Day 58 - won't do that again!

So running at high noon when the sun is at it's hottest is not the best time to run. I was only doing a little 5 miler so I didn't bring any water with me, big mistake. Plus, I didn't have sun screen on and I brunt my face, so when I was finished running I had an inch wide band across my forehead! Can you say coolio!
My daily routine of running early in the morning got shifted a bit since my mom was in town for one night as a stop over on her way back from Calgary. What we do for our mother's! lol
After not running for a few weeks I really have forgotten all the little things I should be doing to get ready for my dash out the door. I almost forgot to wear my watch today too. I guess I'm just so excited to get out the door.
I do have a confession to make...I walked today. Yes, I know, I know. It's not in my belief system to ever walk, even if I can do a really slow trot, I'll do that before walking but I think it was the heat that brainwashed me into thinking I was still running as it was so super hot out at I think 30 degrees. Anyway, I will take this as a learning opportunity and won't go running at the hottest time of day and little water! :)

Day 31 - Hot stuff!

Have you ever ran in a sauna? Well, that's what if felt like running this morning! During the first half of my run it wasn't that bad. I did find it a bit hard to breath as the air was very thick and warm. But as the run went on, it was almost unbearable. By the time I got home it was 27 degrees outside and all I could do was make it inside as fast as I could to drink a glass of water. I couldn't even do my stretching right after my run, I was drenched with sweat and needed a shower ASAP.

WED May 26th 09:00am

Temp 25

Wind

W 15 Humidity

65

Today's Stats: 4 miles, 6.44km in 40:32, avg pace of 6:18/km burned 556 cal, over all a good run but way way to hot. I'm going to have to start running at 6am to avoid this hot weather. I guess that means earlier bed time for me. I should probably drink an extra glass of water too before leaving for my run. I'm not bringing water with me at the moment as I'm only running short distances but once I get up near the 12 mile mark I'll carry water with me. Goal is to wake up early tomorrow to get my run in before is get's to hot!

Day 21 - Officially a habit

As the saying goes 'Do something for 21 days in a row and it becomes a habit'. Today was my 21st time I ran in a row. Which officially means running is now ingrained as a habit for me. I don't really have to push myself out the door anymore in the morning. I just automatically start the steps in my morning routine and I'm off running before I know it. Have you ever tried to start something new or change a bad habit? It's not an easy thing to do but as long as you are strong willed, determined and persevere I believe we can achieve anything.
I was thinking about all the Olympians I watched at the Olympics this winter when I finished my run this morning. My personal goal I set for myself was to do my 6.2km run this morning in under 1 hour. A very obtainable goal seeing that it was just an easy 6 miler I had to do this morning. I have to say, I felt the heart ache I'm sure many Olympians felt when they miss their target by 1 sec or less. As you can see my time for 6.20miles, 9.98km was 1:00:01 just a second over my desired goal. The avg pace was 6:01/km, burned 1346 cal and avg heart rate of 165 bpm. I learned two things from this run today, 1. if you set a goal, track your progress, their is no reason I couldn't of beat my desired run time, I just didn't track my speed through out the run. And 2. Maybe I need to start bringing water with me on my longer runs? I always drink 1 to 2 glasses of water before leaving the house but as my runs get longer I'm going have to bring water along the way to stay hydrated. So I wonder what the maximum amount I should run before I should start bringing water with me is?
All in all it's a great feeling. Being able to fall asleep at night, no tossing and turning just solid sleep and then awake fresh and ready to run. It's been along time since I've slept through the night due to the chronic back pain which I've suffered for the last 11 years. But now that I'm in a routine of exercising and doing three rounds of stretching daily the pain has seemed to have subsided. It's not 100% gone but I can definitely feel an improvement.
So I've reached my first milestone in my time-line for achieving a completed marathon with my dad, it was to 'run 21 days in a row to solidify habit'! DONE, Achieved, checked off...now what? My next question is should I run in the Ottawa Race Weekend 5km next weekend? I'm suppose to run a 3 miler that day anyway. How do races impact the training schedule?
Lots of questions for all you running experts out there, I can't believe how many questions pop up from day to day when writing this blog. I thought for sure I would run out of things to talk about but as usual there is no loss of words for Laura. Love the advice, support and encouragement from all my family, friends and followers. Keep it comin'!

Day 4 - survived last night's migraine and ran this morning

So I have a feeling, I'm going to get every test in the book during this journey of mine. It's only day four and I managed to make it out to run despite the massive migraine I suffered last night. At about 7pm last night I started to get a headache so I layed down for a few minutes before supper and managed to get up to eat. But had to go right back to bed, between the hockey game playing in the living room and my beautiful princess coming to give me kisses on my forehead it was hard to get rid of the pain. I somehow fell asleep and managed to get some rest so this morning the head ache was 95% gone. As stubborn as I am, I had to run. So I ran 4.02 miles, 6.48km in 45:34, Avg Speed 8.5km/h and burned 551 Cal. not bad for the night I just had. So now this is were I need the expert advice from all you runners, personal trainers and nutritionist. Did I not drink enough water? Eat enough? or maybe my muscles are pulling my spine in an awkward position to cause such a discomfort? Even though I was diagnosed last year (after 11 years of specialists) with sacrilicious - arthritis of the sacrum I am determined to figure out this issue as I believe a 31 year old athlete shouldn't have to suffer in this much pain. I always feel good during the workout it's after wards that the problem creeps up. So I survived another day! I'll drink a lot more water and eat more often today to make sure I don't get a headache like that again.