Happy New Year

OK, maybe if I don’t call them “resolutions” I’ll be better able to handle them. I know lots of people that stay away from the resolutions due to not being able to keep them, they say setting a resolution is a set up for failure but I can’t help but be of the mindset to do this. Plus a few of my goals have been in place recently but I had to wait till the new year to actually start on them since I knew my diet was going to be out of control…even with the time off I didn’t spend as much time in the gym as I would’ve liked either. Anyway, here are my New Years Goals:

* To tell my family and friends more often that I love them. The words have never come easy, and my family has never been demonstrative about saying it, but it’s important and I really want them to always know how I feel. It’s easy to write, it’s easy to get the sappy cards for them to read, but saying it is worth so much more.

* To finally overcome this injury (although I still hesitate to call it that since I didn’t do something to myself to cause the issue) I’ve been dealing with and get myself and my running back on track. It’s been a year since I’ve had the really good year of running…that spectacular training that led to my breakthrough and PR on the marathon course and I want to improve on that time. My goal will be to take almost 13 minutes off my time…although 2 minutes would make me quite happy.

* To get back onto the good eating and working out that I was on that got me close to my goal racing weight, and had me at a happy weight for a good period of time last year. Mainly I need to sugar detox, which is my plan for early this year, cutting out the soda that has somehow gotten back into my diet and cut down heavily on all the other bad for me sugars that I keep letting into my diet. Everything in moderation, which means I don’t need to fully remove it, but a huge reduction would be good.

* To make some decisions regarding my future and the master’s I want to pursue, by either accepting not going to the school I really wanted to attend and choosing another option, or finding a way, however I need to, to better perform on the GMAT.

* To expand my circle of friends, further into the local running community. This was a goal last year too and I failed miserably on it, but with that movie “Spirit of the Marathon” coming out and realizing I’ll probably be going to see it on my own, I really do need to have more running friends.

* To increase my knowledge and better perform at my job…I think I’m doing good, but I think I can really do better, being more organized and getting some of the things finalized that were started this year.

To any and all who might be reading this, wishing you a safe and Happy New Years Eve and happiness and prosperity in 2008.

A Pretty Run

And not because it felt so good (although it actually did feel pretty good, still having that glute issue) but because we have had mid-20s for highs, and it’s been very humid, put that together and things get frosty…and when there is mist as well, it leaves a very surreal run.

I got home and my roommate was in the shower…and of course I realized, gee, I kind of need the bathroom, and the two bathrooms nearest me are closed for the season, but there is a place I have used before that’s 3 miles down the road. I hadn’t been sure of distance to run, but thought hey, 6 is fine, and I figured I would be able to make 3 miles before it became and emergency…so I piled on the clothes and headed out (tights, heavier pants, glitten, skin shirt, heavier pull over and light windbreaker only because it’s an illuminte jacket and it was dark, hat and gaitor since I didn’t wear that Sunday and it was enough that my cheeks were cold)…the route is 3 rolling hills, big ups, but also big downs and I get to run both sides up and down on the out and back. I hadn’t bothered to grab my GPS so only guessing on pace, but it felt pretty relaxed, probably around the 9 minute pace, I did check the clock on the way out and when I got back, but there was the bathroom stop in the middle as well as a bit of stretching on the steps before I got inside…I just wish I had had my camera with me. There was a tree that had lights on it and with the frost, it was so gorgeous…I grabbed these off the internet, but it just doesn’t quite get the full feel of the dark (I was running around 5) and the mist…my camera probably wouldn’t have been able to get a good pic in the dark anyway.

Also great news!! Saturday is the Winter Solstice…first official day of winter is Saturday at 12:08 am. OK, winter is my least favorite season cause I’m not a cold weather girl, BUT, for one, face it, I live in MN and winter hits about November unofficially, and for two, the solstice means we are crossing the line, heading toward summer and that means…drum roll…that the days are going to be getting LONGER!!!!! Yes, I’ve had people put the damper on saying “well, it’s only a minute or two”, and while that may be true, a minute or two more daylight hours means a lot, and it builds fairly quickly and all runners know that that is a good thing as we get more daylight to run in…

The sun is peeking out today, it’s supposed to be in the 30s or so today, maybe some snow tomorrow but warm again and I just heard that unofficially we might have tomorrow off, or at least leave a bit early!! So today might be my Friday, if nothing else it’s the last full day (as tomorrow I’ll leave by 2 or 2:30) of the year. Yep, you read that right. I work for a company that shuts down from Christmas day (and we were also officially given Monday as a paid holiday so I get to carry over one more vacation day for next year) to New Years days…so 10 days off…I’ll be in my hometown Saturday through Tuesday night, then relaxing, working out, vegging and some shopping probably next week. I need the time off to get some workouts in and some stuff done around home anyway. So looking forward to it.

7 Days Till Christmas

Wow...only a week. But thankfully I'm mostly done. I have to get one thing for one friend yet and some shopping I do for others since I have access to stores that they don't, then I'm done.

OK, it has been too long since I updated my blog. I started one on Friday for the past week and then got interrupted and it was end of the day and I had no time over the weekend, literally no time at all, it was way too hectic!! And suddenly it’s the week again…and now we’re partway into it, I spent all day yesterday in work meetings and today I’m trying to catch up but we have a potluck thing too (we won’t even talk about the weight I’ve gained from lack of willpower, lack of exercise and just being lazy!) and then have to get out so I can try to wash my car, get a nap and get ready to get out for dinner tonight…sigh…I need some time off!! Wait, I get that next week.

So seriously, it’s been crazy busy with things going on. Two weekends ago I was out on Friday night with two friends I hadn’t been able to get together with in forever. We had a nice time, but man it was a later night than I had planned on!! Saturday was spent partly at the gym, biked but didn’t run, (a pathetic mile, that was it) and then taking a nap and trying to relax before a party that night. Then I hit the party…and was going to crash there…spent too much time talking and next thing I know the sun is coming up, I’m sobered up and decide I’m just going home…crawled into bed at 7:30…that’s AM…yeah. It was a good nice though. Champagne was flowing, karaoke was sung (surprised that didn’t clear the party out) and very little sleep was had. Sigh…

Last week was a busy week, not a lot of running as I’m STILL trying to get things worked out. Hadn’t been to the chiro in a while so she adjusted me and I took a couple of days off in there to let it try to take. I biked but no running…except what I had done on Monday and Friday. Friday night was my sister’s birthday and we went out to celebrate. She had gone to dinner with her boyfriend first and joined us buzzed, but fun was had (I wish I had my camera as I would post pics, maybe another time) and it was again a late night. Saturday I spent all day (from 11 till 7) at a friends baking cookies. Her boys, 2 and 4, got hyped up on sugar, but had warmed up to me thanks to the chasing them around, picking them up and tickling them…they wanted more, I wanted to stop!! Then as they were going to be put to bed and I needed to get home to meet my roommate, Colin, the 4 year old, was taking my hand and trying to get me to come upstairs with him…we were going to take a bath and go to bed…I told Heather she was going to have problems if at 4 he was already trying to get a girl into his room!! Anyway, went home, met with the roommate and went out for a bite and a drink (I was driving, she needed one) half a beer at the bar, both of us exhausted, we went home and crashed. I was then supposed to go out to dinner on Sunday night, but postponed it to tonight as I just wasn’t up for it. Way too tired. I crashed out early but wasn’t quite able to get to sleep, even though I was tired. Ah well…unfortunately I weighed myself yesterday. Between the cookies, the lunch buffet on Friday, the potluck happening today for my department (and those that happened last week), meetings and other stuff I have gained somewhere between 3-5 pounds and I’m SOOO not happy with that. I have today that’s going to be a bust, but after that, I really have to get back on the wagon of eating good (except for dinner on Thursday, roommate and I are doing that instead of exchanging gifts). No way I’m meeting my goal by end of the year, but I have to at least get control and stop going UP when I want to do DOWN!! I did run 6 inside yesterday morning, biked this morning and did 30 minutes of strength training…now to get myself back in the pool and back up to running 5 days…and get my longer weekend runs back in the mix. It’s been over a month since I ever ran 12!

Brr...

OK, again I ask WHY do I live in MN?

(notice the description for Friday night)

Where to begin…

I got back from my trip on Tuesday, but it’s been hectic and I just haven’t had a chance to write about it since I got back. Tuesday I got back around 12:30 and was at my desk by 1:30, trying to catch up on all that had come through while I was gone for 2 ½ days. Then I had a 45 minute (what is normally 12 minutes) drive home due to snow and I was exhausted and in bed, sleeping before 8…after 10 hours of sleep and getting through yesterday, getting some cleaning and unpacking done, I’m starting to feel normal again (well, as normal as I get that is!).

