March 30th (10 miles)

Back in the saddle baby. Despite some obstacles (well, one very big obstacle) I laced up my shoes and headed to the gym today. For a fun workout, I did what I refer to as a ladder. I start at 6.0 mph and every two songs, I increase the speed .1. I hit my goal of ten miles at 7.3 mph. I have no idea why this makes running seem like a game, but it does. Just what the doctor ordered.

In other news, Apple you can be real jerks in the face, you know that? Though I do love apple products, I hate that everything is extra. When I went to the genius bar to tell them about my computer, the first thing the guy mentioned was that they have an insert that you can buy for $50 to keep water from spilling through your keyboard. First off, that's great to know now -- Thanks! Second, why don't you just make that standard, oh, because you make more money if people ruin their computers. Third, I don't trust companies that refer you to another company if you have an issue.

However, I took their advice and went to Mac Enthusiasts. It's still going to cost a pretty penny to fix, but the people there were helpful and professional and didn't refer me to another company that would do the job for a better price than them.

Other good things Frozen mangos. Do they sell these anywhere but Southern California? Cause they are God damn amazing. I think I shall have some now.

Sedentary

It's been one of those days. Yesterday, I spilled water on my laptop. That's bad enough as it is, but then I spent the rest of the day waiting in the Apple store to get serviced...which didn't happen.

This morning I woke up to find that my pet hedgehog is sick. She's feeling better now. I guess it's a little chillier here than usual, and Ms. Zelda decided to try and hibernate. That would be fine and good if she were in the wild, but domesticated hedgehogs aren't prepared for hibernation, so they would essentially die.

As I'm sitting with Ms. Zelda under some covers to help warm her up, my doctor called. There's some complications with my lady bits. This was all before 8:30 in the morning. That's when I decided to take a mental health day. I sat around the apartment, slept on the couch and got a little bit of work done, but nothing else.

Damn, there's no way to go but up, right?

March 26th (3 in the morning 11 in the afternoon)

I did get outside to run today. It was very long, just a jog around the block. But I did it. Yeah. And I did two a days.

On my way to the gym, I stopped at the 7-11 to get some water. The clerk, who I see all the time, asked me how many miles I was running today. I told him eleven. He replied with an "only eleven." This fascinates me.

I always find it interesting how distorted peoples ideas of distance can be. I think eleven miles is a pretty healthy distance. It's like running from my house to the ocean. I guess people are so used to driving that they don't realize the effort it would take to run that same distance. I also think that some folks who haven't exercised for years think that they can just pick up where they left off when they were a high school soccer player. This makes me chuckle.

March 24th and 25th (8 miles and 1 mile)

Damn, weekends are busy.

I had a great time playing soccer this weekend, but it most certainly wore me out. At the beginning of the game, we were short 2 players. Before the end of the first half we went down another player as one of our defenders was hurt. Then it turned into a blood bath both literally and figuratively. I think we ended up losing 5-0 and three of our players (myself included) were bleeding by the end of the game.

It's a good thing I did my 8 mile run before hand.

Sunday, I was a lazy lump. I was sore from a the hard 90 minutes of soccer I put in and so I switched my long run to tomorrow and I did a mile today.

I'm sad to admit that I think I'm resigned to my treadmill running. I like it. I'm going to still try and squeeze in some trails, but the gym is right down the street and I have to drive to the trails. Filling up my tank with over $40 worth of gas yesterday has me hopping on my bike and going to the gym.

March 22nd and 23rd (8 miles and 8 miles)

Damn, I have to remember to update on a daily basis so I can remember what the hell I did.

Yesterday I did some speed work in the evening. 8 miles total with 5 at 8:05/mile.

Today, after a morning of commuting and doctor's appointments, I jumped rope for a little while. Then I biked it up to Ye Olde 24 hour fitness to run 8 miles at 8:57/mile.

My pace is definitely getting back to where I'd like it to be. I want to push really had for Wild Miles. It's been awhile since I've actually run a shorter race. By shorter, I mean the legs obviously in total it's the longest race I've done. But the three legs I have are spread out over 2 days. There's a 3.7, a 6.5 and a 7.5. That's if everything goes according to plan.

Oh, we've also picked up some new runs. Thanks to everyone who contacted me and was interested. If you didn't make it onto our team, there's a ton of other teams that still need to be filled up, so check the message board for Wild Miles.

I also want to make sure that after this weekend, my two-a-days are two running workouts. Though I'm definitely getting my blood pumping with jumping rope, soccer and tennis, I need to make sure that I'm running enough to be ready. So Monday, when soccer and tennis are by the wayside I'll be doing two runs. Good times.

Time for a shower.

Today's post, brought to you by Fountains of Wayne

Now, this blog should be totally devoted to my running. So in essence, there shouldn't be any teen angst posts about how the world is against me. But, I guess, that's a big part of MY running. Not all the time, but you know, on those days when I think the world is out to get me.

Running and I have been through hard times before. The past week has been rather tough and even though running makes you feel better, I just want it to go away. I'd much rather just lay in bed and feel sorry for myself. That's the easy path I guess.

But, as I got up this morning I realized I have a lot of stuff to get ready for and feeling sorry for myself does nothing but make matters worse.

I made a plan a week ago to start doing two a days. It lasted for a few days and then fell by the wayside. Since I missed my opportunity for a morning run today, I'm going to start back on the right foot tomorrow.

I believe I will kick the run off with "A Bright Future in Sales" by the Fountains of Wayne. For those of you who aren't familiar with this ditty, its basically says "I've gotta get my shit together, cause I can't live like this forever. You know I've come too far and I don't want to fail. I've got a new computer and bright future in sales." Check it out.

March 21st (9 miles)

Another day, another 9 miles on the treadmill.