Late For Dinner

Last night was a typical work night for me. I planned to get out of the office at a specific time; I called my fiance and made plans to go running together; then got held up by one or more little things that just had to get taken care of or wrapped up before I could leave the office, which made me late for everything else I had planned for the evening and my fiance was rather annoyed with me that it ultimately pushed back dinner by over an hour - again.

The simple fact is that I only work out after work. That's just the time that works best for me and my schedule and I like the "mindless" physical activity after a [sometimes stressful] day at work. But that means I need to be more creative when it come to food prep and be able to get dinner on the table within minutes of walking in the door. Something one of my [soon to be] In-Laws does is pre-cook all her hamburger meat. She'll do 3-4 1lb. batches for Hamburger Helper and freeze it, or a half dozen hamburger patties, She even does taco meet and divies it up into single servings. (I focus on ground beef here because it's cheep, but I know I could do this with other foods).
This means a shift in my weekend lifestyle to spend most of an entire day once a week cooking. But this may be a good thing because then I will have meals for the entire week planned out and I'll spend less grocery shopping.

Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

On Wednesdays the dog and I have an Obedience Training class together.
One of the expectations for the class is that we will work together, not only on the required tasks (sit, stay, lay down, etc.) but also on a "trick."
My mother trained our dog to sit and stay, and balance a treat on her nose until she got the release command, then she would flip the treat off her nose and up into the air and catch it.
I'm not sure my little Franklin is quite there yet, but I would like to teach him a "trick" that I can use when I take him running with me. I have no ideas yet, or if that will even work, but I'm brain storming... I only have 4 weeks left of class so I'd better get crackin' on it!

One of My More Embarassing Moments

So, I've been house-sitting for a coworker. This person is something of a Neat-Freak; I am not. Which is just fine because I make sure everything in immaculate before I leave the morning he gets home. Except he didn't get home the morning I thought he was going to - he got home the night before!

Now, it could have been much much worse. It was late, and I could have been at the house in my jammies (or maybe wearing even less!). As it was I wasn't even there when he got home; my fiance was there (and they've never met) and Thankfully he was in the process of cleaning the kitchen. I was half way across town on my way to bug-bomb my house. Luckily I got the call a few blocks away from the house, before I let anything off, and I just turned right around and sprinted back across town.
I had plenty of time to be Mortified in the car on the way back. So when I got there I just put on a smile, made my appologies, and kicked it into super high gear cleaning and packing, while chatting with my coworker about his trip as he unpacked. I got the place in order and all my gear out in about an hour, and I'm going back during my lunch break to do some of the deep-cleaning that I wasn't able to get done (while my coworker is still at work) and if I'm very lucky he won't have noticed a few things I hadn't gotten to yet (like poop-scooping the yard).

In running news, I wore my new shoes to the gym yesterday and they gave me A Blister. It was on the back of my heel where the top of the shoe rubbed. I have some different socks I'm going to try next time, the kind that has some extra padding at the heel specifically for that. Hopefully that takes care of the problem, and if not then I'll have to make another trip to Fleet Feet to remedy the situation.

Trying this Blogging Thing Again

Still running - in every sense of the word.

Life at the office is Pleasantly Hectic. I feel like I'm just barely keeping up, but don't feel like I'm about to go under either. It feels good to get to the end of the day and know it was productive.

Life at home is BUSY. House-sitting for a co-worker, and his cats take great delight in getting my dog in trouble. Also planning for a big push to get some painting done upstairs and the floor refinished soon. My goal is to have that done in time for a party mid-November. The week house-sitting and enjoying my neighbor's Cable has been great for morale because I get to watch entire evenings of HGTV! The dog and I are enrolled in the Huntsville Obedience Training Club where we are learning good things (and un-learning bad things) and going through lots of bits of hotdogs in the process (my dog will do anything for a bite of hotdog). And as if that wasn't busy enough, one night a week I'm going to RCIA through my church in an effort to get myself Confirmed.

Life on my feet has Been Building Up according to plan. I'm registered for the Rocket City Marathon on December 12th. In the mean time I have a personal training plan with running 3-4 times a week and I'm signed up with a training group Saturday mornings. The theory there is that if I know someone is waiting for me Saturday morning, I'm more likely to get out of bed and go running (those that know me know how very much I dislike getting up early on the weekend).

