Sunday Morning

In keeping with my "needing to run everyday" philosophy, off I went this morning on a planned short run. It was another beautiful morning. It was cool, sunny, not too humid -- great weather. I went the usual back way to Ginter Road , the Riverside loop, with a little extra at the end to reach 6 miles (actually 6.05). I really was going to make it a shorter tun, but it was just too nice outside. I also had put some new music on my Ipod and I was trying to get to it (on shuffle).

I believe my mood is better with the 6+ miles, anyway. I was sore after yesterday's run, but today I feel good physically. I need to start doing some strength training/pilates/etc, but right now it is difficult to find the time. Once the kids are back in school I can do this during my lunch, since I work from home.

Up, up and away ...

I didn't see any wildlife on my run this morning. However, I did see a site I've never seen before while running -- a bunch of hot air balloons taking off! By the time they finished, there were 6 or 7 in the sky. I saw them go up one by one. I tried to take some pictures with my cell phone, but they didn't turn out very well. As I got further out in the country I saw a couple stopped by the side of the road in a pickup with a trailer behind them. They told me the balloons were doing some sort of target competition.

It was a beautiful morning for a run. It was around 60 degrees when I started out. I went the back loop past the high school, and even past Watson Road. I came back the Ginter Road loop, and as always finished with the Riverside loop and the sprint up the hill. I ended up with 8.3 miles. I'm trying to gradually increase my weekend runs, and get at least one long run in. I don't know how long before I am back to those 12 mile runs on the weekends. The problem is that the weather will change all too soon. I am not looking forward to when I have to go back on the treadmill. I can handle shorter runs on that, but not a long run. I've got some cold weather running gear, and I may have to get more for those weekend runs.

I have figured out that I really need to run every day; otherwise my mood deteriates. I didn't run on Friday this week, and felt blah all day. So, unless there is some compelling reason, I will try even harder to get up every morning to run. The children start school soon, so the afternoons/evenings quickly fill with activities. I find that if I don't make time for a run first thing in the morning, it often does not happen!

That's all for now.

Sunrise on the River

I went for a run this morning after working most of the night. I went the usual morning route -- out to Lowe's, around the parking lot, back through town, out to the Baptist Church, Riverside loop - I always finish with the Riverside loop and end with a sprint up the hill by my house.

As I ran across one of the bridges, the sun was starting to come up. What a beautiful site -- the sunrise reflecting on the river. I should have taken a picture with my cell, but I had a good pace going and didn't want to stop. But, I'll carry the picture in my head today. So, when things get stressful or I start feeling a little depressed, I'll try to remember that site.

Anyway, I ended up with 6.78 miles. I think I'm getting faster -- I run about the same amount of time, but I keep having to add an extra block or extra loop (today it was an extra loop around the Lowe's parking lot) to get that time in.

I'm not sure if I will get up to run tomorrow -- with little sleep last night and no time for a nap today, I may need to just sleep in!

Gotta keep on running ...

Watching the sun come up over a sleepy little town ...

It was another great morning for a run. I almost didn't get up, then I figured I'd better, since I missed yesterday. I'm glad I kicked myself out of bed. It was cool, but still quite humid. I ran to the Lowe's parking lot and back through town, out to the Baptist Church and finished with the Riverside Loop.

It was dark when I started out, but the sun was coming up. The traffic was already starting to pick up when I started off. I do have one "pet peeve" -- why don't drivers respect the marked crosswalks? I will have the "walk" signal, but have to either swing way out into the road or cut between cars to cross, and neither is a safe thing to do, especially when it is not completely light outside! Drivers need to realize the marked crosswalk is there for a reason. This morning it seemed like this happened to me at every street I crossed. And these weren't even cars that were inching up to see to turn right on red. Oh well. That's just another thing to deal with on the run. That's why I prefer to run more in the countryside, but I don't do that when it's not light outside.

Riverside Park was beautiful this morning with the heavy mist rising as I ran by. If I'd had more time, I would have run through the park itself to get the feeling of running through the clouds -- the mist was that thick.

I ended up with 6.68 miles. I will try to get up tomorrow morning for another run, but it may be a long night at work tonight ...

Monday Morning Run

We are starting to get into our "busy" time (even though it seems it is always busy), so I have decided I'm going to try to get up in the mornings to run. There are just too many things going on in the evenings. Eventually I may have to get on the treadmill in the mornings if it gets too dark.

This morning I ran (in the dark) through town and up to Lowe's. Then I ran back through town. It was a little disconcerting at some points because not all the street lights are working. After I ran through town, it was starting to get light, so I ran out Jefferson to the Baptist Church, and finished with the Riverside Loop. I didn't see any wildlife this morning except for some domestic cats. It was probably too early for the deer to be out and about!

I ended up with 6.20 miles, not bad for an early morning run. Now if I only had time for a nap ...

Beautiful Morning

It is a beautiful Saturday morning, and a good morning for running. I started around 7:00, before it started getting too warm. I went the usual back way to Ginter Road loop/Riverside Loop. I took an extra loop at the end -- a short one -- trying to get a little more mileage in. I ended up with 5.95 miles.

I didn't see much wildlife except for the occasional rabbit or cat. I didn't even see any other runners/walkers, which is unusual for a Saturday morning. I think many people are on vacation this week -- trying to get the last summer vacation in before school starts. Maybe next year we will get a vacation in -- probably a race somewhere!

Friday Morning Run

I haven't gone for a run in a couple of days, but I have a good excuse. On Wednesday, I took my daughter and her friend to the Vans Warped Tour in Cincinnati. We left around 6:30 a.m. and got home well after midnight.

But, I went for a run this morning with my friend (same one from Tuesday). We were able to get about 5.17 miles in before work this morning. It was a pretty good run. There was nothing really exciting about the run. It's a good thing I didn't wait until this afternoon -- we were hit with thunderstorms.

Maybe I'll get a couple of good runs in this weekend.