Dance was okay last night…I got to dance with a lot of more experienced guys, which is fun unless they’re show-offs. I firmly believe that the roles of the lead are to make the girl look good, make the girl have fun, and to look good himself in a subtle-yet-confident way.
When we got home, we finished off the last of the “cheesecake” and banana “ice cream”.
My night was cut short after that because I had hives that started on the bridge of my nose. I have no idea what caused them, but I am sometimes allergic to raspberries…perhaps last night was one of those times. I put my cranky, itchy, blotchy, welt-y self to bed.
Running with Lizards
I had a great 3 mile run this morning with a bunch of lizards! I’m trying to identify what I saw…so far it looks like anoles (which I knew), skinks, and whiptails. (I miss running where I grew up – the wildlife there was more along the lines of fluffy squirrels, chipmunks, and the occasional deer and rabbit.) I found this handy lizard identifier (in case you ever need to, you know, identify a lizard).
(like the one on the left – more info and copyright: Wikipedia/Alistair J. Cullum)
I set a goal for myself of 32:20, but I didn’t make it – finished in 34:30. That’s still my fastest 3 mile run this year, but…well, you know how it is when the legs just won’t go any faster! My real killer this time was that I had to take two real breaks and 4 mini-breaks (street crossings, less than 10 seconds each, but still…). I am trying to be rational and accept that running miracles are few and far between 
I will keep working until my legs and lungs can get to where I want them to be.
Speedwork
I’ve been a bit haphazard so far with my training, hesitant to set tough goals for myself and still in awe that I am actually running so much (with a dash of scared-to-schedule-because-I’m-changing-jobs). Since I have the week off, I plan to do a mini-bootcamp of speedwork sessions because I’ve decided I really want to run my September 5k in 30 minutes or less.
I finished a 5k on July 4 in 39:40. I was happy with that time because I hadn’t been doing any speed training, I hadn’t run much outside in the heat, and I hadn’t done a race in (mumble) years. Ok, 8 years. I have done plenty of fun fitness things in those 8 years, but I stopped running races because I felt silly since everyone in my age group seemed lightning-fast and I didn’t have time to put into Real Training.
Now that I’m older and more mellow (kind of), I am much better at accepting things as they are before getting bent out of shape and trying to move mountains overnight.
Anyhow, this means that my 5k pace needs to be about 9:23 per mile. 2:07 faster per mile than my average pace on today’s tempo run. I am convinced I can do this in the 6 weeks before my 5k.
Today’s speed session:
- 5 x 440 repeats (quarter miles) at 6 mph. (I cheated and tried to do the last one at 6.4 but had to drop back down to 6 halfway through)
I also stayed for 30 minutes of strength training, during which I did just about every exercise in the world!
- Squats with shoulder presses
- Lunges with bicep curls
- Shoulder flies (two kinds)
- Tricep extensions
- 21 curls
- One-legged squats on the bosu
- Balance exercises on the bosu
- Push-ups and planks on the bosu
Breakfast
I was finally starting to feel tired so I came up for this:
This beautiful green monster contained:
- 3 kale leaves (curly green)
- applesauce
- flax
- 1 banana
- 3 strawberries
- a splash of agave (I’ve been feeling a bit off, so I didn’t want anything too bitter)
- almond milk
As crazy as it sounds, there might be more working out this afternoon! I am also looking forward to some time poolside, and perhaps some Italian cooking.
I took some when I first redecorated, but they don’t quite do it justice. It was a basic gray cube, but I spruced it up with black and yellow, along with a small moss-topiary-thing, a glass container of rocks, a cute candy dish (a necessity for social well-being), and a few other “objets” (a mirror hung from a ribbon, Ansel Adams prints, and some tiny “antlers” that I made and “mounted”). I’ve learned the value of having a clean, comfortable, expressive workspace in the kind of work that I do – just enough touches to feel like somewhere you are inspired to spend time, a place for everything (and everything in its place, of course), but still very proper and professional. I’ve also learned that I like visual reminders, no matter how digital I am – calendars, places to hang projects that are in-work, timelines and gantt charts and inspiration and KPIs or other success factors…that way, I think my mind is working even if it wanders.
I didn’t eat my morning snack because it was a busy, busy day but I eventually got to my afternoon snack: a plum and this new-to-me Wallaby fruit on the bottom yogurt. Today’s was grapefruit, and it was deee-licious. The fruit part was a bit too sweet for me, but it was otherwise an exciting afternoon treat. (But look, y’all, at that thick layer of fruit on the bottom! It was fun.)
Like this lizard! (Circled, because I couldn’t get close enough with my blackberry to get a better shot without scaring him off.) I see dozens of these guys on my runs, especially the long Saturday one – I’ll have to document more of them sometime.
