Engagement Stories

I hate cold weather. Really.

Seriously.

Who needs seasons if you've got sunshine and balmy breezes?

Hawaii would be fantastic.

But, I struggled over to meet people at Stanton Park this morning, regardless. Even though it was 25 degrees and a bit windy.

Because people had promised they'd tell different engagement stories - whether theirs, or someone else's - on the run today.

And I'm a sucker for a good engagement story.

I don't want to be engaged, myself. But I love how people get all teary and excited while recounting it.

I heard several awesome ones today. I told Party Girl's engagement story, though the telling lost something as I had to explain what a Liar's Puzzle was.

History knew.

We plodded up the MBT again today, though not all the way to the end.

Then, to be reasonable, I separated from them at the end and ran back home.

Some cramping but not too bad.

And I heard some great stories.

About 6 (very chilly) miles

Reading, Reading, and more Reading

Luckily, I love to read. Because that is what today was all about.

Reading while biking for an hour in the morning.

Weight-lifting - that did NOT involve reading. Just some cursing.

Then, homework reading before going to Baltimore. Reading on the train to Baltimore.

Reading for homework while in Baltimore. And on the train back.

Then, some reading for pleasure. I hadn't finished the homework but had run out of stamina.

Lots of reading.

Playing Catch-Up

You'd think, given that I didn't have to be anywhere until 1:30pm, that Friday would have been a whirl of productivity.

I barely managed to get to the AT&T store before going to campus.

I still can't get a new phone, so I'll be living on the edge with the possibility of glass shards coming off of my shattered screen.

I think they've stopped falling out. Safe enough.

So yesterday and today are catch-up days. Which would work better if I weren't also going to my parents' today.

Between cleaning and trying to work, I did fit in a run yesterday. The MBT trail was a welcome distraction. They've put up new artwork near Rhode Island Avenue since the forever since I have been up there.
I would have stopped to take a picture but that would have just been an excuse to stop moving.
(Interestingly, I can't seem to find any photos online, either.)
A bit under 5 1/2 miles. The hill at Union Station was interesting. First time in a while I actually got a bit out of breath.
Now, I need to get on the bike before going to my parents' house.

Where to fit all this homework in, is the problem.

That, and how to organize all my books that my colleague helpfully brought over last night......

I hate piles. And I've got a lot of them right now.

Early Morning at the Pool

If only my camera were waterproof!

The newly fixed lights in the pool made my legs look really pasty and cool while churning underwater.

History rocked her sprint laps while I just trundled away - mostly on slow laps but some on high-rpm aqua jogging.

About 50 minutes.

The sun didn't peek out over the top of the windows until the very end of the workout.

Thinking about how to get caught up on my crosswords.

I'm finally into December.

My brain isn't working so well right now, though, so they are harder for me to finish.

Group Run!!!!!!

That gets extra exclamation points. It's been a LONG TIME since I've been on a group run.

I pulled that butt muscle that took FOREVER to heal.

Then, I was nervous about going outside to run - thanks, doctors! - so I tried to just aqua jog and treadmill.

I liked aqua jogging better than the treadmill. That says something.

Then, I was out of town and trying to run by myself.

Wow, was it nice to work out with people who are not involved in anything else I do during the day.

Running to the meet-up, I felt good. Great, actually, in comparison to Sunday, when I met up with History. Not having run two days in a row made a big difference, I think.

During the run down to RFK Stadium and back up to Stanton Park also felt great. I didn't get many cramps, except a light side cramp and then a couple of mild abdominal cramps during the last part of the run.

The doctor says to stop after those start happening. So I ran home. I can't tack on extra any more: it's hard for me to get past 6 miles these days.

Every time I read about someone who is doing 10, 15, 20+ miles and who is in a similar situation, I just am amazed.

Maybe if I hadn't had that muscle pull......

I'm torn, though, about the group run. On the one hand, we were going really slowly. On the other hand, we were going really slowly.

I could have gone faster, and wanted to, in parts.

Then again, no real cramping problems and certainly I wasn't out of breath. Really at all. Which is good and bad.

I need to think about this: group run slowly, where I can chat? Or some other type of exercise, like the pool?

I also almost tripped twice in the dark at the beginning of the run.

If I keep doing these, I'll have to work on that. A bit scarier than I'd have liked.

A bit over 6 miles today.

A Come-Uppance

"Swimming will be just like I never left!" I enthused to myself, having already pushed the start time back 1/2 an hour.
Sometimes, early in the morning, I can trick myself with fake excitement.
Well, not only was the excitement fake but that statement was a lie. A big lie.

After 2 laps, I felt so out of breath that I had to stop for a moment so I wouldn't inhale water and possibly drown.

The lifeguard on the other side of the pool was busily reading the paper. Help would come from that venue only if I somehow managed to drown noisily.

So I paused. And started again. But it was as if all of the fall hadn't happened. I was even slower, if that is possible!

Wow. And I certainly haven't been doing my arm exercises like I should. Swimming told me that pretty quickly.

Humbling. But helpful.

After struggling through about 20 back-and-forth laps, I switched to aqua jogging.

I actually kept my leg rotations pretty high for that, perhaps to make up for my dismal swimming.

Peace Corps and I managed to stay in the pool for about an hour.

Now to figure out how to get those goggles to stop hurting my eye sockets!

2 Days in a Row

History and I went running this morning.

I knew it would be rough when I ran out to meet her. Going up the slight incline on Massachusetts near Union Station, my right leg - especially my right quad - felt really sore and almost strained.

And this just because I had run the day before and hadn't had a full rest day since Tuesday.

My, how the proud have fallen.......

5 miles the day before will do this?!

But History was really nice and stayed with me, running super super slowly, around Eastern Market and to the Nay Yards before coming back to Stanton Park.

She even gave me a ride home for that whole whopping 1 mile back.

With the run there, I did about 5 3/4 today.

Helpful to get that positive in before all-day classes.

I am now so freaked out about the future and how I will manage life and school that I keep hyperventilating.

Maybe some (more) eating therapy is in order.

And I think I should lay off exercise tomorrow. My quad started feeling tired enough at the end that I accepted that ride. I'm not usually weenie enough to do that and I should remember to pay attention to signals like those.

Meanwhile, To Badwater just ran 2 consecutive marathons this weekend. Wow. A big difference in fitness levels!