General Cho...

Roughly a week and a half since the plague monkey first took hold of my body I have finally beat the battle against it. I think. Well, I hope. If I don't see another kleenex for a while, I am entirely okay with that. I've also decided that if satan had a flavor he would taste like cherry Nyquil. *bleck*

Anywho...

My new Mizunos arrived this week and all I can say is that I still love the colour of burnt orange & that I hadn't realized just how much my old pair of running shoes had been broken in. I guess several hundred miles will do that to a shoe. :)

Of course I spent every chance I had wearing the new arrivals in order to start the breaking-in process. So far so good. However breaking a running shoe in by means of walking isn't exactly what I had in mind. But when work has you tied down & a plague monkey topping it all off, you make due with what you can.

Today the Turkey Trot came and went without my participating in it. I did listen to common sense this time around. Despite an exciting PR at the Full Moon 5k I can't help but think that in the long run (no pun intended) it may have made my cold a little worse. I decided if I were going to run this weekend I would be smart & run at a comfortable pace with walk breaks if needed rather then hauling like my red hair is on fire throwing caution into the wind.

The increase in work has meant an increase in the budget for things like running gear. Thankfully I have a husband that is wholly understanding of the need for proper gear which meant a trip to DB's to get the insulated tights I mentioned needing earlier.

Growing up I thought the reasonable price for a pair of pants was anything under $40 and the once every two yr. or so $80 for replacement snowboarding pants (I had a tendency of catching them on barbed wire fences when snowboarding around the farm). Tonight I bought the most expensive pair of pants I own/ have ever owned and it didn't make me feel guilty. Somehow purchasing the necessary equipment to pursue this passion that brings me so much joy, keeps me healthy & strengthens my walk with the Lord isn't a meaningless indulgence. It's just what you have to do. Especially this far north when running outdoors gets chilly.

Now upon arriving home after our trip to DB's & dinner out with some friends I realized I had a problem(s).

1.) Way to much energy this late in the evening. (Thanks to two glasses of coke. Yes, I should've known better.)

2.) A shiny pair of new Mizunos & Brooks tights that hadn't been christened properly.

Hmmmm, what to do. The thought of going for a run seemed like the only logical thing to do and once such thoughts/anticipations of the run that awaits me come into mind there isn't much turning back. Unfortunately a good portion of my tech-gear was in the wash. Like my habbitual orange hat, wool socks, green fleece, black running top with built in mittens & the base layer I got on sale for $0.95 which I'm still not sure is meant for what I use it for, but hey it works.

While it was unfortunate not to run in my usual gear this didn't keep me from my aspirations of at least a 5k tonight. Monday seemed like a long time to wait. So I scrounged around in my closet and came out resembling a less then sleek ninja. Overall the gear wasn't bad considering. The new tights are very nice.

The first mile or two of my run felt like I was flying. All this week I've wanted to be out there & tonight I finally was. There is also something about seeing my running shadow that makes me feel faster. It also lets me know how wide my gate is and how the rest of my form looks, but that's beside the point.

Eventually I reached the 2.5 mark on my route which is where I need to make the decision of whether or not to continue onto the 5mile loop or call it quits at 3. The weather was beautiful, everything was still & only a gentle mist was falling so I chose to continue on. I'm still glad I did, but I had the same issue I've had on several evening runs of only partially digesting my most recent meal & feeling it. General Cho's chicken is phenominal, however not something I would like to taste twice so I did walk a section here and there to allow things to settle before picking up the pace again.

I maintained a 10:50 pace which I am content with. Every run does not need to be a PR. I was out there tonight to enjoy myself & test out the new gear. Both of which I did. It was a good 5miles. :)

Looking forward...for some odd reason the thought popped into my mind of trying to run 1,000 miles in 2009. That would mean running roughly 20miles a week which I'm not sure is doable in addition to tri training. That and I typically need a little over 5days after a race to recover well. It's something to think about anyway. Reaching the first 100 miles logged was a pretty big deal to me and I would like to set a goal for this upcoming year. Not so much as a resolution, but as another building block.