austinjason

what: 6.5 mile dexterity workout
when: 4:45pm
where: BCGB
who: just me

time: 1hr 25 min


Before I write about this particular workout, I'd like to backtrack some:

1. Man, oh man, did that dinky 5k street run KILL my knees on Saturday. I mean...ouch. I haven't felt pain in my knees like that once since I trail ran. Oof. Perhaps I need to do a little street running in my training to make my knees a tad more resilient. My knees began to hurt on the trail run I was doing after that. Sunday they hurt so badly that there was no WAY I could run. Hmm.
2. Saturday, on my trail run I tripped and began to fall forward but very acrobatically caught myself with the same foot I had tripped on by kicking it way out in front. Oh. My. God. The pain in my hip was unbelievable. It was suuuuuuch an extreme stretch, but it was totally an accidental thing. (and sadly, nobody was there to see it. I am sure it looked very cool!) Anyhow . . . That is the same hip that I have had repeated, and I mean repeated, issues with in the past several months. This concerned me, and it was so extremely sore and painful that I ended up just going back to the truck and cutting the miles a bit short. It was a bit sore Sunday, too. Well, whatever I did in that accidental, acrobatic stretch has cured everything that was going on in that side of my body. Seriously! Even the hip flexor stuff on that same side. My core & pelvic girdle felt SO amazingly free and strong today on my run. It's the best I have felt running in *months*. Hurray! I healed my injury while trying to avoid another!

And so now we are at today: I did not want to get into coooold water crossings today, so I took a different route than I normally run from home. The one thing I did want to do today was try to run a technical route, and try to run it at a reasonable clip for how technical it was. I did a good job, and this particular route is one of the most technical that I know of on the greenbelt. I ran out my place down to the creek, then over to the back of Shan's, went up that into the fields and then took the trails that lead over to Shark Rock and then wrapped around until I got to Great Oak at the powerline, and turned around and came back. I really have grown to love this stretch of trail, and man. is. it. technical!! I had a good warmup, then by the time I got to the crunchy trails I was ready to rock it, and rock it I did.

There was even more water in the creek, especially down by where I live. The trail has a totally new energy with the creek like this, and I absolutely love it. It's almost like there is a lifeforce or energy in the water that nourishes me. The tranquil sound of moving water in the creek has its own therapeutic value that adds to what I already get from running and being out on the trails. The fall colors and sunsets reflecting into the water are spectacular. I just love being out there right now: it's a treat for the body, mind & spirit.

When I got to the turn around point, I decided I wanted to beat my time back, and I beat it pretty good! (it took me 45 minutes to go to the halfway mark, so I beat my time coming back by a good 5 minutes or so) I did, however, get distracted by this huuuuuge buck that had gone darting across the trail in front of me, and I took a mean fall and bonked my right forearm onto a rock pretty good. It hurt, but the wonderful endorphins of running fast kicked in quickly and I used that moment of pain to help me get right back into my pace and then the pain completely faded away. I love when that happens :D

This was the best workout I remember having in a long time. It was good on many levels, and I feel like I am back in my groove :D

Double Run Day!

what: Hokahey 5k
where: Freescale (south)
when: 7:30am

distance: 3.1 miles
time: 31'44"

Dano's benefit run, a FUN time, a great run and a fun time with friends! :-D I wanted to cover at little more mileage today, so a few of us decided to meet at the Moonshadow trailhead for some trail running afterward.

So, we visited for a bit, saw the awards ceremony and then headed out for the part II of our run!

what: 5 mile trail run
where: Moonshadow (bcgb)
when: 9:45 am
who: Me, Layla, Alicia

Alicia had said she didn't want to go very far, and her foot was also bothering her some, so she and Layla turned to come back a tad before I did. My original intention was to cover 15 miles for this part II of the run, but my knees started to really bark at me shortly after the halfway point of this loop I ran, and then my right foot started to hurt SUPER badly at the tips of my toes. I decided to run back in to the truck, and come back home to take care of my feet & knees. I think the pavement and different shoes this morning (street shoes) sort of freaked my body out just a smidge :)

So, I'm going to reverse my plans, and to more miles tomorrow!

