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....

A Run at Last

For those that read here on a fairly regular basis, you know I’ve been dealing with a tight glute/hamstring or some issue for quite some time and it has made running uncomfortable and not much fun at all. I was on the verge of giving up running all together after my 25K on September 9th. I only ran 9 miles from 9/10 - 9/16 and from 9/17 - 9/23 I didn't run at all.

During my week off last week, I was working on all I could do to work on the stability in my hips, which are probably the biggest problem. I've been doing exercises to work the inner and outer hip abductors and trying to stretch all sore and potentially sore areas along with the stability exercises. By not running, I thought things would improve, however, I was having a tightness in the hamstring that was different from what I had had before so I asked L if I could get a massage on Saturday and he worked on the trouble leg for about 40 minutes. He found tightness in my inner left abductor that I had been unaware of, and also tightness in my hamstring and he thinks it might be a quad problem so worked on areas in there. I had also been having some tightness in my inner knee, but that seems to be a joint issue and I’m just icing to try to get that feeling better. Finally he worked in the glute again and that wasn’t quite as tight as it has been, so something must be working. Anyway, after it was all worked out, I felt better, still a bit tight on Sunday but I decided I was going to try a run last night.

I dressed in some of my favorite running things including a fun pair of shoes I almost never wear because they are more my racing shoes for shorter distances. I went out and things seemed to be feeling OK, although I felt some tightness along the left shin. I hesitate to use the words “shin splits” because a PT once informed me that after age 13-14 for girls shin splints are more just a generic term for pain in the area…anyway, that is kind of what I was feeling, a tightness around the outer left shin a little bit when going uphills. I tried to be sure I was running “normal” and not babying the left side, but must’ve been doing a little of that. The results of the run though were favorable. I didn’t wear a watch, but it felt like a moderate to slightly fast pace, I did 3 miles and stopped to stretch each mile. When I got done I did more stretching, used my scaro wedgy and later, after talking to L, and on his suggestion, used my stick on my shin and then on my hamstring. I seemed to have loosened up the hamstring some more and I iced both the shin and knee as well

I at least it seems to be having some improvement and maybe eventually it will all be fine and I can start focusing on future runs again. I’m taking today off, although will be stretching and doing the icing, then tomorrow I’ll head out for another 3-4 and continue an every other day thing, slowly building up and seeing how things hold up. I have no specific races, but I found the World Run Day that I think I want to do on November 11. Just have to decide on a distance...

New Life

Part of me has been composing this blog since Sunday…but I haven’t had the pictures (kept forgetting my camera) so I wanted to hold till I could put them all together. Not to mention work has been so crazy busy that I haven’t had the time to write anyway. It’s still busy, don’t get me wrong, but I wanted to spend a couple of minutes on it before I head into the rest of the day. Today is no ranting about how the GMAT sucks, or questioning what I’m going to do (maybe another day this week), nor is it about my running, which hasn’t been going well or much at all, but that’s OK and I’m working on a plan for that, probably to be revealed later as well. Nope, this one is about a new life.

These are pictures of baby Sabrina Brianna. Born Saturday night at 11:43 pm to a couple of my best friends. I’ll say a couple of my best friends because that is what they are. I’ve known H and J only together. Met H in 1995 or 1996 at a company we both worked at. While J was living in another state at the time, about 7 hours away, I met him shortly after I had gotten to know H and while she went back and forth on things with the relationship and spent time debating marriage or break up, they eventually ended up married and I was in the wedding as a bridesmaid, with the option to be the best man had I wanted to be (I was even invited to the bachelor party, only bachelor party I’ve ever been invited to and had to pass cause my mom and dad were in town, sigh). So having known them as long as I have, obviously they are good friends and I’ve known them through the good and the bad…well, Saturday was a final good for them. They had their first, Colin, 4 years ago in November, Alex just turned 2 on the 10th and now baby Sabrina. At 7 lbs 10 oz, she was bigger than both brothers and mom did notice that when she made her way into the world. She also took a bit longer but worth the wait according to mom and dad. These pictures were taken at 11 am, so she’s not quite 12 hours old at this time.

Now I post these, and I was there to see her pretty much as soon as visiting hours were underway. H called me just after 8 and we talked a while then I decided might as well get in the car and go see her. With very little sleep and having just given birth, H didn’t look bad at all either. And Sabrina was sleeping when I got there…very cute little thing isn’t she? Anyway, what I find with seeing her and the other two and hearing stories etc from people…I think I’m defective. Honestly, I can see babies and think they are cute, but other than friends kids, I really don’t care about holding them or anything. And seeing one does not make my uterus jump, or flip or skip or anything else I’ve heard people use to describe their desire for another child. I keep waiting for this instinct to kick in, and while seeing H pregnant and feeling the baby move intrigued me, I’m curious as to what it feels like when it’s coming from the inside, it still doesn’t intrigue me enough to want to deal with 1) getting it out (I’m not a big fan of pain) and 2) dealing with the responsibility of this being for the rest of your life scares the bejeezus out of me. All my friends seem to be very baby oriented and all about kids, and I’m getting to that age where that clock should be ticking right?

