too lazy for morning run

I was gonna run this morning, but I could not get out of bed. I'm so lazy. Lying in bed half away I convinced myself that I should run in the evening, when it's cool out, and let myself relax after a day of studying for various labs. It's true, I like running in the evening, but I might go to the movies today and if I do how will I run? No, didn't think of that at 6am this morning, did I?

20 minutes in new insoles

I got my new insoles yesterday and went running in them. I ran 20 minutes and then went home. My feet still aren't used to them and so my left foot stull hurt (although less than with the old insoles). It's good to have new insoles. Hopefully I'll be running with no pain in a week or so.

I'm back to running and it feels great. I've gone on 3 regular runs so far and my body is feeling better about it each time. Today I ran 6 km and only stopped once after 4 km to catch my breath. That's pretty good considering last week I wasn't running more than 3 km total due to that pain in my foot. It's just such a good feeling to be able to run again.

I came home soaking wet today, and it wasn't from sweat, it was from rain. It's pretty rare that it rains in May in Israel, but today it didn't just rain, it poured. It poured this afternoon, and then when I went out in the evening there were giant black clouds in the sky. It drizzled on me for a while and then started pouring, it was so much fun. What a fun way to get back into running.

Saw this ad today. I actually clicked on a commercial to get to it. I couldn't help myself.

no running for me :(

I'm getting very frustrated with my ankle. It still hurts and I've not been on a real run in a week. Sitting home is not a nice way to spend a strike - I could be running almost every day.

I did run 2 km on Friday but it hurt. After a bit of running the pain goes away, but I'm so afraid of doing some real damage to my foot that I don't want to risk it.

Last night the ankle was bothering me while I was sleeping. When I'm on my stomach my toes are pointed and that seemed to bother it. Maybe I should try sleeping on my side and back for the next few days.

1 hour, 9.1 km

I had a fun run today. It was 9.1 km, in an hour. I'm getting faster. That or else I made good time because it was so nice and cool out and because I took a nap this afternoon. It felt nice to be running and not feel sick. I passed this guy walking and he asked me if I was getting ready for the army. I told him "no, running for fun" and kept going.

40 minutes (6 km)

I tried to wake up and run this morning. I set the alarm for 6 am. Yeah right, that didn't happen. So I ran this evening. It didn't go so well. It was so nice out. Cool and crisp and great feeling after the heat wave we've been having... but.... I've been feeling under the weather for the last few days, and when I ran today I felt dizzy and like I was going to throw up. The beginning was fine, then I felt sick, so really I only lasted 40 minutes. I estimate that to be 6 km, though I think I was a bit faster than that. My GPS watch ran out of juice 30 minutes in, so I can't tell for sure.

8 km

I was walking after my run and I saw a mole walking down the street along the curb. I followed it for a little bit cause I was worried it would get run over. When it got to a drive way I chased it up onto the sidewalk and then it into someone's yard. I'm sure they are gonna be thrilled, but I didn't want it to get run over.
Good run today. It was so hot I ran with my water belt. It bothered me a bit at first, but then I sorta forgot about it. I had my ipod in one of the pockets, and one water bottle in another. I drank half a water bottle (I think it's about half a cup of water) during my 55 minute run (8 km). I felt good except for the heat. It was so hot that within minutes I could feel myself sweating under the small reflective band I wear on my ankle.

40 minutes

I woke up early yesterday and went running in the morning, so I could miss my evening run in order to hang out with my friend. I dislike running in the morning, but it was not bad. I ran 40 minutes, but didn't use my GPS watch so I can only estimate 6km, but can't be sure.

Anyway, I hope to go for a longer run today, although we're having a heat wave so I'll have to see how it is out there before I go. If it's cool I'll go for 13-14 km. Looking forward to it.

Passover

Happy Passover!

