dedication, perseverance, self-discipline

I ran 4 miles this morning in just under 32 minutes.  My left quad still feels tight when I run, however there is slowly beginning to be less pain which leads me to think that I may be able to increase the mileage soon.  9 miles on the bike, riding too and from school, and to the store in the evening.

I ran about 5.5 miles with Tyler this morning.  I rode about 5.5 miles on the bike as well, riding to school and back and riding to meet Tyler and then back home.

I ran some with my running class this morning, and then ran a little more after class with Jackson, one of my students.  Total of about 5.5 miles.  I only rode about 3 miles on the bike today, riding to school and back

I ran in Omaha today as I drove out early this morning for the American Society of Biomechanics national meeting.  I found out very quickly that once you leave downtown Omaha, the city is super ghetto.  I definitely would not want to run in those neighborhoods after dark.

Anita started preschool today as well.  She does not go for very long, but it gives her the opportunity to spend some time in a fun setting.  She was super excited to ride the bus this morning.  Here are some pictures Kimia took (I didn't want to miss out while in Omaha).

The excited girl in front of our house

At the bus stop

Ready to get on the bus

I ran 4 miles this morning in Omaha.  I stayed in downtown this time because traffic was minimal at 6 AM.  I enjoyed being able to see some of the older buildings mixed in with the newer architecture.  Old buildings give a city some style (as long as they are not falling apart).

One last run in Omaha before heading home.  I ran along the river today that marks the Iowa/Nebraska border.  I left later this morning, but still early enough to see some of the early morning color in the clouds from the sunrise.  Not as pretty as what I would see in Washington when the sun would come up behind Mt. Ranier in the morning, but pretty nonetheless.

I ran about 4.5 miles this morning, running most of it with my running class.

I ran 4.5 miles this morning in 34:47. I saw the soon to be temple matron at the winter quarters temple on her bike, so I sped up and ran 1 mile in 6:33 while chatting with her. The faster speed actually hurt my quad less than the slower speed normally does. I wonder if it has something to do with the mechanical work being done. Mostly I am just glad that my leg is getting better, although I still wonder why things got worse after I took some time off from running to let myself recover from mono.

I only rode 3 miles on the bike today, riding to and from school one time.  In the evening I ran about a half mile with Kimia (I am guessing it was about 12 minute mile pace, so I won't count it toward the mileage).  She hasn't been running this pregnancy because she has been riding the bike instead, but she wanted to run a little to try and stretch herself out a bit since the baby is due in 2.5 weeks.

I ran with my running class this morning, running for 36:53.  I will count it as 4.5 miles.  I also rode to school, so by the time I get home tonight I will be at 3 miles on the bike as well

I ran 5.5 miles with Tyler this morning in about 43 minutes.  My quad hurt a little more today than it has the last couple days, but overall it was not too bad.  I rode the bike to where I met Tyler, and also rode to school for a total of 5.5 miles on the bike.

Lately, my knee has also been acting up a little bit on the same side of my body where I strained my quad.  It started to hurt off and on about a month ago when I was on the bike, but it was so mild that I just passed it off as nothing.  Since then I have experienced no pain while running, and I have been more careful on the bike (as I had mostly been biking very short distances I would almost always ride as fast as I could for those short distances and I think it put a little extra stress on the knee that I was unaccustomed to) only feeling some knee discomfort when I went on a 25 mile bike ride a few weeks ago.  However, in the past week or so the knee has started to feel tight when I am sitting or lying down, and I have felt some mild discomfort while running on two occasions.  This makes me wonder if I am compensating for the hurt quad in some way that is putting undue strain on my knee.  I hope that this does not become a problem.  I just want to be able to run without being run down from mono, without pain in my quad, and without pain in my knee.  Is that really too much to ask?

In the evening I ran a little over 3/4 mile with Kimia.  Running to try and speed up the pregnancy doesn't seem to be working this time because Kimia is in better shape than she was with the past pregnancies.

