A Taste of Summer

I have had a pretty interesting week of running! Ran with a student, reached the point of being 1/3 of the way through my training, got a taste of what summer will be like, and reached a new distance. Not bad for just another week of training!

Yes, that's right, 1/3 of the way done! I know the real tough stuff hasn't started yet, and my mileage isn't very high yet, but a milestone is a milestone. I think the fact that I've stuck with it for 10 weeks says a lot! My long run this week was 5.5 miles, which is only 1/2 mile longer than I've done before, but it's still a new personal high for mileage!

My shorter runs during the week are usually pretty "blah" because they're short, and therefore I just run in our neighborhood. My three mile run was exciting this week though because I got to run with one of my students! Last year my school became a site for a program called Girls on the Run. Girls on the Run is a program that helps pre-teen girls build self-esteem and confidence while training for a 5k race. Each girl has a running buddy that runs with her during the final race for encouragement. I was planning on volunteering to be a running buddy this year anyway when one of the girls in my class who was participating in GOTR asked me out of the blue if I would run the race with her! How could I say no to that??

This week was the "practice 5k", so all of the running buddies had to attend practice and run with their girl. Ok, so my three mile run wasn't as fast as I would train on my own, and we didn't run the whole time because she needed to take walking breaks, but how awesome to be able to run and bond with one of my students! (I know, cheesy teacher moment...) I think my favorite part of the whole run was when she was telling me a story and then, mid-sentence, punched me in the arm and said, "White one!" I was completely caught off-guard and confused as to why my sweet little student just hit me, and then I saw the white VW Beetle drive by...slug bug! I couldn't help but laugh. :)

This morning I had a somewhat rude awakening as to what training in the summer is going to be like. I decided to do my long run on Sunday this weekend instead of Saturday, and the high for Sunday was supposed to be almost 90 degrees. Not exactly running weather in my mind. I realized that on hot days, I would need to get up early and run before the temperature started to climb. So, that's exactly what I did! With an early bed time on Saturday and an alarm set for the same time I usually get up for work (ugh), I was able to get up and run my 5.5 miles before the thermometer read 70 degrees. Thankfully I was able to drag my trooper of a husband/water boy out of bed early too so that he could ride his bike with me while I ran. :) I suppose my beloved "no-alarm Sundays/Saturdays" may be few and far between this summer...

Miles this week: 13 miles
Weeks of training finished: 10 weeks
Total miles of training: 105 miles