August 21, 2007
Rain Rain Go Away
Minnesotans just can't catch a break this year - first the upper part of the state catches fire, then the 35W bridge collapses, and now it's been raining almost non-stop in SE MN. Other than a few mud slides and some wet basements, there hasn't been too much damage here in town. (We live at the highest point on our street, so our house has been fine - although I think our neighbors that have a lower yard than we do had some water damage to their basement). Some of the surrounding towns haven't been so lucky. One of my co-workers parents live in Rushford, which was pretty devastated by flooding. Her parents were evacuated at 4AM on Sunday, and they've lost basically everything. The paper has been updating fairly frequently, and posting pictures and it's just amazing the amount of damage.
Things could have been really bad here - but they did a major flood-control project after a 1978 flood that put large sections of town underwater. A popular picture shows the K-Mart with water almost to the roof; I just found a picture in a PDF that shows the mall with water at least halfway up the side. But there was still a lot of water this weekend, especially right by the river and lake.
Part of my favorite bike path route:
What it normally looks like (coming from the opposite direction:
June 24, 2007
So ...
I haven't blogged in awhile. It's been long enough that I had to actually type in my blog's address to read my last post, since it's not in the history anymore. I haven't felt like I have much to blog about, since I'm not really running a whole lot. I'm going to make a separate post for the running I have been doing, but here's what else is going on with me.
April 14, 2007
Boston
Wow - the Boston forecast kind of sucks:
FORECAST:The most up-to-date weather forecast calls for a predicted Spring storm on Monday, including heavy rains (potentially 3 to 5 inches), with the start temperatures in the mid to upper 30's. Wind will likely be East (in the face of the participants for most of the race) in the 20 to 25 mile per hour range, with gusts to as much as 50 miles per hour. This will produce a wind chill index of 25 to 30-degrees Fahrenheit.
I'm feeling pretty damn good about my decision to bypass Boston for a trip to Hawaii right about now. Good luck to everyone running Boston!
March 18, 2007
Thanks for playing!
Fucking Wisconsin.
Since I had them in the championship game, I'm done on Yahoo's brackets. Thankfully I picked Florida instead for my work bracket, so I'm not totally screwed in the money version. But as far as the RBF version goes, I think it's safe to say I'm going to finish near the bottom now.
Stupid Big 10 - way to totally disprove all the "Big 10 is overrated" / "Big 10 basketball sucks/is slow and boring" talk.
March 11, 2007
March Madness!
Barb's got a RBF bracket going on:
It's almost time for the BIG DANCE.
Let's dance put on your red shoes and dance the blues.
Group Name: RBF Bracketology
Group ID# 37463
Password: run26.2
Take this info. Go here: http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/
You may need to create a yahoo id...ain't no thang though...it's easy and they don't solicit you with crap you don't want.
Once you're logged in, you'll need the Group ID# and Password and just follow instructions until you're in!
You won't be able to fill out your bracket until after Selection Sunday and you won't be able to view other folks' brackets until after play begins. You'll get to fill out up to five brackets (and if you're smart, you'll have KU losing in the first round in at least one of them and them winning it all in another).
What on earth are you waiting for?! Come join your fellow RBFers and have some fun. And yes, trash talk is totally allowed...all in good fun. Feel free to post this info on your blog...
Winner gets Gu...or something fun and runnerish like that.
So yeah...LET THE MADNESS BEGIN!
My bracket is tentatively called "The NCAA is bullshit" because that's about all the Engineer and I could say as we watched the selection show. BULLSHIT that tOSU is not the #1 overall seed. BULLSHIT that Kansas is a #1 seed and gets the play-in game. BULLSHIT that Purdue is a 9 seed, Indiana is a 7 but Illinois is a 12. BULLSHIT that a bunch of teams with shittier records got better seeds and playing sites than Illinois. (And poor MSU with the 8 seed).
Don't get me wrong, I don't have any illusions about Illinois's playing strength and chances for longevity. (If you're just tuning in, the Engineer and I are Illinois grads. We also root for the other Big 10 teams during the tournament (well, except for Minnesota. I still rooted against them in '05)). They've had a rough season, what with the injuries and illnesses and adjusting to life without Dee and Augie ... not to mention the whole stupid DUI debacles. But I think the Big 10 got pretty screwed by the tournament committee. Oh well, hey, 2 years ago they said the Big 10 was down and they got 2 teams in the Final Four.
