One more thing...

...I've noticed a bumper crop of running skirts in the group this summer. They're adorable!

Another 4 miles

I hit the snooze once or twice this morning, and was a little late getting out of bed. I had laid out my clothes the night before, but decided that I needed a hat, too. I rummaged through my closet and drawers as quietly as possible, but came up empty-handed. I made a bowl of oatmeal, and ate just a few bites, and drank about 2 sips of OJ. I took my car key off the key ring, put my sunglasses on my head so I'd have them for the drive home, and headed to the car. Once in the car, no key. I ran back into the house and searched for it - no key. Back to the car. It had to be in there somewhere. I finally found it in my gym bag. I had given the bag the once-over in search of the missing hat, and must have dropped the key in.

So finally, I was off. When I got to Dick Woods, there were already cars lining the side of Miller School Road back to the guardrail. I cruised past the gravel parking area to find that indeed, there was enough room for me to squeeze in! I hopped out with just enough time to say a quick hello to Jim and Sadie before we broke out into pace groups.

There's a big glom of us slow half-marathoners, and I was a little cranky listening to all the chatter as we started out. I ran a very slow first mile up the hills, and between the hills, the gravel, the chatter, my discovery of my sunglasses still on my head, and my general discombobulation, I just couldn't get into a rhythm. I walked a little bit in mile 2, just enough to get behind some of the groups and have a little quiet. I caught back up with them at the water stop at Plank, but most of them must have been doing 5 or more, because I was by myself when I turned around.

As I headed back, there was a dog in the middle of the road, a friendly-looking black lab mix with a white paw. It ran beside me for maybe a quarter of a mile or so.

Also on the way back, I passed Pamela heading out - she shouted something about being late because she had to get bread out of her breadmaker.

Mile 3 I picked it up and did in 10:30. I like that the shorter runs give me the luxury of picking it up a little bit and not worrying about having reserves for later. The only way I will ever learn to run faster is to run faster! I had a hard time keeping up the pace in mile 4 - while it's mostly downhill, it's very rolling, plus the gravel road has a lot of large, loose stones. I was constantly worried about twisting my ankle, and my gaze was right down in front of my feet instead of up ahead. Even with some walking, I still did it in about 11:00. I averaged 11:30 for the run. A little slower than I'd like, but I'm happy with my 10:30 on mile 3. My head just wasn't in it today.

I did get my plan from coach Mark this week. My weekday mileage is very low, which is perfect. I do get some very long Saturday runs - 14 miles in September. That makes me think that if I could definitely do Richmond in November, if I felt like it. I could run another 3 after the Buck Mountain half, for 16 that day, do another long run in 2 weeks, and then have 2 weeks to taper for Richmond. I should just commit to it, but I can't, not this early. I'd burn out by August.

4 miles - season begins

Ridge Road. A cool, foggy morning. The crowd was huge, and about evenly divided between half and full marathoners. Most of the usual suspects were there, and it was nice to catch up a little. I did 4 miles with Pamela, who did crazy calisthenics next to me while I walked up hills with a terrible side stitch.

I felt great after the run. I'd been dreading it, but I feel buoyed and invigorated. Let's see if I can keep that up through the dog days.

More time in the pool

I lost count of my laps! I probably did around 1000. I think. Anyway, I used some of the techniques and drills the instructor taught me the other day, and by the end of my 40 min, I was pooped, and my arms felt like jello. I will definitely be sore tomorrow, and that is a good thing.

I must say that my flip turns were not bad, but so anxiety-producing that I only did them every other turn. I can't figure out how to get all the way through and still maintain my breathing rhythm. I end up having to hold my breath at some point, which is not what you want to do. And doing flip turns with backstroke is another ball of wax entirely.

Back in the pool

I finally made it to my swim lesson today, after having canceled it twice before for my horrible cold. The main pool already had a couple of lap swimmers plus an aquatic fitness class, so we did the lesson in the warm pool. It was warmer than I normally keep my bath, and I was totally wilted by the end of the lesson. I was hugely pregnant when I had my last swim lesson, and I'd been unable to get my body roll back. So the very nice swim instructor showed me a few drills and gave me a few simple pointers to get back on track. You can read this stuff in a book, but until someone watches you and says, "hey, dummy, quit crossing your left arm over" it doesn't really sink in. We also worked on backstroke, which has always been my bugaboo. I'd rather do butterfly (which is kind of fun, though I'm really too embarrassed to do it in public) than do backstroke. Again, a couple of drills and pointers, and I could feel my whole body changing. I also asked that we work on flip turns. I never could figure them out as a kid, and being pregnant just does not work with learning flip turns. So when I tried them today, I was surprised at how easy they were. No water up my nose, no horribly misjudged distances. I definitely need to work on them, but I think I might have gotten that monkey off my back.

Like a bozo, I forgot to bring my workout clothes, so I didn't do more than swim today. I'm planning on doing abs and strength during lunch tomorrow. I might even get out for a short run this afternoon.