I only ran once last week, a brutal 4 miles... I never thought I'd say 4 miles was brutal, but after about 3 miles, I literally wanted to curl up on the side of the road and sleep in the grass for a while. It was an interesting feeling... muscles good, energy good, relative exertion good, then like a wind up toy that lost its wind, I was done. I walked the rest of the way. I didn't really have the mental fortitude to push myself, and it wasn't a good idea anyway. I probably would have broken down and taken the nap after crying myself to sleep. We went kayaking for a few days so I didn't get to run again last week (just a lot of paddling and some hiking/walking).

Today, the same 4 miles felt much better, I felt smoother, faster, and like I could actually make it without the nap in the middle. I need to do something cooling for my doggie friend to hang out with me on runs in the summer, so I'm researching doggie cooling vests. There's a couple different styles out there to choose from, amazingly enough (those military dogs in Iraq need something to beat the heat!). I think she would be much more comfortable if she could stay cool without forcing her to adapt. I'm a little burnt on stopping so she can hang out in the shade for every 1/4 mile after 2 miles.

Hoping to run at least once or twice more this week... anything, really, to get back on the wagon. This week is my last week of exercising "on feel" without my HRM, next week I'll probably go back.