I ran about 4.5 miles with my running class this morning in about 36 minutes.  I felt more positive about things today as my leg felt the best it has all week.  My knee felt decent despite waking up feeling sore and achy all over this morning (I am at a loss for what caused that as I have been doing the same thing nearly every day and have not felt any muscle soreness for a long time).  Near the end of the run both the quad and knee felt just a little achy, but there was no pain, so I am happy with that. I rode the bike for about 6 miles total today as I rode to and from school 2 times.

4.5 miles this morning in 35:16.  I felt pretty good this morning, which was encouraging.  My knee started to feel just a little tight with about a half mile to go, but it was not bad.  I ended up biking with Kimia to a tail gate party and to the store in the afternoon, totaling approximately 9 miles.

I ran approximately 5 miles this morning, running most of it with my running class.  I suspect that I may have actually run a bit farther than 5 miles, but I have no measurements where we ran today, so I am not completely sure.  My leg a knee felt pretty good today as I did not feel any tightness or soreness until the last half mile or so (this is the best I have felt in quite a while), although my back felt tight and uncomfortable for pretty much the entire run (bummer).  I ended up biking 6 miles today as I rode to and from school twice.

On a side note, Kimia has still not had the baby.  Now, she has not even hit 39 weeks yet, but if you would have asked me on Thursday I would have sworn that the baby was going to come over the weekend due to the number of contractions that Kimia was having.  As a result, I am now getting just a little impatient (and I am not the one packing an extra 30 pounds with a baby inside of me, imagine how Kimia must feel).

I ran 5 miles this morning in 38:16.  This is the fastest run (pace/mile) that I have completed in a while as it was raining and my rain jacket seems to have lost its waterproofing so I ran a little quicker.  On the plus side of things my leg felt pretty good with the exception of a short stretch around mile 3 when the quad tightened up for a bit.  My back on the other hand was complaining for the majority of the run, similar to yesterday.  I am not quite sure what is going on there as I have had chronic back pain for years, however my problems have been fairly minimal for approximately 3 years now.  It seems too coincidental that around the same time period that I am having quad and knee issues, my back starts acting up again, with the discomfort localized to the left side only (the same side where I am having the other problems).  I stretched out my back and hamstrings after I got home in an effort to try and minimize the discomfort in my back.

I haven't run yet today, and I am not sure if I will because Kimia had our baby at 5:36 am.  Both mom and baby are doing great.  To top things off, Kimia rode her bike approximately 3 miles from our apartment to the hospital before having the baby.  Kimia actually said that riding the bike made the contractions more manageable, and she was not in as much pain while riding, wherease when stopped she couldn't even walk.  We rolled into the parking lot at about 5:15 am, and by the time we got situated around 5:30 am it was just about time to start pushing.  I will upload photos when I get the chance.

Mom and baby Kamran just following the birth

Kamran doesn't seem to like the lights very much

In riding the bike to the hospital and back home later on in the day to pick up the kids I ended up riding about 5.5 miles, although I did not run at all.

The only chance I had to run today was in the morning.  Due to the fact that Kimia was at the hospital and I was alone at home with the kids I was unable to run.  I thought that after Kimia's dad got to Ames from the airport I would be able to go on a run, but we got home from the hospital late enough that there was not enough time.

On a side note: while we were getting ready to leave the hospital another mom was in delivery.  Everything had been progressing normally, but the baby did not start breathing when it was born.  The baby was rushed to the NICU, while the mother, grandmother, and aunt were distraught.  We saw them crying as they spoke to others on the phone, worried that their little baby was about to die.  Seeing the pain expressed on their faces caused me to reflect on our own baby sleeping peacefully just a few feet away.  How grateful I am that our little Kamran did not have to go through an ordeal such as that.

Kimia and I ended up going into the waiting room with the grandmother and aunt and we offered to say a prayer with them to help in their time of need.  They are not of our faith (they are Quakers), but they accepted and I was able to offer a prayer to our father in heaven asking that their little one would be spared.  Shortly after we finished the prayer a nurse came in to the waiting room to talk with the grandmother and we went back to our own room.  The aunt came to speak with us later and told us that the baby had begun to breathe on its own and that the doctors believed that the baby had come down with some sort of infection which had caused the initial problems.  While the baby was not completely out in the clear the prognosis was looking much better.

