High fives

Laura and I were set for Running Club, which is special as it's the last for the next 3 weeks. (She's leaving me to go off and enjoy the sun in the Northern Hemisphere. So jealous!) She had 5 on her schedule and I was getting in my 4. She shot off to begin her loops around the docks while I continued at my comfortable pace. We actually went opposite directions so we met up twice to give each other big smiles and high fives. You can kind of imagine it as race day although we are the only 2 participants and enthusiasts to cheer us on, but it worked well. We both finished in record times so we were very pleased with ourselves and off to celebrate at the all-you-can-eat buffet for a bottle of wine. The most important part is refueling, right?

5 miles, that's nothing!

So after adding up mileage on the weekends the weekday runs seem like a piece of cake. The first 5 minutes are a bit brutal as my legs have a bit of amnesia and sometimes it takes time for them to get back in the rhythm, but then it's back to normal. I set out for my route for a loop around the Bosques de Palermo and was surprised by the amount of people running, especially in groups. Laura and I have noticed that when there is a 10K on Sunday the people make it out for last minute training that week. No surprise that there is one this week. But it's always nice to see the park being used and people getting out the pound the pavement with me. I ran at 9 min/mile pace again so that made the run even better.

Stomach cramps

Sunday I was sick all day from either a stomach bug or food poisoning. As I ate the exact same meal as Laura I don't think it was the latter. I took today off work so I could fully recover and was feeling better in the afternoon. As I skipped a workout last week I didn't want to make it 2 weeks in a row. So I decided to attempt 3 miles even though I had 4 on the schedule. Although rough at first, I actually felt better running than I did sitting in my apartment. It was a success and I felt a lot better knowing that I got out there even though it was against the advice of others.

Does not knowing where you are going help?

I sat down on Saturday afternoon to map out my run. I had decided to sleep in as I was exhausted and was going to do the run just before the sun went down. With the help of Google Maps and its satellite view I was able to map out a route that I thought would work well. I learned a few things from this experience:
1) Don't map out a route unless you know exactly how you are going to cross the highway. (I had to climb 3 flights of stairs to get on the walking overpass.)
2) Don't decide to run through parks after dark when you are unaware if there are lights or pavement besides the road.
3) Don't map a run based on street names when you know that Argentina saves money by not always putting street signs up.
4) Running through water causes your toes to get cold as you continue to run regardless of the amount of sweat that was already there.
5) Not really knowing where you are going gets your mind off the running so maybe it wasn't that bad of a plan.
Needless to say, I got my 10 miles in and am trying to not think about future runs. I can't fathom running double of what I just ran on my own. I've convinced myself the "race" will be different as I will be doing it with others.

I'm not the only crazy one

After my day of rest, I decided I had no choice but to enter the cold. Luckily it was around 40 so much better than the day before. I put on my many layers and headed out. I have been running around a 9.5 min/mile so I assumed I would base my 5 miles on that and went out for 48 minutes. Upon finishing, I decided to check it out and found out I ran over my goal again because I actually ran a 9 min/mile. I was very pleased with myself this time as that is a step in the right direction. Perhaps it was the freezing cold weather that got me going faster. I did encounter other crazy people out getting their run in as well. I was actually surprised by the amount and even found a guy in shorts. You have to be kidding me!

BRRRR!

After all day thunderstorms on Tuesday, and I mean 24 hours if not more, today was quite chilly. It snowed in areas of the country where snow isn't overly common including 100 miles outside of the city. My coworkers swear that there were flurries mixed in the rain this afternoon although I still question that. Regardless, I got home and it was below freezing, which lead to my first day of deviating from my running plan. There was no way I was heading out in freezing cold, wet weather. So I'm bypassing my 3 miles that I should do tomorrow and run my 5 that I had scheduled for today then. Fingers crossed that we're above freezing tomorrow because I have no choice but to go out in it.

In Shape?

Today marks the start of week 5 and I have now knocked down 70 of the 420 miles on the schedule. When put like that, I haven't even made a dent. I made tracks on my new favorite 3 mile route as it seems to fly due to it's a there and back scheme. Even with the time passing fast I knew I was running. I was having to put quite a bit of effort to get them to go one in front of the other. I finished and felt I must have run longer or faster, but not enough to count. Not sure if it's the aftermath of my long run on Saturday, but I hope it's a hump I just got over.