Obviously someone on the committee has a strange sense of humor: if Illinois wins, they could potentially play Southern Illinois and then potentially play Kansas. Looks like some of the conspiracy talk on IB wasn't totally unfounded.
(The bold part above is mine because I had already planned on doing that. But that's because we hate Bill $elf and KU here).
March 2, 2007
Tired of snow
We got another 7" of snow yesterday afternoon/last night. The Engineer and I shoveled before we went to bed last night, and I got up early this morning to check if we needed to shovel again. It didn't look like it had snowed much more, but the plow had been by so the end of the driveway needed clearing. It didn't look like there was much, so I went back to bed for awhile and then woke the Engineer up so he could clear it for me. Unfortunately, between the plow and the drifting, there was a lot of snow at the end of the driveway. The Engineer had maybe a 10 minute headstart on me, and it still took us close to 20 minutes together to get the driveway clear so I was late to work. (It was deep enough I couldn't just drive over it).
I've been wanting a snow thrower for awhile, but this recent heavy snow has made me really want one. I'm fairly useless with the snow at the end of the driveway because I can't lift it and a snow thrower would help make it so I could get out without needing the Engineer. (I was worried about the potential for snow last week while he was off "working" in California). On Wednesday, when we first got the 10-15" prediction, I called around and every store in town was out of 2-stage throwers. But the newspaper's business blog had a tip today that a store in the next town over (10 minutes from my house) still had a ton in stock. So the Engineer and I headed over to check it out, and tomorrow morning our new toy will be delivered. How's that for good service? They're going to assemble it and drop it off, and if there's a problem during the warranty they'll pick it up for service. Since it weighs 160 lbs, I'm glad I don't have to help try and get it in the car!
Of course, now we'll probably be done with snow for the season and next winter will be light ... but I'd still consider that money well spent!
February 11, 2007
Pointless post
How sad is it that I'm excited by today's weather forecast?
I made mashed sweet potatoes last night, and while the Engineer discovered that he doesn't like them, I thought they were really good. He much preferred the mashed garlic potatoes I've been making. Apparently the secret for good mashed potatoes that reheat well is to use olive oil instead of butter.
I've been trying to start cooking again, and I actually found recipes at Hy-Vee this week. I made a rice thing last night that was ok, although a little bland by itself. I also steamed vegetables with some herb mix thing, which turned out pretty well and is a lot cheaper to make than the Green Giant versions that I love.
February 2, 2007
Rough Forecast
The Engineer has all but forbid me to run outside this weekend.
January 21, 2007
Damn Minnesota
I was looking forward to going outside for a 10-12 mile run this morning.
If I were only wanting to run 6, I'd probably just go out and deal with it. But for over an hour of running? No thanks. Hopefully the plows will come by in the next little while (yeah, doubtful) so I can go outside instead of treadmilling it.
December 31, 2006
Another Catch Up
So ... been busy and yet doing nothing here. How does that work?
December 23, 2006
PSA: Wear Your Seat Belts!
Thursday morning at 3 AM, my brother JC was in a car accident on his way to work. The car hydroplaned, did a 180 and then rolled into the highway drainage ditch several times before stopping. He walked away without a scratch, while the '99 Honda didn't fare so well:
November 30, 2006
Oh yuck!
I knew this was coming, but after temps in the upper 50s on Tuesday it was a little bit of a shock to the system.
Wednesday:
Today:
November 16, 2006
Hiatus / What's Next
I haven't posted since the marathon, and haven't been doing much of anything related to running lately. I've only ran 7.5 miles since the marathon. My legs were pretty beat up the week following Chicago, so I waited until the following Sunday to try and run. I'd wanted to go out for about an hour, but cut things short at 3 miles because my right hamstring still hurt. I waited until the following Sunday, but my leg was still sore so I stopped at 2 miles. Molly and I ran again that Tuesday (Election Day) but walked home because I decided I should be smart and stop.
October 20, 2006
Expo / Let's go ...
Marathoning is like cutting yourself unexpectedly. You dip into the pain so gradually that the damage is done before you are aware of it. Unfortunately, when the awareness comes, it is excruciating.
- John Farrington
People ask why I run. I say, "If you have to ask, you will never understand". It is something only those select few know. Those who put themselves through pain, but know, deep down, how good it really feels.
- Erin Leonard
October 17, 2006
Not much
"To describe the agony of a marathon to someone who's never run it is like trying to explain color to someone who was born blind."
-Jerome Drayton
October 13, 2006
Against the wind
Against the wind
We were runnin against the wind
We were young and strong, we were runnin
Against the wind
...
