| Location: Mesa,AZ, Member Since: Apr 04, 2007 Gender: Female Goal Type: Marathon Finish Running Accomplishments: Prs:
1 mile: 6:31
5K: 23:37
Half Marathon: 2:04
My first post-high school 5K, in which I thought I was going to die
The first time I won my age division. Yippee!
My first half marathon, in which I attack Sasha
The time I beat my high school PR for the 5K (as a 31 year-old mommy of 3!)
My first 5K barefooted
Short-Term Running Goals: I'm just getting back into running after a long break to have my last child. I would like to race some 10Ks, a half, and a marathon in the next 2 years. Long-Term Running Goals: Be the oldest woman to complete a marathon. Yea! But hopefully I will also complete some BEFORE I geezer up, like, before I'm 40 for sure. I think it would be fun to dress up really strange for marathons, like impersonating celebrities and stuff. Except I don't really like celebrities, as a rule, so maybe I'll have to stick to the age old question of ninja, or pirate. I say ninja. *Hyah!*
Personal: I am happily married to James W (Cool Runnings). We have 3 boys and 1 opinionated little girl. I love reading and I'm also a news junkie. I am a stinker. Favorite Blogs: |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 781.24 | 25.33 | 806.57 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 353.25 | Nap Time: 36.33 | Total Sleep Time: 389.58 | |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| I had to sleep in REALLY late to get my 8 hours of sleep. I was up very late last night because I was all excited from that midnight race with Laura. So anyway, I was a major bum today and completely skipped my run. No excuse at all. I think that sleeping late leads to less ambition all day long...or maybe it's just a coincidence. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.47 | 0.00 | 5.47 |
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5.47 slow, boring miles on "Treadmills 'R' Usville."
But I mopped my floor at the same time using my new irobot Scooba mopping robot! Hooray for the modern age of technology! This almost makes up for smog, in my book. :) |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.50 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
| I really had to drag myself out there tonight! And I only did 2. Not good. *Sigh* I am feeling a little bit of the post-Christmas, post-New Year's, post-vacation blues. I need a well-placed kick in the pants, if any of you have your bloggee boots on...
Tonight my littlest guy turned 3! I don't have any more babies--they are all growing up! I'm not sure I like this pattern... I try to persuade them to not eat their vegetables so they will stay little and not grow so fast, but that usually only produces a broccoli feeding frenzy. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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5 on the treadmill. |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.50 | Total Sleep Time: 7.50 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| I don't think I'm going to be able to run today! Yesterday on my treadmill run my right leg started hurting. It was a really dull ache at first, but eventually started to really hurt. I think it is some kind of cramp or strain in the muscle on the front of my leg between the knee and ankle. There is definitely tightness. It hurts a little today even when I am not doing anything, I feel it a little more when I walk, and well, I'm not even going to try running until it goes away. Massage and heat feel good on it. Humph!
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.14 | 0.00 | 3.14 |
| Night run with Christine. Ave. Pace 9:54...watching for signs of strain on my lower leg really carefully. I have my first half marathon ever in less than 2 weeks and I really don't want to be MIA! So my leg felt really good for 2 miles, but then I started to feel it a little. Forgive me while I delve a little deeper than is interesting to read about (never stopped Charles Dickens!)... Somewhere around 2 miles I first started to feel a twinge in my right hip. At the time I really got the feeling that it was coming from my lower back. After another .25 or so, I started to feel tension running down my leg--the whole leg, from my hip to the bottom of my foot. Within another half mile the discomfort had kind of localized in my shin muscle. So I had to slow down a lot that last mile for this thing, but I am filled with hope that the root of the problem can be fixed by my chiropractor. I have twice had a hip pain that completely subsided after getting a really great adjustment by my chiro. I'll go in tomorrow and hopefully come out all better! At least that is MY plan! I'll probably only run 3 again tomorrow even if I'm feeling good, but by the end of the week, I might do a 5 and a 6-8 miler. One thing is certain...Painter's is going to kick my butt!!! Everybody needs a good butt kicking every once in a while, though. It makes you feel alive! Well, more like it makes you feel dead, so you can appreciate it when you finally come back to life a week or so later.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 1.30 | 0.00 | 1.30 |
| Nice run in the evening with Christine. She was very sweet about letting me walk half a mile first to warm up, then run excruciatingly slow for 1.3 miles, then walk another .6 of a mile or so. She really is a good friend. Looking forward to getting out there again tonight. I am so grateful for the good examples of people who have handled injuries so well and continued working out and blogging like Paul, Cody, Scott Zincone, Clay, & Sarah. It's going to be a good day. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 1.40 | 0.00 | 1.40 |
| 1.4 walking the dog. Then 1.4 jogging sssslowly. No pain other than a little bit of tightness in the hip/glut area. Thanks to everyone for all the input on injuries and suggestions! I think I am going to avoid a huge injury here. Things are looking up! |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.50 | Total Sleep Time: 7.50 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
| 3 miles outside at 12+ pace, at Sasha's request. You all know how much I revere Sasha's advice. Well I am grateful for his advice and that's a fact. Felt really good.--another encouraging run. My knee started to feel just a little weird around 2.2 miles so I walked a while and continued again. Tomorrow I am going to attempt to do 6-8 reeeeeeallly slow miles. If it works out, I will plan on running the Painter's half as a training run. If it turns out to be too much, I will plan on....going down to St. George, eating Steve Hoopers food, mooching free room and board off Logan's parents, giving Sasha flack in person, and ...you know what would be the BEST thing ever? If I can't run the half, I would LOVE to pace somebody for the 5K. The catch is that you must be slower than me. I'm pretty sure I should be able to do at least 9 min. miles for a 5K, if needed. But of course anything slower than that is just plain fabulous as well. Ug. I am so tired from all the housework I did today. I borrowed my friend's steam cleaning machine and basically steamed my whole house--refridgerator, oven, dining room chairs, grout, walls and base boards, window sill tracks (which was DISGUSTING because I never do it--were're talking about a desicated insect mosoleum here!). In conclusion...zzzzzzzzzz
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 10.00 | 0.00 | 10.00 |
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10 miles outside without fueling (which is a first). Very very easy pace. 1:59 for the whole run. Only the 4th time in my life I've ever put up double digits in one day. Don't know how some of you do this everyday... I can never think of anything interesting to say after these long runs--all the blood is in my legs. My mind is getting simplified by the mileage, I guess. :) . Anyway, you all know what this run means,,,, Painter's Half Marathon or BUST!!! And long live the blog! |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.50 | Nap Time: 0.50 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Looooong nap thanks to my wonderful hubby. Thanks James! |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.50 | Nap Time: 2.50 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.10 | 0.00 | 5.10 |
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Finally got my run in tonight. Ran 3.1 with Christine, and another 2 alone. Just under 11:00 pace, I believe. Felt the knee just a titch at the end. Okay guys, I promised a discussion on prescription drug abuse, so here we go... I personally know someone who struggled with addiction to strong painkillers that is very very dear to me. It is so tough, because it started off so legitamate. He hurt his back badly and needed the painkillers. It never really healed, but for the next 40 years of his life he was basically drugged. He was groggy and slept a lot during the day, then he ended up being up for most of the night. He talked about his pain constantly...CONSTANTLY. I think it was because he needed the pain as an excuse for not really living his life, and abusing pain killers. Although it is hard to say... I always feel bad because I don't know how much pain he was actually feeling. All I know is that when he went into an assisted living situation, and lost control of his pain meds (because the nurse administered them) he stopped talking about his pain all the time. He came out of the fog and became the pleasant, caring person he had always been on the inside. There's not much to say about this except that it is very sad, and was a huge waste of this person's life. Here are the points I think are worth debating:
1. Why are doctors so willing to prescribe addictive substances? Ritalin is just one example. (Oh boy, I just got someone really riled up, I can already tell.) Ritalin is a highly addictive stimulant! It is in the same category as PCP in terms of probability of addiction (I got that from a book on Ritalin use.) But all you have to do is go in and tell your Dr. that your kid is struggling in school and they will write out a prescription. Another example is cough syrup with codeine. Every time I've been to the Dr. for a germ-caused illness, the Dr. prescribes stuff like tylenol with codeine and/or cough syrup-for-druggies. I always tear them up. But lots of people think that if a Dr. gives you the RX, you have to fill it. Also, many times when I have been to the ER, there are a bunch of people in there just because they ran out of "meds". Painkillers, basically. I swear I could tell this one guys was just lying and had taken them all too soon, or else was hoarding them to get a high later. It was so easy! The Dr. didn't even examine him, he just wrote out the RX and the guy left, all happy. No accountability or checking on his story at all. Obviously Vicodin is extremely addictive, yet Drs. prescribe it left and right. Bleh. Well, that's a good start. I have lots of other stuff to say, but I will wait until I see what you guys have to say about this.
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 1.80 | 0.00 | 1.80 |
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I am sucking on garlic today, as I woke up with a sore throat. I have my own evil theory as to how it discourages infection: basically making the germs so stinky that they don't want to reproduce. I'd have to lie to say that I was able to finish my run today with Christine. I ran a more typical pace for me (~10:00) for about a mile, then I started having some pain in my knee, so I slowed down, however it didn't really help and actually hurt more and more as I went along so I just walked home.
