Nailed it

I had an awesome run outdoors today!

Since the last time I posted, I have given up on waking up before work to go running. I'm usually out the door of my apartment at 6:20AM at the latest to go to work. Since, I'm probably not going to wake up at 4AM any time soon, running before work is probably not going to happen again. EVER!

I feel like this every morning when my alarm goes off. 

Usually thinking about running after work makes me want to kill myself, thanks to the weather. But today, I just went out and did it. Yes it was annoying to have to drive to a place where I can run, especially since traffic around LSU is crazy. But the aftermath was definitely worth it.

I definitely did not negative split. In fact, I gradually get slower. After 3 miles, I was ready to call it in, but I was not close to the car and I really wanted to get as close to 6 miles as possible. 

This is the longest run that's ever happend in Louisiana sadly. But on the bright side, this run made me realize that I could be a runner again with the right motivation.

I really wanted to run 6 miles, but I kept on getting slower and every step felt torturous. With the excuse that if I get too bad of blisters and chafing, I won't be able to run next time, I just called it quits. 

I still had to walk back to the car because I planned my route ambitiously, but it was nice to be able to walk. I also awkwardly attempted to take my own picture, but then my sweaty hands kept on messing it  up.  

This is pretty much the only place that I drive to in order to run. 

 I briefly considered doing some sit ups when I got back to the parking area, but then I had no more f*cks left to give. All I wanted to do was to take a nap, so I drove home.

Exactly what I felt like after finishing the run. 

Hopefully, I'll remember this run and be motivated to run more. During last year, races were enough to keep me motivated for most of the year, but now I don't think it's working anymore, maybe because I haven't put down any real money for races yet.

How do you force yourself to get out the door? I feel like the hardest part of the run is always the beginning. 

Also, a little Louisiana humor for your amusement. What do you call a bayou that's lonely? 

A bayou self!! You're welcome for the laugh. 

I didn't run today!

Usually that statement should not be said so enthusiastically. (Exclamation point is written enthusiasm.)

Backing up a bit, I went for a run yesterday. . . sort of. I had planned on getting in four easy miles to shake out my legs from my long run on Monday.

I ran a mile, feeling terrible the entire way despite the numbers on my Garmin climbing higher. After a mile of uncomfortable 11:00/mile ish paced running, I stopped to walk. I figured I'd just walk a mile then ran the last mile back home.

I thought about just going home, but the weather and the scenery was gorgeous. Besides, I thought it might be good to walk a bit and stretch.

 

Look how pretty! I actually did not bring picture taking devices to the run, thinking I was going to run the whole way. I was very wrong. 

And I did stretch. . . a lot. After the mile of walking/stretching, I felt better enough to try running for another 0.6 miles very slowly. Then, I walked the rest of the way home. 

Good news: I got all the soreness out of my legs from the long run. 

Bad news: I developed a killer hip pain. Every time I put pressure on it, it would hurt . . . a lot. 

Good news: I foam rolled and stretched the heck out of my legs. I even iced. 

Side note - my body thought that laying down mermaid style to ice my legs was nap time. I took an unplanned nap with the ice on my hip. I think the problem was that I wrapped the ice pack too well. It was nice and cool, not cold and recovery inducing. 

True Story

Bad news: All of yesterday, it hurt to walk, enough though the rest of my legs felt awesome. 

Today, the pain was gone. I'd like to thank my awesome foam roller for its performance yesterday. I was very tempted to go running, but I didn't. 

That's the long story of why I'm enthused about the fact that I didn't run today. I spent all of yesterday night and today being jealous of Twitter friends' running adventures. 

TGIF! The question of the day is, how do you ice? Do you put the super cold ice pack on your skin? Or do you wrap it up in thin paper towel? Because clearly, I am doing it wrong. 

I've got my runner problems, but they seem so insignificant compared to T-Rex problems.