The trip was nothing less than fantastic. The journey started early on Friday (4:30) after having been out a little too late drinking beers with a friend…(1 am was when I got home) I even recall a split of a shot of scotch to Uncle Bruce…bad idea! Anyway, 3 hours of sleep and I was up and out the door, parked at the park and fly by 5 and to the airport and through security before 5:30…had some hash browns and orange juice to help me feel better and then flight boarded and we were on our way. First thing I have to say is I love Frontier. I had a very nice flight, never having flown them before it was so refreshing from Northworst who I normally have to fly as they have a hub here in Minneapolis and ends up being the one I fly often…but of all the flights I’ve taken lately on different airlines, I really like Midwest and Frontier now and will fly them when given a chance, even though it means changing planes in either Denver or Milwaukee…I’d do that over anything else!! Midwest serves fresh baked cookies and Frontier has TV you can watch (although I was tired so I opted to just nap instead) for $5 on your flight…25 channels, so not too bad! I made it into Spokane with no major hassles, and my bag was just coming off the plane when Dan called, then came in and met me. We got in the car and plan was to drive back to Sandpoint and pick up Leesa for lunch. There was snow on the ground but it was clear and sunny so we had a nice drive. After picking up Leesa we had lunch at a nice little pie shop, had great sandwiches, salads and of course pie then drop up the mountain to see the views from the top and pick up some snowshoes for a potential hike later in the weekend. The views were fantastic!!

On the way to their place, we grabbed some items at the grocery store and then headed to their place about 10 miles out of town. Their house is quite cute, perfect for them, with a loft bedroom, A-frame with 15’ ceilings and nice open area. We had a couple of drinks and a friend of theirs came over suggesting we should go watch a band play…I was tired as was Leesa but Dan eventually agreed to go and the two of them left, after which Leesa and I hit the hot tub…nothing like sitting in the mountains, with clear skies, snow all around, but hot water…it was great. I was exhausted from the long day and slept great after the hot tubbing and wine…

Saturday morning we got up and decided to cut their Christmas tree. Off their property. That was cool as I’ve never even cut a tree from a tree farm. After touring the property, picking the tree and getting it inside, we decided to head into town to shop a little and have some wine at the wine bars. Dan drove us in and opted to go home and hang out and pick us up later. We went into some cool little shops, bought some smart wool socks for the hike tomorrow (since I had failed to bring mine with) and drank some good wine at a number of places. It was a nice evening.

Sunday we got up and had breakfast, then started clearing the driveway. Oh, yes, I neglected the mention the snow that had started Saturday afternoon and was still coming down, we were guessing around 18” had already fallen…luckily a friend of theirs came by and helped clear the driveway with his plow! After some work on the driveway and path to the hot tub, Leesa and I did some tree decorating and Dan got a pack ready for our hike. It included hot chocolate, powerade and some power bars, in case we needed something more. We headed out around 12:45, knowing we only had till about 3:30/4 before it would be getting dark. The hike was mostly on the road, but with the snowshoes it wasn’t too difficult, then we did hike up some elevation (and apparently 2 days was enough for me to acclimate to the elevation, they live at about 2200 while I’m at about 600!) and into a small national forest where we had to go through some knee deep snow, but that was OK…it was gorgeous sitting among the trees and snow having some hot chocolate. We ended up doing about 4 miles in 3 hours and got back exhausted. Dan opted to clear the driveway again and we made dinner (well, Leesa did, I watched) and then decided a night in watching movies sounded good. Ice Age, Finding Nemo and Best in Show (none of which were ones I had seen) and then off to bed. Nothing like exercise to make you sleep good.

Monday we got up and decided a nice lunch in town was on the menu, and ended up going to a town just north as some friends of theirs were going to join us. It was foggy but kind of cool looking as the snow had turned to rain (but the ski mountain was still getting snow so they were happy as it was scheduled to open Wednesday, a day after I left, but oh well). We ate at a really great organic place and then hung out with their friends watching TV and drinking beer (their friend brews his own) but all too soon it was time to head out and get me back to Spokane for my early Tuesday flight. Dinner, the drive and hugs and goodbyes at the hotel and I attempted to sleep, but not as comfy of a bed and fear of missing my flight etc had me not sleeping well. I did nap on the flights back though and landed to this…

Route 66

Uncle Bruce was laid to rest yesterday. I've always loved this picture of him as it just shows Bruce. His loves (except he doesn't have a Miller Genuine Draft Light or a Scotch, his drinks of choice in his hand), although my aunt Elaine should have been next to him, unfortunately when this picture was taken, she had already passed away. The car had been his pride and joy, he bought it for her, and with her gone, it was his remnant of her. He continued to take it to car shows, and continued to win awards with it (prior to this car, he had had a '72 VW Bug convertible that won all shows he entered it in). This picture was taken in the summer, as his legion's fireman's dance fundraiser, the Vikings cheerleaders were there and we got them to crowd around him because Bruce appreciated the finer things in life (OK, so it was cheap beer and cheaper scotch usually but still) nice cars, booze and women...

Bruce was the guy that you could count on to help you out with anything that was in his control. He was a wonder with cars, he had a hoist in his garage and was always there to help you out or allow you to use it to get things taken care of on your vehicle. He retired a First Sergent in the Army reserves, and had served a tour of duty in Vietnam when he was in active service. He died on Veterans day, which was fitting, as that had been his life. That and his family. Be it the one he was born to, or the one that adopted and kept him even after Elaine died. I didn't get to see Uncle Bruce that often, usually just a family gatherings, but he was always a favorite uncle. In fact, I had intended on taking him and my other favorite uncle out to a strip club one night...it was discussed over beers, they were of course amiable to that (both being single) unfortunately that never happened. But man, it would've been fun! And yes, I was the one that had suggested it too...what things beer will make you say right?

Jim, Bruce's brother-in-law gave a great eulogy, I have no idea how he was able to get through it. The service was simple, like Bruce, (his brother-in-law and sister are ones to drinker nicer wines and micro-brewed beers, very opposite Bruce!) and we took him to Fort Snelling, where the flag on his coffin was folded and presented to his sister, a 21 gun salute was given, Taps was played, and we said our last farewells...My dad was behind me when we walked past the coffin, and I heard him say "farewell buddy" with a catch in his throat that made me lose it once more. We all met at his legion, had a few drinks, and visited. My sister and I were some of the last to leave, neither of us wanting to go, because it felt like once we left, we were forever leaving him.

One good that came out of the bad. Bruce was an organ donor. His sister abided by his wishes and his organs and tissue were able to help 150 people. Bruce would've liked that. And as Jim said in the eulogy...he pictures Bruce, in his 55 Thunderbird, Elaine as his side, driving down Route 66...and all of us are in the back seat...Bruce, we love you and you'll never be forgotten.

Anticipation and Sadness

I have no motivation right now…I have my up weeks and then there are the down ones…this is a down one (we are talking work related here) so I’m taking a few minutes to write about it. I guess I get some ebbs and flows. I have times when I’m super busy, so much going on, I end up with a kink in my neck cause I don’t move much during the day and realize how on I was all day and relaxing at the end of it is hard. Right now it’s kind of a lull though and I’m letting things relax and pile up a bit and then I’ll have another busy time I suppose. I guess I have to look at the fact that I have a couple of easy weeks coming up too. Last week was short week due to my favorite of all holidays…A day you only have to shop to get some wine to bring to dinner, and then you hang out and eat and drink all day…and watch football of course...what more can you ask for? I was at my parents from Wednesady through early Friday afernoon and ate way too much and drank way too much (not much on T-day cause of too much on the night before, but oh well!).

This week is going to be short, but it will be painful. We will be burying my uncle, and he was military, so his funeral will be even tougher (the guns get to me more than anything else)…but on the other side of it, I also get on a plane this Friday to visit one of my best friends in the world and I can’t wait. I fly to Spokane, WA on Friday, get in around 10 am, she picks me up and we drive to Sandpoint, ID where she now lives and I’ll be there through Monday, December 3 (leave early, early in the day on the 4th) back home by noon so will be back to the office (that will be a long day) for a half day. Wine will be drunk, reminiscing will be had, hot tubbing will happen, we might even do some skiing of some sort if they get some snow before that…All I know is I’m so looking forward to this trip.