I felt the hand of the Lord in our life yesterday, prompting me to go and help comfort this family.  I feel blessed to have a healthly baby boy, who was born without complications, and I feel blessed to have been able to give aid to this family in their time of need.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Here are a few more pictures that we took while at the hospital:

Anita holding baby Kamran,

Shayon holding the baby,

Anita and Shayon holding the baby.  I love the look on Shayon's face in this picture, he looks so devious.  Both kids love giving kisses to the baby, they are very sweet.

The whole family together

I ran about 5.5 miles today, running about 3.5 miles with my running class, and running the last 2 miles alone.  My leg is continuing to improve, while I have not felt any discomfort in the knee in the last few days.  My back on the other hand does not feel good.  I am not sure if my hips have gotten out of alignment or if I am dealing with pain related to overcompensation following the leg injury.

As far as baby updates go, we came home from the hospital last night, and baby Kamran pooped multiple times in the middle of the night.  Kimia is pretty tired because she was up with Kamran quite a bit.  I did get up with Shayon as he wet his pants in the middle of the night and I got to change him and put him back to sleep.  Unfortunately however, Shayon was having trouble going back to sleep so he ended up sleeping with me in our bed for half of the night (its good we are small people, because otherwise we would not all fit in bed).

Here are a few more pictures that we took before leaving the hospital yesterday:

Kamran with his eyes open

Kamran sleeping in the car seat shortly before going home

I ran 6 miles this morning in about 46:30.  I felt pretty good for most of the run.  My quad felt mildly tight for part of the run, but not bad, while my knee only felt odd for a minute or so as I was running up the hill towards my apartment at the end of the run.  My back did not feel good, but did not feel too bad either, as I was able to do things while running to help it relax so that there was minimal discomfort.

I ran about 3 miles with my running class this morning, followed by another 3 miles alone in 21:42.  I was feeling decent, and I was running about 7:30 pace pretty easily, so I decided to run a half mile fast as a test of where my fitness is at, with plans to bail if my quad started to act up.  I ran the half mile in 2:40 (81, 79) with the first half being flat, and the second half having a net uphill.  I felt pretty smooth the first quarter mile, but during the second quarter I felt like my aerobic system was lacking and I had to work harder (I was also running uphill and I sped up).  Overall I was pleased because I was not shooting for a specific time and 5:20 pace came naturally.

My leg felt decent during the run as I could feel just a shade of tightness letting me know that it is not completely healed, but no pain.  My back was acting up again, and I am not sure exactly how to fix that.  I feel like my hips are somewhat out of alignment again, and that may be part of the problem.  I also feel like my hamstrings are super tight all the time.  I am going to work on getting my hamstrings looser, while trying to realign my hips as well.

I ran 6 miles this morning.  I was supposed to meet up with Tyler, but he showed up late and we missed each other (It reminds me of when I used to run with Sasha, except I was the one showing up late).  While running, I observed a couple things:

First, I am not yet ready to run fast at all.  My leg and knee have been feeling sore/tight/stiff/none of the above/all of the above (its hard to describe what it feels like, just know it doesn't feel good) although I feel fortunate that my knee did not bother me while running (I generally only notice the knee when I am sitting).  My left quad and knee had progressively been feeling better, yet after running fast yesterday (for a measely half mile!) they are feeling more tender while at rest.  I also feel that the additional discomfort I felt during my run today was likely due to running fast yesterday.

Second, I think that I may be onto something in guessing that my problems are primarily related to my pelvis being out of alignment.  I performed some stretches/exercises yesterday, and my back felt much better when I woke up this morning (compared to the last few days), while there was no noticable discomfort in my quad either (the knee did not feel good, so its not like I did some miracle stretch or something).  The lack of discomfort persisted throughout the first mile and a half of my run this morning, after which things went downhill.  The last 4.5 miles of the run were not very comfortable as my back and quad were both acting up.  I ended up stretching out my hamstrings and back after I got home with the hope that some good will come of it.  The reason I feel like the exercises I did may have helped is primarily due to how I felt waking up.  Lately my back has felt stiff waking up, which indicates to me that it may not be in proper alignment.  I slept on the same mattress as always last night, yet may back did not feel as stiff in the morning, and there was less pain for the first part of my run.  I will need to keep monitoring things to see if I can keep progressing.