Life is Not Fair

OK, yes, I learned a young age, when I said "that's not fair" to my mom...her response? "Life's not fair." And honestly, it really isn't...I got my official scores on Friday from the GMAT office...I hate them, have I mentioned that? Anyway, had my writing scores included. Now the writing score doesn't figure into the overall. When you hear people discuss GMAT scores they are talking their verbal and quantitative scores combined, you know, the 600, the 720, the 615 that is the average of admitted Carlson students (way, way higher than my mediocre score) with a 3.3 GPA (mine is either 3.6 or 3.7)...anyway, the writing score is a 1-6 rating (maybe 0-6, but I'm not sure on that) and I figured I'd end up with an average 3-4 rating which is good enough for acceptance...nope, I had to get a 5.5. Yeah. Nice. Why couldn't I have just done 50 points higher on the other sections and then I'd have much less to think about and not much for worry in applying. Sigh...The writing is 1) analysis of an issue. You are given a section to read and the statement at the end you have to show why or why not the conclusion is a good one. 2) Analysis of an argument, you state why the argument is good or not. Well, apparently I'm good at both of those. Even my verbal score is OK, enough above average that I'd probably at least be considered, but that quantitative is so low...the real sad thing is though, I know my math is not the greatest. I can learn it, I can do it when I'm being shown what to do, but it's not a strong suit of mine and doesn't remain in my memory so I didn't chose a field that I need it. And for an MBA, I was planning to stay away from Finance and Accounting for an area of study for that reason...

So back to GMAT...math screwed me over, the writing were business based issues and I did well at them...so really, is it fair that my mind understands business, that I can see issues and analyze good and bad about them, and I know I would excel in the program and it would help me in my current job, but just because I haven't had math related things in the last 8-12 years that I can't do a graduate program...stupid standardized tests...and I normally excel at them...

TGIF

OK, yes, it's been a rough week, well rough beginning to one. I know, I know, I owe an race report and updates but I haven't much felt like it because there just hasn't been good stuff to report. I will attempt a race report at some point though, just to report why it wasn't a great race...but the GMAT threw me for a loop. After finally getting some respectable scores, scores that would've been fine to apply to places, on a few practice tests I took, I went in for the real thing on Monday and bombed. And no, that isn't an exaggeration. I don't know how I did on the essay part yet, that has to be graded separately, but the multiple choice, verbal and math I got the score instantly (after having an option of not reporting the score which I should've done) and it was not good. Let's just say I will not get into Carlson on that score and that is really the only MBA program around me that I want to apply for. IF my work experience was fantastic, and I could write some stellar essays I might have a chance, but with the score and some lackluster other areas, I just don't know. My boss thinks I should still apply (and then if I don't get in, retake the test and reapply), L thinks I should plan to retake the test and get a tutor etc to help me and then apply...thing that sucks is that I really, really wanted to start in the spring. I was looking forward to starting classes again. I like school. I've always done well in it, when I try and want to do well, and it's been long enough that I'm so ready...heck, I was even looking at what classes I was going to take and what days (schedule is tenatively up), just was debating how many I was going to take...sigh...my plans and career goals are now all messed up. I never expected this. I'm good at tests, particuarly standardized ones. Without much studying I did quite well on the ACT, I always scored in top percentiles on Iowa Basics tests...I don't know what happened. I never have test anxiety. I was calm and relaxed and honestly, based on the difficulty of the questions (at least my perception of the difficulty) I really thought I was doing well...

I Ran...

And it wasn't pretty. I'll try to get a full race report in the next day or two, but right now focus is on the test. I take that this afternoon and afterward I'll try to get a report and some stats. Depending on the test, maybe an update on that too. Tonight I'm going to relax....let's just say though, I hurt, the race would've been better had I not started too fast (first split was 8:15...umm...yeah...). I have about 3 hours before I am heading over to study a bit more and then take the test...sigh...Oh, no idea my placement overall, but my time was somewhere between 2:22 and 2:23, not chip timed, and the startline was confusing so I don't know if I started my watches (GPS and HRM) at the right spot either.