I also thought I was moving forward from L. Was making progress at least, but I had something hit me on my run on Monday night. One of my many conversations I have with myself while I run. I was just overcome by sadness again. And then while I was watching Dancing with the Stars (yes, I’ll admit to that, I love ballroom dance, doesn’t matter to me who is doing it, I wish I could do it myself!!) and one song kind of hit me…I’ve been doing well, but it started me crying again. Not so much for him, necessarily, because in the true essence of everything, he wasn’t providing me what I needed…but I missed the idea of what he constantly talked about and what I thought I would get from him…if that makes sense. It was the promises he never did and never would have fulfilled, but I liked the ideas he shared…the fact that in 6 months he hadn’t once followed through on the things he had mentioned us doing should’ve clued me in…but I just so wanted to believe in him and the love I thought I had for him and that he had me convinced he had for me…how sad is that. I was so strong and full being single I thought, and just a few words from one guy and I now feel like I’m missing something, but it's something that I never had, so how can I miss it?? What’s wrong with me?

It's one of THOSE days...

You know, one of those days when you get to the gym, get a nice 5 mile run in, a tempo one, with 3 miles just below 8 minute pace and an overall pace around 8 minutes...and it feels really good...and then you get your strength training and rehab exercises done and feel great...but when you go to get ready for work, you find that you have two different shoes...not only that, but they are both LEFT shoes...sigh...And you can't even blame it on the fact that you were up at 5 am cause you packed your bag THE NIGHT BEFORE!

Weekend Recap

What a busy one it was too. Friday I didn’t do anything, but that was good cause I was up early and got a few things done around the house before I met up with a newer friend for a run. I forget how great longer runs can be with someone to help you through it. The plan was for 12 miles, which we accomplished at a 9:10 pace…it felt fairly easy too. That was with a couple of stretching stops and a bathroom stop for me. So not too bad. I’ve always heard that running with someone faster than you is a good thing, and apparently that was the case here. I’ve been running the longer runs at a 9:20 or so pace, and this included talking so a bit more challenging. Unfortunately the glute was still tight. After the run we went for a coffee to warm up and hung out for a while…then I had to rush home and meet my dad for our dinner date for his birthday. I took him to Manny’s. It’s a five star restaurant and according to Zagat’s has been one of the top five steakhouses in the country for the last 5 years or so. Dad loves steak and not knowing what to get him for his birthday…and his having heard about this place for a long time, I figured what better present to get him. We both had a 10 ounce filet (smallest cut of meat on the menu) and split a baked potato (all the sides are a la carte and meant to share) and had really good bread and then since it was a birthday, they brought out a yummy dessert that was brownie on the bottom, chocolate mousse in the middle and whipped cream smothered on top, then they put chocolate syrup on top of that with a birthday candle. It was a great meal and dad really enjoyed it. Plus it gave us about 3 hours of just dad and me, which was great. After dinner we met up with my mom and my aunt’s and then I went home to bed as I was exhausted…up at 7:30, run 12 miles, eat a steak dinner, I was ready for bed.

Sunday I met up with a friend for breakfast and we spent the afternoon watching the Vikings game. We won, which was a good thing, but when you’re playing a bad team…what does the win say?? Anyway, prior to breakfast, I had been up early so got a 30 minute bike ride at the gym with a 4 mile run after…finally figured out the weird feeling of running after a bike ride. What a challenge but after about half a mile my legs felt fine. I even managed to average 8:45 for the run, with a tough ride and then the 12 miles the day before I thought that was pretty good. Gave me 33 miles for the week, 4 bike rides of at least 30 minutes and 2 swims along with 3 days of 30 minutes of strength training. I’m happy with the week. Hopefully I can get a little more in this week cause next week I need to do a fall back since I doubt I’ll do much of anything on my vacation next week.

Personal Space

What is it with people feeling the need to invade personal space? I thought Americans were more known for needing that “wing span” of space and knowing to give people space. I know that in some countries, people move in much closer and are less needing of personal space that we are in America…But in this country there are just certain things you adhere to. For example, if you are at the movie theater, and it’s quiet, and there are a lot of open seats, you don’t take the seat directly next to someone you don’t know, or sit directly in front of behind them, out of respect for their space. In a public restroom, if there are few people in there, and there are a lot of stalls, you don’t take the stall right next to one in use, you leave at least one between you…just the common things that most people seem to recognize as unwritten rules…or maybe I’m just weird, but these are things I’ve observed happening so I can’t be the only one!! Anyway, today I finally made my goal of getting out of bed early and getting to the gym before work. I have been wanting to get up and do that 2-3 times a week to strength train, saving a drive during lunch and getting a good start to the day (at least in theory). So I got up, got myself ready (did hair and makeup since I don’t necessarily sweat a lot during strength training) and went off to the gym. Had my workout done and was changing to head to work…now the lockers at the gym are U shaped and there are a number of these U shaped sections all lined with lockers (as most gyms are set up). They have 3 lockers on each of the legs of the U that are tall, and then 3 others that are short with 1 stacked on top of the other. I tend to take the shorter ones, next to the taller one (as they aren’t often used) on the bottom for ease of getting into and out of. I got back to my locker, had it open and my stuff spread out, getting myself dressed and getting stuff shoved back in the bag. I was taking up my share of space, but at this time of the day, the gym was very, very quiet…in fact in this space I was in, there was only one other person. And she had just arrived and was getting ready to get out for her workout. She asks me if I’m using the locker next to me, the tall one…I said no…then she takes her coat and sticks it in. Then she kind of moves my coat (which is laying in front of the locker door, this locker is open) and then asks if that is my coat, which I said yes, it was, she moves it, shuts the door and then puts it back…all this time I was looking around, the 3 tall lockers on the other side, where no one was, were all free…in fact one of the was partly open and you could see it was not in use…WHY did she have to have the one next to me??? Or why couldn’t she wait till I had moved? I get the idea of using the same locker each time. Honestly I do. I tend to do that and get in a habit of it…but if someone is there and I have to disturb them to get to it, I adapt and use a different one…I heard someone talking on the radio earlier this week too about having been at a Starbucks recently, sitting alone at one of their small tables, one that is meant for one person or, at most two, but only if you are sitting very intimately…she had her stuff spread over the table and was reading. A woman came over and asked a lady next to her if she could share the table with her. The woman sitting told the new woman that she was meeting someone…the woman then came to the radio person and asked her. The radio person looked around and saw there were many open tables and pointed that out…the new woman said they were all undesirable cause they were by the line…so the radio person gave her the go ahead. Woman took over the table…radio person finally told her she would go take one of the other tables and left. Now me, personally, would not have let the new woman sit there, cause I’m kind of a bitch sometimes, but how rude is that to ask someone even? It’s one thing if it’s a big table and there aren’t other places to sit, but when there are places to sit…

Workouts through Wednesday

Monday – Strength training for 30 minutes. I wanted to do something else too, but by the time got away from the chiropractor I just wanted to go home. So I did…

Tuesday – 7 mile run. I left from Bally’s, did two loops around Normandale lake and came back. I almost got hit by an inattentive driver (thankfully I was paying attention) and almost called and reported her as I memorized the license…should’ve made her roll her window down and yelled at her, but I didn’t want to interrupt my run more. My slamming my hands on her car should’ve hopefully scared her enough to pay a bit more attention. Anyway, after that I went and got on the bike for 30 minutes…did almost 10 miles in that time (level was only at a 5 on the bike, but I’m building up) and then was going to swim, but kind of felt like going home then, so I did…

Wednesday – Strength training for 30 minutes at lunch. After work and the chiro, I hit the gym and did 4 miles, a 1 mile w/u then 2 miles at 8:30 (8:35 and 8:31 to be exact) pace and then a cool down mile. After that I jumped on a bike and did 30 minutes and 10 miles…no idea if the level I’m using for making it harder is that hard or not, I haven’t tested things all that much, but it feels like a workout. I didn’t get into the pool yet…

All this working out, I did strength for 30 minutes last week and ran 30 miles, longest in a long time with a 10 mile run in there one of the days, and still not feeling or seeing any weight loss…it’s very frustrating. Tonight I’m meeting a friend for a run, we might only get 4 in together cause of time issues on his part, but I plan on adding whatever more I need to to get 6 and then swing by the gym for a bike and/or swim. If I don’t get the swim in tonight, I’m for sure getting it in tomorrow!! I’m not running tomorrow, but am going to try to get up and strength train before work then leave work at 3, run a computer I need to get rid of to the Mall of America (they are having a free electronics pickup) hopefully get a gift bought for a friend at a new store there and back to the gym by 4 to get a swim and bike ride in…and look at what I have coming:

Happy Birthday Dad

Happy Birthday Dad! OK, I’m a day late (and failed to get a card in the mail, but I did call him like a good daughter and I’m taking him out for a really nice dinner someplace he’s always wanted to go to on Saturday night) on this wish as his birthday was yesterday, but like I said, I did call him and we talked for a while. I love my dad very much and appreciate so much the sacrifices he’s made over the years for his family. He worked long hours and often away from home to be able to give us all the things we needed and many of the things we didn’t need but wanted and he has always been there when I need him.

