Peter and I went for a nice bike ride this afternoon, and it was such a beautiful day I decided to take my camera along. We rode one of my favorite routes. Starting from our house we rode several miles along a main street until we reached a bike path, and then up and over a hill they call "The Mawler", a name well deserved. Here's Pete at the top.
Today I ran what I think must have been 10 miles or so. I have to guess because I don't know the exact distance travelled on my first loop (but the running lore around these parts pegs it as 5 miles and change), and then on the out and back portion I never came upon the expected marker in the expected time. I can only assume I ran past it.
At any rate, it was an interesting day because I ran alone, without my iPod, in relative solitude as there were only a handful of people out on this trail today. The weather wasn't very nice - it was cloudy and windy and threatening rain. But thankfully it didn't start to rain until the final mile or so of my run. Enough to make me wet and cold, but not miserable as I might have been if I'd had to run with soggy shoes the entire distance.
After being sick and laying around for 3 days without doing much I had a very restless Friday night in which I barely slept due to a ache in my right hip and buttock area that would not resolve. I tried sleeping on one side, then the other, on my back, on my stomach, and even in the child's pose. No relief. So at 3:30 a.m. I decided to get up and use my foam roller. While I was up and moving, doing self massage, and standing or walking, the pain abated. But as soon as I sat or laid down it came back. I tried giving myself a spinal adjustment by stretching it out, but it did nothing for my leg. I noticed as I stretched my hamstrings that the pain became sharper and radiated down the back of my leg. My husband was sure it was sciatica and suggested I take an analgesic/anti-inflammatory.
I think that is probably good advice for a chronic condition, but mine was acute, apparently brought on by inactivity, which alarmed me actually, as I prjected forward in my mind to when I would be 50 or 60 - yikes. I elected to forgo the meds in the short term thinking if it didn't resolve in a day I would break down and take them. In the morning I called two different massage therapists I know to see if either of them was working the weekend before Christmas. Thankfully my usual therapist was available, but not until later in the day. I made an appointment and went about my daily activities, and kept rolling and tried to stretch out my ham strings and piriformis as much as I could, experimenting with, and butting up against (no pun intended) my pain threshold. Around noon, my friend Juls called and asked if I was up for a run. I had been thinking of going for a walk anyway, so why not a run?
I have been reading Ironalya's blog, and can identify with her recent post. Lately I've also been struggling with what defines me as a "healthy" person and as an althete. These two sometimes get so intertwined for me that it's hard to stop pushing myself towards one competitive goal after another. I want to be perceived of as more than just "healthy" or "fit" or "driven" ... How about words like "friendly", "intelligent", "helpful", "caring"... yeah, those would be good. It's more often than not when I'm feeling ill (and less like exercising), like now, that I pause to reflect on this topic and how my Type A personality thrives on goals at the expense of introspection and relationship building.
Today I'm not a happy camper. I couldn't explain the deep tiredness I felt all day yesterday, especially after having such a great morning run. But all day I felt on the edge of getting sick. So, my plan was to get to bed earlier than usual, which I did, but to no avail.
No swimming or spinning for me today ... it finally caught up with me ... that flu or cold virus or bug that's been making the rounds and I've been nonchalantly avoiding. Drats. I really thought I was going to beat it but then I made a useless work trip to LA and back ... and the plane back was chalk a block full of sickies, coughing and hacking away. That, plus the stress of delayed flights didn't help.
I stayed home from work today and rested. Hopefully it will pass quickly. We have workmen coming tomorrow to tear down the kitchen cabinets ... I really would rather be at work during all that commotion.
I'm having fun running again, and I don't want to spoil it by attempting another marathon this winter. I've decided to maintain my off-season training at a reasonable level and to focus instead on my primary target in June, IMCDA. I'm happy with my decision. I'll try again for a sub 4:00 marathon after IMCDA when I can devout more time and energy towards it and not worry about potential injuries jeopardizing my A race of the year.
I'm also having fun biking again. It took a long time after the Death Ride last July before I felt like getting on my bike again. Even then, I never really "loved" it like I used to. But this weekend my husband, Peter, and I had a great little 2 hour ride from home. The out and back route we usually do has a nice 7 mile warm up followed by rolling hills for 24 miles or so, and a 7 mile flat stretch to end it. Much of the route is the same as the San Jose International Triathlon course.
