Three Things

First running…I got up, got a decent run, if not a great one, this morning. I didn’t know how far I’d go, but ended up doing 9 miles. Again, not a great run, but an OK one. It started decent enough. Oh, and had I eaten more for breakfast, maybe I would’ve run more…Anyway, 5 miles into the run I am about 3 miles from my house, in an area that I know, or thought I knew, fairly well. There is Davanni’s Pizza. There is Blockbuster. Eden Avenue Grill is around the corner. The funeral home where both my aunt and uncle were laid out unfortunately is right there. Starbucks is there as well, but NONE of these places accounted for the delicious scents in the air. I noticed a sign up, that maybe I had just never noticed before, not sure, but it said Patissere Margo…what?? How could I not know of this place? I got home and instantly looked up the place online and the delights I found listed…oh my. I decided I must try it. Thought I’d go for breakfast tomorrow, however they aren’t open tomorrow, so I stopped there on my way to the gym. For today I only bought two regular croissants…I’d have just got one, but felt weird just buying one. So one was with dinner tonight and one is breakfast tomorrow if I get a longer run in. I should’ve gotten the cinnamon one too, but oh well…next time. At the gym I did strength train for 40 minutes, and biked for 30.

Two…rude people…I stopped at the grocery store on the way home to grab a couple of quick things, partly for dinner, some other necessary items. They were doing samples today and one was frozen pizza…sounded yummy. So I went to get a sample, and an employee had stepped up in front of me and was taking up the whole space…the guy doing the samples handed one over to me but I found it very odd. It’s not like this is a crappy grocery store either. It’s one of the upscale ones, in a nice area…ah well. Then I was checking out, self-check out (cause I kind of prefer it) and a woman comes up behind me, setting her stuff down on the very little space next to the self check, invading my space (granted I was done, but my receipt hadn’t printed yet and I was still gathering up my stuff) and thing is, it wasn’t like that was the only one available…there was another one, just a few steps further, on her way out…sigh.

Three…I know everyone means well…but unfortunately the sadness lingers. And you can only lean on friends for so long. Which is why the need to withdraw. If I don’t, they won’t be there later. You can drive people away wallowing and being sad for too long…unfortunately I’ve had to learn about the tolerance level people have too many times in the past and I’ve used up the sympathy on other things. And withdrawing is just the only way I know to deal. It’s starting…tonight in fact, I had the option of a BBQ, normally would’ve been a fun activity, only 2 people I knew would be there, the ones hosting, and it just didn’t seem like something I could handle today. That’s just how it is sometimes. Last night I was at a hockey game…that was enough for the weekend. Next weekend I have to deal with two days of things. And the weekend after three days…ughh…I just want to hole up at home. Is there anything wrong with that?

Merry Christmas to Me...

OK, I will be getting back to my goals, however, had to take a quick break away from that and blog a little running/workout related stuff.

So I mentioned the new TV that I bought myself right? It's only a 19", but flat panel, LCD Hi Def for my bedroom. However, I guess I was a really good girl because I bought myself some personal training sessions yesterday. I've had the basic routine, showing me how to use the equipment before, but never actual sessions. After my fitpoint assessment last week, I had a complmentary first session set up with a trainer (actually the head of the PT department at my gym) and we focused solely on upper body because, well, I have a wedding on January 31st that I'm in and we have strapless dresses. Anyway, they have a sale right now, 50% off sessions with a personal trainer, for new customers...well, I'm a new customer so I'm doing it. I bought 8 and am conteplating maybe 2 more, figuring on meeting with him every 3 weeks or so, that gets me through Boston and into the summer, can change up the sessions etc...did I mention he's really cute too?? :) Not as hot as my hottie at my old gym, but cute, too bad he's married!! Anyway, one other thing I'm probably going to do is a VO2 max test. They have the set up at my gym to do the VO2, the metabolic workout rates etc...they have another test for figuring out your resting metabolic rate too, but that one is just less important for what I do anyway. I can use this and figure out zones for doing heart rate etc...so we'll see. First session is 1/7/09. I have time for the workout he set me up on yesterday, and I have basically 5 weeks to the wedding to look good. Of course I don't want to outshine the bride (not possible, wait till I post her pics...her dress is so perfect for her!).