When I was running high school track, meets were during the week, but also on weekends. Weekends were the time dad was home and his time to relax and maybe do yard work or whatever he needed or wanted to do before he had to go back to work, away from home, during the week…but he was always there for meets. Even when they were far away and took up almost all of his Saturday. He never complained about the time he could be doing other things…he was there to cheer and watch and was always proud. He even came to a during the week event once, when it happened to be close to where he was working, and was later at night, and he had to get up early to work in the morning. He wasn’t able to express verbally how he felt, at least not easily, but he definitely showed me through his actions how he felt. Any chance he had to be at any events he was there and this has carried through into my adult life as well.

When I decided to run a marathon, and chose one that was father’s day weekend, dad and mom hauled their fifth wheel up to Duluth, camped out and were there to watch, and dad was right at the finish line to get a sweaty hug. After that weekend he even sent me a card, thanking me for a wonderful father’s day and the chance to be there to watch me finish. He was then bragging to all his friends and co-workers about my running. When I ran Chicago, he was there, meeting my internet running friends and figuring out why I enjoyed being on line chatting to them so much, and braving the streets of Chicago (dad HATES big cities), cheering for me when I needed the help at mile 16.5 and then surprising me by seeing me cross the finish line. He had even bought me flowers for my finish…. Then my PR marathon, when I ALMOST got my BQ he was there again. Again father’s day weekend and again something that he was happy to do. He has the miles for a free ticket, and he almost used them to come see me run at Marine Corp, but I’m actually glad he didn’t, because I told him I’d like him to hold those miles, I’d love to have him use them to fly to Boston…because I want him to be there for the biggest. There are so many people I know that get funny looks and little support for their running from people close to them. They hear all about how bad it can be for you and their families don’t even try to understand it. My dad never has to asked me why I run, he just knows I do, knows I love it and is there to support me no matter where or why. Hopefully I can make him proud and have him see me hit that time I need next year at Twin Cities. I love you dad.

To Bruce...We'll All Miss You

I'm going to have to write more on this later, but I had news today that my uncle Bruce is going to be removed from ventilators today. He took a couple of falls a week ago and ended up at a Las Vegas hospital (he winters near Laughlin) and appeared paralyzed on one side, but was responsive and seeming to improve all week, but we had word today that there was pressure building on his brain stem and there was nothing they could do. He was expected to only last a couple of days and today his sister made the decision to take him off life support. Bruce isn't my uncle by blood, but when he married my aunt, he became part of our family. He made Elaine very happy till the day she lost her fight to breast cancer 6 years ago. Since losing Elaine, Bruce has not been happy, and I guess the one blessing in this is that he will now be with her again. He loved her so much...

10 Miles

Today I went out for a 10 mile run. Longest run I've done in quite a long time...and unfortunately I'm STILL feeling the glute pain. It was feeling tight the whole run, and now the leg is still tight. I'm using my roller and my stick and can't seem to get it loosened up...I don't know what more to do. I've been seeing the chiro for a month now. Two times a week. I'm doing my exercises...granted I can't swear to having done them twice day every day, but it's been that way more often than not. And I've added in strength training, full body and specific stuff for the problem area and it still isn't enough. I just don't know what more to do. I wasn't prevented from the run, it's just not comfortable and it's really bad feeling after. Shorter runs haven't been as much of a problem, it's just this longer stuff that seems to get it. I see the chiro again on Monday, but I can't keep seeing a chiro 2 times a week or more hoping it will eventually help...shouldn't I have seen something by now? I wonder if I should go see my doctor and do some PT (before my insurance changes in January), if I can fit it in...As far as the run, other than the glute, it wasn't bad. I ran 10 miles at a 9:18 pace, which is kind of standard for me if I haven't been doing speedwork and such. I know, I know, I can run, which is more than some people are able to do right now, but I just want the comfort back...I want it to feel good...the way it should...

On another note. I had a fairly productive day. I stayed in last night so was up early and cleaned out my garage enough to get firewood out of my car and piled where it's supposed to be and have space for more. I have a ton of boxes I need to get cleaned out though. What a freaking pain...then I went to Trader Joe's, Cub, Super Target and Dick's and was back home before noon...talked to a friend on the phone, did a bit of cleaning (including laundry) and then my run and a short nap. Had a text conversation with a friend who suggested a beer, which I'm contemplating but still not sure I want to go out. Oh, and updated her on the L situation as she hadn't been in on it yet. I've been telling people slowly...

On that end...it's been 2 weeks now since the fateful night we ended things...well, he ended things. I mean it had been in my mind off and on and it wasn't something I had decided on yet...I think I'm past the upset stage and kind of more angry. Angry about the promises, or implied promises that he had made and never kept...and the fact that he had me thinking so much into the future (which I would never have done so early in anything) when apparently he didn't mean any of what he said. I still stick to his words, when discussion my quirks at one point and telling him they can get annoying very quickly and he said he wasn't 20 anymore and knew what he could and couldn't handle. Well, one of those quirks ends up kind of being the only real answer he gave me for why things wouldn't work between us. Go figure. He might not be 20, but some things were certainly actions that spoke of a 20 year old.

Running and Eventually Swimming!

Another day, another chiro visit and another run. Hopefully I can keep the rants to a minimum now…I have a few things I could comment on, but will try to not say anything if I can’t say anything nice!! One of my friends I mentioned in the post yesterday was very concerned that I thought she was ignoring me and I hope I’ve reassured her that that is definitely not the case. She has a very busy schedule and a lot going on in her own life and we’ve been there for each other as much as we can and I know if I really needed it, she’d be there, but the unfortunate thing is money and time are not on her side to be able to get together that often…which is too bad as I know she needs to get out more herself.

Yesterday it was dark and cold by the time I got done at the chiro so I chose to run at the gym. My plan was speedwork…nothing major, just a couple of faster mile runs with a recovery in between…I had run off a tentative training schedule for the Breast Cancer Marathon in Jacksonville, FL in February and am tentatively following it (I put it together off Runner’s World’s training program) but made some adjustments since the time I put in is much faster than I plan to run this one in. Anyway, I decided the miles at 8:30 pace would be good and I used the indoor track and managed to do a mile warm up, 1 mile at 8:20, a recovery half around 4:30 and then a second mile at 8:16 with a recovery again around 4:30 and decided to do one more fast half, 3:50 and finish with an easy 4:30 half…Total run for 5 miles was 43: and some odd seconds so not too bad. Fastest I’ve done in a really long time and it felt fine. I think I’m still a little tight on one side though and forgot to do some of my exercises this morning. Wanted to get to work…I can do the upper ones but kind of hard to do the others at work. I plan to either lightly run or elliptical train tonight after drinks with friends for a birthday celebration…then to bed since I just didn’t get enough sleep last night for whatever reason. I couldn’t sleep, woke up too early this morning.

One other thing I decided though is even though a tri next year is probably out, there is no reason why I can’t get my butt into the pool since it would be a good cross training for me. So this weekend I intend on getting out to Dick’s or someplace to get some goggles…and I’m looking into a new swim suit, a nice lap swim one…was looking for clearance Speedo online but if anyone has any recommendations on other suits I’m open to listening. I just figure Speedo since it’s a name I know and I found a few for under $50 shipped which isn’t too bad. I have a couple of suits I can use till I get the new one too. Only problem I’m running into is sizing…32, 34, 36…is that waist hips or bust? Couldn’t find anything to explain and I’m used to small, medium, large!!