GMAT

Now I’m worried. Last night I took a practice test from the GMAT people themselves. I didn’t take my time on it and kind of pushed things a bit, but still I did try my best (I had lots of time left so I know I didn’t spend enough time trying to do things) and to say I did poorly was an understatement. If that was my score, no MBA program for me. And I only have tonight, tomorrow and Sunday to study up and be prepared for Monday afternoon. I should almost take Monday morning off too, but as of right now I’m planning to work half a day, trying to do as little looking at the computer and getting eye strain and tired from it before the test as I can. I went to the library at lunch today and checked out Algebra II for Dummies as well as a few other text books and things…I should’ve done that a lot sooner. Anyway, the reading and other things were just as bad as my math last night too, and that’s the part that is supposed to be bringing my score up…sigh…no idea what is going to happen on Monday. All I know is I need about 100 points more than I got on the practice one last night…Have I mentioned how much I hate math? All those times we were told “you’ll use this in your life”…ummm….yeah…I did do well in high school (and college) algebra. I understood it, but obviously I haven’t used it in real life or I would still remember how to do it! When I see a problem like this:

x + 1 - x + 2 = 0
x – 3 x - 4

and it’s asking for the value of x, I tend to freak sometimes…OK, that one isn’t super hard, but it’s also not easy and it’s not something I see everyday so how should I remember how to do something like that! Of course the stupid book is telling me “those who approach the GMAT as an obstacle and who rail against the necessity of taking it usually don’t fare as well as those who see the GMAT as an opportunity. Those who look forward to doing battle with the GMAT are insane (OK, it doesn’t say that, but you know), or, at least, who enjoy the opportunity to distinguish themselves from the rest of the applicant pack, tend to score better.

I know I have to take it, I’m not railing against it, I just see where it has opportunity for being done differently as I’m not in a field that uses math, business math isn’t algebra, (or geometry) and I don’t use math on my job in any sense of the word anyway…and standardized tests (and I tend toward doing well on them) are not a good test of how someone is going to do in college anyway, why is this torture done?? Sigh…

So my weekend will consist of studying, studying and more studying, with a 25K on Sunday.

Roses and Puppies

I’ve been trying all week to do an update and now almost a week has gone by and none of the great things I’ve been wanting to write about have managed to hit my blog. Sigh…work has been hectic, which is a good thing. I like my job and I like being busy and having lots of things to work on and being able to go new places and try new things and I have all these other things I want to do eventually with this position…it’s a position I control. I can make it go where I want it to because it’s a new position. I’m the first one in it…it’s kind of cool…but also keeps things busy!! (Roses from my balcony)

I got my race number this week. Yep, that’s right, I’m running a 25K on Sunday that I’m really not ready for. Can I go the distance? Of course. Even though I only ran 8 miles total last week (yeah, think I took taper a bit far!), but I did run a 17 miler 2 weeks ago, so yes, 15.5 is nothing. I’ll probably shoot for a 1.5 mile warm up before the race and get an even 17 for the day too. Seems to be the way I’ve been going. A longer run of 15-17 miles about every other week and I guess that’s fine. I might do a 10 mile race with some college friends that I haven’t seen in forever the end of October, unless I end up visiting friends in Idaho…I’m still looking for tickets to see them.

The weekend was nice. I like long weekends. It gives time to relax. And with L out of town (whom I do miss, didn’t expect to miss him quite this much, but thankfully he’s been able to call me the last couple of days and he does get home Monday and I’ll see him Tuesday) it gave me plenty of time to focus on stuff I need to get done. I cleaned the house Saturday, and I got it nice and clean. I found two skirts that had been lost in my closet, made things sparkly, thoroughly cleaned my bathroom and kitchen, even started in my garage, although that needs more work. I managed to study some for that test and have this weekend yet to cram, and I went to visit friends I hadn’t seen in a while on Monday. All in all a nicely relaxed weekend. Sunday I made a fantastic dinner of grilled chicken breast (bone in with skin) on the grill with rosemary stuffed in the skin (fresh rosemary I have growing on my patio) that came out so excellent…nice and golden brown, so juicy and good and the leftovers will make a fantastic chicken salad tonight. I also made some parmesan oregano and parmesan basil potato wedges…both so yummy. Yes, I’m proud of my food from Sunday night! I also had a glass of good wine with them, that turned into 2, and then I was watching Marie Antoinette and suddenly the bottle was gone…ooops…not something I do often so that’s OK. I have wine that has been in my house for 2 years almost that I haven’t drank so obviously I’m not that bad that often! Was having a dream that night that I had a headache though and then Max barked at a someone walking their dog (at 4 am!) and woke me up (but he's just so cute) and lo and behold I had a headache…oh well…the screaming, squealing 1 year old outside my windows at at 7:30 am didn’t make me too happy either, but I survived…

My week…not much for running. So far 4 on Tuesday, a 2.5 mile walk last night will shoot for 6 tonight if it’s not too terribly hot for Max and then tomorrow off, Saturday an easy one and the race on Sunday…other than that, I’m studying. That’s it. I get home and put in 2-3 hours going over stuff. Tonight I’m taking a practice test (computer one) then I have one more paper and one more computer one to do over the weekend and test is Monday afternoon…hopefully it goes well.

