we now return to our regularly scheduled program

you've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction.

- george horace lorimer

i've had an easy transition to actually-working five days a week (though i'm sure i will miss my off-fridays dearly) for about 11 hours/day, and still having energy to run. making myself go to bed at 10pm helps - i've even started to wake up naturally at 5:30 so i get to work on time. i know, how exciting. i'm definitely not complaining. the hours are longer, lunch is almost non-existent, but the work is plentiful so i don't have to sit and twiddle my thumbs like i did back in the office. obviously i'm still digging the jeans/t-shirt attire; i totally wore one of my marathon shirts in earlier this week.

i forced myself to re-hitch a ride on the running wagon and am now going on 8 days straight. (last week was so crappy, i logged more mileage on monday and tuesday alone this week.) i'm not aiming to have some incredibly long streak, i just need to get myself safely away from the hole i dug. however, i am still desperately slacking nutritionally. hopefully i'll clean it up (for the most part) this weekend and crack the whip monday. i've had a few not-so-lovely stomach aches lately and i know it's from all the crap i keep plowing down.

wednesday (4/1) pm run: 6.26 miles, 53:42 (avg pace 8:34), avg hr (162)

nothing exciting - just an easy run on the hotel 'mill followed by 10 minutes on the bike.

thursday (4/2) pm run: 3.52 miles, 30:00 (avg pace 8:31), avg hr (157)

this was an 'optional' workout day but i figured i'd go for a few easy miles and continue my little streak. there was a dude on the tm when i went down to run, but he said he only had about 9 minutes left so i pedaled away on the bike (10 min) while he finished up. the bike is positioned so that you can see the tm's dashboard, and when i sat down he cranked up the speed a little. swoon.

just kidding, at least he was running. a few minutes into my run and a super bad rain storm rolled in. i could hear the thunder and rain over all the noise of the treadmill and tv. i had briefly considered running over at the high school a few miles away, so i was glad my confinement to the tm paid off for once.

friday (4/3) pm run: 9.2 miles, 1:11:58 (avg pace 7:49), avg hr (164)

like i mentioned, my diet has been less-than-spectacular all week, and extra worse today. i had a delicious, warm, gooey cinnamon roll at 6:30am, moist homemade chocolate cake at 9, cheesecake for lunch, and chips/dip and donuts sprinkled globbed in between for my afternoon snack. (and yet i wonder why i can't seem to get rid of my buddha belly. it's a mystery.) i felt 20 pounds heavier with each bite, but i deserve it for being such a sucker for sweets and chocolatey goodness. yes, i still have my food allergies, but i know they won't kill me so sometimes i suck at being good. :(

anyway friday was interval day. as i shoveled junk food in all day, i was a little worried about how i'd hold up. since i had cake for breakfast and lunch, i had a slice of (pepperoni) pizza around 3pm to ensure i at least had some nutrients. ...riiiiight. so i fueled terribly, but i survived. definitely won't be fueling like this again though.

the plan: 20 minutes easy, 2x(10x200 repetition "r" pace with 1 min easy), 10 minutes easy after each set. (my r-pace for 200m is 0:44)

i was quite intimidated by the "2x10" part, but figured i'd get through the first set and try to do as many of the 2nd set as i could hang on for. i got competitive with myself and completed the workout as prescribed, what a good feeling!

1st set - 0:45, 0:44, 0:45, 0:42, 0:45, 0:43, 0:45, 0:41, 0:45, 0:42
(avg 0:43; mile pace 5:49)
2nd set - 0:41, 0:45, 0:42, 0:44, 0:42, 0:45, 0:42, 0:45, 0:42, 0:45
(avg 0:43; mile pace 5:46)

all-in-all, it feels good to be back in a routine and logging normal mileage. i wish i could run outside more (/ever) but i'll have to savor that on the weekends when i have the time to drive somewhere populated and runner-friendly (sidewalks/shoulders).