Support Networks

Suppose it’s time to stop with the downer posts. Not much else to write about, well, I have all kinds of things I seem able to compose in my head on runs and never manage to remember what I wanted to say when I get near a computer…Anyway, I am still in a state over numerous things but it’s to be expected…I can take at least a month or two to grieve right? But this week I do have to allow for a bit of getting out of the house…I have house guests coming tonight. Denise and Josh are going to be here sometime a bit later tonight (after my bedtime, am I pathetic or what since they should be there by 10?) and are staying with me tonight and tomorrow. Tomorrow is Denise’s birthday and we are going out for that…she is in for some surprises too, but there will be going out then. Friday and Saturday though I think I’ll stay in. I have options to go out on Saturday and just not sure I feel up to it. I might just hit a nice 10 miler since it’s supposed to be back in the 50s (as opposed to the 30s and 40s so far this week) and then just veg at home. We’ll see. I have the house to myself as my roommate is hanging at her boyfriends for the next few days. I’ve been a bit disappointed in a friend though. She is one I helped through her divorce from her ex, who cheated on her…I was there when she was going through it all, debating taking him back, when it finally fell apart, all the guys she dated and/or just hung out with in that time. Going out with her as she needed etc…and now since her divorce has been final and she’s now involved with someone else that she plans to marry and get pregnant with soon, she is never around. I used to see her at least a few times a week, then at least once a week and now she’s been busy with work and I get that, but I maybe see her once a month…and on those times all I get to hear is complaints about him and then it sometimes tends to be an early night. I hadn’t even had an email or anything from her in a while, responded to a joke she forwarded me on Monday, she asked what was new, I told her about L and her response was are you sad? When I said of course and ranted a bit she told me I should’ve called her last week as she had been around, and that she was here to go out to dinner, drink, movie whatever I needed…and that she would’ve called me right then but didn’t want to upset me at work and had a conference call…this was all yesterday…I had responded that I didn’t want to leave the house (I guess when someone says that to me, I feel it’s my job to drag them out and cheer them up but that’s just me and/or call and make sure they are OK) and I had friends in town for the next couple of days and then I was probably staying in all weekend…so nothing back from her regarding any of this yet today and no call or anything last night to be sure I was OK. When she was going through her stuff, I was calling her constantly just checking in to be sure she felt OK. Apparently a break up with someone you had only been dating for 6 months isn’t as big of a deal. And it’s not like I’m getting divorced right? The thing that sucks so much is that I really don’t have a support network around me. Granted, I’ve had a lot of people over to talk, told me to call, and have tried calling me, and I haven’t felt up to it, but someone who has known me as long as she has, and who I was there for should be able to be there for me…my roommate has a boyfriend, she’d be there to go out, but, well, not sure what I feel there…another friend married with 3 kids, no chance to go out, another friend, divorced with a 5 year old, no chance to go out as babysitters are expensive and going out usually isn’t in her budget…others are around but not really reliable no matter what…so even if I wanted to go out, not really an option…wow, I’m pretty pathetic. I’ve been saying I need to get to know more people, one of these days maybe I will…or maybe I’ll just get back into the staying in, hanging at home, and just running and working out…nothing wrong with that. I did get 6 in yesterday. I was tight through both glutes and hamstrings due to lunges the day before so no idea if things are improving or not, but going to see the chiro soon to find out. I’m just getting so frustrated as nothing seems to work…this has been going on over a year. I’m doing the stretches and strength work, I’m starting to strength train. I took time off running. I’m building back up slowly…I’m doing everything right…I just want to feel good and have running feel good again.

November??

Well, been trying to get an update up for the last week and what do you know, it still hasn’t happened. Anyway, I’m still feeling upset, which should not be unusual considering it all, but I’ve also come to a realization that I don’t want to do it anymore. Now I’m not going to be stupid and say I’m never dating again and have to eat my words 2 years down the road, but honestly, I don’t want to do it anymore. I was with someone that I cared deeply for. I let down a lot of walls and protections that I had had in place, and I let myself open up and trust the things he was saying and telling me…including the talk about the future, which when it came up, seemed to be way too much for the period of time we had been together. But for whatever reason, I let him convince me this was the way it was and was going to continue. He seemed to think he had found everything he wanted…we had just had a discussion about it before his last trip in fact. How I needed to realize he was doing some of the things he was doing because it was going to be great for the future…it was for us. There were still things I wasn’t sure on, but I had a lot of what I would want in someone and I was sure that what was missing would come. If he loved me as much as he said, there was no way it wouldn’t come right? But guess I was wrong about it, and all I know is that I have no interest in pursuing something new down the road. Let’s face it, first dates, really not a lot of fun. In fact dating in general I have been known to deem similar to the waterboarding being discussed right now…in fact I think I’d rather go through waterboarding than dating…think about it, you are out with someone that you are trying to impress while at the same time trying to figure out if you want to see again, it’s a situation of judgment on both parts, who knows what will come of it and all the games that go with it. Can’t call right after the date, that seems desperate right? Have to wait x days to go out again as you don’t want to give the wrong impression…it’s what I liked about L…what drew me in…there were no games. He said he was going to call, he called. He liked me and was quite vocal about it. When he told me he loved me, it freaked me out, but I got over that and realized I felt the same…it was just something that happened, and it was good and that just doesn’t happen for me…it’s the first time in 9 years that something happened that easily…anyway, enough on that…

Last week was an OK workout week. I weight trained for 25 minutes 3 days, I made my goal run 5 days and I hit 26 miles. Another couple of weeks and I’ll be back to the 6 days or so a week running and 30-40 miles that I was enjoying. Only problem is, even seeing the chiro like I have been, and doing the exercises that I need to, I’m still not having the results I wanted/hoped for…and I’m getting so down and frustrated about that…lost my boyfriend and running still isn’t what it should be. Seems very unfair.

Love Really is a 4 Letter Word

And that isn't a good thing. The panic came back. And this time it wasn’t a quick and painless resolution. Friday the weekend was looking so great, I booked my flight to visit my friends in Idaho, one of my best friends in the world, and person who I miss desperately, particularly now cause I know she’d be a big help/relief to me if she were only in town. I also had those Viking tickets, had determined my sister would be the one to come with me as even though we aren’t that close most times, we do have fun on the occasions we do hang out. I invited her to the game, she was going out with friends on Saturday for Halloween and invited me along and we all went out and had some fun, even though there were some issues going on in the back of my mind…finally ended up talking to L, to see if we could stay at his place since we were downtown, we hadn’t had plans for the weekend (which was part of the panic as we had had some issues but were working on them and suddenly things seemed weird again) but we got to his place and he and I started talking and a few hours later we were broken up…I was a little drunk and don’t remember every single thing we discussed, he was drinking as well, and some things that were brought up really should not have been, but it came down to some things that still I don’t get. While he had been talking longer term, and I was starting to believe it, suddenly he doesn’t see it working longer term and I still am left not knowing why. It’s only been 6 months, there are things you push through and work on, but the couple things I wanted he just didn’t have the energy to give…I guess the overall comes to he just doesn’t love me enough. What sucks is it took me longer to figure out, but I do love him, and it hurts and I’m feeling lost, after being so long out of a relationship and so happy with being single, and loving my life the way it was, I had this come to me, something I wasn’t really looking for, something I wasn’t expecting to find, and then it’s gone. I’m thinking of all the things we talked about doing, all the things that were in the works or talked about and all the little things that I’m going to miss…you know how it goes, the things you would’ve done differently had you known this was going to be the last time. I’m not even one for cuddling, but I want one more night to just snuggle in each others arms…and I know there were issues, I wasn’t getting what I needed/wanted from him that I wasn’t probably ever going to get, but now it doesn’t feel like it’s that important, I just want things to have worked out…and hearing from those close to me that I’ll find someone else, that I deserve what I wasn’t getting, that I’m a great person, etc…and you know what, I don’t want it. I don’t want to date again, I don’t want to get to know someone new, I don’t want to go through all the questions you have to ask, finding out the new things about someone else…I liked where we were getting to, the bit of history there and the more history we were building…and it hurts. Especially since my guard had been up for so long…it took time, but he wore away most of my guard and there was so much that now is lost. The idea of running Boston with him for fun the way we were going to, he was talking about an Ironman and the idea was crossing my mind…it’s all gone…

Appreciation is Sweet

So today I was really involved in something that got kind of high end...our president knew that I was involved in it and doing best to get things resolved and right now they are close...just a few minutes ago he stopped by my cube and told me he had a pair of Vikings tickets for Sundays game and would I like to have them...being a huge Vikings fan of course I said yes!!! What a great weekend treat! Now who comes with, L, my sister or my brother...will probably extend the invite in that order...

Wednes...Nope, Thursday

Wow, this week, after dragging on Tuesday has just gotten away from me. Thanks for all the thoughts on the panic. Breath in, breath out and it was worked through and resolved happily. So I'm happy about that. Workouts this week have been OK. I strength trained on Monday and did elliptical trainer on Monday night. Tuesday I ran 5 miles in gusting winds and yesterday I was off because of a chiro appointment and then a dinner someplace new with L. It was just a bar, typical menu, but we are both on a kick to lose some weight and he suggested a nice salad and they had something both of us were able to enjoy. Him a steak and me a buffalo chicken...both fairly healthy even!! I wanted to at least strength train yesterday but just didn't have time even at lunch because the day was just insane, finally starting to find some breathing room though and moving forward on a few projects. Hopefully I can strength train at lunch today (looking promising so far) and then a nice run outside on what might be a last night (read 65 for a high, sunny and no wind) for the year. I'm hoping to have a ticket booked to see one of my best friends in the world tonight too...would be going first weekend in December to visit her and her husband out in Idaho. I haven't seen her in almost a year and a half and she's one of those people that no matter how infrequently we see each other or talk on the phone, when we are together again it's like we just saw each other yesterday. I'm so excited to see her.

