Week 13: Day 4 - March 31, 2016

• easy trail RUN with one dog = 3.29 miles, time = 38:57, pace @ 11:50
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

I didn't get a run in yesterday because I decided that I just wanted a break/rest day. I almost didn't want to run this morning out of laziness, but got it done. I felt ok during my run, but felt better afterwards because I got it done.

Week 13: Day 2 - March 29, 2016

• easy trail RUN with one dog = 4.01 miles, time = 49:30, pace @ 12:21
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.4 miles

Yes, it was sunny/clear and almost perfectly cold this morning! I felt so much better running this morning than Sunday. I checked the weather forecast online on Sunday afternoon and it said partly cloudy for most of the week. I assumed that it would be gloomy and cloudy all morning and then the sun comes out in the afternoon. Yesterday, my boss said there would be rain for the next few days. If tomorrow morning weather is anything like this morning and I hope it is, I will go for a run!

Week 12: Day 7 - March 27, 2016

• easy road RUN with one dog = 5.07 miles, time = 1:00:48, pace @ 12:00
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.2 miles

Total Running Weekly Mileage: 17.85

Total Running Monthly Mileage: 69.00

Total Running Yearly Mileage: 216.99

Total Running Shoe Mileage: 360.40

This morning was gloomy/cloudy and overcast. It made me tired and sleepy. On the other hand, I think my motivation may be crashing and boredom may be kicking in now. I have been running for 13 weeks with 4 days a week without losing my motivation or getting bored. This is the longest running streak for me. I usually lose motivation after four to six weeks if I'm just running for fun. If I'm training for a race, I lose motivation after six to eight weeks. I'm thinking about whether I want to continue running four days a week as normal or take a few days off from running (my next run would be Friday, April 1). My total mileage for the month (March) and for the year are both a little ahead of schedule anyway, so I can afford to miss a few days of running. I'm not sure yet as I'm still thinking about it.

My bike still has a flat tire..one week later. This morning, I thought I would go to a local bike shop to get a new tube for the tire and a spare one for future flat tires. The bike shop I had in mind was closed today for Easter! I'm kinda mad, but I have no one to blame and be mad at except myself. If I had a spare tube last month when I got a flat tire while doing my Firecracker fun bike ride, I wouldn't have gotten a second flat tire one month later! It would have lasted much longer! My bike got a flat tire this second time because the tube was slightly the wrong size for the tire and the air just simply leaked out. I am working tomorrow morning (8am to 12 noon) and I was leaning more towards actually riding/biking to work. But I can't ride/bike to work tomorrow anymore now. I'm thinking of putting my bike on my car and bring it to work. Then after work, I can stop by a bike shop (a different one...not the one I had in mind) on the way home.

Week 12: Day 4 - March 24, 2016

• easy trail/road RUN with one dog = 4.55 miles
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

During my run, I paused my stopwatch to "clean up" after my dog. I forgot to start my stopwatch to continue running, so I have no idea how long or fast it took me to do my run. Maybe it is a good thing that I don't know.

Week 12: Day 3 - March 23, 2016

• easy trail/road RUN with one dog = 3.78 miles, time = 44:07, pace @ 11:51
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.4 miles

Yes, the sun came out this morning for my run! I feel like Superman who needs to use the sun as an energy source. I really felt that it was cooler this morning with the sun out than the gloomy weather yesterday morning, and I ran faster this morning too!

I plan to run tomorrow morning. If the sun is out and I feel tired/sleepy for my run, it is my own fault and I have no one to blame but myself for staying up later than I like.

Week 12: Day 2 - March 22, 2016

• easy trail/road RUN with one dog = 4.45 miles, time = 54:04, pace @ 12:09
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

I like cool, misty mornings, but gloomy weather also makes me so sleepy! I'm always tired! I think this is the first year that March gets gloomy weather in the mornings and we have been getting gloomy weather in the morning since last Friday. Usually gloomy weather is in May (sometimes) and June. I probably shouldn't be complaining about it because it is better than warm or hot and humid weather! Although the mildly cool/cold weather isn't helping me run faster. I'm actually running slower since it's not ridiculously and outrageously cold.

Week 11: Day 7 - March 20, 2016

• easy trail/road RUN with one dog = 5.24 miles, time = 1:05:15, pace @ 12:24
• easy WALK with dogs = 2.1 miles
• easy walk to Panera Bread (for a knit/crochet meeting) = 3.2 miles round trip

Total Running Weekly Mileage: 17.50

Total Running Monthly Mileage: 51.15

Total Running Yearly Mileage: 198.05

Total Running Shoe Mileage: 342.55

It was pretty gloomy this morning. I really liked the fact that it was a bit misty because it felt nice when I was running, but gloomy weather makes me sleepy and lazy! I did feel better halfway through the run as a far as laziness went. I was still sleepy and tired by the end of the run, but less sleepy and tired compared to the beginning. I hope I'm just tired and not suffering from boredom or lack of motivation. It's not gloomy outside anymore now, but I'm still tired even though I had lots of Mountain Dew at Panera Bread (usually too much Mountain in the afternoon will keep me awake all night)!

