Running in the Rockies

Happy Halloween!!! What a slacker I've been in my running!! Maybe I need to find another race so I have something looming in the future that gets my lazy self out in the freezing cold!! At least I'm done with the Twilight series, though, so I won't be so obsessed with reading instead of doing what I should - like running! I'm not sure I'm totally happy with the ending of the Twilight series, by the way. I spent most of my run today trying to reconcile myself to it. lol

I took my old route this morning and almost did it without walking. At my halfway point, my legs started walking without consulting my head first. Ugh. Today was my first day to run in the cold. It was 35 degrees. It wasn't as bad as I thought, although I've been coughing ever since I got home. ha! I think it's somehow a city law that Halloween can't be warm in Colorado Springs! It's been in the 70s until today! It's like that every year - relatively warm until Halloween when all the poor children are dressed up in paper thin Princess or Superman costumes. Poor trick or treaters! Luckily we don't have children who know what they're missing when we don't go Trick or Treating. That lucky window will be closing soon, though, I'm sure, as Hayley gets older. Hee,hee! We went to the Ward trunk or treat but had to leave before the candy was passed out because Audrey was soooo tired.

My oldest daughter is on her way to Denver Children's hospital today for a gait analysis. This is the first test of hers that I have not been there for. She's going with Daddy while I stay home with the babies. I feel very weird not being the one to take her. I know it would've been miserable taking the babies - or even just Audrey; but I can't help feeling like I'm the one who has to be there for every medical test or therapy session that she has. The results of the analysis will tell us which braces will be best for her (and if she's over braced right now) and if there are any surgeries that they recommend now or in the future. It's a 3 hour analysis!!! And the report will be about 20 pages long! Crazy, huh? Hopefully it will be very helpful, though.

I thought it was going to be cold today, so I took a long sleeve shirt but it turned out to be too much. By the time I went it was 50 degrees with no wind and plenty of sun. Beautiful day for a run! I went 2 miles at a slower pace but with NO walking!!!!! It's funny -- it seems that if I can get past my halfway point without walking, then I can always make it home without walking. It's that first half that's the hardest mentally, and even physically, for me.

Good run this afternoon. No walking and no pain!!! The only problem with waiting to go running until it warms up a little is that I don't end up showering till the afternnon and I feel like a sloth the whole morning. I might have to figure something else out. I went today at 1:00 and it was 45 degrees. Running much colder than that is tough; after I run, I end up coughing for the rest of the day. So. . . we'll see.

Today I might've had an inkling of what the "zone" feels like. On my second mile, I realized that I didn't have to convince my legs to keep going - it was just automatic and my breathing had finally found a rhythm that wasn't so close to huffing and puffing. It was quite an epiphany, actually.

I had a couple of firsts today!!! First time to run 3.1 miles without ANY walking! First time to run in the early evening as the sun was setting (I'm a bit of a safety freak - I always vary my running time and route)! And it was my first week to run 4 days in a row!!! Yea!!!!

5K in 37:07 minutes - only about 30 seconds slower than my race, which I was very happy about! My splits were:

1 - 11:25

2 - 12:39 (gradual uphill the whole time)

3 - 11:57

I started walking after the 3.1 benchmark and then stopped to talk to a neighbor, so my other times are not very helpful. The only problem I had on this run was with my back ... well, actually my rib! This silly rib has been giving me problems off and on for a month now. It usually only bugs me when I cough; but after 3 miles, I couldn't breathe deeply without being in a lot of pain. So when I came home, I massaged it, and now I'm feeling much better. But it's probably time to head back to the chiropractor. I think the rib issue is just an occupational hazard of having little ones to pick up all the time, plus I'm still nursing. But other than the rib - no knee or hip problems, no walking, and I'm feeling great!!!!