solarpoweredlife

Time's Passing...

2011-12-04T20:44:00.002-05:00

Time's been passing by... I haven't felt like talking, really.

The marathon wasn't the day I wanted. Shocking, I know. *rolleyes*
This time, though, I feel differently about the experience. I'm frustrated, rather than dejected, which is a better place to be. Legs cramped bad -- especially my left quad and my right calf. I'm blaming the day on my pacing, though I'm not sure if that necessarily would produce such cramping. Whatev. I don't want to analyze it anymore -- I just want to get out there and run another one better...

I've been swamped with school work this year. Too many kids in my classes. Ugh.

I'm also working on renovating some stuff in my house. Floors, kitchen cabinets and countertops, window treatments, and a few other things. What I really want is the contractor on Property Brothers -- an HGTV show I'm addicted to -- to come do my house. If anyone out there has contacts with HGTV, let me know what I need to do to get on one of their house renovation shows, please!

So all that, plus working at the running store and now getting ready for Christmas, means I've been busy. And time's been passing by. Nothing too exciting, nothing terrible.

I Love Kinesio Tape

2011-11-10T09:50:00.000-05:00

Three weeks ago, my right groin/interior thigh area started hurting. Pretty aggravating -- made me question if I'd be able to do the 21 miler I had scheduled that weekend.

I got through that run, and although the leg was bothering me, I ran well.

But I decided to take two recovery days after it to get the leg pain under control. I didn't run at all on Sunday, and Monday I biked. Then, Monday night, I thought, remember how the Kinesio tape (sort of)helped my calf last year?

Maybe it'll help my groin/thigh. So, I googled the video that shows how to tape that, and I did it. By Tuesday afternoon, I noticed a significant improvement. I kept the leg taped through that week, and by the next weekend, there was nothing to note about that right leg. All was well.

The following weekend (last weekend), I ran a similar route to that 21 miler I'd done, and at around mile 14 of 24 I noticed a tightening of my left lower calf/upper achilles area. My mind started freaking out. I still have 10 miles to go! This isn't just a little twinge, this is hurting! WTF!!! I stopped, massaged it a bit, then sucked it up and continued -- but ran the rest of those miles constantly thinking about whether the left leg was going to give out on me or hold up.

It held up, and I was pleased with the overall run, but it was definitely a tougher run than the 21 was -- and that was purely because of the mental mind play. Stay conservative -- the race is in two weeks, don't push the leg, run easy, etc., etc., etc.

I got home and taped up the leg. Wore the tape for the next 4 days, and took two days off again. Nothing the next day, biked the second. By Tuesday, when I ran an easy 6, the left leg wasn't really bothering me anymore.

Whew.

This is the most radical and crammed training I've ever done for a marathon, and I have to keep reminding myself just to run comfortably. So far, that's happening -- thanks, in part, to the Kinesio tape keeping my legs working!

That really happened.

2011-10-25T21:47:00.001-04:00

You really did drink a few beers and barely eat dinner and then ran 21 miles the next morning.

You really did make it through all 21 miles with a right groin/adductor muscle pain that made you worry the previous 4 days whether you would be able to run at all.

You really did run at an easy pace for the first 10 miles, then speeded up so that the last 8 were fast. FAST.

You really did run better and more comfortably in those faster miles, with the groin pain fading significantly as you ran more.

You really did have the thought that if you just added 5.2 more miles, which didn't seem like it would be a problem, you would have PR'd your 26.2 time.

You really did exercise restraint, being smart and stopping at 21.

You really did fuel and hydrate well. Remember what you did.
You really did run strong and run well. Remember what you did.
You really did blow that run out of the water. That really happened.

40

2011-10-16T19:27:00.001-04:00

This is what it looks like.

My sister and I celebrated our birthday with a fun night out with great friends. Despite my feet being WORKED by the super high heels I wore, I peeled myself out of bed this morning for a cool, crisp, sunny 10 mile run and then worked at the running store.

A good swim Friday, a 15 miler and lunch with my family yesterday, and then an awesome night with friends and a solid run today. Finished my 30's on a good note and got my 40's started pretty well.

No, that doesn't mean I'm going to stop telling people I'm 34.

20 miles of burn

2011-10-12T18:48:00.001-04:00

I ran 20 miles on Sunday. 2 miles were easy on my way to the start line of the LBI 18 Mile Run. The temps were ok (mid 60's), but the sun was warm at the 10:30am start. My plan for this race, rather than trying to better my PR, was to just log the 20 miles for the day. 2 before, then run easy for the first half and pick up the pace for the second half. Total of 20 miles -- the longest I've run since May of 2010.

My sister and I ran the first 13 miles of the race together. We kept the pace easy and comfortable. At the 13 mile mark/water stop, though, I felt a weird stabby pain in my left lower front side. A cramp? Maybe -- but it didn't feel like a normal cramp. Whatever it was, it stayed with me for the duration of the race. WTH!? I tried taking in fluids and then fuel. I tried stretching it out. I had to stop and walk just to catch my breath each time the pain returned. I might fade momentarily, but it kept hanging in there and taking my breath away. SO FRUSTRATING!! The sun was hot, but I was feeling ok otherwise. I had just run 18 miles solidly two weeks ago, and here I was having trouble with the last 5 miles of this race. AGH!

Maybe because I wasn't trying to run a certain time, or maybe because I knew I was already 15 miles into my run at that 13 mile mark, or maybe because I kept thinking it would go away, I never got dejected about this speedbump. Frustrated, yes, but not dejected. Pissed, confused, frustrated, but not down and out. The last five miles of the race, which were really miles 15-20 of the complete run, were slow and tough, but I finished strong and felt good about getting that 20 miles done.

And when I got home, I jumped right in the ocean with my running clothes still on. My nephew watched from the beach and asked why I was just standing there. I told him this was my ice bath and I wanted my legs to take in the cold water. He decided not to join me, so I dunked my head under the waves and then headed home. When I stripped off my top, my sister noticed my sunburn.

I had put SPF on before the race, and yet I still got sunburned. Huh. Shocker. I had another race day with warm temps and full sunshine.

Ideal temperature

2011-10-02T20:55:00.001-04:00

50-55*

That's it -- and I'd say closer to that 50* mark.

I've run a lot of miles this week. My legs should feel workd. As the weekend approached, the temps dropped. I ran 15 yesterday morning, and followed that with 10 miles today. Both runs felt great. Low temps, solid running.

It's amazing just how drastically warmer temps and humidity kill my running, and how much better I feel in temps in the low 50's.

I read somewhere that 55* is the ideal temp for cold therapy after physical activity. In other words, directly applying ice can be too cold -- it stops the blood flow to the area, which is why you limit it to 20 minutes. You then take anti-inflamatories to prevent swelling when the blood flow returns. On the flip side, we don't use heat therapy to help recover from activity. Apparently, 55* is the ideal temp -- it's cool enough to decrease the blood flow to the area while still allowing the flow of the capillaries -- thereby reducing the possibility of swelling.

Scientific, yes. How accurate is that? I'm not sure. But what I do know is that my muscles, my legs, my body run better in cool temps -- and that 50* mark seems like the best one for me. Yesterday and today were strong arguments for that.

Now if I could just get an ideal temperature day for my goal, distance races!

Back to the Long Run

2011-09-25T21:50:00.001-04:00

I got up early this morning, drove across to the city, and parked at the Art Museum loop. By 7:10am, I started my run. I kept the first loop (8.5mi) easy, and as I started the second loop, I picked up the pace. 5 miles into the second loop, I turned around and ran those 5 back.

18 miles done. It felt great to get back to the longer running.

I definitely have lost some of my longer endurance at a faster pace, but the run was solid. I may not be ready to go after a marathon time I was chasing in my last 26.2, but the HIM training was worth it. I haven't decided on any goals for this race yet. It's too soon. I have a bunch more long runs to go, and I'm looking forward to all of them :)

************************************************************************************************************************
Cindi (and Mindi!) - I registered for the Philly Marathon well before I committed to the half iron distance tri this summer. As of now, I'm training to run it, but I'm not sure I'll have the solid training in (it's 8 weeks away) to go after a time I've chased in the past... My sister and I should have a guaranteed entry to the NYC marathon for next November.

Unbalanced

2011-09-22T21:21:00.000-04:00

I tried to be really patient and smart about letting the legs/body recoup from the 70.3, but now I've gotten into the marathon training swing pretty solidly this past week. After a good long run last weekend, I got 4 days of strong running done Monday thru today. While I definitely don't have an optimal base of miles at this point in the training calendar, I do feel happy that the running is feeling good.

Problem is, I'm sorting of missing the biking and, even more, the swimming. Now that I'm back to work, it's tough to get 2 workouts done in a day like I was able to do all summer. I want to feel strong going into the 26.2, so I know that the running needs to be my focus, but...

I'm feeling unbalanced.

Who would've thought I'd actually miss the tri training?!

Shoreman 70.3 triathlon (part 2)

2011-09-13T21:24:00.000-04:00

The first 30 minutes on the bike were uneventful. I had a pretty good idea of the course, because my friend M and I had ridden it (the original one) three weeks ago. Even at the one hour mark, things were still just rolling along, but I noticed the new course wasn't as friendly as the original.

I loved that it was cloudy and cool for most of the bike, but I just wasn't getting comfortable. I did know that I was riding slightly faster than I thought I might, but I was SLOW compared to everyone else out there. While I've improved my swimming this year, I recognize that my biking speed and skills are lacking. I've avoided getting a coach to help me simply because I feel like doing that means I'm now taking the tri's seriously. If I do that, I may lose the "It's for fun" mindset, and I don't want to do that.

Anyway, back out on the course, I was fighting to get comfortable but finally made it to the turnaround for the second loop. I stopped for about 30 seconds, refilled my perpetuem and water bottles (actually, the cute volunteer did) and off I went. I felt better for about the first 10 miles of that second loop, but then hit the back stretch of the course where the discomfort and hard work of the legs set in again. I wasn't hating the bike leg, and I kept my positive attitude about the day, but I was ready to get off the bike.

As I came into transition, I joked with the volunteers -- as I'd been doing, as well as thanking each of them, all day -- and I waved and yelled to my mom.

I wasn't slow in my transitions, but I did take my time to make sure I had and did what I needed so I was comfortable on the next leg. When I got off the bike, I realized it was a lot hotter than I'd felt it was on the bike, and the sun was now shining. Solarpowered though I am, the heat/full sun/humidity KILLS my running. I scooped a bunch of ice I'd brought into my bra, zipped up my top to keep it in, and headed out on the run.

Within the first two miles, though I kept my pace slow and easy, I knew the heat was doing me in. Knowing the forecast for the day, I'd planned on walking through the water stops so that I could finish feeling good, and now, out on the course, I knew that's what I'd have to do. That was frustrating, because I'm a better runner than that -- but I couldn't lose sight of my two important goals. Keep smiling and having fun, and finish under 7 hours. I drank, I walked through the stops, but I kept moving forward. I took in some fuel, and as I made the turn to head back to the transition area to start the second loop, I passed my friend R (he was on his second loop). He side-fived me and told me to keep it up, and that gave me a boost. When I passed my parents at the transition area, I told them this would be my slowest half marathon ever. They said "SO WHAT?!" and I agreed. So what! This race was a new challenge for me. A new distance. I wanted to look back on the day and be happy about it. That's something I don't have with the marathon, and I wanted this race to be different.

I passed the volunteers at the run out and asked, "Are you having as much fun as I am?" and they all looked at me, smiled, and cheered, "Yep!" I thanked all the boy scouts at the water stops, the volunteers on the run course, and cheered on most of the other competitors I passed by. One volunteer said, "You're looking great, Ironwoman!" and I laughed and replied, "Half Ironwoman! But thanks, this is my first one!" She smiled and said, "GO Girl!"

It was hot, I wasn't happy with my run, but as I made my way up the last half mile stretch of road to the finish, I was smiling. I knew my time overall was better than I thought I'd do, and I was about to finish a 70.3 (ok, yes, more like 72) mile triathlon. Something I never thought I'd do. I waved to my parents, made the turn to the finish (it was downhill! Yeah!) and then I was done.

I did it! A 70.3 triathlon! Me! Whoa!

I talked with my parents and some friends a bit, got tons of water and some fruit, and then I made my way to transition to gather my stuff. Before I headed to the finish to wait for M to come in, I took off my running shoes and threw on my new socks.

Badass.

In the grand scheme of things, I know my performance at this tri was not Badass. The official results list me as 112/210ish. My swim was 34:47 (34th fastest swim!), bike was 3:23:29 (ugh!), and the run was a ridiculous 2:16:10 (though I'm not sure how this is; my garmin showed a mid 2:15xx. Whatev.). The winners do it in 4+ hours, and I was a half hour slower than the 5th person in my AG.

But, my 6:21:35 is mine. And on that day, I sort of felt like a Badass for completing it. Just like I never imagined I'd run a marathon, I really never thought I'd do a tri longer than a sprint. But I did. And I was standing, and I can look back on the day and feel good about my race.

I might even do another one next year.

Shoreman 70.3 triathlon (part 1)

2011-09-12T08:52:00.001-04:00

Finish with a smile on my face, have fun on the day, and come in under 7 hours. Those were my goals for this half-iron distance race -- one I didn't ever think I'd actually attempt. I fake the tri thing -- I couldn't even imagine swimming 1.2 miles, then riding 56, then running 13.1. Too much!

But last fall, when my calf was jacked up, and I was swimming and biking more and more, I figured if I'm ever going to attempt one of these things, this is the year to do it. I didn't really tell anyone or advertise the fact that I was training for this race -- I was doing it for me, and when people know, they ask how you're feeling and how your training is going and all that stuff. That makes me nervous. I do tri's for fun -- no pressure -- and wanted to keep it that way. This was MY challenge, and one that I didn't even really admit to committing to until the beginning of August. (It was a local event, and it was the inaugural one -- 2 reasons to do this 70.3!) I made up my own training plan based on some I found online, and I had no idea if it was going to be adequate. I enlisted Maggs' help a little (thank you SO much!), and I started to feel like maybe I could actually do this. Fast forward to race day:

My mom decided she was going to go to the race with me, and though I told her she didn't have to do that, it was great to have her there. We arrived at the race site by 5:30am and I got my transition spot set up in the dark. It was quiet and peaceful, but I was a little unsettled until it got light out. My friend M found me in transition and set her spot next to mine, and another friend, R, was nearby. It was calming to have friends around me. Soon enough we were getting wetsuits on and heading to the water.

M and I talked about our swim strategy, and after a few delayed minutes, we were the 3rd and final wave to start -- all the women together. I'll admit to nerves as we stood on that beach. I refused to look at how long the swim was, and I just kept telling myself, "This is just 4 loops of the lagoon." I knew I could cover the distance -- I've done LOTS of open water swimming this summer -- and so I just needed to stay calm around all those swimmers. I positioned myself in the front, but off to the right.

(Tough to see, but I'm the 2nd white cap from the left at the top of the pic)

Within the first 100 yards -- a straight shot to our first left turn before we swam a long straight to the turn around -- I started to feel comfortable. I stayed a little wide, kept my breathing in control, and only had a few instances of people running into me. Halfway to the turn around, I was almost giggling in my head about how smooth I felt and strong I was swimming. Big victory. The swim has always been the weak link for me, but this summer I've turned that around. As I swam to the bridge, and around that bubble, I knew I'd come out of the swim feeling accomplished already. I had one blip of getting squeezed between two people around that buoy, and that was the only time in the whole swim that I had to break stroke for a second, move aside, and then continue on my way. As I got closer to the point to turn to the beach, I couldn't see the small buoys -- so I ended up swimming out of my way a little. Not much, and once I could see that turn, I was headed to the beach. I knew I passed a lot of people, but it wasn't until I was running up the beach and past my mom that I realized how strong my swim was.

"35 minutes!" she yelled. Cool!

(As an aside, why does ALL triathlon stuff make me look huge? I look big in that wetsuit, the tri shorts make my legs look big, etc. ugh!)

I headed to my transition spot, got out of my wetsuit and got my bike ready to go. With a yell to my mom, I set off for the 57+ mile ride. So far, so good!

The bike, though, would prove to be a challenge for me. For some reason, I could not get comfortable. My butt wasn't comfortable, it felt like my legs weren't strong, and I felt like I couldn't get my bike to go as fast as everyone else. Frustrating. I had killed the swim, and now I was getting crushed on the bike. It was going to be a long few hours...

What am I thinking???!!!

2011-09-10T07:06:00.001-04:00

Right now*, at 7:06am, I am entering the water for a 1.2 mile swim.

I'm going to then ride my bike for over 57** miles,

and follow that with a 13.1 mile run.

WHAT AM I THINKING???

I guess I should stop saying I fake the triathlon thing. I've done some solid training this summer. Who knows if I trained well. Or did the right stuff to be prepared. But I know I can cover the distances. The big variable will be the heat and humidity. It's supposed to be bad. Full sun, 82* and 100-90% humidity during race hours.

But this is just for fun. I can't take the tri stuff too seriously -- I won't. I'm not strong enough to place, and this is a new distance for me -- so I can't be nervous. Nerves not allowed. I'm ready. I can do this. I can finish, and I will. My goal is to do just that with a smile on my face. Dive in.

* I scheduled this post to go online just at the time my wave was set to start...
**Because of the hurricane damage to two bridges on the original course, the bike route was changed to a 2 loop course, which ends up being just over 57 miles. No 70.3 for me -- more like ~72mi.

Cannonball!

2011-09-06T18:25:00.000-04:00

I ended my summer vacation with some late afternoon pool time with my nephews and sister. Since it was the last day to swim here, we left in style -- after a series of cannonballs.

Today, I jumped right into my new school year. LOTS of changes -- tough ones -- to deal with, and challenges started right away. But I made it through the day, and so far the kids/classes seem ok (with a couple of nudges already showing their colors). Back into it tomorrow!

I'm in taper mode this week, so while I'm itching to get sweaty, today is a rest day on the schedule. Works out well, actually, because it's pouring out, my feet are worked from an onmyfeetallday day, and I'm pretty exhausted. Yep, I'll rest today.

Gotta get ready to throw myself into a big race this Saturday. A new challenge. Cannonball!

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-28T21:10:00.000-04:00

By Saturday morning, Irene started showing her strength on our beach.

We've lived through storms like this before, so we knew to board up the windows and secure the loose/lighter stuff in the yard.

While mandatory evacuations were in place, we weren't sure we'd leave. However, eventually we decided it would be smarter to be safe -- so we headed to my house outside of Philly.

Clearly, other people didn't like the idea of Irene messing up the last weekend of summer before Labor Day weekend, either.

We listened to the strong winds and rain from my house, and hoped we wouldn't lose power. We were anxious to hear what was happening on the island, and by late morning we were ready to head back.

Although the skies were clear by Sunday afternoon, the west winds were fierce. There had been lots of flooding, and some people lost power, but for Irene to make landfall in the inlet off our south end, the island survived relatively unscathed.

The bay, normally flat and calm, was whipping in the west wind.

But the beach was beautiful. Big waves, and rough surf, and lots of erosion, but it was there.

LBI, again, survived a hurricane.

And so did we.

Summer Good Stuff

2011-08-23T09:36:00.000-04:00

Fun rides on new routes with friends

New goggles so I can see on my long swims

New shoes for all my running

And snuggly recovery time with the pup

It's supposed to be FUN!

2011-08-12T20:51:00.000-04:00

I've gotten more serious -- sort of -- with my triathlon training this summer. Gotten better with my swimming, grown up on my biking a bit, and done more of the tri training this summer than ever before. Today, I set out for a long workout. Long. And while I hoped I'd have company with my friend DS who's here on vacation, the timing wasn't going to work for him. Instead, he left me motivational messages on the road by the street where he's staying.

I loved it.

Yesterday, while getting my workout planned and set, I had a sort of flash of a thought go through my mind. This is supposed to be fun. I do tri's for fun. I should get that mindset back for running races, too -- but that's for another post. With all the greater focus on improving my triathlon work, I realized I started taking it a little too seriously. I don't want to do that. I want to enjoy these races, and when I take them too seriously I end up getting too stressed and full of anxiety. This is supposed to be fun!

So when I set out early this morning, that's the thought I kept in my mind. Have fun. And I did. Yes, at a certain point, the hard work sets in, but I reminded myself through the whole workout to have fun. And DS's messages helped me do that. Thanks, D!

The rest of the Napa trip!

2011-08-07T20:10:00.001-04:00

Gah! I haven't had any time to sit and write out the rest of the Napa trip report. It was a fantastic trip, and I wish I could get all the fun details in, but here's an overview:

We started Friday with bubbly! Muum Napa had some delicious sparkling wines, but the Santana (yep, as in Carlos) was my favorite. It was a beautiful winery setting (actually most of them were!) and it was a solid start to the day.