I found myself further and further from my home
And I guess I lost my way
There were oh so many roads
I was living to run and running to live
...
Searching for shelter again and again
Against the wind
A little something against the wind
I found myself seeking shelter against the wind
...
Against the wind
Im still runnin against the wind
Well Im older now and still
Against the wind
- Bob Seger
September 10, 2006
AFC (Away from Computer) pt. 2
I'm horrifically behind on e-mail and reading, but I've been cutting back on my computer time. I have a bad habit of just mindlessly wasting time on the internet, so I've decided to limit my time and pursue other activities. My next step will be to use my limited time usefully - I have things I want to do, like read/respond to e-mail, but then like an "ooh shiny" I get distracted. In the mean time, I've started making good use of the library. I really like our library system - I search the catalog and make reservations from home. They then pull the books for me and I just have to run in to grab them and go through self-check so a trip to the library takes a very short time unless I start browsing. If my library doesn't have a book I want, I'm able to request it from other libraries in Minnesota. So I've been reading a ton lately - I think I'm going through at least 5 books a week, at a rough estimate. I used to read all the time, but the internet kind of replaced that. I've also done some cleaning and cooking. I spent a lot of Labor Day cooking - I made a lasagna to freeze that morning and then made some herbed potatoes and baked ziti for dinner.
I've been getting in all my training runs, although I've flipped some weeks around. I've got a bunch of unfinished entries that need to be posted; guess I'll do that next.
August 22, 2006
August 13, 2006
Attn: Minnesotans
1) I'm supposed to run 8-15K "tune-up" races on 9/9, 9/23 and 10/7 but there's either nothing happening or nothing very appealing here in town on those dates. For one of the dates, there's a race in Austin, but if I'm going to drive almost an hour I might as well drive up to the cities! So does anyone know of any cool races in the cities/suburbs on any of those dates?
2) Who's running Twin Cities? I drove up last year and parked at the half-point to watch/cheer and it was pretty cool. I'm strongly considering doing that again, but maybe driving up really early to get in my last 20 around the infamous lakes. If anyone wanted to join me for either the running or cheering, it could be a mini-MN RBF get together or something. Obviously it's awhile away, but just thought I'd throw it out there!
August 5, 2006
MIA
It's been a busy week here ... we were at the in-laws all last weekend, and they are here this weekend. So the Engineer and I had to hustle this week to get our house cleaned/straightened before they came. They may say they don't care if the house is clean, but I do. (And come on, isn't that a big lie anyway? We all care.) And while we didn't get it as clean as I would've liked, it's in decent enough shape. The biggest help, I guess, was buying some shoe racks for by the front door and deck door and me finally throwing away some old running shoes. We have so many shoes that hang out by the doors, so corralling them made a huge difference.
I am so behind in e-mail and blog reading (stupid Bloglines told me I had a bunch of posts to read and then ate them), but a big thank you to the Minnesotans + D for being so nice after I whined about being a loser. It's also reassuring in a weird way to know that the rest of MN is like this, too. While I still think things would be a lot easier if we lived in the TC suburb areas as I'd actually have job opportunities and more than 1 running club to choose from, it's a good reminder that it wouldn't automatically all be flowers and sunshine.
July 18, 2006
Happy Anniversary!
July 15, 2006
Sleeping Issues
The predicted high is now up to 97, but it's only 66 right now. It shouldn't break 80 until after I run.
So I'm up early, which means even if I change my mind about the track club run I'll still get out early. It's a good thing I re-read the e-mail from the group run leader, because it turns out they meet at 7AM. When I went 2 years ago, it was 7:30, so I'd just assumed it was the same. I don't know if it's always 7AM, or if it's just a summer thing, but it would've been sad to get there a half-hour late.
July 6, 2006
Haiku Thursday
I joined in on Bob's Haiku Thursday:
Went to running store
Got hand-held water bottle
Yay drinking on run
July 5, 2006
New obsession
I am seriously becoming addicted to pulling weeds. I've pulled weeds twice today, and a few times yesterday. Did anyone ever play Tetris so much that you could see the shapes when you closed your eyes? I have that with weeds. Our yard is such a shithole, it's sad the percentage that was made up of weeds. Of course, if they'd done a better job laying the sod, maybe it wouldn't look so bad.
Taking stock
Been meaning to post this for awhile, but with half of the year over I think it's a good time to take stock of where I'm at with my training.
