Excited about Running!

Did my 16km LSD:  the first 5km on my own then the last 11km with someone I met from the Running Room.  It’s kinda interesting how close you can become with a person from just over an hour and only because the common interest between the both of you is running.  Time passed by really quickly and we were keeping a good 6-6:30/km pace.  I prefer to only go all out for races, I don’t want to overexert myself and cause unwanted injuries.  Anna and I were doing well until I hit the wall around 8km and had to take in a GU gel (vanilla flavour–not pleasant and tasted too sugary for my tastebuds).  I also ran out of water and dying of thirst at 8.5km and needed a pit stop to refill.  There were no franchaises around us that were open, except for a CountryStyle Convenience store and the clerk wanted to charge me 25cents per cup!  Like seriously–10cents is reasonable.  Not 25cents because it doesn’t cost that much for him to purchase–maybe like 1cent.  After telling him I didn’t have any money to pay for it, he told me it’s fine and he wanted me to COME BACK with money to pay for it.  What a jerk.  I was obviously breathless and sweating–couldn’t he just help a runner out?  It was only going to cost him AT MOST 10cents which he makes off of when customers tell him to keep the change.  This is why I don’t like some people like him: trying to overcharge for the smallest things.  Yeah he has to make a living, but he was overdoing it.  Anna saw what was happening and thought it was ridiulous too.  She said she would’ve paid if he didn’t overcharge it like that.  I guess I’ll keep money around with me next time: because of stingy jerks like him.

I also convinced Anna to pick up a Garmin Forerunner 305 because her Nike + wasn’t being too good to her.  I think she picked it up today–I should receive comission from that sale, I totally rocked it!

I need a new gym bag.  Mine is torn all over and the zippers fell off.  It was a free bag that I got from Goodlife, but I guess it’s about time I get a new one.  I looked at some from the Running Room and they were $40!  Looks like I need a separate bank account for emergency workout equipment.

My body is entirely sore and tomorrow starts another training session.  My body is crying out for needed rest.

HOT HOT HOT

We’ve been having a huge heat wave the past few days, feeling like 42C at times!  It’s making my runs a little more difficult and a struggle.  I did 14km on Sunday morning when it was already hot out.  I managed to finish it, but it was really tough to keep going, especially at the half way point.  The last 7km flew by quicker than I anticipated, maybe I was just daydreaming the entire time.  I tend to do that a lot on my runs…while keeping my pace!  I am surprised that I didn’t use my GU gel…maybe it’s because I drink Gatorade now for those sweaty runs that my body doesn’t need the gels as much.  Hopefully I can use them up at some point, I may just resort to Gatorade because it is a lot cheaper and I only use 1/2 of a bottle for my runs.  So it’s extremely cheaper for me $_$

I tried to do a 5km tempo indoors but that was also extremely difficult for some strange reason.  I got the runner’s stitch along my side after 400m and considering how much water I drank, I just couldn’t continue.  I tried going on the elliptical, but failed at that too.  My body just didn’t feel like cardio, so I cross trained my legs instead and went for a swim afterwards.  I am making good progress in the water; I have noticed that I am not as nervous as I used to be.  I practiced side glides and flipping from one side glide to the other.  I am getting there…I think I almost got it.

I went with the running group today and attempted the 4km tempo in this crazy heat.  I was able to keep up for a good 2km then eventually just couldn’t keep up at a a tempo pace.  I had a ton of walk breaks and went a bit slower because I felt my body just crazy overheating.  Once I was done, I was drenched in sweat!  I cooled down in the store to dry the sweat off before heading home.

It’s nice going with the group, considering how much social interaction I get at work everyday (NONE); it’s nice to talk to a human being instead of a computer.  I’ll most likely stick with the Tuesday/Wednesday group to try to motivate myself, especially in weather like this!  I hope it cools down soon.

I also bought a new pair of NikeFIT shorts.  They were on sale and considering I have a pair I like, why not?  It’s a navy blue fabric with lime green trim and white mesh.  It kinda looks ugly, but hey it does the job and I need a new pair anyway!  I am up to 4 pairs of shorts now, no more reusing sweaty gross ones.  Ew.  Come to think of it, I wish I had extra tech fabrics, so I can do my laundry whenever without having to worry about running out of clothes to run in.  Some day…