The easy way out..

Sometimes I enjoy taking the easy way out by running on the treadmill.  Last week I ran four days in a row.  This rarely happens anymore.  I get tired or I'm busy and up late with the babies, there are so many excuses.  So, last week I was so proud of myself for fitting in running for four days straight.  Thursday was a treadmill run, while I ran with friends early in the morning on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  It was great!  Yesterday I decided to take the day off of running.  It was heavenly!  I slept in until around seven, or so.  As much as I enjoy sleeping in, I don't enjoy waking up with the boys.  I don't enjoy the whining and the demanding as soon as I wake.  That is selfish, I know.  This morning, I woke again with the boys, but I did fit in an hour of running on the treadmill.  The treadmill has become so much fun for me!  It's a good change of pace and I enjoy the extra TV time to myself.  The temperature is also always great.  Instead of counting down the minutes, I usually add more when I am on the treadmill.  Tomorrow was supposed to be an outside run with the group, but I just might have to declare it as another treadmill day!  : ) Time will tell...

Beating me to the punch

The two rascals have been beating me to the punch lately with running, so it's been really hard to get out the door.  Josh is working so much now that he really needs to get going in the mornings, even on the weekends, so I've got to do a better job of getting out the door before the boys wake.  It sounds so much easier than it actually is, doesn't it?  I wanted to do a long run on Saturday, which then turned into Sunday, because M got up so early on Saturday morning.  Which also meant that Josh got up and out the door quickly, so that he could get work done at the office.  It turns out that I didn't run on Sunday either! Grrr.... Sunday I had the time to go in the morning, but spent it with Josh watching the Australian Open.  It's important for us to fit time in together, even if it's six am on a Sunday morning watching tennis.

So, yesterday I got up and out.  I ended up running about 4.5 miles, which was decent since I ran by myself.  Today, since I'm up incredibly early, I hope to fit in at least four or five miles.  It was a long night with the baby and I desperately need the reprieve, even if it's only forty-five minutes of alone time!  

The half marathon is just like two and a half weeks away, and I have not even gotten close to running the ten miles plus miles that I wanted to do beforehand.  Oh well.  My time is not important, this time around, anyway.  I'm hoping that I'll be able to gut my way through it, though...

Lots of Running

Even though the weather has not been great for running this week, I have managed to get in some miles. Monday and Tuesday I ran with a girlfriend, which was helpful and motivating. Tuesday morning we were able to run in the snow. The snow was really wet, though, almost more like rain than snow. Nevertheless, it was still a great run and it was wonderful to have company on the run, especially I was "snowed in" with the babies for two days straight. (That's enough to make you go crazy, or want to run really, really FAR.) : )

Wednesday I took the day off, we all slept in really late and since I woke with the kiddos the treadmill was not an option. Thursday and Friday were treadmill days. It was great to have a change in pace, and to run in the warmth of our basement. The treadmill is so incredibly helpful when I need (or, want) to fit in a quick run. When we first bought it I really didn't enjoy running on it, but now that we have two children? I LOVE it! The past two days I have caught up on Golden Girl re-runs and the news. When the news gets too depressing, I flip over to the Golden Girls! I'm really not sure what I going to do with myself when I go back to work next year. It's rather nice being able to run at 8:00 in the morning, rather than 5 or 5:30 everyday.

Tomorrow will be a long run, hopefully nine miles, or so...Long run days are so much fun...once the run is over, of course!

Long Run for the week!

Today I ran about nine miles with the girls. I felt great and enjoyed every minute. My legs started to stiffen a bit towards the end, but I think a lot of that was due to the temperature drop. I'm not too concerned about getting up to 13 before the half marathon, though it would be great to get in at least ten for the next couple of weekends. Tomorrow I'd like to get out for a slow, short run... We'll see how tired I am tomorrow morning. It's less than a MONTH before the half marathon, now! Wahoo!! : ) (I guess?)

A slow week.

This has not been the best running week, I've been a bit lazy.  Tuesday the weather was bad and I knew that I was going to run Wednesday, so I just took the day off.  Wednesday morning quickly came around and neither boy slept well on Tuesday night, which meant that I only got a couple of hours of sleep.  Instead of making it to the running party, I slept in, which made me feel really guilty.  Yesterday, though, I did manage to get in three miles on the treadmill.  The pace was about ten minutes  per mile, which felt really good.  I wasn't tired at all from the run, it was refreshing to feel so good. 

Today I got back on track with running outside and met a running friend.  We did about 4.5 miles, which was great.  I'm hoping to run both Saturday and Sunday, we'll see if I'm able to fit a run in both days.  Tax season is cramping my style!  I've GOT to get up if I want to run in the mornings on the weekend.  It's worth the loss of sleep, though...

Dragging myself out of bed...

I went to bed really late last night, so I wasn't sure how today's run would go.  All through the night I kept thinking about how I didn't want to get out of bed at five.  Thanks to my running buddy, though, I got myself up and out the door early this morning.  We started out with the intention of just doing two miles and calling it a day.  It turns out that we snuck in four miles, and I felt completely refreshed.  It was a great run, warm!, but great.  I'm so thankful for these running friends,  I think I'd still be in bed with the covers over my head if it were not for them.  

Sunday's Long Run...

This morning I managed to get in about nine miles, or so. Not bad! Thankfully, the weather was a tad bit warmer and the pace was slower. Next week I'd like to get ten in for the long run since the half marathon is just about a month away. The girls and I talked a lot about the inauguration (wahoo!) and the concert that is on the mall today. Nothing like good conversation to get through the long miles. Tomorrow's run will be a short one, three or four.