Productive Running

I'll try not to make this too long as there are definitely other forms of writing that need to be done (ah! I don't think I'll be sleeping tonight :( ). My car was finally ready to be picked up this afternoon so I decided to kill two birds with one stone and run a roundabout way to the dealership, getting in 5 miles. (I also got to try out my new injinji socks! I'm pleased so far)

Because I didn't workout at all yesterday my legs felt great for the beginning, which was fun. I did have the temporary fear that I had forgotten how to run (do you guys ever get that after a brief hiatus from running? Even just a few easy days makes me fear that I've lost it all) but that went away once I got out there. Unfortunately, I've been eating like crap the last two days (paper stress) and definitely had it hit home that bad food = bad run. I felt pretty sick (the warmness of the day didn't help) and my calves started tightening as well. Luckily after 3 miles it was pretty much literally all downhill, and I got to relax. Arrived at the dealership gross and sweaty, but feeling good.

After a bit of mix ups about the payments, I finally got my car back and celebrated by going to the store and buying some zucchini (my new favorite veggie!) avocados, and some lean cuisine pizzas (surprisingly good!). I'm planning on making a veggie intense pizza for dinner that will hopefully power me through the night!

I'd rather be running....

But instead I'm 'hard at work' (yeah, right) at my thesis. First full draft, 40 page minimum, is due Wednesday, so I need to put academics on the front burners for a bit. So far I'm at around 29 non-cohesive pages. Ack!

Awake for 30 hours and counting...

Like any good college student, I know the value of procrastination. So, knowing that I had a paper due Friday by 10:30 I did what any smart 20 something would do and didn't look at the prompt until 10 pm. Suffice to say, I didn't get any real rest last night, not even my traditional short naps due to a difficult prompt.

However, there is something exhilarating about staying up all night, about somehow beating your body's need for sleep. I kept thinking about all the 100+ milers who stay up that long but are running the entire time. Technically I ran the 11.5 during my 30 hours of being awake, but there's nothing really significant about that since I was essentially just sitting around for the whole evening portion. Reading all the blogs about people's 100s that have been going on lately (or that they're training for) makes me eager to do a hundred of my own some day. I like the idea of running for over an entire day, watching the sunrise. Watching the sun slowly rise from my bedroom window is fun, but being outside and experiencing it would be even better. Obviously I'm a long, long way from the 100 mile scene, but it is definitely one of my life goals before 30 (preferably before 25, but I don't want to go too quickly and get injured)

My car is in the shop and will *hopefully* be ready later this afternoon so that I can rejoin up with the Tam Trail Trekkers tomorrow morning (Sarah from Wednesday's run has offered to be carpool buddies with me so that I have company on the drive and run :) ) and enjoy a nice morning on the trails of Tennessee Valley

Now I need to be an Ultrawriter


As a result of the excitement from finally signing up for the TRT 50k I've been in a flurry of sending and responding to emails, checking out fellow running blogs, doing reading and research, and just generally enjoying myself.



However, I have the first draft of my honors thesis due in 12 days. That's 40-60 pages of intelligent discussion on my topic of choice (Wuthering Heights and The Secret Garden on their portrayal of children and childhood and how The Secret Garden is actually a response to and critique of Wuthering Heights) So far I have 32 pages of writing that isn't at all connected, and an 8 page outline that is very nice, but...well....8 pages.


So, I need to focus. I need to get this done so I can focus on the fun stuff!