Also I had the weirdest calls coming to me the last couple of days. Some job headhunter person, no idea where they got my number, but regardless, it's been kind of annoying (I haven't been around to answer it, but they leave a message and say they are sending something to my email account and so far I've seen nothing and these calls are coming on my cell phone) as I know my resume isn't out there, in fact, I don't want it to be because I honestly like my job. I like what I'm doing, I like what I have as options and opportunities and how the duties keep growing. I enjoy the people I work with too...it's a nice feeling. Finally, this job and my last job were both that way and in a day and age where job dissatisfaction is up and where I've been extremely frustrated by jobs in my past, to the point of being miserable in some, I like that I'm finding places that are making me happy...

Panic?

I went for the run on Sunday night on the track at Bally's. It helped, a little...at least during the run it was feeling good, was even kind of fast (at least for me lately) so maybe the 11 laps to a mile is a bit off? Anyway, regardless, it gave me the release I needed that night. However, I'm still stressing. Things are still not quite right and I don't know what will get them there. Well, maybe I do know and am not ready to admit that yet, or maybe accept that is the better word. There comes a time you know what is necessary and still you might not want to go there, you think that maybe if you wait enough the thing you're waiting for could happen, maybe, right? Time is important. So is patience. But when you've given all and asked for little, and still don't even get that, you have to wonder.

Sometimes the anticipation is worse than the actual event too.

Grey Days

I miss the sun...it was out yesterday, it was actually a really nice day, it's too bad some personal other things kept me from fully enjoying. I attempted an 8 mile run, and completed it, but I hadn't slept well the night before due to some messy things in my life right now and while out trying to do a bit of shopping I was just scatter brained...came home, did the run, but it felt very difficult and was quite slow from what I had been running. I went to a friends house then for a birthday celebration. We were then supposed to go out to the bar, but I bailed with a few others prior to the bar as I just wasn't feeling up to going out. It's gray today and a cloud of sadness and hurt hangs over me...and I don't even know why except that I don't know what is going on...and sometimes not knowing is worse than the knowing...anyway, I did get some cleaning done today but that's about it. No workout, which I should've done and still could but not sure I feel up to it...maybe I'll go to the gym though. I really do need it. Maybe I'll feel better after a nice run and some strength training...

Weights, Chiro and a Gym?

Well, I managed 18 miles last week and most of it feeling fairly good. The glute hasn’t been complaining too much, I ran 4 days including back to back on Saturday and Sunday. 6 on Saturday and only 3 on Sunday as I didn’t want to push more than 18 miles. The 6 went fine and this weekend I’m hoping to get 7 or 8 for a longer run, just slowly building back up. I’ve been the chiropractor 3 times now and bought a package (my insurance doesn’t cover it cause they are out of network doesn’t health care stuff suck?) to make things a big cheaper so I’m set for going at least another 10 times and will evaluate after that what I might do. I had my evaluation to go over my x-rays and such as well yesterday and was given got exercises along with a breakdown of all that is out of wack. Apparently I've done something to get my low back on the left side out of form...the muscles are tight and pulling on things, getting my hip out of alignment and shortening my left leg, all this led to my glute tightening up and pulling wrong and hence the tight hurt feeling in my glute. The right side is down and out of wack a bit due to overcompensation (love all my technical terms?) :) of course. All pretty much what L had suggested might be wrong. So now I have the area for him to work on and get loosened up and between that and the adjustments things should be back to normal soon I hope. Actually I had a pulling sensation on my IT band, and when I saw the chiro last night my back had something that was twisted weird...so we are working on that and my upper back where I have tightness as well (where all my stress goes) so all this should help...I’ve done 4 miles on Tuesday with a friend, no time yesterday for yoga due to meeting friends after the chiro appointment so hopefully I can get that in tonight after a quick run (might do a short one at lunch and again after work, once inside and once out more on that in a second).

On a really happy note too, I got home and my Bowflex weights had arrived yesterday. Remember they were supposed to be filled in 3-5 days and shipped 7-9 days after that? I ordered them either Thursday or Friday last week from buy.com. Had notification on Saturday that they had shipped, I tracked on Monday and saw nothing, but on Wednesday they were there…talk about an awesome day!! They are very cool too. They adjust super easy and have a nice comfy grip. Not having worked out with them, but for anyone not wanting to buy a ton of weights, I’d highly recommend them. I’m also probably going to be joining Bally's. Not the greatest gym around my area, but I'm getting a pretty good deal that figures to about $17 a month andit has a pool and indoor track (11 laps to a mile) along with equipment and a few classes that might work in my schedule (not as many as another gym in the area, but again for the price and I don't use classes that much anyway)...It will be a nice alternative in the winter and not overly expensive, convenient to work and a nationwide membership so if I’m traveling and can find one I have other options too. I’m checking it out at lunch today and most likely will sign on. Can’t beat the price vs other options in my area for $60-70 a month…

Also looks like I now have a pace bunny for Twin Cities next year. A friend has kindly offered to pace me to my time goal (to be announced after training has commenced and is going well)…that makes me happy too. Between one on the course and L on the sidelines to carry water and such for me, I should really be able to pull the run provided I get the training in!!

Running Again

Alright, so I finally got a week in that might actually constitute a running week and be on the way to getting myself back up to what I had been used to all year. I ran Monday and Thursday last week, 4 and 5 miles respectively, at around 9:10 pace both of them...I did my yoga on Tuesday and took Wednesday off to recover from that along with having the chiro appointment. Friday I didn't get my yoga in that I planned, but oh well. Baby steps right? Saturday I did 6 miles even after being out partying like a rock star a little too much on Friday...it was an OK pace and things were feeling OK. Still a little tight through areas, but hopefully it will eventually go away. I then did an easy 3 miles on Sunday after the Vikings win to just keep things loose and knowing tonight I won't get a run since I have a chiro appointment. I feel good for the week and managed to get 18 miles in. That's the most since my 25K over a month ago. I'm not 100% yet, but working toward that and have a chiro appointment tonight that will give me my assessment, exercises to do and an adjustment I'm so looking forward to. I'll also go again, hopefully on Thursday and keep moving toward good final results.

I've put a training plan together to get me into running form to run a slow marathon in February too, even might have lined up someone else to run it as well. We'll see what happens. I already have one friend I plan to run slowly with...

New Toys

They are ordered...will be on the way in 3-5 days according to buy.com and I got free shipping so 7-9 days delivery (but seems sites always say that and usually it doesn't take nearly that long). So within 2 weeks my new toys will be here and I'm so excited to get back to some sort of weight training. I might need to somehow find a way to have a weigh bench at some point too, but for now I do have an exercise ball and that will be good to at least use to a degree. I couldn't pass up the deal. I found them for $120 on Amazon with free shipping, $100 on GNC.com with free shipping and $100 on Buy.com with free shipping...but if you haven't used Google check out you can use it and get another $10 off so for $90 I have them being shipped to me...Exciting stuff!

I managed an OK run last night too. For the first time in a long time I wore my Garmin and had a 5 mile run in 45:41 which is an OK pace, all things considered. I probably could've gone faster, I wasn't too winded and it is not a flat course by any means. Overall I was happy with it. I was too sore to attempt yoga last night, that Tuesday night workout kicked my butt on sore muscles, but at least this morning I'm feeling much better so I'm going to do the strength session tonight, then will plan maybe a 6 mile run tomorrow for a "longer" run, since tomorrow is the better day of the weekend. I'm hoping for a short easy 3-4 on Sunday for a 4 day running week. Might get an hour yoga session in too on Sunday. I do really like the yoga DVD I have for strength and flexibility, it's Rodney Yee, and there are two workouts, each about 20 minutes which is about a perfect session, I can always add to it if I want more poses that aren't covered since there are a number of poses I've enjoyed in classes. One thing I'd really like to find though is a good Power Flow Yoga DVD. Does anyone know of one? I used to love Power Flow class when I was a gym member and felt it was a good workout...particularly when I could get up at 5:30 and do the workout before work...nothing like feeling so good about yourself in the morning...I used to be on a good schedule to run in the morning and know that by next summer, to meet some of my goals, I'm going to have to do that again, but for now, I'd like it if I could get up, at least to start, just 2 days a week and do my yoga in the morning before work...it's only 20 minutes sooner...one of these days I'll try it. Means getting up at 6 instead of 6:30...I can do it...I think...

