I had to run two counties over, but I finally did run!

Unless you count jogging in place in the pool for five or six minutes at a time or running up and down the steps about a month ago, up until this morning, I had not gone running in seven weeks. Wow.

I have thought about running a few times here and there the past few weeks, but as we all know, the road to hell (or in this case, the road to being out of shape) is paved with good intentions but not much else. And although I have been keeping up with swimming a few times a week, it just isn't the same; I really missed running. So finally this morning, when I thought the temps were in the lower 60s, I figured now was as good of a time as any to get out there (there being Indiana County, where my running shoes most recently hit the road last summer, I do believe).

I ended up running about 3.1 miles in just over 30 minutes. Although a 10-minute mile is nothing to brag about it, I can take some comfort in that it has been almost two months since I last ran. Plus there were quite a few hills and curves along with the blazing sun. One road worker along the way told me it was too hot to run (my guess is the temps were in the 70s). I agreed, but said when you have not done so in over a month, you just have to do it.

My left knee hurt a bit for most of the run, and the hills were not easy. But I made it through the entire run without walking, which I feared I would, considering my few runs during this past spring were all under three miles.

Which reminds me: About a month ago, a few moms talked about running the Great Race in September. I ran the 10k two times at the beginning of the century, and I would probably feel defeated if I could run only the 5k. But at this point, I would be happy if I could manage that. We'll see.

Let's just hope another month does not go by before I have a running report.

Swim, swim, swim

I may have to consider changing the name of my blog to "Swimming Around the Burgh." I just cannot seem to get myself motivated enough to run. That said, on Sunday, after I had swum about 10 laps, I actually wanted to call it quits for the afternoon. Typically, I try to swim about 20 laps. On a good day, I manage 25. On a slower day, I may complete only 15. I consider doing 10 laps a bad day. So why, even though I was not tired, did I find myself wanting to stop at 10? Did the monotony finally set in?

I took a break to play with my kid, and found myself renewed about 20 minutes later. Since there were about eight people at various parts in the shallow end of the pool, doing laps the entire length of the pool seemed too cumbersome. So I ended up doing laps the width of the pool. Because the pool is not very wide, that meant I could do between six and eight strides of each stroke, but it was enough to break it up for me and lessen the boredom.

I am guessing I did about 50 of those laps, during two different sets. I jogged in place and tread water a few times as well, so I ended up with a pretty good workout.

Hopefully, since the temps are cooler than the heat wave we had last week, I can manage to get a run in, but I won't hold my breath.

Well, it was not exactly running, but exercise nonetheless

I have been pretty good about swimming as of late, so there is that. I know it is not the same as running, but swimming is great exercise and at least my knees are thanking me for it. But on Friday, I decided that, once again, too much time had passed since my last run (over three weeks!), so I had better do something remotely related to it.

I ended up running up and (jogging) down those delightful 65 steps 20 times. Compared to how I felt when I last ran the steps three weeks ago (hot and lousy), this time was so much better. The temps were in the low 60s and the humidity was reasonable. The only downside was there were quite a few weeds covering the ends/sides of many of the steps, so I actually spent some time grabbing and pulling at weeds during my first two treks.

I ended up completing that cycle in just under 18:30. Definitely not my best, but good considering that time included about a dozen pauses for weed pulling.

When I was done, I ran around the upper lot, including up and down the smallish hills at both ends a few times, for about seven minutes.

So there. I ran!

Might as well get used to this humidity now [hurl]

Yesterday the humidity was about 90 percent, temps were in the low 80s, and the sky was mostly sunny. I figured running steps was a more sensible choice because if I became too hot/uncomfortable halfway through my run, I would still have to make it back. If I ran steps, I could stop as soon as it became too much, and then walk the short distance to my car.

Compared to my running steps over a month ago, this time was pretty hard, because of that darned heat/humidity. I originally decided to run up and down 10 times, but by taking a 20- to 30-second water break after every five sets, I was able to run up and down 20 times. I was surprised I completed that workout in just over 18 minutes (not counting the breaks); compared to last time, it seemed as if I was running so much more slowly.

Had I not caught my breath and hydrated those few times, I am sure I would have stopped after 15 trips, maybe fewer. At one point, I actually felt a little sick. This is where a smart person would have stopped, but I just kept going, convinced that if I slowed down a bit and drank some water, I would be okay. I also reasoned that it is the middle of May, and it is only going to get hotter and more humid, so if I could not handle it now, how could I exercise this summer?

