What happens when you go 3 weeks between runs?

Your butt muscles, you know, right where your butt and your legs meet? Well, that muscle decides to go on strike about a mile in. I did 2.34 miles, but I was definitely walking hobbling more than running. And in case anyone is curious, it's crazy hard to run when your butt is screaming obscenities at you. Just so you know.

I also had two new gadgets to use today. One is an armband to hold my iPhone, and it's the prettiest bright purple (surprise,surprise!) I found it on eBay for $5.60 with free shipping, but the snap has already broke on it. Oh well, it was cheap. It worked really well, but having something attached to my arm drove me crazy. I ended up taking it off about a mile and a half in, and am debating on if I'm going to use it anymore.

The second was the mapmyrun.com app for my phone. I liked being able to see my route, and liked that it timed me as well. However, my GPS signal was weak, so the numbers were off. It had me at 1.95 miles and a little over 17 minutes a mile, but Nike+ had me at 2.34 miles and right under 14 minutes a mile. I checked the route when I was finished, and it wasn't exactly the same as where I ran, so I'm pretty sure Nike+ is the correct one.

In other news, Sarah and I (and maybe Cecily) are planning on doing our very first mud run on September 24. I'm really really excited!

Running Recap:
Time: 6:42pm, 32:27 minutes
Distance: 2.34 miles
Pace: 13:51 per mile
Weather: Wonderful! Nice breeze, not that humid, and thunder in the distance.

I'm not doing well

I got up and ran this morning, but it was not fun. The C25K program had me running 8 minutes, walking 5, then running 8. From how I've done the past few workouts, it shouldn't have been a problem, but I didn't make it the full 8 minutes either time - only about 6.5. It's discouraging, because I know the workouts are only going to get harder, and I thought I was doing better.

It wasn't lonely this morning on the track, though. I usually only see one or two other people, and I counted 6 others out there this morning. That's a lot, especially for my neighborhood. And three of those were younger people, which is also unusual - it's usually a bunch of seniors out there. That was a nice twist to my morning.

Maybe the next run will be better.

Running Recap:
Time: 28:24
Distance: 2.19 miles
Pace: 12:57 per mile
Weather: SO humid
Songs:  
Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-A-Lot
Supermodel (You Better Work) - RuPaul
It's Tricky - Run DMC
I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred
Lump - Presidents of the United States of America,
You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon
Hey Ya! - Outkast
This Is the New Shit - Marilyn Manson
(I'm discovering that I really really like cheesy music when I run...)

Good news and bad news

Bad news first: Cadence will be 18 months shy of being old enough to run at Disney. She can do one of the kids races, but can't compete in the Expedition Everest Challenge until she's 9. She's not going to be happy when I tell her.

Good news: Her after party ticket (if the price stays the same) is only $19. That's SO much cheaper than I was thinking. And for any other spectators over 9, the ticket last year was $39. Much better than the $50-something we paid for the Halloween Party, which is what I was expecting.

My Saturday morning run

We were down in Brookhaven this weekend at my inlaws, and they live way out in the middle of nowhere. I decided to run Saturday morning, and Mike and my brother-in-law's dog Cooper joined me! We ran down their driveway to the main road and back again, and it was right at 1.5 miles. We didn't go until almost 9, so it was SO hot and humid outside. I wimped out when we reached the house and decided to go back in and get a shower instead of doing another 1.5 miles. It was nice to have Mike and Cooper as a distraction, and it was so pretty running along their gravel driveway in the trees (and seeing deer!) instead of seeing and hearing all the cars at my house. I also discovered that Mike is in much better shape than I am. However, Sunday morning I felt fine, but he said his legs were killing him. He's decided that no, he doesn't want to keep doing this, and I doubt I'll have company for awhile!

Running Recap:
Time: 20:27
Distance: 1.54 miles
Pace: 13:16 per mile
Weather: SO humid and very sunny
Song Highlights: Ice Ice Baby, It's Tricky, I'm Too Sexy, Dani California

I'll get back eventually

I had big plans to get up and run this morning (since, you know, I haven't ran but one day this week) and Amelia decided to get up 15 minutes after I laid down, and didn't go to sleep until 3:45 am. I decided that I needed more than 2 hours of sleep to function today. Maybe tomorrow? I'm hoping after this surgery that she'll sleep better and I can get up and run again.

Oh, and next week Cadence will be back home, so we'll test out if she's really serious about running with me or not. I'm curious to see how this goes.

How do moms do this?

I'm still trying to figure out how anyone with kids can exercise on a regular basis. My options are limited - I can't exercise in the afternoons because of life and motherly obligations, and I refuse to go run at night when it's dark and only getting darker. That leaves first thing in the morning, hopefully when at least one of the two kiddos is still asleep. To do that, it means getting up at 5:30 when Mike gets up so that I can get finished before he has to leave for work. I'm definitely not a morning person, but when the little one still gets up multiple times a night and I'm not in bed until at least midnight, 5:30 comes REALLY early. And that's on a good day.

Then you have mornings like this morning. The big one is at grandma's, but the little one decided last night that we had to be up every hour and a half. Then, of course, at 5:30 this morning when I'm trying to sneak out of the room without waking her (the one downside of her being in my room), she wakes up and refuses to go back to sleep. Most of the time, I would get up, deal with her, and postpone the run. But not this morning! I was running, and I left her there for Mike to deal with. Dang it, I need time for myself without a kid hanging on me!!

I only got in 2.2 miles before I had to come in, but averaged 12:37 a mile. I'm going to have to get up a little earlier to get in 3.1 miles before having to come back in. It was also drizzly this morning, which I liked. It helps cool me off when it's raining.

Running Recap:
Time: 27:40
Distance: 2.2 miles
Pace: 12'37" per mile
Weather: drizzly and humid
Song Highlights: Blister in the Sun, Ice Ice Baby, Mickey, Magic Carpet Ride and Wannabe