Feelin hot, hot hot

It was secretly hot today, which never works out for running.  At first, when I went outside, I thought, hmm, this isn't too bad, doesn't seem too humid.  Turns out I was SUPER wrong.  I don't know why I always end up running during prime heat times, but I do.  Yea, I've read all the tips that say you should run either early morning or after the sun goes down, but me, I like to run at, say, 11:00 a.m.  Which is super fun.  I think my favorite part is when you can feel the heat reflecting off the pavement and back onto you.  Oh, and if you forget the sunscreen...well, there's nothing better, let me tell you.  Sure, it cuts my  pace down to a 9/9:30 minute mile, but you know, it's all worth it right?  I say all of this, and yet I still won't change it, so I have no one to blame but myself in the end.  I just find it easier to run in the middle of the day, even if it is 1000 degrees with 2000% humidity.  Pretty sure those are accurate temperatures too.
Anyways, I got 7 done today, which is all that matters in the end, even if it did take me 1:03 to do the whole thing.  My first two or three miles were in the 8s, but it was seriously too hot to handle out there, so I guess I'm happy with my overall time and the fact that I ran the entire 7.  I do think that my tan lines are, at this point, irreversible, which is really unrelated, but something that I felt I had to point out.  At this point, the only way to even out would be to cover up everything that's normally uncovered during a run, and sit in the sun with only my back and stomach exposed.  Which is not happening, so instead I'm going to live the rest of my summer life with a racer-back/shorts permanent tan. Don't worry, I usually do use sunscreen too, it just so happens that today I forgot to put it on.
Tomorrow night, being Wednesday and all, is another Lynn Woods run.  Last week was the easy 4 miler for the long run, so this week it will probably be the dam run, which is 6 miles of misery.  But, I like the hill training, so hopefully I can make it there.  And hey, at least those runs start at 6:30, which is sort of close to the time when the sun might be starting to go down a little bit. Although I also saw that it's supposed to rain tomorrow, so that might actually help. Nothing like a good rainstorm to cool down during a run.  Certainly could have used one today anyways.
Well, this has been fun, and now, some pictures.

Here's Nala not being scared of fireworks.....(yea, right)

Sox on the 4th, where they actually won, shocking.

And the groundhog that lives under our shed.  I've since mowed the lawn to deter him from eating the clover.  If it's not there, you can't eat it, right?

Now what?

So, the marathon excitement has waned...at least enough that I can walk around like a normal human being again, and not some superhuman.  (Yes, I did walk around like I was all that, because I WAS ALL THAT MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM) But since that's worn off, all I have left is the now what?  For the first time in months, my Sunday will not be spent long running.  I don't have to worry about making a wrong move and breaking a leg, foot, ankle, toe, etc.  My running shoes don't need to be in the forefront of my closet anymore.  I could actually wear non-workout clothes on the weekends.  (I could, doesn't mean I will!) So, seriously, now what? Suddenly I'm afraid I'll fall completely out of shape and end up not fitting into my wedding dress, even though it hasn't been sized or anything yet, so that's basically a non-factor.  Of course I plan to continue boxing/kickboxing at Title.  I was going three times a week, and I might be interested in upping it to four times.  Boxing is a lot of fun, the trainers are a blast, and it really is a great workout. Actually, if you're ever interested in going, I recommend the Alex or Lucas classes.  They're CRAZY hard, and somehow lots of fun, as long as you don't mind sweating all over the place.   However, I'm not sure that ONLY boxing all the time is the best workout plan.  Now that I don't have to run 10+ miles every week, I don't mind going out and running when the weather is nice or just if I feel like it.  Yesterday I did a quick 5K around Lake Q in just over 27 minutes actually.  I have noticed that running everything at marathon pace has brought my 5K time back up a little bit, from 25 back to 27, but really that's not a huge deal.
The question really is, where do I go from here?  Do I want to run another marathon?  Maybe I want to stick to only running half marathons.  Perhaps I should work on my speed and get my 5K back down to a 24/25 minute run, or lower if possible.  Should I try a Spartan race, Warrior Dash, or Tough Mudder? How about trying to lower my marathon time and make an attempt to qualify for Boston in a few years?  See how complicated this all is?  I know I'm probably over thinking everything, but I just like to have a plan.  Seems to me that everything in my life works better when I have a goal to meet.
For example: I wanted to be a teacher, so I went to grad school, passed my MTELs, worked as a sub, aide, etc, and got a job.  Goal met.  Check that off the bucket list, if you wish.
Goal 2: I wanted to run a marathon. I went out, trained, and ran a marathon, in a reasonable time at that.  Goal met. Check that off.
Both of these goals were long term goals.  They took a lot of time, effort, and mental as well as physical strength to complete.  So it seems weird to me that I don't have a looming goal to meet.  Obviously there's a wedding coming up, but that's not a goal, that's a life changer.  It's not the same as having a goal to work towards.  Alright, so I've gone on about this and gotten no further in my thinking.  If you have an answer, throw it at me.  Now what?

Case in point: Every race bib and medal I've used/won over the past year (except the MCM, that one has a special spot and is still on display on my bookshelf.  Maybe I'm not QUITE over it yet) That's a lot to just cut out.

Btw, here's a picture of my Halloween costume.  I consider it a minor failure, because the children thought I was, a) Lala Loopsy, b) The White Rabbit c) Abraham Lincoln. (No, that last one is not a joke).  If you're not sure, I was a snowman.  It was a fairly easy last minute costume considering I had the shirt from a Christmas themed 5K we did last year, the scarf because scarves are still in (I think?) and the hat, which I had to remake just a little bit.  All I really added was a long sleeve white shirt and white jeans.  Perfect last minute costume even if none of the kids got it. 

Happy Halloween.

PS: Sox won the World Series, at Fenway last night. If you're not from Boston, you won't even be able to understand that. If you are, you know why that's some of the best news out of Boston this year.

Not so snowy Saturday

I'll just start by saying there's supposed to be a winter storm coming through.  Perhaps it truly is hitting other parts of the state, but right now, where I sit, it's just a light dusting and some rain.  Why must the weather always be lame here? I wouldn't mind a bit of snow tonight.  Shoveling would be a great workout!

Since it was (is) supposed to snow, I've made it a night of sitting on the couch, watching Disney movies, and eating mac and cheese and chocolate.  (Not at the same time, that would be gross.)

Yesterday I went for a run in the woods but it ended poorly due to the fact that dear old Nala can't handle seeing/smelling another dog within 50 feet of her.  We kept having to change trails and double back, and eventually I just got sick of it.  I think we made it about 2.4 miles total.  

I decided that I would skip a day of running today, since it was supposed to snow and all.  If you're wondering what I did all day, which I'm sure you are, I watched soccer. For 4 hours.  I wish I was kidding.  I originally planned to just watch the Arsenal/Newcastle match.  Fantastic match by the way, final time was 7-3 Gunners! Then they aired the Aston Villa/Wigan match, which I did not intend to watch, but I kept hearing about how awful AV was, so I decided to see for myself.  By the end of that match I came to the conclusion that AV reminds me of the Sox.  They're not bad necessarily, they just make the wrong moves at the wrong time.  Solidarity my friends, you'll win one again eventually.
Lest you think I was ridiculously lazy today, I assure you, I got some work in.  I cut out a hundred little laminated board game pieces to use next week, (don't you wish you were a teacher??) and I also winter-proofed my dining room windows.  Oh, and I took down all the Christmas decorations.  So, not a total wash  and I got to see some fairly fantastic soccer matches.  Honestly, I don't know why I'm sharing any of this, as it's not really blog worthy, but it's done now, so there you go.