Almost Serious

I'm hiding from work.  I have barely opened my email all weekend, and now, I'm in a hotel (post late-night waffle house!), avoiding it still.  

Tomorrow is the close of the quarter, which should bring some relief one way or another (either the deals will close or they won't...).

Then, I should be able to stop blaming work for getting in the way of running for a little while.

This week, between work, my niece, and a trip up to my mom's and back in one day (6 hours of driving), several of my scheduled workouts took a hit.

But, it wasn't that bad.  I still hit 28.44 miles total with 13% sub 10 min/mile.

Yesterday, I did a speedy 2 miles with E at approximate half marathon target pace, and followed it up with another 5+ run-walking in the heat.

Today's workout was definitely the best one of the week.  I drove out to meet the local running club only to realize that I'd only brought *1* of the car keys (the one I drove).  Since I'd decided to support F on 6 miles of her 16, I really needed both keys -- not just the one to drive the car to the start, but *also* the one that would start the car at the place I'd left it to peel off and drive home.

Thankfully, after they headed out, I had enough time to drive home, get the key, and drive back out to a different part of the trail, where I me up with F (just before L turned around to leave her, conveniently) and managed to add in some of her out and back at the end for a very pleasant and good 6 miles at an average pace of 10:25.  A bit slower than I was hoping for, but a solid steady effort is always something to appreciate.

This coming week is guaranteed to be a mix of non-standard efforts in heat, hills, and humidity due to travel obligations in the south.  So, I'm hopeful that it's fair to say that week -13 (week after next) is when I will likely actually get serious about the Chicago Marathon.

This is a good thing, as I just re-realized that I have a half marathon four weeks from today...

Wish me luck...