The good, the bad and the ugly (not necessarily in that order)

Let's start with the ugly: My kids went back to school on Tuesday of this week and I've been so busy buying last-minute school supplies and driving this kid here and that kid there and re-stocking our pantry and whatnot that I've had no time to run whatsoever. And it shows in my mood, big-time. I really need to do a better job of making time to run, even if it's at a weird time of day. I can take two or three showers a day if I need to, right? Sigh.

Now the good: I did get to run this morning! In fact, it was so nice and cool this morning (coolest morning since ... I don't know, May sometime?) that I hit the sidewalks in my 'hood for the first time ever. Well, I mean, I have walked on them before, but I've never run them. I live in the 'burbs and my neighborhood streets are not laid on on a grid; the "blocks" are all oddly shaped and wonky-sized and oblong and weird and huge. So I picked a route that would take me around a very big block. And it was mostly slightly downhill -- bonus! I am sure I looked like a dork with my two knee straps and my phone in an armband and my earbud cord poking out of my shirt (I stuff the excess cord in my bra when I run so I don't get tangled in it) and my water bottle strapped to one hand and the extremely slow pace with which I run, but I don't care. It was kind of nice to get out in the elements for a change, especially with the deliciously cool temperatures!

The bad: MY GPS DID NOT WORK, ARGH! I used the CardioTrainer app to keep track of my time and distance and to map my route, and it has worked for me before for walking the trails and stuff, but this time it completely failed. Did not record a single thing. I know, I am running for fun and not to be competitive, yadda yadda, but for my first time running that particular route I was really hoping to find out how far it was and what my pace was. Maybe the treadmill has spoiled me but I like to know how far and how fast I'm going, even when I'm just having fun with it and not trying to up my numbers. So I was super disappointed about that. I guess I will have to fiddle around with my GPS filter settings, or else find a new app. Anyone have a favorite running app for Android? Does RunKeeper have music integration? Because I need my music when I run! Lack of music integration is a definite deal-breaker.

And finally, one more good: So far I do not appear to have injured myself at all while running today! I was really nervous about that because I have only run on the treadmill since recovering from my knee injury a couple of months ago. Plus my first 5K is looming and I really don't want to blow out my knees and miss it, you know? On the other hand, the 5K course is on a trail that is partially crushed granite and partially sidewalk, so if I don't want to blow out my knees during the race then I will have to get used to that environment beforehand. Anyway, all seems well -- nothing hurt while I was running and nothing hurts now that I've stopped. Fingers crossed!

And this might be considered an ugly since I am hitting you up for money, but the money is not for me so I prefer to think of it as a good: Don't forget to sponsor me in the Susan G. Komen Run for the Cure! I am doing the untimed 5K in Austin on November 7th and I am running the race for my beloved sister-in-law, who is a breast cancer survivor. If 25 people give $5 each I will have met my goal of raising $125, which is enough to pay for one mammogram. Any amount you can give will help tremendously!

Another running injury

Fortunately I don't think this one will impact my training much!

Can you even see it there? That tiny little round dot of a bruise on the very tip of my ring finger? You wouldn't think something that small would hurt very much, but you would be so very wrong.

I love my treadmill, goodness knows I do, but there are two things about it that bug me. One, I wish it had the ability to set a custom speed that could be accessed with one button. For example, I run most comfortably at 4.2 miles per hour (don't laugh). It's such a pain, when I switch from walking to running, to have to hit the "4" button and then the "up" button to increase the speed in .1-mile increments. All I need is a button labeled "custom" that I can set to whatever speed I want, making it really easy to toggle back and forth between my walking speed (3 m.p.h.)(I said don't laugh) and my running speed. Is that too much to ask?

Second, the side rails are so poorly designed. They're too short and too high, and they consist of pretty much just a couple of capped metal tubes that jut straight out from the front of the machine. I can't even count the number of times I've smacked my hands into them while running, but this is the first time I've actually been bruised by one of them. I guess I got a little too windmill-y today! My next treadmill will have curved side rails. Or rubber side rails. Or no side rails.

Anyhoo, apart from my crippling finger injury I had a great run today! Yes, I said run. I did 1.25 miles (five laps) again with a half-lap each of warm-up and cool-down, but this time I alternated running .6 laps and walking .4 in-between. Man, it felt great! So happy to be back to training. I'm going to knock out that one-mile running goal in no time, you just wait and see!