About to head to my parents. I had scheduled 8 miles for yesterday with 8x100 strides. I only had time for 6 before my training session, but did another 3 after...Today I was going to run 10, I was all ready to go and forgot to put on my Yaktrax...we have had a lot of snow (but it warmed up, was 10 today woo hoo!) over the last few days and going was very, very slow. It's like running on loose sand...I was exhausted by 6 so stopped at 8. 1 hour and 20 minutes...yeah, I had some 10:30 miles in there. Normal run for me, easy pace, 8:30...so yeah, the snow slows you down tremendously!

Anyway, if I don't get another post up before Thursday, Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it. And to those that don't, Happy insert holiday name here. For those traveling, safe travels.

I'm Alive...

I promise...man it has been a really long time since I posted though. Will have to suffice with a quick update today though and more when finals are over in just over a week...one more week of classes and then finals. Yikes. So while studying today I needed a study break and I hadn't run in 3 days. I NEVER take that long of a break. But Thursday I was at my parents and it was T-day and I was a bit hung over. Friday I was traveling back from my parents and wanted to clean when I got back to missed it then and yesterday I went to do my annual cookie baking with one of my friends and then went to the Gopher hockey game last night...so just no time yesterday. Today I'm studying but had to take a few minutes (OK, an hour and 10 minutes) to get an 8 miler in. It was slow going, partly due to the light snow covering in some places. I really should've had my Yaktrax on, but didn't think about it so had a few miles that were slower...it's hard to climb hills in slippery conditions at a faster pace. I'm so glad I ran when I did though...coming down a slight hill, heard a few birds making some noise, looked up and besides the black birds I saw a beautiful bald eagle fly over. I had never seen one in my neighborhood before. Was way too cool.

Alright. Time to read some business law...before more stats studying. Ughh...

Shoes for PF

Oh what a week. TGIF!!

So, I saw my chiropractor twice this week (I had a lot of tension in my shoulders that I wasn’t even noticing) and she also adjusted my foot/ankle and I had some massage and ultrasound done on my left foot/heel. It’s still sore, seems more sore this week, but then last week I put it through a very rigorous workout in anticipation of my relay (my team officially starts 2 weeks from today although I won’t be starting for a few hours yet, being runner 12). I’m prepared, or as prepared as I’m going to be for it. I’m just looking forward to the fun of meeting a bunch of new people and getting this experience!! Anyway, my chiro did get on my case about the shoes I was wearing, and I said I like barefoot and she said my foot won’t heal without proper care. She told me I should get some Chaco sandals…although on looking, I didn’t find many that were work appropriate. They had the sport/casual sandals, but nothing for work, or the ones that they used to have for work related have been discontinued and/or are only available in not so great colors. I did find a pair on Amazon I could live with though and ordered them (the blue pair). Set to arrive next week. On my second visit to the chiro this week I mentioned ordering the one pair but that they didn’t have good work shoes, she then told me about Dansko brand which I looked at and found a number that I like…and ordered the brown pair with the buckle to start and have these two I’m considering (I really like the brown but since I have the other style ordered in brown, I SHOULD just order the black and call 3 new shoes in a supportive style good for now…do I really need to spending this money?? No…especially when there are other things I want too!! But then this is for my foot, which I need to have healthy right?).

This weeks running. Ran with my running group on Tuesday and did 7 miles at an 8:34 pace. Not stellar but OK. Legs have been feeling kind of tired this week, and not sure why. I’ve been good about building up mileage slowly, but Tuesday’s wasn’t great, heel hurt but I ran an easy 4 on Wednesday and then Thursday got up for a tempo run that didn’t go nearly as well as last week’s. Last week I hit 7:55 pace for the 7 miles when that was supposed to be pace for the tempo miles. This week I did 8, managed 8:20 pace and only a 7:58 (due to a very close 8:30 pace for the 1st tempo mile). It also felt really difficult. I’m not sure if it’s because it was a morning run (haven’t been doing this and it could be I was sluggish and not ready for it), my legs were tired from the later night run the night before, or if there was some other factor…I think my eating was OK from the night before and I’ve done 10-12 before a meal before with no problem. Anyway, it’s something to think about (mainly I did the morning run because we were due to have storms and it was going to be warm and sticky last night, which it was, we had storms come through that had alarms going off in the building and we were supposed to go to sheltered areas, I was on a phone call that I couldn’t end because I needed some answers, a tree ended up going over on a couple of cars in the parking lot even, thankfully mine was not in that lot, it’s the executive/visitor’s lot). This morning I got up and did an easy paced 6 and will do the gym (strength and maybe bike) this afternoon due to more potential storms tonight. Tomorrow is a 14 or so miler with my running group. I have to be up early for it, but oh well. No real plans for the weekend which is good. I had almost forgotten a friend is on layover here for about an hour and a half tomorrow afternoon so I’m heading out to the airport to see him (have a few errands I can run around the area anyway so works nice) and have a coffee or something before he continues on. Then not sure about the rest of the day. I might keep the miles lower, even though I wanted to maintain same as last week (43) or more for this week…guess heel will dictate that. OK, the new shoes have to come soon!!