Fortunately, I did not get sick, and the feeling subsided about 10 minutes after I finished. I ended up going swimming an hour later. I took it easy, doing only about six to eight not-fast laps, but trying to keep moving for most of the hour of the pool (I swam 25 laps on Wednesday, FYI). I am definitely going to take it easy today!

Now that's more like it

I went for another two-mile run yesterday (Monday). I cannot tell you the last time that I went running two times in a four-day period. My guess is September or October of last year. Regardless, I am happy to report that this run went so much better. It is almost hard to fathom after Friday's craptastic run. Plus I was definitely getting some wind resistance during the first mile. In fact, as the wind was slowing me down, I wondered how often I had contended with wind in the past year and a half and how much it affected my times. I guess I will just have to keep wondering (and maybe wandering).

Anyway, here are my stats.

Mile one: 9:53
Mile two: 8:30

Total run time: 18:23

I cannot explain how I achieved my best time since last fall, when I was much more active. I do know that I was really pushing myself up the killer hill, partly because there were some road workers, and I did not want them to think I was too wimpy for that hill, and partly because my crappy run last week made me feel out of shape. I had to have a better run yesterday.

Now please excuse me while I pat myself on the back.

A long overdue (and mostly painful) run

I finally got off my lazy butt and ran yesterday afternoon. In my defense, other than a few nice days, the weather has been pretty lousy the last month-plus. On top of that, I got the flu second full week in April, which also included an awful cough for over a week after that. In fact, almost four weeks later, I still cough at least a half dozen times a day.

If my blog is correct (and if I have been keeping it up to date), the last time I really ran was on March 18. Yikes. I did run steps just over a month ago, which is certainly good exercise, but not the same as running a few miles. But yesterday I decided I had to stop being so lazy. The sun was finally shining for hours on end (which it may have done one day last week), I felt pretty good, and I have been eating chocolate practically non-stop since Easter, so no more excuses!

I ran the same, boring two miles I typically do. This run was marred by a side stitch that lasted almost the entire time. My head also hurt for most of the run. On top of that, my feet were also in pain. Man, I have had my shoes about nine months, but I don't think I have put more than a hundred running miles on them. I use the shoes some days to run errands. But even so, there is no way I have more than 300 miles logged on those babies.[Stop the presses! I just looked back at some old blog posts. My shoes are actually over a year old. Oops. Looks as if I may need to buy some new shoes.]

Not surprisingly, I ended up with a lousy time: 20:15. I cannot tell you the last time it took me that long to complete the two miles. But considering I had not run in over a month and I had been swimming only once in the past three weeks, I should not be surprised.

Mile one: 10:45
Mile two: 9:30

I actually considered walking the second mile, that is how lousy I felt. But that is admitting defeat, so I soldiered on, deciding that running slowly was better than giving up. Hopefully now that I am pretty healthy, I will get back to swimming a few times a week. I also hope to run at least once a week. We will see.

Why hello, old friend Steps

The weather has been so bizarre lately, particularly in the past week or so. In the course of an hour, one might see rain, snow, hail, sun, clouds. Today, the temps were around 70 glorious degrees, and the day started off rather sunny. Unfortunately, just before I headed to school to pick up my kid, the sky turned gray. Not wanting to waste a warm day but fearful of getting caught in the rain, I decided to run the steps. I figured if the rain came, I would be only a few-minute walk to my car, and if I got too tired, I could stop, again, just a short distant to my car.

Initially, I was planning to run up and down 10 times, figuring there was no use pushing it when my legs had not run steps in about 4.5 months. But after I got through the first 10 without any pain (at a decent, though not fast, pace), I decided 15 would not be a problem. And when I realized I had another seven or eight minutes to kill, I decided I might as well go for 20. And 20 sets I did, at 65 steps up and down, for a grand total of 2,600 steps. Whew! Or, even better, Woo(-hoo)!

I searched the blog to try to figure out how long it took me to run up and down 20 times the last time, but, alas, I came up empty. Although I feel as if I have definitely done it in less time, I am just going to have to be satisfied with my 17:30, particularly since I did it without stopping and without pain. I also did about 20 laps at the pool yesterday, so yeah, me!

Now if only I could summon some resolve to get a run in before too long.