חג שמח

1 hour (8.6 km)

The last week in running sucked, but somehow this month ended out ok. I ran 102 km this month, which is 15 km more than the last two months. It might be because I did 3 long runs (12 km, 12 km and 13 km) during this month. It's a bit strange though because I've been a little depressed lately and I have been feeling like I'm not running enough. The depressed part is just school getting to me. This semester isn't bad, considering that last semester was horribly stressed, but I just feel unhappy about all the work I have to do and not being able to enjoy myself as often as I feel I should.

On that note, I had a great run today. I ran for 1 hours (8.6 km). That's a bit slow, but it's ok. For at least the first 40 minutes the wind was blowing really bad and I felt like I was running uphill. It's wasn't bad though cause the wind was nice and cool. Later it started drizzling a bit, and that always feels good when you are running. It also always makes people in their cars stare even more - and that's always a good thing. The town looks really nice. We switched to daylight savings, so it was still light out for most of my run, but for the last 20 minutes, the street lights came on and it looked beautiful. The town is decorated for Passover and after that Yom Ha'Atzmaut, (Independence Day) I guess. We've got flags and color lights all over the place, some even in the shape of magen david (star of David) and menorahs. It's all looking so festive. Of course, the minute I started walking for my cool down, it started pouring, so I did get soaked in the end, and I even sprinted home, but it was a nice time.

13 km

I ran 13 km on Sat. It took me 1 hour and 30 minutes. It felt so good to be outside for so long and not feel guilty about it. I literaly spent the whole weekend studying. With only my brother home, there really were very many distractions and I also managed not to watch tv. Running was fine. My pace was ok and I felt good. I'm gonna try and do a long run again this weekend. It might happen too, since this weekend starts Passover vacation. Yay!

I run for fun

I run as often as I can, and I do it for fun (as the title suggests), but it seems like a lot of people can't understand that. Does anyone else feel that way? What is it about running that makes people think I'm doing it for some other reason. Is it because running is so "horrible" or is it because I'm a size 10 and I must be trying to lose weight? Why is it that lots of times when I mention running, people start giving me ideas of other exercises that burn more calories? Sure, I'm glad that I'm down from a size 14, but that's just a happy side affect. I don't run to lose weight, I don't run so that I can eat junk food and I don't eat junk food because I run. Why is it so weird to say that I didn't want to skip a run, so I ran earlier than scheduled so I could go to Burger King with me brother? I run because I like it, and I eat junk food because I like to and the two subjects are unrelated. I'm ranting, I know, but this subject makes me mad.

still going

I'm still alive, running and kicking. OK, not so much kicking. Anyway, I've actually been running, just not very much each time. I always feel like I don't have enough time to start that second loop that makes a regular run long. I really miss it though. I run so that I can long run. I don't really care about speed, I just like having passed 12 km, or being out there for 90+ minutes.

Not long ago I got new New Balance sneakers and they are much lighter. I can tell because my legs don't bother me as much as they used to when I run in the morning. I haven't actually weighed them, but I did with my last ones and they were heavier than the ones before that. Yeah, I'm a geek, I do sometimes weigh my sneakers.

This semester is going ok so far. Passover vacation starts next week. I can't wait. I had a bit of drama with my lab partner quitting and I'm a little stressed out over my new partner. She's nice, but she's hard to understand and I feel like I can't really leave half the work to her and know that it'll be done well. Damn school keeping my brain so busy that I feel like I can't afford a long run.

12 km

I ran 12 km yesterday. It took me 82 minutes - not too bad. About 40 minutes in I got a side stitch and had to stop and walk for a minutes, but after that I was fine. I felt good and I'm glad. Maybe next week I can add another 10 minutes or so.

On Wed, I ran in the morning in my new sneakers for the first time. They are much lighter and I could feel it immediately. Actually that one wasn't so bad. I don't like morning runs, but that one was fine. My legs weren't complaining so I did ok. I just didn't have much time, so I only ran 6 km. It took me 39 minutes.