4th of July

Well, here is another week come and gone and very little blogging. I don’t know what’s wrong with me other than just not having the energy after a long day of work, workouts and what not to sit down and actually type something up. I’m also very, very far behind on people’s blogs…I think so as not to overwhelm myself, I might need to just start doing a read two people’s a night kind of thing and keep it at that…and get back to the doing the blog in the morning and pasting it at night when I can get online…I really hate that I can’t read them anymore during the work day!! I’m sorry, but is there anything wrong with taking a break and/or using my lunch (considering by law I’m technically allowed 2 15 minutes and a half!!) to read about my friends from around the country? It’s not like I’m surfing porn or something!!

Anyway, I think my last post was after my running group last Tuesday…the rest of the week went something like this:

Wednesday
Nothing much. Trip to Trader Joe’s, which I love, and then relaxing that evening. I had worked out in the morning and it was a rest day from running.

Thursday
Confusion could describe this one. It was warm but not too bad…I was doing the run in the evening and planned 7 miles with 5 at tempo. That meant, for tonight, 7:55 pace. Well the overall run was 7:55 pace. I started with a warmup of around 9 minutes and then the first tempo mile was 7:30 or so. A bit fast and during it I decided I wanted to do cruise intervals instead…then realized during the second mile, which would’ve been recovery for cruise intervals, that that was a copout and I should stick to the plan, so I picked it up and salvaged it a bit at 8:34 or so, not great if it was tempo mind you, but alright, next 3 miles were something like 7:33, 7:30 and I know last was 7:20…well, a bit better than the 7:55 so I guess I’m short changing on the tempos right now. Might need to rethink that!! After the run I cooked up my lasagna and had dinner and then was vegging and ready to go to sleep but roused myself and headed to my fav bar since I hadn’t been there and seen some friends in forever…caught up with them and had a nice evening.

Friday
Ended up having one more beer than planned on Thursday so crashed at a friends instead of going home and ended up with a later start than planned due to a stop for coffee and a few errands on the way home, but that was OK. I got home, ran 5 miles (in anticipation of trying for a 3 in 24 to practice for my upcoming relay) and then got myself ready and headed to a friends parents for 4th of July fun. Got there and an hour later we were on the pontoon on a small lake, cruising and swimming. There was another girl that is a marathon runner so we had good conversation and before we knew it, it was time to go back and have food…good grill out and chips and fun stuff and then we sat on the dock while others were on the pontoon…they came back, some left and the few of us remaining ended up going back on the lake to watch fireworks around the city. Nice evening and I was home at a reasonable hour, but was so tired I opted to sleep in and run later the next day.

We had the most perfect day too. 80 degrees, sun, very low humidity and no wind…we don’t get many of those in MN at all, and even less of them during the 4th (usually too hot or too cold) so it was awesome to have for once.

Saturday
Skipped morning run and started around 11…not a great idea since I was running during more heat and humidity than I’ve been exposed to so far this year. I ran 12, figuring I could quit a bit earlier if I needed to but toughed it out. There was walking…I didn’t bring water (I know, dumb) or my electrolyte tablets but I managed to struggle through at a 9 minute pace…all things considered I guess I should be happy with that. Had a lazy day and relaxed after that, got nothing done I had wanted to, but oh well…ran another 3 later that evening and called it a day (this was the real plan to get the 3 in 24, the 1 pm finish, 7:45 pm start and then a Sunday morning run). Watched some TV and went to bed.

