What I've Been Up to (besides not running)

It's been awhile since I've had anything to update on my running blog which is unfortunate.

The second week of my work trip was just as crazy as the first. Sure, I was able to get a 7.5 mile run in my second day of Tokyo but that's the only running I did during those two weeks.

Week 2 in Review:

• Sunday: Run in the morning, get Starbucks fix, work on Monday's presentation with boss, then meet boss and VP for a fun sushi dinner
  
• Monday: Four meetings (the most of any day on the trip!) plus a skipped lunch which meant I had nothing in my system between 10AM and 7PM besides a small cup of coffee - that was about the closest I've been to unleashing the evil beeyotch Audrey in a work environment. Hungry Audrey is a very cranky, unhappy Audrey. But the evening ended with a very delicious dinner ($100/person - yikes! Good thing we weren't paying)
  
• Tuesday: City hopping begins again! Leave Tokyo, take 90 min train to Sendai, lunch and meeting in Sendai, then take 90 min flight to Osaka, have fun dinner that night with team
  
• Wednesday: Meeting in morning, then take 2.5 hour train to Fukuoka with fun boxed lunch and beer, another fun dinner at night where I started learning some conversational Japanese
  
• Thursday: Meeting in morning where I introduced myself and began my presentation in Japanese, lunch, followed by 90 min flight back to Tokyo, had yet another fun dinner with team, followed by a stint at a karaoke joint (I surprised myself by actually doing some solo "singing" - normally I only like to torture my family, not people I actually work with!)
  
• Friday: Our last customer meeting! I am embarrassed to say that I was a bit hungover that morning but managed to get it together by the time we arrived at the customer site. After lunch, boarded a 2 hour shuttle bus to the airport, mooched access to the VIP lounge with my boss, then took the 9 hour flight back home.

Once I arrived back home (because of the time difference, it was Friday morning again), I was a big. old. slug. I mean, I already know I'm a couch potato at heart but I even impressed myself that weekend with how lazy a person could be. I almost called Safeway to deliver some groceries. (Safeway is about two blocks from my home.) I completely caught up with my DVR with all the shows I missed - American Idol, Lost, Project Runway, Jon & Kate plus eight, even The Oscars! I caught it all. I even got hooked on a new show, In Treatment, since it's on one of the HBO channels 'round the clock.

Anyway, as you can imagine, no running that weekend. Then I get back to the work - where there were eighteen million things going on and I was working late every night and struggling to get up early with the jet lag and the time change. No working out then either.

I was supposed to do a 12K this past Sunday but gladly skipped it. One, I wasn't ready and two, I would have had to wake up around 5:30AM to make it to the race on time and that definitely wasn't going to happen as I had been struggling to get up before 7:30AM all week. I've been very sleep deprived lately so I was not going to miss my chance to sleep in.

Turned out to be a good idea because even though I didn't race on Sunday, I still laced up those running shoes to get back into the game. The weather was really nice on Sunday out here but maybe just a tad too warm for running (I only needed a tank and shorts).

I thought about maybe doing another 7.5 mile run like I did in Tokyo. However, as soon as I started running, I knew that wasn't going to happen. I felt AWFUL. So sluggish and out of shape. Two weeks off and look what happens! I checked my Garmin, and sure enough, I was over an 11:00 min pace! I wasn't even doing any hills. :(

So I decided to take it easy and limit it to 4 miles. This is my usual short easy run distance. But on Sunday, it was not easy. I ended up taking *two* walking breaks to drink water. That's pretty pathetic for a 4 mile run. My pace was a little better toward the end but I was ready to be done.

I believe I finished right around an 11:00 min/mi pace for the 4 miles. Oh well. I guess the good thing is that I at least got out there. Everyone's running blogs have been so inspiring lately... I hope to have some good news to share soon, too!

But I'm going home to Ohio for Easter this weekend... we'll see if any running happens while on "vacation". (I put it in quotes because I'm sure I will be doing work while there. Poop.)