Chiro and Other Things

Last night was my first appointment with my new chiropractic place. I signed up for an initial assessment, x-rays etc while at Twin Cities Marathon Expo with a place that has people that are runners, in fact the doctor I saw is herself a runner and has the marathon bug…she has run 6, including Boston, so that tells me I’m with the right person! I told her my goal was to run next year to get that qualifier and that I need to get everything worked out and will be running a hard half or two early next year to get the preferred start coral for Twin Cities next year. Getting to the office, they have massage chairs to sit in while waiting, nice, then I went into the room, had x-rays (of which I’ll get copies next appointment), and a muscle scan that shows where you are most tense, gee, surprise, I was tight on low back and upper back (I always run tight). After that they used the muscle stimulator thing to loosen me up, along with a heating pad, then while waiting for a massage table I was laying on a water massage bed (or I could’ve sat back in the massage chair), I had the first adjustment, which my sacrum cracked so well on each side, then upper back and one other area in my neck that I hadn’t known was tight but she found and adjusted on one side, hopefully next time I’m relaxed enough to let it happen on the other side too…Anyway, overall a good visit and I’m going back on Monday to get the x-rays, all assessments and results along with exercises to do that will help get everything back in place. L is back next week too to work on me with massage so that should help everything get back to normal I hope…

Also, new excitement…I’m pretty sure I’m going to get those Bowflex weights I posted a couple messages back…they are $150 on Bowflex’s site, plus $50 shipping…I found them on eBay for a bit cheaper and then Amazon for even cheaper and free shipping, then on another place or two for even better than the others…In fact I think I might get them shipped for $60-80…can’t pass that up. They are nice in that they adjust from 2.5 up to 20 pounds in 2.5 pound increments, at most I’d maybe eventually want a couple of 25s, but in lots of working out, I never have used more than 20s really for most things…so I think this will be good for me. Cheaper than the 50 pound ones by a lot and I think much more useable for me. Plus they take up very little space…nothing like eight sets of weights in one set that can hold at 20 pounds…I’ll slowly build up my little home gym…just need the space to have it all out and set up on a regular basis.

I wanted to run after my appointment last night, but have adjusted my schedule because it was fairly late when I got home and I thought maybe I should hold off one more day. Tonight I’m going to go for 4-5 miles, then I’ll run both Saturday and Sunday and then not again till Tuesday. I got my yoga flexibility DVD out on Tuesday and did it, 25 minute workout and I felt things stretching. I’ll eventually add more poses on my own, but it felt pretty good, except the relaxing pose at the end, my back was tight and couldn’t relax, was feeling a little uncomfortable so I cut that part short, but the rest went well.

Current focus:

• Running back up to 20 miles over the next 2-3 weeks
• Yoga for more flexibility and strength back to 2 times a week at least
• At least during the week keeping track of food in Fitday.com for the next two weeks to get a base on where to start moving forward on my eating

Twin Cities

Who would’ve ever thought or believed that October 7, in Minneapolis, could hit 80 degree temps and 87% humidity…I really felt for the runners out on the course talk about a painful run. I walked out of my house around 10:45 to go and try to watch for the few people that I did know were running, I got to mile 23 at 11:30 (after a quick stop at the farmer’s market for some apples) and saw one guy that I know, but doubting that he remembers me I didn’t say anything, then I was watching for a friend that I had planned to surprise and run a couple of miles with, but didn’t see her, and found she wasn’t too far behind the guy I saw, so that was a bummer to miss her and the run as she was kind of hurting then and I would’ve loved to have helped with the pain. At the same time I was getting updates from MNFirefly as her boyfriend Josh was going around the course…he did finish and got his medal, but with very little support since they cancelled the race, being short of water…I feel so bad for the runner’s out there.
Considering the time and training that goes into a race like that,
it’s really hard to not be able to finish what you started. I guess
there was a reason I had this stuff going on that kept the
motivation from running Twin Cities this year. My plan is to run
it next year. I have friends from around the country that are
going to run it as well hopefully and I’m really looking forward to
a fun time…anyone reading this, this is a call out…fall marathon
next year, why not do the most beautiful urban marathon? It’s
really well run and organized, just a little bit of a hilly course toward the end, but we’re runners, we can deal with that right? How about this for my new bumper sticker. It pretty much says it all. Oh, and that's me on my trail run last week...finally got it posted.

Twin Cities Marathon Expo

Last night I finally got the night out I needed. It was an unintentional night. I went to have a drink, my roommate and a friend stopped by, I convinced roommate to drive me home and then had a few more, we stopped at another bar I like and haven’t been in since our county had lightened the ban to allow some places to still have smoking, but now with the statewide ban, it’s non-smoking again…anyway, we closed the bar and then sat up talking till about 4…yowsers…And true to form, I woke up, at 8:30, a.m…yeah…so not fun when you go to bed at 4, but oh well. I got up, took some ibuprophen for the headache and then showered and head to the Marathon expo. Even though I’m not running the marathon tomorrow, I like the expo just to see things and this year it was just as fun as it normally can be. I got two new sports bras, which was the intent of the trip, chatted with someone at MDRA (Minnesota Distance Running Association) booth and passed on L’s card as she was interested in lactate testing, ALMOST bought a few things for winter running that were on sale, but opted out of that, scoped out the scene because I discovered it really isn’t that terribly expensive for having a booth down at the expo and it might be good for L’s business for next year, so figured out what he’d be able to set up…then I talked to a chiro that specializes in runners, or at least works with a lot of runners, I explained my insurance situation (namely that my insurance is set at a high deductible that I’m going to change and get treatments for after Jan 1, yeah, love dealing with insurance and insurance related stuff) and they have a deal setting up to get information and treatment thoughts to patients along with X-rays for $20, so I set up an appointment with them for next Wednesday and we’ll go from there. I do know that my insurance plan covers this place and had already considered talking to them anyway, so that worked out. Also found a place for strength training that sounds interesting, but even more expensive to do on a monthly basis than a gym, although you can do one on one personal training through it, so it’s a thought…came home to take a nap and was not able to sleep, so I have just been chilling…did go for a short 3 miler that felt OK, except for the hangover that’s still lingering…so while my roommate and a friend of hers are going out and plan was we were all going to go out tonight, I opted to stay in and will probably go to bed early…

Tomorrow I’m going down to watch the marathon, at least for a while. We’ll see how things are all feeling, but I imagine I’ll wake up and feel like going. I do want to cheer at least for a while and Vikings aren’t on tomorrow (thank God they have a bye this week), I really feel for the runners though…it’s going to be a hot one. Right now it feels more like August than October…was supposed to hit 85 today and I bet it did and it’s very humid…anyone out there after even 11 is going to really start hurting…

The Smell of Autumn

Last weekend I did some shopping. I’m not a big shopper but I had a couple of coupons and needed a few new clothes so I went to the mall for a bit. One of the coupons I had was to Yankee Candle. I’m a candle freak really, it's a sickness. I have a TON of candles and I just keep buying more, I can't seem to burn some of the ones I have (some are scents that are no longer made and if I burn them they will be gone) AND I had just bought some candles from a friend that sells Partylite, but still I had this coupon and it was a good one, buy one get one free on the big jar candles…that never happens. They have buy one get one half off sometimes, but never buy one get one free on anything…so I had to go.

I tend toward the buying the “fresh” smelling candles, you know, anything with ocean, rain, sea, waterfall in the title or the very light floral scents (in particular rose, if it's a good classic rose scent). They did have one that was called Autumn Leaves and I really don’t have any “fall” scented candles, so I smelled it…and while it was a nice Autumn orange, and had colored leaves on the label…it just didn’t smell “fall”. It had a pine overtone, and that right away turned me from it so it kind of had me thinking about Autumn smells. Autumn is not about pine…when I walked outside for lunch yesterday, I took a deep breath and smelled…I don’t know what, but it is not pine. It's clean, the smell of the humidity gone from the air, the freshness of the leaves, the clean scent of the earth (we’ve had a lot of rain and you can smell it), maybe even smokey smells from bonfires, but it’s definitely not the pine overtones that were in that candle. I thought about this the whole time I was running, and I even brought my camera and took some pictures that I promise I’ll try to upload over the weekend. I was thinking about what kind of scent should’ve been the stronger one and I just couldn’t come up with it, it was there, I was smelling things, but nothing quite clicked…until I got home. I had my camera still and needed a couple of new pictures of my house, so I took them and walking around the building when the scent of apple cider came to me from somewhere (probably my mind, but you know, I still smelled it)…then it clicked. The overtones of the candle should be apple, along with everything else of course, but this is apple season. Leave the pine for the winter/Christmas scents, because that is what you think of at that time of year, fall is about apples, bonfires and earthy tones.

