Chug-along-chica!

5 miles pacing my beloved sister Laura to the end of her very first half marathon. CONGRATULATIONS LAURA!!!

She was tough. The course was out and back, and, of course, at high altitude. The first half was mostly uphill, and then downhill the second half. Man, she attacks the uphill like a lion! I honestly think she went faster on uphills than on downhills. I don't understand that at all, but I can respect it!

It was a BEEEE-yootiful course running through super green, shady areas, with majestic mountains in the background. The weather was perfect--cool and windless. She stayed pretty strong right to the end, making wimpy sounds just a few times. ;) Tougher than I was in my first half, I think. I encouraged her to just put in a little more effort, like .1 on a treadmill. Just a touch more effort in a long race like this makes a BIG difference in pace. The ol' body wants to fall asleep on you around mile 10. She passed several people in the last 2 miles, including chicking 2 guys with .3 to the finish. Most triumphant! It was a very pleasant run for me and I sort of wished I had run the whole thing with her.

One sad thing was that James wasn't able to really race. He had a major calf problem. Well, it's kind of a recurring problem, but sometimes it let's him run and sometimes it doesn't. He had a really bad cramp-up on Sat. I worked on it for almost an hour (massage and scraping) on Sunday, but it wasn't quite enough to make it work. This morning he started to really feel it after a mile or two and knew he couldn't finish the race at his pace, so he walked until Laura caught up to him, and paced her the rest of the way. Very sweet guy! He has been handling the disappointment very well.

Zippo miles! Dang.  Ran out of time due to traveling home from New Mexico, teaching piano, going out to do missionary splits until 10 pm.  I see now that the only way possible to run on some days is just to get those super-early morning runs in.  Working on it.

BF on TM

BF outside and BF on TM.

BF on TM

Last night I had the most realistic dream I think I've ever had.  My Grandma Farnsworth, who passed away 13 years ago came up to me and gave me a hug.  I swear, I could really feel her arms!  It was so real, I woke up with the tactile echo of that hug on my skin.  Too bad you can't make yourself have dreams like this.  They just come.  Anyway, I was thinking about my grandma a lot today. 

I actually went to a funeral for the mother of one of my piano students today.   She had cancer and died far too young.  But this woman was a lot like my grandma in some ways.  She was a peaceful, quiet woman--so accepting of everyone, and so genuine.  It is always astonishing to see the absolute beauty of a person who many would have considerred quite ordinary, just by paying attention a little.  We should pay more attention when they are alive and with us.   There is no such thing as an ordinary person.

Oh yeah, and I ran 3 miles on the treadmill, BF.

2 miles this morning with my little 7 year-old outside, BF.  I was so pleased that when I woke him up to run with me (6 am!) he did not gripe at all.  He just got up and got his shoes on and we went.  I love running with him.  It makes me feel happy to know that we can enjoy each other's company doing something that is so good for both of us.  It is funny how much smaller than me he is, and yet his pace is pretty close to mine.   I let him set the pace, of course.  I'll be working hard to keep up in the next year or 2!

2 miles on the treadmill, BF.  "The Empire Stirkes Back" takes a lot of days to watch when you only see 20 minutes a day.   Search your feeelings...you KNOW it to be true...Noooooooo!

Der...I can't remember when or where, but I DID get in 2 miles today...possibly 3.  Dang!  This is what happens when I get behind on my blogging.  This is also why I could never be an accountant.

A little more than 4 miles, mostly on treadmill.  Got to the Eewok part in "Return of the Jedi."  This is the first time since watching the new Star Wars movies that I've watched the first three, which is actually 4,5,6 (try explaining THAT to a 5 year-old).  It is interesting to watch them as an adult.  I don't like the changes from the first release--like that CG beast in that sand pit?  Squeals like a pig.  Humph.  I liked it better just as a big pit with teeth.

So, I fell off the running wagon this week.  3 missed days!  Sorry for neglecting you, beloved bloggies.  I'm adjusting to an increased work load.   Sometimes I am fine, and sometimes I stay up really late worrying and fretting and can't sleep until I go sit outside, contemplate my tininess in comparrison with the galaxy, and pet my constantly shedding dog until I am as hairy as Chewbacca himself.

