Here I go again!

Man alive was this a gorgeous day! Just beautiful, not too cold not too warm, not windy, sunny... just perfect. Metroed to Ballston with my bike and biked about 2 miles to Bluemont park where the race started. Met up and chatted with some friends before the race which is always nice and relaxing. And off we went in the mud - then on the bike trail. It was a very hilly course and I realized I'm a very strong runner in hills, going up and down, and not that great on the flats. I went out too fast and did the first mile in 7:30, the second mile I slowed way down since my shins hurt, and the rest wasn't marked well. A bunch of people past me between miles 2 and 4, and then my shins started feeling better and the hills started, and I kept passing people both on the up and on the downhills. I don't think anyone past me after mile 4. I hit mile 6.1 at 51:00 and realized how out of shape I am... oh boy... but it was very hilly. I thought for a second that maybe I could break 1 hour, but at that point I thought a 12k was 7.2 miles - hey, that extra .2 miles counts! I sped up a bit the last .5 miles and finished on the muddy terrain again - a few minutes after my friend Brent, but ahead of the other 4 people I knew in the race. Not too bad! We all went to brunch to celebrate after, and then I biked home. Need to do strengthening exercises and stretch! Happy Sunday runners!

Official results are in: I was the 22nd woman out of 105, and the 93rd runner out of 219. As long as I'm on the top half, I'm happy!

Didn't feeling well at all. Not sure what's going on - feels like blood pressure is very low, I get up and walk a bit and have to get back in bed cause I feel I'm going to faint. It's definitely not dehydration and I've been eating well, too much perhaps. This used to happen to me when I was little all the time, and still does every once in a while but it's getting worse than before. It'll get better I'm sure.

Felt really lousy this morning but dragged myself to work - as long as I'm sitting down I'm ok. Around 1 pm I started to feel normal.

After work, I ran from the office up to Bethesda on Wisconsin Avenue, past the Cathedral... The Cathedral is one of the highest places in the city, so as you can imagine it was all uphill. My shins were very painful for the first 2 miles, then they felt better. It was a bit windy and cold, not a great run but I did it.

Snowing here in DC! Beautiful!!! Woke up early and ran from Chevy Chase to the Bethesda metro... I was feeling good, so I ran down Wisconsin to the Friendship Heights metro... I was feeling good so I kept going and ran to the Tenleytown metro... I crossed the street and was going to run all the way back to work but then I thought I had to be smarter than that, with my shin issues and all, so I went back and took the metro to Dupont Circle - from there I ran an extra mile to the office. I would've ran about 7 miles if I had gone all the way... not sure if it made much of a difference. My shins felt much better today than yesterday, not sure what's the deal with that - icing now...

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No I shouldn't have but I did... ran 3 miles after work, from the office to the Smithsonian metro and metroed the rest of the way home. Tried to run without hitting the ground with the heels so much but with the ball of the foot and I think it helped a lot... I'll have to thank whomever posted that answer to Lori's question on the discussion board... Did strengthening exercises and stretches afterwards, and iced. I got some of those icing beads and i'm keeping a couple at work so I can ice there too. Good night!

Forced rest day... very cold outside, too much going on in the Senate, and not enough time in the day.

If you haven't seen these, they are great card for your running friends!

http://www.fargonegreetings.com/home.php?cat=253

Five nice miles on the C&O canal trail - The sun had just set, so I got to run with a bit of light after work. Got back to the office, showered, and went out to dinner with friends. Life is good.

Shorts and a tank top, that's what I'm talking about! A gorgeous beautiful unbelievably sunny 40 degree day! After a lot of thinking about whether I should run with old shoes (left two pairs of newer shoes at the office), or whether to bike to a trail and run in the dirt which should be better for the shins, decided to just go with it... Went by the Anacostia trail, down around the RFK stadium, to the Capitol, to the National Gallery of Art and stopped there for some water, and back on Pennsylvania. My legs felt tight and weird for the first 3 miles, and then they loosened up and I enjoyed the rest of the run.

Congrats to those of you who are racing today! I hope you get nice weather like us!