I covered a good 8 miles today ( the 5k, then 5 more miles) so I called that good enough. (although it's SO gorgeous out there, I might be tempted to go out again later! :-)

what: Tuesday Night Run
who: just me
when: 6:30pm
where: Spyglass Trailhead

distance: 4.5 miles
time: 55 mins

This ended up being a most bizarre run, but still a good one. It was my first time running since Cactus and the flu-from-hell I had last week, so I chose and easy-ish flat section that I like to run, and my original intention was a favorite 6 mile route (3 miles out and back).
( and now, for something completely different. )

Well it took a while to get where I was even able or willing to write this race report, but the time has come. This was my Cactus Rose 2009 experience. ( details )

what: Tejas Quality Workout
where: GCGB - HoL access
when: 6pm

workout: 4.5 miles (it was supposed to be 6, but I cut it short)
time: no idea uh...about an hour I think

We ran on new trails today, ones I had never been on, and they were FUN and challenging. These were some new, hidden trails over west of HoL that had tons of switchbacks and good technical areas. They were surprisingly difficult..as in...they felt way harder than they looked in places.

I was to do this 1.5 mile loop 4 times, going easy. I got there right about 6pm, and the group had started, so I did most of this by myself, although I did run into a couple of people on my last lap. I LOVED this course and had so much fun, and I was even doing pretty well. (I could not help but RUN some places, it was just too much fun)

I did 3 laps, and I really wanted to do a 4th except that I had, once again, just worn a tech shirt and no vest/hydration pack and I had uber raw nips from the day before and they were REALLY hurting and raw and awful so I decided 3 loops was enough.

Just call me Tendernips. I will go back to wearing my fuel vest now for every run. I love the pockets on it for my stuff, and I especially love the shirt-locking and, thus, nipple saving action of it! i wish I could get my nipples surgically removed. Too bad "nip guards" look like you just got out of a wet t shirt contest...with a super soaker full of liquid nitrogen as the "wet".

what: HCTR Wednesday Club run
where: HoL
when: 6pm
weather: cool & rainy

~6 miles
time: 1hr 21 min

We did a rather flat course this time, and were led by Roger. It was very apparent when we started the run that rain was on the way, and it started to rain maybe about 1 mile after we got into the run. It felt really nice!

My instructions this week were to run easy, so that is what I did. Most of the group was running fast (and when I say fast, I mean at one point I was running 9' 30" in the rain, and they were speeding so far ahead that I could not see anyone within about 30 seconds). I had no clue where they were going, so I had to choose my own way at a fork up ahead, and it turns out they took the different way. No matter, I knew I'd dead end pretty soon anyhow and need to turn around and go back, and hopefully I'd run into people there.

When I got back to the fork, I met up with the group as they were coming back. We made our way back in, and stopped to have a splash at the dam before heading back up HoL. It felt wonderful outside, the cool water crossings were nice, and the rain was just LOVELY. I really enjoyed this time on the trail. I did, however, run with a soaking wet shirt, and no fuel vest or hydration pack on (those hold my shirt into place) and oh. my. god. the nipples were grated nearly off.

what: long run
who: just me
when: 7:45 am
where: BCGB - all around

distance: 31.02 miles
time: running 9hr 15 min, elapsed 9hr 54 min (counted lunch break and other stuff)
ascent: 11, 688 ft
descent: 11, 635 ft.
nutrition: 2 vega shakes, 1 honey stinger, 3 flasks of chia fresca, 1 bowl beans, ~200oz water.

( Read more... )

Hmm. How did 19 days go by so quickly, and how did I get out of the habit of blogging these things daily? I have been busy creating a few websites, some artwork, etc, and I guess I have not wanted more time at the computer. Oh well...here goes
( lots of workouts )

And that catches us up to this weekend's gorgeous 50K on the greenbelt, which is a long run with a long entry. (and seriously..it will be posted today! haha)

Okay, so I have two or so weeks of workouts that I'm going to post. I have been doing the workouts, but not the blogging of them, as my usual. I've been busy with classes and a few other things, more on that in my not-workout-blog. :-D

( Tuesday 22 September 2009 )


( Weds 23 September 2009 )


( Fri 25 Sept 2009 )

( Sat 26 & Sun 27 September 2009 )

( Tuesday 29 September 2009 )

( Thursday 1 October 2009 )

The next one is a long run in Bandera that warrants having its own entry :-) It will be posted later, I'm not quite done with it yet.

what: quality workout - hills
where: HoL - BCGB
who: Tejas Trails Palo Duro, Cactus Rose, Rocky Raccoon & Bandera Training Groups
when: 6pm

workout: 8 miles plus change
time: 2 hours 5 mins( details )

what: night trail run
where: BCGB - Spyglass trailhead
when: 8pm
who: me, Layla, Alicia, Elizabeth
weather: lovely! clear & mid 70's, but humid.

distance: 6.00 miles
time: ~1hr 20min


This was my first run since I started my nice, long break 8 days ago. I was a little concerned how this workout was going to be. I can't remember taking a break that long with ZERO workouts of any kind since probably my injury back in January.