I ran 6 miles today, running a little over three miles with my running class, and then running a little less than three miles on my own.  I timed two miles near the end of the run in 15:01 (7:27, 7:34) but otherwise the distance was an estimate assuming I was running approximately 8:00 pace (seems fairly accurate as I run slower with my running class than when I am alone).

I ran 6 miles this morning in 45:34.  I ran a little faster than I intended to as there were more people out than normal this morning, and I got excited.  

Temps were in the 50's this morning when I left to run, and being a wus for cold weather I was wearing long sleeves, pants, and gloves.  Most other people out running were wearing less clothing than I was, but I did see one other person wearing long sleeves and pants.  Being dressed as I was, I was surprised about 2.5 miles into the run when I passed by another runner wearing nothing other than a tiny pair of shorts and a sports bra.  Now I understand that temps in the 50's are not that cold, but they are definitely not hot either, and I really do not see a point in wearing so little clothing in this type of weather.

This actually reminds me of a Sunday back in late 2005 when I was driving down the road on my way to church and I passed by an older guy out running with no shirt on.  If I remember right it was close to 30 degrees outside that morning (maybe in the high 20's?).  That struck me as downright crazy.  In a strange twist I saw a newspaper article just a few days later where this same guy was interviewed and he talked about running shirtless in New York City when it was 15 degrees outside.  He seemed to like doing it for the attention.  If it isn't for the attention however, why bother?  I remember back when I used to like running shirtless (I would run that way fairly frequently), but even then I would put on a shirt as soon as it started to cool down so I really am not getting it.  Am I just missing something here?

On an additional side note, I have been building bunk beds for my kids with the help of my father in law.  I decided to build them, rather than buy them, because I came across a bunch of free wood, and because I wanted bunk beds that were shorter than the standard height (due to having a toddler that will be sleeping on the top bunk).  We are almost done, and the kids slept on their new beds for the first time last night.  All that is left is to put together the ladder, and maybe do some touchup sanding/staining.  Overall I am pretty happy with how things turned out.  Here are a few pictures of the almost finished project in addition to some other unrelated pics:

The new bed (the kids picked out their own sheets)

The dinosaur Shayon made out of playdough (I think this is pretty good for a two year old)

My sweet baby Kamran sleeping on my chest

I ran 6 miles today, with a total time of 43:30.  I ran the majority of my run with my running class.  I ended up running fairly quickly for most of the run because I was going back and forth between the different groups of students.  The positive I will take from this is that speeding up came fairly naturally.  This tells me that I am likely ready to start increasing the mileage a little more, and that my body should be able to handle it without causing additional pain to the knee, quad or back.  My back felt a lot better while I was running today as well.  I will attribute this to the hamstring and back stretches I have been performing recently, in addition to some core exercises.  The quad and knee have been feeling pretty decent for a while now (with the exception of Tuesday), so after today I see no need to comment further on the progress there, unless something flares up again.  The next step for me will be to get my back pain free when I am not running.  Once that is taken care of I think that the running will take care of itself.

I ran 6.5 miles this morning in 47:21.  I timed 4 miles in the middle of the run in 7:07, 7:10, 7:09, 7:11.  I had no intention of running that fast, but I started off the run fast and then struggled to force myself to slow down until the last mile of the run.  My back did not feel good, but it did not feel horrible either.  I think that I just need to keep doing what I have been doing and my back will eventually get better.

I ran 7 miles today, running the first part of the run with my running class, and then finishing up the run on my own.  Total time was 51:17.  My back still felt kind of tight and painful while running, but it did not hurt too bad.  I think that sleeping on the floor the last couple nights has been helpful.  I stretched out my hamstrings and low back after running as well.  I am already noticing that my hamstrings are getting more flexible than they were previously (although I still have rather poor flexibility).