(Max at Lake Calhoun getting a drink, he's not dainty about it)

And I Almost Forgot...

I mentioned I was going to run that 25K...I haven't talked much about it since and haven't really managed the training I wanted to, but today I registered, it's 9/9...I guess I'm committed...I'm also taking the GMAT, I registered for that yesterday, it's 9/10...going to be a crazy 10 days.

Dogsitting

So mom and dad went out of town, they are on their way across Montana and other areas, getting to see one of my best friends on the trip too and it makes me jealous, but oh well, hopefully soon I'll be able to go see her myself. Anyway, Max is not a good traveler. He gets homesick. He would have to stay a lot in the truck (which honestly, he doesn't mind, he'll spend all day in that truck just waiting for it to go somewhere). But because it's kind of a pain, mom and dad asked me to watch him. I hemmed and hawed about it, wanted to have options to go out of town this weekend (I've had him a week actually already) but then realized well, L is out of town this weekend anyway, so I might as well have Max keep me company. This is how much of a helper he is. On Wednesday night I studied for the GMAT, took a break and watched an episode of Friends (I'm working my way through all 10 seasons which I purchased in May) then decided to review a bit more before going to sleep, while in bed...and this is how Max helped. He wouldn't even let me pull back the covers!

Last weekend he got to spend time with me at L's place downtown...he had a busy weekend. We went over and hung track lighting while drinking beer (L got a beermeister and had it filled with a yummy winter ale from a buddy of his that brews beer for distribution). Then Sunday we primered the walls in the area where he is doing construction...then ordered pizza and watched a movie. All this work tired Max out. It's hard to watch I'm sure.

I also have a pic of L with Max, but probably better not publish that without L's permission, since he does read this blog...Max told me it was OK to include him. He knows he's cute.

Clipping In, and Out

OK, so I've heard and read horror stories of crashes and problems with the clipless pedals on a bike. You know, the ones that allow you to not only get momentum on the down cycle of a ride, but on the up as well, actually allowing you to bike more efficiently AND work the quads and hams...I've never tried them before, but seeing as how L is a former bike race, works with teams and coaches, that's of course how he rides, and he's set up a bike for me with the cages (which I haven't used) but I was curious about the clip ones, and he had some shoes that are too small for him, and with insoles and socks, they did fit me pretty well...and of course he has a bike with the pedals...so yesterday I attempted it, and without a word on how to do it (he helped me get into the clips) I turned my foot, the way I'd heard other people describe it, and how I've seen people do it, and I clipped out...and didn't hurt myself!! Of course....I was on a trainer.....so the chances of my getting hurt were pretty much zero...but still....I did clip in (second time on my own) and out...now I might end up trying it sometime on a real bike, on a ride! L actually has a bike he just told me he's getting converted over with parts for me, that, if I so chose, I could use for a tri sometime...he's also suggesting it for some rehabbing for my issue that's been affecting my running, with some other device he was going to get to try out on me...we'll see....

Chicago Weekend Recap

Alright, finally a quick update at least of last weekend.

So as you saw from my post and picture, the team I was there supporting won and that was awesome, unfortunately the weather wasn’t great for the weekend and there were a few bad crashes, thankfully nothing for the Kelly team and I only heard of one instance of someone going off in an ambulance.

We flew to Chicago on Friday night and after our arrival at the hotel, went to get a bite to eat. Where we were staying, chain restaurant capital of the world. Seriously. If you wanted a chain restaurant, it was in this vicinity. We went driving down the road, figuring we’d go wherever looked good. Ended up at probably the only non-chain place in the area too. I had a reasonably good taco salad and raspberry beer (it was a brew pub) but no one else was impressed with what they had. Oh well. It was food. We went back to the hotel then and went to bed as it had been a long day. Unfortunately the Hilton Garden Inn we were staying at had very thin walls (now wouldn’t you think a newer hotel would be built better so as to keep noise out) and people were being loud so it was hard to get to sleep, not to mention sleeping in a double bed with two people isn’t great either, but oh well.

