i made the mistake of popping in my “pirates of the caribbean” dvd last night at about 11:00, and thus was up till midnight again. and i’m paying for it this morning. i didn’t get to work until almost 9, and i’m still sleepy. this week has just been weird for my sleeping habits; i just haven’t felt tired in the evening. oh well. at least the first 45 minutes or so of the movie was entertaining. johnny depp’s character repeatedly cracks me up.
when i left work last night it was drizzling really lightly, and i was hoping that i could still run outside. i don’t mind running in drizzle, but if it’s hard enough to drip in my eyes and form puddles that threaten the dryness of my shoes, i won’t go. by the time i had changed clothes, the drizzle had picked up to that point, so i hit the treadmill. there was one other guy in the workout room doing weights, but other than that i had it to myself. i set it on 5.5 miles per hour and started running.
god, i hate the treadmill. i read so many articles about how treadmill running is easier, and better for your joints because it’s more cushioned and all. but every time i run inside, i find myself counting the minutes until i can stop. i just don’t feel like i can run as fast or as well inside–case in point being that last night over 3 miles i only averaged a 10:40 mile, and felt exhausted when i finally stopped. and my lower legs ached more afterward. i have almost come to the conclusion that it’s the environment. when i’m inside, in a climate-controlled area, i always get hotter and more sweaty than i prefer to be while running. maybe treadmill running would be better if i could do it in a 55 degree room instead of 75.
i don’t really understand why i find treadmill running to be harder than outdoor, when it is supposed to be easier. but i do.
i have been thinking about training for a full marathon in either march/april or october/november. it seems to make sense, because i’m already halfway through the training that i’d need to do. march/april is tempting, but it would involve traveling somewhere. october/november would be good, especially since november is the beginning of the 4-month-long texas marathon season (san antonio in november, dallas in december, houston in january, austin in february)…but to be ready in late fall means training in late summer. late summer. in houston. UGH. which means i’d either be doing my long runs inside on the dreaded treadmill or outside in the 80-degree “chill” of darkness. so i dunno.
on tuesday, buzz mentioned interest in the marine corps marathon (in dc in october), which is supposed to be good for beginners and is one i would consider traveling for. not to mention i know people in dc. so that is tempting. but the summertime training might kill me!
we shall see. at the least, i know that i’m going to have to at least maintain my current level of training, which means probably a 1.5-2 hour run every other week. i think i can do that while i decide what my next step is.
anyway. i’ve rambled on about running enough for one day, but only because i didn’t really have anything else to talk about. yesterday was uneventful, and the weekend is “quiet.” soccer was cancelled for tonight by forfeit, though i don’t know if it was my team that forfeited, or the other one. weird.
tomorrow morning debbie and gavin and i are getting up early to go to challenger park and map out a 5k race course using debbie’s handheld gps. from there debbie and i are headed to reliant stadium for super bowl volunteer training–we are both volunteering to work at the nfl experience on the saturday before the game, so we have to go get oriented and get our t-shirts. from there debbie kindly agreed to go with me to the convention center to pick up my (and buzz’s) half-marathon packet. then home to sit on my butt all afternoon in preparation for 13.1 miles on sunday morning!
we have monday off work for mlk day. good thing. i will likely be sitting at home resting my poor abused leggies.