Day 8 should be easy; after two days rest, I re-do the last run (walk 5 mins, run 3 mins, walk 5 mins). If I had re-read my blog, which is the point of all this, I would've remembered that I wanted to follow the same path as last time, before I had walked two minutes in the exact opposite direction. To my credit, I started my walk with a bit of a headache - enough that I went ahead and took some tylenol before departure.
I took a route that I have often walked the dog - it's quiet, ahem, at least in the middle of a school day, and there's some really pretty houses. Like the rest of my part of town, a lot of alleys and dead ends. When my friend and I drove around on Saturday, we noted a lot of flat grassy areas over here, so I thought I'd give it a try.
It was actually disturbingly quiet today - no people, no dogs, only a couple cars. I kinda liked it, but one block of this neighborhood is really beat up, and it definitely felt post-apocalyptic, especially on a grey, damp day like today.
Anyway, my run alarm went off right in the middle of an uphill block, right at the end of a big patch of grass I thought I'd be running through. So I stayed on the sidewalk to start, visualizing running up a flight of stairs, hitting a foot on each stair as I went up. My shoes must've gained some weight over the two days off, because my feet literally weighed a thousand pounds today.
At the top of the hill, I turned and ran the next block in the grass between the sidewalk and the street. It was narrow, but it was flat and even, so I was doing alright. The power line poles were on this side of the street, so I had to keep dodging those...I'm sure I looked like an idiot, but I didn't see a single soul, so oh well!
Running in the grass definitely felt better on my legs today, but I'm curious how the ground being soaked affects things. Like, seriously, my feet were hardly coming up off the ground. Am I just that tired today? I don't feel any more tired than I have been...Was it the two days off? Maybe, but that's just how it has to be... Do I just need to get used to running in the grass? Well, it's not like the concrete springs your feet back up in the air, so I doubt it...
Whatever it was, I pooped out early today. It wasn't so much the burning lungs, as I simply couldn't get good breaths and every step took way more strength than it should have! I checked the clock, and I hadn't even gone two minutes. I was fairly certain I wasn't going to make it today. I think not making it the full two minutes on day 1 has given me a lot of motivation, though, because I don't want to miss the time again.
Thankfully, I started running on a slight downhill, and hit a grassy area again. I was counting my exhales, as counting is generally what I do to take my mind off of something horrid like this. Unfreakingbelievably, the alarm finally went off, and I could walk again. I would say I ran about 60% on grass today, maybe a little more.
I'm not sure what I was doing "wrong" today, but when I stopped to walk, I thought for sure I was going to puke. My stomach was killing me. I haven't really been eating properly for awhile, but I will go ahead and note that today I got out of bed around 10:30, had some dry multi-grain cheerios, and a mtn dew. I had just a little water to wash down the tylenol - usually I get at least a full glass in before I run. (Side note: It's my last day for multi-grain cheerios, as they have dead animal bits, which makes me horribly sad.)
I panted the rest of the way home, waved to the neighbors, who ignored me (I hate humanity), and crawled in to the computer chair, where I sat down, terribly dizzy. Also, again with the freezing ears? I will wear earmuffs, but it's nearly 60 degrees, I don't think I need more crazy looks! Anyway, I got a glass of water, and the ice pack (just to be safe) for my knees, hammies, and head, and called it a day.
A note on the weather: Apparently if anyone needs to have an outdoor activity, let me know, and I'll schedule my run for that time. Not only did it not rain, but the sun came out when I got home.
Thursday I add another minute of jogging. I just can't wrap my mind around it. In one way, 4 minutes seems like nothing, but based on the three minutes I just struggled through, it seems quite impossible.
Time: Noon
Temp: 58 degrees, 14 mph wind, 78% humidity, cloudy (Is the humidity why my legs wouldn't come off the ground? It's like running in a swimming pool out there today!)
UPDATE: I went downtown to do some shopping this afternoon. I passed a van that had "Go Cubs Go" and "Race for the Cure" written on it. It also had the local high school team's bumper sticker on it, so I just assumed that the Cubs were a kid's baseball team, or something, because there aren't a terrible lot of Chicago Cubs fans around here. To pay for my purchase at the first shop, I pulled out my Chicago Cubs wallet, and the shop owner asked me about it. Upon hearing I was indeed a Cubs fan, he said, "You shoulda been at the 5K this weekend! A bunch of us came dressed in our Cubs stuff and walked it - we painted the van and everything!" Really? I was floored. I only know of one other Cubs fan in town for one thing, and I have never, ever been told I should be in a 5K (not that it matters 2 days later). Interesting.
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