This week in running: week 3

Sunday

The first half of this run was awesome. You can probably guess where this is going ... the second half was not. It was probably because I forgot fuel and felt myself slowing fading toward the end. I ended up walking more than I wanted and cutting it 0.5 miles short. I'd love to see what would have happened if I had fuel, but I didn't. And the run is what it is. And I saw a beautiful sunrise.

7.5 miles
1:38

Monday

I felt like running, but it was raining, so I headed to the craptastic gym. I picked the wrong treadmill, and it stopped mid-run. I tried everything, but it would not restart. So, I had to switch treadmills. This is why I call it the craptastic gym, people. I listened to Katy Perry's "Roar" on repeat the entire run. I envisioned myself roaring to the condo board about their crappy gym.

2.5 miles
29:20

It should not have to be like this.

Thursday

It seems like I either love speed work night or hate it. This week, it was love. Maybe I got all my hate out at the craptastic gym. The 800-meter repeats seemed tough (per usual), but manageable (not always the case). It was one of those times that everything seems right with running (these periods are usually short-lived, so I try to savor them when they happen).

3.0 miles
32:36

Ever have a treadmill quit on you mid-run? Anyone else obsessed with "Roar," too? Do you have a love-hate relationship with speed work?

A summer love affair

I have a summer romance. And, it's pretty intense. Well, as intense as things can get between a girl and a treadmill.

Yes, this previous hater of the treadmill, is now having a hot love affair with it.

I'm pretty certain I previously hated it because of my craptastic condo gym. 

I tend to look like I'm near heat stroke and rather irritated in that craptastic place ... maybe those two go together. 

Unfortunately, I didn't escape the heat in the craptastic gym; I walked right into it. As an added bonus, my treadmill would stop mid-run occasionally.

But, running outside in Florida in the summer made me think my love affair with running was over. I debated taking a break from it. I wondered if I'd ever love it again. 

Then, while on vacation, I found a treadmill that didn't stop mid-run in an adequately cooled gym, and I ran my farthest distance ever on a treadmill: 4.5 miles. And, I loved it. And, I realized it wasn't running that I had lost my love for, it was running in the summer.

Currently, I'm visiting South Carolina, and I have access to an incredible gym with beautiful treadmills. And, I'm having a hard time not running endlessly every day. I can't stay away. 

I love you, treadmill (at least until the fall). 

Do you love the treadmill or hate it? How do you cope with summer running? What is your longest distance on the treadmill?

Running roundup

Usually my bullet point posts are just a bunch of randomness thrown together that really don't relate at all. I'm quite proud of this post because all of the bullets relate to running. This is a first for me.

• If you're a runner and looking for a movie to see tonight, check out "Spirit of the Marathon II." It will be showing in more than 600 US theaters on Wednesday, June 12, at 7 p.m. (Check to see if it's showing in your city here.) Unfortunately, I have a prior commitment and can't attend, but I think it would be incredible for motivation (which I seem to be lacking lately with the hot, humid weather and no races on the calendar until October).

• Do you donate your running shoes after you're done putting miles on them? If not, you should! And, one way to do that is via Kindrunner.com. For each pair of shoes purchased at Kindrunner.com, one pair of worn shoes can be returned for a $10 Kindness Cash Rewards credit. It can redeemed immediately or collected and used together at a later time. The company's global shoe donation partnerships with Soles4Souls and The MORE Foundation Group ensures that your shoes go directly to someone who needs them.
• Pro Compression neon socks are the socks of the month and are available for 40% off with the code NEON. Offer is good through June 30 or while supplies last.

I'm thinking about these fun socks!

• Because of thunderstorms (and my fear of them), I've been in the craptastic gym a few times lately. You may remember this place as being extremely hot with minimal air movement. Unfortunately, it has not changed.

