I was totally gonna run this weekend. I was even thinking of running both days. I missed it. I wanted to get out there and prove that this sinus hootenany wasn’t going to bring me down. I was ready.

I decided to do some core training on Saturday instead. It felt good. It was warmer than going outside. And I had a lot to get done. One of those things to get done: stain the little media cabinet I built. But Sunday…Sunday was going to be a glorious long run (of six whole miles). It was going to rock.

Saturday afternoon I set out all of the necessities: clean rags, gel stain, the cabinet, paint can opener, plastic to protect the patio, rubber gloves, a couple of strips of scrap wood to rest the stained piece on. I forgot one thing.

I popped open the stain and got to work. Rub the stain on with one cloth, rub it off with another. I was outside and there was a breeze, but that didn’t stop the fumes. About twenty minutes later I didn’t feel so good. By the time I was on the last surface, I was sweating profusely. It was chilly outside so that didn’t make any sense.

I wiped the last bit of stain off as carefully as I could under the circumstances — the circumstances being that I pretty much wanted to hurl the entirety of my internal organs onto my newly stained cabinet. I raced inside, stripped off most of my clothes, switched the fan to high and collapsed onto the bed…and stayed there for the next three hours while I contemplated the benefits of a self-applied death.

The cats sat on the bed and watched me. It was their intense looks that finally got me up — because they had to be fed. That done, I decided to change things up a bit and collapsed on the couch where I stayed for the rest of the night.

I didn’t feel like running Sunday. In fact, I didn’t feel like getting out of bed.

And that’s why you should always wear a mask when using stain. Cripes.

I’m hoping to go running today. After Jury Duty. There’s nothing like attempted murder to get you ready to take down some miles.

Planned: 3mi @ 8:00 or over
Actual: 3.02mi @ 7:50
Average Heart Rate: 161bpm

Last Saturday I woke up with the sense that something was wrong. And it was. My sinuses were gunked up. And I was supposed to help out on a shoot that day.

Two hours later, I felt terrible. But I was on set and determined to keep my word. I was handed a Sudafed 24. This is a god among medicines. Seriously. I don’t care if you can make speed out of it.

This whole week was spent waiting for my little sinus problem to turn into a big sinus problem — one that required antibiotics. It happens every time. I start with a head cold and end up lying on the couch for a week or more. It doesn’t matter what I do.

I bought my own Sudafed 24 (and signed for it). I drank fluids. I shot nasal steroids (leftover from a previous infection) into my sinus cavity. I waited for the inevitable.

It never came.

Friday was the first time I felt comfortable pushing my body. I told myself to take it easy. Keep it short. One out of two ain’t bad.

It seems as though writing two sentences and clicking “Publish” wouldn’t take much effort. Or much time. Or much will. But it does. Oh, yes. It does.

Maybe it’s the fact that I don’t feel like I’m working toward anything, having avoided choosing a race or a training schedule for the past three weeks. Maybe it’s Jury Duty which has unmercifully come back to bite me just over a year since my last service. Maybe I am lazy. We’ll never know.

I didn’t get a chance to run until 4:30pm today even though I was off work. And this is a prime example of why I hate running in the afternoon: It’s hot, it interrupts digestion and digestion fights back, and gnats — they’re everywhere including my mouth. For the first time since I started running again, I had to walk. And it’s not like I was setting any distance or time records. This was a simple 5mi run. Slow. Ish. With music.

I did, however, forget to wear my sunglasses, but somehow I don’t think that contributed.

So here are the last several runs in chronological order without further comment. I know you’ve been waiting, like, forever for these. I’d say it won’t happen again, but we both know that’s a lie.

