Seriously Sleepy

"He sees the world through half-closed eyes and always seems to be talking through a yawn.  Perpetually nodding off, Sleepy could easily recline anywhere to get some sleep.  A rare talker, when he does have something to say, it is always straight and to the point – even though he’s too tired to know it." - http://crushable.com/entertainment/fun-facts-about-the-seven-dwarfs-from-snow-white/

I was seriously Sleepy earlier today.  This morning I got up early and did my run before work.  Since I start work at 7:30, I was up at 5:00 a.m. to make sure I would have time to run, shower, dress, etc. and still get to work on time.  Wow.  Worried about oversleeping, I set 3 alarms.  THREE.  I feel great now, but before I stepped on the treadmill I was still half-asleep, and having some serious misgivings about embarking on the endeavor.  So, why, do you ask, did I do such a thing?

Here's why: it was a test run for me (pardon the pun).  As the heat of summer quickly approaches, I'm tossing around the idea of switching my weekday runs from post-work runs to pre-work runs.  My thoughts are that since it's getting hot, all my weekday runs will be on the treadmill anyway, so why not run in the morning and reap the benefits of an early morning workout?:

• Easier to get it done - many fewer conflicts at 5 a.m. than at 5 p.m.;
• Gets me up and going - oxygen's better than coffee!;
• Experience the "runner's high" all morning;
• Revs up my metabolism for more effective fat burning throughout the day;
• I'll fall asleep faster/earlier & sleep better at night;
• It's cooler (treadmill room has western exposure, so even with the A/C it can get pretty warm in there in the afternoon/evening during the summer);
• Establishes the morning workout routine for both my body and my brain, and will hopefully make it easier to wake up early on Saturday mornings for long runs.

And, in order to get some consistency, on non-run mornings I'm going to try to get back into doing my Yoga for Runners and cross-training on the elliptical.  So I'll be seeing this a lot more often:

Wish me luck, and we'll see how it goes!

Today's stats:

• 10 min. warm-up walk
• 2.64 mi run; 0:35:00 min; 13:15 min/mi avg pace

Definitely Doc

"Appearing a bit pompous at times, this self-appointed lead of the group has a habit of getting his words and ideas mixed up.  Easily befuddled, Doc’s spectacles often slip a little too far down on his nose as his words often tend to get mixed up.  Overly gracious and highly efficient in his own mind until an important decision is necessary and his nerves take over, preventing any relevant decision from being made.  A little nervous, Doc never seems to know what to do with his hands." - http://crushable.com/

I have a feeling that Doc is probably the dwarf I'm most like most often.  I'm a planner and tend to spend a lot of time thinking through things over and over again in my mind.  Ask me a question and I generally have an answer, although getting the words from my brain to my mouth doesn't always work...  And I definitely have a tendency to be a know-it-all... (ducks head in embarassment).

When it comes to my running, I've reached the point where I feel fairly confident in what I'm doing.  I can carry on intelligent conversations with others and speak reasonably knowledgeably regarding a fairly wide variety of running topics (and especially about Disney races).  However, I am by no means an expert.

So I'm placing myself in the hands of those who are.  I have joined the Dallas Galloway running group to train for my first Marathon - Disney 2012.  I had some concerns regarding having to miss some training runs due to schedule commitments this fall, but I was able to email back and forth with one of the group coordinators and get it worked out.  I'm really excited about getting to run with a group and having the motivation, support, and accountability that comes with it.  Training starts May 21st...so...this whole marathon thing is really starting to feel real!

Facebook

So I added a Facebook page for the blog quite a while ago, but never actually got around to posting the info for it.  If we're not friends on FB, feel free to "like" the page so you get the post updates.  If we're already friends on FB, then you see the Networked Blog posts, and don't need to do anything....

You can either click on the link above, click on the "like" button on the left-hand side of this page under the mileage log, or search "Running Halfway Around the World" on FB and find the page that way.

Hopelessly Happy

"A fat, roly-poly little fellow, Happy is easily recognized with a perpetual smile and his bright, cheery disposition. His unique bushy white eyebrows are constantly bobbing with his eager grin as Happy always looks on the brighter side of things." - http://crushable.com/entertainment/fun-facts-about-the-seven-dwarfs-from-snow-white/

I am hopelessly Happy - this weekend was just an all-around great weekend.  I got to spend it with one of my best friends from high school on South Padre Island.  She's working in the area for a year, so it was the perfect opportunity to visit her and get in some beach time!!!

We spent almost the entire weekend outdoors - we had gorgeous weather: great temperatures, and mostly clear skies, but is was also unbelievably windy - they measured sustained winds of 20-25mph and gusts over 30mph both days!  It was crazy, but at least it kept the heat in check.

Fortunately for me, my friend is also a runner, so she was more than willing to put in some miles with me this weekend.  We managed to get a 3 mile run on the beach in first thing Saturday morning, and a 3 mile walk along the beach in this afternoon.

Here is a shot of the amazing view we had of the sunrise as we were plodding along through the sand on Saturday morning:  Beautiful, no?

This is us after the run - man we were tired.  Because of the humidity, the sand, and the wind (see how crazy & windblown our hair is?), we didn't have any kind of record-setting pace, but we did have a great run!

This weekend's stats:

• Saturday:
• 10 minute warm-up walk
• 3.02 mi run; 0:40:55 min; 13:33 min/mi avg. pace
• Note: running on sand, even hard-packed sand, is HARD!!!
• Sunday
• 3 mile walk; 0:56:27 min; 18:49 min/mi avg. pace