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 1.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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Woof. I was up most of the night with a little one with a tummy ailment. I was extremely tired all day and mostly hung out in pajamas and cleaned up messes related to the ongoing tummy ailment. My voice is gone--a little laryngitis going on. I "rested" my knee and logged zero miles. Dang it! It is so easy for me to feel like a failure when I don't get enough sleep. But really, in the whole scheme of things, this is all very small change. I will be fine! Thanks for all the encouraging remarks on my Tues. entry! I am constantly surprised by the number of caring and supportive people here.
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 4.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
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GREAT JOB AT PAINTERS EVERYONE!
It's was really fun reading everyone's race report. Although, I really should say that there was an extreme lack of picture-taking. Somebody better post some pictures, or there's gonna be another smackdown! Speaking of smackdowns, the most important fitness related event that happened to me while resting my knee and getting over my cold was a phone call to Sasha. I had to tell him that I wasn't able to do Painters, and thus was in violation of our little agreement, wherein he was supposed to try to play a hymn on the piano without making any mistakes within 48 hours (which he did) and in return I would run the Painter's Half Marathon. Geez! I really didn't think he was ready to do that! One thing you must all never doubt is Sasha's tenacity. Anyhow, I asked him if he could please think of some other way I could fulfill my side of the bargain. I gave him some lovely options, such as running a half down here in AZ, going up to St. George even though I wouldn't be running, hosting a pasta party for the Del Sol Relay team when they come down, etc. etc. But his choice was for me to simply to adhere to the "good conscience" diet (meaning don't eat anything that I believe to be unhealthy) until I break 2:00 in the half marathon. And thus we see the extreme futility of trying to argue a point with Sasha. That guy will NEVER give up, and eventually he will win. I can't keep up the whole fire-breathing-debate thing forever, eventually apathy takes over. So tonight when my family was at Souper Salad, and they all went back and got some brownies, I went back and got a bowl of diced beets...It's okay, I like beets...a little. Almost like a brownie... About my run tonight--it was fine, it was great! I've really missed running. No pain whatever. I did 2 miles outside at "injury pace," which is 1.5 min. slower than "easy pace." I think that I've figured out what the heck was going on with my knee, but it is convoluted, so you may want to tune out now--just leave me a comment like "Good job!" and move on. I think that my piriformis muscle is the main culprit. It attaches to the tailbone and controls how far out you hold your leg sideways (I think). So my chiropractor said my tailbone was was "out" and I know my piriformis was all bunched up like a rock in there. Someone recommended massage, and I'll tell you, I could NOT stand for that thing to be touched without yelping. So I think it was pulling my leg in a little too much and THAT is what was causing the pain in my knee and down my leg. I think that it altered my gait in such a way that my right leg was landing harder than usual. I don't think I actually had a real injury in my knee, but I do think that if I had continued to run on it like this I could've ended up with an injury in my knee or with shin splints. So I've been adjusted by the chiro, and I've had some massage--now I am going to make sure I do my 3 lower back exercises (which my chiro has been begging me to do for a long time, but I've been to lazy to do it) in order to hopefully keep my lower back in the right place, and I'm going to do my piriformis stretch before and after every run. Tomorrow I will hopefully run 3, 4 on Wed, 4 on Thurs. 5 on Friday, 6 on Saturday. Next week I'll try to do 5-6 miles most days unless something starts hurting again. Maybe a 10 miler that Saturday...  Look at this picture I just found. Who is that booking it back from the finish of the race? He he he. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
| 3 miles outside at injury pace. No problems to speak of. I did my lower back exercises and my piriformis stretch before heading out. I'm exhausted, I hear the siren call of my pillow drawing me in. Time to surrender. ZZZZzzz.
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| Night Sleep Time: 4.00 | Nap Time: 0.50 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 4 miles with Christine outside in the freezing coldness. Only 59 degrees. (Sorry, that was low.) I did my lower back exercises and my piriformis stretch. Pace was about 1 min. a mile slower than easy pace. No pain to speak of other than my shingles pain.
Doh! I have shingles. I had this little tiny rash the size of a quarter, but it stings/burns over a rather big area. So I finally went to the Dr. to see what the heck was up. Anyone ever have this before? How long does it last? It is rather annoying. Am I supposed to try and stay away from everyone? I've been walking around with it for several days--hope nobody gets it from me. I'm thinking of all this stuff I should have asked my Dr., but I had no presence of mind at the time. I'm on an antiviral Rx now. So hopefully it will help. PS I take back all that stuff about the evils of painkillers. |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.75 | Nap Time: 1.25 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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I am starting to get pretty excited because my knee and hip are not causing problems. 4 at injury pace tonight, No issues to speak of... Tomorrow 5, Sat. 6, I'm on my way out of the woods! And I think the shingles are slightly, maybe, a little bit improved. The rash is bigger, but I think the pain is down a little bit, which is the real issue.
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.50 | Nap Time: 1.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.50 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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I had planned on running this evening, but when the time came, I could hardly keep my eyes open. I took it as a strong message that my body needed the sleep more than the run. I felt just a little bad about missing my run, but my shingles feel so much better today (Sat.) that I think it was the right thing to do. *Groan* I had a significant bad, rotten thing happen today. Remember my sweet, psychotic dog Sparky? He attacked a little boy today and bit him! (Fortunately it did not break skin because of the boys jeans.) Sparky is very sweet to everyone in our family, but he is so protective that it is a problem. Whenever he meets a new person, he goes absolutely ballistic with barking like crazy and threatening to bite. I've been trying to introduce him to one new person every day to get him over this and taking him to PetsMart to get used to strangers. I really thought he was doing better... then today sweet little 7 year-old Ryan came over to play with Sam. He saw that we had a trampoline and ran and threw the door open. I was just starting to say "wait, I need to put the dog away..." when Sparky dashed in through the open door and started barking at the boy. Ryan got scared and ran away, and to my absolute shock and horror, Sparky pursued and bit his rear. He's never done that before! So today one of my jobs is to get rid of Sparky. I will try to find someplace where he will be safe. There are so many little kids that come to my house between all the play mates and piano students. I just can not have a dog that bites! Ug. I feel guilty and sad, though. Could I have done something differently to prevent this?
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.50 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.50 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| Delicious night of sleep last night--feeling MUCH better. 4 miles outside at injury pace.
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| Night Sleep Time: 10.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 10.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
| What a nice run for me today! Best run in several weeks, I think. 5 miles outside--3 with Christine, and then 2 more after she left. 10:04 pace on ave., which is easy pace for me. I am a little relieved, because I thought that I might get "stuck" at injury pace. I felt like I had to hold back a little. That's always nice. It was quite breezy, and at one point the wind was just blowing the tears out of my eyes. All I could think was that it was so much nicer than having snow blasted into my eyes like Kory described in his run today. Yech. Well, that is why his times are going down, I guess. Toughitude. James and I have decided to give Sparky a second chance. I am signing us up for obedience classes, I'm watching "The Dog Whisperer" (he he he), making sure he gets his run every day, and, well, the bottom line is that I need to be much more responsible. It is my job to make sure he is secured EVERY time we have a friend over, or when I teach piano. I've been reading dog obedience literature. Did you know that playing tug-of-war with your pooch can encourage aggression? That was Sparky's favorite game. (Oops.) Also, we must never let Sparky up on the furniture or let him beg scraps from the table.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 6.01 | 0.00 | 6.01 |
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He he he. I had to put that .01 on there just to bug Monaflash. Well, fate smiles on me again! Just listen to how perfect this is... I am supposed to be running about 6 or so miles a day, plus a long run every week. For some reason, my brain just freaks out at 6 a day because...well, it's a full hour of running for me. Sometimes I have had a hard time dragging myself out there for 6. An hour just sounds so much longer than 50 min. So anyway, my fabuloso running buddy Christine usually only wants to run 3 a day. So guess how far away from my house she lives? Exactly 1.5 miles--to the hundredth of a mile! So if I run to her house, run 3 miles with her, and then run back I get in my 6 for the day with a minimum of brain atrophy (or at least boredom). It also works nicely for pacing. Christine always wants to run just a little faster than I do, so I can warm up on the way to her house, run a little faster with her, and then cool down on the way home. Somebody up there likes me...and wants me to run, apparently. : ) 1 HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUR and 1 minute for the run. Felt fine.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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3 with Christine at 9:58 pace. I'm going to go run the other 2 right now in my neighborhood. I wanted to blog before it gets too late so I can avoid the whole "I'm so sleepy I can't kick myself off the computer" syndrome. Very virulent. And I am going to do those 2 miles SLOW, because I am bushed today. My hat is off to my amazing hubby who replaced a toilet with all his manly dexterous skills today. Girls like guys with skills...
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.33 | Total Sleep Time: 7.33 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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Ho Boy... Here comes a true confession. So, some of you have been wondering about how my diet thing is going. (Diet is a four letter word!) I have (had) been doing so well! I've been eating tons of healthy stuff and basically just making substitutions for unhealthy stuff--molasses or stevia for sugar, potassium iodide for salt, smoothies (or beets?) for brownies etc. For over a week we have had a huge OPEN bag of M&Ms that my son used for a school project. This is probably a world record in self-restraint for me! Chocolate is on the endagered species list in my home. I generally don't have it in the house, but it I do, I eat it promptly. Anyway, I've lost a couple kilos and been feeling pretty proud of my diet. HOWEVER, today I was in Darth Lybi mode almost all day--super grumpy. I found myself nibbling on a little bit of bologna at snack time. Then I had a whole bologna sandwich with swiss cheese. THEN I dove headfirst into that bag of M&M's with a peanut butter-laden knife in one hand like a deranged chocolate-devouring lunatic. That was my lunch. It got worse from there. I hope I don't turn bulimic before I get a chance to run the Striders half marathon in April. Ah! If I don't break 2:00 I will die. But tomorrow is a new day--and you know what that means. It's back to buckwheat time, people! Wish me luck.