45 minutes and flowers

Didn't have such a great run today. It was a shame, but I couldn't help it, I went to bed later (much later than I should have) then I had bad dreams so I didn't even have a restful night. My dream was really scary. I wonder where I come up with these things. Still, I ran 45 minutes, and it ended up being 6.6 km, which isn't so bad. I'm actually celebrating two years of running right about now. I don't have an exact date of when I started, but I know it was a couple of weeks before Purim. It's two years since my Grandma passed away, and I can remember getting back to running after the shiva, thinking about him, and not enjoying my running. The first few runs after that were not fun, and I remember it. At the time I was barely running a few minutes at a time, so it was also not very easy. I'm glad I kept going. I actually saw my highschool English teacher running on Thursday. As I passed her she said "you're still running" and I said "almost two years" and she yelled to me (I had already passed her) "kol hakavod" ("well done"). That made me feel pretty good.

Anyway, short ride to see the flowers today. Everything is so beautiful. I have pictures!

My favorite always comes first. I love cyclamen.We actually found a new spot with tons of flowers. It's not as pretty as the other place, but it's also very lovely.

We found a big field full of anemone not far from home. It was beautiful:

Here's a thistle:

And here's a little grasshopper. It was about the size of a penny, maybe a little bigger.

Sorry it it's more photos than you can handle.

12 km

I went on a long run today. It was so much fun. I ran 12 km in 83 minutes. That's not so bad for a long run. I might have gone a little overboard. I probably shouldn't have kept going past 70 minutes or so, but I was enjoying myself too much to stop, so I kept going. I had a really nice run, and except for these creepy guys looking at me (I crossed the street so as not to run past them) it was all good. The weather is really pleasant now. It's spring and the evenings are cool, but not cold. It's great.
I'm not happy about my running during this next semester. With all the running in the weekend, I'm not going to be able to get anywhere. I just have a month of that, till Passover vacation. Then I've got a couple more weeks like that and its Shavuot. Then only a few more weeks and the semester is over. So really, it'll be mostly ok, but defiantly not anywhere near ideal.

life takes over...

I am still alive, and still running, but just barely (that was for the latter, but it goes for both, I guess). The semester started and damn, it's just the first week and I already feel overwhelmed with stuff I need to do but don't have time to do. During the week I have no days that allow running, which means I can run on any of the following days: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday morning, Wed morning. It's a really bad schedule. I've yet to figure out how to do it. Where do I fit 3 days in and not have them one after the other? I guess my best bet is Wed morning, Thursday and Sat, but it's not gonna happen this week. I can't get up and run tomorrow morning. I just can't.

Oh, and I was going to say that if you are reading this (I doubt anyone is) then it's just my running blog. Even with school and everything, I still post a lot more often on my xanga account. I can email the link to anyone interested (if I know who you are), but you need a xanga account to be able to read it.

10.75 km

Long slow run today. I ran 75 minutes, and it ended up at 10.75 km, which means my pace was a bit off, but not too bad. It felt great to be outside. Today was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and everyone it the whole damn town was walking in the park behind our house. They were all there to rub it in, cause I was inside feeling cold even though all the windows were open, and I could see them all through the open back door. Mom's away from work, and my dad and brother went to visit Safta (Grandma) and then to the beach. Life is so unfair. I better get a good grade tomorrow. I think it'll be ok, I just need to stay calm. Anyway, it was so nice out today. I wore a short sleeve shirt for the first time in months, and it felt good. My legs felt good too, Yeah, good run.

8 km

Running yesterday was really nice. I ran 8km and made really good time. I did it in 52 minutes. That's just about the pace I ran my (one) race. That makes me feel like maybe if I were running it now, I could run it faster. Although, running in the evening is much easier, so maybe not. Anyway, good run. I have a couple of new fun songs to listen to while I run. "I Hear the Bells" by Mike Doughty, "All Good Things" by Nelly Furtado. I've noticed that I listen to crap music while I'm running. OK, not crap, but more mtv stuff than usual.

