July 25, 2013

Laps

It was another gorgeous day today--a high of 75. Unfortunately, I didn't take advantage of it as much as I could have, because I was SO into the book I was reading. I opened up all the windows to get a nice breeze through the house, and then I sat and read my book until I finished it. I was reading Lisa Gardner's "The Neighbor", and I think that was my favorite of hers so far. It was one of those "just one more chapter!" books.

At around 11, I forced myself to put it down and go for my run. I had five miles on the schedule, at marathon pace. Since I don't have a marathon goal pace, I decided to try and keep my heart rate in Zone 3 (like I would for a tempo run). Eli was out fishing with my dad, and Noah was home with me, so I was thinking I'd just do the treadmill. Noah said he'd be fine with me running outside, but I would be too nervous leaving him alone (he's only nine).

Instead, I decided to run laps around the block--my house is visible from all parts of the block, and if Noah needed me, I'd be in yelling distance. Our block is only 0.4 miles around, so it certainly wouldn't be a scenic run, but the weather was so nice, that I wanted to take advantage of it.

I headed out, and took my time getting my heart rate up to Zone 3. Five miles is a long way to run in that zone, so I didn't want to burn out too early. Every time I lapped by the house, I yelled "Marco!" and from inside the house, Noah would yell, "Polo!" ;)  That way I knew that all was okay.

At one point, I actually saw some guy (probably about my age) out running, which was very surprising; I never come across another runner in my neighborhood! Even more interesting, he was wearing a Kona Run shirt, which is the 10-mile race I did last month. I just said "hi" as we passed each other in opposite directions. Then I saw him again a couple of miles later. I asked him if he was training for a race, but he said no, he was "training just to train". It would have been a little embarrassing if I'd seen him a third time, because he certainly would know that I was running circles around my block!

At mile three, things went south very quickly. I got a really sharp muscle cramp in my abdomen, which caused me to slump over and my breaths to be really shallow. Normally, I can run through muscle cramps, but this was awful. My pace slowed way down, and at mile 3.5, I just couldn't take it anymore. I stopped running, and just walked home (it wasn't very far, thanks to the laps!). When I got home, I sat down and drank some ice water.

I sat for about 10 minutes, until the cramp went away, and then decided to head out and finish the run. I only had a mile and a half left at that point, so it went by pretty quickly.


My heart rate was in the right zone for at least three of the miles, so I'd consider it a success. But I really need to have a GOOD run tomorrow.

When Eli got home, he wanted to play catch with a baseball outside, and Noah didn't want to, so I told him I would. I haven't played catch in a very long time! He had a mitt in his baseball bag that fit me, so I went out to play. When Noah learned I was playing, he changed his mind and decided he wanted to play, too ;)

It ended up being really fun, and a good chance to chat with the boys while they're not bickering. Maybe I'll ask for a baseball mitt for Christmas. I'm sure the boys would love to pick one out for me! I love that I'm able to do active stuff with the kids. Four years ago, you would never find me playing ball (or any sort of sport) outside.

I think the weather had me thinking about fall today, because I was really in the mood for soup for dinner. I hadn't made Loaded Baked Potato soup in a very long time (probably a couple of years), so I made that. It was SO good! I'm going to put this back in the rotation.


I'm really excited to watch Dexter tonight. It's been on the DVR since Sunday, when it aired, but with Jerry's work schedule, we haven't been able to watch it yet!

7 comments:

  1. What a great idea to call out Marco and have you son answer each time you pass your house!!!
    Glad the cramp passed and you finished the run.
    And, hooray for a fun game of catch with your boys - I haven't done that in awhile and should.

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  2. That soup looks awesome!

    Oh yeah and you're gonna poo yourself on Dexter!

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  3. I have been telling everyone about this soup I found:

    http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com/2012/10/potato-soup.html

    I love baked potato soup and this is such a healthy version of it. I used a little less potato then they called for and a whole acorn squash. I found it to be so creamy that I didn't even need to add any cheese to the top. Definitely worth a try!

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  4. I got a new book at the library last week and I was SO looking forward to sitting by the pool, drinking a Malibu Pineapple and reading but it was overcast all weekend. I was pissed! That's how you get to enjoy the outdoors while reading!

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  5. I love to listen to books on my mp3 when I run. Listening to books really helps keep me moving!
    I download the books from my library's website.
    Just a thought!

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  6. Totally unrelated to most you wrote...but what you you thinking about this Dexter season? :)

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    Replies
    1. Eh, it's just okay. I liked it MUCH more before Deb found out about Dexter. I think that each season, I like it less and less. I hope it goes out with a bang this season!

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