It's 60 degrees here in DC! Cloudy in the morning but sunny in the afternoon. Tried to do too much and ended up messing everything up; live and learn. Will and I met up with Greg for a bike ride on Rock Creek Park - the first two miles were awful, trying to go around people walking or running on the trail... it was just waaaay too crowded, and a lot of people (mostly other bikers and walkers, most runners just stay nicely to the right) are completely oblivious to trail etiquette or simply common manners. The rest of the ride was better, cause they close the parkway to cars during weekends. Greg was riding on a road bike, Will on a mountain bike and I on my hybrid, so even though Will and I are pretty fast, we lost Greg very very fast. Will didn't have much time so we only rode 18 miles, and I rode 5 extra to meet him from my house. Man I am POOPED! That was a hard ride.  I relaxed a bit and worked in the office, then ran home at dusk - the moon was huge and right behind the Capitol, I wish I had my camera! As usual, my shins were very tight, especially the right, the first 2 miles, and then they relaxed and I felt better. It's been so long since I ran without shin pain, it seems like an unattainable dream...

My weight is up. That trip to the Argentine store last week was not a good idea. Need to eat better this week. Concentrate in increasing my protein intake and eat less carbs.

Got new shoes yesterday - Mizuno. I was hoping they'd cure my shin splints on the first run but that didn't work...

What a fun day. I wish the weekend was longer... Off to stretch, ice, and study!

Ran during lunch break on the C&O canal to Fletcher's - went slow for the 3 miles there, then picked up the pace for 2 miles on the way back - I felt like I was flying on the trail, but my splits weren't so good: 8:03 and 8:07... I need to get faster! Total running time was 51 and change. 48 degrees out and sunny! Shorts and a tank top, yeah! The canal was partly frozen over though, cause it still gets freezing at night. Let's hope it doesn't get too cold in the next few days - or that it snows lots! One or the other :)

Shins were ok the 1st mile, then they hurt a bit so I ran the special way (more landing on the ball of the feet) and felt better. The last 3 miles almost didn't hurt at all. Overall they hurt a lot less than yesterday. What a mistery!

Biked to school and home.

Happy Monday!

42 degrees here in DC, a beautiful morning. Ran to the office, 5.5 miles. Lots of runners out there - most of them nice. I don't get why some runners ignore you when they are coming towards you on the opposite direction... you can just smile, nod, say hi... it makes the run so much nicer! Shins hurt but pain wasn't intolerable. I have a little bit of pain and maybe inflammation just above the ankle on the outside of my right leg - probably I just misstepped on a rock, so I may not run home to let it rest. Now ice, compression, and ibuprofen!

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A weird day followed by an even weirder evening. First, while trying to help one of my very best friends get out of a funk, I said too much at the wrong time and hurt her badly. I hope she finds it in her heart to forgive me. Sometimes friends just need to talk and you just need to listen, and there are other times to voice your advice and concerns. Then while I was getting ready to go home, an unexpected event occured that made me think someone I trust was being dishonest with me. I was very upset and needed to clear my head, so I decided to run home. It was the right decision - I felt pretty good throughout the run, and decided to face my insecurities head on. An uncomfortable and somewhat shameful conversation later, and the misunderstanding was resolved.

With so many "bad people" out there, hearing friends dealing with husbands that cheated, and having been lied to many times myself, it's hard to give in and trust someone completely. But a life without trust is not worth living.

Lessons learned today: listen, trust, and run taking smaller strides.

70 beautiful degrees in DC today! My office building was so hot, not even funny. Unfortunately I couldn't get away at lunch for a run. After work I ran to the gym for 15 minutes in the stairmaster - a guy from school told me he was told it'd help with the shin splints. Man the stairmaster makes you sweat like a pig! I also did some "assisted" pull-ups to strengthen my pipes. Then I ran home from there - just in time to beat this strong but quick thunderstorm. It's global warming!!!

Shins didn't hurt much but my lower outside right leg keeps bothering me. Icing right now. We'll see how it feels tomorrow, I may have to metro in to work - wah-wahhhhhh!

58 degrees, a bit windy, blue skies shining on me, nothing but blue sky do I see...

