Chug-along-chica!

Well, I am overwhelmed by all the support I got for my race on Saturday.  Thanks, guys! 

I was a little sore this morning from the race--mostly in my quads and my obliques.  Hopefully I will be able to keep up with Christine tomorrow!   32:30 for a 5K with splits of 10:33, 10:44, 10:19, and :58.  Rather poky, but it was a pretty good effort for me.

So about my experiment last week--going without sucrose and white flour...  I was able to survive fairly well.  Every once in a while I would end up skipping a snack just because I couldn't find anything to eat, but for the most part, I felt fine and not really deprived or anything.  (Thank goodness I could still eat cheese--my one dietary consolation!) I was successful on all the days except Saturday at sticking to the food plan.  Saturday I drank a whole bottle of gatorade after the race, then succumbed to the temptation of pizza later that day.   I'm still not sure if I will be able to do this permanently, but I am going to try another week of it.   The scale showed a 4 pound difference after one week(!) although I'm sure a lot of it is just a difference in water retention.

1.2 miles later with the double jogging stroller. 

5K with Christine.  Splits of 10:19, 9:57, 10:04, and :52.  I slowed us down on the last mile with a side stitch.  Probably because Christine was making me laugh.  Fun times. 

What a difference an hour of sleep makes!  This past week I've been going to bed around 9:30 and waking up feeling really refreshed and ready to go.  Then last night I just went to bed at 10:30.   This morning was death!  How ridiculous.  I still got 7 hours, and I never used to even get that much.  But I think I'm a little more in tune with my body, and 7 hours just does not feel good.

2 more miles with Holly in the PM.

You guys are not going to believe it!  This morning is was feeling a little bit frisky.  Well, that's not quite true...more like I was feeling quite grumpy when I got up.  So I decided to do just one mile at 5K pace in the middle of my run.  My legs really liked the feel of the tempo mile.  Very smooth.  I didn't really start feeling the pace until about a third of a mile in.  Anyway, at the end of the mile I was hoping to see 8:15 or below.  (I was a little skeptical because I was afraid the lack of "race day magic" would slow me down.)  Anyway, it was 7:46!!!  That is the first time I've run below 8:00 since I was 17 years old!!!   I'm so happy...no more grumps today! Then I finished the rest of the 5K nice and slow with Sparky.

A funny thing about running that tempo mile...I reminded myself of this guy at the race on Saturday.  He was breathing REALLY hard and letting his air out with a loud "CHoooooo  CHoooooo" like a train or something.  I had a really hard time not turning around and telling him to Be Quiet!  ...tryin' to concentrate here.  But I guessed that if he was pushing that hard, he was going to drop behind soon, and he did.   But today I probably could've woke up the neighbors with my breathing...but at least I wasn't chewing on the air and sending spit flying everywhere with each breath.

2.2  just below 10:00 pace with Christine and then she had to go. (I didn't exactly complain that it was shorter, though, I was GLAD to stop today.)   My tummy was complaining about the half a bucket of movie theatre popcorn I ate last night.  *Blush*  It's funny, greasy popcorn doesn't usually bother me.   But since I've been eating really well these last couple weeks (from a nutritional standpoint, anyway) I've noticed my tummy is starting to have more of an opinion about the less healthy stuff.  Jeez, give it an inch and it takes a mile!

1.5 With my boys--pushing the jogging stroller.

Driving to St. George.  A little bit of cross-training?  I did the rock wall at the expo with Callzee.  She is a brave little chica.  It scared the heck out of me, but I did it.

Early morning run with Michelle and Mik'l.  This was one of the highlights of the whole St. George experience for me.  They are so fun to talk to, and the pace was just right.  Made me wish we could run together more often. 

The first half was all gradual uphill, which I was not used to, but then when we came back down, I felt like I was flying.  Nice. 

It was so amazing to watch the marathon and see all the amazing PRs!  I had never really understood how exceptional the runners on the blog are!  Almost everybody who came in within 20-30 minutes of the winner was a blogger or a good friend of a blogger I met a the dinner (like Brett).  I was really proud of James for taking 43 minutes off his time after only about 6 months of base-building.

30:06 for a morning 5K with Christ ine.  Temp was perfect at a crisp 57.  I'm on my own for the rest of the week because she's going out of town.

So I intended to write up a huge Blogger Pasta Dinner Party report and talk a lot about the marathon, but I am getting overwhelmed, so I'll just sum it up:

Party: 

Meet green shorts Jon first, and his cute and very tiny wife. 

Michelle and Callzee are the ones I got to spend the most time with.  Michelle is just as sweet in person as she is on the blog, and I really had fun getting to know her.  Callzee is a talented little ru nner with a big dimple when she smiles. 

You know who I really enjoyed talking to at the party?  Ruthio.  That girl is a blast.  I thought I would be shy to meet the super speedster, but she is so fun and just really good at setting people at ease.