I cannot even begin to tell you how nice, or how necessary I realized this break was. How did I know? Well, the major indication to me was that normally during "taper time" I am absolutely crawling the walls I want to run so badly. It took me at least 5 days to even think about running again. That is so so unusual. That tells me it was time!

To my surprise, even starting out felt just wonderful. Warmup felt effortless to me, and I felt better and better on this run. I was running a pace that would normally be considered fast for me on the trail, even during the day, and this was at night!

This was our usual no-drop route out a little past 360 & back, so we all caught up at the various "intersections." It is so glorious running in these cool temps! I remember thinking to myself about 2.5 miles in, " I seem to be running fast, even for me. I wonder if I can keep this pace up?" Well, I could! I think I even picked up MORE on the way back in!

This run was not only physically good, but it was such a mental boost for me. I went into this run with a little bit of doubt as to how it was going to feel and how I was going to perform, and I ended the run feeling absolutely thrilled with how well I felt. It seemed like we all felt pretty good on this run, and did well on it. Hurray for us!

I'm not really going to bother logging workout data for this day. I had some pretty big realizations today about what has been going on with long runs not going well, and what I need to do to fix it. When I arrived and turned on my Garmin, the database was full and it kept immediately switching itself off. Apparently, the only way I could remedy this was to hook it to the computer, because the unit would not stay on long enough for me to select the menu option to do so. (not even with the Garmin reset trick) Argh. I had no other timing device and no way to know my distance. I do know the lost pines trail and their makers on that trail are also marked, but the spokes I had no clue. Diana had mapped out the distances when she figured out our loop and showed them to me, but I did not have a really accurate sense of where I was in this new territory until I reached near the end I knew this had to be (about mile 4) heh.

The weather was a mixed blessing today. It was considerably cooler than it had been because we had *finally* gotten some much needed rain. The ground was actually still quite damp, but with this lovely coolness came humidity that you could very nearly cut in the air. This also had made the mold count go up significantly and I woke up with lots of snot this morning. My stomach did not feel very good this morning, but it had no reason to be acting up. I had not done anything I have not been doing with successful pre-long running day nutrition before. Allergies were horrible and I felt absolutely awful this morning from those. I felt so awfully, in fact, that I really considered simply not going. I had everything ready to go and I decided that I needed to show up and give myself time to possibly shake this off. I have felt bad and ended up having a spectacular run more than once before, so I thought this deserved a chance.

The workout today got off to a rough start, and it spiraled horribly downward from there for most of the time. Today I would run the spokes for the first time, and I really liked this side of the park. It has some nice hills, and it was quite gorgeous. I had the treat of seeing two beautiful road runners very close up hunting for food in the pine tree bark there. I was having lots of breathing issues during this section, there was just no way I could get air through any other airway but my mouth, my head was totally clogged and swollen. It was so humid, I felt like I should have had gills! I was sweating like nobody's business and I knew it would be important to stay on top of hydration and salt for this run. That is one thing I did very well on this run. About mile 4 I'd say, my GI was bothering me and I had to make a stop. Oh Crap, I thought (and I snickered) but I really hoped that was not going to set the tone for this run.

After maybe about mile 6, my stomach started to get really really bad. I started to cramp so badly that I wasn't sure I could run anymore. I volleyed back and forth with this feeling, sometimes being able to run, but never for long and mostly just walking it in to the truck. This hilly 9 miles took me damn near 3 hours with the gi issues and related walking. Yes, you heard that right. I was absolutely shocked...good lord! I have never in my life taken that long to run such a short distance. I could understand if I was in some new elevation or something, or it was like HUGE climbs, but this...was ..ridiculous! It was incredibly hot feeling to me, even though the temp wasn't that high. Man I am not used to that level of humidity and it was kicking my butt!