Saturday morning we were up and running errands and then over to the race site to set up the tent. I was helping out with the vendor tent, trying to encourage people to sign up to win a bike. We didn’t have a great turnout, but it wasn’t too bad. We had the ability to chat with people and that was fun on occasion, but unfortunately it got cold. We closed up in time to see the guys race finish, but most of the Kelly team had pulled out as they were told to avoid crashes and there was one early on and the big race was on Sunday. After the race we were back to the hotel to relax a bit, then L and I went to get a bit of food, nothing too exciting, we ended up at basically an A&W Restaurant, food was OK…

Sunday morning up earlier to be able to get out to the site for the earlier starts. (and no time for a run, which I hadn’t had time for on Friday or Saturday either, so my plans for the week of running cut from the planned 38 to only 22) More bad weather and not many people but we did our best. Closed down in time to see the last third of so of the race and it was an exciting thing to watch with the way the guys were riding. Seeing the win was awesome. We headed back to the hotel, showered off, loaded up and were on the road back to Minneapolis by 7:30 pm…it is about a 7 hour drive normally and with the rain and bad conditions we drove about 4 ½ hours and around midnight stopped for a bite and to sleep. We made the rest of the way back early on Monday morning and made it back by noon, not in enough time for the noon plans L had, but he cancelled them and we took a brief nap at my place and then he went home and I slept a bit longer, deciding not to come in for the half day I had planned, and I didn’t even run on Monday like I had wanted to. Oh well. All in all a fairly fun if not extremely busy weekend. Unfortunately I hadn’t gotten to see the friends I had planned on seeing and didn’t have numbers to call others so it wasn’t quite what I had originally planned either, but oh well. With luck I’ll be having lunch with some of them tomorrow and maybe see others on another trip.

So for the week last week running was a bust. This week, I’ve managed to get a 5 miler on Tuesday, and 9 last night, which is OK…Tuesday I was really tight by the end and last night I was really tight in the first 2 miles but loosened up, unfortunately I tired my foam roller after and I didn’t get anything loosened up the way I had wanted to. I think I need L’s help on this one.

Tonight, after work, I’m driving to meet my parents to have dinner and get their dog from them. They are going on vacation for the next two weeks and Max doesn’t get to come along…so he will be with me for the next two weeks…hopefully he’s not as naughty as he can be at times when he’s “abandoned”. At least maybe he’ll be happy that it’s only him and not another dog going to be there. He might enjoy that at least. We’ll see though. I might take him out for some runs with me. He’s a Jack Russell so lots of energy, although he’s gotten a little lazy….

National Criterium Champs

I don't have time for a big update right now, but I wanted to post this picture. It is of the Kelly Benefits Strategies Team. This is with about 12 laps (1 mile per lap) to go in the race, my first view of the team in front. It was very cool cause I was in a Kelly Jersey at the time too. I had gotten into position on the 2nd to last turn of the course and just got ready to take what I hoped would be cool pictures, not knowing that the team had made a move into the front spots and that they would pretty much stay there for the remainder of the race.

You’re Kidding Right?

OK, so I’m flying to Chicago for the weekend. Leaving today around 4:50. It’s just the weekend, and we are driving back. This all came up because the pro bike team L works for is competing in the National Criterium Championships in Downer’s Grove over the weekend and he is flying down today and driving back so suggested I should come too. I found a cheap enough ticket and thought why not, so we fly down tonight after work and then drive back on Sunday after the last race. I was going to visit friends while there and still hope to see them, but now I also got invited to work at a booth the team has up and get paid decent for it so I said sure…since the liquid ban, the times I’ve flown, I’ve checked my bags cause it was just easier…due to it just being a weekend, I thought what the heck, I’m going to carry my bag on and deal with the bag for my personal items…I knew it was a quart bag and found that I didn’t have any around, so I ran (literally, didn’t feel like driving later, needed a run of 6-7 miles and it’s about 3.5 to the grocery store) and got bags, came home, opened the box and looked at the bag. You’re kidding right? I’m allowed to carry liquids, in 3 oz or smaller containers, onto the plain as long as they are in ONE, one quart, see through, zip top bag…umm…yeah. Maybe for a boy. As a woman, and one that wears contacts, my smallest saline solution bottle is 3 oz. That takes up 1/3 of the bag. Then I need deodorant, well, thankfully I have a sample size of that to bring, but if I wanted to bring shampoo and conditioner, shaving cream, face lotion, make up (thankfully I don’t wear foundation) and any number of other things I could include, there is no way it would all fit in that bag. I have to buy gel when I get there cause I don’t have a small enough one anyway. I’m going to use the shampoo at the hotel, will buy razors and am not bringing along my body glide (which I bet I’ll regret if I get my 12 miler in this weekend like I want to, but it just won’t fit in that bag) but it still barely fit…it sucks!! And really, in the grand scheme of things, does it really prevent anything or is it just a way to appease us in thinking that our safety is being handled? And on that note, has anyone seen this?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20298840/site/newsweek/from/ET

The Issues Continue

Alright, so while I made mention of finishing the training week last week, one thing I didn’t mention is that my leg was still having issues. I haven’t said much about the true nature of the problem and I thought maybe blogging about it might help.

