Catch Up

It may appear that I haven't been doing anything but it's just that I haven't made the time to sit down and write.  Not to say I've been working out so hard either though.  I started a new job last week and I've been adjusting to waking up at 5:30am and a long commute.

Last Sunday started out good.  I talked to dad and he was really motivated.  He was believing in himself and telling me all the ideas he had and where he wanted to go with his running.  He had talked to an old running buddy from back in the day and that man was doing good and was good enough to encourage my dad.  So as my dad was telling me that he knew that one day he could place in the Senior Olympics I was hoping that this time this feeling of his would last.  I wanted to bring this good energy and goal planning to the present and asked him if he planned on running any of the Turkey Trots.  He hadn't really thought about it and after we talked it all out he said that he would do one (he was looking them up as we spoke).  He even said that he'd order the XS and send it to me as a souvenir from his first race.  That made me really happy and I decided that I would do the local Turkey Trot here too.  I was looking at it earlier but wasn't sure I could really do a 5k (3.11 mi.) yet.  I want to do it though and I want to order the t-shirt in his size and save it for him.
Following this conversation I went to the gym and all was good.  Well, sort of.  I was supposed to do a 20-40 min. "easy run" but I haven't learned pacing yet and sprinted and lost my energy.  I only lasted 00:12:28 but did complete a mile and in less time than the previous one mile.

By Monday morning my dad had already lost any positive thoughts.  Unfortunately, this is the reality of Bipolar Disorder.  He has highs and lows and both sides can be extreme.  I won't go into the details of the conversation but for right now he has given up on running.  Hopefully he somehow changes his mind but I discovered he hasn't even gotten running shoes yet so that's going to be hard.  He bought a few pairs of racing shoes on Ebay though.  He bought them on Sunday.  When they arrive maybe he'll feel like running but no way of telling.  The racing shoes he bought are not shoes that he can train in though because they are for people that do good with no support so they're only good for sixty miles.

I wasn't able to do any marathon training during the week and I missed the track training because I was in training for my new job and very busy but as I get settled in I'm going to be able to make it part of my new routine.  I'm not just saying that, I do have a plan.

On Saturday I met my team at the Berkeley Marina for our first group run.  We met at 8:00am and it was cold.  I warmed up pretty quickly after I started though.  We could have run up to 4 miles but I did 2.  I'm happy with that though.  It is the longest that I've run so far.  I know I could have done more but I had to go to the bathroom so bad.  I don't think I'm going to be able to drink as I run.  I need to buy those gummy electrolyte things.  I'm also going to try and drink a lot of water the night before a run and see if that helps.  I also need to buy a better sports bra.  I wore a hat on my head to cover my ears but it made my head too warm and my ears still hurt.  So adding to the list of "to buy" is a sports head band that covers my ears.

Pacing was much easier for me on Saturday since I was running with a group.  I started off in a pack and stayed at their pace until I had to tie my shoes.

Oops I'm at work now....to be continued

Have a great day!