Bad T-Shirt! Bad!

So I got a little out of the swing of things.  Life got in the way and I didn't run for 3 days, ack!!  And let me tell you, I was feeling it!  Especially when I got back on the treadmill yesterday! Like my last run, I had a plan to work the fartlek.  (Hee hee, fartlek.  OK, I'm done with that now.)  But since it had been so long, the 6.0 sprint had a little more kick to it than last time!  So I stuck with that for the first two sprints and then went up to the 6.5.  The 6.5 kicked my butt & needless to say, after I hit 7.0 I had to slow to a 5.0 jog to catch my breath again.  I am not happy about that speed, but I kept moving and didn't go to a walk.  A case of shooting for too much & not listening to my body.  It didn't horribly effect my time, but I was not able to beat Saturday's 33:48.  I came in at 34:33 so that's not too shabby!  Second best time so far, so I'm OK with it :)

I guess this is my learning curve - when you let too much time pass between runs, don't expect to come back at exactly the same level you left!  The point of the fartlek is to NOT overdo it, but I didn't listen to my body and made assumptions based on what I have been able to do, and not what I am able to do right now.  I must admit that I do not like this.  When I achieve something, I feel like I should always be able to achieve that something every time I try because I have already done it.  But that is not the case with running, and it's taking me a while to learn and accept that and adjust accordingly.

Another thing I am learning is appropriate running attire...I already discovered the importance of the right shorts, and yesterday I learned about tops.  My wonderful little sister (MFC) sent me a bunch of running gear - some of her old shorts & pants, and some new tops that she bought me as a gift in support of my efforts (you're the best!).  Why I didn't just wear one of those tops is beyond me, and I will never make this mistake again! 

Until yesterday I have only been running in tank tops.  But I decided to run in a plain old run-of-the-mill Hanes white v-neck t-shirt.  You know, the kind you buy in a package at Target?  I was trying to create less laundry & had been wearing that shirt around the house and thought, "Why dirty another shirt?" and went with it.  About 20 seconds into the run I regretted my decision.  The only reason I didn't immediately take off the shirt & run in my sports bra is because I had the girl in the basement with me and I didn't want her to think it's OK to run around in your underwear.  We already have enough of a problem keeping clothes on her, I didn't want to send mixed signals by taking my clothes off.

I have mentioned before the discovery that I sweat a lot.  Like, a LOT.  Like, the treadmill now has stains on it from drips of sweat that flew off of me to the belt below.  It's gross.  So when I got that wonderful first layer of sweat - you know, the introductory sweat that coats your body and lets you know you've hit your stride - the t-shirt stuck to me like white on rice.  The more time passed, the more I sweat, the worse it got.  I started to feel like I couldn't breathe because the t-shirt was strangling me; it's soggy tentacles wrapped around my body and were suffocating me as I struggled to breathe and move through it's soupy clutches. OK, so that's a bit dramatic, but you get the idea.  By the end of the run it was like I went swimming in a t-shirt and continued to wear it.  It wasn't just uncomfortable and heavy as it hung off of my body, it actually caused a little bit of a rash on the insides of my arms!  You can be sure I am never making that mistake again!  Tank tops only for this girl please!

So what am I going to do in the winter?  Running in the basement won't matter - I'll still be able to tank top it.  But what if I run outside?  Or sign up for a winter race?  (There is one in my town on Dec. 1st that I'm thinking of doing to support a local food bank)  I can't run outside in a tank top in December!  Any and all suggestions welcome!