Miles 378-380: 380 at 80°F!

In the wake of Hurricane Irene, husband James has been pulling 12 hour days at work cleaning up the mess 24 hours of wind and rain can leave behind. And while this has not been entirely pleasant, the mild weather that has set in after most certainly has!

We went for a quickie run last night at 6:30, when the temperatures were just a hair over 80°F.

Oh happy day.


12 days until Chicago's Half Marathon - may the weather be as lovely then as it is now.

Miles 346-377: Trying, but failing

Normally it is my thoughts that move faster than my mouth, causing me to speak in fits and starts.

Now it appears life has been moving faster than my thoughts, and it is my writing that has suffered.

Several times I have sat post-run, buzzing with the desire to write but finding myself unable to string together coherent sentences.

The end of summer has been a whirlwind of activity, both at work and at home. My parents came for a nice long visit last weekend; this weekend, we dealt with Irene and her aftermath.

And now I find myself only two weeks away from Chicago, hoping that I'm ready.

8/13: 8.5 miles with friends on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base
8/16: 3 easy miles
8/18: 3 easy miles
8/21: 10 miles with James
8/24: 4 miles
8/25: 3.5 miles - tempo run fail

Miles 330-333, 334-337, 338-341, 342-345: Sweating out the snot

Post-Bix and post-sinus flare up, I've been doing what I can of The (Sub)Plan. Getting sick and derailed from the schedule I had been keeping is terribly frustrating, but, as today mark's exactly one month until the Chicago Half Marathon, I'm trying to focus on what's coming in the next four weeks not what I've been dealing with for the past ten days.

I have started running in my new shoes - my second pair of Brooks Ravenna. My only complaint with them is the amount of white. What is so pretty and shiny today will be quickly dingy with the fine dust of the Eastern North Carolina sandflat that I live in.

Miles 330-333: Treadmill wheezing.

Miles 334-337: Outdoor easy running/sauna therapy (what else do you call running in 95°F humidity?)

Miles 338-341: Outdoor easy running/sauna therapy 2

Miles 342-345: 2 x 1 mile repeats on treadmill at 8:27/mile pace

Miles 323-329: Davenport's Bix 7

What now feels like many moon ago, I participated in my inaugural Quad City Times Bix 7. After that race, I spent time with my husband's family, flew home, caught a sinus bug, convalesced from said sinus bug, got swamped at work, rode go-karts and played putt-putt in 100 degree weather, and painted my living room.

In the sake of catching up, I'm posting some of the videos and photos I shot while in Davenport.

It bears noting that I was one of three Youngers running in this year's Bix. My mother-in-law Cathy ran her twentieth race, James ran his second, and I my first.  It was truly one of the most awesome and memorable running experiences of my life. Cathy ran a few steps ahead of me the entire race and pushed the pace. We finished in just over 66 minutes. The crowds, the volunteers, the post-party - everything - was awesome.

Especially those Whitey's popsicles they were handing out at the end. I had no idea a grape popsicle could be so orgasmic.

Verdict? I'm thinking this has to become an annual Youngers affair.

Move

I know that the name "Would Rather Walk. Or Run" is a bit of a misnomer, because I haven't written very much about walking.  But I do love to walk. When I'm able, I prefer it over any other form of transportation.

During today's blogroll reading, I found this little bit of perfection (via Dooce). Enjoy.


MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Runner Interrupted.

After an awesome run at the Bix 7 on Saturday, I woke Sunday morning with an intensely painful sore throat.

Which, based on previous experience means only one thing: sinus flare up.

I guess they are infections. I suppose I could go to the doctor every single time. But I'd rather save the drugs for when I really need it.

About 50% of the time I travel, I end up with one of these. It's probably a combination of too little sleep (too excited), dehydration (too excited to remember to drink water and/or to restrict consumption liquids of the dehydrating kind, e.g. coffee and alcohol), and foreign airborne particulates invading my nasal cavity (the volume breathed increased by the deep breaths taken to reign in my excitement). My most memorable flare-up? After celebrating a friend's graduation in Minneapolis, I boarded a train with a full-on sinus headache, significantly impaired hearing due to blocked Eustachian tubes, low-grade fever and a box of Kleenex that, 10 hours later in Chicago, had been turned into vessels of frighteningly green snot.

Yes, I know. Drugs are wonderful. But, in my experience, two days of pain and fatigue coupled with lots of sleep, fresh fruits and veggies and tea is usually all it takes for me to get back on my feet.

So! Today I am in the "sound worse than I feel" stage and tomorrow will bring the Bix 7 post and a brief recap of tonight's first run back after a summer sinus flare-up.

But hey, if this is the only hiccup in The (Sub)Plan, I'm thrilled.