From Muum, we traveled to BV, which was fine -- nothing too extraordinary there, and then grabbed lunch at some run-down mini mart. That was not so fine. We were tight on time, so we had to grab something on the go to make it to the next winery on time. The mart had a kitchen where they made Mexican dishes -- now, I have nothing against Mexican food, but it often doesn't like me. I settled on a basic rice and beans burrito, and hoped the rest of the trip would allow for better wine pairings :)

The rush was well worth it when, after climbing and twisting our way up the mountain, we arrived at Chappellet. By far, this was the best winery we visited. The grounds were gorgeous, the hostess was fabulous, the wines were delicious. We got to taste the wines while seated at a grand table right alongside the wine barrels. It was chilled in there, so they provided us with comfy coats to keep warm, then invited us to tour the grounds with our wine.

We even got to taste the grapes! They weren't ready -- they were sour. :(

After Chappellet, we made our last stop at Clos Du Val. This winery had beautiful gardens, but the hostess left a lot to be desired. We eventually made our way back to the resort, freshened up and enjoyed the view from our deck for a bit, and then headed to the riverfront area of downtown Napa. We didn't realize everything would be closed by 6, though, so we did some window shopping and ended up (shocking for this group!) at a tavern.

I wished the running store was open -- it would've been fun to see how theirs was set up!

After dinner at the Greystone Culinary Institute, which was good but the atmosphere seemed better out on the porch than inside, we called it a night.

Saturday was a day off -- which was great for me. I got a solid run in in the morning, then took a yoga class at the fitness center, then got a long swim done in the outdoor lap pool, and then lunch and some lounging time with my friends at the regular pool. Got my nails done at the spa, then we were off to dinner. Saturday's dinner was at Mustard's, and it was another good meal. I have to say, I really wasn't blown away by any of the meals I had -- but they were all good restaurants.

Saturday night was hilarious -- a few of us ended up back at the resort's main bar where there were a whole bunch of men on a business trip golf weekend partying at the end of the day. It was a shark tank, for sure -- but no harm done.

Sunday was another day of wineries, but this time in Sonoma -- and we enjoyed mimosas on the bus on the way there! We went to Chateau St. Jean, Coppola, and then Ferrari-Carano. Ferrari was my favorite there. By the end of the day we were silly and happy and having fun playing around. This picture sort of sums up the trip in all its wine and silliness and fun:

That's my friend A on the ground. She took her part of the picture seriously.

Sunday night was our last night in Napa. We had dinner at Bistro Don Giovanni, seated at a great table on the terrace. I had one of the best dishes here -- a beet and asparagus salad -- and we all enjoyed our last night together. Until a spider fell out of the rafter onto our table. Then we were ready to wrap up the desserts and hit the road. But it was a great night and a couple of us stayed up late, the music playing and our non-stop laughing at the events of the weekend.

Monday morning I got an easy run done, with a short stop at the fitness center in the middle of it for a half hour on the stationary bike. We all showered, grabbed coffee and hit the road. We tried to stop at Muir Woods (whoa! Lots of twists and turns -- not good for our hungover people!) but the parking was impossible, so off to the wharf we went. We had a fun lunch on pier 38 (39?) and then walked around a bit.

A few hours later, a couple of my friends and I were on red-eye flights home. What a trip. I did get a little sleep on the flight, but it would take me a few days to get caught up from the time difference and all the energy, excitement and fun of the long weekend. That was a trip I'll long remember with a great group of people.

Napa Trip Day 1 - Let's get it started!

2011-08-02T23:15:00.000-04:00

This trip was a birthday celebration for my friend J, who turns 40 this month. 11 of us, all coming from the east coast, flew to San Francisco Thursday morning. Once we all arrived and met at the car rental center, we hit the ground running. We had two cars and a plan. Head across the Golden Gate

and stop at IN-n-Out

Hess was a great way to start our wine tasting because Larry was very informative. We listened, we asked some questions, and we finally got to taste.

We then made our way to check-in at the Silverado Resort. It was great. We had two condos, close to each other, and the resort had lots of options for fitness stuff for me and lounging stuff for my friends.

Dinner Thursday nite was at the Grill right at the resort, which worked very well for us to be able to have a few drinks and not have to drive anywhere, and since it was a long travel day, we called it an early night to get ready for the first big day of wineries.

A Cool Morning Run

2011-07-28T22:44:00.000-04:00

I spent last Thursday through Monday in Napa and San Francisco. It was a fantastic weekend with friends, and there's a lot to tell. But one of the best things was the run I took my first morning there. Coming from NJ, where the temps were hovering around 100*, I was in heaven waking up to 58*. I set out to explore the area around our Napa resort, and though I didn't get to run on this road, I passed several vineyards that looked just as inviting as this one. It was an amazing way to get the weekend started.

Back on My Feet 20in24 Relay Challenge 2011

2011-07-18T12:57:00.000-04:00

Running through the night in Philadelphia is a crazy idea. Yet there I was, at 8:15pm, waiting for my first leg of the 6pm Silver Relay. My team of 5 ladies had to run two 8.5 mile loops each, and we'd be running through the night around the Art Museum Loop. Run a leg, wait for the next 4 runners to go, run again. We could have chosen to run the 10am relay start, but for several reasons we chose the overnight run. This would prove to be a crazy but smart choice...

We met several times over drinks (!) to decide our team name, team uniform, order of run, etc. We decided on the name LEGS and got singlets printed and cool Phillies socks to bring the outfit together. We were the only team to go all out, and we definitely got noticed!

Ready to run!

We got a cool campsite set up right across from the start/finish area where we were able to chill out while we waited for our turns to run and still be able to watch the race unfold.

We checked in just before the 6pm start, did some searching for our friends running the 24 hour ultra race (they started at 10am and ran solo loops until 10am the next morning), and calmed any pre-race jitters. We had talked about the possibility of winning our relay, but decided to just be safe and run fun. We'd let the race play out, and be happy with how we did as long as everyone finished safely.

At 6pm we all headed to the start and cheered our first runner off! We figured she'd take about 63 minutes, so the next runner got ready, we chilled for a bit, and then soon it was ready for her. I would run third. I was excited but ready! I knew it would be getting dark mid-way through my run, and I was nervous about certain parts of the route being dark and secluded. I carried my little flashlight and wore my reflective belt and waited for my teammate. We got the announcement that our runner was 2 miles out and soon I was off!

That first run was solid -- the weather was great -- and I held a pretty consistent and steady 8 minute pace the whole way. I felt like I could go a little quicker, but I knew I'd have another 8.5 miles to race in just 4ish short hours. I stayed fast but somewhat comfortable. I took water on the go at two stops, and I giggled at everyone who commented on my socks. I wished the runners well, and I took note of the darkening path. As I came through the checkpoint two miles out where they noted your team number to call ahead for your next runner, I felt good about finishing this leg strong.

I came into the finish, passed off to my next teammate, and then went into recovery mode. Drank well, changed into dry clothes, put on my compression socks, and stretched out and rolled on the foam roller. I took a migraine pill to ward off the as-of-late-inevitable headaches I've been getting after hard/long runs, ate a soft pretzel, and I relaxed at camp. Every so often we'd see some Lone Ranger friends come thru (that's the ultra race) and chat with them as they checked in for that lap. So far, so good!

For each teammate, we'd make our way over to the start/finish, cheer each other on, and then wait. Too much adrenaline to get any naps in between legs! I realized pretty quickly there'd be no sleep tonight. The later runs became more to think about. It was DARK on the backside of the loop, and to be honest, I was a little nervous. There definitely was not enough light on this loop, but I hoped the volunteers on bikes would be out in full force to keep an eye on things.

By 1:30am, I was getting ready for my next leg. Put my singlet and fun socks back on, got my light and reflector stuff and put my phone in my spibelt. Walking to the start, I was nervous about running through the city park in the middle of the night, but I pushed that aside. I was noticing my legs feeling a little worked, but felt I'd be ok. In came my teammate, and off I went.

This run would be a bit more interesting than the first. Within the first mile, I noticed someone off my back right shoulder. He was running about 2-3 steps behind me, and staying there. I tried to speed up, he stayed. I tried to slow down, he slowed. I couldn't shake him. I knew he wasn't an ultra runner because they weren't running a 7:40 pace like I was this long into their run. I wondered if I should be nervous as I headed to the darker, back side of the loop. I peeked back a couple times to let him know I could feel him off my shoulder, and I ran fast. By mile 2 I decided to say something. I wanted to know if I should worry about this the whole way, or if I could find comfort in a fellow racer to run with at 2:15am. I looked back and asked what relay he was doing.

"The platinum," he answered. "Sorry for trailing you."

Ok, while I wasn't totally comforted, I at least felt like I didn't need to be consumed with anxiety that he was going to jump me in one of the dark, desolate areas. When I came into the first aid station, I slowed, took a cup, and let him pass by. He did, and I let some space come between us. By now I was aware that I'd started this leg fast and wondered how long I could hold this sub-8 pace. My desire to get done this mid-night run was the catalyst for me to run as fast as my legs would allow, for as long as I could. While I was enjoying the fun and thrill of this relay race, and the oddity of running through Philly in the middle of the night, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't freaked. I definitely was uncomfortable about it. There just weren't enough volunteers and lighting to make this safe and comfortable for the racers. I told the officials about this later.

But back to the run... I made it up and over Falls Bridge (about the halfway mark of the leg) and headed back up the river to the finish. I was glad my legs were strong enough to run fast and keep a solid pace, and I looked forward to that 2-miles-out checkpoint. There weren't a lot of people on the course at this point in the race -- even the aid stations were unmanned at times -- and I knew I'd see a friendly face there. I yelled out my team number and was excited to know I had less than 2 to go. By now, my legs were tightening up and I was hoping to keep my pace to the finish. I knew our first two racers had slowed in their second legs and I was psyched to think I'd actually have a faster run for mine! I willed my hamstrings -- mainly my left one -- to hold up, and I smiled as I approached boathouse row. Less than half a mile to go!

As I came into the start/finish and my teammate took off, I noted my time: 40 seconds faster on this leg than my first! WooHoo! I grabbed a cold towel, water, and a pretzel, and headed back to camp. Changed into dry clothes and woke my teammate that was to run the last, our next, leg. The drama began. She had been vomiting since her first run. Wha??? From what? It wasn't that hot, she was a good runner, and her pace was solid, but nothing extreme. Whatever the cause, her body shut down. I took her to the med tent and found out our 4th runner, the one out on the course now, would be running two loops to cover for the sick teammate. Uh, oh. 17 miles straight after an 8.5 miler just a few hours before? None of us were prepared for that. But since we were in the lead, we didn't want to quit and we didn't want to be disqualified. We worked it out.

Since I had just run (fast!) and CM was with one of our ultra-runner friends, I'd stay with C in the med tent while L and A did the last loop. I felt bad about not doing that last loop with the other girls, but we didn't want to leave C alone. Eventually, her boyfriend came to accompany her to the hospital (she'd eventually be ok -- dehydration?) and CM and I started packing up the campsite. As the sun came up, we planted ourselves at the finish and bubbled about the fun experience and the fact that we'd actually win this thing!

When L and A arrived, we knew we'd done it. We hadn't slept, we'd had some drama, but all of us were (relatively) safe and that's what mattered. We'd raised money for a great cause and we'd fostered new friendships. Awesome.

I drove home, took about a 45 minute power nap, showered and picked up CM, and headed to the awards ceremony. C was still not well, so she missed the post-race picture and celebration as we were awarded our prize.

We had cool race outfits, a fun attitude, and went home with aluminum batons marked with our relay win info and a sweet $1500 cash prize.

I'm not sure I'd do this event again unless they got better lighting and security on the loop overnight, but it really was a blast being part of this relay team. Another fun running experience, and the win made it that much sweeter!

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The stats: Our overall time was something around 11:52, though I'm still waiting for the official results to be posted. Here are my times:

First leg: started at 8:13pm 8.52 miles. 1:08:11 8:00 pace
Second leg: started at 1:53am 8.52 miles. 1:07:30 7:56 pace

Legs today feel WORKED! But it's a good hurt :)

*************************************************************************************************
I did some light fundraising for this event, and I want to send HUGE thanks to my sponsors:
Kevin
Lori
Maria
Joe
Amy

You guys put some extra special oomph into my participation in this event, and I can't thank you enough!

Running Through the Night

2011-07-15T22:57:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow night, I will join 4 friends for a relay race around the Art Museum loop in Philadelphia. We will each run 2 loops (8.4 mi each leg), and our race starts at 6pm. It's all a part of the Back on My Feet 20in24 race.

I will run my first leg sometime around 8:15pm, and then my second leg sometime between 2 and 3am.

No sleep, lots of fun. We've got cool uniforms and a great team name: LEGS! Pix and reports to follow!

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Lots of luck to Charisa at Vineman! I know she's gonna kick some booty!

And on the 66th day, she rested.

2011-07-09T22:20:00.000-04:00

I haven't taken a full rest day since the week after the Broad Street Run. May 4th was the last day I didn't swim, bike, run, do yoga, or anything else exercise-oriented. Since then, not a day has passed without some sort of workout. Many days have been doubles. I've been good about taking legs-rest days (when I'll just swim and/or take a yoga class), and I've been good about paying attention to when my legs need a running-free day (when I'll just bike and/or swim, etc.).

But today, for the first time since May 4th, I did no exercise. I didn't choose this, and it really frustrated me, but I couldn't help it. I went to bed Thursday night with my stomach not feeling right and awoke Friday with the start of a two day bout with some sort of bug. Ugh.

I made it through a 5 mile run with my sister and then a 1 mile run with my nephew, but the whole way I just kept hoping I wouldn't need the bathroom. I didn't, but when we were done, I felt done. I somehow got a bowl of cereal in me, but by mid-day, I was down for the count. Couldn't eat anything. I forced some watered-down Gatorade and a couple pieces of toast in me, and even some chicken soup broth throughout the day/night. But that was it. I went to bed at 8pm. I was worn out from so many trips to the bathroom and my body having no fuel in it. Eww, I know. Sorry.

I woke up this morning (after a fitful night) and was hoping I was better. I wasn't. The sun was shining, the temps were cool, and I couldn't enjoy it. There was no way I'd be able to run, and even biking would require more energy than my depleted body would handle. Again I kept trying to get something in me -- chicken broth, Gatorade, dry toast -- but I didn't feel any better. I thought, maybe I'll feel better by the evening and I'll be able to get a short ride in then.

By 2pm, I was out of my mind. I was wasting an entire day curled up on the sofa. I was antsy, but I couldn't do anything. That's when I looked at my workout calendar.

May 4th. Wednesday. It was a rainy, raw day, and my knee was bothering me. I was heading to the Phillies game after work, and I had just raced on Sunday and only taken Monday off. I decided to take the day off. Knew it was probably smart after the race, anyway. So that was a rest day. The last one until today.

I was finally able to get a small amount of bland gnocchi into my system tonight, but a run or ride was not going to happen. I will do something easy in the morning. I know I can -- in my first year of real running, I had been violently ill for a 24 hour period between Friday and Saturday and somehow made it through a 17 mile run that Sunday. I'm just more in-tune to my body now, and I realize how weak I am tonight. But I can't take another full day off.

Rest is good -- I know that. But another full day off is something I don't want right now. :) I want to get out there and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Long rides, stormy skies, beach time

2011-07-06T11:47:00.000-04:00

In the past week and a half since my last post, I rode my first 50 mile bike ride and then worked a lot at the running store. And finally, this week, I got some lazy summer days at the beach.

Last Monday I set out for my weekly long bike ride, intending to do a 40 miler. I was at the shore, so it was easy to figure the route -- head north on the island from my parents' house, turn around at the end, then back past the house and head to the south end, then back. Add some extra loops in there and an easy 40 is done. But then I got back to the house and realized I was actually at 41 miles, and decided that was a stupid number to end on so I headed back out for 9 more miles. According to my bike computer I finished with 50, according to my Garmin it was more like 51.5 miles. Something's off with my bike computer I guess, but as long as it's short, I'm fine with that.

On that ride, and often recently, I've begun to wonder how the heck to bike faster. It's like my legs suck or my bike sucks or they both suck. I get passed by people in races and just riding in general who fly by me while I'm riding at about 18mph and I wonder how the heck they do it! My race paces aren't terrible, but they aren't fast. I can't seem to make riding easier for me. I've been riding more, but I don't think I'm getting any faster. I do some interval stuff, a bunch of easy stuff, and more miles than ever. I suppose I'll get there, but it sort of boggles my mind.

So, a 50 miler done, the rest of that week was a bit easier on the legs. A little step-back week in the running and biking, but a solid swim on Thursday.

At the open water swim, I elected to swim without my wetsuit and had a plan to swim a warm-up lap and then a mile without stopping. Well, as I finished that first lap, I felt smooth and solid, so I just kept going. Lap after lap, in a groove and feeling good, I just kept going. At the end of 1.2 miles, I stopped. I was covered in gross, brown slime from the lake, but I felt accomplished. 1.2 miles without stopping, and I felt solid. I kept the pace at a place where my breathing was good and working, but not wearing me out. I looked at my watch -- which I hadn't stopped right away -- and figured it took me about 38 or 39 minutes to swim that. That's pretty good for me!

After working a bunch at the store, I headed to the beach on Saturday for a handful of work-free days. A storm rolled in while I was at happy hour with some friends:

But the skies quickly cleared:

And allowed for a great day on the beach the next day. Fun swimming time with my nephews in the powerful ocean, and even a little time fishing with Poppie:

This lazy beach day was MUCH needed after a long, hot brick workout that morning. More on that in the next post...

Queen of the Hill Sprint Triathlon

2011-06-26T23:42:00.000-04:00

There is a local women's triathlon club just south of me that started a couple (I think?) years ago. The club is the Mullica Hill Women's Triathlon Club.

The club is several hundred strong, and is made up of a mix of newbies to seasoned triathletes. I'm not a member of the club, but working in the running store I've become aware of all sorts of cool activities that this club has hosted for their members. This year, they decided to put on their very own women's-only sprint triathlon.

Named the Queen of the Hill, the RD's put lots and lots of thought into the female-driven details of this race. It was a great event, on a beautiful summer day, and to top it off, I raced pretty well!

I had two goals for this race: to have a stronger T1 than the Hammonton race, and to feel successful/not fall on the bike with my new pedals. I met up with a couple friends race morning and as we set up our transition spots, we giggled at the full-length mirror outside the line of porta-potties and the pink accents everywhere. There was certainly a female focus here. At one point, I giggled because it was so over-the-top, but I simmered that because I could tell how many of these women were doing this for the first time and how excited/nervous/full of wonder they were, and that was kinda cool.

I got there early enough to get a great transition spot -- right next to the bike in/bike out. I was happy to have a longer run from the swim to the bike, a short run with the bike out and then in, and then a bit more of a run through transition to the run out. Perfect spot. Then I got body marked.

I walked over to the young girls who were weilding the markers, and told them my race number. That went on both arms. Then they asked how old I'll be on December 31st.

Um, what?

How old will you be as of December 31st? the cute, mid-teenage, perky girl asked.

Um, what? I looked around. I'm 39.

And that's how old you'll be at the end of this year?

Oh, God. I forgot that's how the USAT rules are for age-grouping. They messed up at Hammonton! (not that it would've mattered in the standings)

Um, I'll be 40, I said quietly. I wasn't prepared to be there yet, I confided to the girl. The mid-50's woman next to me told me to shut it. Sort of -- she said it nicer than that, but that's what she was saying. The perky high-schooler, oblivious to the fact that I'll remember this moment forever, directed me to turn around and there it was: a big, black, 40 on the back of my left calf.

ugh.

Ok, here I go. First race in a new age-group. Let's see how it goes.

With my age weighing me down a bit, we got set, got our wetsuits (they weren't necessary at all -- warm water, 1/4 mile swim -- but I'm wearing mine any time I can since this is my first racing season with one and I need the practice with it!), and headed over for the pre-race meeting and the national anthem. The RD kept asking us to "stay standing" for another minute; there was "something special" that was going to happen. We laughed at every time she said that -- um, we're all standing. Where would would we sit? But then, she announced the military fly-over.

I knew it was coming -- we'd heard about it at the store and thought it was a bit hokey for a small sprint tri -- but standing there, as the race was about to start, it was pretty cool.

We had just a few minutes to get a warm-up swim done in the lake, and the race began. I was in the 3rd (of 4) waves, and I positioned myself off to the side, away from the rest of the wave. They all lined up in the deeper water and had to tread for a couple minutes before we were off. I stayed in the shallower water, and as the wave began, I had a straight line to the first buoy. I swam hard. I wanted to get out in front -- fewer people to deal with until I caught up to the stragglers from the first wave -- and I did. There was one other woman right near me until about a third of the way through the swim, but we never got in each other's way. I kept swimming. I swam hard. And I passed women from the wave in front of me. And then, although I kept repeating pace yourself, I was swimming hard -- and all of a sudden I couldn't breathe. I had just made the last turn past the buoy that put us on the straightaway to the swim exit, and I couldn't breathe. Keep calm! I repeated. But I couldn't help it -- I eventually had to turn onto my back and catch my breath for a few seconds. I did, and then I swam to the exit. I wasn't happy about that, but I thought I had swam hard and probably had a good time anyway.