I made a trip to the park bathroom in my truck before going out for a another loop, this time the 8 mile lost pines loop. It was hard to go back out, but I was determined and I did feel MUCH better after my pit stop. The first few miles were extremely hard. No matter what I tried, I simply could not stay running. It was not only that I felt physically exhausted and awful, it was that I did not even have the will to run. I did not want to run. This is not normal or right for me. I ended up getting to a bench and I let myself lie down on it for about 1 minute, and I felt like an entirely new person briefly. I felt better for the next mile or so, but then something unpleasant happened.

I thought for sure the 70oz of water would get me through this loop, but the with increasing temperature and humidity not decreasing, I was sweating a lot and needing to drink more water. I ran out of water half way through this loop. Not. Good. There is absolutely nowhere to stop for water until you get basically back to about where the cars were. Not only was I out of water, but I desperately needed to take more nutrition, which requires water. You do not want to take a gel or perpetuem paste w/o water. It's ugly, and it usually will make you sick. Hooooboy. I decided at this point that I should stop running and basically speed walk this in. I could still get somewhat of a workout, get back fairly quickly and hopefully not feel the need for quite as much water as when I am running. Luckily after just over 2 miles of walking with about 1 mile or so left, Diana had run out toward me and she had extra water and gave me one of her bottles. GODS I was thirsty, I had even stopped sweating, which was a little concerning.

This section was almost like an epiphany for me. The further I walked here at a good pace I felt better. This is not what I was scheduled to do, this was a run, but this, somehow really felt like what I needed and I felt better doing this than I had felt in a couple of weeks. I was enjoying the trail and feeling good, this was how I remembered long run day being out here. (only I wasn't running.) My stomach was definitely back on board, but I had now gotten behind on food & drink and my inner wisdom just said, "this is done. go home. rest." As I started to feel better, I started to feel a lot clearer mentally about what I felt was going on with how tough the long runs were going for me. There were undeniable physical things going on with me, but it was the mental part of this that was really playing the biggest role, I think. I have been under a lot of stress, not sleeping the best and I have also just run myself into the ground. I started out this year with a big injury and that derailed two major races for me that were really pivotal distances and training I needed to do to feel good about attempting the big race in Bandera this year (which I also reminded myself I did NOT sign up for, but won in a lottery sort of thing). This put me at least 5-6 months behind where I really needed to be in terms of fitness, experience and other factors. I thought I could catch up, and I'm not saying it is out of the realm of possibility, but i have not given myself any real and significant time off of running since January. I have busted my butt pretty much constantly, but I did get quite a few GOOD runs under my bet. I have gained a lot of strength and come a long way, but now my body is asking for something different. I am run into the ground both physically and mentally, and if I don't reel this in, it's going to have many negative effects. Really, it already has. I can no longer continue training feeling like this.

I realized that the thing I normally stay the most excited about and plan my life around, is now something that I cannot say I have felt good doing or enjoyed for a while on long run days. Yes, I even enjoyed the struggles before, because after those came the incredible feeling of accomplishment and amazement I had been able to do something so hard for me and break into new territory. I have even almost dreaded running at times recently. My body has felt like hell and my mind is not really on board any more. Endurance sports are at least 99% mental, and if your head is not in the game, it is not going to happen. That is just what was going on with me. I simply don't have the push in me to keep going right now. I feel more worn out physically and mentally than I have felt since I started running and it's time for a break. So I am taking one. I really feel and somehow know this is what I need to do. My body needs to heal and rejuvenate, and so does my mind. So, I am not working out for a week. I am giving my entire self a break. I will stretch daily, and do work with my Trigger Point Kit. These are also things I have gotten out of the habit of and been neglecting that have had a major impact, and that will have to change.

I will start running again one week from Monday, and then see how it goes from there. I need to feel happy about running again, to enjoy and feel good doing it. If that means I have to change my plans about events, distance goals or anything else, so be it. This has been a journey of immense lessons for me, and this might be a good lesson about being adaptable, and also accepting when you need to sit down and fine-tune some plans.

The only way I am going to get any better than this is to stay healthy & whole..and that means body, mind & spirit for me. I have also decided to take on a new nutrition plan that I think will make way more sense for me. My body's pH level is normally nice from the type of diet that I eat, and I think that all of these gels and other refined sugar products are making my body's pH too acidic and wreaking havoc on my system. There are better ways, and I plan to use my next several long runs experimenting with new natural types of foods and supplements that I think make better nutritional sense for me, and for long trail running in general.