I still have a flat tire on my bike, so I won't be able to ride in the morning. I was going to go to a local bike shop today after meeting my knitting/crochet friends to get a correct tube for my tire and get a spare tube for future reference, but I didn't bother to say "Gotta go" when I should have and by the time I got home from Panera Bread and "packed" my bike onto my car, it was too late. I would have gotten to the shop five or ten minutes before closing and while it would have been enough time for them to fix my tire and for me to pay for the tubes, but I wanted them to show me how to change a flat and I think that would have taken a little longer than necessary. I have no one to blame and get mad at except myself. I think I will wait until next weekend when I have more time for lesson to get my tire fixed.

Week 11: Day 6 - March 19, 2016

• bike commute to work = 15.8 miles
• easy walk with dogs = 2 miles

I had every intentions to ride/cycle to work. It should have been a 36 to 37 mile ride round trip. My bike got a flat tire (it didn't get punctured, but it had a leak) three miles away from work. My tire wasn't 100% inflated and I did think about inflating it before heading out, but I thought it would be ok to ride. I should have listen to myself. Good thing I was about three miles from work and my boss was cool enough to pick me up. I couldn't finish the rest of the way and I couldn't ride home because I didn't have a spare tube or any tools to change or patch up a flat tire. It was a nice day for a ride and I had two hours of daylight after work (I got off at 5pm), so I wouldn't have to ride in the dark. I only need an hour and half to ride. Since today was Saturday, there were less cars out. During the week, there would be more cars out on my way to work and I would have to "fight" them. I also got off at 7pm and it would get dark by 7:15pm, and I don't like to ride in the dark. There is one narrow two-lane (one lane for each direction) street that I would have to use to get home and it had very, very few street lights. I couldn't avoid using this street because it was the most direct way to get home unless I wanted to add 15 to 20 miles to my route to use a different way to get home. Taking a train is out of the question because the route between work and home is going north and south and there are no trains going north/south. Public buses is an option, but I would have to take four or five buses and about three hours to get home. I can get home faster on a bike because the commute is half that time.

Week 11: Day 4 - March 17, 2017

• easy trail RUN with one dog = 4.61 miles, time = 57:07, pace @ 12:23
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

I'm going a little nuts running in the mornings. Spring is definitely here now and Summer is on the way! NOOO!

Week 11: Day 3 - March 16, 2016

• easy trail RUN with one dog = 3.25 miles, time = 38:07, pace @ 11:44
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

Spring has arrived early and the morning weather is already driving me crazy! I can't stand it! I'm really not looking forward to Spring and definitely not Summer!

Week 11: Day 2 - March 15, 2016

• easy trail RUN with one dog = 4.4 miles, time = 51:30, pace @ 11:42
• easy WALK with dogs = 2.5 miles

I think I have to make myself learn to go to bed at 10pm even though it doesn't feel that way. My clock says 10pm, but my mind and body think that it is 9pm.

Week 11: Day 1 - March 14, 2016

• easy bike ride = 7.2 miles, time = 36:07, pace @ 11.9 mph
• easy walk with dogs = 2.5 miles

I wasn't going to ride today just because I was being lazy and didn't feel like it. I'm glad that I went out for a ride because I feel better now.

Week 10: Day 7 - March 13, 2016

• easy trail/road RUN with one dog = 6.15 miles, time = 1:11:03, pace @ 11:33
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

Total Running Weekly Mileage: 17.17

Total Running Monthly Mileage: 33.65

Total Running Yearly Mileage: 180.55

Total Running Shoe Mileage: 325.05

I'm not training for a race of any sorts. I just felt like running six miles today. Changing the clocks/time one hour ahead sorta messed with my sleep and I felt a bit sleepy and lazy at the beginning of my run.

Week 10: Day 5 - March 11, 2016

• bike ride = 8.38 miles, time = 55:45, pace @ 8.9 mph
• easy walk with dogs = 2.5 miles

While I did stop by the post office and bank by bike, I took a different route. I hadn't been on this route in awhile, mainly because it was challenging on a bike from mile 2 to mile 4.7 (mostly from mile 3.5 to mile 4.7 where I using the lowest possible gears and riding 6 mph). The main reason for this route was because I wanted to take the trail from mile 4.7 to mile 6.1 so I could figure out the trail distance (I have a new battery on my bike computer/odometer/speedometer). I generally don't ride down this trail or even ride down the street that is sorta near the trail. I can't use the satellite imaging on mapmyrun because it's hard to see the trail on the most part because of tree coverage. I run on this trail often and I'd like to have a better idea on the distance. Now I know.

After riding on the trail, I learned that I would never be interested in mountain biking. I think I would rather take my chances with cars on the streets. I was afraid of crashing and eating dirt or crashing into a pedestrian from going downhill.