The water got shallow well before the exit, and though it would've been faster to keep swimming, I couldn't. There were about 10 woment stopped and walking through the knee-deep water with about 10 yards to go. I had no choice, I had to do the same. As I ran out up the steps and across the mat, I worked to get my breathing in control and my wetsuit off. I got to my bike, got out of the suit, threw on my helmet and my sunglasses, and grabbed my bike. I knew I accomplished goal #1 -- that T1 time would definitely be faster than 4:06!

My bike shoes were already clipped onto my pedals, so I ran out in my barefeet, got my right foot into the shoe and started to ride. Got the left foot in, and off I went. So far, so good for goal #2!

The bike leg was 10 miles of rolling hills. Nothing too exciting on the bike -- I started to look for women in my age group and see how strong I could ride. I got passed by a few, then passed a few, and overall felt like my bike was decent.

Until the last 2 miles. I knew I had a run coming up, and I knew I had the first race dismount with these pedals coming up, and I started to prepare mentally. Then 2 women in my age group flew by me. AGH! How are they going so fast???!!! I tried to keep up, but they dropped my quickly. I was a bit distracted now as I safely dismounted at the base of a hill and then had a long run into the parking lot and into transition for the run leg. (They had, at the last minute, decided it would be better to have everyone dismount at the hill, rather than turning into the lot. Really? Safer to have everyone stop at the base of the hill and get off their bikes? okay....) For me, it was fine. Goal #2 accomplished!

Into T2, I racked my bike, dropped my helmet, and quickly cleaned off my feet, threw socks on, tied my shoes, grabbed my visor, and off I went for the 5k run. Legs weren't bad! But huh -- there's a hill right there to start the run. Ok, let's go! My friend J (who sponsors the OWS) was there, and as I ran out he yelled -- this is your strength, Lora! You've got at least 15 people you can pick off!

I gave him the thumbs up and started to count.

I passed more than 15. I settled into a decent pace that I felt I could hold, and went to work. I saw the eventual winner coming back, and I counted. I counted how far back I was from her, and I counted how many women I passed. We all passed "Good job!"'s onto each other, shouted words of encouragement, and I counted.

As I made my way to the finish, I felt pretty good about my run. I knew the time was solid, and I felt good about doing what J told me I should do out there. As I crossed the line, I was happy with the day, even though I didn't feel great about what happened in the swim.

After meeting up with my friends, cheering on other racers, and going for a cool-down jog, the results were posted.

22 OA/185 finishers

4/46 AG (agh! 4th!)

1:10:33

swim: 7:25 (8th fastest swim on the day!)

T1: 1:45!

bike: nothing impressive 35:06

T2: 1:58

run: 24:20

For my first race in a new age-group, it was a pretty decent showing. A well-run race, a solid effort, and two goals accomplished. I should note that if I were in the 35-39 AG, I would've been 6th...

Still tons to improve on, but I'll take it!

Doubles!

2011-06-23T10:50:00.001-04:00

Maybe not the best strategy, but now that summer's here and I'm not working as much, I've been jamming in the training. It started in the last month of school, but now it's a lot easier to do. I'm doing one longer run each week, one longer bike ride, one stand-alone quality tempo run, 2 shorter rides, several shorter runs, and 2 swims each week. Plus a 90 minute hot yoga class once a week. Some days are bike/run bricks, some days are bike/swim or run/swim doubles. While I'm not doing doubles every day, it has been about 4 days a week. It's been hot and humid, and I often look like this at the end of a workout:

Flat out, laying under the ceiling fan, water bottle in hand. A familiar position this time of year.

I haven't taken a complete rest day -- no workout at all -- since May 4th. However, one day a week is a legs-friendly workout day. This week, that's today. I did a 75 minute hot yoga class this morning and I'll swim later today (hopefully at the OWS if the thunderstorms stay away), but no swimming or biking. While my legs are feeling stronger with all these workouts, they're also feeling a little worked. Time for a break. And, I'm doing another sprint tri this weekend, so I'm taking today and tomorrow to treat the legs well. While my main goal for the race is a stronger T1 and bike leg, I'm really hoping to do well the whole way.

Let's hope the doubles will pay off!

Summer Has Arrived

2011-06-21T22:41:00.000-04:00

Today was my first day of summer break. And, it's the first official day of summer. My alarm clock was turned off, and I had absolutely NOTHING that I had to do today. Ahhh...

I woke up at 5:30 even without my alarm clock, but I stayed in bed for an hour. I eventually made my way out for a solid 7 mile tempo run and then a short but quality swim at the pool. A light lunch, a stop at the running store, some time on my deck with a new book, fun in my pool with my nephews and sister, and then spectating a local, low-key 3.6mi race. It was a nice weather day -- not too hot, and the storms we were expecting never really showed up.

All in all, a good first day of summer vacation. Next week I'm working a ton at the store, so I'm letting myself decompress these next few days. No alarm Wednesday morning -- I have workouts to do, but the only thing I have to do is take my nephew to the group run. He's really getting into this :)

I'm so glad summer has arrived.

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T21:52:00.001-04:00

to the first running mentor I ever had
to my original running coach
to the first swimmer I knew and
the man who let me borrow his old twelve speed bike when I first started triathlons

Happy Father's Day
to the man who has taught me to have PMA -- a positive mental attitude
and so much more: how to give a proper handshake, to soap the screws before putting them in the wall, to work hard and play hard, to earn my shower every day, and more and more and more.

This time last year, we were breathing a sigh of relief after his fall 15 feet off the top of his boat onto the hard ground. He was broken -- badly -- but still here. It's been a rough go for a while, but I can still call him and talk to him and hug him.

Happy Father's Day to a great man. A and K and I are lucky to call you our dad.

Fixing Blogger and Stuffing Mushrooms

2011-06-12T20:28:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I know, they don't really sound related. It's cause they're not. But both things are topics for tonight, so here ya go:

For Sage! To fix the Blogger comment posting problem, log out of your account, then log back in but uncheck the "remember me" box. That seemed to work for me! Simple -- you'd think the Blogger folks could fix such a seemingly simple problem...

And now, for my latest vegan/clean recipe: Stuffed Portobella Mushrooms! YUM!

I paired this d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s concoction with some steamed asparagus and red grapes. It was awesome! I took the basic recipe from one I found online, but made lots of alterations to use the veggies I wanted to. It was easy and pretty quick to make! I'm not fully back on the vegan/clean thing, but I'm finding that much of what I eat these days falls into that category. Not everything. But enough :)

*****************************************************************************************************
Randoms:
Marc - how the hell do you stop at a light and not unclip without falling over? Grab onto a car? I'm doing ok with the riding part, it's the getting on/off the bike and the anxiety of not unclipping in time that makes my riding not so fun right now. :(

Aimee -- don't kid yourself. A) you've gotten up to run with me in the pre-dawn hours. and B) you'd do all this if you lived in my shoes. :)

Inappropriate Heat

2011-06-09T21:48:00.000-04:00

Seriously? It's early June! It's New Jersey! It's inappropriate!

I swam 2500 yards in the pool this afternoon. Pretty solid swim. Then I went to hot yoga. It was actually hotter outside with those 101* temps than it was in the studio, which was about 98*. Still, I was wetter in that class than I ever have been on dry land in my whole life. It was like I was one of those water sprinklers with all the holes in it -- water was just pouring out/off of me. It was like I just stepped out of the pool, but almost worse! My fingers were pruned by the end of class -- and they weren't at the end of my swim! It's just wrong! It shouldn't be this HOT!

I love my central air. :)

Blogger's Broken! Or is it Google?

2011-06-08T21:54:00.001-04:00

I can't comment on most blogs these days. There's some glitch in the system -- when I go to comment, it asks what account, so I choose google, which is how I log into this blog. I re-enter my info, press submit, and it brings up my comment in an edit box and says I'm "anonymous" rather than "solarpowered" or Lora."

Ok, fine. I press submit again and it kicks me back out to the google log-in again. Repeat, repeat. It's a vicious, never-ending circle!

Occasionally a blog will let me log in with my name and the url to this blog. Not all blogs give that option.

GRR! I checked under the blogger help stuff and all I can find is that they are "working on it."

HELP! Anyone know what's up?

Your blogs are interesting! I've been reading, but I can't comment! It's so frustrating!!!

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UPDATE: I've figured out how to make it work, I think... I'm hoping it continues to work so that I can let you all know how awesome you are with all you've been up to lately! :)

Big Girl Pedals!

2011-06-07T21:51:00.001-04:00

I think if I had gotten the clipless pedals from the very start I would have been less nervous about them. Instead, I've been riding with cages for about 4 years. Ridiculous. It was one of the easy ways I could get by with the whole "I fake the triathlon thing" idea. Don't want to give up enough of my running to do more swimming and biking, don't want to commit to clipless pedals, didn't get a wetsuit.

Well, I got the wetsuit, and I started attending a weekly open water swim, and my swimming (and my confidence with my swimming) has already improved.

I got a new seat which was better than my old one, and over the past few weeks my butt (sit bones, more specifically) has gotten more aclimated to the riding and time in the saddle. I tried a few other models of the Adamo seat (the Race, the Breakaway, and the Road) but the podium seems to be the one for me. I even did a 30 mile ride last night and wasn't incredibly uncomfortable! Overall, I've been doing more riding each week. Progress.

So the next step was to grow up. Time for the big girl pedals. I was nervous, I was certain I'd kill myself, but I was determined to make this switch. Today.

So I drove to our shore store that carries bikes and the co-owner, J, spent more than an hour with me -- we got the right shoes for me, he switched out the pedals, put my bike on the trainer and showed me how to clip in and out. Now you try, he said.

ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod

I climbed onto the bike and after a couple slips, I finally found the clip spot and got myself clipped in. Rode, braked, clipped out. Rode, braked, clipped out. Did that a handful of times, both sides.

Ok, let's try this. We took the bike outside.

ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod
i'mgonnadieimgonnadieimgonnadieimgonnadie

I clipped in, rode away from J, and rounded the corner. I noticed a grass area off to the side of the parking lot curb, and decided that might be a safe place to try to clip out for the first time. I slowed down, braked, and tried to clip out. However, I learned pretty quickly that's not the correct sequence to follow. As my bike was stopping, then stopped, and I was just then attempting to clip out, I (of course) tipped right over. I knew it was about to happen. When your bike is stopped, you need to put a foot down to the ground to stay upright. If your feet are in shoes that at that moment are attached to the bike, no feet are making it to the ground in time to stabilize the bike. Well, here I go -- just like everyone says, "You're gonna fall!"

I missed the grassy area (would've been helpful if I had ridden closer to that spot -- duh) and went right over onto the pavement. Landed on my knee (that's already bruised from my fall while running a month back) and my right palm. Apparently I rolled onto my right shoulder, too, based on the leaves J brushed off me later. Almost immediately, I realized what I'd done wrong. Clip out BEFORE stopping! DUH!

I giggled at myself, got back on the bike, and successfully clipped in and out a few more times as I circled the parking lot. I'm nervous as anything to do this again, but I will. And I'm sure the more I ride, the more comfortable I'll get. WIth all of it.

Hammonton Sprint Triathlon

2011-06-02T22:06:00.000-04:00

I've been super busy this week, and every time I sit down at the computer I can't get focused enough to write up a report about this race. It's a shame, because this was the first complete triathlon I've done in two summers, and there was a lot of good about it (and a little bit of wtf did I do?!) Here's a brief recap:

I had a good race Saturday, relatively speaking... The swim has always been my most uncomfortable part, but I've been really working at that. It paid off! I positioned myself well and felt good the whole way. 7:08 split for the .25mi (or so they said it was). Definitely a strong swim for me. I never stopped, and I was one of the first people out of the water from my wave. I even passed a few people from the wave ahead of me. Woot!

My T1 is another story. This was the first tri where I had to deal with a wetsuit and it slowed my T1 time down a bit. I also took extra time cleaning my feet because of how much sand/muck/grass we ran over getting into transition. Looking at my T1 time, you'd think I sat and had lunch in there, too. Awful.

Then my bike leg was expectedly a bit slow. 12 miles in 41:43, or 17.3 avg MPH (for some reason, the official results are showing this as an 18.3mph. I'm not sure what I'm missing here...). Anyway, I knew that would be slow -- I definitely need more biking time. T2 was MUCH better. Just :46.

My run was decent. While my Garmin read 2.91 mi/23:13 = 7:59 pace, the official results show my 23:12 time as a 7:44 pace (they advertised it as either a 3 mi or 5k run -- I forget which), so maybe my Garmin calculations of the distance were off? Whatever. It wasn't the best run leg, but I felt ok about it considering I haven't really done any actual brick workouts.

SO, overall it was a good day. I knew my T1 and bike leg would be my weakest, but for my first complete tri in 2 years, I'm ok with that. It was fun, and that's the point, right?

(Pictures are up on the website, but I can't snag them... so for now, no pics of the day)

Open Water Swimming

2011-05-24T21:40:00.000-04:00

For the past three weeks, I've been going to a cedar water lake about 20 minutes from my house and joining upwards of 30-50 other people for some laps around a few buoys. Three weeks ago was the first time I swam in a wetsuit. It was pretty cool. Since then, I've been getting more comfortable with the suit and with open water swimming in general.

The loop is .2 miles, and the first week I did a loop, then stopped for a minute, then did another, then stopped, etc., for 5 loops. By the second week I did a loop, stopped, did a loop, stopped, then did 3 loops without stopping. It usually takes the first loop for me to get my breathing calmer and my stroke smoother. This past weekend, I did a loop, stopped for just a minute to swap out goggles (still working on finding the right pair for me!) and then started my next loop. I felt good, so I kept going for my 3rd. Then, as I approached the "start" area, I still felt good so I kept going. And again. So for this swim I did 4 straight loops, or .8mi.

I know that doesn't sound like that big of a deal, and yes, I've swum that distance plus some in the pool many times. But OWS has never been that comfortable for me. I don't like wondering what I'm swimming with. I don't like wondering when someone is going to swim into me or cross in front of me or pummel me. And with each OWS session, I'm getting a little, teeny bit more comfortable. That's huge.

I actually, sort of, look forward to going to the open water swim each week now.

I am an addict.

2011-05-19T22:38:00.003-04:00

I had a really busy day at work today. I was beat by the time I got home. It was pouring rain, then just misty, then thundering, then misty, then raining, repeat, repeat, repeat. By 3pm I knew the open water swim was cancelled, so I had to figure out what to do for my workout.

No run -- scheduled day off (been running 5 days a week)
No OWS, so head to the pool? No -- by the time I'd get there, I'd have to wait for lane space. I'll do the OWS make up session on Sunday.
No outside bike -- rain is ok, thunder is not.
No inside bike -- I just got a new tire on my bike and spent a lot of money for it. I forgot to ask for the old tire for when I put the bike on the trainer, and I don't want to mess up the new tire.
No yoga -- my knee is jacked up. That's for another post.

I sat on my chunky chair and did email. I watched Oprah. And I got antsy.
I felt like a slacker.
I checked my runningahead log -- I haven't taken a complete rest day in more than two weeks, so I could take today off and it wouldn't hurt. But I don't feel like I need a day off. I don't want a day off.

I ran though my list of options/non-options again. They just sounded like excuses.
I fidgeted.
I thought, I have to do something!

At 5:15 it stopped raining. At 5:30 I took my bike outside. The skies were clearing, and I hit the road. Only got about 30 minutes in, and then ran into my house, stripped myself of the bike gear, changed into yoga stuff, and headed to 90 minutes of HOTHOTHOTHOT power yoga.

I sent my sister, who had earlier given me "permission" to take the day off, a text that let her know I was back from my bike and headed to yoga.

I'm an addict it said.

Not a bad thing was her response.

I get antsy, I get impatient. I feel off when I don't do it. I don't spend my every waking moment running/biking/swimming/doing yoga/or any other sports, but I don't feel right when I don't do something to get my heart pumping or my breathing working in a given day.

But I suppose I could be addicted to worse things than exercise.

It Must Be My Butt.

2011-05-17T21:21:00.000-04:00

I've had the same Bontrager saddle on my bike since I purchased it a few years ago. It was ok, but I felt like there just had to be a more comfortable bike saddle. I'd been fitted by a good bike store, so I figured that wasn't the problem. I just thought maybe this was a low-end saddle that came with the bike and there had to be others that wouldn't seem to put pressure where no one wants it.

Ok, let's get slightly specific for a minute. Feel free to skip the post if you aren't interested in hearing about lady parts.

Huh. Still here? Ok.

Here's the situation. I don't ride in the aero position, but I don't sit entirely upright, either. When on my bike, on the old saddle, there was uncomfortable pressure in the lady parts area. I was constantly shifting my weight around to relieve that pressure. Then, in my butt area, I'd often feel like my sit bones were bruised at the end of the ride. Either I suck at biking, or my saddle sucked, or my butt isn't built for this stuff.

So I finally did something about it. Our newest sister store to the running store where I work is carrying a full line of bikes and bike gear. It happens to be located on the mainland of the island where I grew up and my parents still live. Sweet. I took a drive down there last weekend, tried a couple different saddles, and decided on the Adamo Podium.

Several people recommended it (thanks Maggs!), and they were right: it's a great saddle. The lady parts pressure does seem to be relieved. That's a welcome improvement.

However, my butt (the sit bones, in particular) was sore after a 16 mile ride. So, of course, I wondered if I made the right choice with the new saddle.

What I'm realizing it all comes down to is this: I'm an idiot. My butt's probably fine.

My new saddle is a better one than my old one, and my butt just needs to get conditioned to more riding. I didn't do much riding over the winter, and it's idiotic to think I'll be comfortable at all until I get more time in the saddle.

So that's what I'll do. And I'll re-evaluate my butt situation in another month or so.

Exciting, right?

My Garden!

2011-05-11T20:43:00.000-04:00

Ok, so it's not really a garden -- I live in a super cute condo with a small deck, but no garden space. So I made my own!

It's an herb garden!

Ok, so I didn't really make this, either. I bought it from my brother's store. But it's great! It's my own little garden of parsley, oregano, sage, chives, rosemary, and basil. YUM!

I also got some color in my space -- a hanging basket of petunias. Against the pale gray and white of the building, these flowers add a great pop of color.

And with a few white mini mums in another pot, my deck "garden" make me happy.

Swimming in a wetsuit is pretty cool.

2011-05-08T22:49:00.001-04:00

Thursday evening I drove to a nearby cedar water lake with a friend from the running store to participate in the first open water swim clinic of the season. It's hosted by a part-time store employee whose real job is to coach runners and triathletes through his ETA Coach company.

I have anxieties about swimming in open water. I don't like to know what I'm swimming with. I don't like when I can't see through the water. A contradiction, I know, but it all contributes to my anxieties. I swim comfortably in the pool. Not so in the open water. So I'm forcing myself to fight those anxieties by swimming at the OWS clinics on Thursday nights.

Even when it's cloudy and cool outside and the water temp is 60* like it was this week. That's what my new wetsuit is for! I've never swam in one, and that was nerve-racking, too, but let's just deal with all of it head on in these clinics!

I got in the water, heart thumping a bit, but then figured, ok, let's do this. Each person let a minute or so pass before starting their loop, and soon it was my turn. And it only took the first loop for me to realize it wasn't that bad! First time swimming in a wetsuit! Turns out those things make your swim smooth and a little bit faster. At least that's what it felt like. Woot!

And the open water part wasn't too terrible, either. There was a lot of muck in the lake, and a couple times I got a little freaked about something I hit, but the temperature didn't bother me -- and although I passed a couple people and a few passed me, I didn't have to tackle the hitting and fighting for position in the swim like you do in tri's -- yet. That'll come in later clinics.

Each loop was .2 of a mile (short!). I did one, pulled to the side like everyone was doing to wait your turn to start your second loop, then did a second. That one was easier. New problem, though -- my goggles kept fogging up. This has been happening in my pool swims, too, and I've tried several different goggles lately. I got out of the lake, went over to the table where we had tri stuff to sell from the store, picked out a pair of kids goggles (see the cool green ones in the pic?), and got back in the water. Did the last 3 loops without any fogging! Yay! My eyes are small and set close together, so the smaller goggles seemed to fit better.

As I got out of the water after completing a mile, I was silently proud of myself. I didn't freak out, and I swam well. I might even be looking forward to getting back there this week and seeing if I can do better!

*******************************************************************************************************************
Also, today is Mother's Day. I spent some nice time with my mom at my friend's play Friday night and then we had lunch together yesterday. And over the weekend, I got these fun cards for being a "mom" and an aunt to Roxie and my sister's boys. :)

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there! And to all those who act as mommies or substitute mommies for special people in their world. Hope your day was fantastic!