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.75 | Nap Time: 2.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.75 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.70 | 0.00 | 2.70 |
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This morning I finished my first ever hour-long weight class. That was interesting to say the least! I did the smallest weight I could for every exercise and it still kicked my hiny. I was so impressed by some of the people in that class. The guy right in front of me really looked like he was at least 75 years old and he did 3 times the weight than I and held up better throughout the class. I want to age like that! Then there was the lady that must have been 7 months pregnant that was just tough as nails! Wow. It would really be good for my overall health to do something like this a couple of times a week. And my kids love the play place. It's really clean and has fun stuff like a rock wall for them to climb etc. The catch is that it costs money. Choices, choices. ************************************************* Soooo, I just got back from my run and I am still freaking out! Weirdest, scariest run of all time for me. Christine wasn't able to run tonight so I ended up just going with Sparky. I forgot my pepper spray. So I was running around a neighborhood after 9 pm and a van pulled up next to me. At first I thought it was someone that I knew, but it wasn't. They passed me really slowly and pulled to the side of the road. When I passed them, they drove along side of me at my pace--much too close for comfort. Then we turned a corner and I realized I was heading right into the secluded back stretch in that neighborhood that is NOT lit. I got a serious case of the willies and cut across a yard and turned around to go the other way. The van immediately sped up. The way the neighborhood loops around I knew that if the van wanted to, it could be back to me in just a few minutes. I picked up the pace a bit, but I did not see the van again. But just as I was about to leave the neighborhood 2 really huge scary looking guys started walking purposefully towards me. And, of course, being in a really freaked out state of mind I was convinced it was the creepy driver of the van and his blood-thirsty accomplice. He he. But Sparky came to the rescue! He growled quite menacingly as they approached, the guys gave me a wide berth, and I skeedaddled home with my tail between my legs. I've spent a lot of time trying to teach Sparky not to bark at people--for once I was grateful he's so over-protective. I promise I will not run alone after 9 pm ever again! Sparky was bushed after 2.7 and could not be persuaded to run more, and our treadmill is on the blitz again, so today will just have to be short, cuz' I'm not going out there again alone!
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 10.00 | 0.00 | 10.00 |
| 10 Miles all spread throughout the day. I feel like I can trick my body into accepting more miles without falling apart when I sneak in several runs. This morning I went with James to cheer for him in his half marathon. He got a great PR & I'm very proud of him. I didn't realize it, but this race, "London's Run" was started by a family who lost a little 6 year-old girl to cancer. It was so touching. Before the race, they not only had the national anthem and a really sweet prayer, but then her mother got up and told London's story and how cheerful she was throughout all the difficult treatment she received before she died. She ended by saying that we all have difficult things to do, and we should try to follow London's example and still enjoy our life even through the hard times--and that is what we were all here to do: run a long race, feel the pain of it, and keep going. I was crying like a sprinkler by this time. Ever since I became a mother things like this just gets to me so much more. London's mother came in 2nd in the 10K, I think. What a great way to honor someone's life!
While I was waiting for James to come it I ran a rather quick 3.5 miles. Later this evening I ran 1.5 miles with my 7 year-old, .8 miles with my 5 year-old, and about .5 with my little 3 year-old. Then I finished the rest of the miles with Sparky. That's definitely a PR for him in terms of daily mileage--around 4 miles. My fastest mile was 9:37.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Day 2--So far Christi is winning the sleep challenge. (Ah!) I got all panicked last night when I read her entry, so I booked it to bed, and laid there--trying frantically to fall asleep. (Which, as we all know, just doesn't work.) So it took me a long time to fall asleep and I ended up getting only 8:10 again. Well, today I am going to work hard so I'll be really tired and sleep a long time. This is getting serious! This is Monday's report btw. I wrote it on the wrong day and am feeling too lazy to change it. (Why isn't there a cut and paste?)
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.17 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.17 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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Day one of the sleep challenge with the famed Shuffling Sista! I got 8:10 last night, which is respectable, but I am hoping to get more tonight. I really want to be rested enough to increase my mileage. Last week was 28. From now until the Striders Half (april 5th) I plan to keep it above 30, and hopefully up to 40 for all of March. I will need fabulous recovery to pull that off without hitting any snags. 45 min. walking with Sam & the dog. The above was supposed to be on Sunday's entry. Oops! 5 Miles outside with my beloved dog. It was quite a PR for him. I stopped to give him water a couple of times, but I'm really proud of him. Ave. pace was 10:37, including stops for Sparky's VPBs. Dogs have it easy.
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.17 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.17 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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Day three of the sleep challenge. As of yesterday, I was behind by 70 min., I think. But with my 8 hours and 50 min. last night, I gained 1 hour and 50 min.! That puts me ahead by 40 min. I believe. Yea! But I must not underestimate the Shuffling Sista, as she has shown great propensity for champion sleeping. He he he. As a special bonus, I am feeling remarkably well rested. :)
3 Doggie-be-good miles with Sparky. 10:05 pace on ave.--felt fabulous. 2 more miles tonight in the dark. Christine wasn't able to make it for some reason. I would've gone longer, but I got scared--some guy on a bicycle was trying to talk to me. After last week's adventure I guess I am a little jumpy.
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.83 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.83 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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8 Hours and 20 min. of sleep. Hope that is good enough to keep me in the lead! I just finished an hour long martial arts-themed workout class at that gym. It was pretty fun, but after running so much, it didn't seem to give me that good of a cardio workout. Probably because at least half the time I was standing around trying to figure out what to do! Let's just say that I have very little Bruce Lee in me. Maybe next time I'll try spinning! I signed up for a 2 week trial membership at this gym. I may spring for the year membership...I'm still going back and forth. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.33 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.33 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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5th day of the challenge, and I put in another 8:10 of sleep. After a relatively reluctant start, I did 5 miles outside with the jogging stroller. I really miss chocolate on days like this. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.17 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.17 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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Oops. There goes my title as Sleep Champion. I'll tell you what, the Shuffling Sista is NOT to be trifled with! She is the Queen of the Quilts, the Champion of the Chaise Lounge, the Princess of the Pillows! Let us take a moment to offer obeisance...........okay, that's enough. ***********************************************
3 miles outside with the double jogger and the dog. I rigged it up so that the dog pulled the weight of the stroller, and I just ran. (At least it worked that way for the first half of the run. The second part, I was dragging both the dog AND the stroller.) Don't kill me, but it was 71 degrees. A little hot for my pooch--I had to stop in the middle and give him water. Barring unusual circumstances (which actually happen quite frequently) I will run 3 more with Christine tonight. Well, Christine bailed on me, so I ended up running 2 more miles alone around 8:15. I guess I am STILL freaked out from that one scary run last week. I just can't do this night running alone anymore! I was running through a short dark alley in my neighborhood, when I saw some movement from behind a bush. I was startled by a piercing scream...until I realized it was coming from my own darn throat! The "movement" turned out to be 2 teenagers who had been *ahem* lying down, and suddenly sat up. I was SO close to pepper spraying them, thinking they were a big dog or something. Well, I hope they will find somewhere else to be sneaky in the future. Otherwise I will be there to scream at them, and threaten them with pepper spray. I'm gonna need therapy if these sort of things keep happening on my runs....
I have a 5K race tomorrow. I haven't run a real race since last September, and I have no idea what to expect. However, if I don't break my old lady PR (26:31) I intend to be miffed.
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.83 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.83 |
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| | Race: |
Year of the Rat 5K (3.14 Miles) 00:24:40, Place overall: 8, Place in age division: 4 | | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 3.14 | 5.14 |
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Many good things to report about this race! 1.) I took 1 min. 51 seconds off my post high school PR. 2.) I placed in the top 10 chicas, which I have NEVER done in my entire life for a race over a mile. I was 8th for the women, 4th in my division, and 27th including the guys. There were about 300 participants, I'd estimate. 3.) I beat "Ded Moroz," the 8:00 guy. My average pace was 7:56, and that is not accounting for the slightly long course. 4.) My improvement in time was not because it was a super-easy course. There were several smallish hills and gradual inclines. It was an out-and back course. I asked several people with Garmins what the distance was, and they all said 3.14-3.16. So this is an official old lady PR, people! The footing was excellent, though--mostly paved, and some hard packed dirt. The temps were also ideal. I was MOST appreciative that it ended with a little downhill section. The only unfortunate thing was that I didn't get one of the beee-yootiful medals they were giving out. The Super-Chicks who came in #1 and #2 overall were both in my age division, and I had high hopes that they wouldn't count them for the age div. awards, but they did. : ( I can't remember much about the details of the actual run. I just kept thinking about keeping up my rhythm. My music really helped--and I had it turned up LOUD! I didn't want to hear the sound of my jagged breathing. Mentally, I think I handled this race pretty well. There were a couple of times when negative thoughts tried to bog me down. The worst are the thoughts like "you won't be able to hold this pace" or "you are not doing very well", but I just dug in with a strong "YES I CAN!" and "YES I AM!" and they went away. One thing I think I am really gaining from running is the ability to outlast stuff like that. Just refusing to give up and keeping on keeping on through discouraging moments usually yields very good results. I see this in other areas of my life than running, so I am grateful for that. You guys are going to laugh at my race attire--the FRB singlet and HOT PINK shorts!  This was taken AFTER the race, so I am a little frazzled, but you can see that I was not completely wasted. I didn't look like I needed to go to the hospital, so that is definite improvement!