Week 10: Day 4 - March 10, 2016

• easy road RUN with one dog = 4.86 miles, time = 55:20, pace @ 11:23
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

Since Monday had unpredictable weather with the rain (even though it stopped raining by mid-morning), I didn't get a bike ride in. I will be doing a ride tomorrow morning. Most of my rides usually consist of stopping at the post office (because I have a PO Box there) and the bank (if I have a paycheck to deposit and it shares a parking lot with the post office). I haven't checked my PO Box in almost two weeks and I'm expecting something in the mail and I have a paycheck to deposit, so I'm due for a visit to the bank and the post office.

Also, this weekend marks the time change (unless you live somewhere that doesn't do this) and we have to set the clocks one hour ahead. This means that summer is coming and I'm not looking forward to summer. I don't like summer and I hate hot weather. On the bright side, I think I will ride (my bike) to work on Saturdays starting next weekend (March 19)...at least for a few weeks until the weather becomes stupid hot and humid. I get off work early enough on Saturdays where I don't have to worry about riding in the dark and there are less cars out when I ride home. During the week, I leave work a little later and part of my ride will be in the dark. I don't like to ride or run in the dark because even if I have lots of bright colored reflective clothing on and lots of lights, drivers won't see me somehow. While I will miss most of the traffic, there will still be plenty of cars out from people trying to get home from work. I don't want to take any chances of getting hit by car because it was dark.

Week 10: Day 3 - March 09, 2016

• hilly trail RUN with one dog = 1.1 mile, time = 14:33, pace @ 13:14
• warm up = 1.1 mile
• cool down = 1.1 mile
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

I think the weather won't get any colder anymore since Spring is basically around the corner. I also think that I won't be doing this hilly trail run for awhile...I may start up on it again in June or July, depending on what race(s) I've signed up for. I'm just getting bored of doing the same hilly trail and need to run somewhere else. I may start doing the cross country course at a local junior college, but I won't be taking my dog with me when I run there just in case the cattle/cows have free range to roam around the trails/course there.

Week 10: Day 2 - March 08, 2016

• easy trail RUN with one dog = 3.96 miles, time = 47:07
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

It was nice and cold (42 degrees) this morning...it was awesome! Too bad, this doesn't happen year round.

Week 9: Day 7 - March 06, 2016

• easy trail/road run (solo) = 4.85 miles, time = 57:04, pace @ 11:46
• easy walk with dogs = 2 miles

Total Running Weekly Mileage: 16.48

Total Running Monthly Mileage: 16.48

Total Running Yearly Mileage: 163.38

Total Running Shoe Mileage: 307.88

I originally had planned to do a run yesterday morning, even though I would have preferred not to on Saturday mornings. My body had a very bad way of telling me how dehydrated I was Friday...I would try to sit or stand up, and I got lightheaded and the room would spin around like crazy. I usually only get headaches when I'm dehydrated, so I'm not sure why I got this kind of reaction. I felt well enough to go to work yesterday afternoon, but I stayed in bed in the morning and made sure I drank plenty of water.

I wanted to run yesterday morning because I saw the weather forecast that it would rain today. However, I thought it would rain all day and I didn't want to run in it! It only rained in the morning and I finally went out for a run at 9am which was a lot later than I usually went out for a run. While it was really nice to breathe clean air right after rain, it was a bit warmer for my liking. I also didn't want to miss out on a run anyway because it was too warm. So I'm glad that I did my run. I also decided to let my dog take a break from running today...just because.

Week 9: Day 4 - March 03, 2016

• easy trail RUN with one dog = 4.54 miles
• easy WALK with four dogs = 2.5 miles

Normally I would post an update after I get home from work in the evening. However, Edison is turning the power in my neighborhood to do some work from 8pm to tentatively 4am tonight. So I won't be able to update after I get home from work because I won't have any electricity. I don't know why they can't do this during the daytime during normal hours (8am to 4pm). It would have been nice if they had done this during normal hours tomorrow. I would just go to sleep because I would have nothing else to do.

Week 9: Day 3 - March 02, 2016

• easy trail RUN with one dog = 4.89 miles
• easy WALK with four dogs = 2.5 miles

I actually went to bed early last night and I still woke up tired/sleepy. I still went for a run, but I wasn't feeling it. I think I really do need to catch up on sleep.

Week 9: Day 2 - March 01, 2016

• hilly trail RUN with one dog = 1.1 mile
• warm up = 1.1 mile
• cool down = 1.1 mile
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

Why do people (mainly walkers) think that running and walking is the same thing? People are surprised to see me when I only have one dog with me when I'm running. First of all, I am not trained to run with more than one dog. I'd like to see these people try to RUN with two or three dogs. RUN...DO NOT WALK. Secondly, I have one dog who is old and is obviously so because she lags behind a little during walks. How do you suppose I make an elderly dog run with me?

Anyway, I'm falling back into my old habits by staying up too late because I'm waking up tired and lazy to run. Maybe I'm still not 100% healthy yet, but I think it's more that I'm tired and want to sleep instead.