Week 9, Day 3: Run 15, walk 1, three times

Ran this on Leif Erickson with Isabel, pushing Melina in the jogging stroller. Pushing the stroller up hill is a challenge; Isabel and I traded off. Still, this wasn't so bad.

I am fitting into size 10 jeans again, after many months wearing 12s and even 14s (just after the pregnancy.) Yay! Still haven't weighed myself.

Week 9, Day 2: Run 10, walk 1, four times

Ran this at Grant Park with Isabel (Melina was at Teresa's). Fairly easy, except I could feel that my body was tired from the previous run.

Week 9, Day 1: Run 10, walk 1, run 20, walk 1, run 15, walk 1, run 10

This was our hardest run by far - a full 55 minutes of running - and we were both dreading it a bit. The last time I did this training course, I just barely made it through this run. This time was much better because a) I was with Isabel, and we talked the whole time and b) we ran in Forest Park instead of on a track. It is so much more pleasant to be out in the woods than going around and around in circles! We covered a total of 5.5 miles - that's 8.85K, nearly a 10K! Of course, some of that was walking, but still.

Week 8, Day 2: Run 3, walk 1, eight times

I'm adding this one out of order. I did this one alone on Leif Erickson while Jeff watched Melina. No problem!

Week 8, Day 3: Run 5, walk 1, seven times

I ran this at work during lunch. Not nearly as hard as the last time I did it. It felt pretty good!

Week 8, Day 1: Run 10, walk 1, four times

Isabel and I ran this at Grant track on Wednesday, pushing Melina. We found a brief dry period on a rainy day, and it wasn't too bad. I'm convinced that having another runner along makes all the difference, especially on long runs. Melina did great, but didn't take a nap for the rest of day. My joints felt kind of tired, maybe because of running on pavement on Monday?

Week 7, Day 3: Run 5, walk 1, eight times

I ran this during lunch on Monday, making a loop along the Max tracks and bike path. It was rough! I counted the minutes and looked forward to every break. I'm not sure if I was just feeling weak, or if running alone made me too focused on every minute. I tried to distract myself from looking at my watch, but without much success. Anyway, I did it.

Week 7, Day 2: Run 3, walk 1, ten times

I ran this after getting a massage earlier in the day, and by the end I felt like a wrung-out washrag. It was a beautiful day for a run, and all in all it felt great. Ran in Wilshire Park. Suprisingly, no other runners out today, though lots of squirrels and dogs.

Week 7, Day 1: Run 10, walk 1, five times

This was definitely the hardest run yet, but it felt fairly easy. We ran on Leif Erickson drive, which meant going slightly uphill for 25 minutes and then downhill for 25 minutes. Isabel entertained me with stories from vet school, which helped; and Jeff went walking with Melina. The 50 minutes passed quickly. We need to get LED lights for our clothes so the mountain bikes that come barreling down the hill will see us after dark.

Week 6, Day 3: Run 3, walk 1, ten times

Ran this one in the neighborhood with Nancy, who is much faster than me, but ran slow for my sake. Melina chewed on an apple most of the way and didn't complain at all. An easy run made easier by conversation.

On the diet front, I have to admit I've slipped a bit, although when I went clothes shopping yesterday I was wearing the smallest size I've worn since my wedding. Yay! The batteries on the scale have run out and I haven't replaced them yet, but I wouldn't be suprised if I still weighed exactly the same as when I started. Anyway, I made a really good loaf of banana bread last night and have pretty much been living off it ever since. Also, I bought some soy ice cream to console Jeff after his sinus surgery and ended up eating most of it myself. Lessons learned: a) after a month or two of depriving myself, I need a treat and b) I can't keep sweet stuff in the house at all if I don't want to eat it.

Week 6, Day 2: Run 2, walk 1, twelve times

Isabel and I ran this in my neighborhood after a long series of mishaps. We were going to run it in Forest Park, off Germantown Road, but we ran into a traffic jam and it took us forever to get there. Finally we arrived, unloaded the jogging stroller, put the wheels on, put the baby in, and my cell phone rang: it was Jeff needing to be picked up at the doctor's after a minor medical emergency, and it couldn't wait. We drove to the doctor's office through another traffic jam (almost getting in an accident ourselves), picked up Jeff, dropped him off at home, and actually ended up doing the run after all. It was an easy run.

Week 6, Day 1: Run five, walk one, eight times

This was supposed to be a hard one, but it was actually pretty easy. I dropped Melina off at Teresa's, and we ran at Grant park on a nice cool day. We talked the entire time, which really helps pass the minutes. No problem!

Bonus run

I repeated my last run (3x1x9) so that Isabel and I could be on the same run next Tuesday. Ran this on Leif Erickson in Forest Park (off Germantown Road). It's a very nice route with some slight hills and nice scenery. Jeff ran trails at the same time. I felt much stronger this time, maybe because it was cool. Melina fell asleep in the jogging stroller for the first time, which was nice.

Week 5, Day 3: Run 3, walk 1, nine times

I ran this one around the neighborhood as well. It was a warm day and this seemed really hard to me. It gets tiresome trying to find good routes on city streets. Melina did great again.

Week 5, Day 2: Run 2, walk 1, ten times

I ran this one around the neighborhood, pushing Melina, at the tail end of my cold. I felt pretty weak at first but better as the run went on. Melina did great - she seems to prefer running in the neighborhoods to running at the track, which must get boring to her.