Sunday
Got up and did a quick 4 miler, wore my Garmin and ended up with an 8:40 pace which isn’t bad considering I did 12 and 3 the day before…I guess I’m OK for the relay.
Later in the day met with a friend to go to a Shakespeare show at a local British Pub that was fun. I had the time off though, it was at 6 pm the last 2 Sundays and then yesterday and next week it’s at 3:30 for another thing going on that day too. So we were there early and ended up going to do mini golf that is at the city modern art museum and sculpture garden. The famous Cherry on the Spoon is housed here so I had to finally snap a pic of it on our way back for the Shakespeare thing.

Over burgers and chips (fries, we were at a British pub remember) and a srongbow cider for me and stella for my friend, we watched Shakespeare’s work, all 37 plays, done in 97 minutes (abridged of course) by 3 men in tights…needless to say it was quite humerous. Started with Romeo and Juliet, then a very quick run through the comedies, basically calling them all the same, then the histories which were done as a football game and finally ending with Hamlet…the pub we were at has a lawn bowling area on the roof, and the play was done in a corner and people were set up on blankets to watch. This same pub does movies on Mondays in August (British themed of course) and all for free…it was definitely a fun time and I might end up going again next week with different friends. But since they improv some of it it’s bound to have different parts to it and be just as fun again.

Monday
So that’s the recap/week in review. I had other things I was contemplating writing on, but they will have to hold till another time. This is long enough as it is. Had 2 30 minute strength sessions last week, 2 bike rides (at the gym) and managed 43 miles…seeing my chiro today!!

Running and Other Stuff

OK, I've been pokey in getting updates in. I used to do some typing up of blog posts still at work and then post them when I had access, but it's just been hectic and I haven't been able to. This week has been another busy one. Monday I laid low, Tuesday met a friend for a walk and then had to be for my first meeting with my training group on Tuesday at 7. That was cool and should be fun. They have Tuesday night runs at 6 pm and Saturday long runs at 7 am...I'm mostly not going to be doing them, 7 am is early for me, but this week I do plan to hit the long run, even though it's shorter a run than I was planning. We are meeting at my favorite running store, they are talking about gear before the run and AFTER we get a shopping day!! 20-30% off everything!! I'm planning to buy my marathon shoes and maybe some new shorts...I love the Nike Tempo Track shorts and even though I have 8 pair, I still want more!!

So my running this week. I did 5 on Monday, 7 of hills on Tuesday, up a big one, back down the other side, back up again and over the top...decent pacing so not bad. Wednesday I took off and met a friend for a bite and drink after work. I managed a run at lunch yesterday, tempo in the gym for lack of better options and no Garmin with me...8 minute miles average for 6 so not bad. Today I meant to run, but haven't been feeling well, stayed home from work even.

Less than a month to the relay now!! I'm looking forward to the trip. Looks like I'll have a day to spend in Portland, hanging out with part of the team and then the drive up and whole relay will be a fun adventure. I think I'm going to get a new memory card for my camera!!

Hmmm...

I'm tired...I'm definitely going to bed early tonight. I don't know what's wrong with me this week...well, I kind of do, but not sure yet if I'm going to talk about it. But I was up early again today, didn't see hottie...although I think he might have somehow been leaving when I was leaving...was he maybe swimming?? (if so damn, I KNEW I should be getting in that pool somedays) Anyway, haven't seen him still since last Tuesday, except that brief siting today. But got home after what felt like a very long day and I went for an OK 7 miler (well, 7.28, I'll explain) at an 8:30 or so pace. Ended up being 7.28 because I had been trying to turn off the alerts (I set them to keep me running fast during my mile) and hit the reset button, and at the end I wanted to know my final pace for my last mile...and then know the paces for the 7 (59:34). But back to being tired. I got home, ate some dinner, had my shower and now there is nothing on TV...I think that means I should go crawl into bed, watch a show or two on my PC that I have missed in the last couple weeks and call it a night. First have to get my bag ready for tomorrow of course.

Cabaret and a Run

Last night I went and saw the show Cabaret at one of the local theater companies. We had a deal through work for opening weekend discount tickets and myself and two friends took them up on it and went to see the show. Dinner before, a couple of beers at a local brew house and then off to the show. I wasn't very familiar with show, and it was very good, but not such a happy ending...but they can't all can they? I definitely didn't know the Germans had some of that in them though!!