Overall, I am very pleased that running easy has produced such good results. I train at 10-11:00 pace. Often even slower! (Wonder if Sasha will allow me to go faster now...) And I do zippo speedwork. My mile splits were pretty consistent 7:45. 8:03, and 7:54. I felt that I could have sustained that pace for at least another mile. Whoops! Gotta go teach some piano lessons. Happy running everyone.
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Nice nap. |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.67 | Total Sleep Time: 7.67 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.50 | 0.00 | 4.50 |
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Wow, I am sore EVERYWHERE. It is much simpler to list the places that I am NOT sore, which include the top of my head, my facial muscles, my hands and forearms, and the bottoms of my feet. Now I'm off to my first session with this All-American track star turned personal trainer. ******************************** Well, ########## was the personal trainer at this gym who supposedly is an expert runner. He was a track star in shorter distances, I guess. I was not that impressed in his theories on distance running. He tried to sell me on the idea that you really don't need to run more than 20 miles a week if your goal race is the 5k. He also said I shouldn't try to get a certain time in the Striders Half, I should just see if I could finish. He says I'm going to die with the altitude. I never thought of that. Am I going to die with the altitude difference? I train at something like 2,500 ft. One thing ########### is an expert at is speed. I think he set a world record for the number of times a person has offended me in under 5 min. He expressed shock and disapproval that 1.) I got married so young (I was 20) 2.) I have so many children (3!) 3.) My high school 5K PR was so slow (I'll give him that one) 4.) I run 30 miles a week (excessive?)
He also told me that he has some kind of biophysical issue that prevents him from doing well at distance events. Evidence: he said that the first 2 miles of a 5K will be 5:00, and then his 3rd mile will be 7:00. I told him he just needed to up his miles a bit (I think he does something like 15 a week) and he'd be right up there. He laughed. ANYWAY, I ran 4.5 outside tonight really slowly. I intended to do more, but my muscles gradually got tighter and tighter as I ran until I started to feel concerned. So we'll see how I do tomorrow.
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.20 | 0.00 | 5.20 |
| 3.1 Miles with Christine and then 2.1 more miles alone late at night. And I am exhausted!!! This whole day I don't think I've sat down for even 5 min. all day. Thing to thing to thing to thing to thing to thing to thing all day! Blech! I'm gonna have to hang out in my pajamas all day tomorrow to make up for all this busy frantic running around I did. That'll be so cool when I go for my run... Running in pajamas--that's an interesting idea. Anyone ever done it before?
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
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3 extremely easy miles outside with my little boys and the dog. Time to put away the long sleeve shirts! It's getting darn warm out there. 3 more tonight with Christine. Yea! It seems like a long time since I've put in 6 in a day. My right hamstring is still bugging me a little from the race. All the other places I was sore went away, but this one little area has not. We took a little family vacation today, but we didn't go anywhere. James stayed home from work, and the boys stayed home from school. We caught up on some together time and just did not stress about anything all day. It was heaven.
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.50 | Total Sleep Time: 8.50 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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2.1 With the whole fam. 2 little boys in the stroller, one running, and the dog tagging along too. We're quite a sight when we all go out together. 2.9 More alone.
I thought you guys would get a kick out of this... Guess what James got me for Valentine's Day? A Stick! It's a therapuedic device for runners--for rubbing out sore and achy muscles. Romantic, huh? James is a great gift giver, always something I really want. He he he. Happy Valentines Day, Bloggies! May you all be blessed with life-long love, or at least a really great date!
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.33 | Total Sleep Time: 7.33 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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Groan... My poor little 3 year-old had croup really bad last night. He not only had the croupy, barky cough, but also that terrible stridor when he is struggling to inhale. Yucky scary stuff. We ended up taking him to the hospital after trying everything we could think of and achieving minimal improvement. They gave him steroids and a cool mist breathing treatment. One thing they really emphasized is the importance of cold in treating croup. My usual strategy is to steam up the bathroom and sit in there for 10 min. or so with him. Usually that works for us. But they said that the heat from the water counteracts the benefits of the steam. So when we finally got home I opened his window and let his room get really cold. It was raining, too, which was a boon. Cool moist air in AZ? What a blessing! Thankfully he is doing beautifully right now. Well it is raining outside, and the temps are glorious. I love rain, and I love running in the rain (probably mostly because I don't have to do it very often.) However, Christine doesn't like rain-running, so I did these 5 miles with my faithful training buddy, Sparky, who slows me down big time, but really makes it more interesting...to say the least. I am on schedule to break my all-time weekly mileage record tomorrow. I'm excited about that.
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| Night Sleep Time: 3.00 | Nap Time: 1.50 | Total Sleep Time: 4.50 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 10.30 | 0.00 | 10.30 |
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This is just my first run--I want to do another fiver when James gets back from his run. I know, I know, it's dark, but don't have a fit. I'm taking my attack dog, Sparky, with me to intimidate any possible trouble. I also have my pepper spray. Well, if I succeed in getting in my other fiver it will be a weekly mileage record for me at 36. Pretty good (for me) considering this week was kind of a recovery week from an all-out 5K last Sat. I've also had rough and interrupted sleep a couple times, so it's been a little bit hard. I think that what pulled me through it was just running really easy every day. I want to get up to 40 miles a week as soon as I can, so it looks like I'll be running easy for a while. When I adjust to the higher miles I will start running a little harder, methinks--at least, faster than the walkers who are almost keeping up with me right now! Well, some of those power walkers are darn fast! : ) My main thought whenever I run is just please oh please let me be triumphant in the Striders half in April! The race is just 2 days before my birthday. It is basically my last chance to make age 30 the best year of my life! ************************** Bleh. I am finally done running. 5.13 outside. Time to celebrate my all-time weekly mileage record by crawling into bed exhausted.
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
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6 Miles outside, continuous. 59:13 for the whole run (9:52 pace). That's a pretty decent pace for me, although I'm not sure why it was a little faster that usual. I ran to Christine's house, 3 miles with her, and home again. Gorgeous night outside tonight--60 degrees. You are all invited to come down here and enjoy the beautiful temps while they last. Better hurry, though. Summer arrives in April! The moon looked sooooo amazing tonight! It had a huge, bright, perfect circle all around it. It was almost mystical looking. I took it as a sign that I was going to break 2:00 at the Striders Half. Ha ha. It looked kind of like this, without the abominable guy in snowsuit:  |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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I woke up this morning feeling stiff in my right knee--on right side of it. I stretched a lot this morning and just tried to be good to it. I ran a little bit around lunch time--1.3 at 13:00 pace (!) and I felt it a lot so I cut it short. I have to repent of neglecting my lower back exercises and piriformis stretch. My piriformis is all bunched up again. I ran this evening with Christine at about 11:15 pace. My knee felt better than at lunch, but still a little bothersome. As long as it doesn't get worse I'm gonna keep running the same mileage and just slow it down. I hope to keep getting better and better. Have you guys seen that awesome show "Blue Planet"? It's a nature show on steriods. Absolutely amazing photography! I love it. But last night I got all traumatized from this long scene of a pack of killer whales killing a baby grey whale. Anyone seen it? I'm gonna need group therapy to get over this... |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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Not so good in the running arena. 1.5 miles with my boys and my knee bothered. 2.5 miles with Christine and my knee bothered some more. It is storming here. I love lightning and thunder! But we did get shafted a little tonight, because we couldn't see the full lunar eclipse because of clouds. Rotten luck! There are hardly ever any clouds. No more lunar eclipses until 2010. 
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 0.50 | Total Sleep Time: 7.50 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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Great nap this morning. My two younger boys are sick, and they both konked out for an early morning nap today. Makes sense, since they were both up a hundred million times in the night. Actually, my night sleep has been 1 hour at a time (at most!) ever since that night we had to take Adam to the hospital. Probably that's part of why my body is falling apart.
I took the day off running, but I did go for an hour walk.
I bought the most beeeautiful plant today--a calla lilly. I potted it with basil all around its base. So it not only looks good, but smells delicious too. It is making me extremely happy.
