Went on a lonely hot run this afternoon, wasn't nearly as hard as I thought is was going to be until I hit the hill coming back. Running alone actually has it's benefits as it forces you to deal with what is on your mind, something that I rarely do. Either way, it felt good to push myself & break up my calm day.

Distance: 4.5 miles
State of Mind: Adjusting

Trying to develop a schedule that I can stick to, I headed to the neighborhood high school track to see what solo speed training is all about. Being the people person that I am, I knew that it was going to be rough...but I had faith that my will would push me through as I am determined to get myself into fighting shape to show these West Coasters that I am not another softy.

Thankfully N joined me today, which is always nice. He is not the prettiest runner, in any stretch of the imagination, to be honest I would much rather see him dressed up to go to dinner or laying in bed next to me...but I will take what I can get.

Trying to be as aggressive as possible, I decided to do some 400's to test my speed. My plan was to do 10x400's, with a 400 recovery between each one. Which was a bit of a dream as I wanted to stop after the first one. But I powered through 5 of them, much in thanks to the high school football team who was practicing in the inner field. There is nothing like 16 year olds watching you kill yourself to make you want to push it just that much harder.

I probably put in 1/3 of the mileage that I usually do on speed workouts, but I definitely pushed myself to exhaustion. Which is exactly what I was looking to do.

Distance: 1.25 mile warmup, 5x400's w/ 400 recovery, .5 mile warmdown + abs/core
State of Mind: I see my arms taking shape a bit...

Now that we are settled in our temporary situation, or what the hubs calls "staying with relatives", I was finally able to get out & get a good run in. N decided to join me as we headed down to the Sammamish Trail, about a mile from his house. Picture two paths, one cement & one dirt, that basically go on forever...as far I can tell at least. It was a beautiful evening, very few people on the trail & the only sound I could hear was that of a few birds singing in the trees near the creek.

I immediately got into a pace that felt normal & it was great to put in a some good, light miles. On the way back, we had to tackle a huge hill, 3x the length of the GAP hill with about the same grade. My goodness, I will get better at hills living here.

Now just need to come up with a schedule to keep me in shape, something that involves a race...

Distance: 6.5 miles
State of Mind: Miss my running friends.

The time difference is still getting the better of me, so it was easy to fit in a little workout before the wedding festivities began today. Even though I was planning on hitting the streets of Seattle, I opted for the sure thing & went to the gym instead. While listening to Patrick Watson, I put in a few easy miles on the treadmill...all while staring at this.

Distance: 3 miles + abs
State of Mind: At peace, at least for today

Busy with wedding preparation & extremely taken aback from a night of drinking, I did a short workout in the gym...mainly to try to sweat out the gallons of champagne & wine I consumed last night. Honestly, I tried to dance it off before I went to bed...but apparently two hours of dancing with randoms did very little to metabolize the alcohol.

My workout consisted of treadmill time & some core/upper body. It was actually nice to mix it up a bit, especially in a private gym with no one but myself to stare at.

Distance: 2.5 miles + core/upper
State of Mind: Routine will come, feels so strange without it.

Up early, couldn't sleep, so I went on a short run around my dad's neighborhood. It was fun, cutting through people's lawns, watching my ever expanding hometown change.

Distance: 3 miles + 5x200's at the end
State of Mind: Still a bit vacant.

After nearly losing it last night saying farewell to my sibs, I had a fairly un-emotional day flying from one coast to the other. I knew I wanted to get out & start getting my body/lungs/mind used to the PNW so after settling a bit in the Claw, I went out for a simple, short loop. It was obvious that it had been raining nonstop in my hometown, which is nothing short of unusual as June becomes October.

The run was fairly calming, as I didn't see one person & didn't have to do anything but look down to know where I was heading. About 2 miles in it started down pouring hard, it felt a bit like a baptism, rinsing off all my sadness & anxiety in return for my shirt sticking to my body in a quite unflattering way. I guess that's the catholic in me.

I listened to my ipod the whole time, which was super helpful as I hate running alone. It always comes through when I need it, playing the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Sigur Ros & Radiohead to make me realize that all things will pass in time.

I felt that a few snaps to show my new haunting grounds would be helpful as I embark on this new chapter. They might be a bit sad as I will most likely be alone in most of them, but not to worry, I am a fighter.

Distance: 4.5 miles
State of Mind: It does feel like home, in a few boring & uneventful way