Want to know something fun that is going on in my family?  My little 3 year-old is a hard-core thumb-sucker.  I loved it when he was a baby because he could fall asleep so easily and sooth himself back to sleep in the middle of the night.  (Much more convenient than all those midnight hunts for the binky that we had with Sam!)  But anyway, I kept waiting and waiting for him to grow out of it on his own, and finally decided it was time for a party.  That's right, a party.   I made a little crown for him with a picture of a thumb on it.  The whole family sang songs about fingers and thumbs, we had treats that looked like fingers on a hand, and we hung streamers.  He got a wrapped present (Batman gloves) and we sung "Happy Thumb-Day to You!"   We read a scripture about growing up "When I was a child..." and I told him how proud I was of him for growing up, and that he did not need to suck his thumb anymore.  He delightedly agreed.  Now we call him the "King of Thumb" and he has completely given it up.  I put yucky tasting stuff on his thumb just to make sure he doesn't forget, and he actually reminds me when I forget to put it on.  It's a big milestone in such a little life--probably the hardest thing he's ever had to do, but he is doing it.  I am so proud of him!  Parties are the answer to many problems, I thnk.

At least 4 miles today, all barefoot.  I pretty much never put shoes on for a run these days, so if I don't specify, I'm barefooted.  

There is a race this Saturday.  I am torn between the desire to run it barefooted as an experiment (I know the course and it is safe), and the desire to stay home and avoid pain.  If I go, I might have a really slow time and get a kick in the pants for my laid-back *coughing* training of late.  OR I might get a really GOOD time and feel vindicated about barefooting.   OR I could stay home and have my running motivation slip just that much farther away....  Hmmm. that's not really a choice at all.  Hey-ho, hey-ho, it's off to race I go...  

I have a little bit of a record of PRing at every single race I've run since I started running again.  I'm going to have to really push it to the limit to keep it up!  BRING IT.   "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."  I look at that saying on a wall board right in front of my treadmill almost every single day.  Nothing takes my breath away like a 5K, so here we go...

Only 2, but that's pretty decent for a Tuesday.

4.5 miles on the treadmill.

I am feeling quite morose today.  I found out yesterday that one of my college roommates passed away.  She was only 28!  Pulmonary embolism.  That is 4 people in the last month that I know have died (actually, my sweet roommate died 2 years ago, but I just became aware of it).  Still, everybody be careful!  Just knowing me is a risk factor!  Drive carefully and wear your seat belts, okay?

5 miles today. 

Has anyone else ever gotten one of those creepy notices in the mail that a convicted (sexual) criminal lives close to you?  I am slightly freaked out about outside running in the darkness.  Sometimes people are scarier than mountain lions.

But on a happier note, well, not happy exactly, but more uplifting... You all must check out cjanerun.blogspot.com.   This is the most touching story I've ever heard.  There is a young couple from Mesa that were severely burned in a private plane crash.  The man, Christian, was burned over 30% of his body.  The woman, Stephanie, is still in very critical condition and was burned over 80% of her body.  They will be in the burn unit of the hospital for months and months--and they have 4 little tiny children.  cjane is the sister of Stephanie.  She is caring for the oldest 3 children.  Every day I read this blog and cry sweet tears.  Stephanie had a wonderful blog that seemed to have a message that home truly can be a heaven on earth.  Her message has been amplified by the tragedy.  You must all read about it!  No suffering must be wasted without spreading this message.

Doh!  I am a gonner.  This whole week I've taken a vacation from running (how'd that happen?) and now it is time to face judgement.  Tomorrow I race.  AAHHHH!  My very first barefoot race, as a matter of fact.  It should be an interesting experience.  Anyone want to make a wager on whether or not I will be bleeding at the end of the race?  Personally, I am betting that I will.  But it will only be a flesh wound, and it's all in the name of SCIENCE!   I will fill you all in on the grisly details tomorrow.

I'm being liberal with the distance here.  I had to run this race naked, meaning without a garmin--or even a watch.  I ran this course last year, and it was a little long.  Well, this year the big novelty was that I was running it barefoot.  Since I really prefer the sidewalk to the road while barefoot, I ran the most abominable tangents ever....EVER.  So that's how I got that extra .1.

I had to tie my toe-chip to my shorts.