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| Night Sleep Time: 7.00 | Nap Time: 1.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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Well, I've been resting my knee. After my long walk a couple of days ago, the pain started to bother me even just while walking. I feel it when I extend my leg from mostly straight/just a little bent to straight. There is also a grinding sound coming from the meniscus (I think?). So I'm going to set up an appt. with a Dr. and a chiro. for next week, if I can. In the meantime, it's couch potato time. I hope I get it all out of my system, so that when I can run again I will not take it for granted. : )
Today I had a HUMONGOUS piano event (300-400 students, 80 teachers, 22 pianos on stage, and a standing-room-only audience of a couple thousand). The most notable thing that happened was that my close friend D'Net--a fabulous piano teacher--tripped in the parking lot and completely busted both bones in her leg right above her ankle. She sent her 8 year-old daughter back inside to find me. We called an ambulance, but I ended up driving her to the hospital. It was a terrible break; very hard to see her in such pain. It reminded me that every day you do not break your leg is a GREAT DAY! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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Ho-boy! So I am totally taking this week off of running. My knee is already feeling MUCH better from the rest. But.....oh man! I feel like such a dork; I HURT myself today. I was doing some deep cleaning when it happened. (See, this is what happens when you scrub on your hands and knees!) I was all hunched over and scrubba dubbing away, and I....sheesh...how do you explain it? I had a sharp pain in my back like one of my vetebrae exploded. Then I rolled onto my side and just laid there for 15 min. All the muscles in my lower back seized up, and basically throw a fit if I move. This has happened 2 times before. Usually it takes about a week to get back to usual. I still can't really stand up straight, (although I am much closer than before my chiropractor appointment this afternoon). And walking hurts. And running is absolutely the last thing on my mind. I'm sure I'll be almost 100% by Thursday, though! But forget cleaning--cleaning is the devil. This is what comes from too much anticipation. I like to call it "preparation," but James is more partial to calling it "freaking out." I am feeling lame--in more than one way. And 2 of my kiddos are sick. STILL. This bug is taking forever to go away. I'm the only one who hasn't had it. Pray I don't! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Today my back felt so much better! Have I mentioned how much I love my chiropractor? Yea! Tomorrow my plan is to get up early (for a change) and got for a walk in the morning with the dog. Hold me to it! I've developed into quite a morning slug these days. And my knee seems to be almost better, too. I only felt it (discomfort) once today--just for a second. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.10 | 0.00 | 0.10 |
| I have to admit I am rounding up my mileage a little here. I probably ran like 18 steps--but they were QUALITY steps. He he he. It didn't take me long to feel a movement in my back and a second by my knee that we adjourn the running. Not quite ready, I guess. Sooooooooo Sasha and Sarah and their adorable kidlets arrived today. There has been much rejoicing, a fair amount of noise, and more than a respectable amount of gabbing just as fast as we can. Sasha and Sarah are fascinating people to talk with! If you ever get a chance to hang with these guys you should definitely take it! It will make you want to run more, that's for sure. Good luck to the Del Sol Relay team!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.66 | 0.00 | 2.66 |
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Speedwalking with Sparky at 18:11 pace on ave. including many doggy stops.
So I'm sure you are all dying to get the real report on Del Sol, right? I.e. what are all these super-human fast people on the racing team really like when they are not COMPLETELY DOMINATING a relay? Well, from what I can tell, they mostly lay around a lot--fall asleep in the sitting position and so forth. By the time I got to meet the whole team (after the race), they were...hmmm...flat. Like flat soda, I mean. The fizz was gone, but they were still sweet. Anybody who can be polite and thankful after being up all night running in the desert just has be a good person. I didn't get a chance to talk to everyone as much as I would like, but these were some of the things that were notable to me about the relay: - Logan. Holy smokes! This guy ran a 7 mile leg with an average pace of 4:55! He beat his 5K and 10K PR in route. And do not forget--this was on his 2nd leg! He had already run, and he still did that. But running aside, Logan also gets muchas bonus points for being the one to volunteer to hold baby Jacob Pachev when Sarah and I were really busy doing stuff. And he even made Jakey laugh...
- Kory ran really well, even though he has been battling achilles tendonitis pretty bad leading up to the race. He's just as kind and respectful in person as he is on the blog. Great athlete, great person.
- Ted also ran surprisingly well--making all his times although fighting off an illness. Way to gut it out, Ted! And by the way, this guy did a FABULOUS job of pulling all the details together as team captain, don't you think? I do! Plus, this guy, I suspect (in cahoots with Jeff Shadley) is chiefly responsible for the wonderful Friday's gift cards I got as a thank-you for hosting. How did he know that I dream night and day about Friday's brownie obsession? I got enough to buy one everyday for the next couple of weeks. I could roll around in 'em! But I digress...
- Clyde. This guy is such a natural leader. When he talks, everyone listens. Especially when he is recounting his "I almost puked on a girl on one of my legs" story. You have to read about it on his blog.
- Walter ran very well and was coming down with a nasty sore throat. Hope you feel better, Walter!
- Jeff. You know, this guy is really modest. I don't think he ever even bragged about how well he did. But I'm sure he ran fast. He's like lightning, but nice about it.
- Ashbaker, I mean Steve, I mean Darkhorse, I mean Masterhunter. He rides a motorcylce! I heckled him about it. But of course, he ran fantastically (even after quaffing a double cheeseburger from McDonald's right before the race!)
- Steve Hooper. This guy provided the best entertainment of the afternoon by fanning the fire of Sarah's wrath. He's fun to be around. He also has the highest bone density of anyone I know.
- All the guys on the team tried out our fancy scale that not only tells your weight, but also your metabolic age, fat percentile, and bone density. ALL the guys on the team had a metabolic age of 12! That explains some things, I guess. ; )
I didn't get to talk much to everyone, so I'll let you get the juicy details from their individual blogs, but let me end with just saying how much I enjoyed having the Pachevs stay at our house. What a great family! They are so authentic. Just having them around makes you want to not only live healthier, but just be a better person all around. Sarah was an absolute lifesaver. I really could not have fed the whole team without her. I'm the kind of person who freaks out just when we feed the LDS missionaries. (2 whole extra people!) And Sasha is a great coach. When he talks about running it is powerful, because you know he is speaking from vast experience. He does a great speed-walk too. ; ) The highlight of the whole weekend for me was just hanging out with the Pachevs all of Sunday and talking like crazy. Congratulations to the Del Sol Relay Team! This is just the beginning. Today the relay, tomorrow the world!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| I'b zick. Sore throat, low fever, gunky coughs. I decided to get out anyway. After all, half the Del Sol Relay team was sick, and they still ran sub-6:00 pace even uphill. So I put on my shoes and went out. But I didn't get anywhere before I ran into my neighbor, who happens to be a physical therapist. I ended up talking to him for 45 min. during my running time. He wants to do a full evaluation and figure out why my knee and back keep acting up. He sounds like he does a really thorough job. The only bad thing is that he is a run-hater. He said we're not really built for running, and I should be doing stuff like rowing. How could we be built for rowing? He also said that running causes osteoporosis. Has anyone ever heard of this? He said he just read a study where this 22 year-old running chica had the skeletal strength of a 70 year-old with osteoporosis, but when she stopped running her bones went back to normal. It freaked me out a little, since I am genetically at risk for osteoporosis anyway. Any thoughts? I went to the chiropractor earlier in the day. He checked my feet for pelvic stabilizers, which is a kind of orthotic. He took a picture of my heels from the back, and I could totally see how my right achilles tendon totally bowed in more than my left. He measured my arches too, and said my right arch was more collapsed than the left and needed an orthotic. It really sparked my interest, since I never have problems with my left leg, always it is my right knee or hip. So the stability shoes I've been wearing have been sufficient for my left foot, but my right needs more motion control. What are the best kinds of orthotics? They are expensive, so I'd prefer something that lasts forever. : ) Maybe I'll put some of this stuff on the discussion board.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Oh man... I feel even worse today. I skipped my "speedwalk" or whatever in favor of laying around horking up cabbage from my lungs. But the bright side is that I found a you tube clip that really captures the dignity of speedwalking. I know you will all appreciate it...punks. Actually, I'm quite certain 95% of you will hate it, so don't bother watching it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwsXkHNWMww Hey, I said DON'T watch it! Only the seriously ill will find this clip funny enough to reduce them to tears.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.50 | 0.00 | 2.50 |
| The lower your mileage is, the more important it is to round up. I actually ran today! Yea! I started out at a really brisk "race walk," which is the correct term, btw. I was trying to see how fast I could do a mile. I was averaging about 13:00 pace, and MAN did it feel hard. My lungs were burning because I'm still a little sick, but my shins were putting up the biggest complaint. I started thinking how much more comfortable it would be to run, even if I had to keep it at the same pace. So I eased into a really really tentative jog. I pushed the stroller with my two younger ones to a park 1.25 miles away. We played for a while, then I ran home. Ave. pace for the whole thing (not including stops) was 11:55. I am delighted that my knee was not an issue, and I think I actually felt better overall for having run. I know it helped my incessant coughing. That reminds me of my sweet friend Megan.
I have a friend with cystic fibrosis. (The biggest danger--and it is a big one--is getting pneumonia and other lung stuff.) She is over 30 years old and still has really great lung function, and the main way she keeps it under control is by exercising every day. She exercises even when she has pneumonia, because it helps clear out her lungs. I thought about her today on my run. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.60 | 0.00 | 2.60 |
| I ran again! Yippee! I took my youngest son to the park again. And in terms of the rest of the day I just have one hypothetical question... Why is it that the one time you drive your kid to school in your leopard print pajamas you get stuck in a traffic jam, become late, and have to suffer the humiliation of going into the office? Life is not fair... |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.10 | 0.00 | 3.10 |
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So this was my (ha-ha) long run for the week. It was infinitely longer than last week's long run, so that's progress, at any rate. I have 3 weeks to get from here to running 13.1 miles. No knee issues today, so here's hoping! I have to teach billions of piano lessons today because I was sick during the week & had rescheduled them for today.
