

I'm in a traning warp zone. Life is also becoming fuller and richer.

This week is the first 10 mile jump in mileage and my body is now starting to get the hang of this running thing again. I'm supposed to do 70 miles this week -

Monday - Freaked out about the weather forecast (cold and rainy) and decided to run as soon as the rain stopped. Ran 9 miles in the neighborhood (two 4.5 mile loops) and found out that my latest iPod running playlist equals exactly 1 lap around the hood. So, two laps, two times the playlist, two times the fun. It went better than expected. Also, I went to Steve's office hours at Progress, mostly just to listen to what everyone else was talking about. I got a vegetarian wrap there (the Brahman one with the curry hummus) and OH MY GOSH was it D-Lish!! It was seriously the tastiest thing I have had in a while. I was in a funk after office hours...I got some suggestions as to why I am not faster than I am at the 5k and 10k distance and it caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting to be evaluated and critiqued about my form, but I definitely appreciated what Steve had to say. It's just part of the journey of getting into good running shape.

Tuesday - First Team Rogue workout. Cold and Rainy, Yikes! I hate cold rain. I ran with Dionn for the first part and we trailed Julia, Katie, and Brenda until we got past the 2nd waterstop. At Exposition, I went on to run the 12 mile option with Julia and Brenda because I needed as many miles as I could get before getting back to the store. Brenda and I ran it in together and I felt good about keeping up with a pack. I had to go back out into the rain and get in 4 more miles to finish 16 for the day.

Wednesday - Ran with Tara in my hood for an easy 7.2. I mapped a new route that I named 'The Weave' because it weaves its way street by street through the flatter part of the neighborhood. Chad and I invited Erin and her husband Mike (long time friends) over for dinner and Top Chef. I made my citrus salad with pomegranate, the soba noodle recipe with salmon, and finished it with homemade ginger ice cream. The ice cream is my new favorite and it let me use the ice cream maker that I had gotten for Christmas :).

Thursday - Team Rogue workout - I was supposed to do 10. Tara and I started with Francie and one other lady (don't think I was introduced or can't remember her name). They bolted ahead to run with Julia, Katie, Brenda, and a guy who I can't remember his name. We ran at our pace, tried to keep them in sight before the first water stop, and were joined by Roger (who has the most delicious southern accent). Roger's voice makes me feel so nostalgic about my extended family in South Carolina. I joined up with Brenda at the first water stop and we ran the rest of the way together just behind a bunch of other folks. As it turns out, we missed a turn (I knew we were supposed to turn right at Duval, but the trip ticket was wrong and had us turn left), so we ended up a bit short. Julia's Garmin had 9 miles, gmaps said 9.37. I'm going to count it as something in between. The best thing about Thursday (aside from the company) was the fact that I didn't have to tack on extra miles at the beginning or end.

Friday-Sunday - I am scheduled for off, 20, 8, sequentially, but I'm going to run the 20 mile race this Sunday in Georgetown because Chad has pacing duties. I am not going to do 8 miles before 20, so I intended to run an extra 3 on Thursday and do 5 on Saturday morning. Since Thursday's morning run was short, however, it left another .7 to try to fit in somewhere. Also, my body was tired last night and I didn't run extra at all.

I sucked it up and ran 4.5 this morning. That leaves 4.2 miles with Tara on Saturday in her hood, then the 20 mile race on Sunday. I don't get an off day this week, but that's okay.