Broad Street Run 2011

2011-05-01T21:31:00.004-04:00

I didn't have any expectations going into today's Broad Street Run, but I knew that if I was able to hold an 8:04 pace for the 7 Mile Bridge run in 85* heat, I should be able to do something close to that for a ten mile race. I'd be ok with an 8:30 pace (but knew I'd probably run better than that), happy with an 8:15 pace, and thrilled with anything better.

When my sister and I got to the start, and I felt how crisp and cool the temps would be for the majority of this race, I felt good about what was to come...

We had navigated getting to the start of this race very well. It's a tricky one -- the race is a point to point, and the way most runners get to the start is to park near the finish and take the subway uptown. This is what we did. You have to do it REALLY early, though, or you'll get caught with thousands of other people trying to make their way there. I've know of people who have missed the start because they waited too late. I picked A up early -- 5:30am -- and we were parked and walking over to the train by 6ish. The race doesn't start until 8:30, so we knew we'd have time to kill, but being relaxed and taking our time was part of making this a good day. We got on an express, grabbed some seats, and started the 20 minute ride. We even had the BEST laugh of the day when a guy near us was wearing an old Garmin Forerunner 201, and his buddy looked over at his wrist and said, totally deadpan, "What is that? A laptop? An iPad?"

Hilarious. Something A and I would giggle about all.day.long. A tv remote? A satellite dish? I have one of those old garmins and they are huge! Hilarious.

Anyway, we got lined up in the corral and soon we were off. No crowd issues for us, and we started at a pretty good clip. We checked ourselves, got the pace slowed a little, and commented that we were just over an 8 minute pace (though her 310 and my 305 were not reading the same distance/pace. weird). By mile 2 A was still coughing from her leftover respiratory sickness, and just after mile 3 she settled back a step or two from me.

At this point, I sort of locked things in. I was hovering around an 8 minute pace, my breathing was good, my legs were moving, and I was comfortable. I was very aware of the crowds, the cheers, the bands along the way, but I was locked in and focused. I didn't waste energy looking around, yet I still took it all in. I didn't waste energy by weaving around people -- and yet I found holes to pass by people when I needed to. I stayed to the left, ran straight, and only took a little water (on the go) at two stops the whole run.

At one point, a guy came up next to me and commented on me running a sub-8 pace (not according to my watch, though). He said he'd been watching me and was going to hang on since I was at a steady, solid pace. He'd end up staying near me for several miles. That was flattering at first, and then it became a little annoying. I lost him a short time later.

As we approached the 5ish mile area, I knew A was still just a couple steps behind me because I could hear her coughing. I peeked back once or twice and I threw my hand in the air another time, just to let her know I knew she was there. I checked my pace -- still hovering around 8mpm -- and I made the turns around City Hall (the only turns on the whole run!) Even through here, where I knew a friend would be standing, I ran good tangents and only slightly looked around. I also knew the former mayor/governor was known to be here and I didn't even expend energy looking for him. It wasn't that I didn't want to see these people or anything, its just that with everything working so well I was just focused. I kept moving.

(Thanks so much for the butt picture, A!)

The pacing on my Garmin got all screwy at this point and I had no idea what I was running anymore. So, I decided that since I'd run this far at about an 8 min pace, I'd just keep running comfortably for a few more miles, and then after mile 7 I'd start pushing it a bit. I even saw my friend L cheering along the way here. As it turns out, mile 7 I dipped into a 7:25 pace, and then I held a sub-8 for the last 3 miles. Still feeling pretty good. Amazing what good weather does for my racing.

As I approached the 9 mile marker, my friend K pulled up alongside me, we exchanged hellos and plans for our tailgating after the race, and then he pushed slightly ahead. I passed the spot at mile 9.5 where I've cheered friends on in the past, and I thought how cool it was that my first time running this race was turning out so well.

I entered the Naval Yard and knew I only had about a quarter mile to go. Another friend, J, pulled alongside me here. Funny. So many people I know at this race! Then, the only frustrating thing of the day: the photographers had an arm crane hanging over the course to take pics -- fine, except the truck part was so far into the roadway we all had to weave around it to pass by. Grr. Alas, I flashed a smile, said, "Let's finish this!" to J, and we sped ahead to the finish line.

1:19:25 by my Garmin. A 7:56 average pace. Cool! I hadn't really thought about my finish time, but breaking 1:20 was pretty sweet!

I met up with A, who finished right behind me, and after collecting my bag and finding our friends, we made our way out of the Naval Yard to the car. We cracked open some beers, munched on some snacks, and had a lot of fun recounting the day with 4 of our friends.

The best way to describe my race was locked in. The legs worked. The weather, though it got warm toward the end, was perfect. I felt solid. It was a great race day.

***********************************************************************************************************
Other than the butt pic, I don't really have any pictures from this race, but here's one from post-race. I think A looks waaaaaay better in this pic, but whatever -- I never take good race pics, during or after. Sweaty, messy, gross. But here we are anyway :)

No, we didn't plan to wear the same color. We got LOTS of "Are you twins?" questions today.

A Wedding and a Fall

2011-04-29T22:22:00.001-04:00

I'll admit it. I was up early (as I always am for work) but I was glued to the tv. 30 years ago, my mother woke my sister and I up to watch Lady Diana marry Prince Charles. At 9 years old, that felt like the middle of the night. Sadly, years later, the 3 of us did the same to watch Diana's funeral. And this morning, though we were each in our own homes, we watched it together and texted all the "pretty" and "omg, tears!" comments we would have said out loud. It was beautiful, it was a fairy-tale, there was pomp and circumstance, and it was regal. Royal. Historical. I loved it.
(a cool side note -- the aston martin that Will and Kate drove in later in the day, his father's car, is run entirely on wine! My kind of car!)

So maybe because I was up extra early, or maybe because I'm just way overdue for one, I tripped and fell while on my run later in the day. For people who know me, this is not shocking. What's surprising is that I've had such a long run without a good spill. That ended today. My town is filled will cobblestone and uneven sidewalks. I often roll an ankle while running, and so a true fall was bound to happen. As I felt my right foot catch, I began to stumble forward. I probably looked like a cartoon character at that point -- arms flailing. I had enough time to think the fall through, and so it ended up much less hurtful than it could have been. I landed hard on my right hand and hip and right knee, and then nicked my left wrist -- my Garmin, to be precise. Once the stumbling fall was done, I rolled onto my butt on the strip of grass bordering the street and sat there. I was really worried I'd damaged my Garmin, and I also realized there were definitely people who just saw me take this header. It was then I decided that if I sat there, staring at my watch and seeming to be fiddling with the buttons, perhaps the 6 cars passing by or all the people in the surrounding houses might think I actually intended to be sitting on the side of the road like this.

"Do you think they really thought that?" my awesome 7 year old nephew asked after I recounted my fall and showed him my scrapes and bruise.

Not a chance.

That's ok. It's not like I've never fallen in front of lots of onlookers before... I'm just hoping this one doesn't hurt my race effort on Sunday!

The Colors of Marathon

2011-04-27T21:40:00.001-04:00

One of the things I noticed while on my early morning runs last week was just how colorful Marathon, Florida is. As the sun rose, I ran my last run in the Keys with my phone in tow, and snapped a sample of all the color that brightens this wonderful area my family calls home for a couple months each year.

Multi-colored houses,

lots of purples and pinks and whites and reds and

beautiful blue skies with piercing rays of sun against the green of the palms

and the pinks and oranges of the dawn.

It was a relaxing week, although for some reason this pic makes me look tense about something. Perhaps it was because a waiter was in the background and it took forever to snap this one.

And one funny part of the week was when Roxie would chase after these guys when she found them in the yard. There were lots of little babies all around, so she always had something to run after!

Yup, it was a relaxing week. Sunny skies, lots of warm temps, fishing with my dad, poolside with my mom, kayaking, running, open water swimming. Weird thing is, since I've been home, it's been as warm here as it was down there. Too bad I don't have that pool to jump into...

***********************************************************************************************************************
There were a lot of you who offered congrats on the 7 Mile Bridge race. Thanks! It was fun to see so many people's messages here!
RFTL - I'm running the Broad Street 10 miler in Philly this weekend, then I'll fake some more tri's this summer and decide what's next...
Joe - really? A magnet that referred to 7 Mile Island? Did you ask them? I'd have thought it was for the bridge, too!
Paul -- yup -- I've used calf sleeves. If you go back to the posts from this past summer, you'll see I was practically living in them for a while! These days, the calf is doing well -- and I'm taking care to recover with the compression socks and roll it out after harder/longer runs. Thanks!
Alison - Thanks! And I love your blog. I need to comment there more.
Jen and Shawn and Mindi -- you should all run this one! It's a fun one to be a part of! Jen -- you'd likely win the women's race!
Black Knight -- so cool to connect with someone around the world :) I'd love to know how you found me, and I'm jealous of where you are!
Charisa -- thanks, as always, for your enthusiasm :) You are an inspiration.

Sunset

2011-04-21T21:17:00.001-04:00

is perhaps one of the most beautiful times of any day.

Grete Waitz

2011-04-19T20:50:00.000-04:00

I sent my sister a text this morning that simply said:

H sh*t. Grete Waitz died. Cancer.

Her response: No way!!! She's like, your idol...

Yup. Grete Waitz was the first runner I was a fan of. I was intrigued by her. I remember watching her win those marathons in NYC. I remember listening to her and thinking how great of a person she seemed. Even before I was a runner, I was a fan of hers.

When I became a runner, I even put my hair into pigtails like hers. I probably secretly hoped I could run like her someday.

Grete was invited to run the NYC marathon as a pacesetter in 1978, although she'd never run a marathon before, and ended up winning it and setting a new world record.

She was a pioneer in female running, she did work for several charitable organizations, and she continued her determination in the fight against cancer.

A class act, in my book.

Grete Waitz died today at the age of 57, in her hometown of Olso, with her husband by her side.

I truly hope she knew how much she was admired and appreciated, even by those of us whom she never met.

7 Mile Bridge Run -- Marathon, FL -- 2011

2011-04-13T21:31:00.005-04:00

It took an enormous effort just to get in this race. The 7 Mile Bridge is sometimes lovingly referred to as the 8th wonder of the world. It's a pretty cool thing, even without the race over it. I was excited I was going to be a part of this. Finally, the day to fly to the Keys arrived.

I got down late Thursday night, went for a short run and spent some time with my family/nephews on Friday, and then headed to packet pick-up Friday evening. There were so many people in line already and pick-up hadn't even started yet! Eventually I got my stuff and already noticed how nice the volunteers were and how excited everyone was to be a part of this.

There was much debate about where my parents should plant themselves for this race -- there isn't any spectator info to be found anywhere! -- but we finally made a plan. We live on the starting line side of the bridge, so they would drop me off early, drive across the bridge to the finish side, see if they could park over there and stay at the finish, but if not it would be early enough for them to get back to the start before the bridge closed. (Turns out they found a great parking spot right by the finish!)

I packed some dried Kashi cereal, a banana, water, and a throw-away beach towel. We left the house and just a handful of minutes later, I was camped out at the start. It was 6:00am. Race time was 7:30. It was dark for almost an hour while I waited, but I chatted with other runners and felt excited but peaceful in that time.

As the sun started to rise around 7am, I made my way into the porta potty line. I'm so used to standing in those lines forever before a race, and yet here I was, 5 minutes later, and it was my turn. So I let the person behind me go. And then the next. And the next, and so on. Soon it became a joke.

"You're just trying to get people to let you in the front of the line for the post-race beers, aren't you?!" they joked. Um, yea-uh!

I met a bunch of people in that line. One lady started crying on my shoulder she was so nervous about her time. (*NOTE: you have to cross the finish in 1:30:00 or they'll pick you up and put you on the bus. They are on a strict schedule to get the bridge re-opened at 9am!). One guy had run it many times before and told me a couple cool things to be aware of. Another was a teacher, like me. Everyone was just friendly.

7:25am I headed up to the start.

I considered warming up a bit before that, but decided since this was my first race back I'd just take mile 1 easy. The 1500ish other runners and I lined ourselves up, took in the scene around us, and within a few minutes the gun sounded and we were off.

It was already warm, but the sun was still low and it was off our left shoulder. So was the slight breeze. I settled into a pace right around 8 mpm -- right where I'd planned to try to run today -- and I slid alongside the left bridge barrier. I'd stay there through the entire race, and continually wonder why so many people didn't realize that's the wind side, and a slight shadow was cast on your legs by the bridge wall...

As I glided along (those early miles really did feel like I was gliding!) I took in all the sights of this once-in-a-lifetime race experience: The news helicopters circling overhead. The miles and miles of blue water on all sides, as far as the eye could see.

The boats coming close and waving. The volunteers -- the only spectators along the course -- cheering and smiling every mile or so. The smells. The sunshine. The knowledge that this is the ONLY day, each year, that this bridge that connects the middle and upper keys with the lower keys is actually shut down, CLOSED, to traffic, and I'm one of the very few who gets to run across it. Every other day of the year, pedestrians are not allowed across.

About 2.5 miles in comes the big bridge. It really wasn't that bad -- it reminded me of running over the bridges on LBI. But cruising down the backside, by about 3.5 miles into the race, I started to feel the heat. It was probably in the low 80's and humid, and no shade from the sun. They had wet sponges at the water stops and I took full advantage. I was still holding my pace, but by mile 6 I was feeling worked. I slowed way down for a few seconds through the next stop, let my head settle (it was starting to feel like it would explode if I kept going! D*mn heat!), and then got back to it for the last mile or so. Doing that was a smart move.

As I hit the 10k mark, I knew I had about a half mile to go. The course officially measures 6.8 miles, and as much as I was enjoying the race, I was ready to stop running fast in those conditions. My body doesn't like the heat/humidity even when it's accustomed to it!

With the exception of the bridge, this is a completely flat race. The road isn't even crowned. As you approach the finish, however, there is a slight decline. Slight. But welcome. I could see the finish line flags, I could see the crowds, and I was even able to spot my parents right there next to the finish.

I threw my hand up in the air to wave to them, pushed through the finish, stopped my watch, and was thrilled to know that even with my slowing through that later water stop I still finished faster than I'd expected.

54:55 on my watch, which I'd see later matched my chip time. Right around the 8mpm pace which I'd hoped I'd hold in this first real race effort since the marathon last May. In this first race since my months of calf injury. While I was running, I was grinning. I was giddy that I was able to run somewhat fast, and that I wasn't having any calf twinges at all. When I crossed that finish line, I was happy I would run at all.

I collected my medal, met up with my parents, walked a bit and eventually my parents told me to get on the bus back to the start, get my beer, and they'd find me when they were allowed to cross back over the bridge (we expected that to be well after all the runer busses crossed, but really they were just a couple minutes behind me).

As I rode back over the bridge, on this bus filled with runners experiencing their own sense of accomplishment, we shared the stories of how we each got into this race and what we loved about the day. At the after party, I got my beer, found my parents, and saw the results posted.

Days later, the 5th place AG (out of about 100) still stands. I'm listed now as 133 out of 1405 overall, and I have to check the place in females overall. Pretty good!

We wrapped up our post-race celebrating and headed back to the house, and it was perfect. A quick weekend trip, a fun, special race, a solid run. After months of not knowing if I'd ever run solidly again, it was a super way to get back in the game.

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I'm not sponsored or anything, but there are a few thank you's to be made here. First, I have to thank my parents -- they allow me to stay at their house, they drive me to these races, they are my biggest cheerleaders and they support me at every turn. (My sister's a big supporter, too!). Also, my friend T -- he's the one who made it possible for me to even run this race. He got my app, filled it out, and hand delivered it to ensure mine was one of the first 1500 received. Jen was more than willing to help first, so big thanks to you, too! And lastly, the hundreds of volunteers and police and firemen of Marathon, FL. Every single person involved in this race was super nice and supportive and seemed genuinely excited to be a part of this. You even see them all wearing their volunteer shirts around town the next day!

Anyone who can should try to run this race one time. It's a special one! (and rumor has it the registration may be online instead of through the PO Box next year, although I think that's what made it even more of an accomplishment -- you have to win the race to get in the race!)

Too much, too little

2011-04-12T21:14:00.002-04:00

Too much going on
Too little focus
Too much to say
Too little flowing of words
Too much to do
Too little time
Too much I should feel good about
Too little ability to allow that
Too much wanted
Too little attained

Too much in mind
Too little

Warmth

2011-04-04T22:48:00.001-04:00

It was 78* this afternoon. Warm. It'll only last one day -- tomorrow it's going to be 55* again -- but today it was 78*. I switched my routine around to run instead of bike, for two reasons: 1) because it was 78*! and 2) so my body had to run in the heat. I'm racing in Florida this weekend (well, I'm in a race) and the heat/humidity will be foreign to my system.

It was weird to run in this warmth, but it was great. I did a progression-ish run, and got about 7.5 miles done. For the rest of this week, I'll cut mileage just a tad to give my legs a break and hope for a fun race on Saturday.

I also had to bake a chocolate cake today for a coworker. More warmth. Warm oven, comfort food. Warm. But awkward, too. With the exception of a piece of flounder and one tuna/avocado sushi roll, I haven't had any animal products in 4 weeks. I knew I'd add stuff in eventually, but I really haven't yet. So when I had that bowl with the traces of cake mix left in it and on the spatula, I sooooooo wanted to lick it. But it didn't feel right. But I soooooooo wanted to. Normally, I'd dive right in! I wavered. I even texted my sister about it.

And then I did. I licked the spatula.

I scraped the bowl.

It was yummy.

It wasn't much, but it was familiar. And chocolately. And comfort. And warmth.

When I was done baking the cake, I heated up some of the black bean croquettes. They were much better today. I think they had time to solidify overnight in the fridge. I made a side salad of wheat berries/carrot/red and green peppers/broccoli/toasted almond slivers/oil and balsamic vinegar. I made some more tomato/avocado salsa. I sliced up some juicy orange.

And I ate outside on my deck, chatting with my neighbor.

Warmth all around.

BALLS!

2011-04-03T20:35:00.002-04:00

Black Bean Croquettes, to be exact. This picture doesn't really show the coloring well, though. Here's the recipe. They were pretty easy to make, but when I cooked them, I thought they'd come together a little tighter. I liked the idea of baking them, but I honestly feel like they would brown better if they were sauteed in a little olive oil and then baked. Or maybe broiling them a bit at the end would color them and crisp the outside a bit better. I'll experiment a little next time. They were tasty, and the salsa was yummy. I put some on the side to eat with bites of the croquettes, and some on mixed greens with walnuts and a little oil and balsamic vinegar. Top it off with some juicy orange wedges, and this was a delicious meal!

The BALLS! capped off a decent few days of running and weekend stuff. I ran 12 on Friday, 5ish on Saturday, and 6+ today. Legs are doing well, and since I've lost a few pounds the running is a little easier. All good stuff. I have been a little bored with my running routes, though. It'll be good to go away in a week or so for some running in new scenery.

I also had a good swim on Thursday. Got new goggles that worked way better than the other new one I had. No leaks! Yay!

And, one more thing of BALLS! for this weekend. I went to Drexel University yesterday to watch a former student play for the varsity men's lacrosse team. He was a troubled kid when I had him in middle school. He was suspended several times, struggled academically, and many teachers lost patience with him. Not me. I could see he had potential, and I reminded him all the time that he could be making better choices and he could really succeed. He was a likeable kid with me, and he felt comfortable in my class. In fact, when things were bad in his other classes, he was freely allowed to bring his assignments to my room, slide into one of the back rows, and work there. He wasn't a disruption, and he felt safe there. At the end of the year, he thanked me, and wanted to hug me (I let him, since there were other people in the room). Throughout high school, he stayed in touch, and I watched as he slowly got his stuff together. I watched him succeed in lacrosse and wrestling, and in his academics. When he graduated and told me he was going to Drexel and majoring in business and playing lacrosse, my heart skipped for him. He red-shirted his first year there to extend his playing eligibility, and yesterday I watched him, as a sophomore, start for the varsity team. His grades are good, too. I was so proud. Although I waited for a bit, I didn't get to see him after the game (I was going for beers with a guy I met!). I sent him an email, though, and I hope he feels just how proud and happy for him I am right now.

It's coming back (shh -- don't talk about it!)

2011-03-29T21:37:00.000-04:00

I ran 8 miles today, with 5 tempo miles in the middle. I've been doing speed stuff on Tuesdays the past several weeks now. Today, I planned on aiming for about 8 minute pace for the tempo miles, but I had the 7:50-55 pace in the back of my head from my last marathon training plan.

It was super windy, and I stayed conservative on the first tempo mile. But despite that, my first two tempo miles were right around the 8 minute pace, and the next three were in the 7:55-50 range. I slowed down for the last mile and made my way home. Good run. The running might just be coming back. But don't say anything -- I really don't want to jinx it!

