Duly Noted

One thing I really enjoy about running is that nearly every run teaches me something. It may as simple as teaching me that I'm feeling good, or maybe feeling a little out of sorts, or maybe that certain things are not great running fuel. Today taught me that running with both boys in the stroller, on a windy day, while still feeling the effects of my run in New Bedford was not a great decision. Tough run, pretty much unmitigated misery all the way through, with some brief respites as Child 2 chatted with me about this and that. Mark it in the books, but it was a grind, and my hammy is not feeling great right now.

I was up in time to go out in the AM, but just couldn't motivate, so it's sort of a bummer. Oh, well, got the run in at least.

Beautiful Evening

I took another evening run today and it was a beautiful evening. Child two came with me and he chattered the first four miles then fell sound asleep in mile five. I love running with my children. I felt pretty good though I think I was pushing it pretty hard today. The stroller totally changes the workout factor for me, but it's great to have the company. Knocking down another brick.

Stay Frosty

My morning started at 5 AM when Child Two came into our room with a chill, and Child Three started nicking for his feeding. I had planned on running today and when I couldn't C2 back to bed and his volume kept rising I figured I'd take him with me. It took nearly an hour to get him ready and motivated -- mainly about using the potty before departing. We did our downtown route (4.75 miles) in just under 40 minutes.

With all of the preamble resolved I bundled him up and off we went. He was totally fascinated that we were running in the dark (it had been darker about 20 minutes before we departed with a sky full of stars. I've been having major issues getting out these mornings because it's DARK. Initially, everything was covered in frost and it lent a ghostly air to everything-- it was amazing. It got prettier though as the sun came up and the sky lightened. The trees started blazing and the frost was sparkling. When we got home C2 told Mrs. A that "we ran in the dark and then the sun came up!"

Saturday Stroller Run

One of the difficulties of Saturday running for me is leaving hearth and kin and heading out on the road after a week of getting up and going. Last night I prepped the kids to come with me -- it took minimal convincing -- and after lounging around a bit this AM we headed out together at around 8:40.

We took a very different route than normal for a stroller run and wound through neighborhoods rather than running through the middle of town.  The traffic was minimal in the neighborhoods and it was pretty chill. I nearly bailed around the 12 minute mark but sucked it up, focused on running and found my rhythm.  It was a total instance of mind over matter:  focus on the purpose, the breathing, the stride and spice it with some dissociation et voila, a nice run. Based on the data on the watch it wasn't a super strenuous run (AHR: 144 MHR: 159) but we ran for 37:27 and it felt good. The last mile might have knocked down my HR because I had to stop and correct some behavior issues in the passenger cabin but all in all it was really fun.  One of the best parts, and I don't mean this sarcastically, was a stretch of several minutes where no one said anything.  We just absorbed.  It was cool.

The Whole World

The moon was descending in the western sky when Child Two and I hit the road at 6:45 today.  He saw it and started asking a torrent of questions about the moon and the Earth and the globes and the whole world:

Is the moon ever the globe?  Where's the whole world?  Will you show me the whole world?  Hello trees.  Hello wall.  Hello leaves . . . .

It was great and we did our usual stroller-loop (4.78 miles) in just under 40, and did the back quicker than the out even with a stop to unfurl the sun visor for C2 -- we were heading directly into the rising sun.  The weather was crisp and at one point while putting down the visor with the sun was at my back I was steaming in the sunlight and he asked me if I had dust coming off of me.  I love running with my kids.

Another One

I'd planned on taking today off but mid-way through my workday yesterday I got the urge to go out and run on Friday, so I did.  I was on the road by 6:45 AM or so with Child Two in the stroller and we went out for our usual route.  I'd planned on 45 minutes but was feeling slow and only did 40.  I've got a little mental block against longer runs right now and hope to break out of that this weekend.  I'm not running tomorrow -- 5 runs including Sunday's tri-run is a nice total and I'm up around 18 miles for the week.  I'm going to try and do a trail ride tomorrow morning, we'll see how motivated I am to leave the the hearth and kin folk on a Saturday morning.

I'm actually a bit excited about the inspiration because I'm getting to a point where I want to go out and do something active, and actually feel the need to be active so this is a good thing.  I hope that I can perpetuate this inspiration to be physical.

Morning Session

Today is a cool day for working out -- literally and figuratively.  I actually wore a long sleeve running shirt today to fight the chill a bit.  Of course, I was the only runner in long sleeves but I was happy for them as there was a little bit of that late summer chill in the air.  I had told Child One & Two that I would take them both with me but Child One was sleeping so soundly that I didn't have the heart to wake her up.  Child Two and I headed out and he chattered and sang the whole way.  He asked to have the sun roof unfurled on the Chariot and I complied even though I find it a huge impediment to conversation.  We saw a neighbor on a constitutional and other runners, one with a stroller and child that was in front of us and elicited many questions about the age, gender and name of the child -- all of which were impossible to answer because the we saw them from a distance, and only from behind.

We only went out for 30 minutes this morning, and not our usual 40 and this is where the figurative coolness of the day comes in.  I'm bailing from work on the 4:40 PM train and then heading to the pond for a swim and trail ride workout.  I got new tires and toe clips/biking shoes for my ancient mountain bike.  I'm really looking forward to the swim/bike brick and will attempt a ride/run brick sometime this week as well.  Next Tuesday we put all three disciplines together at the workout so I want to do some practice this week and weekend.  I practiced on the toe clips last night and only fell once, on the pavement.  I think I've got them down and am pumped for the workout -- I'll post about it tonight.