I also really enjoyed talking to Heather--Chad's wife.  She has a natural grace--kind of sophisticated, but without any hint of snobbery.  Very down to earth.  I thought it was really cool that she was a writer.  Everybody needs to read her articles about health in the paper--the Salt Lake Tribune, I think?

Short list of people I met briefly:

Christi--she gets the award for being much prettier in real life than her blog picture.

Brent and Silvia (they look way too young for their reported age groups, btw--someone ought to check their birth certificates!).

Paul and his sweet wife Stacy.  Both of these guys were relatively quiet (at least not boisterous) and easy to approach.  Very down to earth.  From his blog, I half expected to see Paul burst into the Packers fight song at some point.  Maybe next year, eh?  Congratulations Paul!

Ashman, J-Free (tall!)

JTSHAD (Jef f)--OK he is really nice--I have been afraid of commenting on his blog because he has a rather intimidating picture, but he's is a GREAT guy. 

Oops gotta go.  Time to take poor little Sparky to the vet for his snip-snip.  Stay tuned for reports on Clyde & Mik'L, Sasha & Sarah, Izzy & Zoey etc.  To be continued... 

Geez, I've redone this entry 2 times and lost it both times.  It must be a sign!  I'm done describing bloggers.  Let me just average it out.  The average fastrunningblogger is skinny, nice, social and STINKIN' fast!!!

3.5 all by my lonesome self this morning.  Christine is in Mexico and poor little Sparky is recovering from having the zippity taken out of his doo-dah. 

1.2 with the double jogging stroller to take my oldest son to school.  We are very lucky to only be .63 miles away from the school.  We've had amazing results with running him to school...let me explain....

At my son's school they have a little behavioral system based on lights.  All the kids start out with green lights and if they misbehave during the day they have to change their light to yellow, and then red if it happens again.  The amazing thing is that my little first grader has never had to change his light to red on the days that I run him to school.   But in the last 3 weeks or so, he has had to turn his light to red every single time I DID NOT run him to school.  The complaint?  He won't sit still in his chair.  So I guess I'm really stuck running him!  This is good, and I should have no problem having at least 4.3 miles on the odometer every weekday from now on.

Oh yeah, one other thing.  Don't you think that Bethany (Cody's wife) should start her own blog?  Leave comments for her on Cody's blog.  From meeting her at the party, she was extremely nice and, I think, open to the possibility of training.   She's already commenting on the blog, and that's half the battle right there.   I don't mean to pressure you Bethany  (of course I do!) but it IS much more fun to be married to a compulsive runner if you are running too.  Just start really little--10 min. of walking and jogging combo.  Plus we need more female runners, and, unfortunately, you have made a good impression on me, so now I want to be able to comment on YOUR blog.

1.3 later that night with Holly--only out of loyalty for Holly bc I was tired!  She also bribed me by helping me clean.  What a sweetie!

Yesterday was my highest mileage day so far at 6.  My hamstrings are complaining just a little. 

It's not too hard to get 5.  I just add a little more annoyance to my morning 3.1 to get it to 3.5, then take the aggravating long-cut to school with the boys to get me the rest of the 1.5. 

SO GUESS WHAT!!!

 (No I am not pregnant...why does everyone keep asking me that?)

Well, thank goodness I finally got my 5 in so this stinkin' busy day can finally end!

2 miles with my boys this afternoon.  Very slow.

2 miles with Holly this evening, followed immediately by 1 alone. 

My arch is a teeny bit sore.  Probably nothing, but I am paranoid from reading about everyone who has had PF.

Hey girls, post if you are doing Moab on the Discussion Forum under Announcements.

Quick!  Look at the mileage board.  I'm on the 2nd page for the first time ever--combination of all the St. George Marathoners recovering, and this being my highest mileage week ever.  Might as well enjoy that little tiny perk bc otherwise I am feeling blah.   Hopefully in the next week or so I will adjust to the higher miles and not feel tired all the time.  I'll probably slip off the page once everyone has reported today's run.  Victory is fleeting.

1.6 later tonight. around  12 min. pace. 

1st Page!  I better print out the mileage board to commemorate this historic day.

This was the only 5 miler that I did all at once this week.  Does NOT feel like brushing my teeth just yet.  Ave. pace 11:22. 

This week I had 29.1 miles.  Next week I'll be trying for a perfect 30.  I'm also going to try to sleep like a champion next week--56 hours or bust.

Oh Man!  I skipped my morning 3 because I was up jillions of times with little Adam, who was having a Puke-a-thon.  Gross!  Thank goodness James was there to help.  Now I'll have to run tonight. 

I just ran my oldest to school and set it up with the office to pick him up on foot too.  So that will give me 2.5 miles on weekdays.  So I just need at least 2.5 in the morning alone to get to 5 every day.  That sounds like cake to me, so I am excited. 