July 3, 2006
Vanity Sizing
I was complaining about vanity sizing the other day ... well, I am back from my weekend away and my favorite running shorts are in need of being washed. So I started digging through my running shorts drawer, and came across my high school racing shorts and noticed something. I bought my medium Nike running shorts back in 1994, and according to the tag a medium was the equivalent of a 10-12. A quick look at Nike.com reveals that medium is now 8-10, but the smalls that I'd probably buy are considered 4-6. I tried the shorts on, and they felt comfortable, not too baggy. Just interesting to me that I could comfortably wear 12 year old shorts labelled 10-12, yet can't buy shorts labelled 4-6 at Wal-Mart.
July 2, 2006
Molly the Miler/Questions
Molly ran her first mile yesterday. I'm not sure exactly how far we ran because my GPS crapped out, but it had to be at least a mile. We ran almost 2 times around the retention pond, and once around is 0.55 miles. Garmin seemed to get stuck or something, though. It has issues here more than it does at home ... don't know what's up with that. Hope it's not dying.
June 29, 2006
Tagged!
I might have done a version of this awhile ago, but Bria tagged me so I'll try it again!
June 28, 2006
On the bike path, pt. 2
I planned on running from my house for today's 10 miler, but that didn't quite work out. I was about ready to head out the door, when I noticed that my Garmin not only wasn't on the charger, but had been left on all last night. It claimed it had 1 hour of battery left, but even if I trusted that, it wouldn't be enough. So I had to go out to the bike paths to have a marked route.
June 27, 2006
Strides
On the bike path, the stupid bike path, the runner plods along ... sing along! (tune of "In the jungle"). Today's run didn't start off that great, as I had a side stitch immediately after starting. It got a little better as the run progressed, but it was pretty annoying.
June 25, 2006
Running in the rain
I really need to learn to not say things like "it's going to be a great day!" when referring to the weather. By the time I was ready to head out the door, it was raining. At least it was warmer than last time. I almost headed out the door in a sleeveless shirt, but changed my mind at the last minute and decided on a short sleeve shirt. You wouldn't think a few inches would make a difference but I was glad I went with the shirt instead.
Pre-run Procrastination
Letting my oatmeal settle before heading out to run. It's going to be a great day! We had massive thunderstorms roll through yesterday which cooled everything off. It's only 61 degrees right now! I'm glad because I slept longer than expected; I'd wanted to be out the door by now, but with cooler temps and clouds it doesn't matter. I haven't figured out where/how I'm going to do my 12, but I figure I'll just head out to the bike paths and run around.
June 24, 2006
Slow 'n easy
So today called for a 4 mile "recovery" run. I'm not sure what I was supposed to be recovering from, since the 9 miler was on Thursday, and my long run is tomorrow. I checked my book before heading out, and it said this should be one of my slower runs for the week. I started running down my street and the forced myself to slow down. I ended up running mostly 9:20s, which felt really slow after the paces I've been running lately (but probably should've been even slower). I messed up and ran my last mile too fast, but didn't realize that until looking at my splits just now. I guess I got excited about being done?
June 18, 2006
Welcome
Thanks to Jeff, I have a new blog home! I thought my first post here should maybe be an introductory-type post, since I don't think I've ever bothered doing that before.
June 4, 2006
Waiting
I really need to start going to bed earlier so I can wake up earlier and get running before it gets really hot. Thankfully it hasn't been *too* bad this week, but if we're already getting 80s in June, it's going to be a long, nasty hot summer. I just finished my oatmeal, so now I have 30-45 minutes to let it settle before I can go out for my long run.
May 28, 2006
Red runner
I'm a little red in places now. I re-opened my chafed chest spot on Friday morning when I ran; apparently my Moving Comfort sportsbra can't be worn when it's hot and/or I've already chafed. Yesterday and today, I ran 6 miles without sunscreen (bad, I know!) followed by several hours in the pool. I'm a little red across the chest and shoulders now. Also, because my Forerunner strap is a little big, my watch slips down to rest on my wrist bone as I run. As I get sweaty, it chafes my wristbone. (You know, it really annoys me that they don't make smaller straps. I think as far as runners go, there'd be a lot bigger demand for small straps than for the standard extension strap). So lots of red on me today!
I cannot believe that both Mad City (Madison, WI) and Med-City (Rochester, MN) got shut down today! That is so insane - 90+ degrees in the upper midwest in May. I'm scared to think of how hot the rest of the summer is going to be. Oh, and in case you weren't aware, yes, it does get hot and nasty in MN too. I often say it's so incredibly unfair that we get bitter cold in the winter AND heat and humidity for summer. Anyway, my hat's off to everyone that survived the weather this weekend!
