• run: 5 mi
• time: ?
• temp: 22
• road conditions: frosty but sunny
• aches/pains: r hamstring from bowling the other night
• what i listened to when i ran: the new pornographers - twin cinema, elliott smith - a question mark, saturday looks good to me - ultimate stars, metallica - fade to black, teenage fanclub - the cabbage, elvis costello - welcome to the working week, nin - last, afghan whigs - fountain and fairfax, the beatles - and i love her, depeche mode - everything counts, michael giacchino - hella bar talk, josh ritter - moons, elliott smith - angeles, chuck arrington - hymn meledy, teenage fanclub - the concept
• comments - the boy lost my earband so i went out angry and overdressed with a hat. ran into an old, dear friend who it was nice to see. the run felt easier because i'm getting out more. came home to find water all over the basement floor. between this and the dog who can't pee i'm about ready to tear my hair out. at least i got in the run.

• run: 5 mi
• time: 48
• temp: 32
• road conditions: wet and misty
• aches/pains: ball of r foot
• what i listened to when i ran: a little chatting, but mostly we were up and down hills, focused on getting the job done
• comments: she made me keep going up the damn hills without stopping to break at the top. i was able to carry on just fine. i feel my stamina coming back. i wish the whining brat in me would go away, though. time to watch some well-deserved tv!

• run: 5 mi
• time: 45 min
• temp: 30
• road conditions: chilly, but totally doable
• aches/pains: none, really
• what i listened to when i ran: ben folds - from above, josh ritter - rattling locks, ben folds - jesusland, belle and sebastian - seeing other people, radiohead - no surprises, international orange - fayetteville, metallica - for whom the bell tolls, elvis costello - welcome to the working week, foo fighters - baker street, bf5 - one angry dwarf, sia - breathe me
• comments: feeling good, getting into 3 times weekly runs again. that sia song gets on my nerves. used to relate to it, but now it seems pathetic. i did really enjoy the metallica. i used to drive around town listening and rageing to it. now i run fast downhill to it. an old elvis costello fave and radiohead made the playlist all good.

• run: 5 mi
• time: ?
• temp : 31
• road conditions: sunny
• aches/pains: none
• what i listened to when i ran: lots of nin, a couple of bf5, a few elliott smith songs
• comments: it felt like a refrigerator out there. in a good way. just chilly enough to keep the sweating bearable. felt more like a chore today, but that's okay. i really should change up the route. i came home to find that the hubby made pancakes for the kids. he forgot that the smell of syrup makes me want to vomit. i got pretty upset because i got stuck with cleaning up the smelly, icky mess. i apologized, though. my husband said "i thought that running made you more calm?" not today, i guess.

• run: 4mi
• time: pace was 10 min
• temp: 68
• road conditions: several drunken undergrads blocking the sidewalk
• aches/pains: ball of l foot this time
• what i listened to when i ran: chatted with my friend, lots of "chug" and "take my picture" shout outs along the route. i expected nothing less for a run partially on campus on st. patricks day
• comments: what fun! put on shorts, a t-shirt, my shoes, and it felt amazingly good. so much anxiety all day about the "heat" but it really wasn't bad. it felt like summer for a little while. it was nice to see people out and about. we're going to do 6 miles next week. i'm going to be ready.

• run: 3.2 mi
• time: 26:33
• temp: 34
• road conditions: cloudy
• aches/pains: none
• what i listened to when i ran: belle and sebastian - a summer wasting, ben folds - zak and sara, ben folds - before cologne, teenage fanclub - commercial alternative, airborne toxic event - innocence, matthew sweet - get older, josh ritter - drive away, the new pornographers - three or four
• comments: the boy ran his first 1k! he now wants to know when and how he can get his next medal. i did a lot better than i expected, seeing how large the race was. saw the family at the top of the hill a few times, which was encouraging. i didn't recognize anyone else there. raced against someone i didn't even see and beat her time. came in 6th in my age group (there were over 100 in the age group alone). i need to remember that i'm good at this and i keep getting better at it.

• run: 5.5 mi
• time: ?
• temp: 36
• road conditions: sunny and perfect
• aches/pains: none
• what i listened to when i ran: new pornographers - sing me spanish techno, international orange - the singer with nothing to say, elliott smith - single file, rem - sitting still, yaz - situation, anchor&braille - sleep when we die, matthew sweet - smog moon, bf5 - smoke, josh ritter - snow is gone (3 times), art garfunkel - so much in love
• comments: laughed each time "snow is gone" played as the snow is almost gone and I knew it was probably going to play at least 3 times because my ipod wasn't on shuffle. also, i was on the stretch home and felt really good. perfect running weather. when i wanted to stop and walk up the hill on 7th i told myself i could stop after the song was over. that mental trick worked, got me up the hill and around the corner. went out with the boy for a short run after. he enjoyed running on the little bit of snow left, crunching it down. tomorrow is his big race! i'm going to try to just enjoy mine because i know there's no chance in hell i'll place.

• run: 5 mi
• time: ?
• temp: 36
• road conditions: wet but not rainy
• aches/pains: ankles felt weak for the first mile
• what i listened to when i ran: teenage fanclub - guiding star, rem - hairshirt, rem - half a world away, gladhands - half the battle, jeff buckley - hallelujah, international orange - hand to mouth, teenage fanclub - hang on, the beach boys - hang on to your ego, guster - happier, elliott smith - happiness, nin - happiness in slavery
• comments: it felt like a chore that needed to be done, so i did it. it was nice to get out on a thursday morning instead of evening. i'm feeling the effects of cutting back on running and i'm not liking it. i'm also seeing that some 5k's i ran last year are also 10k's. i want to make the commitment, but my mental game is so off at this point. i actually considered giving up running for lent. running has given me a new life, a better one than i had before. quitting is not logical, nor does it feel right. how do i become willing to get back in and stay in 10k shape?

• run: 4.5
• time: 50 min
• temp: 24
• road conditions: icy and snow covered
• aches/pains - l groin
• what i listened to when i ran: good mix, from what i remember
• comments: had to break out the yax trax and glad i did. felt like i was running in sand. feet were completely snow caked when i got home. i'll miss the snowy runs, expecially when the rainy season hits.

• run: 5 mi
• time: 50 min (could be less)
• temp: 36
• road conditions: medium ran and very wet
• aches/pains: hands and forearms got very red and tingly near the end, shoes were fully squishy for the last mile
• what i listened to when i ran: bf5 - raindrops, josh ritter - another new world, belle and sebastian - she's losing it, new pornographers - high art local news, beatles - it's only love, belle and sebastian - ghost of rockschool, belle and sebastian - you made me forget my dreams, tears for fears - mad world, love and rockets - no new tale to tell, bf5 - kate, rush - new world man, toad the wet sproket - good intention, josh ritter - wait for love, guster - bad bad world
• comments: had to cancel weeknight run because of hubby's car problems, so i had to go out today, despite the flood warning. it was a pretty good run until the shoes got soaked and my arms/hands started to freeze. the latter freaked me out a good bit. this reminded me it's not so bad to run in the rain. i like it on my face. i got totally splashed by a car but by then i was already soaked so it didn't matter. what matters is that it was an ugly beige minivan. glad i wore my old shoes because it was a mess out there.