 

• But, it has gotten even crappier. One of the only things that I used to like about the craptastic gym was the TV. I didn't feel bad about watching craptastic TV (hello, all celeb-reality shows) as long as I was working out. Well, now the TV doesn't work. I didn't realize this the first few times I went, and I'd struggle with it for 10 minutes before deciding it wasn't going to work. To entertain myself, I listened to music on my phone (without ear buds so it didn't sound that great, but it was better than nothing). This is a song I am LOVING in general, but it's also fun to run to (if you're stuck in a craptastically hot gym with no air movement and no entertainment).
  
  

Are you going to see "Spirit of the Marathon II"? Have you seen "Spirit of the Marathon"? Do you donate your old running shoes? Do you have compression socks? Do you like to watch TV in the gym?

A runner's blessings

I’m thankful for the ability to run.

I’m thankful for the desire to run.

I’m thankful for no running injuries.

I’m thankful for running friends.

I’m thankful for a great running group.

I’m thankful for knowledgeable and encouraging coaches.

I’m thankful for Brooks shoes. 

I’m thankful for bad runs because I always learn something.

I’m thankful for my running supporters.

I’m thankful for awesome winter running weather.

I’m thankful for Bondi Bands (I’m a sweaty girl).

I’m thankful for the condo's craptastic gym (I can’t believe I just typed that). 

 I’m thankful for many incredible local race options. 

What are you thankful for running-wise? 

This week in running: week 2

I just completed my second week of half marathon training, and I’m feeling OK about it. I’m not completely happy with how things are going right now, but I do know that they’ll eventually come together.

Tuesday

Due to really, really scary lightning, I didn’t attend training group. If there is one thing I’m really scared of, it’s lightning. I hate that stuff. So, I made the call not to go.

I guess a few people still showed up and they were finally able to run around the block twice (in the rain) and learn some stretches. I’m not sad I missed that. Instead, I hit up the craptastic gym for a treadmill run.

I ran for 45 minutes because I guessed that’s what we would have done at training group. As usual, it was super hot. I thought it was hot running outside at 6:30 p.m. (and it is), but I think it is worse in the gym (aside from no big, scary sun … yes, I’m scared of the sun, too).
 

Distance: 3.75 miles

Thursday

This was a fabulous running day. It was just one of those days where running felt right. I love these days!

Our group ran for 55 minutes, and it all rocked. It’s still ridiculously hot, so my “speed” is not spectacular, but is it ever? Seriously, I know I can run faster, and I know I will … eventually.

Distance: 4.4 miles

Sunday

I was not happy that our coaches decided to meet at 7 a.m. instead of 7:30 a.m. Thirty minutes is an extremely huge difference on an early weekend morning to a non-morning person. I whined and pleaded (yes, really) to change it back to 7:30 a.m. to no avail. So, I showed up at 7 a.m., not a minute earlier.

This was our first distance run. Our goal: run 5 miles.

Not too long into the run, I knew things weren’t going well. I just didn’t feel like I had the energy to run. My legs felt like lead, and each step took way too much effort.

I started taking short walk breaks before I even hit a mile. It was that bad. I kept thinking I’d feel better, but no luck. I run-walked this whole distance. I felt terrible.

To avoid a problem like last training cycle, I’m trying to be more careful with what I’m eating. I think I didn’t eat enough or eat enough of the right things. Gah! This running nutrition thing can be really complicated. 

Distance: 5 miles

How was your running week? Did you have a run that rocked? Did you run on the treadmill? Was it hot? Do you have running nutrition figured out? If so, please fill me in! 

Oh, craptastic gym. It's you again.

If you've read this blog for any length of time, you've probably read about the craptastic gym. I really try not to complain, especially since the gym is free (well, technically it's included in the condo association fee). But, I've failed miserably at that.

This place is ridiculously hot, has inadequate fans and has treadmills that quit mid-run. That's craptastic.

Then tonight, I saw this sign.

And, it made me think.

1. No children? Not even supervised children? If a kid wants to work out with his parents, shouldn't that be encouraged? 
2. I find it funny that they mention shorts as being required. Were people going bottomless? (Hey, it is hot in there. I can understand if this happens.) Am I a law breaker because I wore capris? Am I going to get banned from the craptastic gym for this blatant violation of the rules?
3. The note to clean the equipment is especially important if people weren't wearing pants on the exercise bike. Good call, craptastic gym.