6 km and then 10 km

Test tomorrow - good luck to us all.

I ran 6 km yesterday. It took me 41 minutes, which isn't bad. The run actually breezed by. I was listening to MuggleCast and it was all very interesting. I can't wait for the last book. It's so exciting.

Today I ran 10 km. Took me 70 minutes, which is also not bad. Running today was also really nice. The time also flew by. I didn't feel like I was running for over an hour. It felt good. I was listening to GeeksOn and those geeks are so freaking funny. I'm going to try and run 11 km sometime this week or next Sat. It's going to be a really busy week though. Oh well.

5.4 km

I saw this while running, so after the run, I got my camera and went to take some pictures. What you are looking at is the memorial for IDF soldiers from our town that were killed in the line of duty, serving their country. It's basically a wall with very bright lights illuminating the names. Yesterday it rained, and now there's a puddle. The lights are so bright that when I get off the bus and turn the corner I'm blinded by them. They must also be hot. Just look at it.

So cool.

I just realized that yesterday I ran 5.4 km in 35 minutes. That's actually pretty fast for me. It's almost the pace that I ran during my 8 km race. Obviously there's a huge difference between 8 km and 5.4 km, but there's also a huge difference between running in the heat and sun and running at night, through puddles. I was too nervous to keep running yesterday. These tests are getting to me. But I will run a long run on Sat. I will not skip my long run.

15 minutes of cold

Of course, the second I started running it started pouring. I could have done without the rain, it was so cold already. I only did a small loop, 15 minutes and then ran home. I would have gone home earlier, but I didn't have a key and I knew no one was home. So I kept running a little bit, then went home and stood in the doorway. My dad and brother came home a few minutes later, so I didn't have to wait very long. I did get to look at the thermometer while I was waiting. 9 degrees C (48 F). That is just too cold to be running around soaking wet.

45 min

Yesterday I ran 45 minutes and it ended up being 6.7 km, which is not bad really. I wasn't going to run because it was rainy, but dad told me that today was supposed to be even more rainy, so I bit the bullet and got out there. It didn't really rain at all during those 45 minutes. And, I wore a hat, which was a first for me. I just wanted something to keep the rain off my face, and the only thing I found was the hat I was given when I was digging. Whatever, it worked fine, and for some reason the back of my neck felt less cold than usual.

The good things about running in the rain (the short list):
- running
- less people
- less cars

The bad things about running in the rain (the short list):
- puddles
- cars splashing through puddles
- people look at you like you are insane (but wait, they always do that)
- my father tries to convince me to run with an umbrella

Harry Potter and 10 km

Forget running, the last Harry Potter book will be availible July 21st. How can I possibly think about anything else?

Actually, I ran 10 km yesterday while listening to MuggleCast. They were talking about the yet unknown release date and I was thinking "no way we're going to get the book before 2008". I was wrong. I must admit, if it weren't for Harry Potter, PotterCast and MuggleCast my runs would be a lot more boring. Running through town in circules is not much fun.

5 km

Yesterday I ran again. I was getting so frustrated with my studying that I just had to get outside. I did 5 km in 33:40 minutes. It's not my fastest, but it's fine. It was a weird run. After my warm up I ran fast for 2 km (trying to run over organic chemistry - it didn't really work). I finished those first to 2 km in 11:39 minutes, and then I slowed down for the rest of the loop. It felt good to run fast. I'm going to try and do that more. Maybe try and add the distance of the fast part. It would be nice to be able to run 5 km in 30 minutes or less.

1000 km!

I ran 11 km today. The time was not bad, 76 minutes. Running felt good, except for I got this annoying side stich that bothered be for about 2 km until I finally kicked it. This was quite an exciting run actually, cause it's just the 11 km I was missing for my running log to say 1000 km. Thats 1000 km since Nov of 2005. Very very cool. Hopefully the next 1000 km will be in 10 months or less. I'm still trying for over 100 km this month, but so far I'm just at 78, there are only 4 days to go and so many tests. I'm not sure I'll make it this time. Doesn't matter though, I'm pretty damn happy about that 1000.