Today started with me waking up too early (even though it wasn't an overly late night) at 7:30, got up, had a bite and picked a friend up to drive her to the airport...on the way back I stopped at the gym and did 6 miles on the track, 30 minutes on the bike and then went to Trader Joe's where I spent a small fortune on healthy for me stuff. I got a lot for the money though. Pretty much same amount when I buy crap other places so it's all good. I'm definitely trying to go for more healthy, so even bought milk there to try it. Actually not bad (I've found some milk, namely Oak Grove, I don't like) and doesn't have the hormones and crap in it. Anyway, stopped also at GNC so I could finally get some Accelerade to try and some Endurox R4 to try for recovery after workouts. I'm not good about eating after a workout and that is about the best way to take in some calories and the mix you need. Will try it tomorrow probably...or whenever I next strength train at least.

No snow today. So that's a good thing. We had the fun of going to the theater in a rain storm last night...ah well...at least it wasn't snow!!

Frustration…Resolved in 7

"It hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get any worse." - Ann Trason

So after the heel feeling OK after the 10 days rest and all that, I ran last Sunday easy, 2 miles, then biked two days, then ran Wednesday (thought I was short but maybe I wasn’t on the 3 I had mapped) and it felt good. Was going to run yesterday but weather forecast had today as better so I waited, and only biked yesterday and the heel was sore yesterday, and today…but I said enough. I’m tired of this and I don’t want to deal with it anymore. So I iced it, then I threw on running clothes and headed out. I think I had planned an easy 4…well, into the run, heel wasn’t really bothering (I have to reiterate here that I’ve never felt major pain, just a bruised feeling, kind of like I stepped really hard with it on a stone and it bruised) and as the run went on, it wasn’t hurt. Only thing that was is my cardio. My cardio has always been what keeps me going, or what tells me that I could keep going, my body, muscles, mainly legs, have always been the failure…fatigued…but the biking is building up the leg strength I think, and some of the light strength I’ve been doing, so now my cardio is down, but I’m going to build it back up because I decided today enough with the injury and I’m just going to run. Now I’m going to be smart about. I have been on light duty for 3 weeks so I’ll not run again till Tuesday, then every other day if I can manage it away (work trip this week) and slow build back on the mileage (hope to be back to 40 miles a week by end of May). Today I ran 7…and I averaged an 8:23 pace. Somehow. Maybe cardio isn’t THAT bad (this was just an easy run). I had one mile, fairly hilly one even, at 8:12 pace…and I hit the zone…that magical runner’s high place…and I went with it. That was in between miles 5 and 6…I just took off, and my legs were flying, and I felt detached from my body, and while I was only able to feel that for a few seconds before cardio gave out and I had to slow down, but still it felt simply…wonderful…

Grandma is meeting with her surgeon on the day after Mother’s day. She’s home. With an oxygen tank…hopefully all is good and things are fine for promoting surgery for her and that goes easy. I wish she would find out sooner but the surgeon is a busy man. I heart the internet…I searched him out on the hospital he works for. He’s the head of the cardiology department there. And he did his cardio thoracic residency at Johns Hopkins. If grandma has to have surgery, I want her to have the best surgeon…and he seems to be good.

Also…spring, that elusive season is finally rearing it’s head big time. Sun is out (after it looked to be a bleary day) and it’s at or close to 70. I cleaned up my balcony after my run. Cleared out the planters of the dead stuff that froze before I got it outlast year. I swept and washed the windows and now I’m sitting on my comfy chair, typing this and reading a book…soaking up the sun in a tank top and shorts. Have I mentioned that I love spring?

Hottie Day

A marathon is like life with its ups and downs, but once you've done it you feel that you can do anything. unknown

I think this quote so fits. If only everyone could really experience it!!

Well, it had to come one day…unfortunately my days of dashing off a quick blog post during work hours is gone…they have finally figured it out and banned it. So while I’m trying to keep a positive…this did dampen my day. I used to take a few minutes here and there to read peoples blogs when I had some downtime…I mean seriously…what do they expect, me to work all day??? Ah well…