I ate an entire bowl of popcorn and a wheat pita stuffed with avocado and tomato slices. Changed my clothes and then headed to 90 minutes of hot yoga. The room got up to 100* tonight, and I was SWEATY! Problem is, I didn't rehydrate enough after my run and my salty sweat was pouring into my eyes through the whole class. Ouch! But the concentrated, meditative stretching was awesome anyway.

I'm pretty psyched my legs are working and my running is getting solid again. I've been thinking a lot about what it took to get me here, and I'll post about that later. I've learned some really important stuff about returning from injury.

Have you ever had an injury that sidelined you? How did you make your return?

"You were like Forrest Gump!"

2011-03-27T21:21:00.002-04:00

What a weekend of running!

I started out on my long run later Friday afternoon, and almost right away realized I was going to be cold. But, I really just felt like r u n n i n g so I kept going. About 8 miles in, I stopped at my sister's where I had stashed a small bottle of water and a banana. Ate half the banana and a couple swigs of water, grabbed my gloves and kept running. And running. And running. I kept the pace slow and easy and after 13 miles decided to add a couple more on. I kept running. By mile 14, I headed toward home. I was losing energy by mile 15, and after 16 miles I was freezing and hungry and it was getting dark, so I decided to stop.

I haven't run 16 miles since the marathon last May. I just wanted to run on Friday and keep going. I wanted to remind myself I can run long. It was a good run.

Saturday morning I did 4 easy miles before heading to work at the running store. Then, this morning, I wanted to keep running. So I headed over the bridge to the city to run around the Art Museum loop on Kelly Drive. I love driving up the Ben Franklin Parkway with all the flags flying and the museum up ahead.

I set out up the Kelly Drive side of the loop and questioned my attire. Again, like both runs the past two days, a cold wind blew through me and chilled me. But there were lots of people out and lots of stuff to see along the run today, and as I made my way past one of my favorite parts of the run, this big rock,

I grinned a bit. It's been a long time since I've run over here because of the time off last fall, and I love running this path! The river was jammin' with dozens of crew teams assembled for a regatta. There were other runners and cyclists and in-line skaters (people still do that?) on the path. The skies were clear and blue and sunny. The wind was at my back on the second half of the run so I wasn't as cold. As much as I was feeling good and could've kept going, I decided to play it safe for my leg and call it a day after 8 miles.

28 miles in 3 days. I stretched, wore my compression socks, and was careful to rehydrate and refuel well after all 3 runs. Tonight, I feel good. I feel like my running is getting solid again. It's been a long time coming.

Last night I went out to dinner with friends. I told them about my run Friday night, and one of them replied with, "You were like Forrest Gump! You just kept running and running and running!" I giggled at that, but it really does sum up my weekend. I just wanted to keep running. I didn't care about pace, and I kept it comfortable. I just wanted to run.

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Thanks to RFTL, Aimee, Jen, Charisa, Maria, and HRG for your comments on my last post. I'll keep writing entries here even if no one reads them because I like to have a record of my life -- but it is nice to know people are checking in here every so often!

Maria -- I'll check out that recipe! While I'm not officially still doing the clean/vegan eating challenge, I haven't fully added everything back into my diet yet. I had pan seared flounder last night, and I did have some coffee this weekend -- and while I tried it with just almond milk (nah) and just the non-dairy vanilla creamer (eh), it wasn't good until I put a little sugar in it. So, my time of not eating added sugar is officially done. I will allow myself a small teaspoon of sugar in my coffee, but I'm not planning on adding it elsewhere just yet.

On that note, here's what I made for dinner tonight: Tofu Veggie Quiche from the savvyvegetarian site.

I tweaked the recipe a bit (added some mushrooms and omitted the sauce but added a couple things in its place) and it was pretty good. Oh - and I also made the crust with all whole wheat flour and a Smart Balance vegan spread. Next time I make it, though, I'll use less parsley (too overpowering!) and play with the "sauce" a bit more to adjust the flavors. It was perfect with a side of melon and grapes, but it would be yummy with a small side salad, too. Leftovers for the next couple days!

A Bowl of Cereal.

2011-03-23T08:28:00.001-04:00

On Monday, I was really wanting to add some stuff back into my eating. I wanted to, but I was nervous. I was uncertain about where to start. I was nervous about the effects on my weight. I was hesitant to open that door -- afraid that once I do, I'll easily fall back into my old habits. Not to say my old habits were bad -- I was a pretty healthy eater to begin with -- but the past 14 days have been so clean.

It took me all day. I had my smoothie for breakfast, a salad for lunch, an apple and grapes for a snack. Finally, late in the afternoon, I broke into the good stuff.

A bowl of my yummy cereal. Kashi Heart to Heart honey toasted oat cereal. With almond milk.

After a trip to the grocery store, I didn't come home with much outside the vegan world. I got a loaf of the delicious whole wheat bread I usually eat -- and was happy to note there's no added sugars in it, and few ingredients. Hmm. That's it, actually. The rest of the stuff I got was for salads and the veggie/lentil stew I made last week.

I enjoyed slices of the bread with smashed avocado with my stew for dinner that night, and since then I've had a couple spoonfuls of the fat free frozen yogurt that's been in my fridge. I may throw the rest out. If it weren't there, I'd likely not want it.

I may try coffee with almond milk and no sugar this week. We'll see.

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Aimee suggested (funny - no one else is even reading this blog these days) what I would feel if I did this for a whole month. I'm curious about that, too, actually. I know I could do it -- once you make the switch it becomes "what can I eat today" vs. "what can't I eat" -- but I was feeling stuck and my running seemed lagging. And I miss some of the other stuff.

I'll do the strict challenge again. Maybe longer next time. Heck, I'm sort of still in it now.

Clean Eating Challenge -- two week recap and the first day of Spring

2011-03-20T21:21:00.000-04:00

For the past two weeks -- 14 days -- I've eaten only vegetables, fruit, nuts, beans. For the first few days I used skim milk and a raspberry viniagrette, but by the 3rd or 4th day, I stopped that as well. I've used soy sauce, but no other condiments. I've switched to almond milk. I have not had:
*any meats -- no chicken, beef, fish
*any added sugar, other than that from natural sources such as fruit, honey, agave nectar, molasses -- so no white sugar at all.
*any bread. I did try two bites of the Irish soda bread that my sister made on St. Pat's, but that's it.
*any pasta.
*any dairy. No cheese, yogurt, etc., at all, and no milk since day 3, when I stopped the skim milk.

The only drinks I've had are water, some 100% OJ (though pasturized), and two cups of herbal tea -- sweetened with agave nectar. I did break this, though, on two occasions: a few beers on St. Pat's and a few beers last night at the running store's anniversary party. The first time, my stomach wasn't happy at all. After last night, my stomach was ok, but my head hurt terribly.

I'm rarely bothered by what I can't eat these days. I've had some moments of really wanting cheese, or coffee, or the yummy dinner my sister made the other night -- but those moments don't really bug me, and they don't really last.

I've lost about 6-7 pounds, and anywhere from a half inch to an inch in places on my body. People keep asking how I feel, and I'm conflicted about that. If I weren't so stuffed up with a sore throat and head cold last week, I think I'd have a better handle on things. I think I feel normal, actually.

But I do know that my running the past few days has been weak. And that's one of the reasons I think I need to add some stuff back in. It could, honestly, have more to do with the time of the month, but I feel like some things I want to reintroduce, anyway, so maybe they'll help, too.

I think I'm going to add some whole grain bread back in. That's what I eat normally, anyway, so that won't be tough. I also will probably add some chicken. I like chicken.

I miss coffee. I don't need it -- and I only have one cup on days I drink it -- so it wouldn't kill me if I never have it again, but I like it in the mornings. I'll experiment with what I put in it, though -- because I'm going to stay strong with limiting the added sugar in my diet.

I also miss the greek yogurt I started to like, and my Turkey Hill fat free frozen yogurt. I'll probably add those in sparingly. I like my Kashi cereal, so I want that, too.

And as I write all this, I have a small nervousness about adding any of it. Right now, I'm planning on a smoothie for breakfast tomorrow, and I've made a salad of mixed greens/veggies/chick peas/walnuts with balsamic vinegar and olive oil for lunch...

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Today is the first day of Spring. I drove to the beach with my sister and her family and got to run along the coast. It was a bit chilly and windy but sunny, and it was a good, quick, run.

Clean Eating -- Days 9 & 10. I passed up a Hershey's Kiss.

2011-03-16T20:40:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I headed back to the track. With my cold, I wasn't sure what I'd do or how it would feel, but I planned on trying for 2x 400 and then if that went well I'd do 2x 800. First 400's went ok, and low and behold, so then did the 800's! I was right at the paces I was shooting for. It wasn't easy, but I wasn't dying either. With how my head was so stuffy, I'll take it!

After a post-run/really early dinner of a baked sweet potato and a small bowl of cucumber/tomato/avocado/black bean salad, I headed to yoga. I warned my teacher I may need to bail if I got dizzy again (the room's at about 95* during the class) like I did the last time I went to yoga while sick, but I ended up doing just fine. I didn't feel like I had as much strength as usual, but I completed the class and felt really good about it.

Rather than listing what I've been eating, I'll just say I haven't added anything new. Yesterday and today's menus were typical of what I've been eating over the past week. People keep asking me how I feel -- and I have to tell them I'm not sure. With my cold, I don't feel great in general, so it's tough to know how my body would be feeling 10 days into the clean eating if I weren't sick. I do know I'd like to drop a few more pounds, and I'm not bugging out for a burger or sugar or anything just yet. Yesterday I really wanted cheese, but today it's not bothering me.

There is something that I'm sorta weirded out by, though: Someone put Hershey's Kisses in our mailboxes at work today, and I took mine out and gave it to a coworker without even a thought. No pang of man, I really want that. Just gave it away. I guess that's good, but whoa. That's new for me. Weird.

Today's run was in the hilly part of town. First 5 by myself, last 3 with the group run at the store. So now I'm hanging on my chunky chair with my feet up and my legs wrapped in compression. Ahhh.

And for the best part of today: I met my sister and nephews at the store where my 7 year old nephew registered to run the kids race -- a 1/4 mile run around the high school track -- after the store's 5k this weekend. He was SO excited!!! I gave him the money, and then he filled out the registration on his own, handed it in, and then got his number (they all get #1) and his t-shirt. He wore it for the rest of the day. :) How awesome is that?!

Clean Eating -- Day 8. Razorblades In My Throat.

2011-03-14T18:09:00.001-04:00

I'm forcing a rest day today. I haven't taken a complete rest day in just shy of 3 weeks -- on my off days from running I've been swimming or biking -- and with my throat feeling like there are razorblades in it and my energy low because I'm not sleeping (because of my throat), I figured it would be smart to give my body some rest. And as I say that, I'm a little embarrassed because my volume of training is so minimal compared to others. Well, anyway, a rest day it is. I napped for a short bit when I got home from work, and then I did all sorts of house stuff -- taking out the recycling, cleaning out my old handbag and putting stuff in the new one, emptying the dishwasher, etc...

(As an aside, how many other people carry a tennis ball and a GU in their handbag at all times?)

When I got up this morning I made a cup of decaf herbal tea. First drink other than water and a little oj since the challenge started. I just really felt like a hot tea might make my throat feel better. I put a little blue agave in it and it was pretty good! My throat still hurts this evening, but the tea was good enough that I had another cup later in the day. Here's how the rest of the food played out:

*breakfast -- smoothie

*lunch -- bowl of the veggie stew from last night. Some pineapple chunks. One of the cookies I made.

*snack -- popcorn and an apple.

*dinner -- haven't had it yet, but I'm going to try for some salad. I feel like I need some raw veggies. Probably mixed greens/chick peas/carrots/tomato/avocado/walnuts with some balsamic/olive oil on top. We'll see how well that works.

*dessert -- will likely be one or two of those cookies.

I'm off to the running store tonight to hear a talk on hydration and fueling in the summer heat. Since my body hates runnning in the heat, I'll see if they have anything new for me to consider.

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Stats from the first week: My weight fluctuates a couple of pounds through the course of the day every day. Weighing myself in the morning before I get dressed for work, it looks like I might be down about 5 pounds. I've lost about one inch in my boobs (yay!) and around a half inch in other places like my waist, hips/butt, thighs. One of the reasons I've decided to continue the clean eating is to drop a few more pounds, but I'm not sure if that will happen or not. Ideally, if I could lose about 5 more and then hover there, I'll be happy. It's not race weight (that would be 3 more) but it's where I'm most comfortable.

Jen -- thanks for asking -- my calf is doing well! I've been babying it with compression and stretching after each run, and my super slow return to any quality running probably helped, as well.

As another aside, it was one year ago today that the craigslist stuff started...

Clean Eating Challenge -- Day 6 & 7. Not Enough Water.

2011-03-13T22:12:00.001-04:00

I'm fully engulfed in a head cold now. Grr. My nose is red and stuffy, my throat hurts, and there's some sort of ringing in my ear. Fabulous.

After running an easy 5 miler with my sister yesterday morning, I worked at the running store all day. We were so busy I never had time to eat and I barely had much water. I got about 10 free minutes late in the day, so at that point I ate an apple. I was hungry when I got done, so I ate more for dinner than I should have. Here's the breakdown:

*breakfast -- smoothie. I'm loving it with the almond milk, but I'm in desperate need of a new blender.
*lunch -- one apple and a handful of almonds
*dinner -- the salad I had made for my lunch -- mixed greens/spinach, chick peas, tomato, carrots, avocado, walnuts. Balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Then I had a small bowl (1/2 cup?) of brown rice with peas, seasoned with soy sauce. I cut up a pineapple and ate a few chunks while I did, and then I had some popcorn, too. Sheesh.

Not.enough.water.today.

Went to bed with my cold raging. Saturday night, and I think I was asleep before 10:30pm. Sooo dehydrated when I woke up.

Sunday's eats:
*breakfast -- smoothie

Then I spent an hour in the grocery store, pouring over the produce and organic foods sections. Got some good recipes to try today and some good food stocked up.

*snack -- rest of the brown rice/peas (about 1/4 cup)

Then I went for a 6 mile run. With my head super heavy, it wasn't that easy, but I ran on a trail near my house for most of it and really enjoyed that part.

*post-run snack/lunch -- pineapple and popcorn. And one of the yummy cookies I made this afternoon:

I got this recipe from the internet, but I can't seem to locate which site I found it on. Rats. I'll have to dig more tomorrow. They are made with oats/molasses/whole wheat pastry flour/cinnamon/baking powder/vanilla/raisins. With all those ingredients, I feel like I'm cheating a bit. The cookies are good, but I have what I think is a simpler (cleaner?) recipe to try later in the week. I'll keep you posted!

*dinner -- After a brief rest on my deck chair with my face in the (warm) sun (but cool temps!), I set about making the veggie stew I found on this blog. It was delicious!!!

Lots of veggies, lentils, and quinoa made this a thick, rich stew. I do feel like I got away from the "raw-ness" of what I've been eating, but everything in this and the cookie recipe is as close to clean as I could go. With my sore throat, having a stew was way more appealing than another salad...

*dessert -- another cookie and a couple pineapple chunks.

Not.enough.water. Again today. I'm actually looking forward to going back to work tomorrow just to increase my water intake. Maybe lots of water will flush this head cold/sore throat out of my system.

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Aimee asked about my weight. I've been keeping stats on my weight and some body measurement since Day 1. Tomorrow, after 7 full days on this challenge, I'll post some of the differences.

I do plan on continuing this eating challenge for one more week. I feel like 5 days/7 days isn't enough to really reset things. The only thing is St. Patrick's Day is this Thursday and I'm planning on meeting friends at a bar after work. And, the running store's anniversary party is next Saturday, so I'll have to see what those two days will bring. As of now, I'm thinking I'll keep up the eating, but I might enjoy a beer or two :)

Clean Eating Challenge -- Day 5. A Surprise Long Run!

2011-03-13T20:44:00.001-04:00

Yes, it's Sunday, but I'm going backwards for a quick post about Friday. It was the end of the work week, and the end of what was originally the Clean Eating Challenge time frame. I have continued my challenge through the weekend, and I'll update on that in a separate post...

Friday's eats:
*breakfast -- same smoothie as yesterday
*snack -- handful of grapes
*lunch -- chunked cucumber/tomato/avocado/black bean salad (with salt/pepper/balsamic vinegar and olive oil). Also, an apple and some popcorn.
*snack -- small bowl of cantalope

Then, I left work and went to get my oil changed. I changed into my running gear and told the guy I'd be back in about 45 minutes. He said he'd call if he needed to check in with me, so I carried my phone with me.

About 2 miles in, I took in just how comfortably I was running and how nice the temps were. Capris, a tank, and a short sleeve shirt. I noticed how I felt a little lighter while I was running, and though I woke up this morning with a runny nose (NO! I don't want another cold!), I was really enjoying this run. I started to think, I should just do my long run today...

I was nervous heading into the weekend, wondering how my body would handle a long run on the type of food I'd been eating. Seeing how comfortable this run was going, by the time I hit mile 4 I thought, I'm just gonna keep going! I made my way back to the car place by mile 8, signed the paperwork and grabbed my keys, and made sure it would be ok for me to leave my car there a bit longer. "Wow, do you bust out miles like this every day?" the guy asked. I giggled, told him no, and gulped down some water from the cooler. I ate half a banana from my lunch bag, and headed out for the remaining 4 miles.

When I finished, I was thrilled with how good that run felt. Everything working well, feeling a bit lighter, and the fueling wasn't an issue at all. I finished the other half of the banana and drank a bunch of water and headed home. Since I was working at the running store on Saturday, I was psyched to have this run done today!

*dinner -- this was a challenge. I was heading into the city for dinner with some friends, so I ate a sweet potato and a grilled portabello as a post-run "meal" and hoped they were at least making a salad at my friend's house. I took a ziploc with some baby carrots and red pepper sticks to munch on while they ate.

It turns out we did have a good salad I could eat -- so I had a small bowl of mixed greens, snap peas, red pepper, tomato, and cucumber with balsamic and olive oil.

It was a fun night after a solid afternoon long run, and though I really, really, really wanted to have a glass or three of the yummy pinot noir I brought, I didn't have any.

Clean Eating Challenge -- Day 4. I want a cookie.

2011-03-10T21:26:00.002-05:00

The idea of eating from the earth is becoming not such a big deal anymore. Yes, I still have to get creative with my meals, etc., but it's a matter of what should I have, rather than what can't I have. Snacks aren't a big deal either -- popcorn, almonds, fruit, carrots, etc. What I'm missing, though, is the bread/baked stuff. Cookies. Cereal.

I need to find a cookie recipe that I can make this weekend. Any ideas, anyone?

I didn't run today -- it was a scheduled swim day -- and so I can't really comment on my energy level with my workout. All day I felt good, so that's a good thing. I did feel good in the swim, too, but it was cut a little short because of squeezing it in between work and a hair appointment, AND fighting with my new goggles. I think the real test will be my longer run this weekend. I have to figure out what to eat before the run...

So here's what I ate today:

*breakfast -- same smoothie (strawberries, blueberries, spinach, walnuts, banana) but with almond milk instead of skim milk. It was delicious! Creamier. Good.
*lunch -- mixed greens and spinach with apples, grapes, avocado and walnuts. About 2 Tbs of raspberry viniagrette dressing. Cantalope chunks for dessert.
*snacks -- banana and a handful of almonds (pre-swim), popcorn (post-swim)

*dinner -- one grilled portabella mushroom (seasoned with just a little olive oil), a small handful of grilled red pepper strips, leftover cucumber/tomato/avocado/black beans mix (seasoned with a little salt and pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar).

Yeah, that portabella doesn't look so great in this pic, but it was delicious!

*dessert -- couple handfuls of popcorn and a couple juicy strawberries and half an apple.

And now I'm feeling a weird combination of being so tired I can't keep my eyes open (truth: I just fell asleep writing this post) and being a little hungry. I shouldn't be hungry, 'cause I just ate a couple hours ago, but I sort of feel like I'm always hungry. I'm just going to go to bed and ignore it, I think. A cookie or a bowl of cereal would make me feel better, though.

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Jen - thanks for your perspective on the cow's milk. When you put it that way, yeah -- I can see why you don't drink it. While my almond milk says it's vegan, I'm not sure what some of the ingredients are, so I need to research that. At least now, for the remainder of my current challenge, I'm now completely animal-free.

Who has some good recipes? Send them my way, please!

Clean Eating Challenge -- Day 3. Popcorn!

2011-03-09T22:21:00.002-05:00

I felt good today. It might be psychological, but I felt healthier. I felt like I was breathing cleaner. That was in between trips to the bathroom. I'm drinking LOTS of water these days. More than I usually do. My coworkers are starting to wonder if I have a kidney problem.

