I have a lot of work to do...

I think my eight mile run two weeks ago was a fluke. Today's twelve mile run was pretty hard. If I am going to run the Half Marathon in Las Vegas, I need to get serious about my training. Running once a week isn't going to cut it.

My run today wasn't abysmal, but it was harder than my recent runs. I really tried to push myself and was pretty sluggish. My first mile was the only one that seemed to feel right. There are a few reasons, I believe, for this:

• We went to the SDSU football game and the incredible KGB Sky Show afterwards. A few beers while tailgating and a late night are more than I am used to.
• Getting to bed late doesn't stop a two-year-old from getting up before 7 a.m. Her tummy is hungry and she wants "bweakfast."
• Fewer hours of sleep meant a slower start in the morning. We all decided to go down to the bay (making it even slower), so I didn't start my run until after 11. I am so used to running fresh and while it is still cool. It was definitely starting to heat up during my run.
• Along with the heat was very dry air.
• I have been too lazy to get up during the week to run.

Distance: 12.22 miles
Time: 1:58
Pace: 9:43

Unlike Laura (from Absolut(ly) Fit), alcohol and running don't mix well for me. Even a few beers at a football game make me feel pretty sluggish and dehydrated the next day. To be fair, I am old enough to be Laura's mother (as much as it pains me to admit). Who knows how I would have done after a late night of revelry when I was in my early twenties.

Today, I was thirsty within the first mile of my run. I brought about 18 ounces of liquid in my hydration belt and it wasn't enough. I had to stop and fill up a bottle around mile 8. The Santa Anas are here and it was super dry today. I think it added to the thirst factor. It also gave me my first taste of chafing in a long while. It seems confusing that I chafe more in dry weather. I think what happens is that I sweat and then it dries and I am not sweating enough to keep it lubricated (sorry if this is TMI) and the salt crystals rub.

Even though the run was sluggish and hard, I really enjoyed it. I ran my favorite Mission Bay loop. My husband rode his bike with the kids in the trailer for a couple of miles with me and then took the kids to a great playground there at the bay. The run starts in the Mission Bay park, which is filled with families, walkers (there are tons of women training for the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk coming up) and other runners. I continue past Sea World. I cross over to go around another part of the bay, down to the jetty and then up the boardwalk along Mission Beach. The mood on the boardwalk is different than the park. There are fewer little kids and dogs. People are doing a lot of hanging out and there is more of a "vacation" vibe. The last part of the run goes through a residential area. While I do a lot of people watching at the beach, through the neighborhoods of Pacific Beach, I pretty much just zoned out to my music.

So starting this week, I am officially training for a half marathon again. I just need to get my butt in gear to get my mid-week runs in. I definitely need to do some speedwork if I want to break two hours on the flat Vegas course.