This morning I wanted to sleep in…it was so tempting to reset my alarm, but knowing I’m meeting with my financial advisor this afternoon, and might meet a friend for a quick bite or something after a quick stop at the mall, I knew it might not happen if I slept in…so I got up, got to the gym, started my laps (was planning 7 cruise intervals, 3 of the intervals, 4 slow miles, but added one more mile of faster pace for a total of 8) when I noticed guess who on a bike…and all he did was bike today…so I had blissful joy of seeing him every lap for the first 5 miles…And then he was stretching, right by the track…ah…happy day (so worth not sleeping that extra hour)!! I don’t know my times for each interval, unfortunately…I didn’t have a working watch…I was going to use the one for my HRM which was in my bag, but apparently the battery is going dead cause I couldn’t get it to do anything but show me the time…ah well. I had an idea of the time overall and it was about 20 seconds per mile slower than Tuesday, which is fine. I’ve got 24 miles in for the week so far, 34 miles of biking too and 2 days of strength. I’ll have to get two more in yet this week, which shouldn’t be a problem since I’m doing shorter sessions…tomorrow and Saturday maybe…

Running, Trips and Weekend

Alright, I’m at work, and it’s going to be a busy, busy week…and I’m angry at myself for NOT booking my ticket to NY last week as the deal I had found, really good price, is now $20 higher (OK, not THAT big of a deal) but it was also better flight times and into and out of La Guardia vs. JFK…but what do you do? I guess I should book the other one I’ve found and suck it up, live and learn…prices are just going to go up right?

Running…last week I managed 40 miles. First 40 mile week in I don’t know how long. I was pretty happy with it. My plan included 10-12 for yesterday. I wasn’t sure which I would do, but while it was cold, I had the run going well enough that I stuck with it. I ended up doing 12 over the hills of my neighborhood at a 9:05 pace. This was 3 seconds per mile slower than last week, BUT, I did walk a portion of mile 10 (it ended up being 9:36) while messing with my MP3 to get to the right place in the book I was listening to. Had I not done that it would’ve been faster and that’s all I’m looking for…improvement each week. One of these weeks I need to expand the distance…I’d like to be regularly doing 10-15 miles until I start marathon training again. We’ll see. This week might be a good one for a cutback though, since daylight savings change will probably get to me by tomorrow or Wednesday and due to a special thing going on at work this week, I might be working some longer hours and not have the time to get out and run the way I’d like to anyway.

This morning I did get my workout in. 30 minute bike ride, 40 minutes of strength training…and no hottie to even motivate me!!

Weekend was pretty fun. Had a girls night out with friends on Friday, got a little rowdy but not too bad. Felt a little ill on Saturday morning, but was up, doing some cleaning and converting some CDs to my laptop…went to the gym for strength and a run but didn’t feel the strength so just ran and then went home to meet up with my roommate to hit a movie. We saw Definitely, Maybe which both of us enjoyed. Not quite as good as Love Actually (same people made both movies) but very cute…I got a little teary eyed at it…I had a bit of a panic attack on Saturday night…this I tend to come to expect during this time of year though. I guess panic attack is the wrong work, but a tinge of loneliness I guess was more like it, and the sadness I sometimes feel after drinking…I just cleaned and converted more CDs and it finally passed. Yesterday I didn’t feel I accomplished nearly as much as I would’ve liked, but oh well…this week and into the weekend hopefully I can get some big time cleaning done, as well as finishing the grad school essays I’ve been working on for the last month. Maybe I’ll leave the house and see if that motivates me to do something more!