I am prepared for a week of good stretching, bodywork and some yoga. It's time to rest & renew and rekindle the fire inside that I seem to have lost in my running. I think this time will have me coming back strong and ready for the challenge once again.

what: quality workout (hills)
where: St. Edward's Park
who: Tejas Trails PD/CR and personal training groups
when: 6:00pm
weather: pretty warm, upper 90's-100

workout: 6.2 miles (I was supposed to do 7.5 but left 1lap early)

First stuff on this workout, then just stuff in general.
( Read more... )

what: HCTR group run - uh..sorta
when: 6:00 pm
where: HoL - BCGB
who: just me until the very end, then with Jeanette
weather: mid 90's, sunny very pleasant

distance: 5.8 miles
time: 1hr 19 min
nutrition: ~50 oz water

As I was pulling into the street, I saw the group walking up toward one of the two trailheads, but could not tell which one. I had to park way back from everyone, and by the time I hoofed it up to them they were nowhere in sight, and I could not hear them. I thought if they went down the way we go about 80% of the time, I could catch them, so I started out in a huge hurry, immediately tripped and full down super hard. Thank god I was running with 2 water bottles, they took the fall and saved my hands from being emaciated on the rocks, but my shoulder took a lot of force. I was fine, and kept running.

I never heard or saw anyone, so I decided I'd just do a favorite route there and I'd maybe run into them on the trails if we happened to cross paths. I chose this route today: HoL -> dam -> cedar chop - >outside loop to Bologna cutoff (or bambi road) - > bologna - > cutoff to Hill o Death - > Hill o Death - > to the main trail and back to the dam near Indian Cutoff. I had not run this route in forever, and it's a favorite of mine. It's a pretty technical workout, and it has some reasonable hills thrown in.

Warm up took a long time for me today. My legs were still feeling quite heavy from Saturday night at Inks. I did not really feel warmed up and *good* until about 2 miles in, and I remember being a little disappointed with my time when I looked at it at the 3.5 mile mark. There were times I felt I was pushing pretty good and I remember looking at the pace meter and being surprised that I was going much slower than I felt I was. Hmm. Oh well, I felt like I was getting a good workout and this *was* a pretty tehcnical route.

Bologna is one of my favorite trails. I know a lot of people hate it, but I love love love it and I opened up and went as fast as I could go on this trail and not break my neck. I also love going down HoD and hauled down it pretty good. Once I got back to the main trail and was running back toward Indian Cutoff, I got a nice jolt of energy and picked up and pace and ran that section at a really good clip. My legs were really tired & heavy. Oof.

I got back to HoL and made the trek up HoL and to the cars with Jeanette, who i ran into just as I was crossing the dam on the way back. It was a good workout!

what: HCTR group trail run
where: BCGB
who: lots of us!
when: 6:00pm
weather: 100 degrees at the start, then clouds moved in and it cooled slightly

distance: (guessing - garmin in truck) 5.5 miles
time: ~ 1.5 hours

This was the hottest temp I have run in since last Thursday. After the previous night's marvelous night run, I was eager to get out and run again, but I wasn't feeling particularly inspired by this heat. I have been pretty chipper most of the summer about dealing with training in the heat, but I have officially reached the end of my rope. I am cranky and just downright bitchy about it now. I. have. had. enough. :P

Mostly, I wanted to see my friends, which is why I decided to come to this run and not just do another night run by myself. I'm super glad I showed up. We had such a great group!

We did an entirely new route this time (for me). I had covered these trails once before, but in an opposite direction, and these aren't trails I know by memory yet. WOW these were so much harder. They had TONS of very tall rocks. It was like super duper mega core workout. Jeanette and I had talked about how it was almost like those football workouts where you have to run through the tires!

The first half of this run, I ran like hell. I started out near the very front of the group, but after a mile of running an 8'00 minute/mile pace on the trail, I realized that this was not a realistic pace for me to maintain. I dropped back a few folks, but stayed at a very good clip for me. The only hill I remember walking on the first half of this run was Hill o Death. Other than that, I ran at the fastest clip I could keep my heart rate okay in, I ran all the hills and nasty technical sections. I did this the first 2.5 miles of the run.