I ran the Monte Sano 10K last weekend. My goal was to finish in 1 hour, but I came in at 1:11:50. However, it was pouring rain the last 15 minutes of the course, so maybe I would have come closer to my goal if I wasn't swimming the last mile and a half. (Personally, I loved running in the rain. Having been a swimmer for years, getting all pruney doesn't bother me in the slightest. But I would never have guessed my socks could hold so much water!).
I also tried to do some interval pacing. 60 seconds running, 60 seconds fast walking. All-in-all it worked pretty well, but I have a competitive streak in me which is about a mile wide and it was really really hard to let people pass me when I was walking and I pushed myself too hard running to try to cath up to everyone that had passed me. *roll eyes*

My next planned race isn't for another 6 weeks, but I think I need to find at least one more race between now and then just to challeneg that racing instinct. But in the mean time, I have new shoes and new orthopedics to keep me happy! I'm still running with the Vibrams, but only short training runs because my ankles are still pretty weak and I don't want to blow my training plan with a half dozen twisted ankles like last time!

On the road again...

Far too much slacking off around here for comfort.
I signed up for the local Cotton Row run [10K], which is in exactly one week, and have done zero prep-work for it. Promises to be a painful reminder of why training is so important.
Oh, I don't think I will completely biff it and/or hurt myself, but it will not be one of my better races. *shrug* On the other hand, I have convinced some friends and coworkers to run too so it will be fun anyway.

In an effort to get motivated, I caved and bought some new shoes, or more accurately, anti-shoes: Vibram Five Fingers barefoot shoes.
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/index.cfm

The theory is that when your foot is stuck in a typical shoe, all the tiny muscles used for balance (and affecting posture) are not being engaged. Running barefoot encourages better posture and technique which will culminate in faster/better running. I doubt I will race in these things, but they will be a good training tool.
It can take several weeks to really get used to them, but I am optimistic it will not take too long since I spend a great deal of time barefoot anyway, and I love toe socks so I am already past the hurdle of getting used to bits of cloth rubbing between my toes.

Recovery Week 2

Blah. Monday's shouldn't start until after 10am...

Really really liking the stationary bike at the gym. I watch other people pound along on the treadmills and it makes me cringe. I'm perfectly happy to poke along on my bike, for one thing it's easier to program than those stupid treadmills and I have more variety in my workout; for another, there's no machines directly behind them for someone to strategically place themselves *roll eyes* I've never felt threatened or been approached or cat-called or whistled at, or anything inappropriate, but inevitably when I'm on a treadmill, all the older gentlemen in the room suddenly find themselves on the equipment directly behind me, too often to be coincidence.
I guess I'll just continue to think of that as some sort of compliment and move on...

Recovery Week 1

Was reading in one of my Marathon books, that recovery [from a full marathon] can take up to three months, and rate of injury goes up significantly in the first 2-4 weeks after the event for athletes that try to get back out too soon. I'm doing my very best NOT to be one of those statistics.

Went to the gym last Friday. Mostly upper-body and abs, spent about 15 minutes on one of the stationary bikes which felt really good. I aggravated one of the tendons in the arch of my foot; my knees and everything else don't scream with each step I take, but still don't appreciate the hard impact of running, so biking is a good fit right now and I expect to be doing that for the next several weeks to gently build back up.

Looks like I'll be joining the Gentle Yoga class here after work on Mondays and Wednesdays. They meet in the cafeteria at 4:30, and it's something John's been doing for a while so it's not interfering with anyone else's schedules. I've been once already; never done yoga poses before but it's all modified stretching poses I've already done for sports before, making it easy to catch on. Then adding swimming next week and I'll have a full schedule again!

Post-Race: Day 3

Saturday 2/14: Started the day by running out to Decatur with my fiance and his dad (and Dad's pickup) to pick up my very first "real furniture" purchase - a sofa and chair (with fitted slip covers)! Very excited about that! Then went home to pack what I needed for the weekend, then picked up Ross and his kid brother Mathew and we all drive down to Birmingham.
Ross and Mathew stayed with in-town relatives while I was dropped off at the hotel to meet up with the team and gather the last couple pieces for my race. The expo - where I had to pick up my race packet - was a little on the small side, but had several interesting booths and I was very tempted to pick up a few things (having just shelled out for furniture kept impromptu spending safely in check).
Awesome Pasta Party with the team, and slept like a rock.

Sunday 2/15:
Set my alarm for 5am, so I'd have plenty of time to digest breakfast before starting line, but those that know me also know I am NOT a morning person and won't be the least surprised that I didn't pry myself out of bed until 5:20.
Race started at 7:03am (because local news channels covering the race tuned in at 7am and needed time for opening remarks and all that *roll eyes*).
I kept pace with one of my teammates for the first 4 1/2 miles before needing to slow up a bit - I had initially planned to run the full marathon with this teammate, we magically have a very good matched pace. My ankles and hips reminded me to slow down often, but despite lack of training I kept a consistent pace throughout.
The Birmingham course has undergone several changes recently to cut out the more substantial hills, and parts of the course were actually very pretty (although at those points I was more focused on not tripping on the uneven pavement because this was an older district of town with those obnoxious narrow roads that never get the maintenance they need).

