Running and Leavenworth

So I just posted a post that I wrote last week but hadn't quite finished it yet (mostly just adding pictures) and then forgot about it.  I actually was getting on to write about what's been going on in the last week, so you'll get two posts in a row.  =)

I think I ended my last post (that I literally just looked at and posted, but don't remember) with my 7 mile run on August 20th.  So that week I ran 3 miles, then 5 miles and then 5 miles race pace . . . Nope, I lied, I ended with my 11 mile run on the 27th.  I was feeling good about that particular run, I had been thinking 8, then switched it to 11.  I was tired afterwards, but I did it without problems. 

Last week I ran in the gym for 3 miles.  I'm not going to lie, my last 5 mile run on the trail near my work freaked me out a little.  I didn't like the trail before, but then to see the 3 people shooting up at the end of the trail made me think maybe I shouldn't run that trail. 

Don't get me wrong, I work in the social service field, I am well used to seeing people high.  I have been working with homeless adults about 7 years now, I know how they live and what they do to survive.  But meeting with my clients and working with them (even driving them places) is different than running into strangers while running.  My clients know me and (I hope) respect me, I'm not scared of them.  Strangers are a different matter.

Anyway, I was going to run on that trail last week, but I decided I really didn't want to this time.  I don't know if I will again. . .

Five miles on Thursday . . . with the plan to do 6 mile race pace on Saturday.  Well, Damian wasn't home Saturday morning and he's been watching Maddox a lot lately, so I didn't want to make him come home.  I decided to run with Maddox on his bike, I knew it wouldn't be race pace, but I thought it sounded fun.  He was pretty much done at 3 miles so we went home (up hill for the last half mile, poor kid).  My neighbors agreed to watch him for a little bit so I did 3 miles at race pace, which sadly wasn't any faster than my normal race pace even though it was shorter.  I did those 3 miles on my normally hilly route and not my normal flat race pace route (I did that for Maddox's 3 miles). 

The run with Maddox was pretty fun.  I think he enjoyed it, and I enjoyed it, even if it was a little slow.  =)  I think I will do that more often with him.

Sunday I was going to run 15 miles.  My schedule (if I had stayed on the schedule) says I should be at 19 miles, but obviously that isn't happening.  I was trying to catch up and thought 15 miles this week, 18 next week (when I should be at 20) and I'd probably hit 20 before the end of September.  Well, I was pretty tired on my run and knew I wouldn't get 15 done.  So I thought that 14 would be okay.  I called Chris to see if someone could pick me up, but doing math in my head when I'm tired isn't good, and I ended up with only 13 miles at my pick up point.  I walked away from that run thinking that I could have done another mile.  I hate that feeling.

My last 13 mile run was an average 9.28 min/mile, so I've gotten slower.  It was also in July when I was still on track for the marathon.  I think I can get my mileage up to marathon ready, but I don't think I'm going to get my pace up to be under a 4 hour marathon.  =(  Oh well.  Plus, with the heat and the bad smoke in the air, I'm not running as often as I "should" be.  My midweek runs are not up to what they should be either.  I'm getting 4 runs in a week, not 5 and I'm at about 25 miles a week instead of 39.

Yesterday I ran 5 miles which I extended during my run.  I actually was going to run my normal route but I wanted some comparison pictures of the smoke in the air so I ran to the river instead. 

 Yesterdays run is above.
August 20th is below.

The air is very, very smokey here right now from all the fires that are pretty much surrounding us.

Today I'm going to Leavenworth with my sister for the weekend.  So that means that I'll be running less than I usually do.  I'm going to go to the gym today during lunch and do 3 (maybe 4) miles.  I don't know if I'll run while I'm there.  My sister suggested the treadmill while she walks, but she also said she'd swim if I ran outside . . . so I guess I'll have to do something since she wants to.  =) 

We are going over there for our annual trip to the Wine Walk.  This will be our 4th year.  It's a blast and I look forward to it every year.  I actually just searched my posts for Leavenworth and the first year we went was in 2012, so this is our 5th year.  I can't believe we've been going so long.  =)  Well, I can't find a picture from 2013, so maybe we didn't go that year.  But here are all the others. =)

2012

2014



2015

2016