You Win Some, You Lose some

Hey there. So marathon training was chugging along just fine. I found a training schedule that looked manageable and got to it. Last week my long run was nine miles.

            

Pat on my back, and I kept the general pace I'm gunning for in February. Also, I didn't feel like I was going to die afterwards. My feet were a little sore the next day, but I mean, it's nine miles. So this week the long run was ten miles. I easily could have added an extra mile onto last week's run, so this should be a piece of cake. Let me just add, that I also had a piece of cake before this run (I wish I was lying) which proved to be not the best approach at fueling up said run. So, what was supposed to be ten miles turned into seven miles and then me sitting on the sidewalk and playing with some grass until I felt like I could trust my legs to carry me to my car. So, you know, well on my way to busting out 26.2 miles. 

An important thing about running that I've learned is, if you're not 'feeling it', it's not going to happen. I don't mean before running either. Maybe I'm just speaking for myself but I never wake up or get off work and think in my head 'I sure can't wait to go running!' Doesn't happen. I usually wake up and lay as still as possible doing a mental scan of every muscle and joint in my body, hoping one of them hurts bad enough to warrant not abandoning my post, snuggling with my dog. On my drive home from work, sometimes I cross my fingers that I4 will be its typical I4 self and traffic will turn my twenty five minute drive home into a two hour drive and I won't have time for a run before going to bed. These rarely pan out. So, clearly, before I actually start running I'm never 'feeling it'. I'm referring more to during the run. I can usually tell pretty quickly into a run if it's going to be a good one or not. The first mile is usually so-so, because I start out a little full of myself at too fast of a pace. The second mile is usually spent regretting my mistake of starting out so quickly and trying to catch my breath. The third mile is spent nailing down my pace, and by the fourth mile I usually start to gain some confidence and feel pretty good. That's when I can tell if my run that day will be a good one or not. Needless to say, yesterday's run did not turn out the way I wanted it to. I have chosen to blame it on the water bottle I decided to carry that day. I am apparently not somebody who can carry something and run at the same time. Which fits right in with my 'can't walk and chew gum at the same time' personality. 

Side note:  I do at least feel pretty proud that I've went from just being happy if I made it two miles to being disappointed, for lack of a better word, in a seven mile run.

So what have I learned? Sometimes (very rarely) you shouldn't say yes to cake and my hands demand a certain amount of freedom while running.

So freedom they shall get. But you won't see me running like that today. Today is rollerblading day, so you will most likely see me in a bush or in the lake. I still haven't quite figured out how to brake in those suckers. 

Until next week kids, when I come here to tell you how cake once again foiled my training. 

Is This Thing On?

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you, blog. I've just been too busy, or too boring to write about anything, or dancing to Taylor Swift's new songs, or any combination of those things. You choose. Whatever, we all know what I've really been doing:  Charity work. 

She's been hanging out with me, guys. That's it. Nothing else.

Not true! I've been marathon training too. Are you finished laughing? Good, because it's true. Just 101 short days until I do what will hopefully be the hardest thing I ever do in my life because my feet already hurt. Don't worry, this won't turn into a 'running blog', mostly because I typically just complain about running and I'm not knowledgeable enough about it to start doling out advice. I've never really felt like a 'runner' even though I spend more time running more than I do anything else, besides working. I guess I've been waiting for that 'a-ha' moment to happen that makes me feel like one. Hopefully it comes after this marathon, because I've already put a ton of money into it and again, my feet hurt. 

And for anybody who doesn't buy the story that I've basically just been running for the last few months, I'll give you other options: 

1. I've been hiding behind my couch because I've finally watched that one episode of a true crime show that made me crack and I'm now convinced that every last one of you is trying to kill me.

2. I ate so much candy and drank so much coffee that my hands were too shaky to type up any blog posts. 

3. I've finally moved into the dog park and there is nowhere to plug in my laptop, and the wifi isn't so strong there. 

4. And the most believable of them all, Netflix binging. 

And I also picked up lying the last few months, this mayyyybe might kind of turn into a little bit of a running blog on some days, but mostly for accountability. For myself, of course, unless any of you other guys like to drink too much wine and sign up for things you have no business signing up for, then join in on the fun! Kill me.

Again, don't worry though, because the real star of this show will make her regularly scheduled appearances on here.

Although I'm sure some of you guys have gotten your regular doses of my blog's namesake on Instagram, check back here to put stories to that precious face and to make sure I haven't smartened up and thrown in the towel on 26.2 miles of hell.

Later, gators.