7.5 km

I had a really good run yesterday. I just felt really good. I think I've got been drinking enough latley, but yesterday I drank a lot of water, and when I was running I could tell because I was actually sweating, not like I've been doing lately. I ran 7.5 km and made ok time as it only took me 50 minutes. That's better than my longer runs have been. I'm hoping to run 11 km on Friday, because that'll have my GPS watch say 1000 km and I really wanna see that.

5.5 km in the rain

Yesterday I went running in the pouring rain. I actually put on my running clothes, knowing full well that it was raining out. It was very nice actually, until the wind started blowing really hard and I got cold. I did 5.5 km in 36 minutes (which is ok) and I came home soggy wet, and dripping. It's a good thing my father was sleeping, he wouldn't have liked that, but I thought it was fun.

While I was running I passed this little girl (about 11 years old) riding her bike in the other direction. After a few seconds she turned around and rode next to me. She asked me why I was exercising in the rain, so I asked her why she was riding her bike in the rain. She said "no reason" then asked me again. I told her I have no other time to run. Then she asked me if I'm not cold, "you're only wearing an undershirt" and I told here I had another shirt on underneath. That seemed to satisfy her, cause she said "ok", then "bye" and turned around and kept going the direction she was going.

I also had a kid on a bike ask me about running on Friday. He wanted to know why I was running and if running isn't hard, "don't you get tired". You don't see too many women/girls running in our area. I'm pretty sure it's a good thing these kids see me running.

5.5 km

This is the time of year I dread. Everything suffers during this time of year, including my running. I ran today, but I cut it short. I only did 5.5 km. I couldn't keep going, the school work was making me nervous. When I'm nervous I run faster than I should. It must be my body trying to "get the run out of the way". That leads to me getting tired, and still being nervous. I hope to have a nice long run tomorrow. Friday's are hard anyway. I have to leave earlier than I usually like to run so that I'm back in time for dinner.

School is so hard at the moment. It really sucks.

I been looking at next semester. It's just as busy, but hopefully, if I get what I ask for, it'll leave me with most of my mornings open. That will mean I'll be less tired and that I can possibly wake up early and run some days. I might even be able to run 4 times a week sometimes. That would be so nice.

recap... and 5.5 km

OK, it's been a while. What happened since I last posted? Let's see...

My usual Friday run was canceled due to very bad weather. It was really cold and the rain was coming down in sheets. Plus we had a black out so I couldn't turn on the water heater. Saturday was better, and I ran in a slight rain (and came home with soaking wet shoes). It was really nice after a day of doing nothing but studying. I ran 8 km in 57 minutes, but that's not too bad, I blame the rain. I then spent the next few days suffering from a horrible back muscle cramp that I got from studying all Sat. I must have been sitting funny or something. It was really bad, and I could hardy sit in class, let alone run. So I had to skip my Monday run. By Wed my back was feeling better. I think it was because I spent a full 7 hours standing in chemistry lab. Anyway, I don't have time to run on Wednesday or Thursday so I did my usual runs.
Friday: 8 km in 56 minutes
Saturday: 10 km in 72 minutes and it felt so good to be gone so "long".
Tuesday morning (today): 5.5 km in 36 minutes

I'm back on track, hopefully, and I'm up to 49 km in half a month, so this month won't be useless after all.

The semester ends really soon, and the tests start. Once they start I'll get more running done, but before that it's going to hard to get myself out of the door.

9 km

I had a good run today. 9 km in 62 minutes. No wheezing or spitting (I'm really good at spitting by now) and close to no coughing. I did have a bit of leg craps, but they too passed, and I think I made ok time considering. The only worrying thing right now is that I'm actually a bit sore, and that shouldn't be. I'll see how I feel, but I want a 7-8 km run on Friday and a nice 10 km run on Sat.