Time to start the week 3 post. This Saturday, we'll be running 1.5 miles on the trail. My goal for this week is to be able to run 2 miles, and to walk 2.5 to 3 miles.
Monday...running. Nola and I got out and ran this morning, for 1.5 miles. I increased the running time to 40 seconds, keeping the 1 minute walk break. Nola even ran ahead of me twice, and in all, it was a good run. 2
Tuesday...walk. We walked 2 miles today. Nola was slow at first, but that's her usual sniffing everything till finding an appropriate potty spot routine. It felt good to be out, although I found myself wanting to stop after half a mile. With everything going on at the office for now, I'm having a daily battle with depression. Walking and running helps. It really does. If I weren't active right now, I'd probably be a puddle of teary mess at home this morning. Instead, I'm braving it and am at work. The not knowing is stressful, and combine that with the hostility from a certain co-worker, you get nearly unbearable. I'm stronger than this though, and everything will be alright, job or no job. No matter what's going on emotionally and mentally, I'm going to keep up with the physical, and I finished the 2 mile walk. Besides, the other aspects will follow along, or so the hope goes.
Wednesday...run. 45 seconds, 1 minute walk intervals. Nola was SLOW. I'm beginning to think that it's too much for her, but I'm going to give her another chance on Friday. On this last shot, I will bring incentive for her, i.e., hotdog, and maybe that will get her moving. I know she can run, but this morning, I spent most of my energy encouraging and pulling on her leash. She simply didn't want to, and now, I'm exhausted while I should feel energized. In spite of it though, we ran 1.5 miles. I think. It might have been 2 miles. I had to focus on keeping her up to speed, even though I wasn't running fast, and I may have lost track of a loop. There was no rhythm in this morning's run, and that's unfortunate because with the stress at work I really needed that today. Oh well. I'm not giving up on her yet, and even if the run wasn't what I dreamt it would be, it still got my heart going.
Thursday...walk. We walked 2 miles today, and I'm rethinking the plan to run tomorrow. Yesterday's activity of keeping Nola going did not help my knee, and I can feel it today. I'll just have to listen to my body, but walking another 2 miles tomorrow won't be a bad thing.
Friday...run. Nola's last shot. I'll see how she does, and if she drags again, I have to face that she's just too old to run with me. I don't want her to be old yet, and I hope she keeps up. 45 seconds, 1 minute walk intervals. -- Okay! We did half a mile with the running interval, and Nola kept up. Encouragement with a treat is the trick. So, we 're going to keep trying together. After the running, we walked an additional 1.5 miles. 2 miles total today. Woohoo! That's over 12 miles this week.
Saturday...run 1.5 miles. Done! Overall, it was a good run. My legs are starting to feel stronger, and my thighs are already sore from the run. This is the first time I've had any soreness since starting the class, and it's not bad, just enough to remind me that I'm doing something good. The only bad parts of the run were the humidity and finding out that my running buddy is moving to Flagstaff in 2 weeks. However, I'm happy for her. She got a great job and will be able to pursue her MBA.
Sunday....Nope. This was a recovery day from the night before. Oh, well. Back at it for the rest of the week. The bad part is that Sean and I smoked Saturday night.
Side note: There's a crosswalk on the trail I walk with Nola, and it doesn't matter if I press the button that causes the crossing light to flash for drivers. I've lost count of the number of times I've nearly been hit by drivers who will slow down just enough so that I think they're going to stop, only to speed up and drive through the crossing anyway. I'm not sure of what I can do about this. I could throw rocks at their cars, but then take the chance of the rock bouncing back and hitting me or my dog. Let's not forget that it's probably illegal as well, and they could potentially press charges even though they nearly hit me. Although it would be funny to argue that they couldn't have seen me, because if they had, they would have stopped. So, maybe I'll start taking a pic of their cars and jotting down the license plate number. That way, I'd at least have car identification if anyone ever does hit me or my dog. --- I called 311 about this, and they're reporting it to the Metro department. Maybe they'll update that blinking yellow to red. Case # 97352
total distance this week: 11.5
mileage on these shoes: 25