Running Free

Remembering back to 2006…the year my running had a breakthrough. Without trying (I wanted to break 4 hours, that was my ultimate goal) I came within 2 minutes of qualifying for Boston. I had a lot of things going on in my life at the time. Nothing real great, and running took me away from it all…all I did was train. Running was the thing that kept me sane during that time.
Unfortunately last year was a complete flip of the coin. I lost my motivation to run, to a degree. It felt like a chore most times, and was almost never enjoyable due to my glute issue. I ran a total of 3 races, none of them marathons, longest was a 25K, and that was a bust of a run. Now I’m at a place where things are starting to feel better…finally…It’s not 100% yet. There are times when things really do bother still. BUT, and this is a big but since I haven’t been able to maintain constancy for a while now…but this week I finally managed a good week. I actually, technically, ran 6 days…in a row…One of those days was only a mile (after checking back over the day, I had not eaten enough protein and after a 30 minute bike ride had no energy for more than a mile). Friday though, I had a long run planned (it was going to be cold Saturday and Sunday), I wanted to do 11 miles…my pace, hoped to be around 9:15 or so…well, I managed 8:59…and that was with maybe a mile under some slippery conditions (I didn’t wear my yak trax because most of the roads were clear, even though we had had snow earlier in the day). Saturday I ran in the gym after a strength session, and it felt OK, but the big breakthrough of the weekend came today. I went out last night (surprise, surprise) and somehow got a little happier than planned…getting up this morning wasn’t great, I had a little bit of a bad discussion with a friend while I was drinking, thankfully that was resolved this morning, but while I wasn’t feeling good early in the day, I still opted to go to the gym (braved the cold to get there), needing to clear my head over some stuff going on and it just felt good. I think I had to have had a smile on my face for a big part of it, it felt good, and freeing…I even think I managed to run around an 8:45 pace…and it felt good. It was one of those runs where I could’ve just gone forever…had I eaten a bit more (and not been pushing it on the mileage, 33 was a bit more than I probably should’ve gone for the week, but I went with it) before it. I’m close to being back. And I know what I need to do to meet my running goal. I know the training I need to do. I have plenty of time to get geared into it. I have this goal…But I’m suddenly figuring out I have a problem too. OK, yes, I’m loving my independence, I need to the focus time, etc…and my family and a bunch of friends will all be there that day, to help celebrate the achievement or ease my disappointment (have to think both ways since there is always a chance of many things happening) but it’s such a huge goal for me, and I wish there was the possibility of someone special being there to urge me on…something I’ve never had, but really want. I did get that a little bit with L, even though he was never able to make it to a race…he was there to tell me how proud he was, even on bad days…and I wish there was that feasibility of someone being there for me this time…but like I said, it would also be a distraction that I just don’t need…I'm so messed up.

Weekend Shopping

Ah…what a weekend. Busy, but a fun one none the less. Friday ended up going out to the local place with my roommate and a friend. It was a fun girls’ night and the bar was hopping so talked to lots of people. Was a later night than planned and then roommate and I sat up talking till later still…ah well. I just can’t sleep in either, so was awake mostly by 8, out of bed around 9 but didn’t go to bed till 3…and I could’ve been up earlier!! I went for a 10 mile run that felt good, even managed a 9:12 pace (and it was finally some double digit temps, in the 20s even!) in some places that were a bit slippery in a few spots. I got home, took a bath and then a nap and thought about going shopping…but instead was lazy and did some cleaning and just vegged around the house…till about 8 when roommate and I decided to head out for a bite to eat…after we ate, she suggested we weren’t far from the hangout, so we went down there to see who was around. It was a bit more quiet, but we chatted with a friend for a while and then headed home…

Again I was not able to really sleep in, and then tried to do the Sunday call to mom and dad and THEY WEREN’T THERE! Ended up talking to a friend about the shopping we had discussed and agreed to meet around 1:30…I stopped at Marathon Sports first, and bought some new shoes!! And a couple of tops, some sports wash and yaktrax (I had a 25% off thing and decided to splurge). Then at the mall I found 3 tops for work at one store, then two pairs of shoes that I just had to have cause they were cute AND on a good sale…OK, I might return the pewter ones because the bronze was the one I really wanted but at first they didn’t have it in my size, but the guy looked and happy day, he found them…I also got some new jeans (Lucky brand cause they were on a good sale) and a new casual top…plan had been a new winter coat too, but by this point I was tired and just couldn’t focus…too many to choose from and I’m not sure anymore what I want!! But I figure I did my part to help “stimulate the economy” by pre-spending the tax rebate that we probably won’t get (and really shouldn’t be getting since we are in a deficit anyway, but that’s a whole other can of worms). I got home from shopping and had just poured a glass of wine when a friend called about going for a margarita (for her and a Dos Equis for me) and some aps at a good nearby Mexican place…so we did that. It was a later night than normal for me and pretty busy for a Sunday, but oh well.