James and I went to Friday's for dinner tonight, courtesy of the Del Sol Relay team. It was great! I haven't eaten a Friday's brownie (previously my favorite food) in months, mostly at Sasha's injunction to try to avoid unhealthy food. Well, I finally tried one today, and was ASTOUNDED that I didn't really like it. It seemed sickeningly sweet to me. Could the abstinence of most sugary foods have altered my perception? But even though I didn't really want it I knew I would start to eat it again just because it was sitting there for a long time. So I poured salt all over it to completely remove the temptation. Problem solved. 3 Points for Sasha. Congrats to all the runners who raced today!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| I've been getting really good sleep since I've been sick. My fever is gone, my energy is returning, but there is still a lot of gunk in my lungs. I left church early today because I couldn't stop coughing like I was trying to bring up a hairball. Next week will be better. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 1.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.12 | 0.00 | 3.12 |
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Well...let me explain that rotten sleep. I took my traditional Sunday nap yesterday, and it wreaked the traditional havoc with my bedtime/ability to fall asleep. I should give it up, but I just love napping! I don't see why all kids everywhere don't beg their parents for naps. Youth is wasted on the young! So today I spent almost ALL my time and energy potty training my littlest guy. I won't bore (or horrify!) you with the grisly details, but let me just say that I think we are 95% there. I can hardly wrap my mind around the idea of no more diapers after 7 years. This is a red letter day in my life! In terms of running, I am preblogging here. Christine and I are going out for a gentle 3, she is going to talk my ear off, my knee is going to be fine, and I am going to run no faster than 11:30 pace (which is my ultra-safe speed). (Ended up being 3.12 at 11:18 pace, almost eventful, as my productive coughing fit mid-run almost produced a yakk. But the knee is ok, so I'm trying for 4 tomorrow.)
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
| 3 miles with Christine. I woke up this morning feeling not so hot, so I skipped my planned morning mile. That 8 hours of sleep is somewhat misleading. I was in bed that long, it was very interrupted sleep. I had to get up so many times with my littlest. Post-traumatic potty training syndrome, I guess. I am exhausted. (Zero accidents today, though! I'm proud.)
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 1.20 | 0.00 | 1.20 |
| Blechy day. This was supposed to just be my extra mile, but I didn't get out this evening as planned because I was needed at home. It's probably good to rest a little. I am still coughing a ridiculous amount.
I am feeling pessimistic about doing the Striders half. My training has been pathetic for a very long time. One bright spot from today is that my little 3 year-old is making me so proud. He has memorized some verses of scripture describing our religious beliefs (The Articles of Faith). He's just barely potty trained and he's got the first three memorized! I'd been teaching them to my older guys, and he just picked them up. It's funny to hear his little mouth say big ol' words like "atonement," or "ordinances." |
| Night Sleep Time: 6.75 | Nap Time: 0.75 | Total Sleep Time: 7.50 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 4 miles, 1.4 BAREFOOT! Hahahaha! Running barefoot for the very first time in my life brought the biggest smile to my face I've had all day. It feels good! It took me about a quarter mile to really start getting into it, and not run so gingerly, but then, it was all good news! I could feel that there were muscles in my feet and lower leg that I don't normally use. By the end of the first mile, I could tell that I had modified my gait. It seemed like I was much more forward, putting more weight on the balls of my feet, and my foot does its own little push-off. After 1.4 I put my shoes on. I still felt myself running a little differently. One interesting thing is that after running barefoot, my shoes felt much tighter. I think it is because of increased circulation in my feet. I wonder if this is part of the reason that barefoot running is supposed to prevent injury. I've got to try it again tomorrow. The only bad thing is that there is an occasional little rock that I'd step on. Ow. This was the most exhilarating run I've had in a long time. I was planning on stopping at 3, but I just didn't want to, so I tacked on another mile. |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.75 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 7.75 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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1 mile this morning, barefoot. It was beautiful...sun just coming up, ducks on the lakes, the cool pavement between my toes... 3 Miles tonight, shod. Within .1 of starting, my knee started to hurt/get a little tight. I stopped and walked for half a mile, then continued my run with no more issues. My knee doesn't like going straight from sitting at a computer (reading about running barefoot, of course) to running. Guess a little warm-up is in order, even though I'm still running slowly. Now if you'll excuse me, it's time for my nightly coughing-for-20 min. ritual. Very long-lasting cough, this one. I am so ready to be over it! Oh yeah, and I am NOT running the Striders Half Marathon. James will be running the Provo City Half Marathon, and if I feel up to it, I will too. Otherwise I will run the Provo City 5K. To tell the truth, I would MUCH rather run the 5K. You see, April 7th marks the year anniversary of when I really starting running/training. Sasha said he thought I'd be able to break my high school 5K PR in about a year. Too bad I've had these injury set-backs, or I might have already done it. But I was close! And if I were to break my high school 5K time in Provo, I would...I would...I'd just EXPLODE from happiness and every ache and pain or annoyance from running in this last year would be totally worth it. *Sigh.* It's not every day you get the chance to go back and right a wrong that has haunted you for a long time. You guys probably have no clue what I'm talking about, but I'm too tired right now to elaborate. Sweet dreams, everyone. (The other night I dreamed I was the Prime Minister of Britain. Just thought I'd throw that out there...)
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 1 Mile barefooted. 3 More with shoes and the dog. Lovely night. |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.25 | Nap Time: 0.50 | Total Sleep Time: 7.75 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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Napping is bliss! I am amazed at all the great races everyone ran yesterday. Everyone on the blog is either making huge progress or suffering with an injury. Very dedicated, either way. Wish we could find some magic cure for all running injuries. That's kind of why I started running barefoot. I'll be a test rabbit...if I am able to get over 40 miles per week without injury, I'll have to attribute at least some of it to my barefoot running miles. |
| Night Sleep Time: 7.50 | Nap Time: 0.50 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 1 BF mile with dog, and 3 normal miles with Christine. Last week I had 56 hours of sleep. Pretty good, but I want to beat it this week. And I want to transition to mostly night time sleep. Naps are like candy. They taste good, but they aren't usually good for me.
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
| 1 mile barefooted this morning. .6 with my son 1.4 tonight with Lyndsay, who is one of my top 10 favorite people, non-family category. We are missionary companions, visiting teaching companions, and full-tilt talk-your-ear-off friends. She is really fun to talk to--perfect person to run with! She sprained her ankle a little while back and felt it just a little during the run. Hopefully it didn't aggravate anything tonight. She did great! She ran the whole distance (which was an estimate, btw) without walking. She does her stair-stepper every night for 30 min., so she is very prepared for running from a cardio standpoint. It was a delightful run.
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| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| My littlest one has a really bad fever--almost 104. I've been getting up a lot with him at night. Not really sure how much sleep I'm getting...I just know it is nowhere near enough. Feels like I have a newborn again! (For every adorable little baby out there, somewhere close by there is an extremely sleep-deprived woman.) Anyway, I finally did drag my hind end outside today and did 4. First mile barefoot. ZZZzzzz, uh, excuse me. Time for bed!
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 6.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| Well, I've been a baaaaaaaaaaaaad little runner. I missed three days last week and I'm not even injured! Time to really buckle down again. I am still at a point where every once in a while I worry that I could revert back into a couch potato. MUST...RUN...EVERYDAY. Although, my excuse on Sat. was pretty solid--I spent the afternoon/evening in the hospital with Adam. (Only because all the urgent care places were closed for Easter, though. He just needed some antibiotics for a rather nasty lung infection.)
So 3 miles with Christine tonight, shod. It was SOOO fragrant. All the citrus trees out here are blooming their heads off, and the sweet, delectable scent envelopes you in its warmth. It's like nothing you've ever smelled before. Olfactory heaven. I've never witnessed anything like this anywhere else we've lived. Yummy. 1 more mile barefoot. Today was the first time I felt the urge to run fast barefoot. It just felt awesome and I wanted to stretch it out a little. BTW I had some tightness in my hips when I ran with my shoes on tonight, but there was no trace of that later when I ran barefooted.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
| 2 miles barefoot. My left hip was a little sore when I woke up this morning. I'd like to say I cut my run short to be easy on my hip, but the truth is that I finished reading a book during part of my running time: "The Long Walk." Ug, it was painful and treacherous reading. Not sure I'd recommend it.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 1.00 | 3.00 |
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So let me explain...