.7 later with the boys in tow.  I broke my double jogging stroller!  It's still usable, a little, but I don't know how much longer I have until it breaks the rest of the way.  It's totally my fault, I only locked one of the side supports (on accident).  So all the pressure was on the other side. 

I felt sick in the evening--very gurgly in the midsection and nauseated.  Skipped my evening run in order to stay within 10 yards of a REAL bathroom.  But I'm bummed because now Sasha can say that I "slipped".  : (

FINALLY!  Christine is back.  Hallelujah!!!  Have I told you all recently how much I love running with Christine?  1,000 times better.  I thought I would struggle today because I felt pretty sick last night, but I was fine--buoyed up by the never-ending stream of conversation.  2.8 miles in 10:11, 10:02 and 9:49 pace for the .8.

Finished running to and from school--2.4 with the mangled jogging stroller.  I feel good enough that I almost feel a little like I am cheating!  Are you guys absolutely sure that I will increase fitness better by running 5 miles each day (in three mini runs) than 3.5 all at once?

2.6 miles in the morning, partly with Holly, and partly alone.  I'm gonna start bringing my pepper spray!  It's getting so dark so early these days.

2.4 Running my son to and from school.  I finally broke the stroller the rest of the way. : ( 

On my Instep double jogging stroller there is a clip-like thing on each side that I have to push down (after unfolding the stroller) to keep the stroller from folding up while running.  A couple of days ago I broke one of the clippy things off because I didn't realize I had only clipped one side.  Too much strain for one clippy, I guess.  So I've been running with just the other side clipped, and just trying to be careful with it.  He he.  Being cautious has never been my strong suit.  Without functional clippies, the stroller tries to fold up if I allow any pressure on the handle bar.  So I can't turn it by raising the front wheel the way I usually do.

So this is me.. about .7 miles from home....jogging along, pulling UP on the handlebar.  Oh NO!  Here comes a turn.  Stop.  Lift the back two wheels off the ground (not to mention the 75 lbs. of offspring) grunt a little and carry it about 3 feet to the side.  Resume running.  Definitely a good biceps workout for me!  I hope hope hope I can buy parts to fix my stroller, as it has become a rather important part of my workout plan.

2.86 miles with Christine--splits of 10:11, 9:55 and 9:38 pace for the .86.  I felt like I had to push it just a little to keep up with her. 

2.5 miles taking my son to and from school with the double jogging stroller.  Apparently athletic tape is not the most effective stroller binding material.  I had to almost carry the darn thing (with two of my kids in it) about half a mile.  Maybe duct tape will work...somebody call Red-Green!

3.5 in the morning with Christine.  34:59 for the whole run, so about 10:00 pace. 

1.5 in the evening alone and just a titch scared of the dark.  9:37 pace.  A bit faster than usual, but I was a little anxious to get back home!

Today was my son's birthday, and I did a very brave thing.  I threw my very first friend b-day party!  Yea!  We had all his favorite buddies come decorate cupcakes and make little baggies for piñata guts.  The kids had a lot of fun...and I ate a cupcake.  I'm in trouble now!

It makes me wonder what super healthy familes do with the holidays.  We're almost to Sugar-een, Stuff-Your-Gut-Giving, and Here Comes Sugar Claus.  Any ideas how to keep the spirit of these holidays alive (especially for little kids), without dragging the poor body violently up and down the glycemic index?  I should put this on the message board, but I'm feeling shy.  You all know how shy I am (ha ha).

5 Miles all at once, for a change.  Probably the best 5 miler of my life--49:17 (ave. pace 9:51).  Did not have a single mile above 9:55.  Christine made the difference.   This is the first Sat. run she has been able to do with me.  It is so much easier to keep a steady pace when I run with her!  Plus the time just flies by while we talk.  I think we scared off one guy who was going about our pace by discussing the *ahem* details of our labor stories.  He he he.  Another one bites the dust... 

I ran one mile with Holly in the dark this morning.  It was GUSTY!  The kind of wind that blows you all over the road!  The kind that reminds me of the Wizard of OZ!  But despite that, Holly set a record for her fastest mile by almost a minute, so I am super proud of her.

Then I ran my son to school, followed immediately by a tempo mile with the double jogging stroller.  I counted it as a tempo mile because I had this crazy notion to break my record for the fastest mile with the double stroller.  I'll have to check, but I think I did it.  My time was 9:57, and I was breathing HARD.  (I just checked, and my previous record with the stroller had been 10:50.  Yea!)  It was still kind of windy, and I had to finish uphill and into the wind.  Felt like I was sprinting--but only going 9:30 pace at the end.

My boys were sick of being in the stroller, so they sat on the curb and watched me finish the distance by doing laps in the cul de sac about 1,000 times.  One lap is .04 of a mile.  I did half a mile that way--at 8:45 pace mostly.  I hadn't intended to do it that fast, but it just seemed so easy after running with that honkin' stroller!