We all met at 8:00 at our local stomping grounds ... A group of ex co-workers have been getting together for their very own annual informal and fun "Ho Ho Ho Run" for the past five years. Although I'd been invited three times running (no pun intended), I was never able to make it for one reason or another. But this year it worked out and I was stoked. The night before I was scrambling around our storage closet looking for my Santa hat like a woman possessed.
It was a fabulous morning. We put in six casual miles in perfect running conditions. No rain, not too cold. We waved and wished everyone we met happy holidays ... the runners all acknowledged us but the walkers did not. In fact they seemed to inch closer to the edge of the trail as they saw us coming and averted their eyes so they wouldn't have to get involved in our holiday schenanigans. But the runners (and bikers) were all waving back, smiling and super happy ... see what getting your heart rate up can do for your mood??
Well it's that time of year folks ... the cookies and the candies abound at work. Every which way I turn there's more and more to eat, and all of it is arguably "good" in the sense of tasting good, but it is most definitely "bad" in the sense of being bad for you. Maintaining a healthy diet has been, and remains, one of my main goals for the off season and heading into Ironman training in the New Year. This time of year is definitely a challenge to my will power.
I try to avoid the danger zone (the area in the office where the mounds of goodies are deposited) as much as possible, even going so far as to bring my own "healthy" snacks to work, and taking the long way around to get to the photocopy room. I even have my screen saver set to scroll, "Junk food is poison! Do not eat it! Food should be fuel for your body." But inevitably the 3 p.m. dulldrums hit and I find myself making excuses to go the wrong way ... i.e. past the danger zone. I stop to inspect the newly arrived boxes and baskets ... they're so perdy. And of course I end up taking, and then eating, something I really don't need.
It's been a while since I last posted ... first I was on vacation in Maui and then I've been swamped since being back at work ... that's how it goes sometimes. Maui was nice, but definitely not an active vacation - which is the type I prefer. Instead, we slept in, laid by the pool, shopped, and drove around the island with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, seeing and doing things they were more interested in. I felt guilty for not being at work (deadlines looming) and guilty for not exercising (only ran once, and even then the planned 16 miles became a 12 miler), and guilty for eating too much, and drinking too much. It was really kind of depressing actually ... but geez Louise ... I was in flipping Maui. What's wrong with me???
Here I sit in our timeshare on Maui, looking out at the ocean and swaying palms as I sip on my cup of Kona coffee and write my blog ... ahhhh ... life doesn't get any better than this. We arrived yesterday with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, in the midst of a wicked thunder storm. The person next to me quipped that the pilot had "lost the island" as we seemed to be flying around in circles. Well, just then the pilot announced that we were in a "holding pattern", hoping for the storm to pass so we could land. Otherwise we would have been re-routed to Oahu ... not such a bad place either, but I'm glad that didn't happen.
We picked up our rental car and drove to the resort in Ka'anapali to settle in. For my husband and I it is the first time we've used our timeshare in the three years since we've owned it! They were building it when we bought in, and went other places in subsequent years, banking our weeks instead. Now we're finally here and it is beautiful. The extra long days put in at work in the weeks leading up to our vacation now seem worth it. This week in Maui is our gift to my mother-in-law for her 72nd birthday.
Today we drove up Island and later we sat on the beach and then by the pool sipping margharitas and pina coladas - glorius. But enough of this overindulgence ... Tomorrow I plan to run for a couple hours in the early morning before the rest of the crew gets going. I hope the weather cooperates and it stays relatively clear. Either way, hey, I'm on Maui - it will be a great run! I plan to head south for 7 - 8 miles (past Lahaina) and turn around and come back ... that way I'll have a place to get water if I need it en route.
Afterwards we'll tour the Island a bit and do some souvenir shopping in Lahaina. Then it's back to the resort to do some home cooking in our unit - tonight my husband is whipping up a batch of his famous chicken curry. Tomorrow it will be something simpler. Especially if I cook.
Aloha!
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