May 21, 2006
Weekend web
While procrastinating this morning in hopes it would warm up a little, I did some web surfing and came across 2 different running-related sites.
First is runningbio.com, a site which is kind of self-explanatory. Here's my (lame) bio.
Second is runbud.com, which is supposed to be like myspace for runners. Here's my page. I don't have any friends on there yet, though.
While looking for pictures, I came across a scanned copy of a picture from my high school yearbook:
I still have those shorts, and I'm pretty sure I wore them in my first marathon. Wow are they short!
May 10, 2006
NRR: Funny Video Clip
Not running related, but I found this video clip from TVgasm funny. For people that don't like to click random links, here's the description
"On last week's episode of Prison Break, I couldn't help noticing a long, random montage set to the theme music from House M.D.. Apparently some lazy music coordinator pulled the wrong track from the Fox music library. I would post this bizarre sequence, but due to random technical difficulties, I can't. Nevertheless, it got me thinking. What would happen if TV shows played the theme songs from other TV shows in the middle of an episode? The results are surprisingly entertaining."
The best part for me is the last/CNN one.
April 30, 2006
Survey Sunday
Survey time again - answer if you want!
I treadmill an average of 4 days a week because it's really dark at 5 AM. I tried to run outside twice, but it was kind of creepy. So:
1) What are some good running songs?
2) For other 'millers, do you watch TV and if so, what do you like to watch?
And random:
3) What's your favorite ice cream?
April 25, 2006
Making plans
Thanks to everyone that responded to my Survey Sunday! It's interesting to see what varies and what is consistent; one of the things I've always liked about running is that there isn't just one way to do things. I get annoyed when people act like there is - like this one girl I met when I moved here who always presented her way as the way. It's probably wrong, but I was pretty pleased when I beat her by a few minutes at last year's 20K.
April 9, 2006
Attack of the Quads
Thanks for the feedback, Dani, Bria and Jon! I've had a couple of rough weeks that have involved some pity-partying (non-blog related stuff) and it's so easy to make the leap to "why does everybody hate me??" when that's not what's really going on. Moving to/living in Minnesota has been kind of tough for me, and some weeks are harder than others. Anyway, I'd forgotten about my comment "dilemma" last summer until Jon's comment. The whole public/private thing with blogs is kind of a catch-22. In theory, I write for myself and my records. (I wish I'd written race reports for myself back in high school - it'd be so interesting for me now to know what I actually was thinking about things back then). But yet, instead of writing it in paper format or typing into a word document, I've chosen an online journal for my format. I think I go through cycles with the feedback option that's available with blogs (as opposed to private documents). I don't know that I'm making any sense here.
So my quads are pretty sore from yesterday's 20K race! I went out this morning for a short run, and the first few feet were pretty awkward. I ran an out and back, and unfortunately the back was more uphill so it kind of sucked. Molly had cried when I left so I stopped back inside briefly to change shoes and pick her up for a walk. We didn't run any this time, though, because my legs were too sore.
February 16, 2006
Early bird
First off, it snowed last night. It's hard to tell because of the wind, but the Engineer's estimate is that we've gotten at least 8 inches so far. I drove "the Beast" this morning (my new nickname for his TrailBlazer) but didn't bother to actually use the 4WD until this afternoon. I'm hoping that they get all this crap cleared up by Saturday because I don't want to run long on the 'mill. But then again ... it's supposed to be pretty cold this weekend (high of 6 on Sat with windchills in the negative teens) so maybe I'll want to be inside anyway.
I like to shop when the weather is bad, so I made a trip to Wal-Mart. Like last time, getting the cart to my car was kind of fun. Unlike last time, I was able to push the cart instead of dragging it. I'm unofficially counting the pushing as my second workout for the day, because it was pretty tough to push the cart and not fall.
So here's a description of the cake we had today:
Sacher Torte
A classic from Vienna! Three layers of milk chocolate cake with raspberry jam between and covered with chocolate ganache.
Ganache is pretty tasty! I highly approve of this frosting. I found out today that we get cake twice next week. On Tuesday, they are having cake for a woman that is leaving for a new job. Friday they are having cake for a man retiring (followed by a happy hour). The woman that made us the brownie on V-Day is going to be making the cakes, so yay!
