Nowhere to run...

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!"

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

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

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

                                           *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

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

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

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.