Here's what I ate today:

breakfast -- smoothie (same as past two days. Tomorrow I try almond milk instead of the skim milk. More on that later.)
snack -- one empire apple
lunch -- the last of the veggie stir fry over brown rice. I made a big batch the other night!
snack -- this is pre- and post-run snacking: small bowl of cantalope chunks, a handful of the baked edamame, the last few potato chips.
dinner -- mixed greens salad, with avocado and tomato chunks, chick peas, and chopped walnuts. Small amount of olive oil/balsamic vinegar for dressing.

And a bowl of popcorn! Just a little olive oil (for the popping) and salt. Yum!

dessert -- nothing, really. I did have one apple slice when I was making my lunch for tomorrow.
LOTS and LOTS of water.

I ran 8 miles today after work, through the hilly part of town, with my sister. It wasn't the easiest run through the first few miles. I just felt sort of sluggish. I felt a bit better by the end of the run, but I could tell something's off. Must be my body resetting/reacting. Nothing terrible, and I'm guessing that will diminish the longer into this challenge I go.

So now, 3 days done. I'm certain I haven't lost any weight, which is what people keep saying will happen, and I want my body to feel strong enough through my runs, but other than that, this is getting a little easier each day. I even decided to extend the challenge beyond this work week -- I'm planning on carrying it through the weekend, so that I've eaten this way for at least one whole week.

*******************************************************************************

I'm going to add a section at the end of posts. Inspired by Hungry Runner Girl. This is where I'll put random stuff that's in my head that doesn't apply to the rest of the post, or any questions/comments that the 3 whole people who read this blog may ask/comment about.

*Alison suggested I try almond milk instead of skim. Hi, btw! Yes -- I'd like to try this. I've been hesitant for one main reason -- I don't know all the ingredients listed on the carton. I'm guessing it's all natural stuff, but I have to look into this further. I'm not against having animal products in my diet normally, so I'm totally comfortable with just using skim, but for this challenge I will now be using almond milk.

*I'd like to find some sort of cookie I can make. I'm going to look at the sweet potato cookie recipe that Maggs sent me to see if I can somehow make it fit into this challenge's parameters. I haven't made them in a bit, so I have to dig out the recipe.

*Have you ever attempted a "jump start" or "cleaning" or "detox" of this sort? What did yours look like? How did it affect you?

Clean Eating Challenge -- Day 2

2011-03-08T22:05:00.000-05:00

Today was Fat Tuesday. Coworkers brought donuts, soft pretzels, cupcakes, and more. I ate none of that. I did fixate a bit on all that stuff, though. I struggled with what snacks and foods I could eat, and how much more work it seems to be to eat this way.

But I once I left work I felt better -- more in control -- and I got some good ideas as I wandered around the produce section of the grocery store. It helps that I feel a bit better today than I did yesterday (no headache, not as tired). So far, so good. Here's what I ate today:

breakfast -- same smoothie as yesterday (frozen strawberries and blueberries, a banana, handful of walnuts, about 3/4 cup of skim milk, and some spinach) and a few of the homemade potato chips, just because they were that good.
snack -- half an apple and a handful of baby carrots
lunch -- leftover brown rice and stir fry veggies
snack -- a small banana, a handful of the baked edamame
dinner -- chunks of tomato, avocado and cucumber, tossed with black beans and a touch of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Yum!

dessert -- handful of cantalope chunks
drinks -- tons and tons of water, plus two swigs of 100% OJ

I also got out for a decent run in my new shoes. Brooks Ravenna 2. Love the bright blue laces!

Man, was I overdue for those. I ran after work, and as I started my run, I realized I had planned on running a speedwork workout at the track. Hmm. Ok, so today's run became a tempo run. I was a little slower on the tempo miles than I'd have liked, but it was decent overall.

So Day 2 is in the books. I feel good about it. And the best part? Realizing that I can have popcorn for a snack!!! Yeah! It occured to me that if I air-pop the popcorn, it's just corn! A little olive oil and a touch of salt, and I'm good to go! Bring on tomorrow!

Clean Eating Challenge, Day 1

2011-03-07T22:33:00.001-05:00

A few days ago, a friend mentioned she wanted/needed to jump start some better eating. It got me thinking. I need to do that, too. My meals are healthy, but I've gotten lazy with snacking and desserts and other stuff. To tell myself to stop eating that 3rd cookie, or to not grab those couple slices of cheese wouldn't work. It would be fine for that moment, but in order to really get the effect, I needed to do a bit of a detox from all that.

I need to drop some extra pounds*, I want to make better eating choices, and I'd like to possibly re-calibrate my system. *I'm not sure that this eating will cause me to lose pounds, but cutting out the desserty stuff leads me to think it might...

So, I challenged my friend to one week of eating as much from the earth as possible. What that has come to mean for me, for this week, is the following:

I'm eating fruits, vegetables, rice and other grains like quinoa, etc.
I'm eliminating animal products (chicken, fish, eggs, meat, etc) with one exception: skim milk. But I'm only using the milk in my morning breakfast smoothie.
No sugar, other than the natural sugars in fruits
No bread/pasta
Some basic condiments are acceptable: salt/pepper, herbs, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, soy/teriyaki sauces, and my raspberry viniagrette salad dressing.
No coffee/tea, basically because I like sugar and cream/milk in my coffee and sugar in my tea, so because I'm eliminating those, I'm eliminating the coffee/tea

I think that covers it. The original idea is one work week -- Monday through Friday. I'll evaluate on Friday, and decide whether to carry this longer.

So, today was the first day. Here's what I ate:

Breakfast: smoothie -- made with frozen strawberries and blueberries, a banana, some spinach, a handful of walnuts, and about 3/4 cup of milk
Snack: half an apple, and a few baby carrots
Lunch: salad -- spinach, half an apple, red grapes, walnuts, avocado, with about 2 Tbs of dressing. A couple chunks of pineapple.
Snack: handful of grapes, handful of homemade red skin potato chips (baked, with olive oil, salt/pepper, and dill)

Dinner: stir fry veggies (red pepper, broccoli, edamame, carrots, baby bella mushrooms, water chestnuts) over brown rice -- flavored with soy/teriyaki sauces, salt and pepper

Dessert: half an apple and a banana
Lots and lots of water -- it's the only thing I drank all day, with the exception of a swig of OJ

I also made some baked edamame for snacking tomorrow.

Reflections: I don't want to eat that much apple and banana in one day, but my biggest struggle here will be dessert. I wanted strawberries or cantalope for dessert, but there were no good berries at the store yesterday, and the cantalope isn't quite ready for me to cut up.

I'm not sure my body feels any different today. I mean, it is only Day1. I was really tired -- but that's normal for a Monday, and a busy one at work. I'm a little hungry now, after dinner, but that's not entirely unusual, either. I am a little headachy, but it's not a migraine, and I'm not sure what's causing it.

I know that after all this certain things will quickly and easily find their way back into my diet. I don't believe there is anything wrong with chicken, or eggs, or cheese. Or cookies, for that matter. But for this week, I'm eating clean. I'm hoping to feel better energy, a sense of clarity, and maybe a few pounds lighter. We'll see how it goes...

Sportcount

2011-03-04T22:36:00.002-05:00

Most of my swimming is just long consecutive lap swims. Sometimes I do intervals, sometimes I do some kicking only and pulling only laps, but mostly I just swim and count laps.

I stink at keeping count.

I tried to do sets of 5 laps, and I'd count them by my sister's name -- her name has 5 letters, so I'd just spell out her name every time I completed a lap. Then I switched it up and started doing sets of 8 laps. Somehow, I found it a little easier count laps this way. I really have no idea why.

No matter how I count, I usually get to a point where I lose track. Or I get exasperated that I've only done ___ number of laps. Or the counting gets monotonous. I spend the entire swim focused on what lap I'm on, and that contributes to me not liking my swim time much.

And then I found sportcount.

This little stopwatch-type device is awesome! I think it's a little pricey at $29.99 for this model, but I paid it, plus about $5 for shipping. This is the combo model, and it does several functions:

Counts laps
stopwatch function keeps track of overall swim time
shows split time when you hit the lap button (but it doesn't record them)
notes fastest lap, slowest lap, average lap time in summary at end of workout

I could have ordered a lesser model that would just count laps, or a more expensive model that actually records each split time for review later. This middle of the road model is just fine for me.

So when I was at the pool at 5am yesterday morning, and I wasn't feeling fully awake and sharp yet, I didn't have to think through my entire time in the pool. All I had to do was remember to hit the button with my thumb whenever I finished a lap. I did 2000 consecutive yards without really thinking about it. I was able to think about other stuff -- like I do when I'm running. And somehow, a long swim at 5am was actually good.
Awesome.

Fire and Ice

2011-02-27T17:48:00.000-05:00

(p.s. I got this cool pic through google images)

After running a solid 12 miler yesterday (yay! good route, legs working!) I was planning on an easy 5 miler today. When I woke up, it was a sunny, crisp, clear morning -- so inviting for a run. I also wanted to get to yoga because my favorite instructor was subbing this morning.

I drove over to the studio a little early, set up my mat and signed in, and hit the pavement. I had just enough time for 2 miles before the class. Temps were high 40's at this point and just a little breezy -- perfect. I warmed up quickly and had to really remind myself of how good yoga is for me, because it was so nice out I really didn't want to stop!

About 2 minutes before class was to start, I arrived back at the studio. Peeled off my LS tee (tank underneath) and my shoes and hit the mat. And within minutes I was dripping. The room was about 95*, our poses were challenging, and it.was.awesome.

And as soon as the class was done and I was feeling all meditated and pliable, I laced up my shoes, threw my mat in the car, and hit the pavement again. And let me tell you -- going from 95* and drenched in sweat to 50* and a cool breeze was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! Fire and ice. So invigorating! It was almost like active recovery in an icebath.

I could have kept running and running and running, but I eventually found myself done the loop and back at my car, with legs feeling good and a sense of satisfaction for a weekend of solid workouts.

Need for Speed

2011-02-23T21:22:00.000-05:00

I was whammied by some sort of a stomach bug/reaction to food I ate on Monday and spent ALL of Monday night in the bathroom waiting for the next round of vomiting. Ugh. Practically no sleep -- and really, how can you sleep when you're curled up on the tile floor all night? Tuesday was all about recovery from that. No workouts, other than flipping the mattress on my bed when I washed my sheets.

So despite little fuel in my body, I headed out for an easy 5 miler today. Legs were fine, but my upper back area and lungs seemed affected by Monday night's rough stuff. As I ran, I took note that although the rest of my body wasn't cooperating, my legs seem stronger than they have been in a long while. I say that cautiously -- don't want to jinx it! -- but I started thinking about needing to get some speed back into my workouts so I can show up at my races on April 9th and May 1st with a little bit of race in me. Most of my running since returning after the calf stuff has been easy paced stuff. Time to change that, I think!

I decided to run to the track today -- just to remind myself that it exists. 2 miles to the track, 1 mile around it, 2 miles home. No speed -- body wasn't ready yet -- but between now and the Florida race I plan to add at least one day of speed stuff into my weekly running. I won't set any records or anything this spring, but I'm hoping to at least feel like I'm getting closer to the runner I was before all this crazy calf business.

Airplane Wings

2011-02-17T21:32:00.000-05:00

Ever feel like your run is bringing you back to a carefree place and making you feel like a little kid again? All the worries, cares, concerns of the day disappear and you are just breathing in the fresh air and taking in the sights around you. Things are working well and you catch yourself smiling mid-run. You're running and running and running and you could easily stretch your arms out to the side like airplane wings and glide along?

That was my run today.

I GOT IN!!!!!

2011-02-15T22:26:00.000-05:00

The 7 Mile Bridge Run in the Florida Keys!

It took a LOT of coordination -- all applications are through a PO Box, so no Fedex or emailing or online registration. It's a really popular race, and only the first 1500 complete, correctly-done, paid applications are accepted. The race usually fills up in less than 2 days.

Living in NJ, I was pretty screwed.

Until I enlisted the help of some friends. First Jen (she lives in Florida) was willing help -- thanks! -- but then I realized my friend TH was actually IN the Keys and would have a better shot at getting my app taken care of in one day.

I had to send a request for the app (with a self-addressed, postage-paid envelope) and then wait until Tuesday, February 8th when ALL the apps would be mailed out together. I had included a Fedex express envelope for the app to get to TH by first thing Wednesday morning. In the meantime, I had sent a package to TH with my registration info (as best as I could guess they'd ask), a blank check for the registration fee, and a postage paid envelope for him to return the app.

Here's the thing: He lives within a few miles of the post office where the PO Box for the race is, so he simply delivered the app to the post office and put it in a special box they had prepared for these immediate apps. He said there were about 50 apps ahead of mine -- and that was at noon the day after the apps were mailed out! Whoa!

I felt confident I'd get in, but I still couldn't wait to see my check clear at the bank or get word my app had been accepted. I didn't want to book flights (I'll stay at my parents' rental house) or anything until it was definite.

Today, my check cleared.
Today, I booked my flight.

Today, I also closed on my refinance of my mortgage -- but that's a whole other story.
Today, I have a race in my future that I'm excited about.

By the afternoon of Thursday, February 10th, the race closed. And,
I got in!

Red Face... and, What the Hell Happened to My Honey?

2011-02-13T21:53:00.000-05:00

It was warm, like a sunburn, and when I looked in the mirror, I realized my face was red-ish. I noticed it had more color than, say, my arms. And there was a little bit of a tingly buzz to it.

And it made me smile. I know it's only (probably) windburn or something from my 12 miler at the shore (into the cold wind) this weekend, but in the middle of this cold, full-of-snow winter, my face looks like it got some sun. LOVE IT.

I tried taking a picture to show you, but -- quite honestly -- I looked pretty haggard and wrinkled in every one I took. It's been a long, busy week+ and close-ups weren't being friendly. So you'll have to just take my word for it...

And,

what the hell happened to my honey?

It got all cloudy and thick and almost impossible to squeeze out of the bottle. It's not clear and oozy anymore. When I finally get some out it's like the sugars crystallized. This is the first time I've ever had a bottle of honey in my house (don't laugh) and I don't know what happened to it.

What happened?

Dinner by Wegmans

2011-02-09T20:38:00.000-05:00

Busy, busy days this week. The other night, after work and running, I still had to do my grocery shopping for the week -- just adding to my already long day. So after loading up on tons of fresh produce, I ventured over to the prepared foods and let Wegmans cook dinner for me that night.

Grilled lemon garlic chicken (although, thankfully, it was not at all garlic-y). Perfectly cooked and seasoned.

Butternut squash and baby spinach with craisins. Perfectly cooked and seasoned.

Harvest vegetables. Cut stick-style. Perfectly cooked and seasoned.

And the guy that waited on me was VERY generous with the servings when I asked him to load up the veggies. All this for $6! All I had to do was cut up the chicken breast (I do that for even heating) and heat up the whole dish. YUM. I'll let Wegmans make this dinner for me once a week. It was really delicious.

And on an only slightly related note, tonight I was making my salad for lunch tomorrow. I was filling a tupperware bowl with mixed greens and spinach. Now, you already know my love for, but hesitation with, baby spinach. Well, no frogs tonight, but I did find this:

A giant spinach leaf. GIANT. What is that giant spinach leaf doing in a baby spinach package? The little leaf on the right is the normal size of a spinach leaf in a baby spinach batch. The gigantic leaf, bigger than a chapstick, bigger than my ipod, a billion times bigger than that dime, was covering half of the top of my salad bowl!

It doesn't belong in a baby spinach package, but I guessed it has a lot of nutrients and stuff in its enormity, so I picked it up and ate it right then and there.

I Chose the Cold Rain

2011-02-05T15:38:00.000-05:00

This morning's forecast was for an icy, freezing rain in the early morning, switching to rain later in the day. I went to bed last night thinking I'll suck it up and get a short run done on the treadmill at the gym and then hop in the pool for a swim.

Then I woke up and it didn't look too bad out. I got dressed to run outside.

Then I went outside and it was slippery, so I got dressed to go to the gym. Packed up all my stuff and got in my car.

Then I drove right past the gym and drove to the shore and ran my long run in the rain there.

I chose a long run in the cold, drizzly rain over a short run on the treadmill and a swim.

Right choice -- the fresh air, the run along the coast, legs working and the elements soaking me, was perfect. ('Though it's not helping me improve my swimming!)

Return to the Hills

2011-02-02T21:55:00.000-05:00

Tonight was the first group run from the new store. My sister and I decided to do the run, which worked well for me today because my head was brewing a serious headache as I left work. I was able to take my migraine meds and even catch a little nap before the run. By the time I picked A up, my head was fine and I was looking forward to the nighttime run.

This was going to be the first time I did some real hilly running since last summer. I wasn't sure I'd make all the hills, so my sister and I decided we might cut out one of the steeper ones. By the time we got out of the flat part and started toward the hilly part of town, A was thinking about her run tomorrow and even said she'd be ok with cutting the run short. My legs were feeling ok, so I said I wanted to keep going, but it's ok if she turned back. She didn't, so on we went.

We ended up not cutting short any part of the course. At about mile 4, we picked up one of the older (faster!) guys and chatted with him the rest of the way. While we got a little wet from the puddles and had to watch our footing once or twice with the snowy, slippery slush, the temps were warmer and the run was good.

And when we finished, my calf was ok. A teensy, tiny bit feeling the hills and faster pace, but overall ok. It was a solid run, and a good feeling to return to the hills.

Nowhere to run...

2011-01-31T22:57:00.000-05:00

Whoa. Busy week. I'm tired, and I should have been in bed an hour ago to try to make up some sleep. So here's my week in pictures instead:

I had a sweaty but good 8 mile run early in the week

because I knew more snow was on its way.

The roads ~~were~~ are bad -- no shoulders, no sidewalks clear. Nowhere to (safely) run.

So mid-week I hopped on the trainer for an hour-long session.

I told myself to stay riding through an hour of Oprah. I rode easy through most of it, but during every commercial break I put it in a tougher gear and rode harder. Then I went to an awesome 90 minute hot yoga class. Om.

The end of the week brought my first treadmill run since last winter. I hate the treadmill. I hate running on it, but with news of a woman in Delaware getting struck and killed by a plow while walking (running?) in the street, I knew I had to play it safer. I survived, though I didn't enjoy those 5 miles at all. But I did hop into the pool for a short swim afterwards.

The weekend was a busy one. I took a quick trip to the shore to get a solid 12 miler done without worrying about safety in the snowy streets. Roads are a bit clearer there, and I got to see my nephew's basketball game for a bit. Oh, and some super fun Roxie playing time, too!

We moved the running store to its new location across the street, so I was working there for a bit Saturday night. Then an easy 3 miler with my sister Sunday morning and I was off to NYC to celebrate a friend's birthday. Lunch at Carmine's -- YUM, but so full! --

and then a walk up to the Gershwin Theater to see

It was good, but I'm soooooooo not a movie-goer. I know this wasn't a movie, but the concept is similar. Putting me in a dark theater where I have to sit still for hours at a time while I know it's sunny outside just makes me want the show to hurry up and be finished. It was good, though.

After the long day in the city and the long train ride home, I got to the store at about 9pm and worked until after 10:30pm. Needless to say, when I got up this morning, I was in need of much more sleep.

Unfortunately, I'm ridiculously professional about going to work, so I threw on one of my easy dresses and poured a big cup of coffee to get me through the day.

I'm not sure if I look sort of perky or just beyond tired here, but somehow I got out for a solid run after work and had one of those runs where I just could have kept going for-ev-er. 7 cool, crisp, comfortable miles done, while dodging snow piles the whole way.

A pleasant surprise after a long, busy week, with nowhere to run.

"Those socks are cool!"

2011-01-23T22:08:00.000-05:00

So said two of my guy friends when I showed them my Zoot Kona compression socks. Thanks to Charisa, my legs have been getting some serious TLC after my longer runs.

With my left calf still feeling like it's not fully healed, I've been paying lots of attention to what it's doing/feeling at every moment. These days it often feels strained, sore. Like it's been worked hard. It's not tightening, and it's not stopping me from running. But it is feeling weak at times, and I constantly worry what the issue is.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm destined to run only short, 5 milers for the rest of my life. (Which is, I know, better than nothing.)

Sometimes I wonder if it's something more serious. Another tear? Some sort of a chronic issue? Cancer?!

Sometimes I wonder if I'm just being impatient and it will take a longer while before it's fully healed from the work of the fall.

So I'm icing, stretching, running easy (for the most part), and keeping marathons off the radar. And, I'm letting my awesome pink and black Zoot socks wrap my calf with positive vibes as often as possible. Thanks, Charisa!

Frogs In My Spinach

2011-01-20T22:24:00.000-05:00

I ran 7+ good, crisp miles this afternoon and then followed that up with an a.w.e.s.o.m.e. 90 minute yoga class. The room was HOT, the instructor (who's fantastic) mixed things up a bit, I felt stronger and even a bit leaner (just a bit) than I have in yoga in a while.