I sort of accidentally purposefully temporarily rashly cowardly made my blog private for, like 18 hours as a consequence for laying around being a dork for an hour during the only time I had to run yesterday. So there is no need to email Sasha and ask him what the heck is wrong with his computer program. So, suffering from small lapse in running motivation, people. A little help? But I did finally get out late last night. My dog was the hero of the moment. After being used to run at least 3 miles a day, he was about ready to explode with energy (and that usually ends up causing a rather nasty clean-up effort on my part) so I finally conceded and got out the door with him. Just another reason to love my dog. 2 slow miles shod, and then a fast mile barefoot. I don't know the time because I wasn't wearing my garmin, but it sure felt good to stretch out a little. I've been running extra slow for almost a month--ever since I started having knee pain. But there were no ill effects or running faster, so I am feeling slightly encouraged. But let me just put this out there--THANK YOU SO MUCH BRENT! You always know just what to say.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.50 | 1.00 | 4.50 |
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3.5 Outside with my dog at "heaven can wait" pace. Had to go under and over fences in a construction site. How dare they do construction on my 3.5 loop--they didn't even ask me! Then a marathon pace mile barefoot in 8:47. Thanks for all the encouragement, you guys. I am starting to bounce back. I can FEEEEEEEEL it.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.30 | 0.00 | 4.30 |
| Doggie be good miles. 1.3 miles bf. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
| 1.7 Miles getting to and from the park with my kiddos in the jogging stroller. Then 1.5 barefoot in the grass while they played in the sand. Well, "grass" is a gross overstatement, really. More like prickly dead plants! Running barefoot on the sidewalk is more comfortable. Ah...desert landscaping. Could've been worse, though, like if it were LAVA ROCK I guess. Then a quick 1.8 tonight to make it to 5 for the day. Oh, and I was barefoot again. So today was a new all-time barefoot record for me at 3.3 miles. I'm still liking it a lot. If anyone is interested, here's a good link to a scientific review of the health benefits of running barefoot:
http://sportsci.org/jour/0103/mw.htm Anyway, it appears that I'll be running the Provo City Half Marathon! YYAAAAAAAYY! It is a long story, but I thought I was going to have to skip it because my hubby James is injured and didn't want to go. I tried to be like "oh my dearest sweetheart, whatever the heck makes you feel better during this terrible time will be fine with me..." But I couldn't keep it up. I got more and more grumpy and unmotivated about running. Finally I told James to go ahead and stay but I'm GOING! The prospect of being home alone with our 3 rascally little boys quickly put the fear of God into him and he's now quite happy to be on board. : ) I am really excited about doing this race because it marks the one year anniversary of when I started running post-high school, and it is something I definitely never thought I would be able to do. It is also the last hurrah of my youth--I turn 31 on Monday. : ) I've never really raced anything longer than a 5K. Wonder if it'll be much different... (AH!)
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
| 3 Miles with Christine at 10:08 pace. I feel soooo good about deciding to run the half this weekend in Provo. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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YIKES! What a run! I ran 2.85 with Christine, which was uneventful, and then headed out for 1.15 more barefoot with Sparky, which was a little TOO eventful. Whenever I run with Sparky I always try to get him to "meet" the other people and dogs that are out on walks so he can learn how to do it without going crazy. Anyway, there was this little old lady walking a HUGE black chow mix. As I approached her I said "Is it okay if I let him meet your dog?" She was just starting to say that it probably wasn't a good idea, when her dog lunged, broke his leash and came tearing off after us. Let me just let that sink in for a moment... Big dog, frothing at the mouth, tearing after Lybi in her bare feet and her little dog. Thank goodness I watch "The Dog Whisperer" just about every day (he he he). I knew that if we ran he would bite us. So I just stood my ground while the dog chased Sparky around my bare legs while I tried to block him with my stance. I had the wild thought that there was no way I was going to let that dog hurt Sparky--he'd have to go through ME first. Meanwhile, the other owner appeared too afraid of her dog to do anything! (I can see her point, though, that dog was dang frightening.) He really seemed like he wanted to ELIMINATE Sparky. I kept trying to grab Sparky and, finally succeeding, quickly turned his rear towards the attacker. That's what dogs want--to sniff each other (according to Cesar Millan). And nose to rump is safest because eye contact is what triggers attacks usually. So that humongous dog made a big ol' deal about sniffing Sparky up most abusively, but at least he did not bite. Sparky was so scared he had an accident. I don't blame him a bit--I almost did the same thing, to be honest. After a couple minutes of this, and with both dogs somewhat calmer, I kept waiting for that lady to come get her dog. But I finally had to say "can you come get him, I think it's okay now." I felt quite heroic at the time, but I think I would've rather skipped the whole interlude and left my courage untested. Interestingly, I got my very first barefoot injury, although it is of little consequence. The other dog stepped on my foot and scratched me with his toenails. A mark of courage! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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Look! It's a taper. Tomorrow early we will be leaving for Utah. I'm SO excited. (I never did get out! Stayed up WAAAAAAY too late packing for our trip.)
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
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Ran in Provo with James and Sasha. 2 miles in 18:48. I am feeling massively encouraged by all the analytic-sounding but supportive stuff Sasha said about my running. Now it's off to bed, so I can sleep well! The next time you hear from me I will be slightly tired from running my first half marathon ever. : ) Oh! I forgot to mention that I got to meet PaulT, just for a moment. He looked really fit. Always fun to shake a fellow-blogger's hand. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Race: |
Provo City Half Marathon (13.11 Miles) 02:03:18, Place overall: 72, Place in age division: 12 | | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.50 | 13.11 | 13.61 |
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Well, that was different!
I had a troupe of people helping me accomplish this little race, and I have to say that I don't know if I would have made it to the end without them! It was kind of a relay, and I was the baton, of course.
I started the race with Adam (Calcio) from the blog. He took me to the 3 mile point. He was pleasant and laid back--he's a young guy who has lived all over the world. It would have been interesting to talk to him, if I hadn't been breathing hard. During these miles, my main thought was that it was feeling way too easy and that I couldn't believe I was running faster than my usual 11 minute miles. By the end of those three miles, my average pace was 8:50. Calcio took off at mile 3 to finish the rest of race with a speedy 10 miles to finish at 1:42.
My husband James was waiting for me with 2 little 3 year-olds in a jogging stroller to take me through miles 3-8. It was REALLY nice having James with me for this portion of the race because, with the addition of the humongous stroller, he cut a wide swath through the wind. This portion was WINDY! Every time we turned, I thought that the wind would HAVE to finally be at our back, but it really seemed like it was either a headwind or a unfriendly cross-wind for 90% of the time. The course turned onto the Provo river trail for most of these miles, and I was immersed in the lovely sights and sounds of nature UNTIL my little son started crying, and wouldn't stop around mile 6.5. Other runners would run by and try to comfort him. It was aggravating/pathetic to listen to him cry and not be able to do anything about it, so I finally told James to take off and get him out of the wind around mile 7.4 or something. By the time I got to mile 8, my average pace was about 9:11 for the whole race to that point. I did slow down, obviously, but there were a lot of gradual inclines and that darn wind in this section, so I felt it was acceptable. If the race had ended there, I would have been quite proud of my efforts. But it goes on...
James ran the kids back to his parked car, and left to pick up Sasha from the finish line to take me the rest of the way. So mile 8 was the only mile I ran alone. I was still feeling pretty good on that mile.
Now comes the rest of the race, which I would prefer to leave out, but I will include it for the sake of posterity.... Sasha joined me at mile 9. I had been visualizing exactly how the end of the race would go: Sasha would appear, he'd tell me to go faster, I'd respond appropriately, push myself through the pain and end triumphantly. That was the dream. But real life is sometimes cruel, and the main point of the next 4.11 miles was that I was rather pathetic and ended up with an almost embarrassing last couple of miles. Sasha tried everything with me, he sang "BINGO" and "Come, Come Ye Saints." I had told him that it would help if he would sing, but the truth is that I just wanted to make him jump through some hoops to show his dedication. (Evil Snicker.) I began to feel like there was a thick rubber band binding me to the 11 min. girl. I could pull against the rubber band for a short burst, so I could obediently go give Sasha a "low 5", but then the rubber band would snap me back into and even slower pace. I began to run with my eyes closed for most of the time. It is slightly unsettling to see someone running with you who looks like they are just taking the most leisurely pace possible, while you are running as fast as you can. So I just listened to the almost constant encouragement, and peeked out every once in a while to make sure I wasn't wandering into the road. The absolute hardest mile was 11, and 12 too, and 13 was no good either (he he). One of those miles (I can't remember which) was my only mile at over 10 pace (10:30 to be exact)). That darn stupid mile was full into the wind (Sasha does not stop much wind) and uphill too. It made me angry, which delighted Sasha. I think I punched Sasha 3-4 times during that mile. He encouraged me to get really angry, but of course, as soon as he told me to, all the fun of it was destroyed and I just kept dragging along. I took off my shoes with about 2 miles to go & finished in my socks. I thought it would allow me to fun faster without dragging all that extra weight, and it worked like a charm...for at least 20 meters. Very shortly I was back in drudgeville.
Michelle Lowry, the Queen of the Blog, joined us for the last mile and a half or so. I really enjoyed having her there, and I think she may have saved Sasha's life just by being close enough to be a witness. Calcio joined the party with about half a mile to go, and I was doing my best just to keep upright at this point. It was weird. I thought I would be battling pain, the way you do in a 5K, but I didn't. My knees, hips, feet, everything felt no pain at all. But WHOA, there was just a complete lack of energy that was almost impossible to wade through. It was hard to even care that I SHOULD want to go fast. But all I really wanted was to lie down and sleep. I think I did kick a little for about 50 yards at the very end. Whatever, I finished the darn thing, and I only walked through 2 aid stations (I kept getting gatorade up my nose, and those times I wanted to actually DRINK it) but I did walk just a few steps on a monstrous overpass climb, which was cruel beyond measure.
Overall, I feel kinda proud that I did it, and kind of embarrassed about those last few miles. My ave. pace was 9:26, or something like that. 10 miles at 1:32:08, which is a huge PR for me.
Sasha got the "quote of the day" award after the race. I looked at myself in the mirror and said "my face looks puffy to me, does it look puffy?" To which he answered "yes, but no more puffy than usual." Sometimes I think it's a really good thing that guy's so fast.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.17 | 0.00 | 2.17 |
| A little over 2 miles tonight with Christine, mostly barefoot at 10:31 pace. Hamstrings felt a little tight, but overall, I'm not as sore as I thought I would be. This leads me to believe that probably my trouble at the end of the race on Sat. was really more due to running out of glycogen than anything else. Christine was absolutely baffled that I would want to run today. Actually, though, I couldn't wait to run!!! It was a busy busy day with traveling back from Utah, teaching a back-log of piano lessons, and having birthday festivities. But I finally got out. And I just have to say: don't let my rather morose race entry fool you, I was under the influence of exhaustion when I wrote that. I am more excited about running right now than I have ever been in my whole entire life, and that's no joke! That whole experience was a top five moment of my life, non-family related category.
