MN Trip: The Running

If you'd like to read about the non-running part of the trip, you can scroll down to the post below, or go directly here.

So then, the running part of our trip:

Friday
Was the day we left for MN, and my alarm went off at 4:30 am. I got up, drank coffee, etc and got ready for my run. I was out the door by 5 am and did a 3 miler. It wasn't easy getting up at o'dark thirty to fit the run in, but with travel and then rehearsal dinner plans as soon as we landed in MN, I knew there wouldn't be time for it any other place in the day. And, I was glad to get it done early.

Saturday
The day of the wedding. I got up at about 7, had breakfast with my family, and then headed out for a morning run. This was a GLORIOUS run! Our hotel was near a small lake, so I ran about a half mile to the lake and then followed this lovely path around the lake, which was 2 miles, and then ran the half mile back to the hotel for a total of 3 miles. The weather that morning was perfect: Sunny, clear, but not hot, and certainly not humid. The scenery around the lake was so pretty and I really wish I had taken my camera!

Sunday
I woke up feeling like poop. I think there were several contributing factors: alcohol consumption at the wedding (I didn't overdo it, but I still had more than I usually do and since I don't drink much anymore, my tolerance has bottomed out, so more than 3 drinks and I'm kinda worthless the next day), lack of sleep (at this point, we'd had two terrible, sleepless nights with Norah), exhaustion from the hectic schedule of the trip, and a wee bit of dehydration. So, I didn't run that morning, but come evening, I really was feeling the itch to run, but was left with little time to do so. Thankfully, our hotel had a gym, with a treadmill, so I hopped on there and pounded out a quick 2 miler (especially quick for me: I ran the 2 miles in 18:20, which averages to 9:10/miles!). I hate treadmills, but this one helped me fit in the necessary run and I was thankful to have it handy.

Monday
We left MN early and had a full day of travel. We got home at about 7 pm, and by the time I got Norah to bed and unpacked our suitcases, it was 8. Still, I wanted to run. What can I say? Streaking almost makes running a compulsion. When I told Jerry I was gonna head out for a run, he asked, "So, how long is this streak gonna continue?" I told him I didn't know, and I really don't know, but what I knew on Monday night was that it was NOT ending then. So, I headed out in the dark and got my miles in.

Thus, I was able to maintain the streak over our brief trip, and I'm proud of myself for fitting in these runs in a variety of ways. It required some creativity and running at some inconvienent times, but I got it done and proved to myself that I could stick to this streak even when life made it difficult.

Then, last night I ran a nice 6 miler to round out August with 100 miles. And, this morning, I kicked off the first dayof September with a run with Norah in the stroller. So, total number of days streaking so far? 74.

Lastly, on a non-running related note, you demanded pics of Norah's pink hair, so here's my delivery: It's kinda hard to capture on film even though it's distinct in person. So, you may have to click on the pics to enlarge them to see her little swatch of pink, but it is pretty punk of her.