Monday Mash Up

I really hate to do this to all of you, but hell it's my blog, but today is the day I'm putting in my notice and I'm a bundle of nerves.  I don't think I've ever been this nervous when giving notice, then again I've never worked in such an environment before.  I've gone over every possibility of my boss' reaction with my hubbs and family and it really just comes down to what I want and need and I can't let him affect me.  I'm moving on to bigger and better things and I need to channel that when I head into his office this afternoon.  I've decided that I'm not going to tell him that I'm going out on my own, just that I'm ready for change right now and I will eventually figure it out.  Which is really not a lie - I'm ready for change and I know the opportunities will present themselves when I'm ready.

So, enough with the stressful post!  On to the weekend round up!  Friday when I left work I really, really, really needed a run.  I was already anticipating what today would look like and I had a really stressful day of actual work.  When I got home the temps were actually decent enough so I set out with no particular goal in mind.  8 miles later and I felt like a new person.  I was able to sweat out a lot of anxiety and clear my head.  Man, how does the rest of the world operate without running therapy?
8 miles 1:05:42 - 8:13/mi pace - After my warm up mile I put my head down and did some mile repeats all coming in around the 7:45/mi pace.  My legs were turning over surprisingly well considering I had just done a long run the day before and I was exhausted.  Amazing what stress can do for your running!!

Saturday, after cleaning house, I headed out a little too late (again).  It was almost 11:00 by the time I got out there and it was warm.  Actually, it could have been a lot worse.  We have had the coolest summer on record in decades here in the Bay Area.  I don't think the temp ever really got above 82 all weekend - such a nice change from what the spring had originally brought.  I wanted to do 10 and packed up a small handheld with Nuun.  By mile 7 or so I was out of water and so thirsty!  I resorted to stopping at some one's front yard and using their hose to fill my water bottle and cool me down!  I'm sure their neighbors thought I was crazy!  So add that to the list of crap you wouldn't normally do if you weren't running: drinking from water hoses from houses you don't know!
10 miles 1:23:01 - 8:18/mi pace  I love to run the 10 mile distance. It makes you feel like you've worked for the day but doesn't leave you spent for hours after.  Which is a good thing since I just signed up for a 10 mile race in Sacramento on 9/12!  I decided to do this race instead of a trail race that day because they have a free kids 1/2 mile race that I want my nephew to do with me.  Should be fun!  If any of you Bay Area peeps are looking for a fun race, come and join me!

My knees are still not happy with me.  The rolling seems to help and I need to stay on top of that.  And icing seems to really do the trick, too.  They are angry and annoying the first mile or so of every run then warm up.  It isn't until I stop running and do my cool down that they start screaming.  I promise, if they don't start to improve soon I will go to the doctor.  I'm just afraid I'm going to get one of those doctor's that tell you to quit running because it's bad for the knees!  I think it's just tight quads so I'll keep up with the rolling and stretching.

Sunday I got up and I had a stiff neck!  Ugh!  I must have slept weird because it was painful (actually still is!).  I had wanted to do 12-14 for the day and just thought I would get out there and see how it would go.  I actually used that stupid Nike mantra, "Just Do It!" to get my butt out there.  About 1/2 mile into my run I saw my cousin Sarah out there running, too!  I crossed the street and joined her!  I love impromptu running dates!  We got all caught up on everything going on in our lives for about 3.5 miles.  She was doing 8 for the day in prep for the Rock N Roll San Jose Half in Oct (I'm going to bandit pace her!).  She was looking good!  But it was getting warm.  So I left her at about 4 miles and headed inside to finish my run.  I did another 8.25 on the mill and called it a day!
4 miles 38:10 - 9:32/mi pace
8.25 miles 1:09:34 - 8:26/mi pace 

I finished the week with 53.25 miles.  And earlier in the week I had passed the 1,000 mile mark for the year!  Whoo hoo!  I think I might actually reach 1,500!  It was a pretty decent week as far as runs go.  I definitely feel like I ran 53 miles for the week, though.  I really like to stay in the 45 range but with the longer runs over the weekend I packed on the miles.  Probably a good thing since Long Beach is just 60 days away!!!

Thanks again for listening to me complain about work!  I swear, it will all get better come 8/31!!!  I promise!  Until then, you may get some posts that contain more complaining than I like :(  What's that saying, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger?"  I think that will be my mantra over the next two weeks!

I'm off to catch up with all of you!  Thanks again to all of you who keep coming back, I don't say it enough but your words of support and encouragement mean the world to me :)
Happy Running and Happy Monday peeps!