The hero of the day was Camille.  If it had not been for the fact that I told her I would meet her here (more like begged her to run this particular race), I might have backed out and stayed in my pajamas until 10 this morning.  This was my first time to meet someone from the blog who actually lives close enough to run with--fun stuff!  She just ran a 5K 2 weeks ago with a time of around 29:30.  She has her very first half marathon next weekend, and she was still willing to come do this race so we could meet.  Isn't that nice?  Everyone from the blog is nice--at least from my experience.  I've never met someone from the blog and thought Geez, that person is a little scary, or MAN, they are uglier than their blog picture.   It's always Well THAT'S a great person!  How fun to finally meet.  And so it was today.  My general impression of Camille is that she is a very dependable, hardworking, and tranquil chica with the MOST adorable baby girl ever. 

This is our "before" picture.

Since this was only Camille's 2nd 5K, I took the liberty of giving her some prerace advice.  (The NERVE of me!  Really, like I know what's what!)  I told her that she had enough fitness to push hard.  Start fast, I said, and then when to get to 2 miles, speed up.  :)  Well, she did a fabulous job and took 2 full minutes off her first 5K just 2 weeks ago.   Isn't that amazing?  How many people can boast the ability to drop a minute per week in a 5K? 

 This is our "after" picture.  "Supastahhs!"

Now for the actual race...  My dear bloggies...my very very dear dear bloggies, can you ever forgive me?  I did not push myself as I ought to have done today.   I started off with the feeling of just running for the joy of running, and I never really pushed myself beyond those bounds.  Sure, I felt a little hot, and there were a couple of times that my body suggested, gently, that it would prefer a bit of a more maidenly pace.  But it was not the death-grip wrestle with my pain threshold that I have become accustomed to in a 5K.  It was a good tempo run, though.  I feel pleasantly tired and shamefully content at this point. 

It was a fun race, though.  Everywhere I went people were staring at my feet, smiling at me, and even laughing out loud.  People were shouting things to me as I passed as if I was something special.  I like that, though it makes me blush to admit it.  I couldn't hear what anyone said, because I had my music blaring, so I'll just assume that they were saying stuff like "way to go barefoot!  You are amazing!" and not "where are your shoes, you lunatic?!"

I had an interesting barefoot experience today: my very first THORN.  I've been waiting.  It was bound to happen.  In Arizona there are these monstrous, 2-pronged thorns that are quite long and very hard (I call 'em "goatheads").  Well anyway, I felt a dull ache in one of my heels before I started and sure enough, one of the prongs from a goathead had broken off in my foot, but part of it was still sticking out (umph.  It's more disgusting to write about than it was in real life.)  So I just yanked it out.  It didn't even hurt, that was the weird part.  No blood, no foul.  Not to say there wasn't blood--there was, just not from the thorn. 

By the last 3/4 of a mile one of my pinkie toes was beginning to feel like I might be getting a blister.  By the time I finished, though, the blister had been scuffed off, and there was a bit of blood.  Nothing too impressive.  I've had worse while wearing shoes from my slightly-too-long-toenails attacking the nearby toes. But I do have a couple of blisters on other toes.    I think that when trying to run speedier barefoot, my toes play more of an active role than they do when I am just plodding along at my normal pace.  They grab the sidewalk and throw it behind me, whereas while going slow they just pad-pad-pad, touch the ground and come off again. 

 "Minimal Carnage"

So what can I say?  I enjoyed this race.  I beat my time from last year, by just a few seconds, and yet with much more comfort.  I got to meet a really sweet & fun chica from the blog, and I got to make a little bit of a scene in a pretty big race.  There's really only one downside--I am a boltushka again.  That is unacceptable.  Oh yeah, AND I got passed by an 80 year-old woman right at the end.  Jeez!  Well, I can't help if some 80 year-olds are dang tough. 

"Man, that old lady was dang tough!"

4 slow ouchy miles.

This is what I was doing today:

You can't tell, but this little guy has a fever of 103.5.  Even when he is sick, he is an angel--a cranky, cranky angel. 

Let us hope it is not too contagious, because he sneezed right in my face after this picture was taken.

4 miles.  Rt. hip complaining a little.

This is one of the things I did today, and every Tuesday, for that matter:

I am a ward missionary.  Every soul is precious.

The Plan of Salvation, isn't it beautiful?  There IS a purpose to life.

 My companion, Lyndsay.  She is the BEST!

We are UNSTOPPABLE!