Hungry Hippo Takes on Hills!

Week 9

Total Miles:  19.65miles

Long Run*:  5 miles
*This weeks training called for running a 10k.  We decided to run Lake Murphysboro to give us a hill challenge instead. Good stuff.

This past week was an excellent week!  With the exception of Wednesday, the morning runs were not all that bad.  The weather was cooler on Tuesday, so we decided we would do "cemetery hill."  I hate that hill!  It's the hill on Illinois Avenue heading to the lake and it sucks.  I managed to do it, but there were some not so nice words coming out of my mouth.   Wednesday was miserably hot; I was grateful it was only a 3 mile run-- even Tim got a bit whiny during it!  Thursday was another 5 mile run and a bit cooler.  We had obnoxious teenagers drive past a couple of times that shouted out "Run faster!"  Tim referred to them as "cheerleaders."  Um, no.  I know some fantastic cheerleaders and those jerks were just being annoying. 

Running at the lake wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.  I really appreciate having Leah & Jaime to run with.  It helps me get up and get going even when every bone in my body is telling me I don't wanna!  Just planning the time we meet makes me feel more committed to it.  Plus, it helps having someone running up a steep hill with you that doesn't care that you are mumbling to yourself or breathing so hard that you sound like Darth Vader!  We totally rocked that run though and with the exception of my calves being a bit tight, I didn't feel nearly as sore as I did the first time I ran there.  Next week is 9 miles.  Nine.  I don't have any thoughts on that one yet, except, EEEK! 

I am a freakin' hungry, hungry hippo!  I'm not sure what is going on with me lately, but I have to get a handle on my excessive eating!  You would think with all this running, I would lose a little bit of weight, however, that can't happen if I'm eating everything in my sight afterwards!  I've been struggling with the whole weight loss thing again.  I still have about twenty pounds to lose, but I just can't seem to stick to tracking my food intake, yada, yada.  I know dropping a bit of weight would only help with the running, so I don't know what my deal is.  This week I promised myself I would write down everything I eat and try not to make silly decisions (like right now, I am desperately trying to not eat a candy bar!) that I know lead to eating poorly or too much.  I just need to find some balance, which is really hard for a foodie! 

So, Tim had to run 18 miles on Saturday.  He even met up with us the lake to do some of the miles with us.  That boy is inspiring!  I am so proud of him!  I can't wait to cheer him on as he crosses the finish line at 26.2 miles! 

Quote of the week:
"You're gonna have to face that you're a runner."
Timothy Johnson, Future Marathoner & the Best Husband in the World