I can't remember when I gave this much to a run as I did the first half of this one. My plan was the do the first half hard, and REALLY slow down for the last half, which is what I did. Hah, I must have looked just like *hell* I think I had about 6 people ask me if I was okay once I slowed my pace down. I had to drop to the back and sneak off for a bio break, which I did not announce, and so when I was late to the next no drop spot, I guess everyone thought I had fallen apart or something. I was hot, but felt okay. Maybe it was because I went from running faster to running so much slower, or maybe I just looked like I was about to die. I was definitely hot, but I as far as the running goes I felt good.

once we came down shan's and got onto a flat section, I actually picked up my pace pretty good, up to the dam. After the dam, I decided to take it really easily in to HoL, and then I was was going jog/powerwalk sections as I could to the top, which is what I did. This was a GREAT workout.

I can tell that I have had a super duper workout when I do 10k or less and have to come home and sleep. I had a snack, a shower and I literally passed out asleep for 2 hours. WIN!

Thursday and Friday I am resting myself to prepare for my longest run yet! Here's to finishing the 60k this Saturday night. I think I can do it :-D I expect the last 2 laps will be the toughest.

what: night trail run
where: BCGB- spyglass access
when: 8:30pm
who: Jeanette, Leah & Me
weather: high 80's and muggy (it had just showered earlier)

workout: 6.00 miles
time: 1hr 12 mins
nutrition: literally one sip of water. I felt so good, and my body wanted nada.

In light of the fact that I have a big race this weekend, I decided not to use up too much mojo on a hill workout this week, and I am currently on a damn-near boycott of triple digit running. So, I decided that it would be fun to do a night run on a rather flat section of trail this time.

I felt awesome every single minute of this run. We started out an easy pace, and warm up felt great to me. (which is odd, warmup normally feels pretty awful.) The heat didn't phase me, nor did the humidity. It was unbelievably humid, as it had just rained earlier. I was sweating like crazy, but I felt really strong.

I realized, about 1 mile into the run, I had forgotten to turn on my garmin at all, but I know this route and the distances by heart, so I just left it off. As I felt stronger, I picked up the pace. I didn't have a pace meter to look at, but I"d just bet this was negative split run. I felt extra good coming back and ran at a pace that I normally don't even run during the broad daylight, it felt magnificent!

I felt well-trained and well-rested. That is the most amazing combination of things you can feel when you are out there running. I hope to be able to feel that more often :)

We three had a wonderful time running and chatted most of the way. It was very hard to believe we had covered 6 miles when it was done! yay us! this was a pretty decent time for a night run of this distance on the trail!

You may have noticed a bit of a lapse in entries. That is because, there has been one, and it has been with a purpose.

My last run was on Thursday, and it seemed especially difficult, but I managed to get some good out the workout. I was set to do a long run Saturday, but I had two things working against me. First, I had horrendous insomnia Friday night. I could not sleep to save my life. I finally went to sleep I think at around 2am, and decided I'd just run on a nap's worth of sleep and perhaps a few espresso beans toward the end, if I needed.

When my alarm went off saturday, I felt like I had been attacked by a snot bomb. My head was clogged, my eyes were gummed up and my lungs were full of congestion. It was like trying to breathe underwater. I got up and tried to shake it, but it was one of the rare occasions when it was so bad I actually took a decongestant. I hate taking decongestants and rarely do so. Running (especially in the heat) and decongestants do not mix. I ended up not doing my long run on Saturday. This meant I could possibly try it Sunday.

I had similar sleep problems Sunday, and add to that, I did not set myself up for success by eating fried food on Saturday evening. My stomach felt utterly like hell on Sunday morning, and by the time it felt better later, it was *much* to hot to start a long run.

Given the fact that I ran 29.3 miles last weekend, that that I am going to attempt the 60k (37.2) this weekend, I decided that having that weekend off was not so bad. I took a light week last week after that big race, and it was just what I needed.

I was on the verge of total training burnout. I had not given myself some me time, and slack time in a while until the past couple of weeks. The result was, that today I had the strongest and best run I have done in what seems like months. I felt absolutely AMAZING, and I really think it had to do with taking this much-needed time. I feel revitalized in body and am very much mentally back in the game. yay. I need to remember to take these times every so often, even if they don't fit in to "the schedule" whatever/wherever that schedule may come from.

I'm feeling better than I have in a while, and I feel like I have a finish in me this weekend. It might take me every second of the cut-off to do it, but I just think I can do it ;-D