humidity is a killer!

Today was deemed a "work from home" day, so I was able to make myself lunch with my last bit of chicken.  I chose a chicken, vegetable, and dumpling soup (recipe #26).  Let me just say, I LOVE dumplings!  My boyfriend's mom makes a very delicious chicken and dumpling recipe, and every time she makes it it's like heaven.  They are pretty easy too - just Bisquick and milk!  The soup was easy to make and pretty tasty, and filled me up for my run with M today.  (I have a picture - just haven't had a chance to upload it)

I think I'm learning as I get more into running that the weather can make a huge difference!  It was ridiculously humid today, and it definitely slowed me down.  We stuck with 1 minute walking and 5 minutes running today.  My last run was 3.66 miles for 42 minutes at an 11:30 pace.  today was 3.8 miles for 48 minutes at a 12:37 pace!  Blah.  The first half of the run, I could definitely tell I was moving slow, but I just couldn't get myself to go any faster.  M has been going faster on her own too, so I know we both are perfectly capable!  I was curious if we really did speed up halfway through, so I broke down the pace for the first 24 minutes vs. the second 24: we started out with a 12:59 pace and then ended with a 12:18 pace - definitely improved, but still not very fast!  In addition to the ridiculous humidity, I also wonder if being with M and chatting during our runs keeps me from pushing myself to go faster.  I think next time we run together (which won't be for almost two weeks!) I'll have to concentrate a little bit more on pushing the pace and see if we do any better.

I'm leaving town tomorrow, so I don't know how frequently I'll be posting!  But to keep myself accountable, I'll let you know that I plan on running three times while I'm gone (I'll be back late at night Sunday June 6th): Thursday, then either Sunday or Tuesday, and again either Friday or Saturday.  I also hope to cook at three meals while I'm gone for friends and family.

Alright - I'm out - have a good Memorial Day, blog world!