Things that Rock Thursday

Thursday, yuck. This one hasn't been that bad, I guess, but I'm tired and somewhat grumpy, so I need some things that rock to cheer me up.

A new fan configuration in the craptastic gym

You may remember my genius setup to keep cool in a way-too-hot gym. 

 

This worked pretty well, but I was always a little nervous that the fan might fall off of the elliptical (the last thing I need is to be indebted to the craptastic gym for a new fan).

So, when I ran last night, I tried a new configuration.

Not only did I not worry about a crashing fan, I ran in comfort for 2.5 miles!
 

Look folks! I didn't sweat ... much (I'm pointing
at the lack of sweat on my shirt).

All-Star Game festivities

I’ll try to cool it on the baseball talk after this. I know I haven’t been able to shut up about it lately, so I’m sorry if baseball isn’t your thing. It is my thing, and the Fan Fest rocked my world. So many interactive exhibits, baseball memorabilia and just cool stuff. 

I started my life as a die-hard Oakland A's
fan because of Jose Canseco.

I didn’t go to the game, but it was cool to see the stadium where I spent my summers growing up showcased to the nation. It was also cool to see Rays’ players David Price and Fernando Rodney each pitch a scoreless inning (this says a lot considering the American League pitchers gave up 8 runs). 

Weird promotions

OK, I know I said I’d cool it with the baseball talk, but I guess I lied because this is baseball-related. The buzz around town since the Rays announced their 2012 promotions: the Zim Bear. What is a Zim Bear?, you ask. Good question. It's a teddy bear with Don Zimmer's face (Don Zimmer is a senior adviser with the Tampa Bay Rays and has been in baseball since 1949).

Players took photos with the Zim Bear. Collectors said it was so weird and creepy that they had to have it. The paper said people were going to line up 4 hours before the gates opened to get their hands on one of the 10,000.

It so happened that this was one of the games my dad and I attended. We wanted a Zim Bear, but we really didn’t want to stand in the heat of the Florida summer for 4 hours. We decided we’d tough it out for about an hour and a half (and prepared with umbrellas, towels and Gatorade). We arrived at the stadium to this. 

Yes, we were the first in line at Gate 5.

So, we got our Zim Bear. And, it's crazy, creepy and weird (and still in the package ... in case I can sell it for millions of dollars).

Stuck at home and in the craptastic gym

Since pesky Debby is still hanging around (she didn't listen when I told her to go away), I worked at home today. I dread working at home. Dread it. I did it for three years with my last job, and that is the main reason I moved to my current job: to not work at home.

But, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Since yesterday's drive across Tampa Bay was the most horrifying driving experience of my life, I decided to sit the next day out. The conditions were still windy, rainy and tides were still higher than normal. I really didn't want a white-knuckle repeat of yesterday.

Working at home is still as dreadful as I remember, but it had to be better than that drive. And, it allowed me to do something I never do: run over lunch.

Of course, I had to do it in the craptastic gym, but it wasn't too bad. It was hot, but that's to be expected. I'm pretty happy I knocked out 3 miles in just over 33 minutes. I'm just not happy I couldn't run outside. Silly tropical storm. 

Although I did appreciate the rain on my walk back to the condo. Debby is good for something, I guess.

My coworker is not. Lazy girl did not do a thing all day. Well, unless you count sleeping and looking cute as a thing.

Debby: making my life craptastic

I'm getting a little sick of this pesky girl named Debby. 

She blew in on Sunday and has been wreaking havoc ever since.

Talk about havoc.

 It's rained and rained and rained. 

Chloe surveying the damage

The drive home today across Tampa Bay was intense. I got my arm workout keeping my car from blowing off the bridge. 

Officials later closed the bridge due to high winds and water coming over the edge. Smart decision, folks. I'm just glad you waited until I made it across ... or am I?

Maybe some of the worst news with this storm? Instead of just a craptastic gym day, it's a craptastic gym week.