4 easy miles during lunch - tried to get the guy I share my office with to tag along (he's going through a separation and hasn't been well lately, I thought getting out would cheer him up) but he was only able to go 1 mile and said his legs hurt... so I kept going around Rock Creek and Dumbarton Oaks park. Very pretty. Left shin hurt, right didn't, and just above my right ankle there's something tender, so I won't run tomorrow. I think it's just a sore muscle that needs to calm down, nothing serious - icing now.  

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Biked to Bethesda from the office in the evening, 10 fast miles against the wind, a gradual uphill, on the Capitol Crescent trail all the way. An awesome ride.

10 miles bike ride - Biked to the office in the GORGEOUS morning - this time mostly downhill and FLYING by people.

No running today as my leg/ankle still feels a bit sore - hopefully with a day of rest it'll be better - I'm racing the GW Birthday 10k on Saturday morning, my goal is to finish in 48 minutes... wish me luck!

Biked home at night, stopped at the gym for some stair work but ankle felt weird so I stopped to have it rested for tomorrow's race...

Ran the GW birthday 10k in Alexandria - did not quite made my goal of 48:00 but not too far off - course was a bit hillier than I thought it would be, with lots of turns and twists. A really nice day and the weather was just perfect, about 39 degrees with blue skies and some clouds, but no wind. Trick stayed with me the first 2 miles but then he fell behind - he hasn't been training much and on top of that he's been sick with a cold. First mile was 7:56, second 8:02, third 7:46, not sure what happened to the 4th mile - my watch says 8:43 but I think the mile marker was wrong - I had some stomach cramps on the last 2 miles so I slowed down a bit. Missed mile marker 5, but finished (unofficially) in 48:48. I forgot to check my overall place, but I saw that I finished 8th out of 24 in my category - will post official times/placement later. 

I think if I had been able to get better sleep last night I would've done better. But being a good person comes first, and I had to help a friend in need... Alcoholism is a horrible disease, and it's so hard to know what's the best thing to do for those affected by it. I helped as much as I could, but you can only do so much, and if you did more, it can actually end up hurting the person more than helping. Sometimes tough love is the best thing you can do... Please keep my friend in your prayers and thoughts while she goes into rehab. Thank you!

Happy weekend!

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Official results posted: 48:52, 7:39 pace! (for some reason I always think of a 10k in 48 minutes as being 8 minute pace - I forget that .2 matters lots!)

167th out of 659 total entrants, 8th out of 114 women in my age group, 30 to 39!!! Very very happy... good incentive to stop eating and lose some lbs to get faster! Anyone want to break my jaw again? :) thank you for the support!

A great bike ride with Will out by Poolesville and around Sugarloaf Mountain. A sunny day, about 40 degrees, some wind - conditions were just perfect! Because I don't have bike shoes, my running shoes sometimes make my feet cold, but this time I was fine. Very hilly ride, but so much fun. It's nice to have someone that rides at my (pretty fast) pace but doesn't go too fast for me.

Have a great running week everyone!

No running today, as I want to rest the right leg. It still hurts on the lower-back-outside of the leg, exactly above the ankle. It's tender to the touch and it hurts when I put weight on it on a certain way - like when I'm biking uphill and I stand on the pedals... I'm not sure what it could be. Doesn't hurt very bad at all, but I don't want it to get worse. I'm reading stuff online but can't find anything that relates to it. My guess is that it's probably just a pulled muscle that needs to get rest... I may not bike back today...  

Did some core work in the morning, biked to the office to do some studying, as we have the day off today. Biked to school, and then biked home. It was chilly out but clear - soooo nice! I love biking home after school, there is NOBODY out on the mall at 9 pm, and it's just sooooo beautiful.

Biked to the office. Lower leg hurts when I put weight on the leg when I pedal hard... very bummed. Everything I'm reading points to peroneal tendon damage... it says it takes a while to heal. It almost doesn't hurt when I walk or even run, and I can go up stairs just fine. When I go downstairs and put all my weight on the right leg is when I can really feel it. It's not bad pain at all, but I don't want it to get worse. So I'll probably rest again today, maybe go back to the swimming pool... Bummer cause it's snowing and I love running in the snow! From my office window I can see the runners on Rock Creek Park having fun. Grrrrrrrrr!