Maybe I should discuss exercise? I woke up at 5AM again today, but this time I ran and weight lifted. I have a meeting every Thursday at 3PM, and most weeks it runs past 3:30 (aka quitting time). I arranged to come in today at 7:30 and leave at 4. I figured it would work better with the meeting and allow me to do my full workout in the morning. (But go figure - the meeting ran short today). I only ran for 30 minutes, because my legs were slightly tired. I also cut my lower body weight sets down to 3. I'm not sure I want to do 3 sets for legs, since it's just supplemental (as opposed to upper body lifting). Overall, working out in the morning was great as I'm enjoying having my afternooon free (it makes it feel like it's a rest day!).
treadmill @ 1% | 3.19 miles | 30:00 | 9:24/mi.
upper + lower body weights | 37:00
February 15, 2006
Cookies and cake!
I had M&M cookies out of the Wheel of Doom (aka vending machine) at work today. B and I were working on this huge plating project (6 samples, 2 medias, 3 dilutions in triplicate = 108 plates each) and needed a break. My back was hurting, so I followed B into the break room. I like cookies, so it was a good break. Tomorrow, we're getting cake! I decided that we needed to start celebrating birthdays, and my manager agreed as long as he didn't have to organize it. One of the guy's birthdays was today, but he was gone so we're celebrating tomorrow. I asked him for his cake preference and he asked for "chocolate bathed in chocolate." We get our cakes from a really good bakery (no grocery store sheet cakes for us!) and I think we found something that will meet his wish.
Also exciting - one of the Dairy Queens is open again! I was kind of angry to find out that all 3 locations here close for winter. It's bad enough we don't have a real ice cream place (not even Baskin Robbins), but to not even have DQ in winter was just wrong. The location we like opens next month.
You know, I didn't use to like sweets this much. Sometimes it's surprising I'm not overweight - my metabolism must finally be working right! Ha! I am back at the point of not caring about strictly staying within a certain calorie range (so that didn't last very long). Since I'm within the healthy weight range for my height, it's easy for me to say "screw it" and just try to maintain. I wouldn't mind being about 5 pounds lighter (which would be my '04 "racing weight") but I think things will sort themselves out as I get my mileage back over 20 mpw. Or not .... I'm feeling pretty "whatever" about it all. I run 5 days a week, weight lift 3 times a week, eat 5 apples/day, so I feel I'm doing pretty good on the healthy scale.
Ok, moving on from all that. I decided to use the hill interval program on my treadmill today. I picked level 2, which had the baseline incline as 1.5% and had intervals going from 2.5 to 5%. The thing about the programs, though, is that the speed is also pre-programmed and all of the levels are too slow for running. So I had to manually change the speed 3 times during my workout which was a little distracting/annoying. But other than that, the hills weren't too bad. I should probably incorporate more hill training, especially since the 20K in April has that big hill at 8.5 miles and the highway overpass at 12 miles.
treadmill | hill interval level 2 (1.5-5%) | 3.56 miles | 33:00 | 9:16/mi.
January 8, 2006
Semi-back
Before I start, this trend of posting videos on blogs? HAS TO STOP! I am so tired of trying to read about someone's running or whatever and being assaulted by a stupid music video. I HATE IT! Myspace.com is bad enough with the songs and the videos, why does it have to infect blogs, too?
Anyway. I deleted my Typepad account back in August, and meant to type up a post explaining the move and then just never got around to it. I'll probably put my archives back up at some point, but over the summer I just got really sick of seeing them. I was also pretty sick of running, but I kept forcing myself to run 1-3 days a week. I ran a 10K in October with J (I let him beat me by 3 seconds, after we'd run the whole race together) and then just stopped running.
And I didn't miss it, which just goes to show how much I'd fucked things up. Normally if I have time off, I miss running. Or, like when I used to only run sporadically through the winter in high school, I'd be making plans and goals and whatnot. For the past 2 months, I've done none of that - and I've finally conceded that I was severely burnt out and overtrained.
I'd probably been overtrained since summer '04, when I didn't really take time off to recover from Med-City. Sure, I did eventually back down on the mileage, and I did have that whole 7-8 days off ... but I didn't really ever take a break. And that fall I was still "go go go" and jumped right into marathon training. Not even having the return of the ITB problems was enough for me to stop, and I ran the marathon anyway. You'd think I'd have taken time off after that, but no. Within 10 days of the marathon, I was back on my treadmill running intervals. Sure, I started to run slower because of the heart rate monitor training, but I also started doing 1-2/week speed sessions. And, granted, I had fun doing them, but I now think that was a big mistake on my part. By the time summer rolled around, I really had no motivation but kept forcing myself anyway. But once your drive goes ....
