Filling in the Blanks

Once again, I've disappeared. I just can't find the time lately to deal with my new apartment, get in what little training I can, keep a training log and write a blog. So at least one thing suffers each day. But I'm happy to report that I've been able to remain fairly active given how busy I've been. Here's what I've been up to since my last post:

• Sunday, January 18 - I woke up sick with a miserable cold and had more moving to do. Enough said.

• Monday, January 19 - I still felt awful but was getting cabin fever so I made a quick trip to the gym for a treadmill 5K. I was able to breathe well, but got a bit light-headed so I kept the intensity low. The best part of this workout was the 10 minutes in the steam room at the end.

• Tuesday, January 20 - The cold felt a tiny bit better after finding some Mucinex DM in a random box so I decided to test it out in the pool. I had an unpleasant lane mate and the pool was absolutely packed so it was even more incentive to keep it short and sweet. Plus I was late for an inauguration party in my old neighborhood. The swim was fine and didn't seem to aggravate my cold so it was productive. The party was even better. It was so nice to get out and take a break from unpacking and settling in.

• Wednesday, January 21 - This was the most interesting day of my week. After a bit of a setback with my cold, which may or may not have had something to do with the party, I had a rough morning. I had wanted to do a long run but it was so cold outside that it hurt to breathe. After spending the day working on the apartment, I decided to go to the gym and attempt a longer run on the treadmill. I was thinking I would do 4, take a break and do 4 more. After getting started, I decided to see if I could go longer. Since I haven't been running much at all, I kept the pace low. I did 4 miles and paused for 1 minute so I could step off the treadmill and stretch quickly. I got back on and did 2 more miles at a faster pace to break up the monotony a bit, then took about 2 minutes to fill up my water and have a quick break. I did the final 4 miles at a much slower, easier pace. That was the longest I have ever run on a treadmill and I honestly didn't think it would be possible. I guess I missed running more than I thought.

• Thursday, January 22 - I had a busy day of meetings and running errands so I carried my gear and stopped for a quick swim in between. I only had time for 1,000 yards and it was in a funny little pool I don't care to swim in. It's only 20 yards, 5 yards shorter than most pools, and it really makes a difference. It's not a pool you'd want to do any significant distance in.

• Friday, January 23 - My friend Beth was arriving from out of town to stay with me for the weekend. She was coming to run her first half marathon and I offered to pace her. I had tons of housework to do in preparation of her arrival so there was no time for training. But it was just as well. My apartment finally started to look like an apartment, a breakthrough I'd been desperately waiting for. We had drinks at my local in Manhattan and then dinner and drinks at a wine bar in Brooklyn. It was another nice break from the busy week.

• Saturday, January 24 - Beth and I slept in and had a big, late breakfast. We relaxed for a bit and decided to head into the city for a swim. The pool was surprisingly empty at first, but eventually got crowded. We settled on 1,600 yards and hit the steam room. We took it easy on Saturday night in preparation for Sunday's half marathon.

This post is long, and perhaps somewhat boring, but I felt a need to capture at least some of what my week entailed. Compared to recent weeks, I was certainly more active in an effort to get back to more regular training. But it's still a struggle and I need to keep working to break out of this rut.

My next post will have details about Sunday's half marathon, including some photos.