• run: 4 mi
• time: 35 min
• temp: 56
• road conditions: dark to dawn
• aches/pains: none
• what i listened to when i ran: too dark out for headphones. i tried to settle my mind and pray.
• comments: it felt really good. i love these short runs. i feel so free, so competent, so accomplished. and i got to use my new lush shampoo as a treat which made my hair look fabulous today - even without blowdrying it!

• run: 5 mi
• time: ?
• temp: 66
• road conditions: sunny
• aches/pains: none
• what i listened to when i ran: guster - the captain, bf5 - raindrops are falling on my head, elton john - goodbye yellow brick road
• comments: my legs felt heavy, like i tied weights on them, for most of the run. they didn't hurt, but they told my i went too far yesterday. i found by breathing was hard at the beginning, too. but, by the end, i was singing along with elton and completely feeling the fuzz bass kick in during "raindrops". i just don't hear it in the snippets of new bf5 stuff, the equal parts of all 3 band members. that song just showcases it in all it's glory. i don't even really like the song, but i love what the 3 of them do with it.

• run: 10.23 mi
• time: 1.5 hr
• temp: 77
• road conditions - sunny
• aches/pains: l knee at end
• what i listened to when i ran: go gos - turn to you, ac newman - miracle drug, night ranger - can't find me a thrill, ben folds - rocking the suburbs, bf5 - don't change your plans
• comments: went all the way down to stadium and i knew i'd have my 10 miles :) i took it easy, walked when i felt like i needed to, stopped for water on dexter. i was parched as hell when i got home. it wasn't so bad. the mental block was harder than the physical effort. had i run the entire time without stopping to walk, well...

thursday, august 22

• run: 4 mi
• time: ?
• temp: 55
• road conditions: dark, a tad chilly
• aches/pains: none
• what i listened to when i ran: chatted with my running partner
• comments: glad to get my weekday runs completed! now it's up to me to get a longer run in on saturday. i did some driving around and saw how i could increase my longest run (so far) just a little bit and see how it goes. my main motivation right now is that i'm eating more and feeling like i've gained weight. not a good space for me to be in, but if it gets me to do my long runs, then it's okay.

• run: 4 mi
• time: ?
• temp: 52
• road conditions: dark
• aches/pains: neck muscle on r side
• what i listened to when i ran: too dark to run with headphones on at 5:30 am alone. i spent a good deal of time in prayer.
• comments: it felt right to do it. it felt right when i got home from the run. i just really want that extra bit of sleep.

• run: 5 mi
• time: ?
• temp: 53
• road conditions: crisp and good
• aches/pains - r wing for a short bit
• what i listened to when i ran: foo fighters - wearing me down, new pornorgaphers - twin cinema
• comments: rough couple of miles at the beginning. i did not want to be out there, wanted to be back at home, reading. but i'm feeling fat (actually gained 5 pounds) and knew i needed to do it for training and to help get my weight under control. i'm very glad i did. took a nice nap in the afternoon. a nice, productive weekend with lots of rest in between.

• run: 7.4 mi
• time: 1 hr
• temp: 65
• road conditions: bright sunny day
• aches/pains: none
• what i listened to when i ran: rem - night swimming, bf5 - the ultimate sacrifice, matthew sweet - not when i need it, beatles - for no one, fiona apple - parting gift, nin - terrible lie, avett brothers - kick drum heart
• comments: slept in until 8:30, didn't get out until after 9:30. just didn't want to go out and my belly was feeling kind of weird. decided going up the hill further wasn't a good idea, so i went further on seventh because of road construction. the run was longer than 6 miles but not as long as i "should" have run, and that's okay. it felt really good after those first couple of miles.

• run: 4 mi
• time: 40 min
• temp: 58
• road conditions: dark, humid
• aches/pains: none
• what i listened to when i ran: chatted with my friend
• comments: woke up a little early this am. had a cup of coffee by myself in the dark silence and it was lovely. now i'm listening to the boy sing his "warm up" for his musical theatre class. it's lovely, too.

• run: 4 mi
• time: ?
• temp: 66
• road conditions: wet, some rain at the end
• what i listened to when i ran: it was pretty dark, so i left the headphones off.
• comments: felt strong like a pony for most of the run. i like this 4 mile stuff.

• run: 4 mi
• time: ?
• temp: 66
• road conditions: busy
• aches/pains: none
• what i listened to when i ran: a lot of anger at myself, lots of fears in my head. i listened for a while, and then decided to stop making myself miserable. implementing that decision is hard. it turned things around, though. foo fighters - all my life
• comments; went up hammond to the bay and back. i would have loved to have slept in. i love those fold-out beds and tight sheets. but, i had to try to impress my folks. i also tried greek yogurt - really greek yogurt - for the first time. 38% of my daily protein in 100 calories and it rates like eating ricotta cheese out of a bowl! i of course had 2 since i didn't know when my next meal was coming.

• run: 4.3
• time: ?
• temp: 65
• road conditions: real dark, then the dawn came
• aches/pains: none
• what i listened to when i ran: chatted with my running buddy who's running a lulumon half marathon in vancouver this weekend.
• comments: i really wasn't into it last night, but once i got out there, it was great. i love running with her. i feel pretty good about my fitness level right now. i hope i don't mess it up by being away for the weekend...

tuesday, august 7

• run: 4.3 mi
• time: ?
• temp: 60
• road conditions: perfect
• aches/pains: none
• what i listened to when i ran: never got around to turning on my iPod. just working out stuff in my head
• comments: woke up at the magical 5:50. it was a nice easy 4 miles.

• run - 5 mi
• time: ?
• temp: 70
• road conditions: overcast, light rain near end
• aches/pains: none
• what i listened to when i ran: night ranger - night ranger, glad-hands - gore girls
• comments: felt half asleep out there for the first mile, then i woke up. good run. nice to have a little gentle rain to cool things off.

• run: 9.57 mi
• time: 1:19
• temp: 70-80
• road conditions: humid, sunny
• aches/pains: upper thighs near the end, lower calves right at the beginning
• what i listened to when i ran: rem - talk about the passion, ben folds - rockstar, hiro's song, guster - airport song, blondie - atomic, mgmt - time to pretend
• comments: ran all the way up to maple. i didn't bring a gu because i wasn't sure. i thought i had 10 miles, but just missed it. it felt really good out there today. i'm still waiting for the sweat to stop dripping off my face. i should go bake some cookies now.

wednesday, august 1

• run: 4 mi
• time: over 10 min pace
• temp: 70
• road conditions: sunrise run
• aches/pains: none
• what i listened to when i ran: chatted with my running buddy.
• comments: as much as i hate getting out there so early, running with my friend makes it seem so fun and easy. i thank her for that gift after every run. found out one of the people i work with is a really good runner and she's in my age group now. interesting. walked down to the running store from work, picked up a couple of GUs to try during long runs, was back at the office in less than 15 minutes! love the office, hate the maple syrupy/urine smell outside the door.