Oh dear

I knew I shouldn't have said anything. Even though I knocked on wood, it didn't turn out to be enough. I had no idea that my weekend would be such a vast departure from what my last blog entry stated. Yes, running is exciting. Yes, my body is my temple. No, I did not remember these things over the weekend while I consumed massive quantities of wings, french fries, pizza, bacon, biscuits, beer, and cookies (curse the girl scouts! not really. just their crazily addictive cookies). I will say that we had friends in town...so it's not like I went on some insane "I've gotta eat all the worst things I can think of" binge. I didn't work out Saturday or Sunday and I ate really horrendous things. So it's no huge surprise then, that Sunday afternoon/evening I felt like CRAP! My stomach hurt, I felt lethargic and I felt sad. I missed my workout and I missed fruits and veggies and feeling like I am doing good things for my body.

So yesterday I jogged. Dave agreed to ride his bike while I jogged. (I told him he'd be better off walking or trying to jog with me because I was probably going to be pretty slow. He didn't listen) I was sick of being in a room running on a treadmill and decided that I HAD to get outside and jog in the fresh air. It started out ok. I didn't walk at the beginning to warm up. I just started a slow jog. I concentrated on looking graceful and strong as we ran by the Starbucks where several people were talking and sipping their beverages on the outside patio. Then we turned and went into a neighborhood that leads to the Clearwater East/West trail. It's got a few hills, which is a nice albeit challenging change. I jogged for about 10 minutes and then decided to walk for a minute. I felt like such a tortoise! It seemed like I was going much more slowly than I do on the treadmill, and it seemed more difficult. I guess my treadmill is a lot more forgiving than the concrete. I jogged 10 more minutes then walked for 2. I planned to then jog the rest of the way home but stopped for a few more walking breaks. Of course, I jogged by Starbucks again on the way back. It's so funny how when I knew people COULD be watching, I kicked it up a notch (and didn't feel too bad doing it). I wish the entire route could have been lined with spectators cheering me on...I bet my performance would have improved significantly. I have no idea how far we went but since it was only 30 minutes, I would guess somewhere between 2-2.5 miles. It was pretty disappointing. I don't know whether I just never found my groove or if I was trying to jog too far or what. I will probably just do my 5/1 interval tonight on the treadmill. Wish me luck.

P.S. Oh, I forgot to mention that I DID jog on Friday night. I think I ended up doing 3.5 miles: 2 miles of 5/1 intervals and 1.5 miles of straight jogging. The miles were alternated: 1 mile of intervals, 1 mile straight jog, another mile of intervals, then a .5 mile jog. I desperately wanted to do a full fourth mile but felt the shinsplints again along with a few other aches and pains and didn't want to push too hard. It's frustrating because I don't know what is causing them. It could be the way I run, the shoes, that I started doing too much too soon, etc. I hope they don't flare up again. I feel like I should slow down a bit with the training but I don't want to slow down TOO much. Where's the line, ya know?