Back in the groove...

Should have blogged sooner.  The past 3 weeks have been the first of summer vacation.  With that in mind, it's also been the first 3 weeks of my summer training.  While I am not getting ready for another marathon, I've got some goals to achieve.
For starters, I'm still carrying around that extra weight that never seems to go away.  To put it plainly, I'm not going to be ready to run Supernaturally at Nike's Bear Butte Running Camp any time soon.
Okay, after seeing Nick Symmonds, I'm never going to be ready for that.  Can't believe how much play this video has gotten, though.
The past three weeks have been 15+ miles each.  It's been pretty good going, as well, with a pretty consistent schedule: M 2-3, Tu 3-4, W 4-4.5, Th 2-3, Sa-"Long."  The first week, I did a little over 4, the past two I did 5.6 or so (though I thought I was getting 6 miles in this past week)...iMixes for the 3 Saturday runs are below.  Training has been a bit more tame this year, as the weekly schedule seems.  I've been trying to be sure to do 100 ball crunches each day of July, and I'm working on the push-ups portion of my year now.
On Monday runs, I've been trying something different.  Since it's short, I'm out without my iPod and without my watch.  The only clock I use is the one in my car right before I leave and as soon as I'm back to know how long I was out.  The rest of the time, it's just me, my footsteps, and my breathing.  In this weather, the breathing has been loud.
Also, I've made a new friend on my 4+ mile runs.  Going up the hill on Rt. 10, there's an opossum carcass (that's the best word to describe it).  All that's really left to verify it's species are the position it's lying in (playing opossum), a tail, and a skull which is perpetually grinning/growling at you as you run by it.  It's pretty disgusting (imagine this, but all decayed).  But seriously, I've seen numerous species of wild life along my mileage thus far this summer.  Several bunnies of all colors, a red fox, a few awesome hawks, several deer, and a fisher cat (they're freaking hideous at this time of year, after shedding their thick coats).   The wild-life has been the highlight of the runs, so far (unless you can count when I get out really early, and people's sprinkler systems are on, and I get misted every few houses).
Finally, I turned 30 yesterday.  That meant...not so much.  But, this morning I did something I haven't tried to do in the 6 years since I got married. Today, I got up early, ran my two miles, showered, and then headed over to school to lift with the kids.  The fitness/agility/flexibility portion of the day was probably the most excruciating. Speed development, an ab-circuit, dot drill, agility ladders, and hurdle flexibility-nothing better to say "Hey, old fat-ass, you're even further out of shape than you thought."  Then we went into the weight room.  I had an A day, which meant it was squat driven (6x6...I chose to do mine with 135 as I've got nothing to prove), followed by a paired incline/bent row combo, pull-ups/shoulder press pair, and then y's and dips.  I did everything to success except the pull-ups (got nothing to prove there, either), and actually thought the pace was a little slow (kids still get a thousand water breaks, and lifting is so much more focused and short than the old days).  Then we went outside, ran 10 40s, and the football kids had football agility work to do (figure 8s, M and W drills (change of direction), and such).  That was my cue to start stretching.  I was really happy, mostly because I didn't feel awful at the end.  Of course, life hits on Wednesday, when we won't have daycare until 8 or 8:15, and lifting starts at 8.  Guess I'll miss the abs, dots, etc.  Friday is 30 mins of power stations, we'll see how I feel that day.
Wish that I was dedicated to blogging more...mostly addicted to DailyMile, though.

Done at 5:45-6:45 AM, this was the best of the bunch. Some seriously good tunes to get you going.

Best songs to run to this summer: Check Yes Juliet (We the Kings), Flathead (the Fratellis), This Too Shall Pass (OK Go [2 great videos for this song, btw]), Ramble On (Zeppelin), Handlebars (Flobots),  and my favorite to run to at any time, All These Things That I've Done (the Killers).