Where's the Donuts?

11th Street/Shore Drive loop. Easy. Looks like it may snow. 

Returned to the world of running today. It's been a rough week what with floods, a stressful time at work and coming down with a cold. I went into a little slump and neglected running. Today was a good day to return. Sunny and crisp outside (crisp in the winter here means 45), a gorgeous view of Mt. Olympus and another of the sun of Sinclair Inlet was encouraging. I only did five miles at an easy pace, but I needed to just get out and do something. Cleared my head out.

Feeling pretty run-down and achy today, the cold is moving through me. Four miles easy to sweat some of it off, over the Manette Bridge and through downtown B-town, and back. Other than the sick feeling, nothing to complain about. I'm planning to join the local running club this coming Saturday for a run, so I'm trying to take some precautions and get well before then. 

East 11th to Shore Drive switchback. Still feeling a little crummy, but the cold has stay at bay for the most part and feels like its on the way out. Easy pace, though I stretched my legs out a bit the last 1.5 or so, pushed up the last two hills just to do it. Since I'm not really running hard days at all right now (though I'm planning for a 'workout' of sorts Thursday) I don't feel the need to keep these runs completely relaxed. 

YMCA loop, easy-to-medium pace. About 30 minutes. 

Lions Park/Tracyton Beach Road to 31st Street and back. Gray, mild morning. After two miles I started in on what was a little faster than a Tinman Tempo. I held it for about two miles, but that gassed me so I called it off there. First workout in a long time, I'll build that pace up in subsequent workouts. I can tell I need the practice. Easy pace back, then added 3x100 striders to punish myself a bit for ending the tempo a mile earlier than I should have. 

So I get up at 5:30 a.m. (too early) to drive to Port Orchard (too rainy) to meet some guys I was going to run with. But I couldn't find them (too dark? I'm too stupid?) at where I thought we were meeting and I didn't really feel like running around in the pitch dark in a unfamiliar area, so I drove home. The rain stopped then, which was the one benefit of a frustrating early wake-up. So I combined the Illahee State Park loop with the YMCA loop for 8 miles. I thought it'd be a little longer, but there's more overlap than I planned. It's a good run though, real hilly so there's a strength aspect to it. Nothing fast, but I wasn't slacking either. Now if I could just find the secret Saturday morning meeting spot. 

Easy-to-medium run past Lions Park to East 31st. Overcast and drizzly out, and I  overdressed for a 50-degree day. Sweats off some of the junk I ate yesterday, I suppose. That said, this is the lightest I've felt during December since college. I haven't lifted weights, which I used to do every fall to get myself ready to ski, but the steady miles through November and December play the bigger part of it. I'm looking forward to January and February training since I won't have to spend 6 weeks slimming down.

11th St. to Shore Drive switchbacks, with 5x100 striders. 

An easy run around the YMCA loop after two days off. Tuesday I had an excuse -- jury duty early and I had to try and free my bike from a stuck lock before it started (didn't work) -- but yesterday I just let the weather intimidate me. It was pouring. Weather is better today, though I felt a little stiff and sluggish from the days off.

My brother was in town so we got up and ran the 11th-Shore Drive switchbacks. Just pouring over here, but now we get to go have the first Christmas meal of the season. I'm off a few days next week, so hopefully I'll up my mileage. 

Pre-Christmas Eve run on a treadmill at the YMCA near my parents house in Chicago. Something about the wind chill near zero drove me inside, I'm a weather pansy now. Started slowly but ended up running around 7:30 min. miles. I then ate way, way too much at dinner and gained a few pounds. 

Christmas was a beautiful day in the Midwest, sunny, mid-30s, no wind. I didn't have time for a long run since I slept in and people were coming over, so I just ran a bit in the neighborhoods around my folks' house. 

11th-Shore Drive loop, felt really sluggish and unfocused. A little light-headed even. Could be sugar and meat withdrawals after leaving my Midwest diet behind. 

Took the weekend off from running just because I felt like taking a break, came back with the 11th St-Shore Drive loop today. I'm looking forward to when it isn't so dark in the morning. I'm not real excited about my training the past few weeks, but I remembered this morning that I have met my goal for the first part of winter -- to maintain some consistency and run regularly -- even if the volume and quality of miles could be improved. That'll be the next step, and why I'm looking forward to more daylight and better weather. I guess it's a good day to write about goals. I just realized it's New Year's Eve, Happy 2009 everyone.