The never-ending aches and pains are most likely the result of the overtraining, too. I never really gave my ITB time to heal. I thought I'd had it kicked last fall (04), but I think the low mileage was probably enough to keep it at bay. My hips started being more of a problem this spring. After the 1/2 marathon in May, they hurt for a few days, and I had problems with them again over the summer. Then things were okay, but they started hurting again during that 10K which also prompted me to take a break.
So like I said, I stopped running after that 10K in October, and I really enjoyed my break. (I don't enjoy the 5 pounds that showed up from the lack of exercise and lack of paying attention to what I ate). I finally got back on the exercise wagon on 12/29, with some weight-lifting. I was going to use the elliptical, but within 5 minutes on there, my hip started to hurt. Ugh! So I decided to walk on the treadmill instead. Now, I HATE walking as exercise. I think it's stupid and lame. It turns out, though, that if you crank the incline enough I can get a decent workout in. I've been wearing my heart rate monitor, and walking at 4.2+ mph and inclines of 4-9% get my heart rate as high as running. So while I still think walking is kind of lame, I'm accepting it as an okay form of cross-training. I've also been doing my lower body weight lifting, which is an area I've definitely been slacking. I think some of my leg problems are probably the result of strength deficiencies.
I did run on Friday and Saturday. I finally felt like it. In the past, I've started back at 3 miles even if my break has been 6 months. I'm stubborn like that. And I'd planned on running 3 when I started on Friday, but decided to actually be smart for once and stopped at 2. (If I had been outside and not on the treadmill, I probably would've kept going, so no applause for me here). I would've run today, but my hips (muscle not joint) were sore last night so I decided to be smart again and just walk today.
No goals or "resolutions" for 2006 for me. I just need to focus on being healthy (and losing the 5 pounds, and maybe 5-10 more to get back to and maybe below "skinny weight"). I would like to get in shape for the Fetzer 20K, and I think it's very reasonable for me to get up to 12.4 miles in 3 months. I did once go from not running for 6 months to marathon in 18 weeks ... but I don't think I'm going to be attempting that feat again. I should probably try to be better about blogging, but we'll see how that goes.
Oh, look at how giant my puppy is! The first picture is Molly at 8 weeks, when we got her. The next is Molly at 6 months, last week after she went to the groomer. (She's been digging in the dirt, though, so she's nowhere near that clean anymore). Only 5.5 more months until I'm allowed to run with her!
July 13, 2005
Race possibility?
Look at what I found in my Yahoo e-mail today:
MILES FOR MARISA 5K, 1 MILE FUN RUN/WALK & 50 YARD DASH
I think I might just have to go to Illinois and run that! How can you not run a race with your name in it? (Does it make me a bad person that I'm more excited about the race name as opposed to the worthy cause it supports?) I seriously thought it was some kind of spam mail when I saw the subject, though.
July 12, 2005
Don't Worry, Be Happy
^ That's what's on the Music Choice music channel right now. I kind of hate that song, but whatever.
I'm just popping in here to say thank you to everyone for the recent comments. They've definitely given me some food for thought, and I've got a bunch of stuff swirling around to post about. However, I am just home briefly for lunch and I have to study for a test tonight so I probably won't be blogging until maybe tomorrow. (I'm trying to work up the courage to go do track work w/speedy fast work guy tomorrow night). I didn't want to leave everyone hanging, though, because I do appreciate the feedback/ideas/getting me thinking.
July 10, 2005
It's All Relative
I'm a posting machine today!
I have some hatred towards the phrase "it's all relative," stemming from a comment someone made to me after Med-City last year. But I was thinking about it today while running, and do recognize that it can be a pretty true statement. And it all came about because I ran with sunglasses on today for the first time ever.
I have some really wacky ideas about gear and apparel. For years, I wouldn't run shirtless because that's what the serious, fast girls/women did. I've let go of that one, but I still won't race shirtless. It's hard for me to articulate why I'd feel funny doing that, but some of is that I feel like people would think I think I'm fast. I used to hate hats, but can't remember why. Even though I normally wear sunglasses outside, I never wear them for running because, again, that's what the speedy fast people do.
The funny thing about my ideas is that they only apply to me. I tend to not pay that much attention to what other people wear, so you'd think I would realize the same probably is true for other runners and me. I am sure that most people probably don't care what I wear, but I still have these strange hang-ups.
