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May 28, 2005
Sun's Out, My Mood's Up
I’m glad the sun has finally come out because I was feeling kind of down earlier this week. It was probably a combination of the dark skies, rain and PMS, but I was completely antagonistic about myself, running, and life in general. There was no real reason for me to feel this way; it just seems to happen the same time every month for a couple days (within the past year or so). I usually forget about these episodes, but R. graciously reminds me when the next “catastrophe” comes along. But really, there are no catastrophes and I have so much for which to be thankful.
Wednesday, May 25
I wasn’t in the mood to go to track on Wednesday since it was gloomy and my mental state was too. Instead, I hit the weights, and R. and I went swimming later. I noticed my lifting endurance has diminished slightly as I’ve been biking/swimming more and lifting less, which I don’t like. At minimum, I need to maintain my pull up-push up routine a few times a week to maintain strength (for my second job). I did my first swim “workout” on Wednesday. The warm up (600m) seemed to take forever, but after that, I enjoyed pushing myself and mixing things up.
Thursday, May 26
I was attending a class for work in Arlington, so it was convenient for me to get to the W&L track. My warm up consisted of jogging from the gym to the track and around the school. By the time I got to the track, a training group was finishing up their workout and some Army guys were getting ready to take their physical fitness test. They were good distraction because solo track workouts are never easy for me. I did 8 x 500m at 5k pace with 300 recovery, then 2 x 200 all out. My legs felt heavy from all the kicking the night before (swimming), but I managed fine. I sat impatiently in traffic (I despise traffic but become a germaphob on public transportation) for nearly an hour after class and then went spin class. My favorite instructor wasn’t there with her awesome music, so I wasn’t inclined to push myself as much. I would’ve gone road biking instead, but I didn’t want my first ride after R. reassembled it after St. Croix to be without him…in case it fell apart or something…not that I don’t have faith in his technical/mechanical abilities.
Friday, May 27
Just an easy two miles and a 1300m swim today. I thought I had swam a mile, but it wasn't until later I realized that I miscalculated my warm up. For dinner, I had two large slices of pizza, a tiramisu cup, and some of R's third slice and I was still hungry. We then went to Target to get R. a new sports watch and peruse the DVD, CD, and electronics section. I ended up with some cookies and that was the excitement for the night, since we had to get up at 5:30 for Saturday long run.
Saturday, May 28
I ran faster/harder than I really wanted to today (mostly due to the trails early on) since my legs were already beat(from Thursday) and I'm planning on a tough, technical trail run tomorrow, but I had fun and was overjoyed to run with a people from my group again. We ran through the zoo and stopped to see the cheetahs and the adjacent zebra. The four babies were so adorable, playing just like regular cats. Mom was being extra protective, pacing the grounds - no doubt who was in charge. Once the group returned to our starting point, I added on a couple more miles to make 15 for the day.
And today I met Nanda! She joined the running group for breakfast at Whitlows. It wasn't awkward at all; in fact, I felt like I was meeting an old friend. She is strong, independent, purposeful, insightful...oh yeah, and taller than I expected. We talked for quite a long time, even after the breakfast crowd abandoned us. It was a good time, and I'm glad she's local because I want to recruit her for a running partner.
Well, I'm going to tackle the dishes, maybe some work, and definitely self-massage. I hope everyone is having a nice, relaxing Memorial Day weekend!
Posted by Leilani at May 28, 2005 03:36 PM
Comments
What a great idea - a run through the zoo! :) I'm glad you are feeling better now!
Posted by: Beth at May 28, 2005 09:13 PM
It was so great to meet you too! (and R.) I really had a great time and I will most definitely join you for all the runs you can think of once I get this leg of mine functioning again! And thanks for all the great compliments ;) I'm all red in the face now!
Posted by: Nanda at May 31, 2005 11:02 AM