When I got home after 8, I was hungry -- so I pulled out the frozen strawberries, blueberries, a banana, skim milk (sometimes I use soy or almond, but mostly I'm a cow's skim milk girl), a scoop of peanut butter, and my bag of spinach.

And, like always, I hesitated as I pulled the spinach out of the bag. Because years ago I heard the story of someone finding a live frog in their bag of greens

and I'm convinced it's going to happen to me at some point. Of course I examine the bag when I buy it at the store. But still, every time I pull some out to use, I'm nervous I'll find a frog.

I didn't tonight. Whew! And the smoothie was deeeelicious.

The glass, if you can't read it, says, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it, you'll land among the stars."

I think that's a motto I'll focus on for a bit. I'll need it, because I've got some daunting ideas for some racing this year.

Sleep Deprived

2011-01-17T17:43:00.000-05:00

I didn't even check, but I'm sure I have at least one or thirteen posts about this topic already. I'm not a good sleeper. I like my sleep, and I try to sleep, but I'm not good at it. Falling asleep isn't usually my problem. It's that I wake up throughout the night and often am so awake at that point that I start to wish it was time to get up and go to work. I'm tired. I want to sleep more. I just can't.

This weekend I had plenty of opportunities to get catch up. That's how things usually work. I try to get at least one weekend morning that I don't have to get out of bed for anything right away. I can usually catch up on some sleep that way. Somehow, despite having two days to do that, I still didn't catch up. As I sit here writing this, my eyes are heavy and I want to be comfy in my bed closing my eyes. It's 5pm. If I actually went to bed now -- or at 8pm for that matter -- I'd be wide awake at midnight, desperately trying to fall back to sleep, then giving up and just wishing it was 5:30am.

Before anyone suggests it, yes, I've tried sleep aids -- tylenol PM, benadryl, even ambien. I do yoga. My room is dark. It's not about falling asleep for me, it's staying asleep.

These days there's major construction happening right outside my development. Right in front of my house.

While they aren't working on the road through the night, they do have a generator or something that's on the whole time. I think it's keeping the spotlight on. It's loud. My windows are closed, and I still hear it all night long. Not so loud that it's intrusive, but loud enough for me to know it's there. They're going to be working on the sewer/road work for the next week or more. Although it's winter and cold out, I'm seriously considering getting my fan out for some white noise for the next few nights.

And on another note -- one that I'm trying to ignore by making a post all about my non-sleeping -- my left calf is being cranky again. I'm hoping it's just a temporary thing -- this has been happening every few weeks -- but I'm getting really tired of having to wonder if I'll ever feel like my leg is 100% again. It's disheartening to think it may not...

Perhaps the thought of that is what's subconsciously keeping me up these days.

Today was sponsored by the letter S

2011-01-12T19:25:00.003-05:00

*S*S*S*S*S*S*

Snow day! Learned of it while in the theater watching Hood to Coast -- which, as an aside, was both cool and uncomfortable to watch. Cool race documentary (that girl Rachel from the movie poster is hysterical!), but because it's set in Oregon it sort of forced me to reminisce about my time out there... tough.

Sleeping in! Ok, I was up at my normal early morning hours, but I allowed myself to turn over and go back to sleep/doze a bit before getting out of bed. Yum.

Shovelling! There was a lot of snow to move, but it was pretty powdery and easy to clear. I spent about an hour shovelling out and clearing off my car and front steps.

Sledding! I went over to my sister's and she and my two little nephews and I went sledding. It was so fun! There were tons of people on the little hill -- and from afar all the colors of the coats and hats and sleds looked really cool against the pure white snow. We took turns going individually down the hill on saucers or with a partner on the red toboggan. Great time.

Swimming! After warming up a bit, I headed to the pool for a swim. No time constraints, so I set out for a 2000yd swim. That's usually about my normal workout, and about as long as I can take being in the pool before I get bored. It wasn't the best swim, but it was solid. I felt pretty good when I hit 2000, so I went a bit longer and finished with 2500 total yards.

Stress. Ok, not a lot of stress, but I'm in the middle of refinancing my mortgage and sheesh! it's a lot of work. Dig out and fax/email TONS of paperwork! Grr! I know that the closing costs and aggravation will all be worth it when my rate drops more than 1.5%, but I'm ready for the process to be done.

Stuff. Finishing out the day, I made dinner, played with my new handheld Food Saver vaccuum sealer (cool!), and got some school stuff together.

Looking back over the day, I'd say it was a solid one.

Deformed but working

2011-01-10T21:01:00.000-05:00

My left calf, that is. I absolutely CAN NOT STAND how the Graston work distorted my calf muscle -- but I'm running ok these days so I'm trying not to notice it.

I have been working my way into a weekend long run the past couple weeks, and this week I wanted to shoot for a 12 miler. I planned to meet up with my sister and a friend early Saturday morning. It was due to start snowing in the morning, but we thought if we started early enough the roads would be ok. Not great, mind you, because of the previous snow and icy conditions, but good enough to get the run done without major problems.

Um, nope. About an hour in, the snow picked up and soon we were trudging through a few inches on the paths. We really just wanted to be done. At the same time, however, I was LOVING the fact that I was running this many miles, in the raw nature, and my leg was holding up. A definite contradiction, but the sense of accomplishment when we finished made the rough conditions worth it.

And speaking of rough conditions, I got a new pair of full-length tights for those rare occasions in the winter that I actually wear long pants rather than capris. I didn't think I'd need them for the 12 miler -- it wasn't going to be that cold -- but I thought with the wind and the snow I'd test them out. That's them in the pic above. The Brooks Utopia Thermal Tight. Yum. Soft, perfectly fitting, zippers up the calf to allow me to air out my legs. As much as I love my capris, I'm glad to have a pair of tights that are comfortable and worked great on a longer run.

They even fit over my deformed calf...

Leaving my mark all over town

2011-01-05T21:27:00.000-05:00

Ok, the real title of this post should be something like:

If I just could've barfed... or
Spitting may not be lady-like, but it had to be done... or
Who eats salad for lunch before running???!!!

Ugh. Ok, feel free to skip this post if you don't want to hear about some real running. 'Cause running isn't always easy, and sometimes it isn't lady-like, and certainly sometimes it isn't pretty. And I'm not talking about legs feeling tired and cursing and hair getting messed up.

I'm talking about spitting, feeling like vomiting would make the whole thing better, and snot.

Still with me? Whoa.

It was going to be a 40ish degree, sunny afternoon. When I woke up early this morning I debated running before work, but I didn't have enough time to get the miles done that I wanted to, so I hopped on the bike trainer for a bit before getting in the shower. Which meant a rush to get hair dry, clothes on, coffee and lunch scooped up, and out the door. I threw some running stuff in a bag, figuring I'd get my run done at work before running errands on the way home. I had made a big salad full of veggies for lunch last night and didn't have time to make a sandwich instead, so I convinced myself I'd have enough time -- 3 periods -- to digest before my run. Should be fine.

Hmm. Not so much. While my legs felt fine, I fought the urge to throw up that salad by the end of mile 1. By mile 2, my mouth was salivating and I started spitting to clear it out. Only on grassy spots, and only when cars or people weren't around. C'mon, I'm still a girl with some things!

By mile 3 I really wondered if I should just cut the run short. Spit more, feel ok for a second. I stopped a couple times and thought, just puke! It'll make it better! But that didn't happen. Run some more, spit some more. Man, my legs feel fine and I just want this run to be over! Agh! The fight went on in my head -- keep going? or cut it short?

By mile 5, I figured since I'd made it this far, I might as well add the loop that will get me to 7 total miles. Wiping the snot from my nose, I started to giggle a little about all this.

Mouth thick and full of spit,
Nose running from the cool temps,
Wanting to vomit,
I add more miles.

And then, I added one more.

It was in my head to get an 8 miler done today, and despite how gross I felt, how much I'd spit all over town, (ok, yes, once that spit landed on my shoe. gross. whatever.) and how much my nose was running, I got all 8 done.

And I felt better as soon as I stopped.

January 1, 2011

2011-01-01T18:41:00.004-05:00

Is it weird to say that as of midnight last night I felt a little weight off my shoulders? Like I made it to the end of a dark tunnel and I could see the sunshine? Yeah, it's weird. But that's how I felt. It's 2011. A new year. New possibilities. Looking forward.

I wanted to keep New Year's Eve low-key. I contemplated staying in and watching the ball drop (I can't remember the last time I did that!) but then realized alone on my couch wasn't how I wanted to begin the new year. I made loose plans to spend the night with my friend Alice and a couple of her friends -- we'd have drinks at her house in Philadelphia, then hop through a couple local bars, then make our way (just a few blocks) to the waterfront to watch the fireworks at midnight. Sounded like a perfect non-plan. I put on a fun outfit (don't mind the hair -- it wasn't done yet!) and headed out.

I got to Alice's where we started the night with some REALLY good champaign. This bottle was part of me closing a chapter.

After some drinks and some stops at a couple great little bars, we headed to the waterfront -- and without planning it, picked up a couple of friends on the way. It was awesome to stand with Alice and these other two friends, L and K -- they aren't my every day contacts, but they are good, solid friends -- and sip champaign and watch the arrival of 2011.
I had known all along that I'd probably head home after the fireworks. I drank water most of the night and wanted to feel good when I woke up this morning. I planned on meeting my sister for a long run and wanted to start the new year feeling ready for the fresh start. And I did just that.

I ran 11 miles this morning -- the longest run I've done since August -- and my leg felt pretty good. It was sunny and warmer this morning, and it was a solid way to start the day.

I'm putting away 2010 -- my Christmas decorations included -- today, and I'm looking forward to what's going to be a better year. It's going to be. I just know it.

Meet Roxie!

2010-12-29T21:14:00.007-05:00

Several weeks ago, I met my dad about 40 minutes from my house where he was meeting a family who had chihuahua puppies. He has been devastated since last fall over the death of my brother's dog, a chi who was more like my dad's pup than my brother's. My dad's been through a lot of physical stuff this year, and getting a puppy of his own was something that I knew would breathe new life into him. My mom finally agreed to it, so my dad and I met this little cutie, as well as her mom and dad, too.
The minute my dad held her, I knew he had to adopt her. We made the arrangements and planned to pick her up just before Christmas -- right after she'd had her first shots.

She hadn't grown too much since we'd seen her, but she seemed to take to us fairly easily.

In fact, as much as she loved to be held, she seemed to prefer climbing her way up to this perch to nap.

And over the next few days, through Christmas and the blizzard, she continued to get more and more acclimated to life with my parents in her new home. She is hysterical to play with -- such a tiny little thing (2lbs, 14oz!) with a ton of energy.

She's bouncy and cuddly and super cute. We'll train her well so she's not yappy and annoying like some chi's I've known. I know she'll bring my dad lots of love and companionship and joy. I can see the difference in him already, and that's the best gift I could have.

Christmas at the beach

2010-12-28T09:09:00.007-05:00

Christmas day was crisp and clear. I snuck out for an 8 miler between gift-opening sessions. It was a long day, but good family time. The next morning, as I ran 5 miles, the snow began to fall. After my run I snapped a few pics that show just an inch or so of snow on the yard and on the beach:

Overnight, however, the snow fell like crazy. The 30+mph winds created drifts that were chest high in some places, and the plowing that was done would lock us into place:

This is the same front yard as the first pic. See the top of the little Christmas tree?

After a LOT of back-breaking shoveling, and some help from some boys that drove by, I was able to eventually get my car out. My dad's truck, however, will be buried for a while. (See it to the left of my car?) My mom's car was across the street in a friend's driveway, so we dug her out, too.

With my car out, a path dug to the front door and back, and my mom's car now able to be driven, I felt ok to head home. I cautioned my parents to not try to drive anywhere because the plowing didn't really clear the roads. As I headed home, I would see just how bad the roads were.

This is the ocean road in front of my parents' house. I am looking south, with the ocean on the left of the picture just over those dunes.

I was able to eventually get my 4-wheel drive Jeep through the ocean road and down to the main boulevard, which looked like this:

It was a crazy drive off the island. It's a good thing the temps are warming up this week -- they're going to need all the help with snow removal that they can get!

Lunar Eclipse

2010-12-21T19:11:00.003-05:00

For the first time since 1638, a total lunar eclipse coincided with the winter solstice. The position was perfect for North America viewing, and the clear skies we were forecasted to have would make it easy to see. Since I haven't been sleeping well anyway, I snapped a picture of the bright, shining, full moon, and then went to bed telling myself I'd like to wake up watch the eclipse.

I woke up on my own at about 2:30am and went out on my deck. The moon was partially shadowed at that point, so I snapped a pic and then went inside and settled myself onto my sofa where I had a perfect view.

I watched the moon become fully shadowed until it was a red, soft-glowing version of the earlier full moon. I went outside and tried to snap another pic, but my camera wouldn't show it. Here's what it looked like at that point:

(from mashable.com)

I settled back on the sofa for a bit, but the moon stayed shadowed long enough that by 3:40ish I knew I needed to get some more sleep before my alarm woke me for work at 5:25am. Though I had really wanted to see it unveil, I headed up to bed. When my alarm woke me a short time later, the moon was back to its full, shining, glow.

What a cool thing to see. A once in a lifetime thing, actually. Though we won't have to wait hundreds of years for another total lunar eclipse on the winter solstice, the next one, according to NASA, won't happen again until 2094.

My (sick) view.

2010-12-20T18:10:00.007-05:00

This has been my view for the better part of the past few days:

That's the view from my sofa.

I've been using a lot of this:

And today I got to watch (and be jealous) Oprah's Favorite Things show (part2):I was feeling better on Saturday -- got a wheezy, slow, but completed, 5 miler done in the morning, then worked all day at the running store, then headed into the city for my friend's birthday dinner at one of the restaurants in midtown. I decided not to go out for drinks after -- the couple glasses of wine I had at dinner was enough for this sick girl -- and I was home and in bed by 1am.

Too late, and too much on Saturday, I guess, because I barely slept at all that night and by Sunday morning I was feeling awful. Head congested again, nose and breathing a mess. After deciding I couldn't get my aching body to go for a run, I went for a short walk with my sister and nephew (he wasn't well, either). That was enough. I got home, discovered I had a 100.4* fever, and spent the rest of the day and night on the sofa.

I went to work today, but left during my prep and got some meds from the doc, and then came right home early this afternoon and spent the rest of the day on my sofa again. I'm over this. It's a nice sky view, but I want to feel better. I want to run.

2 miles

2010-12-16T14:26:00.002-05:00

That was my run today, and I barely made it that far. Two days ago I came home from work feeling achey and sneezy. I went to yoga anyway, and that near killed me. The heat, the constant head up and down, and my lack of strength made me consider leaving the class after 15 minutes. I stuck it out, but it wasn't good.

I went to work yesterday and that was a bad move. I was miserable. Sneezy, eyes heavy, and yep -- a slight fever that I confirmed when I got home. I didn't run, swim or bike -- I basically crashed on my sofa for the rest of the day.

So today I stayed home from work. I was feeling a bit better -- no fever, way less sneezy -- and thought a short easy run might clear me out. Nope -- my lungs were not working at all. I had no strength. I even felt a bit dizzy.

So my easy 3 miler ended after barely making 2.

I've gotten my Christmas shopping done -- yay for free shipping with online orders! I've gotten some laundry done. And I've gotten a whole lot of laying on the sofa done for the past 24 hours.

I just need my lungs to work better. I want to run tomorrow!

Alone.

2010-12-12T19:00:00.003-05:00

I was alone for 8 miles this morning. It was great. It was weird.

I normally see a bunch of other people out there on a Sunday morning. It was rainy, so maybe that's why I was the only one out there? Whatever -- I didn't mind it today.

I've been thinking a lot about pulling away recently. From people, from talking, from interactions.

Nothing good is happening with my interpersonal relationships lately. People not being straightforward, people putting words in my mouth. It's frustrating, and I'm just feeling like if I just pull away and not talk to or interact with anyone for a bit it might make things easier. Go to work, visit with my sister and nephews (family isn't the problem), do my workouts, keep to myself.

I don't necessarily like to be alone, but I'm just tired of dealing with other people's issues.

On my windy, rainy, warm (shorts!) run this morning, I was alone. I ran around the river, and I was quietly taking it all in -- this year, the empty path, where to go from here. This time a year ago I was super happy. I was enjoying living. Today, I miss that.

So I think I need to just be alone for a bit. See where friendships fall. See where life goes. Let 2010 fade away.

I need to get ready. Because I have to believe 2011 is going to be my year.

Laps

2010-12-05T18:32:00.005-05:00

While running circles around my development in the peaceful quiet of 5am, I counted. Three times past my house would equal a mile. Three more circles, another mile. I'd do that 12 times this particular morning.

As I counted, I was struck by the similarity of this experience with the one I'd had swimming just the day before. In the pool, I usually swim 2000 yards. Some days a bit less, some days a bit more. Every day, I count my laps in 5's. 10 laps, 500 yards. 10 more, 1000. Do 20 more laps and I've hit my 2000. Back and forth, back and forth. I have a hard time keeping track of my swimming laps most days.

Funny, I rarely lose track of my running laps.

But then I started thinking about how my whole day is a lap. Wake up, go to work, go home from work, run/exercise (some days this happens before going to work), eat, bed. (And yes, there's showering, errands, and lots of other stuff in there on any given day, but you get my point!) Repeat that lap tomorrow. And the next day.

Even within my work my life is a series of laps. Monday through Friday, repeat. I'm a teacher, so September to June, summer break, repeat.

It's an intriguing concept to me -- this idea of a life of laps. Part of it sounds like I'm living on a hamster wheel, the other part sounds like there's an element of familiarity in my daily life and activites. Some days those laps feel tedious, other days those laps bring comfort.

Am I living on a track that I feel unable to step off of? Maybe at times. Not all the time. Sometimes not at all. Because even within those laps there are new experiences and new interactions and new people and new views.

Finish one lap, then turn around and run it in the other direction.

One hour running

2010-11-28T20:21:00.003-05:00

For the first time since August, I ran for one hour yesterday. It was awesome. It was COLD, but it was sunny and clear, and I ran with my sister. My leg is feeling better. I might even say it feels like it's getting stronger, and I haven't been wearing the calf sleeves. My fitness is still terrible (how?! I was swimming and biking?! AGH!), but the run felt good.

I love the one hour run... it's long enough for a solid workout, but short enough to not be too taxing. Long enough to enjoy the sunshine or whatever the weather is, short enough to not be something you have to prep for.

And after yesterday's one hour run, I had my first post-run chocolate milk in what seems like forever. Yum.

On a side note, I saw this license plate the other night:

Interesting. I rarely seem to have this problem.

Giving (Running) Thanks

2010-11-25T20:47:00.004-05:00

2010 has been a tough year. Probably the toughest of my life so far. But today, I was thankful that I'm still standing -- beaten up a bit, but standing. And I was thankful to spend the day with my family. I miss my grandmom, but we did ok today.

And, inspired by Cindi's post, I thought about what running has brought me in 2010, and how I'm thankful for it. So here's my 10 Running Things I'm Thankful for in 2010:

1) That even on my worst of days, my running allowed me some peace.

2) The effect my running has on my body is paramount. When I'm running, I feel better in my own skin. Being away from running for almost 2 months was beyond difficult. My body is uncomfortable right now, and I can't wait for the return to running to slim me back down to comfortable.

3) The connection my running gives me to my town. Working a part-time job at the local running store allows me to feel like I'm, in a small way, a part of this community. I like that.

4) My running (and my sister's) serves something of a positive role model to my little nephews. They ask about races, they ask about how my (our) run went, they ask about my calf, they know this is a big part of who I am.

5) The opportunity to finally meet Cindi in May in Champaign, IL. After all this time talking virtually, it was wonderful to finally meet her in person.

6) The ability to skip across the country and have people to spend time with along the way. I travelled to Minnesota this summer and ran a half marathon with people I would never have met without my running. Two friends opened their home to me for the whole long weekend and treated me like one of their own.

7) The opportunity to run in places all over this country. This year alone, I've run in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Minnesota, Las Vegas, California, Washington DC (sort of), and home: NJ -- both here outside Philly and along the coast.

8) Friends. Though I lost a couple friends earlier this year, the rest of the people I've become friends with working at the store have continued to be there. We don't spend as much time together as I did with my close group last winter, but they're still here.

9) Adventure. I've run in 20" of snow. I've run in snowstorms where my eyebrows end up making me look like Old Man Winter. I've run in pouring rain and giggled as people in cars drove by staring in wonder. I've run in the 103* heat of the desert. I've run along the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean within 24 hours of each other. I've run in a Mud Run, and I've run in a tri(du)athlon.