Mall of America

Well, we have had some nice weather over the weekend and while I got a nice 9 miler in on Saturday (averaged a 9:30 pace, not bad, but not where I’d like to be, but I guess it’s a start), Sunday, which ended up being the nicer of the two days was a bit of a wash. Didn’t get out for it early and then had a friend call and in a moment of weakness I agreed to go to the Mall of America (affectionately called the Monstrosity of America by me) to do a couple of errands. Even though it was Sunday, and even though it was middle of the afternoon. It wasn’t terrible, although there was a cheerleading competition going on in the rotunda and that had a big crowd and happened to be right by one of the places we needed to be, but it was kind of cool cause the Gopher cheerleaders were there and they are competing at nationals on ESPN in a couple of weeks. Was kind of cool to see live. After the mall we made a stop at IKEA, which is always fun. They build the largest IKEA in the US right by the MOA so it makes for easy stops at the two. Ended up finding fun stuff there, nothing that I HAD to have (except the plain tealight candles) but stuff I felt I needed at the time…and all useful!! So anyway, while it was warm and sunny out, I was in the mall, but that’s OK. Had fun shopping time with my friend and that’s important too right? I did manage to get 19 miles in in the 3 days that I did run though, along with 54 miles biking and 3 days of strength training so not a bad week…if only I hadn’t drank too many beers on Saturday and blown my calories for the week. I do need to get back on track with my diet, that’s for sure!!

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and while it was to be close to 40 today, the temps are coming down…sigh…hopefully I can get a run in tonight and enjoy the day before we lose it…then HAVE to get some cleaning done. I need to get things in order so I can get my house back on the market and hopefully sold this time!!

Anyway, not much of an update, but I wanted to write something…maybe some other exciting things will happen in the next couple of days and I can write something more exciting then.

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.

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.

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...

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

Training Week 1 of 5 for 25K

First training week went OK. Granted I was already in the middle of the week before I put the plan together, but I did finish it as I laid it out, well, almost. My plan called for 6 mile tempo run on Friday (4 miles at tempo pace of 8:30), unfortunately the heat was up around 93 and the dew point was around 70 and it was just too warm to do it. Not to mention I don’t think I ate well enough for the run either. I was feeling weak, like I needed fuel, but, at the same time, I was feeling nauseated and I think if I had had anything more to eat I would’ve thrown up on the run (it was definitely heat related). I got home and took a cold shower and had a nap. It was just a bit too brutal. Later I went with friends out for drinks and was up too late (already having decided to move my long run to Sunday) as I found out a band was playing near home so we went there and watched that till bar close, then I crashed out and didn’t even hear the nasty storm that came through. I was up on Saturday morning doing some cleaning and chatting with a friend before going out for some food and to run some errands. I was pretty lazy most of the day but managed a 6 mile easy run around home and then just stayed in watching movies before getting to bed around midnight. Sunday I got up and took off for a 15 miler and not wanting to delay more than I already had, I skipped breakfast which was probably not a good idea. I made it through the run but only managed a 9:46 pace, and considering I had done 17 last long run at a 9:10 pace, I definitely needed something more. I managed 35 miles for the week though, and some stretching, working the yoga in this week hopefully.

Sunday I vegged a bit at home most of the afternoon and then ended up going grocery shopping and managed to buy mostly good for me things…I tried to stay away from the middle “bad for you” aisles of processed foods. It’s unreal how expensive it is trying to eat healthy though. For one it’s hard to find bread. Wheat breads can be very dry, and I’m not a big fan of that, I like it a little more moist, but I want it healthy, and lower calories if possible (all bread seems standard at 100 calories or more a slice). However, you find lower calories and it has High Fructose Corn Syrup in it, and/or it’s low in fiber or has enriched and not whole wheat flour. Why is it everything has HFCS’ in them? I mean seriously, we know, or it’s coming out more and more that it might be a huge contributor to ADD, yet EVERY food seems to have it in. What is wrong with real sugar? Gatorade/Powerade…a runner’s friend…second ingredient is HFCS…it just sucks. I would love to get away from processed foods, I’m making an attempt at it, and trying to reduce HFCS (problem is I have a HUGE sweet tooth) but it’s so hard, not to mention it’s so expensive. It’s no wonder Americans get fatter and fatter…the cheapest way to eat is crap. I did make one new find I’m excited about though. They have a cheese that has the “good bacteria” for digestion on the market, in strips and in cubes, so I bought some to try it…if I notice a difference I’m going to decide it’s worth having once a day…until I can maybe convince myself to eat yogurt…I’m just not a fan of the texture of it…

Anyway, tonight, hopefully getting a shorter run in, but if not, that’s OK…L is back and we are going to get together. Last night he was getting into town late, I had suggested if he wanted he could come by, but it was even later than he had hoped and it just didn’t work logistically. I was a bit disappointed when I woke up and realized he wasn’t going to stop by. This weekend in Chicago should be fun though. I’m now taking off early on Friday and probably taking the full day off on Monday, but we’ll see what happens.