Little bit o' running...

I ran last night, yes indeedy...
I ran last night, but I was not speedy.

I can call that a poem, right?

The last time I ran was on April 3rd. That was my Tenner.  Then three days later, we went to France.

I'd call it a vacation, but if you have little kids you know that traveling with them is not really a "vacation." I didn't run a lick the entire time we were there.

Oh, sure I got exercise.

Every single day I had my stair workout, and we also walked about a bazillion miles going all over the place. So I wasn't entirely sedentary while we were away. I wasn't on a lounge chair next to a pool or beach ... lounging. I can't remember the last time I lounged.

Anyway...

Nineteen days of no running was great! I did it guilt-free completely. I wasn't scared of not running or working out (I think the stairs helped ;-) ). I didn't think about my upcoming 7.5-mile race once... except maybe when I was watching the Marathon de Paris and really glad that I won't be running 26.2 on May 15th. All the tightness in my legs disappeared. I felt really good. I was very curious as to how this would translate into running again...

My PT and I modified my training plan due to the nearly three weeks off... I will gladly sacrifice my race finish time for the sake of not getting injured. It is a trade-off and enjoying Paris with my 4 kids and husband was a priority. I spent over a decade sacrificing things in the name of training... I am done with that chapter of my life. Turn the page. So we changed Thursday's 6 into 4 and this Sunday's 10 into 6. I'll do a modified speed/tempo run on Tuesday or Wednesday and a maintenance 5 or so on Thursday or Friday. Next Sunday's whatever will be made into 8. And then I'll get back on the Automated Training Program.

I felt fabulous during my four-mile run. It was daylight. I almost never run when it is light out. I think I had a smile on my face the whole way :)  I saw so much in my neighborhood... people! I NEVER see people! It was so cool :) And someone pruned a tree mercilessly... it really bummed me out :(  Remember... I majored in horticulture in college. So I ran for 4.4 miles in the early evening and took in the sights of my 0.75-mile loop. I ran for about 42 or 43 minutes. I felt fast and spry.

I never realized that I like running to The Doors. LOL  And I found that I really like Etta James' version of "You Can Leave Your Hat On"... sizzlin'. But I still laugh too hard at Flight of the Conchords for them to be at all useful running tunes.  They really hurt my splits ;-)

I was wanting to run the Bay to Breakers in an hour. The would mean a straight-up 8-minute mile average for 7.46 miles. Ain't gonna happen. And that's okay. I want to run and have fun :)

Speediness will have to wait.