I'm Alive, I Swear

Ugh. I hate being so busy! 

I feel like I never have a moment for myself anymore. This week has been a culmination of working two jobs, rehearsing a concert and a gala show, my half marathon training and sleeping. (Doesn't it just make you tired hearing about it?)

I got in all of my runs this week. The first one I already discussed, my 2.21 miler in 32 minutes (with an upset tummy) HERE. My second one this week was one Wednesday and I went running in the park with my friend E. She met me at my house and we went over to Hubbard park (a small local park on the other side of town). It was a nice day out, not too warm, a little overcast but still pleasant. The park wasn't too crowded at all which was nice for us. We parked our car near the playscape, did a short walk warm-up and then started our run. We ended up doing 3 loops around the park which equaled out to 3 miles in 40 minutes. E is much quicker than I am, but I kept up with her pacing (or she slowed down for me, either way). Our first mile was 11:45! Holy schnikees Batman! Our second mile was at 14:50 (we slowed down because neither of is could keep that pace) and the last mile was about the same. No matter the time, it's a fun run because there's a small incline out to the outside of the park, but a large downhill section that you have to run to get back into the park, then another small uphill before it flattens out. I like the downhill section because it gives my body a bit of a rest while still keeping running, so I'm not completely dead by the time I hit the second incline.

E really liked the run, although, on the downhill stretch we had to do a bit of odd maneuvering over to craters in the sidewalk, cars parked on the sidewalk, etc. At one point, she turned to me and stated "Running like this makes me feel like a mountain goat. I know I don't have fur or horns, but I still feel like one with all this jumping." I couldn't help but laugh. A mountain goat? I never would have thought of that as a comparison to what we were doing, but I like it. After our run, E told me she had fun and was considering doing it more often. Hooray! I love hearing that! I may not be the best runner, and while I tend to be rather negative during a run, I very much enjoy how I feel afterward and getting other people to feel that way as well makes me happy. I told E that anytime she wants to run together again, I'm most definitely up for it.

Also, one of my blogger and dailymile friends Claire W. asked to join up and be running buddies every now and again. Hooray for more running buddies! As much as I enjoy running alone, I do enjoy having someone to run with and/or meet up with at the end. I feel I push myself more with someone around me and that's a good thing. It's easier to say "oh man, I'm tired, I'm going to stop" when running on your own. When you have a running buddy, they usually don't let you quit,.... even when you want to.

In other news, Kurt @ Becoming An Ironman has finished the montage of our Team Awesome music videos.

Be prepared, it will be posted soon, and it's EPIC! 

Get excited!

Questions of the Day:

1. Where is your favorite place to run, and why?

 I really like running in the park near my house, but the park where I did my last 5k was even better.

2. How have your allergies been so far? Any advice for fellow allergy sufferers? 

 Mine were fine up until this past week. Now, they are killing me.

3. Do you have any all-time favorite, hysterical, running quotes? (As said by yourself or someone else?) 

I'm not sure if anything can top E's "mountain goat" quote.