Probably about 10 years ago, maybe more, I noticed an issue with my right hip. It was a problem mainly when it comes to sleeping. I would lay on my side and it would bother me. Not so much pain as it was just “uncomfortable”. Also on long drives, particularly when I am driving, that area would bother. It was basically in my sciatic area, although it was not something easy to define. I had seen a doctor for it, and she told me it was bursitis. I lived with that for a long time. Then in 2001 I finally saw a PT. It was convenient (at the place I worked) and free…so that worked. He did a fantastic job. He worked it with an ultra/sound, he had me doing exercises and he lectured me on all kinds of “bad behavior” (like crossing legs and not having good posture on the elliptical). He also got me to start running. He kept pushing me to run, I told him it bored me on the treadmill as I liked reading on the elliptical, he suggested books on audio…I thank him much! (and wish I knew where he worked now as I would see him again even having to pay for it) I stopped seeing him unfortunately and hadn’t quite been fully healed and of course I had regression.

I started in a new job and decided to see another PT and get it adjusted. Well, this PT was awful. She just had me do resistance exercises with her and a few on my own, didn’t help much and I stopped after a few sessions as it wasn’t worth it.

Chiropractic had been suggested to me as well, but I was leery about it. I finally had a recommendation for one that insurance covered and I went to see him. He helped some, but it still didn’t quite get what the first PT had done. Then I was having some issues with my left IT Band (remember, it was my right hip/sciatic area that was the problem, which makes sense to a degree that it's the left area that has more problems, oppposites and all) and I went to see another Chiropractor who also provides active release therapy. My insurance didn’t cover him but I thought it was worth a try since he was highly recommended. He helped some, but it still didn’t fully take care of things. Last I saw him was in 2005. After Chicago I took time off, relaxed running wasn't sure about another marathon, but finally decided maybe and got more serious and into building up again.

I trained really well, really hard in early 2006 and everything felt fantastic almost EVERY run…very few bad runs and I hated rest days because things felt so great. I ran my marathon PR in June 2006. Just before my run, things were feeling a bit tight, but nothing major. I saw a massage therapist who had been recommended just a few days before my race and everything was great race day. I took a bit of rest, probably not enough though, and started up training for Marine Corp in October 2006. Goal was getting a BQ since I had been so close without actually shooting for it in June…anyway, things bothered me all that training, things were tight (all on the left side) and it just never felt great. I saw the massage therapist again and this time it wasn’t quite so great. That run was so so, but fell far short of my goals (I was 2 minutes ahead of pace at the half and then finished in 3:56).

Since October runs just haven’t been great. I run, and there are maybe a few that have been OK, but everything feels so tight most times. My glute is the biggest issue. Both sides have tightness, but the left is by far the worst and sometimes causes issues down my left leg. Shorter runs aren’t terrible, but longer runs (at least over 10 miles, the 15 this weekend was a part problem) really cause an issue of tightness all the rest of the day. I’ve had massage done on it, nothing consistent though and I just don’t know what to do about it. Another Chiro has been suggested and I’m willing to do that, but need to wait till January due to insurance things (I’m on a deductible plan again and if I’m going to be spending a lot I need to wait till I change to the lower deductible) to try it. I think getting consistency in massage work would be part of it. I might have to break down and start getting a massage on a once a week basis to try to get it loosened up...maybe more…and yes, I have someone that can help with that, unfortunately it being his regular job, I don’t feel right asking him for one. If it’s offered, I’m always willing to take him up on it, but the inconsistency in the timing of when it can be worked on, and the fact that I’m just not one to ask for help (I’m the one that if someone asks what I’m doing on Saturday and I am…oh say painting, and they ask me if I want help, I’d say sure, but if they say hey, maybe we can do something later in the day, I’d never suggest hey, if you help me, I can meet up with you sooner as it will be done sooner, just not good about asking for help as I hate to inconvenience people). I might need to find money in the budget to actually buy a massage package…but I am just trying to figure out if that will help or not. I can’t figure out what else might be different in my training from last spring that felt so great all the time and worked really well to what is going on now…what did I do…I’ve had suggested that the “injury” needs to be allowed rest (I couldn’t take a whole week off, but I did take 5 days in a row off and that didn’t help). I just can’t call it an injury as there isn’t something that caused it, it’s something I can run with, and it isn’t consistent in what is tight and/or sore and how sore and/or tight it feels all the time.