Downtown Run

I took Child Two in the stroller this AM.  He was up, I was up, so we went running.  We did our usual downtown -- it's where he likes to go -- run and logged 40 minutes.  I came back slower than I went out by just a bit.  I was dragging today.  It was more humid today than it was earlier in the week.  C2 chattered the whole way, as usual, and made observations about trucks and walkers and vans and other runners.  In the spring we saw a dead possum and he mentions it every time we go out together, but he calls it a "big boole" (I'm not sure how to spell it.  He asked me why it got smooshed . . . It was a great morning.  Usually I use the sun shield in the stroller to keep the sun out of his eyes, but today he wanted to bring his shades so I only put the bug/dirt screen over him.  It was fun to be able to look down and see his little head and it was easier to hear him and talk to him. 

I love running with C2.

Great Running Buddy

I went out this AM with one of my best and favorite running buddies. He chatters the whole time, sings, runs with friends who also talk to me, makes observations and is generally enthused about everything that he sees around him. Child Two came with me and we did our 40 minute out and back loop. It was a bit later than normal for us -- about 6:55 after set-up of the stroller etc. but we were done by 7:35.

One of the things that I really like about running and running at different times is the different traffic patterns, runners etc. It's interesting to see how much more traffic there is at 7:15 as opposed to 6:55; to see who is an early morning runner versus a later runner. I like to note the different patterns and it keeps things interesting.

Another Twist

Child Two requested that we go running again this AM so I obliged him. We laid out his stuff the night before and prepped his snack. It didn't save us much time because I didn't get out of bed right away. He also asked that we go back through downtown, so we did, even though I was going to run another route. He did not however want to go back the same way -- I'm just doing out an backs right now and trying to cut down on turns etc. and just try and go out in one direction. So we did make some turns and ran through some side streets. I didn't have my watch today, so no data, but we went out for about 40 minutes again. It is a nice time together and the weather is beautiful. Child Two calls his sneakers his running shoes and he always wants to wear his running shoes. Yesterday he and his sister were running around the house, running a marathon. That was kind of cool. Perhaps my activity is setting a good example for them. It's one of my goals of being active, and it seems to be seeping in.

A Twist

I went out this AM with Child 2 in the stroller -- mid-week kid run, that's the twist. We were up around 6:10 but didn't get out the door until about 6:40. We went out for 40 minutes and it was fun. He was talking the whole way, it was a beautiful, brisk morning and we totally enjoyed it. I slowed down to a walk near the last hill to navigate around a car and psyche myself up to push him over it and he says to me "how come we're walking, Dadda?" I started running right away. It was classic. We saw a nasty dead opossum and he was sort of fascinated by its corpse -- all bloody and gross, and also by a tennis ball in the gutter. He was talking about the ball when we got home -- for some reason its presence in the gutter really grabbed his attention and his imagination. It seemed to me that he realized that there was some story behind how the ball got to the gutter.

Anyway, I took a new approach and adopted a new attitude. I went out because I like to run, and I like to run 30+ minutes. Whatever happens with training the rest of the way happens and whatever happens in Burlington also happens. I'm just going to run to run and enjoy the experience. I'm not competing with anybody but me, and even with myself I'm taking a more experiential approach. It is what it is, and running needs to fit with my life. Marathon training doesn't really, but I think it will someday. I know I just spoke of a sprint tri in one of my comments, but that could work for me -- nothing major, maybe like a 1/4 miles swim, 15 mile bike and 5K run -- totally doable and not overly brutal to train for. Experiential, that's my watchword this summer.

Lessons Learned

1. Don't eat Indian food the day before a run.
2. Hydrate better when working from home
3. Don't bookend 4 runs (21 miles) with 5 milers pushing Child Two in the Stroller.

I'm working from home today so grabbed a 5 miler at lunch. It was pure misery. I had no rhythm, no stride and never got comfortable I got in the miles but I'm going to reconsider tomorrow's three I need to pace myself more perhaps because today's performance was sub-par.

Big Weekend

I did 5.2 on Saturday with Child Two in the jogging stroller. I had him bundled up and had the rain shield down to keep the wind off of him so I couldn't completely hear all of his patter but he kept up an almost continuous stream of commentary for the whole run. We went later in the day and he kept saying how it was getting dark, and it was nighttime. It was fun. There were a couple of stops to adjust his Froggy Friend and his blanket and I covered the distance in 49 minutes. Not blazing, but not bad either, and thee was a point along the route where I really felt the joy of running. We were on long, straight, flat, quiet road -- running basically down the middle -- and I wasn't thinking about much except the great sense of motion and movement I was feeling at that time.

Sunday was a different matter. I went out in a pretty stiff snowfall and did 8.1 in a glacial 88 minutes. Traction was lousy, visibility was lousy in parts as I ran into the wind and the route I picked was hilly. I walked every 1.5 miles or so and swigged my water and I brought a light snack of pretzels and yogurt-raisins and this helped my energy, though I have to admit that right now this distance is a bit longer than I feel ready for. I don't know how much to factor conditions into this pace, but they definitely impacted me. Never the less, I got out and did it to it. I had hoped to be covering 20 miles/week for a month prior to training but now I'm finding myself ramping up training mileage and training for a marathon at the same time. Not optimal, and not my usual method, but I figure the best way to get fit is to push and go long.