(Me, before my run)
Tuesday night is my husband’s baseball night. He’s in this (seemingly never-ending) baseball league with his peeps from work. So gym time oftens gets screwy and/or cut short on Tuesday. And the last thing you need when you’re trying to lose your belly is your gym time cut short, amiright?!?! Soo… once he left for baseball I decided I’d drive to the local university and run the 5k course that Matt and I run. Each of us has run an actual race on this course, and we’ve run this course for practice many times, and we both like it a lot. Not only is it pretty (the campus itself is very pretty) but it’s also a good course to learn how to pace yourself on because there aren’t too many ups & downs or surprises. Straight pavement, baby. I got to the college ready to run! It was hot (low 90′s, so I guess not that hot) but I had running fever. I started in a different spot than normal, mostly because now that it’s summer it’s free parking so I opted for an actual parking spot instead of on the busy road. Smart, eh? After parking, I walked to the spot where I wanted to run, and started.
(Startin’ time)
The last 5k I ran was a week before my surgery and my time was only 30 seconds faster than normal. I was only moderately disappointed by this because I wasn’t pushing myself so I couldn’t expect a great time. Tonight, however, I wanted to go for a PR so I decided to start slightly quicker than normal. Also, I had a quicker pace which seemed hard the first couple of minutes but I got used to it by the end of the first mile (8:32, quick for me!). As I was coming around the corner on mile 2, I noticed an array of awful signs:
(These things were everywhere!)
Immediately I remembered what these signs meant, other than the fact that there’s a shuttle service to the fair (which, btw, is going on in my town right now!). PEOPLE. Lot’s of lines of people. People with fanny packs and bottles of water, waiting to be shuttled to the dirty, gross, expensive, nasty fair! The last 1.4 miles of the course had several park-and-ride stations at them and/or around them. Total bummer. I thought about just running through them (rude or ok?) but then I realized my sweatiness and blaring 50 Cent was probably not something fair-goers and families were interested in.
(Me, mid-run, approaching the park-n-ride lines)
So I opted to cut my run short (1.8 miles) and finish up my cardio at home. I was pretty pissed at first because I was really in the mood to run, but by the time I finished the remainder of the run and got back to my car, my chest was hurting pretty bad. It felt the way it did the night of the surgery only far less intense. Just like the chest muscles were somehow really stretching out, which I know is normal but still very uncomfortable for about 6-7 minutes. By the time I got back to the car, I realized that my first outdoor run, albeit shorter than I desired, was pretty successful. I ran my first mile pretty quick for me and my second mile was paced only moderately slower (I was 0.2 away from hitting the 2 mile mark when I got back to the car). So I’m happy with it 
Considering the Dr. said it could be really painful the first ten to twenty runs, I’m thrilled it isn’t!
(Back at my whip, baby!)
(Done! Wahoo!)
Another positive thing that came from this mini-run was that I got to further break in my Under Armor running tights. I’ve only worn ‘em a couple times previous to this, at the gym for Crossfit, so it was interesting to see their wear-ability and performance on an outdoor run. They felt good; almost like I was running in nothing! I still prefer the classic Nike Tempo shorts that every sensible runner loves, but these were good for running tights/capris. Another good thing? Got my Day 8 picture!
I never used to take pictures on runs/work out’s because 1. I never had a cell phone with a good camera (until the Google Nexus One came along!) and 2. I’m pretty lazy. But The Skinny Runner makes it look fun so I decided to give it a go. People really stare when you take pictures of yourself working out. I bet they think, self-indulgent much! Oh, well 
(At home again)
Once I got home I had a stomach ache and it was not related to the run. I am pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that since Saturday, I have eaten nearly a half of a large watermelon all by myself. Seriously. I mean, yesterday you saw what I had for lunch. And today? I had nearly the same thing for lunch:
(Watermelon slices, Apple with two tablespoons melted PB and 1oo-calorie yogurt)
The only thing that could’ve made this lunch better was if I had Greek yogurt instead of Yoplait, but the last time we were at Safeway they were out of the kind I like. Sad, I know. ANYWAY, I’ve been ODing on my favorite summer fruit and it’s messing with my stomach & digestive track. Umm, maybe this was a bad idea for a late night snack last night:
(Monday Night Dessert)
And even though I have a stomach ache and… some other problems because of all of the watermelon… I’m still about to go downstairs and cut some up as a post-run snack for me and Matty. I can’t help it. It’s so cold and refreshing, not to mention filling! Now I’m going to continue editing maternity shoot photos and do a little online shopping. I hope everyone else has a fun, interesting Tuesday night
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