Gorgeous Day

Today the weather report was saying a chance for thunderstorms. Mostly tapering off by noon...so far we haven't had any rain. Hopefully the chance has passed too becaue it is absolutely gorgeous out. Sunny, no clouds, very light to no breeze and upper 70s...it's one of those days that comes along in mid-spring to early fall, before summer's humidity hits and when the sun is fantastic feeling, even if it is upper temps to some people...yep, today is one of those days. I was out at lunch. I almost didn't come back. I just hope that it stays till the end of the work day. Another 2 hours and I'm out of here and heading home for a run. In fact, I have everything with me...it's almost tempting to make a jaunt through Highland Park on my way home instead of running at home...hmm...I think I have my garmin, at the very least I have a watch of some sort, if I head out and back for 20 minutes each way I can know it was a little over 4 miles...heck, 18 minutes each way would give me about that, even on the hills...what a nice thought. Outside, on trails, softer turf...I think it's just what I need.

Yesterday was nice too, but it was windy. I had to take yesterday off, still being good like I have been. Saw L last night and he massaged some stuff into my leg to try to loosen it up more. It's medicated lotion, along the lines of IcyHot but much higher end. Anyway, when he worked on things most tight pain areas were only about a 3 or 4 at most (he asks what it is painwise on a scale of 1-10), one spot (and what I think is causing my tight hamstring) was a 7 or so, but the rest felt fine, even areas I thought might be bad weren't as tight as I thought...so I'm excited. Progress might be still going on. Now I need to work on the weights, that's for Monday (or maybe this weekend), losing the weight I have gained and focusing on getting a nice base to build on starting in December or so. I have posted a tentative 2008 schedule...we'll see how ambitious I am.

Run and a Weight Room

I braved the rain and didn’t melt! OK, I am one that likes running in the rain, just not when it’s cold. It wasn’t terrible yesterday though. It was about 62 I think when I took off, so I had on shorts and a long sleeved tech top and maybe should’ve gone a little lighter weight top or a shorter sleeved one as I was a bit warm, but pushed the sleeves up and I was OK. I went out for 3 and opted instead to turn it into 4 when things were feeling alright. The sacrum was still feeling a little off, but not enough to cause any issues. Still a tight hamstring, a little tightness on the knee and at one point I thought my glute was going to start talking to me, but thankfully nothing came of it. I got home, stretched, iced my knee, used the roller, stick and sacro wedgy and then relaxed for the night, House was on after all. I was feeling some tightness still later in the evening, and before bed opted to take 3 advil and an advil PM to help with the way it was feeling. Basically I wanted the left side of my sacrum to crack, and nothing I could do would get that feeling away. Advil PM is awesome though…I was tired anyway and it just kept the soreness at bay so I could sleep…and for the first time in I don’t know how long I even managed to sleep through the night, not even one time getting up to use the bathroom!! This is an amazing thing for me as I drink so much water it’s always at least one time in the night…

Tonight I’m taking the night off running again, but I think I need to do something. I might actually get some air into the tires of my bike and take it out. I just need to do something about my weight and how flabby I feel like I’m getting. I haven’t done any strength training since April or May, and that’s bad. I HAVE to get back to something. Unfortunately I’m not currently a member at a gym, and my best gym option is so expensive…I need to do some more research on that I guess though. I know there are things that I can do around home, but I’m just not disciplined enough to do much at home…and I don’t have enough stuff to do things either. My hope is still to get my house sold (reminder to self, need to get together with my realtor and get it re-listed, since that would help in selling it!) because my dream for my new home is a workout room. I will only buy something that has a room that I can dedicate to working out. I want to decorate it in some running theme, I’ll have bookshelves for my running books and magazines, all my marathon paraphernalia (like my top 10 reasons to run a marathon and Chicago marathon posters), medals and such from high school into my new hardware…then of course the workout stuff, treadmill, maybe a bike (or a trainer with a bike on it) and of course weights and other stuff…one thing I want is these:

They are adjustable from 2.5 to 20 pounds. I will probably need to buy 2 25s and I should be set on weights...I should just buy them now and have them...hmm...wonder if anyone is trying to get rid of some on craigslist or ebay...of course I also want a bench then too, but I can wait on that...

To run or not to run...

…guess we’ll see what happens with the weather. Part of me isn’t really feeling like it anyway, and right now it’s a downpour. I’m leaving the office in a few minutes and it could be done raining by the time I get home, but it’s just not warm enough that I want to run in it the way it is…sigh…wish I had gotten in a run over the weekend as I wouldn’t feel quite as compelled in that I HAVE to run today. I’m also feeling like something is “off” in my sacrum right now. I had a day where it felt like the right side needed to crack, today it feels like the left…I’m just being a baby I think though. I should just do it regardless and I’ll feel much better.

I'm so looking forward to the Twin Cities Marathon this weekend. Mainly for the expo. I love their expo. It's nice without being too large. Marine Corp by far had the best deals, but Twin Cities is still a nice one, full of great running deals. No good speakers that I could see listed though for this year. No one I've heard of at least. Anyone out there that reads that might want to meet me down there on Friday or Saturday, I'm leaning more toward Friday but haven't fully decided yet.

Smoking Ban

Ah what a wonderful day. October 1, 2007, the day Minnesota became state number 17 to go non-smoking. Yes, yes, I realize I’m advocating more government intervention, and government taking away individual businesses rights telling them that they can’t allow smoking, but frankly I’m sick of being told by smokers that if I want to go out (and not just to the bar, but to a lot of restaurants too) I either deal with it or stay home, because there have not been other options until the smoking bans went into effect. I just see it that MN is a state of around 4-5 million people, statistics say there are about 800,000 smokers…so, that equates to about 20% of the population that are happy that bars allow smoking…hmm…is that the majority? Even when I’ve been out in places that allow smoking, I always thought it seemed there were more people not smoking than people that were…just an observation. Since Minneapolis itself passed a ban, I have only been to bars that are non-smoking unless at my parents where there wasn’t an option (now, yippee, there is no more) and just a couple of weeks ago I was at a Country Kitchen restaurant that actually still had a smoking section, and it was bad, even though we were in the non-smoking you could still smell it. It’s such a happy day.

Last Friday, I managed to have a good run again. I went 4 miles. I had only minimal tightness in the hamstring, a little fuss from my knee but nothing too major. I stretched and did things after to keep feeling good, used my foam roller and stick and was a little around bed time, but not bad. I didn’t get a run in on Saturday or Sunday for various reasons, but am hoping to get one tonight. We’ll see. I have a phone conference at 5:30, if I go home and take the call there, I could technically get a run done and still make the call, but part of me is thinking maybe I should take the call from the office…although….now thinking about it, I think I have clothes in my car…and my Garmin…and it wouldn’t be a big deal for me to sit at my desk and take the call after a run….hmm….maybe THAT’S what I’ll do. Then, if I really wanted to, and if the call doesn’t take too long, I could make it to yoga class at L’s studio…although that would be really pushing it and I wouldn’t be in yoga gear as I don’t have that with me….hmm….yoga might have to wait, but I might be jumping into that class later, or, even better, the yoga for runner's when it starts up.

Fall is Definitely Here

Yes, I do realize that fall has been here now, officially, since Sunday, but last night, I ran and I ran naked again (meaning no watch, no Garmin, no MP3) not actually NAKED and I noticed how much more fall has shown up and it makes me a bit sad. I do think that the fall colors are very pretty, don't get me wrong, but, living in Minnesota, I know what comes after the leaves fall off, and not being a fan of cold weather, well, you see where I'm coming from right? Fall is bittersweet. It's pretty, and the cooler weather again, after running in the heat and humidity of the summer, feels nice, but it's also leading to cold, and in Minnesota, extreme cold! And snow, which yes, can look pretty, but makes commutes icky and running treacherous. I like the warm. Spring is my favorite, a time of renewal, of growth, when the rain is great because it brings the green and new flowers etc...in summer you have warm, warm days and humid, sultry nights, when being outdoors in a tank top and little skirt is fine (or if you're adventurous, a skinny dip, and no, I wouldn't know from experience on that...except that one or two drunk nights, and remember, I do live in a city!)....the days are long, you can run almost any time and not have to rush home to get it in before dark...and I see if Spring is rebirth, well, then you can think what fall and winter are...

I did get my run in last night. Everything seemed to be OK again, still not 100% but much better than it has been. My glute still isn't making any complaints, which is a miracle in and of itself since that has been my biggest problem area recently. My hamstring was a little tight still, but my shin never acted up either. My knee was having a bit of an issue again, so when I got home, I iced it, I stretched (downward dog, upward dog, pigeon pose, laying on my stomach and pulling my foot with opposite hand to stretch the quad), I did stabalization moves, I'm doing anything and everything I can to keep things feeling good and get them to be better. I have a few other exercises I plan to incorporate back in too (was wondering if they might be part of the tight inner abductor so I stopped them for a few days). Hopefully it will keep progressing. I'm working on a plan for things for the next few months, including a race that has been in my mind for a while....