The last mile I was definitely hurting, but forced myself to "run" the whole way. Ross was cheering with my mentors/TNT Cheer Team at a couple points along the course, and jogged most of the last mile with me - I wanted to both hug him for jogging along with me and beat the crap out of him because he was all bouncy and perky and it took all I had at that point just to keep up any forward momentum.

Results: Met both my goals - to finish without injury and under 3 hours! official finish time was 2:50:45 for my first half marathon - not too shabby!
Lots of pictures taken, but none of them back to me yet (digital cameras are handy and all, but it doesn't do a bit of good when their owners don't download and send them to you!)

Fed, watered, and a long hot shower before leaving Birmingham. Hot soak in the tub and a rubdown before bed, then lots of ice and self-massage on Monday (President's day, a paid holiday for me! Yay!). Yesterday [Tuesday] back to work and moving slow but feeling good - still very tender feet so I wore my running shoes to work because they have my awesome arch supports in them. and Today I'd say I'm back to about 90% and already signed up for my next major race (and even convinced Ross to run it with me!) The Huntsville Cotton Row 10K (6.2 miles) on Memorial Day.
Also going to train with a group of runner-friends for a triathlon; don't know which one yet, but I'm sure something local will turn up...

Six Days To Go...

Less than a week.
Far too much going on in my life right now to let me worry about the race, which may be a good thing - I tend to get physically sick when I worry myself into a stressed out ball of nerves - but at the same time it's very difficult to focus...

Already planning a training schedule with others who want to do a Triathlon this summer, I'll be leading the swim training.
Also planning on switching up my training from primarily Endurance to primarily Strength Training. I'm not concerned about the numbers that equal "my weight" but the noticeable lack of muscle mass and increase in fat jiggle. (my fiance flips if I say I'm "going on a diet" or "need to lose some weight").

I've no doubt I'll finish, but we'll see if I do so in good form, or if I follow my brother's example and land on my head (or otherwise injure myself).
Finger crossed everyone! The last thing I need is ANOTHER twisted ankle!

Week Eighteen

Super awesome good news!! I looked at a house last Friday, and really liked what I saw and put an offer on it, and found out Monday night they accepted my offer!! I'm buying my first house!! It has a bad case of "UGLY!" and needs some fixing up, but nothing major that I can't do myself or with a little help. (Who puts in a pink bathroom on purpose?!?)

The plan was to go to yoga on Monday, but we all know what happens when you make plans! *roll eyes*
Went running with the team last night, for the first time in 8 weeks I think. I've gotten spoiled - I'd rather run at the gym, where it's warm and well lit and I can crank up my headphones without fear of a car sneaking up on me, than go out with my teammates in the dark, in the cold. Granted, I get to chat with my teammates, which is always fun and takes away the boredom of city streets, but I rarely have more than one person run with me because my long legs just take me out front and leave me there *shrug* not a bad thing by any means, but makes for lonely runs sometimes. Oh well.

Pouring rain outside again, which is nice except for the fact it's January - there should be several feet of snow on the ground!! Alabama is so weird!!

Week Seventeen

Been a busy week of getting caught up on sleep and training. Convinced Uncle John to come with me to the gym this week and got him started on a weight training program, and goodness am I sore! I haven't lifted weights for a long while, and honestly it wasn't the free weights that hurt the most, it was the LUNGES! Good Grief!

Received my confirmation email and details about the race, getting VERY excited!

Many of my teammates will be beginning to taper after several months of continuous hard training. I wish I was part of that group, but I am going to use every opportunity to whip my not-nearly-as-in-shape-as-I-would-like muscles into thinking they can finish the race in one piece.
Trying on wedding dresses is becoming exceptionally motivating to get seriously back in shape and start doing something about those pesky 12 lbs. (residing predominantly on my backside) that magically appeared after I quit swimming :)

Week Sixteen

Back from a week-long excursion to the FROZEN TUNDRA (ie: my parent's place up in Minnesota where it dropped to almost 40 degrees BELOW ZERO). It's still "chilly" here in Huntsville - 20 degrees [above zero], give or take if you're sitting in the sun or stuck out in the wind - but still a significant improvement. Yes, I did slip on the ice a couple times and I have new bruises and a sore ankle for my acrobatic efforts but nothing serious and it's back to the gym as normal this week.

Exactly four weeks until my event!!!!
Definitely getting excited!!!
At this point I've firmly decided I'm only running the half marathon. I'm just not ready to run a full 26.2 miles and even if it might be physically possible to push my once-athletic body into doing it anyway, I'm convinced I'll damage something serious and never get the chance to do a full marathon again/for a very long time.
Also, it means in four weeks I can back off running and start swimming more. I really really miss getting in the water a couple times a week.

Not going to back out now [not that I could if I wanted to], but I really think Triathlons are more my thing.