Yuletide Cheer

Haha...right.

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like it's not really Christmas? It just feels different for some reason this year.

This past week I have been so busy with working, baking, shopping, wrapping, stressing and getting sick that I have only had a chance to run once, on Thursday morning. It was a nice 3.2 mile loop (30:40) that came just in time when I felt I was about to crack under the holiday stress.

My long run Saturday actually went great. A nice 10 mile run. Ran it slow again but I felt so strong at the end I didn't even care. Tomorrow morning we have another 10 miler with the option of making it a 13 at the end. I am really hoping to feel good enough to make it a 13 and get that barrier out of the way. But since I am getting a nasty cold, I don't know how great I will feel after a 10 mile run. Stupid germs.

The Nike Run Hit Remix was a lot of fun last Thursday.



Jer, Kevin, Marrissa and I all went to South Beach together and ran the 5 mile run which featured entertainment every mile from 90's phenoms, Young MC, Vanilla Ice, Digital Underground, Coolio, and De La Soul. The run was great, a little dark at first, but overall put together well. We ran it strictly for fun, so we weren't overly concerned with our time and started at the back of the pack with the 11-12 minute groups (even though the guys run a 8-9 minute mile pace).

At about mile 2 there was a 40 second Florida DOWNPOUR that soaked everyone for a minute. It ended quickly enough so no one thought much about it. We wound around and ran down Ocean Drive then ran the last mile and a half on the hard sand of Miami Beach. It was sprinkling a little and of course we thought it would end soon enough. We finished the race slow (54 minutes) but felt great. We somehow lost Kevin and Marissa and while we were waiting at the end, a hurricane of biblical proportions decided to come through and soak everything in it's sight. I hadn't seen rain like that in months. It was a complete downpour with 25-30mph winds, out of nowhere. It must have lasted 30 minutes (unusual for a Florida December rain). There was no place to go for cover and everyone was exposed on the beach, so needless to say everyone was drenched. I was standing in water up to my ankles as we waited at the bag check to get our stuff (nightmare). They had to shut off power to the main stage and cancel De La Soul because the wind and rain where tearing the stage apart. I would have been more dry if I had jumped in the ocean and swam for an hour. Of course by the time we made it back to the car, the wind and rain had stopped and it was a lovely evening. How I love Miami.

At least I got a medal :)

Tomorrow after our run, I'm off the Sarasota for Christmas with the family. Maybe then the Christmas spirit will finally creep in.

Happy holidays!

Tired and Unmotivated

I'm not sure why some things make you want to run forever and others make you stop in your tracks. I have felt so tired and unwilling to make an effort to run since Thanksgiving and I'm not sure why. Well, I kind of know why, I just have a lot going on. But it's nothing that should keep me from running, the one thing that actually makes me feel better.

The funny thing is the last few times I've run have been great. My Turkey Trot was fun. We had perfect, cold fall weather and I actually got a PR for a 5k course (28:31).

Here are more pictures from The Turkey Trot and Thanksgiving weekend.

Anyway, I have been running, just not as much as I was a few weeks back. The weekend of Thanksgiving I was home at my parents and decided to take a few days off to let my legs heal. It seems as though I was having the beginnings of an IT band problem in my right leg. Pain in my hip flexor was ultimately making my knee feel weak and numb during my runs and causing extreme pain towards the end. I learned some new stretches which seem to have helped a bit and it hasn't been as bad as it was the week before Thanksgiving.

After Turkey Day I had two good runs during the week.
Tuesday - 3.22 miles / 31:08
Thursday - 4.58 miles / 47:32

Then my long run on Saturday was great. It was a 10 mile run and really humid, but for some reason it seemed really easy. Probably because I had taken it easy that week. Then Sunday I spent 2 hours sweating and lifting in the gym.

Last week I only ran once.
Monday - 3.22 / 30:40
It was a great run, and my best time for that loop. But then I took the rest of the week off before my big 12 mile run on Saturday which was a total mistake.

It started out ok. The weather was great and I had Tracy there to talk to me the whole time which was nice, but around mile 10 my hip and knee started acting up. I had a much harder time starting up the run again after walk breaks and it was way harder than I expected. Luckily, Tracy just kept talking and kept me distracted until I made it back safe and sound. It wasn't that I felt like I couldn't do it, it was just really hard at the end. I guess it was about time I had a crappy long run. Hopefully this week will be better.

So this week I have been trying to run and stretch more. So far,
Monday - 3.22 / 30:23
Wednesday - 3.22 30:29
Both great runs. Monday is my best time so far. I think today I would have beat it by a long shot but I had to stop for traffic for like 10-15 seconds towards the end. Oh well.

Tomorrow I am going to South Beach to run the Nike Run Hit Remix. A 5-mile run that has stages set up throughout the course with crazy-ass bands from the 90's playing. Young MC, Vanilla Ice, Coolio, Digital Underground and De La Soul are all performing! How awesome is it going to be to run my as Young MC is singing "Bust a Move"??!?! Oh, and the best part, Gerardo is the MC! That's right, RICO SUAVE BITCHES!!! I really can not contain my joy at the absurdity of it all.