Well, it’s been about two entire weeks since my last post. Although I haven’t made time to write, I have been keeping up with my training. There were some changes throughout these two weeks that have been challenging training wise and have given me a lot to think about and work on. I’m learning a lot about what is good for me and my body, not just what feels right at the moment.
I’ll call today’s run my jump start back from defeat.
4.42 miles 
I say that because I totally bombed on my attempt at a run yesterday morning. I literally ran only about 1.27 miles and gave up. I made the walk of shame back home catching my breath and thinking about how hard it was to breath in the early morning humidity. I didn’t sleep my 7+ hours the night before and I’d sat on my patio enjoying two Blue Moon’s (smile). The beer definitely is no longer enjoyed by my body next day. Not a big deal, I’ll just stick to wine! ha ha…
The main change has been with sleep, or lack of it. Last week I was running lunchtime runs instead of early morning because I was allowing myself to sleep in. Do you know what a death sentence that is in this Texas heat???? It was pure insanity thinking that I could glide through those runs in the middle of the day. I started forcing myself back to mornings a couple of runs ago and that presented a new challenge.
The humidity, along with the still sunless morning air is a bitch on my breathing. Hydrating throughout the run makes it even worse. And so, I have to find my “new normal” in running. My happy medium. I love running under both the bright sunny sky and extreme cold weather. The problem with the hot days though is the lack of hydration. That is what makes those sunny days hard to bear. For me, I found there’s a difference between hydrating in the humidity and hydrating under a bright sun. Strange as it may sound and understand, it’s what I’ve learned my body likes and reacts to.
This morning was perfect, I slept in an extra hour and headed out under the sun before it got too hot. It was only a 4.4 mile fartlek run planned for today, so I didn’t really need to worry about hydrating throughout. It worked out perfectly. I may start making 8/9 am my new running time.
Next, let’s talk about shoes. I think I am ready to order my Vibram 5 fingers. This is the day I have been waiting for. I needed to wait and listen to my body tell me it was ready. It is! I absolutely loved barefoot running before and expect the same feeling this time around. I’ll have to order them this week and report back on my first run with them.
I almost forgot the most important event of the past two weeks! I ran my first virtual race in honor of all the races missed the past 8 years. My metal and swag came in last week and so I made my Sunday long run my official 10k. My year has officially started! Next virtual race is the Wonder Woman, which I am running with my friend Christina on July 4th. I am so excited! I do miss being with all the running crowd on race days, but running with frunners is sweet no matter what the count is!
Happy running! Let’s make the most of this Covid Summer ya’ll!
Runmom_6 