March 15, 2008
Planned: 4mi @ 8:00
Actual: 4.6mi @ 7:45
Average Heart Rate: 161bpm

March 18, 2008
Planned: 4mi @ 8:00
Actual: 4.07mi @ 7:45
Average Heart Rate: 160bpm

March 20, 2008
Planned: 4mi @ 8:00
Actual: 4.13mi @ 7:30
Average Heart Rate: 160bpm

March 21, 2008
Planned: 5mi @ 8:00
Actual: 5.06mi @ 8:38
Average Heart Rate: 150bpm

Planned: 7mi @ 8:00
Actual: 5.97mi @ 7:50
Average Heart Rate: 163bpm

EW and I ran the larger loop over at the Sepulveda Dam. I was sure it was 7mi. It wasn’t. But since EW runs fast even when he’s still recovering from a marathon, we made up for the distance by running sub 8.

If I keep this up, I may actually get in shape.

I’m not sure the average heart rate is true. There’s a little area at the beginning of the graph that looks suspect. And yet, I do remember the beginning of the run being challenging as I tried very hard not to be left in the dust. So, who knows.

Planned: 4mi @ 8:00
Actual: 4.32mi @ 8:07
Average Heart Rate: 155bpm

So, yeah. Ouch.

This was another city run and therefore there were many stops intended to save me from a squashing. I don’t think the 8:07 number takes that into account. It’s from the desktop app that Garmin makes which, for Mac OS X, is kind of dumb (of course the Windows version is fine). MotionBased.com, Garmin’s online community, is much smarter. But, due to circumstances beyond my laziness, I am unable to check how this run was interpreted by the web app.

I’m okay with that.

Planned: I Have No Idea
Actual: 4.57mi @ 8:19
Average Heart Rate: 155bpm

Oh, yeah. All I do is run after work now. Part of it was along Chandler. It was nice.

Whatever.

Planned: 5mi @ 8:00
Actual: 5mi @ 7:52
Average Heart Rate: 161bpm

Nice weather. Not too hard. Hey, could’ve been worse.

It stinks that 5 miles counts as a long run these days. Brother…

Planned: ~3mi @ 8:00
Actual: 3.05 @ 7:32 (active)

This is scary. Apparently the Garmin knows when you’re running and when you’re waiting for a light to change. If you go by the stopwatch alone, I ran an average pace of 7:46. But because I’ve got Skynet wrapped around my wrist, I get to post 7:32. That makes me feel better since I felt like crap after this run was over, but it also makes me very, very nervous about the future of humanity. Clearly, this watch knows too much.

I decided to suck it up and commit to a schedule. Since discovering SmartCoach, I’ve been pretty loyal. Almost all the training I’ve done in the past two years (whoa, and that’s pretty dead on — I started taking running seriously in March of ‘06) has been planned out on that one system. I thought it might be fun to try something new, and I figured that since the SF marathon is in August, I’d have a month or two to get up to speed before I even had to think about actual workouts.

Wrong.

NikeRunning says I’m three weeks in. Not only that, I’ve got 5mi with 4 x 800 @ 3:31 today. Uh, what?! The race is over 5 months away! Wait, there’s more. Guess who’s supposed to run 10 miles on Sunday, 10K of which is a time trial? That’s right. This guy!

There is no way I’m running 10 miles on Sunday, time trial or no. I was lucky to survive 4 a couple of days ago.

What to do? Slink back to SmartCoach where I can tell it when I want to start? Try that Furman program with the three-days-a-week plan? Or stare Nike down and show it what for.

I really, really wish I could say I was moving ahead with Nike, turning my back on the last couple of weeks and jumping in full bore. But I don’t want to break myself — I’m gettin’ up there, you know. So I’m going to go for my nice little 3 miler after work and try to figure out a plan of attack that doesn’t involve time trials out of nowhere. This was supposed to be easier.

Planned: 4mi @ 8:00
Actual: 4.07mi @ 7:57
Average Heart Rate: 160bpm

This whole heart rate above 160bpm thing is really bumming me out. I looked back at a similar run from July and my average was 147. Not only that, I ran faster. And it was probably really hot. Nuts.

I haven’t officially started training for a race yet. But I need to.

It was freeezing at the outset, and the clouds were looking ominous. But the chill actually helped cool me down once the run was over. I tried to run farther and faster than last week. And I did. Just barely. Go me.

I really need a plan. And less rain would be nice, thank you.