One Foot In Front

3.54 miles. 1 hour 20 minutes. 22+ pace.

The name of this episode of OFIF is "Phone Meets Sidewalk".

Everything was hunky-dory, feeling good and walking strong. I decided today to aim for a route with a lot of hills, so I went though a neighborhood near my apartment that is basically built on all hills. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing. I was kicking ass.

Then, there was the silt slick. Just as I turned out of the neighborhood (onto the majorly busy roadway), I stepped on a seemingly harmless patch of wet silt. Down I went, slamming my left hip into the mud and my cellphone onto the concrete. Nothing hurt so I picked me and the phone up off the ground and took stock. It wasn't good. My phone's screen was shattered, no coming back from that. I was covered in wet mud from butt to ankle on my left side. I looked like one of those "Don't trust a fart" memes. Worst part: I still had to walk back 1.25 miles.

When I got home, the pool looked so inviting. I quickly shaved my legs (not gonna lie, they were gross) and dug out the suit. That water felt so good. And before you start wondering what kind of crazy polar-bear-plunge kind of lunatic I am, it's been fairly warm and sunny in Texas lately which equals tolerable water temperatures. NSV: walking down to the pool without shorts or tshirt or moomoo to cover all my jiggly bits.

4 miles, 1:14:26, 18:38 pace.

I just walked as far as I could before I got lost.

I actually didn't mean to go this far, but my grandpa called, I got distracted, and I wound up just going with it. It would have gone faster if my hips hadn't tried to seize up mid-walk. That's what I get for going straight from playing ukulele in bed to working out. STRETCH, EMILY, FOR THE LOVE OF FITNESS!

4.02 miles, 1 hour 10:50 minutes, 17:38 pace.

I don't have to go in to work until 3, so I decided I would do a long route today. I mapped it out last night and got to bed early so there would be no excuses. Man, am I glad I did! I had a lot of fun just setting out on my path.

The route I mapped took me into a very ritzy neighborhood that sits in a valley off my regular route. All the streets are named after mountain ranges (which I find particularly funny) and the houses are humongous. Nice to see but no place I'll ever be living fulltime. Toward the end, I almost bailed on the last .5 mile since it took me into the ball fields where, of course, there are about a million people today. I pushed through and didn't get run over by roving kids or frazzled parents, so yay!

Side note: I usually see lots of small wildlife on my walks (birds, squirrels, butterflies, etc) but today was like the death walk with lots of road kill (even a turtle :/).

May 6th

1.96 miles, 33:20, 16:59 pace.

Tonight I hit a sub 17 minute pace. A big deal for me since I started out at 18:30ish. But it came at a cost. My left soleus muscle (yeah, I didn't know what it was called either) began to burn so badly I thought I'd have to stop and call for help. Luckily, slowing WAY down between running intervals helped relieve the pain. This lady above is demonstrating how best to stretch said muscle. I know, it looks a little like she's trying to move the wall with her mind, but anything to keep injury away at this crucial point (the stick with it or quit point).

2.43 miles, 43:26 minutes, 17:52 pace.

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone! The Fourth was not with me yesterday as the Hubs turned on Girl Meets World after dinner and I couldn't resist a little Netflix binge in lieu of a walk. Tried to make up for it this morning, and I think I did a pretty good job. I feel like I could have been a little bit faster if not for a mysterious pain that showed up in my lower left abdomen/hip area. It's still hanging around after the obligatory symptom search on Google and a nice hot shower.

1.96 miles, 35 minutes, 17:52 pace.

I really did not want to go out tonight. I've felt really weird the past four or five days: exhausted, moody, depressed, unmotivated. So I took the weekend off of exercise and eating right. I didn't think about calories or step trackers (11,300 today!). I just rested and did what my mood allowed. Of course that didn't work.

But as soon as I started tonight, things seemed to change. The weather was beautiful and even kind of chilly for May. Traffic was heavy but I managed not to get in too many people's way. One truck even gave me a little honk-honk of support (or so I choose to think of it). At one point, over the creek, Mr. Owl flew by to say hi (and scare the shit out of me). And I could tell I was faster. Turns out I wasn't as fast as I'd hoped, but it felt good, smooth, fun.

1.21 miles, 21:57 minutes, 18.18 pace.

A late start had me thinking I could fit in a short run before work. The first two blocks were great, and then it all fell apart. My feet and calves started burning, my stomach began to churn, the humid air clogged my lungs. So after attempting a few more running intervals with the same results, I walked the rest of it.

What’s the first thing you do when you start running, again?

Find a race, of course.

2.18 miles, ??:?? minutes, ??:?? pace.

I fumbled my phone somewhere along the way and messed up my stopwatch. I'm pretty bummed since keeping track of my stats has really been a motivator for me.

I tried mixing intervals of running into my walk again tonight which might have been a mistake. My legs and groin muscles definitely thought so at first. I know it has to do with my lack of stretching, Good intentions aside, I just plain forget about stretching until I'm already out on the road.

Honeysuckle is in full bloom this week in Texas, and the neighborhood nearby is full of the stuff. Ah, heaven!

2.18 miles, 38:30 minutes, 17:40 pace.

I stayed up way too late last night, but I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking that I should've done something to squeeze in those last 3000 steps. At some point in my agonized wallowing, I started scrolling back into my past on One Foot in Front, and I was awed. There were more than a few 10 min pace runs back in the day.

So, this morning I plotted out a new course for my first attempt at running in nearly five years. Every muscle below my knees started complaining immediately. But it was exciting to take back something I've missed for so long. But don't think I started sprinting 9 min/miles right out the gate. I took LOTS of walk breaks (where I promptly ruined my pace by looking at all the unfamiliar surroundings). My longest stint (at the very end) was only .2 miles, and all together I probably didn't run more than .75 miles. However, I'm looking forward to going again tomorrow.

Today I am tired. Every task, every thought has been a struggle. I feel like I should go for a walk to round out my 10000 steps, but I really, really don't want to. I want to sit on the couch and watch COPS.

But I also really, really want to reach my goals. I keep thinking about the end game, the extra energy, the increased fertility, feeling better in my skin.

1.94 miles, 35:10 minutes, 18:07 pace.