Holy Moly, it's been a month...

After moving to my new job (I got promoted to management in mid-May), there has been no time for anything anymore! 60 to 70-hr work weeks leave less time for family and friends, and even less time for working out. It's been a month since my last run... a month!!! When work is busy and stress is high, usually the weight comes off on its own (albeit in a very unhealthy way), but lately I've been feeling as though I've let myself go because in the short spurts of leisure time that I can find to spend with family and friends, I try to compact in there as much merriment and relaxation as possible; this includes food, drink, and plenty of unburnt calories. As a result, I'm soft and and flabby! (.... Oh, but that juicy ribeye, fries, garlic bread sopping with butter, and cold beer I had at Mitchell's dad's house was so good...) I need to get my flabby bootie into gear!

Week of 6/29 - 7/5
Thursday, 7/3
3.02 miles - 39:15 minutes
Average page: 13:00 min/mile

Saturday, 7/5
Town Lake, 4.5 mile trail - Ran for 40 minutes, then ran/walked the rest of the way for approximately 15 minutes, yielding a total time of around 55 minutes.
Average pace: ~ 12:13 min/mile

My Stop Watch, My Trusty Friend

This morning, I wore my stop watch and ran 2.26 miles in 26:39 minutes, which averages out to 11:48 min/mile!!!! Well, I kind of expected (well, actually hoped) that my time would improve from Tuesday's run because I only ran 2 miles today. But, this is still good because now I feel more comfortable about being able to maintain an average pace of at least 14:50 min/mile for the relay (that's the relay's requirement, for safety reasons). I was getting a little nervous about my actual pace for my 5-mile leg. My longest run so far has been 4.5 miles, and that took me 63 minutes to finish (14 min/mile =\), but I think if I wear my stop watch to pace myself better, and drink plenty of water and load up on carbs the night before, I think I'll be okay. Plus, I think I'll be running on a good dose of adrenaline during the relay.

So, my stop watch helped. I'm pleasantly surprised because I thought it would be a huge distraction, in the same way that treadmills distract me ("ugh, one MORE quarter-mile.. ten MORE minutes of this agony... ").. I guess what I really hate about treadmills is that they're boring and are usually placed in environments that aren't very stimulating. I just feel like a hamster on a wheel. ... So, back to what I was saying - my stop watched helped, so I'll wear that at the relay. One note though - I think I need to remember to take it easy and remember to breathe properly. When I'm aware of the time ticking, I can easily push myself too hard and overdo it. This morning, I felt my sides almost cramping up, which is something I definitely don't want happening this weekend.

Alright. I'm ready! =)

P.S. We won the hallway decorating contest!!!

So tired...

Usually on Wednesday evenings, I try to make it out to Gold's Gym to take their Body Pump class. It's a full-body weight training class - with music. It's a really fun way to get toned, but today I'm way too tired. I would normally tell myself to "man up," but today's been a physically strenuous day at work. Plus, I really don't want to accidentally overdo something and be too sore to run this week. I just have one run left (2 miles tomorrow morning) before the White Rock relay on Sunday.

Work today was interesting. Every year, my co-workers on my hallway engage in a friendly "competition" of holiday decorating with the other hallways in our building. And today was that time of year again. Our theme this year is "The Twelve Days of Winter" - We can't have any religious references at work, so we're censoring "Christmas." (ha, what a strange thought.) We have 12 offices on our hallway, and each office door has a verse... I got the "Three French Hens," so naturally I decorated my door with three brown hens in matching red berets standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, all crafted with construction paper, courtesy of Pflugerville ISD, thanks to my teacher-sister. =) Anyway, I didn't think this whole theme would be so much work, but we had to put up about a hundred little music notes and arrange them to match the sheet music (I have very ambitious co-workers), in addition to wrapping all 12 doors in butcher paper and hanging garland and ornaments from the ceiling. It turned out well, but I'm completely drained now. It really took all day to do this - although, I did find a way to fit in some real work in. Ah, the art of multi-tasking! I literally cut out music notes and treble clefs while on conference calls all morning, and then again in the afternoon while waiting for automated jobs to finish. But now, I think I'm ready to zone out in front of the TV. Oooh, my favorite show, Dirty Sexy Money, is on tonight!

Tuesday Morning Run

This morning, I ran 3.02 miles in 36:29 minutes, averaging a pace of 12:05 min/mile.

Remember how I said I run an average pace of 13:45 min/mile? Well, yeah, weird!! I thought I ran at that pace... but I think wearing a stop watch during my run this time might have helped. I noticed that I picked up the pace whenever I glanced at my watch and saw how much time had passed, especially in the last stretch when I sprinted (uphill!) to try to finish my run in less than 40 minutes. I guess I'll keep on wearing the stop watch and see what happens. I hope this improvement isn't a fluke!!!

While I was running today, I was thinking about how I really enjoy running in the mornings. Considering how I'm not a morning person at all, I thought I'd hate morning runs, but I actually prefer it now. I think it's because it forces me to put in some "me time" first before I do anything else for the day. Then, when I go off to work, my job becomes a little easier to deal with because I know it's not consuming all of my life anymore. Weird how things work out that way. Good exercise and no dragging feet to work. This is a really nice combination to have in my life right now. =)