One last suggestion I had, (after yesterday stating that I might not be running the 25K that I just announced) but one person I thought could be there to watch can’t be, my bad on counting weekends and dates wrong, and the fact that I can’t do any speed work and I just know it’s not going to be a great run with the issues going on…anyway, the suggestion was to stop running and bike instead…OK, I was probably rude in the way I responded, or stubborn or what not, but I’m a runner. I’m not a biker. I don’t care much for biking. It’s harder for me to bike than it is to run (seriously, my legs hurt and I just can’t seem to go very far, 20 mile run, no problem, 20 mile bike ride, you’re kidding right?) and I just don’t get the satisfaction from it. Bike ride for enjoyment? I don’t get it…to me it’s a way to get from point A to point B without a car and faster (and less sweaty) than a run. Also, I’d have to spend twice as much time biking as I do running to burn the same amount of calories and part of my reason for running is to keep weight down and/or lose weight…I just don’t know what to do anymore…and it makes me upset. I remember great runs. I remember the euphoria, even in the most unfavorable of conditions, and I miss it. I miss it very, very much…

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.

A New Plan – Including a Race!

OK, today I need to get focused back on my training, my workouts and my diet. I have been floundering on the workouts and I think part of it is the lack of training plan and/or race to run so I’ve decided on a race. OK, I’m not “officially” registered for it yet, but I’m 99% sure I’m going to register for it in the next few days and will run the City of Lakes 25K this year. It is near home, it’s a nice, fairly easy course, 2 hills and you run the course 2 times so technically 4 up hills, but you also get decent down hills on both of them. I’ve actually run ¼ of the course in a race already, the 5K I did on St. Patrick’s Day was on Lake Harriet, half of the course. The course is 2 laps around Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun, finishing at the Lake Harriet Bandshell. This course is part of the original City of Lakes Marathon, which was replaced with the Twin Cities Marathon (City of Lakes was just around the lakes and is the course that Dean Karnazes used for his 50/50/50 last fall). They wanted to keep a remnant of that race so created this 25K to be run at a time of year people are gearing up and could use it as part of a training run for fall marathons. Another plus to this race, instead of the typical cotton T-shirt, racers receive a 14 oz beer stein. I like the thought of that, too bad the race is on a Sunday as I probably won’t want to fill it all that much after the race, unlike how I would’ve if it was on a Sunday.

I actually put together a training schedule for the race already as well. With the help of the Smart Coach at Runner’s World and a little adjustment to create a bit more mileage and a few longer runs, and an adjustment on times that were provided to me, I think the schedule looks good and doable. The race is 4 weeks from this coming Sunday, but considering, other than last week, my running has been there, at least mileagewise, I should be fine. Other than the week of vacation I had in April (11 miles) and last weeks pure laziness (6 miles), my lowest week this year was 28 miles and my highest week was 50 miles (back in May) averaging 37 miles a week for this year. It’s been 2 ½ weeks since I’ve run a “long run” but that was a 17 miler and it was at a decent pace.

Now, beyond the running and getting that back on course, I need to get my eating back on track. I’ve been so bad on that lately too and I hate that. I’ve gained about 4.5 pounds when I was within 4 pounds of my goal weight, so now I’m 8.5 pounds above what I’d most like to be at and I’ve been just horrible when it comes to eating. So it’s time to make some dietary changes, getting back to what I was doing, less snacking, eating better, eating less…baby steps on that, a new change each week is probably how I’m going to have to do it. There is just too much junk going into my body and I know that has to partly be causing the problems in lack of energy that I sometimes encounter on my running…time to get back to http://www.fitday.com/ and start keeping track of everything I eat and slowly cut back on the calories and pay more attention to what I’m eating.

Finally, I need more cross-training. I’m doing zero on the strength training and zero on “real” yoga (I do some yoga moves to stretch after a run, but that’s very little), so here goes, goals for next week:

August 13 – August 19, Monday – Sunday

1. Food – keep an accurate accounting of all eating for at least 6 days of the week on http://www.fitday.com/
2. Exercise – Besides the running schedule, back to yoga, at least one session of Rodney Yee’s Strength session

Doesn’t seem like much, but baby steps to get back on track…

Hump Day

I ran…it wasn’t far, it wasn’t timed, but it felt pretty good. This was the first I had run since last Thursday. Which OK, to some that isn’t much, but considering it’s been rare for me to take 2 days off in a row, and run less than 5 days a week (and usually 6 or even 7) that is a big deal. Especially since I was really just taking the time off cause I didn’t feel like running. I’m lacking that motivation still, but at least getting out for the 4 I did last night it felt OK and I enjoyed it, even though it was pretty warm and sticky. I haven’t fully decided if I will run tonight or not, maybe, maybe not, we’ll see. If I don’t, I’m going to attempt getting in a good yoga workout and/or stretch and get some cleaning done. If I do, it probably won’t be far, but that’s OK. This weekend I’m going to attempt a longer run at some point since next weekend I will be in Chicago.

