Days 45 and 46 - Yawn

I knew it would happen eventually. I totally forgot about this blog yesterday. Good thing it was a non-running day.

Conclusion from Day 45: I like Megabus a lot, but I will not ride it overnight again. Ever. It makes for a sleepy Leslie.

Moving on to today...

Today's scheduled run: 4 miles

Today's completed run: 4.1 miles
Pace: 9:44 (avg.)

Today, also known as the-day-the-hill-made-a-slow-poke-out-of-Leslie, I ran in North Carolina. The worst part about that is the fact that the hill on which I ran would make a seasoned Blue Ridge Mountain runner chuckle. They run mountains; I work at 110 percent to make it a mile up from the river. These elevation charts explain why my Baltimore training does not prepare me for a mile of uphill, ~300 ft gain.

A typical 4 miles in Baltimore. No hill to even warrant a rating.

The 4 miles in today's run. A long, steady climb.

So I did it... just a little slower than normal. I'll probably run along the river for Saturday's 14 miles. I confess: it's beautiful here in the mountains of NC, but I hate running here. I get so bored. All the trees and farms and big diesel pick-ups look the same to me. Running in the city, where there is always something to look at or read or notice, has ruined me.

Day 20 - W&OD Trail

Today's scheduled run: 6 miles

Today's completed run: 6.5 miles
Pace: 8:57

Greetings from Shirlington/Arlington/Alexandria, Va. It seems like I'm in all of those places at once. Really, they just all happen to intersect right where I ran today -- a portion of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. I'm staying with a friend who lives within running distance of the trail, so I ran out of her neighborhood and headed out and back on the trail. It was a good run and a nice trail, though I was slightly annoyed by the "wanna be Lance Armstrong" cyclists. Out of at least 10 that went zooming by me, I can only recall one who announced their passing. Argh.

I enjoyed the run, and the weather was perfect. There is a hill in my friend's neighborhood that I went down at the very beginning of my run and was determined to go up at the very end of my run. It was a doozy, but it really shouldn't have been a doozy. I did it, but it made me realize how badly I need to start training on hills. I'm used to running where it's flat, and it's made me a sissy when it comes to hills. This is especially important if I decide to run the New River Marathon, or even half-marathon, in May.

I know what you're thinking. "Leslie... signing up for another marathon before you've even run your first?" I know, I know. I can't help it. I'm just so excited about running these days! I love this.

I plan to spend the rest of the afternoon cranking out a paper and will then enjoy some more friend time. I don't expect to have time for any official cross-training tomorrow, but I do plan to eat a very large brunch, so I'll make that count.

Until tomorrow...