Week Two

Week Two- Down 1.5 lbs from start.

Sunday - Rest

We began our week by attending the Orlando Runner's Club annual picnic at Wekiva Island.  What started as an unusually rainy morning, turned out to be a beautifully cool afternoon.  Joining the ORC just in time for this event made for a great way to get to know some fellow runners before meeting up for a group run. It was so great to be in the midst of people who all enjoy running as much as we do, and to be inspired by those who have been running further and longer than we have.  Some of these folks will actually be running in the Savannah race with us in November!  The ORC also mans an aid station at the Disney Marathon, around mile 24.

Next time we're at Wekiva Island, we'll bring our swimming gear!

Monday

The very next day, we met up with the ORC for their bi-monthly 3 (or 5) mile run.  They gather together at 7pm at the Mellow Mushroom, pass out maps to the newcomers (us) and then head out.  Tom and I usually walk a few minutes before starting our run, so jumping into a run was a little strange for us, but hey, I guess you finish up faster! The group splits up into two different routes, the 5-milers go one way, and us 3-milers go another, all ending where we started. What better place to finish a run than an amazing pizza place?  Wow- that was good stuff! Bonus- we, ORC members get a discount! Run, pizza, and great conversation with some new friends. A terrific end to Monday. :)

This kid ate an entire slice of veggie pizza. You'd think he put in some miles, too..

Tuesday

Ah, this was my favorite run this week!  We headed over to Uptown Altamonte's Cranes Roost for our 5 miler.  Since it's about a one-mile loop around the lake, and knowing Jackson was pretty sleepy already, we decided to split up for this one. Tom could finish up sooner with the jogger, giving Jack a chance to run around afterwards.  Honestly, I wasn't looking forward to running a loop five times, but since the sun was already setting, it's one of our well-lit options.  I really love running here. The time flies by because you see so many people- walkers, runners, dancers, lunge-ers, stair runners, etc etc etc..  Besides the fact that you're running around a beautiful lake at sunset, and listening to my favorite podcast-- The Extra Mile, you're also encouraged by that one runner who you keep intersecting paths with, who's running the opposite way.  Just something about knowing they've been going at it for as long as you have, you kinda start keeping a lookout for them as a landmark and wanna give them a knowing "One more mile! Good job!"

I caught up with Tom and Jack after completing my run, and we had a BLAST watching the choreographed fountain show. They set it to a variety of songs, but my favorite was the "Hoedown" (ie, the "Beef. It's what's for dinner" commercial song!).  We danced away to that one. For the others, we just chilled on the short wall around the fountain, eating some gummy bears.  :)

Wednesday

Every Wednesday, the ORC meets up at 6am at the Einstein Bagels nearby.  So being a glutton for punishment, and for the reward of a bagel and coffee, I got myself and the baby up and out of the door in time for this one.  I'm not gonna lie, that was not my most comfortable run. 1- I'm an evening runner. 2- Pushing a jogger for 3 miles, when I just ran 5 miles the night before.. eh.. But you know what? I kept it under 11 minutes/ mile, which is really great for me under those circumstances. That just shows you how running with company really does encourage you to pick up the pace without even realizing it.  Something cool I became aware of later on- Tom actually saw us out there on his way to work! So yeah, he was the man hollering at us from his car. :) Thanks for the support, babe!

After our run, Jackson and I enjoyed breakfast with our runner friends. Einstein has an amazing line of seasonal 'pumpkin' items! I indulged in the iced pumpkin latte...mmm!  Paired it with a green chile bagel, of which Jackson decided he preferred over his Cheerios..hmmph! :P We also met another Wednesday morning regular, a beautiful Ibizan named Dimer. Such a unique, sweet dog! Jack noticed her right away, and she came to meet him nose-to-nose in his jogger.

Tom did his run later on, while Jack and I hung out at the park. :)

We try to let the little guy have plenty of time on his feet as well. :D

Thursday- Rest!

Friday

Time for another long run!  This wasn't as intimidating as last Friday, since 'If we can do 8, then 9 is only one more!" So we started out at Loch Haven Park, very close by to where Tom works. We knew there were trails that ran along here, in and out of numerous parks, so plenty enough ground to cover the distance we needed.  I tried a new Pandora station this time around- Andy Mineo, who I had recently heard on a local radio station and thought, "Wow- this would be great running music." ..And it was. I was surprised, refreshed, and encouraged by the quality and variety of Christian rap out there! It's not like a lot of the cookie-cutter stuff you hear on the typical 'safe for the whole family' stations. One song in particular stood out- "Just Like You," by Lecrae. Something about this style is just *perfect* for an intense workout, and like I said- powerful lyrics, no sugar coating here.

 

There were a couple things about this run that kept it from being 'ideal.' First, running with a 13 month old is a learning process.  Whatever it was- gas, boredom, over-tiredness, I don't know, but Jackson didn't handle this one too well. He was good for about 7 miles, but those last two miles were a struggle. We're still trying to figure out the best way to handle this.

The other thing was, somehow when we paused to take care of Jackson, the Runkeeper app somehow spazzed and recorded a 4:30 mph minute for me.. So somehow my mileage was screwed up slightly, but didn't realize till after the fact when I was going through my run details on the app.  I just hit "stop" when it said I'd finished 9 miles. Tom still had about a mile to go somehow. It couldn't have been too far off though, since my average was pretty close to what it normally is.

Saturday- Cross Training

Like last week, we headed to the beach for our one hour walk.  This time we checked out a new one though- the Canaveral National Seashore in Titusville.  Wow- so much more secluded and wild! You have to drive quite a-ways through the wilderness till you get to the beach behind the dunes. We walked as far along the beach one direction until we reached restricted NASA territory and had to turn around. It was really tempting to explore, given the fact that nobody was around and that fence wasn't in any shape to keep us out..haha! ..but we didn't. We're parents now. ;-)