From a Cool Running thread on unsupportive mothers: Most important is looking healthy. That is the most important thing that makes a woman look good. Most women don’t realize that. I can’t stomach those women who starve themselves, don’t exercise, and have all the figure of a wet noodle. Those women look dead in their faces. Nothing in their eyes. Please believe me. The best looking women are ones that look healthy…no matter what they weigh or what their shape. I’ll never forget running with a club one day. It was the weekend long run. There was this one gal who wasn’t the most experienced runner. But not quite a…

T’ree-mile Tuesday was hard. It was completed (!!!), but slowly (12:48 pace) and with much [inexplicable] pain in my right shoulder. I’m tempted to ask someone who actually knows something about running (like my x-country friend C.) for tips on arm-swing/upper-body posture. But I did run three miles, although I didn’t have the reserves to move terribly fast at the end, and I was surely counting down my last four laps. Note to self: drink more water when you sweat so much at night. Salt on one’s face after a run is never a good thing. Update: Based on my level of fatigue today after the three-mile jaunt, I’m tempted…

Friday’s weightlifitng: Bench: 15 pounds (6.80 kg), 1 set to failure, 16 reps (move to twenty-five pounds next time)Lat pulldown: 132 pounds (49.0 kg), 1 set nearly to failure, 12 reps (move to next weight)Shoulder press: 10 pounds (4.54 kg), 1 set to failure, 10 repsTricep pushdown: 48 pounds (21.8 kg), 1 set to failure, 10 reps I did better on triceps this time, and I’m getting better as being able to isolate the feeling of the muscles being worked (like actually feeling the tricep pushdown in my triceps specifically, rather than a general shaky fatigue). My shoulders are still my weak point in bench pressing, but the worked feeling…

Walked a few miles both yesterday and today due to shin splints. New shoes are en route, however. I ordered a pair of Saucony Grid Aura TR 6’s yesterday that should arrive tomorrow. Weightlifting on Tuesday went well: Bench: 15 pounds (6.80 kg), 1 set to failure, 12 repsLat pulldown: 134 pounds, 1 set, 10 repsShoulder press: 10 pounds (4.54 kg), 1 set to failure, 8 repsTricep pushdown: 48 pounds (21.8 kg), 1 set to failure, 8 reps I had a lot of trouble keeping good form on the tricep pushdown…

Three miles today in 34:49, which is an 11:36 mile on average. First mile was in 12:21. I walked 0.25 mi. in the middle to test whether I could pick up after doing a mile and half and do it again. And I did. Rather than doing four miles tomorrow, I’m going to do exactly this routine for Wednesday and Thursday to give my body time to adjust, even though I feel I could go longer/harder. The splints are developing, as well, and I need to find some good stretches to work that out.