1.3 miles later picking up my son from school.

2.85 With Christine with splits of 10:08, 9:42, and 9:27 pace for the .85.  Probably a little faster than I would have liked this morning.  I should have asked her to hold up a little, but I was chicken, and she didn't respond to my subtle hint of hanging about 2 feet behind her.  : )  I'm supposed to be grounded to 9:45 pace and above on my slow runs until I can do a 24:24 for a 5K, or something like that.

1.28 With the double jogging stroller to take my little guy to school.  Can I take just a minute to say how glad I am that I started running him to school?  He is doing so well!  Usually by this time of year I have to put him on mild steroids (Flovent 44) every day to keep his asthma stuff under control.  But he is doing fine--no croup, no respiratory infection, no diff. breathing.  This is amazing for the end of October!  And his other health issue (which has been a problem forever) is getting much better too.  Let's just say he is a pretty regular little boy now!  I've gone to all kinds of specialists with him for various stuff, but none of them ever suggested running with him every day, yet that has been the most helpful of anything we've tried so far--including prescription medication.  And it takes the same amount of time as driving there; and we always talk a lot and review spelling and math facts--so he is doing really well at school.  OK, I'll stop now.  I'm just excited.

About 1.15 later today to pick up little guy from school.

Vote on names for the Canyonlands Half on the discussion board, everyone!

I had a really scary dream last night about running in the dark, so this morning when my running buddy slept in I took it as a sign and went back to bed.  I can't deny--it felt really good! 

2.83 with the double jogging stroller.  It was really hard today (it's always hard to me, but still!)  I figured out why at the end of my run, when the front tire started making a weird grating sound.  It was so flat that the rim was rolling on the ground--Ug!

2.17 Tonight all by my lonesome self. 

Had some pain in my femur today--or maybe it was my quads.  It caused a little bit of a limp for about 3 quarters of a mile.  Felt better as I went along.  (That means it can't possibly be a stress fracture, right?) I took it extremely slow all day.

2 Whole days off from running, waiting for my quads to return to normal.  Holy weirdness, Batman!   It seemed like a lot longer.  I guess that I really need to admit how important running has become in my life, and how grateful I am to be able to do it.

So I took a nice little jog with each of my little boys one at a time--totaling a whopping 1.5 miles (ave. pace 15:00).  It felt really good, so tonight I will do another 1.5 at around 10:30 pace or something like that. 

Later: I procrastinated my 2nd run until rather late at night.  I got all dressed and everything, went out, ran 3 steps, and froze in place.  There were some really scary looking people staring right at me, and I allowed myself to be intimidated.  My bad for putting the run off until it is so late that even (possibly) harmless teenagers take on the ominous look of escaped convicts.

1 Mile with Holly this morning.  She did a great job!  A new mile record for her at 11:59.   She is a really busy chica, and is going really really gradually with the running--just 1 mile 2X a week, but that is still infinitely better than doing nothing. 

I'm going to shoot for 3 miles by the end of the day.  4 Tomorrow, and 5 the rest of the week.  I should be all back to normal by Saturday--so I can run with Mik'L and (hopefully) Shauna without the lovely injury paranoia I have right now.

PM--2 miles mostly with my oldest little boy, who keeps me at a very controlled pace. 

Hey, I have a really cute picture of Mik'L and Michelle I was going to try to put in my blog today, but I can't figure out how to do it.  A little help...

2 miles with Christine this morning.  I successfully dragged her down to 10:30 pace on ave.  Felt great, wanted to go faster.  2 more tonight and I'm home free--back to 5 a day tomorrow.   

Look at this cute picture of part of the FBR cheering section at St. George:

There!  I did it.  This technological feat opens a whole new world of possibilies for me, blogwise.

PM--2 miles completed with the jogging stroller, slow.  Felt great.

Ran my son to school, then ran a couple more miles.  Had to take the double jogger for the last mile, because James had to take the car in.  12:50 (with my son), 10:20 alone, 10:23 partly with the jogging stroller, .89 at 11:20 pace with the stroller.

1.3 miles later to pick up my son from school.

I'm feeling really happy because James doesn't have to work today!  Yea!  We are gonna carve pumpkins and other fun stuff.

But I am also feeling slightly creeped out because I had to kill a bark scorpion. 

Incidentally, the first scorpion I ever saw was on my 2 year-old's back!  He came running to me saying, "a crab! a crab!" 

I said, "A crab?  Where?"

He replied with obvious delight, "On my neck!" 

Sure enough, it was the venomous bark scorpion on his shoulder blade.  I brushed it off and killed it, and we obviously both lived to tell the tale.  But this is just one more reason why I want to move to New Mexico.  NO SCORPIONS!