Love. Laugh. Live. Run.

So I kinda have a job.

I say "kinda" because it's a temporary gig. Full-time and good pay, which is nice, but the hours are a bit insane. The office is practically 24 hours and my shift is 4am-12:30pm. Crazy, right? It's actually a great shift and I'm really enjoying these hours (I get to be early, stopped watching bad TV, home early enough for naps and errands). The biggest problem is that this shift covers peak running hours. Thankfully, I'm in taper mood, but still. I took a few days off because I was so exhausted adjusting to this schedule and had no extra energy to run. It also explains the lack of blogging: no running = no blogging. Gimme some time to adjust, I'll figure it out, I somehow always do.

I'm looking through a bunch of race calendars and trying to map out a Summer/Fall race schedule and my eyes can't help but stop over the word "marathon" every time I come across it. I'm going to have to walk away from my computer after this post because I'm about to hit the "Register" button for the San Francisco Marathon on July 25!?!

I'm really ridiculous, but I know I'm in good company. Runners are an odd bunch. One minute you hate running and wonder why you inflict pain on yourself and the next minute you're planning outfits and weekend trips for another race! How quickly we forget that pain! After that 15-miler last week, I was thoroughly content with 5Ks and 10Ks in my near future. I was giddy even. The other night, as I sat around with friends at a BBQ, I kept thinking about waking up early and going on a long run! Hello? Where you not just here for that 15-miler that almost killed you? So of course, I swear off marathons for a few months and I can't help but think about them and how "fun" they are. HA! I really am a MANIAC!

BTW, I considered running a small marathon this weekend for my 20-mile training run. Yup, a marathon TO TRAIN FOR MY MARATHON!!! Where do I come up with this???

So I've had 3 long runs since the last marathon and I can sum them up in one word: SLOW! It's taking me about 40-60 minutes to wake up/warm up and find my stride. It's still pretty rough after the first few miles, but I can zone out and get through it. My pace hasn't seen much change, my legs know what they're doing even if they're sore (good 'ol muscle memory). Unfortunately, the rest of me is just being dragged along. At first, I thought it was Baby Shower Hangover, then I speculated that it was related to woman problems, now I've come to the best, and most logical, conclusion that it's overtraining. Plain and simple, my body is exhausted. I'm going to have to cut back on some of this training for San Diego. Perhaps San Diego will have to be a fun run. That's a little depressing, but hey, calling a marathon a "fun run" is still an accomplishment.

This morning I set out for 15 miles and it wasn't pretty. I walked A LOT the first 7 miles, but finished the last half well. As I was dreading every moment out there, I was contemplating my racing calendar. I don't have anything planned after San Diego on June 6. I've been looking into Fall marathons purely to keep me in shape all summer long (if I have to have a baby soon, I might as well enjoy being in a bikini for the last time!) but another marathon will not do this body any good. And then it dawned on me - why don't I work on my short distance? How about some 5Ks and 10Ks?? A half marathon?? Let's talk about all the pros:

• the obvious, they're shorter!!
  
• much cheaper than marathons so I can race more
• it'll get me to do the track workouts I've been putting off for months, not to mention more Crossfit
  
• since Hubby is still recovering and doing minimal running, he can probably train/race with me in the Fall
• it's really heating up and I do not enjoy 3+hours in the sun (I enjoy the tanning part, but I prefer to tan by the pool now)
• I can enlist more people to race with me because most of my friends can run at least a few miles
• getting faster at shorter distances will help me get faster at longer distances - or at least that's what I'm telling myself

I refuse to think of any "cons" right now because I'm in love with this plan right now. I'm going to start looking up races to keep me busy. I'm taking June off completely - cold turkey, it'll be tough! So expect to see my race calendar expand in the next few weeks as I switch gears to short distances. This slowpoke is going to transform into a....something really fast!!

Here's a summary of last week's workouts: (after a whole week off after Pendleton)
Sunday: rest
Monday: 4 mile run
Tuesday: 4+hours of sewing - this must be a workout because my back and shoulders are still sore
Wednesday: 6 mile run
Thursday: rest (missed the track workout driving up to LA)
Friday: 11 mile run
Saturday: "rest" (I don't know if I consider party set-up/cleaning to be rest)
Sunday: running around in heels for 5 hours

Yesterday/Monday: 3 mile run

Today is a cross-training day, but I still haven't gotten my butt down to the gym yet for some Crossfit. Luckily, the gym is my garage, but I still manage to push this off for hours. Don't worry, I'll get to it. Stay tuned!

No, I'm not dead. I was just busy planning my sister's Baby Shower!

It was AMAZING and now I can return to life, aka running and blogging.