Time for the return of...

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly! Da da da DAAAAAAAAA!

The Good-this time last week, central Ohio was rocking some seriously gorgeous weather. I was able to run in a short sleeved top and shorts last Weds for speedwork with my training group, and a tank top and shorts last Friday (more on why I wasn't at work later). Plus, aside from an intermittently sore right calf, half marathon training is actually going fabulously (knock on wood!). While speedwork may at times be miserable (more on that later too) I'm definitely feeling myself getting faster which, in turn, is actually making me feel like I might run a sub 1:50 half in May after all!

The Bad-cold weather is baaaaaaack with a vengeance! Last Wednesday's speedwork session was in a short sleeved top and shorts, and last night's session was spent in insulated tights, a short sleeved top, a long sleeved top, jacket, and gloves (the only reason I didn't wear my ear warmers too is b/c I couldn't find them). I ended up taking the jacket off halfway through but damn it was cold when I wasn't running.

Ah, speedwork. Last Weds, it was 2 mile repeats at tempo pacex3 (total of 6 miles, or 7.5 with warm up/cool down). Last night? 1 mile warm, 1 mile tempo pace (so for me, around 8:00/mile), then 2x400m at 6:45-7:00 pace, rest, 1x800m at same pace, rest, 1x1600 at pace, rest, 1x800 at pace, rest, 2x400 at pace, rest, 1 mile at tempo, 1 mile cooldown. Excuse me, 800m cooldown. By that point, we were SO done with the track. Especially since it was icy. Ohhhh jeebus that was hard. And definitely one of those times that makes me extremely thankful for my training group b/c otherwise there's no way I would have made it through a workout like that on my own. The things I put myself through in the interest of making my time goal...

The Ugly-aka, my left eye. Last week, the corner of my eye had been looking a little pink and had me thinking pinkeye but the lack of itching and goopiness got me thinking otherwise. Until I got home from last Wednesday's speedwork and found that the whole white of my eye had gone pinky red, like something out of a horror movie. Ew. Said eye proceeded to feel kinda goopy and slightly crusty whenever I woke up during the night, so needless to say Thursday morning I put my glasses back together (they'd been broken forever...like since my honeymoon. In July. 2008.) and marched my happy ass off to the nearest CVS Minute Clinic to find out what was going on. Again, I feared pinkeye but the lovely nurse practitioner informed me that based on my symptoms and their progression no, she did not think I had pinkeye. Rather, an eye infection caused by something on my contact lens that I had not changed in...six months? (Hush. I don't want to hear it.). So I got a week's worth of eye drops and instructions to not go back to work for 24 hours after starting said drops and therefore winning me the chance to take a half day off work the next day (hence last Friday morning's lovely run). And a ban on wearing contacts or eye makeup at all for seven.days. Gah.

Thankfully, my eye now looks normal again and after a trip to the eye doctor's today I have new contacts AND glasses on the way. I learned my lesson for sure. :P

Now, back to counting down the days until springtime! I'm sick of the Terrible Twosome coming in from the backyard with muddy paws, and NEED to get back into the routine of walking them daily. They're like children who have been cooped up inside all winter and have been driving me nuts. Like, getting all their toys taken away and put in toy purgatory (aka the family room closet) because they won't stop bickering over them and generally being annoying. Plus, I'm sick of bundling up before I go run. Come onnnnn, Mother Nature....