On the Treadmill...And it felt so good!

Last week was a rarity: no workouts and no running for the whole week. By the end of the week, I was feeling jealous of all my friends who were posting about how their exercising was going. I realized that while getting up 'after' the sunrise was nice, I really 'missed' my run routine. Imagine that!

Today marked my first run in 10 days! And it felt so good! Perhaps it was because I gave my body a rest and a chance to focus on restoration. Perhaps it was because the short 'break' allowed my mind to appreciate the activity again. All I know is, I went to LifeTime, got dressed in my shorts, tech shirt, and shoes, activated my Polar watch, and away I went!

I listened to my workout playlist as I started out. I started with a five-minute brisk walk to warm up the legs and get a breathing rhythm going. Then I sped up to a 10:40/mm pace and started the run. The music was in my ears and the running felt effortless. The legs really wanted to go, and my breathing was in sync. So I just went along for the ride.

At some point after the second mile, I was found myself smiling! So I picked up the pace, increasing to a 9:30/mm pace, and it felt so smooth. At that speed, my heart rate was in Zone 3 and still, I felt like I could keep that pace up for a while. I was so in the groove!

Then I looked up at a clock and realized it was passed the time I had to stop (I had to shower and get to work). How disappointing! I ran for 3.77 miles but I think I could have gone for another 3 miles easily. I was late so I didn't take my usual five-minute cooldown, nor did I do any post-run stretching. (Not a good thing to skip by the way)

So, I showered, dressed, got a protein shake 'mix-in' from the LifeCafe (I bring my own whey protein), and headed into the office. Last night, I received a package from the Half Fanatics containing my HF singlet, jacket, and running cap. Very cool! So I decided to wear the jacket to work today. Not going to lie... I was pretty proud to wear the colors of the HF!

Speaking of the HF, I found a race in July (in Hoffman Estates) that I might want to run. It comes the day before the Rock-n-Roll Chicago Half, and if I finish both races I could move up to the Four Moon level in the Fanatics. The only problem is that Mike and I have friends from my W.I.S.H. Running Team coming from Canada to visit that same weekend, and I would rather spend time with them than run two races (and deal with recovery instead of having fun with them_. So I probably won't sign up for it. Guess I have to find another back-to-back Half weekend sometime in the late Fall (after the Chicago Marathon). Moving up to 4 Moons is not critical to my goals for 2012, but if I can fold it into my overall training schedule, it would be special.

And speaking of the Chicago Marathon, registration for that race opens tomorrow at Noon!!! A co-worker is thinking of signing up which is awesome! I was thinking of registering for it over the weekend. I hope registration doesn't close before then (last year it filled up after three weeks)! I wonder how many WISHers might be running the race (it would be cool to run with them).

Yes, I have earned membership into the Asylum!

Of course, most of those who know me are probably saying "It's about time!".  But I am not talking about THAT kind of Asylum!  I have so far been successful in avoiding the men with the extra long-sleeve shirts.

No, the asylum I am talking about is membership into the Half Fanatics Running Club, an international group of almost 2000 people who love the sport of running, who love to talk about running, who read about running, who are passionate about running, and who love the Half Marathon distance. They refer to its members as being part of the 'asylum' because of their passion for the sport and the distance (a passion many non-runners don't really understand). In other words, people like me!

In order to become a member, you must meet at least one of several qualifying criteria, all listed on their web site. The criteria also determines your 'ranking' in the group -- from 1 to 10 'moons' --. When I ran the Chicago Polar Dash last weekend, I ran the last couple of miles within a gentleman named Michael Hoyt who is a 10-Moon Half Fanatic. He recently completed the achievement of running 52 Half Marathons in a 52-week period! Wow!

As of yesterday, I became HF Member #1852! I am pretty proud to be a member. Whether I will move up the rankings is yet to be decided, but there is no doubt that there will be many more Half Marathons in my running future. And I am happy to be grouped with like-minded people, several of which are my friends, who I know will help me along the way.