I'm applying ice throughout the day and keeping it bandaged and elevating at night. This weekend Will and I are going cross-country skiing - I'm hoping the exercise will not hurt the leg cause you slide and don't put all your weight on one leg that much. We shall see how it goes... for now, resting...

No exercise today. Leg feels tender and inflamed. Walked about 1 mile to the metro, and 1 mile to work from the metro, and that didn't help.

Should've gone to the pool this morning but the mess of it didn't appeal to me... so I went to the gym. Did 12 minutes on elliptical and 12 minutes on stationary bike - both at low resistance. Leg didn't hurt - but it hurt on the mile walk to the office... It's still inflamed, it's like a bump on top of the ankle bone. Then did some core work, pull-ups and triceps-ups (not sure what those are called). The stupid metro was delayed and I was 20 minutes late getting there, so I couldn't do more than 30 minutes. But it's better than nothing.

Will is taking me to my favorite restaurant tonight for Restaurant Week, when twice a year the upscale restaurants in the city offer deals for us people that don't make a lot of money... looking forward to eating lots of great food! 

Blehhhhh
No running - very swollen left knee caused by... hang on.... this one is for real, no joke... ANOTHER bike accident.
Yup. This time a lot less serious, and for a good reason. Yesterday, we went out past Alexandria on the Mt. Vernon trail, made it to Mt Vernon and were on the way back to the car when a group of pedestrians was walking up the hill on my side of the bike path while I was going downhill... Tried to break and move further to the right but got off trail, tried to get back on, something didn't work out, and I fell. It seems my helmet hit the ground first, protecting my forehead, and then my nose and my chin sort-of slid on the dirt. I think I hit the dirt and not the pavement, so it was softer... My left knee did hit the pavement very hard, it was so swallen, scary. But nothing seemed to be broken - and thankfully Will was with me to hug me and help me feel better. We biked about 1.5 miles to his car and went home to ice and laugh. No trips to the hospital this time, thankfully. Boy am I going to get sooooo many jokes from my co-workers tomorrow!

I hope all of you readers always wear a helmet, even if you're not as clumsy as me.

So now my left knee has a big bruise and my right leg has a swollen tendon above the ankle bone. The swimming pool is calling...

Knee swelling went down and hurts a lot less - but the wound is still open so no pool.

My face looks like crap but I went to the gym anyway... did 10 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes on the stationary bike, core work that didn't require me to bend the knee, and some pull-ups/arm exercises. The tendon seems to be OK when I do that, as long as I don't put a lot of weight on it, but I can feel it still very inflamed and still hurts when I go downstairs so I don't want to risk running on it.

Very cold here... 20 and feels like 10 cause it's really windy... I know, most of you live in even colder places, so I won't complain. Very sunny at least!

Happy Tuesday!

Weight back to normal this morning... 10 lbs from my perfect weight, but I know I'll never get there. Evidently 138 is where my body wants to be for now. I wonder if I lost muscle since I'm not running and that's why the difference...

Biked to work in the cold but sunny day. After work I dropped off the bike at the shop for a tune-up and went to the gym, 30 min elliptical,  20 min bike, 10 min arms, then went home and did some abs.

I always thought me and my sister(s) didn't look alike at all, but today I saw a picture of my younger sister and I'm thinking maybe I see some similarity... what do you think?

Gloria, 24 years old, on your left, and Lucia, 30 at the time, on your right...

Picked up my bike from the shop after work and biked to Bethesda. Left knee, where I fell, hurts when I walk, not when I bike. Right tendon still hurts. I think next week I really really really need to stick to the pool, no running, walking, biking, elliptical, nothing but the pool... Hopefully the weather will cooperate (and by that I mean it's going to be cold and rainy and windy so I don't feel the urge to be outside).

The weekend is here! Woohoo!

Biked to the office on the Capital Crescent trail. I absolutely love this commute. I should move to Bethesda. It's a straight shot on a bike trail the entire way, very few stops to cross streets, so you can fly down. The best part is when I pass biker dudes on racing bikes, the serious bikers, with my mountain bike with hybrid tires and running shoes... I ring my girly bell that says "I heart my bike" every time I pass a guy like that on purpose so they feel less manly... hahaha! Of course then I fall and they're the ones that get the last laugh...