Monday didn’t end up making it to the movie as we expected to do. It was getting late after we visited the bridge area and L was hungry and didn’t really want food from Brit’s. He suggested we could go buy the movie instead and then watch it at his place. I was exhausted by the time we finally started watching it, so we ended up stopping it and going to bed, but that’s OK. It is a good movie and it can be watched another time. I had seen it already (we almost got Blood Diamond instead and I still do want to see that, but will have to wait for another time). If you’re looking for just a cute chick flick, Music and Lyrics is a good one (I think it was Dori that asked about it). And as long as I’m reviewing movies, Bourne Ultimatum is definitely worth it. We saw that on Friday and it’s an excellent movie. I think I heard someone else saying this but it seems to be accurate, each Bourne movie just got better.

A Quick Recap

I found a few connections now to the bridge disaster. One of my roommates co-workers daughters (follow that?) was on it at the time of the collapse, well, she was just getting onto it and managed to stop, she hit something and was hurt and is in the hospital, but she’s OK and is going to be OK. My brother’s girlfriend’s uncle was also on it and was in surgery but has come through…it’s unreal that the disaster you saw actually only had 5 deaths. Granted, there will be more as there are 8 still missing and cars still to be recovered, but the amount of devastation that could have come from it, we’re very lucky it wasn’t worse than it was. This in no way is meant to take away from the pain of those who have lost loved ones, but it has brought a national level of knowledge to things that could be happening and is maybe going to push people to check and prevent from potential other worse disasters that could happen.

I was a lazy, unmotivated person last week too. I haven’t been involved in strength training since I left my old job and the fitness center there. I haven’t been involved in any crosstraining since then and I haven’t done much for yoga either in that time frame. I’ve gained about 3 pounds and I was so lazy last week…my only run was on Thursday. Six miles to clear my head after Wednesday. I should run tonight but am feeling a little tired and thinking I might just go home and nap before my evening festivities…I’m such a putz…I know, maybe it’s something I needed, but I haven’t run that few of miles in a week in over a year…heck, after my last marathon I ran a 10 mile race the next weekend for “fun” with a friend…sigh…

My weekend was hectic. Friday night L and I went to see Bourne Ultimatum, after I recovered from some sadness and crabbiness I was experiencing, then Saturday I was up early and off for my family gathering. It was a lot of family time but wasn’t as bad as it might have been. Unfortunately the weather was cool and rainy, so the wave runner and pontoon weren’t really used…OK, I did take the wave runner out, they had a high end one, and it was a blast, but was chilly. We did sit around the fire for a while then too, and then I went back home and back up again the next day. I was there pretty late yesterday afternoon too so not much down time last night and I would’ve liked more. Today is hectic too. I have a friend who sells PartyLite (candles for those not familiar with them) and there is a new catalog and she’s having a party to show the product from 6-7 tonight, then if it keeps from raining, one of the bars downtown has a movie night every Monday in August and tonight Music and Lyrics is the show, so L and I are going to go see that (it’s a British pub and British themed movies, this one I suppose was picked since Hugh Grant is in it). It’s a fun thing but too bad the weather isn’t “typical” August weather right now. Also, plans are set and I’m flying to Chicago for the weekend next weekend. L is there for a bike race and he suggested I should fly down with him and drive back with him on Sunday. Gives me a chance to see friends there as well so it will be a weekend away. Should be fun, but busy. Ah so much going on and so little time really for things. And I have yet to focus on studying for the stupid GMAT. I did get a practice test done, with no studying and learning, came up with a 570…a lot of the math stuff was pure guesswork, and I didn’t really pay much attention to answers for the reading stuff either…just kind of worked through it fast to get it done. No, not smart, but oh well…I’d really like a 650-700 for a score, that should be good to get me into Carlson, so we’ll see. A 570 without any studying and rushing through is probably not too bad…and not best indication of my actual ability. I think read of people doing similar things on practice tests and ending up in the 650 or better range, so guess we’ll see.

Oh My God!

I had a dental appoinotment tonight, then made a quick run to Trader Joe's to get a few things for this weekend and heard a news report break in (thank God I listen to talk radio most of the time and they would cut in for something like that) and heard a report that a 35W bridge had collapsed. As they described it, I had to think about the area to really figure out what they were talking about...not just a bridge over it, like I had been thinking, but the big section of it that I used to drive almost everyday, that my brother does drive everyday, collapsed into the Mississippi River. This is a huge section of road, and a major traveled section. The only thankful thing is it was a lighter time of day for traffic, but at least 50 cars were involved, some still on parts of the bridge and some in the river...For those out there with beliefs, please say prayers for those involved and their families.