10) Through my running relationships, I've learned a lot about people this year. Some really good, some really terrible things to have to learn. I learned lessons that will carry with me for a long, long time. I learned these lessons because of my running, and the relationships I've formed because of and through it.

Wait, I have an 11) Sense of self. Running is part of the definition of me, of who I am. It was a struggle to lose that for a while, and I'm still working to get it back. As a runner, I feel like I have a focus -- and in my crazy life, that is sustaining.

Back to the Sleeves

2010-11-20T13:10:00.004-05:00

This past week my calf was feeling weak again. I'm not sure why -- and it's part of what has been making me nervous. I don't want to keep worrying if I'll ever regain solid strength in my leg, but I'm reminded of just how much my muscles were broken down with the Graston work.

I took the picture above to show the sleeves I'm wearing again to help my calf feel supported as it continues to heal. But if you look closely, you can see what I've seen for months now. Look at my left leg. Now look at my right. See the sharp definition of my calf muscle on the right? On the inside of my leg? Now look at the left. See how the definition isn't as sharp? There's a little bump under the calf muscle. It's been like this since the Graston work.

I'm afraid it'll be like that forever.

My calf muscles were something that stood out about me. Big legs. Defined muscles. I've joked about how my legs look a bit much in heels with that definition, but truly, I've liked having them. Now I'm sad they aren't the same. I'm worried that left calf will never be the same.

I need to be disciplined in my strengthening exercises. I'll use the sleeves for a bit to help with some support while I'm running. And I hope all of this continued healing gets my definition back.

To be or not to be...

2010-11-15T20:41:00.004-05:00

...nervous, that is...

My running has been improving. My running fitness is shot -- mainly because of the time off, partly because of a sinus thing I've been dealing with --but my running is improving. I'm slowing increasing my mileage, and I'm not running more than 3 days in a row at a time. I'm not sure if I'm being too conservative with my mileage, I'm fairly certain I'm not being too aggressive, but I think I'm somewhere in the middle.

And yet, at any given moment, one or more of the following thoughts are going through my mind:
my leg's going to tighten up again
nope, you went through all that pain of the Graston to fix it
but it's still weak
but the running and the exercises will strengthen it
but what if it doesn't ever get back to it's true strength
but why wouldn't it
I don't want to push it because I don't want it to tighten up again
it won't
it might
i really hope it doesn't
maybe I need to push beyond what I think is safe
maybe I'm doing it right
what if it tightens up again
maybe it won't
I hope it won't

and so it goes. All the time.

I think I'm doing ok, but I haven't ever dealt with an injury like this. I almost wish I could get another MRI that could show me that the muscles are healed, so that I have a stronger sense that it's going to be ok.

But in the absence of that, I have to just believe that because I've done everything all the doctors have told me, it will be fine. My leg will continue to get stronger, my fitness will improve, and I won't have to be nervous.

Car vs. Deer

2010-11-11T19:51:00.004-05:00

Like I needed something else to add to the F'd up year 2010 has been, a gigantic buck decided to jump in front of my car on my way home from my sister's on Tuesday evening. Now, if I lived in a particulary rural area, or if I were on a long stretch of uninhabited road, this might not seem all that unusual. But I don't, and I wasn't. I was driving through a very residental area when it happened. 6:30 pm, and because of the time change, it was already dark out. There is a small park area nearby, but this deer came out of someone's yard and attempted to cross the street just as I was passing by. It happened so fast, I barely had time to react.

Even as I slammed on my brakes, I knew the deer would be hit. Most of the hit was on the front right turn-signal area of the car, but the size of the buck -- it had antlers! -- meant that the entire front of my car would sustain damage. I watched as the deer rebounded off my grill, slid across the road, and then miraculously hopped up and, though you could tell it's hind left leg was injured, ran back into the neighborhood, closer to the wooded area.

Heart pounding out of my chest, I put on my hazzards and just sat there. Another motorist who saw the whole thing happen (it was near an intersection) pulled over to see if I was ok. Since I was unhurt, he gave me his card and went on his way. I called the police and within minutes they were there. 3 of them. Must've been a slow night.

I told them what happened, they wrote the report, and I headed home. The car was driveable, but pretty banged up. I wouldn't even know until the next morning, in the daylight, just how much damage was done.

These pictures barely show the full situation. There are 4 cracks in the grill, hood bent, brackets broken inside the grill and under the hood, lights broken, the wheel well disjointed, and more.

So now I'm in the process of getting the estimates, repair work, rental car, and insurance stuff taken care of. I've driven around that area twice to see if I could see a huge, injured deer. Nothing so far, so I hope he's healing and not suffering.

Busy Week

2010-11-07T19:54:00.003-05:00

Oof -- what a busy, busy week. I finished physical therapy on Tuesday, had parent conferences M/T/W, off from work but headed to the shore Thursday, worked all day at the running store on Friday and Saturday, and worked the water stop at the Cooper Norcross 10k Bridge Run this morning. The latter part of the week was all good -- I haven't been to the shore in a bunch of weeks and the running store was really, really busy as race central. But I'm still not sleeping much, and now I'm beat.

My running's been good -- I worked up to a consecutive 3 miles, and I'll do that a few times over the next week or so before I pop it up some more. I need to force myself to continue to do the leg strengthening exercises I learned at PT, but so far the calf is feeling ok. Whew.

Today's race is one that our store is heavily involved with. In addition to registration, packet pick-up, and acting as race central, we are also responsible for the water stop near the 5 mile mark. Every year we layer up, grab coffee (I bring bagels for everyone, too), and our H2O shirts (and one chicken costume),

and get set up for nearly 4000 runners.

It's cold, it's early, and it's work, but it's fun -- even at the end of a very busy week.

Back to MCM

2010-11-01T22:06:00.005-04:00

My mom, sister and I travelled to Washington, DC this weekend for the Marine Corps Marathon. I didn't run it. My sister did.

I loved this race in 2008. I didn't race it -- I ran it slowly with a friend to simply enjoy the day, so I don't consider this one when I talk about trying to break that 4 hour mark. For me, MCM wasn't about my time.

This year, I registered for MCM when my sister said she wanted to run it. Then my leg got all pissy and I transfered my bib to a customer at the running store. I knew I'd travel to DC to support and cheer on my sister, but I also knew that would be tough.

After a slightly uncomfortable train ride and a trip to the expo, we eventually walked our way from our hotel room, across the Key Bridge, into Georgetown, to a restaurant called Clyde's. The food was fantastic, and the glass of wine I had was greatly needed. I was so disappointed to not be running! To make up for it, I ate a ton of delicious food and almost licked the last drop of wine out of my glass. We marvelled at that evening's sunset, and went to bed early.

After much tossing and turning -- both for the mental frustrations of the weekend AND the roll-away mattress that felt like a box-spring -- I awoke, dressed, and we headed out. My back was hurting, and my feet would hurt by the end of the day, but at least it would be a crisp, sunny, fall day to enjoy being outside.

The weather was perfect (of course). Cool at the start (about 48*) and only heading up to about 58* by the finish. Sunny, clear skies. Perfect. Something I can't seem to ever experience.

We walked to the start and had plenty of time to kill. (We weren't sure how long of a walk it would be.) Eventually, though, the corrals filled and we wished A luck and made our way to the hilltop to watch the thousands of runners await the start.

I got teary as the cannon signaled the runners to begin their journey. This was so hard to watch and not be a part of! I wanted my sister to have a good day, but I was depressed that I couldn't take advantage of great weather at a marathon for a change. I wiped the tears, clapped my hands, and tried not to be so focused on what I can't seem to do.

My mom and I walked over the Arlington Cemetery Bridge and took in the sights, and then planted ourselves to await the runners.

We found my sister around the 10 mile mark and again at 16, and both times she looked good. And despite finding ourselves at the perfect spot on the hill up to the finish at the Iwo Jima memorial, we missed her.

Grr. While we were now, at the 4:10 mark, thinking she was having a rough day and hadn't finished yet, she was weaving her way through the finish area, over to the beer garden and the free phones. My cell rang, and it was her. "Where are you? What time did you finish?" I asked.

"3:51 something," she replied. "Meet me at the beer garden."

My mom and I were frustrated that we never saw her at the finish. We were right there! But now we had to make our way through the monster crowds to find her. As we did, I took it all in -- the memories of my day there, the frustrations of my own 26.2 races, the great luck my sister seems to have with her races (the weather, a better finish at this MCM, etc), the second sub-4 marathon she's run, my recent return to running and hoping my leg continues to get and stay strong. All of it.

This was a difficult weekend -- physically and emotionally. It was nice to spend time with my mom and sister, and I am happy for my sister that she had a good day. Somehow she fits it all in and has great success. But I was drained by Sunday afternoon. It was a tough return to the Marine Corps Marathon. I couldn't wait to get home.

A SNORKLE?!

2010-10-27T21:03:00.004-04:00

I went to the salt water pool today. My PT had said I could run yesterday and today before seeing her again tomorrow, but I knew 3 days in a row of running was enough. Yes, the running was only 10 minutes or so, but it was 3 days in a row. Smarter thing to do is not run today, so I swam instead.

Got to the pool, took the last lane available against the wall, and scoped out who I was sharing the pool with. Two older ladies swimming nice and slow, and an older guy -- also swimming nice and slow.

But wait! What's that? Is he really? Is that? Seriously?!

He's swimming laps with a snorkle?!!!

Hilarious! Intriguing! Brilliant?

I'd never heard of this... someone actually swimming laps with a snorkle. I guess it makes sense -- swimming long, you exert more energy by having to turn to breathe. Fascinating idea.

But not one I think I need to try. As intriguing as it seems, and as efficient as it must be, I'll have to swim my tri's without one (right? Is there a rule about this?) so I'll stick to practicing without one.

***Hold on. I just googled this. Apparently, swim training with a snorkle is akin to altitude training for runners (when used with some cap???). It forces the lungs to work harder and increases lung capacity. Huh. Maybe it really is something to consider!

"I don't want to see you again"

2010-10-26T21:18:00.002-04:00

So said the doc at my appointment yesterday.

He asked me a few questions about the PT I've been doing and how my leg's been feeling since I saw him last, and then he felt my left leg.

"This one's the good one, right?" he asked, as both his hand were wrapped around my left calf.

Ha! Nope, I replied. The right one's the good one.

He grabbed my right leg, then my left again. "Huh. Well, it feels good."

Really?! Yay! I'll take it!

He reminded me to take it easy increasing my mileage, and I admitted I realized this past week that my leg wasn't ready to run 3 weeks ago. I'll take it easy, I told him. I wanna keep running.

We decided going to PT a few more times would be good -- that way I can continue to strengthen my leg as I return to regular running. Then he told me to call him in a month to let him know that I'm feeling good. He doesn't expect to see me again.

Sweet.

Today I ran (per my PT's instructions) two separate miles. Walked 10 minutes, ran easy for 10 minutes (just over a mile), walked 2 minutes, ran another 10 minutes, walked 10 minutes. It felt good -- and other than muscle soreness in my quads from the PT work yesterday, my legs didn't bother me at all.

Slowly, easily, after almost 8 weeks off, I'm returning to running.
I'm so ready.

Smoother riding, please

2010-10-24T21:05:00.007-04:00

I've been biking a lot over the past few months. I'd rather be running, but since I can't, riding at least gets me active outside so I can enjoy the fresh air after work. This time of year the air is crisp, the colors are vibrant, and the temps vary from comfortable to chilly. I love soaking all that in.

What I don't love are the streets around here. They are terrible. It's actually amazing how poor the road conditions are. Holes, bumps, sandy dirt, rocks, patches. Terrible.

I'm stuck, though, because there really isn't a great place to ride -- most of the riding I do is around town (staying in residential areas as much as possible) and around a 3.6 mile river loop. I could ride long, vacant roads if I headed about 30 minutes toward the beach, but since I ride alone and they are pretty secluded, it's not something I feel comfortable doing most of the time. So I try to enjoy the blue sky and the water I ride by and everything I see.

Except for the roads themselves.

A smooth ride. That's what I want. I want to breathe in the fresh air, soak up the sunshine, enjoy the blue skies, the flowing water of the river, the vibrant colors of the leaves. And I want to have a smooth ride.

Swimming hands

2010-10-21T20:34:00.007-04:00

I was determined to do a long, relaxed swim today. After getting to run, as minimal of a time as it was, for the past three days, I knew I should give my left calf a break today. No biking, no walking. Just swim. I didn't have a time limit, so I wanted to do a good, solid, swim.

I slipped into the pool and looked at the clock. 3pm. I started swimming, mostly easy laps, and before I knew it I was at 1000 yards. I threw some faster laps in and decided to alternate some fast and slow laps to get me to 2000 yards. When I hit 2000, I took a break and looked at the clock. 3:39 pm. (I know that's not fast for some of you who read this blog -- but without swimming hard the whole way, it was a pretty solid swim for me.)

And after adjusting my goggles, I took a look at my hands. They were so wrinkly! How do people swim for sooooooooo much longer than this? Do their hands get all wrinkly, too? Or after a while do your hands have a higher tolerance to the water and take longer to wrinkle?

I thought about the wrinkles for the next 500 yards. I vowed to take a picture of my hands when I got out of the pool. I wondered how long it would be until they unwrinkled.

I swam another 500 yards, and decided that was enough for today. I was getting hungry and, quite frankly, a little bored. And I was starting to get nervous that my hands might be wrinkled until Saturday. 3:59 pm. Not bad for 3000 yards and a (very) short break in the middle.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to take the picture of my hands all wrinkly -- by the time I got from the pool to the shower to dressed, the wrinkles weren't as pronounced. And I thought the other women in the locker room might question what I was doing with a camera...

But if you look closely in the pictures above, you can see some swimming hands anyway -- hands that swam farther today than they ever have before.

12 minutes

2010-10-19T21:44:00.003-04:00

For the first time since the very first week in September, I ran outside today. My PT wanted me to run on the softer surface of the local high school track to see how my leg felt because tomorrow may be my last appointment with her. I didn't have the butterflies or nervousness that I had when I ran for the first time in PT after 4 weeks off -- I didn't worry if I would forget how to run, I didn't have that adrenaline surge from the thought of getting to run after such a long time off. What I did have was excitement. Hope. Anticipation.

And then I got to the track.

And so did the entire high school football team. And the cross-country team.

And I lost the excitement, hope and anticipation, and became self-conscious.

I've been resigned to the fact that I've gained some weight and my clothes aren't fitting so well. I just turned 39 a few days ago -- so I'm feeling older, too. Great combination. Put me out on a track, running slowly, for all these young kids to see me and I wanted to run out the gate.

But I didn't -- and I got the 3 intervals done. And my leg didn't hurt. And I got to breathe in the fresh air and appreciate the crisp temperatures.

And so, for the 12 minutes of running, while the entire football team and cross-country team watched, I was happy.

I get to run outside tomorrow.

2010-10-18T21:10:00.004-04:00

Same interval-type run as what I've been doing in PT the past few sessions, but outside, by myself, on the track.

5 mins walking + 3x (4 mins run, 1 min walk) + 5 mins walking.

Small run.

Big deal.

I can't wait.

Progress! shhh...

2010-10-14T19:17:00.002-04:00

Don't say anything out loud. In fact, forget you even read this when you're done.

I don't want to jinx it, but I might finally be seeing some progress with my leg.

SHHH!

Monday, I did 5 minutes of walking, then 3x 3 minutes of running at a 10 minute pace with 1.5 minutes of walking in between, then 5 minutes of walking. Leg felt good -- no pain, no tightness.

SHHH!

Today, at PT, I did 3 minutes walking, then 3x 4 minutes of running at a 10 minute pace with 1 minute of walking in between, then 3 minutes of walking. With NO pain, no tightness, no weak feeling in my leg! WooHoo!

I mean SHHHHHHHHHH!

See, today was the first day I really felt like maybe, just maybe, my leg might be getting better.
But if I say it out loud, I might jinx it. So, shhh...

10.10.10

2010-10-10T21:52:00.003-04:00

Great date, huh? I heard today was supposed to be a good day for stuff -- relationships, luck, etc.

Well, it didn't affect me in the relationship realm. Or in the luck area. It was a beautiful day at the beach, though. And that was tough, too, because today was the LBI 18 Mile Run -- the race I PR'd in last year in my solid fall of training.

I didn't run today. I wanted to, and it was difficult to watch/hear everyone out there. But instead of just hopping from mile marker to mile marker with my parents in the car, I decided to make it my workout. On the bike.

I rode the length of the race today, sprinting ahead to cheer on some really fast friends, and then waiting for my sister, and then sprinting ahead, and then getting a breather while waiting for A. It's not that she was really slow -- she was running the race as part of her last long run, though, for MCM -- it was that the guys were really fast. Two of them were 3rd and 4th overall, the others finished in the top 30 I think.

It was tough to be on the sidelines. I cheered hard, though, and supported my people. And then, as I normally do, I took my last dip in the ocean for the season.

Though the air was cool, the ocean was warm. I was the only one in it. :) A good way to end a tough day on a unique date.

3 more weeks.

2010-10-04T20:57:00.004-04:00

That's what the sports medicine doctor told me today in the follow-up appointment. Three more weeks of PT and Graston. Three more weeks of no running on my own.

He knows I walked on the TM and then walked/jogged (in short intervals) on the TM at therapy last week, and wants me to continue to progress with that under the PT supervision only. He wasn't mean, and he wasn't overly nice, but he was very matter-of-fact. He thinks I'm dealing with tendinopathy, and said his focus is to get me healthy and then back to running. Too soon, and I'll be dealing with this all over again.

Ok, ok. I get it.

I guess the good thing is that I get to run today (did 2 intervals of 2 minutes!) and Thursday this week, then Monday andThursday next week, then Monday, Wednesday and one more day the following week before I see Dr. Plut again on the 25th.

Yep, I'm counting the days/runs.

What if I forget?

2010-09-30T21:32:00.003-04:00

My achilles has been feeling tight every morning this week when I get out of bed. I walk to the bathroom and hope it loosens up. I wonder why this week -- after all these weeks of no running, after all these sessions with the physical therapist -- I wonder why this week my achilles (not even my calf!) feels tight. I wonder, and I'm frustrated.

Someone suggested it might be because we're having a super-humid, rainy week. Someone else suggested it is my other muscles taking over for the ones that have been the focus.

Whatever it is, it's been making me wonder all week if I'll ever run again. And when I do, will I remember how?

Today, at PT, I got stretched, strengthened, scraped, and stretched again. I talked with my PT about my follow-up appointment with the sports med doc on Monday. And then my PT said, "Ok, let's get you on the treadmill." This wasn't news -- I'd walked on the TM for 10 minutes on Tuesday. But what K said next made my heart skip:

"We'll even get you running -- no, jogging -- for a little bit, too."

What!? Really!? Don't tease me. Seriously?

WAIT! What if I forget how to run? What if my arms don't work or I trip over my own feet? What if I lost my coordination? What if I look like Phoebe on Friends running down the street with my arms flailing all over the place!?

I was sweating, my heart was skipping, I felt like a kid on Christmas.

And I was nervous. My leg isn't 100%. I compare it to how the right leg feels -- which has zero problems -- and I know my left achilles/calf isn't 100%. I was nervous that my body wouldn't remember how to run, and I was hesitant to run when I knew I've been still feeling some tightness.

But my PT wanted to see how my leg reacted so she could send me to the doc on Monday with an update on my progress. So, like a kid trying out her new bike for the first time, I excitedly and with some trepidation made my way over to the treadmill.

I walked for 2 minutes, and my leg still felt some leftover crankiness -- not strong tightness, but something. But it didn't get worse. And then K came over and said, ok -- now let's jog for one minute.

Yayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayay! I get to jog! Ten minute pace, and it was pretty good. A little over a minute. Leg didn't get any worse -- still just a touch of crankiness.

And then I walked for 2 more minutes, and then I jogged for 2 more minutes. Leg actually felt better in this second run. Then I finished with 2 minutes of walking.

It may have only been a test, and it may have only been a few minutes, but I didn't forget. I didn't forget. It may have been slow, but I ran -- and I didn't forget how.

And in those few minutes I was happier than I've been in weeks.

Perseverence

2010-09-28T20:48:00.002-04:00

Into the Wind: The Terry Fox Story was on ESPN tonight. I remember watching this story, and the original movie made about him, when I was little. It was amazing then, it's amazing now.

The ESPN show is moving. It's inspirational. It honors his perseverence. Catch the replay of it if you can on ESPN2 or ESPN classic.

My calf/achilles problem is a speedbump. I know that, even when it feels like my life is falling apart around me. Terry Fox ran on one leg for 3,339 miles in 143 days. In cotton shorts, socks, and t-shirts, I might add. Through the summer heat and humidity.

My problem is a speedbump, no matter how devastating it feels to me.

In the ESPN film, Terry says, "You hope and you pray that it'll work out for the best." For him, the cancer won -- but his work was recognized, appreciated, and valued. This is a story that should inspire perseverence in everyone.