It was a run.

On Saturday, while at my mom's in Indiana County, I had one of what is likely my last runs there. I did not think about it at the time, but now I realize the significance of it. :-(

From the first step, my left calf hurt. I have been having some problems with it, where at random times I get a sharp pain that tends to last just a minute or two. Because of the pain, I started off running really slowly, wondering if I was hurting myself doing so. But after a few minutes, the pain subsided. I never picked up my speed a whole lot more, but I was okay with that.

I am not sure how far I ran. I ended up lasting for about 33 minutes. My guess is that I ran around 3 miles (I certainly was not doing a 10-minute mile). On a positive note, running up the biggest hill in the neighborhood was not awful. It went better than the steeper, though not nearly as long, hill in my neighborhood. Once I made it to the top, I felt not too bad.

I am glad I ran Saturday morning when the temps were in the low 70s. If I had waited until Sunday, the temps would have been close to 80. I certainly did not want a repeat of last week.

All in all, I am happy with the run. I hope to run during this coming week. We shall see.

I don't know how people run in the heat!

I took a two-week hiatus from running. It was not intentional, but sometimes life (and laziness) gets in the way. This past Saturday morning, after 15 days off from running (but not walking and weight lifting), I got back out there. The night before, I saw that the temps were going to be in the low 70s around 8 or 9 a.m., so I figured I was good. But apparently with a 12-hour lead time, weather.com could not get the temps right. By the time Bailey and I set out for our run at around 8:40, it was nearly 80 degrees with about 75 percent humidity and a real-feel temp of 80 or 82. Yuck.

Usually when I start running, I picture myself as this in-shape, attractive, nice-bodied 30-something. I had no such illusion this time. I was miserable about 5 seconds into the hot run. Bailey was racing down our hill, and I was ready to stop. But I soldiered on. She stopped to relieve herself early on, which was somewhat welcome, and by the time we got to the big hill at the end of the first trip, she was barely moving. I actually had to kind of pull her. When we got to the top of the hill, I stopped for a few second to catch my breath. I was pleased with the 6:17 time. Probably one of my longer times, but the way I felt, I figured it would easily take me 6:30 for that .6 miles.

Running back down the hill was a kind of relief. I don't remember much about the run back home, just that I was anxious to get back and drop Bailey and her BM off. Bailey must have been anxious too; she really pushed us that last tenth of a mile; we finished that half in 6:02.

Once I de-leashed her, I gulped some water, wiped the sweat from my forehead, and tried to apply a little more sunblock to myself, which was pretty pointless as sweaty as I was. After that several-minute reprieve, I got back out there and did the same run again. Nor surprisingly, the second revolution was worse. I ran 6:25 the the first half and an awful 6:53 the second half, but considering I had taken two weeks off and that it was hot and humid, I was perfectly happy with those times. I finished the run with another approximately .6 miles; I did that in just over 7 minutes and on mostly flat surfaces, so it was probably a little further. But even if not, I will take the 3-mile run in about 36 minutes.

I find it unlikely I will run again this week; maybe I will just go back to running weekly. I have been walking Bailey daily for about 1.2 miles. Plus I walk several days a week at work. And I have been keeping up with weight lifting.

I need to do better with eating, but I will take the victories where I can get them and just be glad these legs still move!

Three runs at the beach

I ran only once the week before we went on vacation, but I made up for it during the actual vacation.

I have no idea how far I ran on any of the days. But I ran.

Here are the highlights.

Sunday run
I ran for about 30 minutes, I think. It might have been only 25, actually. This first run was on the bayside, around the neighborhood we were staying in. It was a little humid, kind of warm (mid to upper 70s), and quite sunny. I regretted not running with my hat about 5 minutes into the run, but I figured if I turned around to get it, I might not go back out. I had forgotten how challenging an all-flat run can be. About halfway through my run, I did have this view. Kind of makes up for it!

Big Assawoman Bay, at the end of 120th Street (the street turns into something else)

Thursday run
I had intended to run on Wednesday morning, but I ate too much Tuesday night, and had three drinks over five hours (which is not a lot for some people, but a bit much for me). So I decided to wait until Thursday. The skies were very gray, the temps were cooler than early in the week (low 70s, I think), and it actually started to spit when I first set off. This time, I ran on the beach for about 30 blocks total. As with running on a flat course, I had forgotten how hard it is to run in the sand along the ocean. At times, I felt about 80. But I think I ran about 30 or 35 minutes this time. Maybe longer, because when I finished running along the ocean, I came back to the neighborhood and ran a little more there, including along a "boardwalk" behind our place. I much preferred that weather. No sun! Here are some highlights from that run.

Tough sand to run on

I might not look good, but I look determined!

The short boardwalk behind our place, for yet another, different surface to run on

Friday run
I don't normally run three days a week, but I ate a lot during this trip, and I wanted to run around a park I found (that hubby told me about) the previous day. I figured this would, once again, be a different run. I started off running on 120th Street, then along Coastal Highway. Then I ran around the park, which was quite crowded. When I had been running about 20-some minutes, I ran back to the place, because I had only 30 minutes total to run as I had a friend coming to visit. This day was hot, and I was almost sorry I ran. But I did have my hat, so there was that. I took one pic during this run. As I was running, this "scene" caught my eye, so I had to capture it. Plus it was good to get a little breather.

Lagoon that flow into the bay

I hope to run one day this coming week, but I won't beat myself up if I end up chickening out. I walked so much during my vacation, and I did not sleep well, so taking it easy won't be so bad.