Bolingo

Today was the Vulcan 10k Race.  My sister Melissa registered us.  She met me at my house.  I prepared yogurt, eggs, cantaloupe, coffee, water, and other snacks.  We debated what to wear.  I only had a running tank top and some cut off leggings; she had purchased her shoes the day before.  We love to wing things.  It was pretty chilly out, and we saw all these runners warming up on the walk through downtown.  It was a little intimidating.  We started the race, agreeing that we would split up.  I had a terrible toe nail that was jabbing the side of my baby toe.  It started to bleed.  There was a tiny blood stain on my white Nike.  As I ran through the crowd, I felt a strong sense of determination to soak up what little sunlight and heat was in the atmosphere.  The streets were familiar.  The run covered many of my daily routes to work, to the park, to the bar, to the market, etc.  I sang "turn up the lights in here baby; extra bright I want y'all to see this" to myself.  I had no idea what my pace was.  I kept looking at people and their watches, ipods, and other technologies wondering if they knew how fast they were going.  Then I realized it didn't matter.  At the finish line I read 48:05.  Damn son.  I was proud of myself.

I ran from downtown to Homewood to Mountain Brook Village to English Village and back home through Southside.  I didn't really measure the actual distance or the time.  It took me just under two hours, but I stopped in the Botanical Gardens so I could see the roses in bloom and the gorgeous fall leaves.  I ran through paths.  I was lost for a few blocks.  I asked a woman directions, but she was from New Jersey.  She had no idea. I listened to Fally Ipupa on my mp3 player. The challenge of the run was that there were no sidewalks on some of the roads, so I ran alongside traffic.      

I ran on the treadmill today in the UAB gym.  I began running at a fast pace, but grew tired quickly.  I took a break to stretch, and gave it another shot.  I was able to get my pace to a seven minute mile for a few minutes, but gradually fell into an eight minute pace.  The guy next to me on the treadmill seemed to be competing with me.  I listened to Radio and Weasel "nyumbani".  

I had a lousy day at the bakery.  I immediately came home and changed into my running clothes.  I ran seven laps at railroad park, and back home.  I estimate five miles, but who really knows.  I sprinted most of the hills.  It's time for bed, but there are so many other things I need to do. 

Today I ran through Southside to the Vulcan trail.  The fall leaves are beautiful.  The cool air was refreshing.  I stopped to buy kombucha, and headed to my second job.  Jah!

Whoah.  I'm at work at the front desk. I'm baking corn bread. I'm starving! I ran from my house to Homewood, over to Lakeshore Dr.  On the way, I stopped at a garage sale and bought a pair of Birkenstocks.  I carried them half of my jog.  The hills were killing me!  I drank a kombucha straight away.

Rest Day! Went to church. Praised the lord. JAH!

Treadmill day.  It was a cloudy and misty day today.  I had the day off of work.  I did research on city planning and pedestrians.  Then I headed to the gym at 8pm.  I ran an 8 minute pace. I'm happy with myself. Time for a lemon tequila drink and sleep!

An hour of spinning! And water aerobics! So much fun!

After a high interval training class...

Quick run on the treadmill.

The Ruben Studdard Half-Marathon was a great time, but sadly there weren't as many people as expected.  The route was amazing.  We ran through downtown Birmingham, over bridges, under tunnels, and ran past my favorite landmarks: Railroad Park, Jones Valley Urban Farm, and some Avondale spots.  My time was 1:44...It was challenging, but a whole lot of fun, and one more occasion that made it acceptable to drink beer before noon.

Oh, and I luckily placed first in my division.

No Running; Only Resting my poor legs.  I decided to go to the gym and work out.  I did an interval class with a bar and a mat and an abs class.      

After two days of resting my sore legs, it was time to get out and go again.  The chilly weather has been sort of a nice change.  Tonight I jogged from my house to Jones Valley Urban Farm, to Railroad Park - did five laps - and ran home.  It was a solid effort. 

Thanksgiving lunch. Then I ran. From my house to George Ward Park, up around to Green Springs, over to Valley ave, up toward Vulcan Park, down to Five Points and back home.