Anyway, it was really bright outside today. While driving over to the lake, I decided to put on my sunglasses to cut down on the brightness. They didn't fit very well with my hat, so I took it off. I have to say that aside from small pieces of hair flying around, I liked running with the sunglasses instead of the hat. They slipped a little as I got sweaty, but not too bad. I think I should go ahead with my idea to buy a pair of running sunglasses. My eyes will thank me later, I'm sure.
Update on the tire saga: $100 later, I have 4 functioning tires again. I probably could've gotten something cheaper, but for some reason I wanted to match the OE tires. The funny part was I told the guy I needed a new tire, and he went to go look at my tires before I had a chance to explain why. He comes back in, and was pretty confused because my "tires all look pretty good." The tread isn't worn a lot, which is another reason I'm pissed I had to replace one. It made a lot more sense to him when we explained the nail in the sidewall. I bought my tire from a local place because I didn't want to wait, but for anyone in the market for tires, I'd highly recommend Tire Rack. We bought my snow tires from them, and even with shipping and the $50 for my dealer to mount the tires, it was significantly cheaper to buy my tires there than from a local store.
February 19, 2005
PT and XT
I saw the PT yesterday to discuss my ITB. Overall, it was a good appointment. We talked about what I had been doing, he examined my feet and legs, and I walked and ran on the treadmill so he could see what was going on. He said my feet look really normal, and my stride looks good. I don't excessively pronate, although my legs do cross over the "center line" which you can see in some of my marathon photos. He agreed with Run-Tex's assessment of my shoes, which was I shouldn't be in a stability shoe. We decided to hold off on the orthotics, and be more aggressive with the stretching. It turns out that my hip flexors are tight, which doesn't help things. So in addition to the ITB and gluteal stretches I've been doing, I now have some hip flexor stretches and an additional ITB stretch. I was also given another massage technique, which I'm supposed to do once a day. The only bad thing was that I forgot to ask about the patt strap, and if it would be helpful. Anyway, I'm supposed to see if the stretching and massage helps and if not make another appointment next month. At that point, we might try ultrasound or some other treatment I didn't quite catch the name of but would involve a drug prescription.
I finally got back on the exercise train today by doing some cross training. I did some upper body weight lifting followed by the elliptical. I haven't done weights since August, so I bet I'll be sore tomorrow. I need to try to lift more often; it's not like I was really muscular last year, but I did notice the other day that I have lost some of the muscle tone in my arms. I haven't decided what I'm going to do tomorrow (elliptical vs. trying to run), but I think I'm going to try to do some lower body weights.
upper body weights | 25:00
elliptical | 20:00 HR Cardio/5:00 CD | 16:28 in zone | 1.63 miles | 372 cal.
February 12, 2005
T minus 11
For anybody running/spectating tomorrow, I'll be wearing navy shorts, a singlet (white in front, aqua in back), and a pink hat in case you see me and want to say hi. I won't have anything fun on my shirt, mainly because I can't think of anything good. I know the traditional thing is to put your name on your shirt, but I don't feel like hearing my name mispronounced for 26.2 miles. (If anyone was wondering: it's pronounced Mar-EE-sa. It sounds like Lisa or Theresa, not like Melissa. Everyone always wants to add an extra s).
I'm waffling on my watch decision now that I've learned there won't be a 3:35 pace group. I'm wondering if it might not be a bad thing to have the pace feedback from the watch, especially in the first few miles. I ran my first two miles at Med-City too fast because I don't have a good concept of pace (I thought I'd slowed down for the second, but it was just as fast). And since I've been running on the treadmill where my pace is controlled, I'm sure my sense is even more skewed. So maybe the Garmin is the right way to go.
I'm feeling very full of carbs and water right now. I still need to lace my chip onto my shoe, but I think I'm fairly ready for tomorrow. I've got moblogging set up on both my cell phone and the Engineer's cell phone, so I should have some kind of update on here after the race. Good or bad, it'll be here first.
I registered for another race today: the March Madness 1/2 Marathon. Registration is supposed to close this weekend; the Engineer thought I should maybe wait until tomorrow to register, but I think that's kind of negative thinking. It's 5 weeks from tomorrow, and I think that's plenty of time between a full and a half. It does mean that I'll be running a 1/2 or 20K each month for 3 months, though, if I run what I have planned. I want to run the 20K that I ran last year (April), and I'm supposed to run the Med-City relay with one of my co-workers (May). Should be fun.