I see now that it is an absolute privilege to be trying to push the limits a little more and more. Someday I want to run a half and be able to RUN the whole darn thing, not just survive it, and ooze my way through the last couple of miles. Hmm. I have to be careful, though. I am at higher risk for injury while I am recovering from this weekend. P.S. This has been one of my very best birthdays ever and thanks so much to everyone who was so supportive of my race and everything. It was really fun to meet a lot of you and the Blogger Open House on Sunday. *Yawn* Gotta go, I'll catch up with you guys tomorrow.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
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1 Mile this morning with the double jogging stroller & 80 pounds of kid. 2 Miles with Christine tonight at 10:21 pace. I continue to feel better and better about having run a half. I feel like I can do ANYTHING now. It's probably a good time to hit me up to do a multi-level marketing scheme. He he he. (Just kidding, please don't!) I know what I need to tackle next...EARLY morning running. It is a sad fact, but summer is just around the corner. Running around 5 am is absolutely essential to surviving the heat. I should make the adjustment now, while I am all pumped up. OK. Tomorrow, I'm going running at 5:30 am. If I don't...then...I'll...do 30 push-ups in one day (it would take a full day to accomplish this, since I can only do 1 at a time--laugh if you must.) But no worries, because I'm going running at 5:30! Time for some WOMAN POWER. (Kind of like will power, but it fluctuates a little more.)
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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Hey, check it out! Thanks to Adam for pointing out this picture to me. This is me finishing the Provo City Half Marathon in my socks. I see now how puffy my face is. JK. 
I can tell exactly what I am thinking by looking at this picture. The Pachevs have a lovely, deep, cushy couch in their front room. I was thinking 'I'm gonna lay down on that couch and not move for at least an hour!' And I did. (Actually, I think this is when I first saw my three little boys waiting for me just across the finish line. But the couch truly was an inspiration to me during miles 11-12.)
One mile barefoot today at the crack of dawn, 10:17 pace
3 more tonight at 9:55 pace, shod. Gotta calm down, that is just a little fast for me in a recovery week. Everything feels good now except possibly my hamstrings, which are just a little tight.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.10 | 0.00 | 2.10 |
| 2 Miles with the jogging stroller. 10:47 pace, which is fast for me with the stroller. The other 2 miles I had planned for after my missionary appointments did not happen, much to my chagrin. (I got home at 10 pm!) I opted to try for a somewhat decent night's sleep so I could wake up darn early Friday morning. I feel okay about it (only 2) since it is a recovery week. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.10 | 0.00 | 3.10 |
| 1 mile barefoot in the darn stinking early morning hours. Groan. But is was beautiful--50 degrees and birds chirping and everything. Then 2.1 more miles after stopping to shoe-up. I think it was all around 10:30 pace. I feel sleepy. Possibly I will run with Christine tonight. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 8.00 | 0.00 | 8.00 |
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1 token barefoot mile with my psychotic but also majorly cute dog. 2 more miles with Sparky (shod), in an effort to induce the kind of exhaustion that will keep him from barking at every single bug he finds in the back yard. Our beloved next-door neighbors have very sensitive ears for barking. (I don't blame them. Well, maybe just a little teeny bit I do.) 5 more miles just to induce the kind of exhaustion in me that will prevent any unnecessary household cleaning. There was a very stiff wind. Headwind on the way out (agony!) and tailwind on the way back (bliss!). 10:17 average pace for the 8 miles.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.68 | 0.00 | 4.68 |
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2 miles barefoot with Sparky SOOO early, 10:08 pace. 2.68 Miles later with Christine at 10:20 pace, and I almost pulled a Superfly 'cause I had just drunk a biggish orange julius and it didn't want to stay put. Blech. But I have an iron stomach, so I was spared any extra humiliation, which is good, as I had already had my fill today.
Today has been all about humility. This morning on my barefoot run I was starting to feel really proud of myself. I hardly even feel it anymore when I run over little tiny rocks. My feet are like IRON! And just as I was thinking this, I stepped on a big, poky rock right on my forefoot, between my big toe and that skinny toe right next to it. It HURT, and I stumbled--nearly falling to the ground. Strike one. (I'm okay, though--don't think I even bruised it.) THEN, later, I was at the grocery store with my precocious 3 year-old. I just had to grab one quick thing, and I was in a hurry. I was whipping around that huge, long car-shaped cart, and my 3 year-old says "Mommy, you are going the wrong way!" I hate it when my kids tell me what to do, so I said "Adam, don't tell me where to go...I know where I'm go..." and just then I bump into a large aisle display of ranch dressing, which collapsed, knocking bottles everywhere. I couldn't even figure out how to put the thing back together. But anyways, my little guy thought it was really funny. And for me, well, it's always nice to meet new people--especially grocery store employees. And nothing grounds you better than, well, getting on the ground and picking up lots of stuff. Strike two. So anyways, now I'm off to bed before the pitcher gets the better of me.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.27 | 0.00 | 4.27 |
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It strikes me that I may possibly be making headway on my goal to become tougher and have more self discipline. I bounced myself out of bed at 5:30 this morning so I could go run 2 miles barefooted with my dog before becoming fully conscious. I've got to tell you, I am still feeling reeeally excited about running. 3 more miles planned with Christine tonight. Christine couldn't make it, and I just went out for another 2.17 at 9:37 ave. pace. Most of it was at 10:05 pace, but the last .5 I was around 7:45 pace, which is my goal 5K pace. I just wanted to get home. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
| 2 Miles barefoot before sunrise with Sparky. I am starting to feel really comfortable with the early wake-up. It's the 9:30 bedtime that is giving me fits! Of all the ignominious running injuries one can possibly sustain while barefoot, I think I have located the stupidest: dogs stepping on you. Remember that chow that attacked us recently? He stepped on my bare foot and scratched my foot with his nastly ol' toenails. That was my first barefoot injury. Well, today Sparky lunged after a barking dog behind a fence, and ground my pinky toe into the pavement as he took off. Now it is swollen and stinging. Da! He only weighs 17 lbs.! I hope it is not broken, again. Humph.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.25 | 0.00 | 4.25 |
| My little toe has been a little bit problematic for running. Pretty swollen & difficult to get in my shoes. Also hurts barefoot, though. I find that the toes have a more more active part to play when running barefoot, and this particular toe seems to have decided that it needs a vacation from active duty. Anyway, I didn't get in all my miles yesterday, which bugs me. But today I was able to squeeze my running shoes on and go for a leisurely 4.25 at about 10:40 pace. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.25 | 0.00 | 4.25 |
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So far 2 for today. 1 mile barefoot, which was pretty comfortable in most respects (no dog). 9:30 pace (I wasn't looking at my Garmin, usually I try not to go below 10:00 on an easy run.)
1 more with the pooch in shoes at 10:40 pace, and my right knee started to really bug me. It is the same kind of bugging that I have had within 2 weeks of most of my races. Feels like referred pain, not a real injury, but it still does hurt and causes a limp. I am going to try to scrape the heck out of my quads and gluts with (don't tell Josse) the back of a butter knife and see if that helps. He he he. Don't slay me, it feels exactly the same!
I've decided not to register for the St. George Marathon this year. Sasha's advice was to wait until I could run a half in 1:50:00. He said that with 3 months of solid, uninterrupted training, I could probably do it on a favorable course. But to me 3 months of perfect training seems a little out of reach at this point. Maybe next year. I am perfectly happy to focus on the shorter distances for another season. Well, not perfectly happy, but happy enough. (BTW don't bother leaving me a comment that I should just chuck Sasha's advice, because I won't. As far as I'm concerned he is practically psychic when it comes to all things running.)
Update: 1.1 miles after scraping, barefoot, 10:30 pace. Knee felt very good! And there was much rejoicing...yea.
1.15 a little later, still barefoot. I am beginning to really not trust my shoes. Tomorrow I've gotta go try on new shoes. 10 miles planned for tomorrow. If I get them in, all the credit goes to Adam for the swift kick. : )
GOOD LUCK AT THE SALT LAKE MARATHON TOMORROW FRBers!!!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 10.00 | 0.00 | 10.00 |
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4 miles at once--all barefoot. So that's a new barefoot distance record for me. (But I did wear socks.) 2 miles in shoes that shall remain nameless. I am chucking my old trainers--I think they hurt my knees. BUT I can't run anymore barefoot tonight because I am on the brink of getting a blister on my forefoot. And I HAVE to run 10 today (because of blog persecution). So I had to improvise. 4 more to go. The night is still young. 2 more miles...2 to go. 2 more. How tedious! Longest 10 miles I've ever run. The good news is that my knee feels absolutely fine. I think it is a combination of scraping, and chucking my running shoes that has done the trick. Next week I really have to get new shoes of some kind, though. Possibly Nike Frees or something like that.
Pictures! Can you guess which toe got smooshed by my dog?
Still, he's not ALL bad. Cuteness covers a multitude of sins.
As usual, he is completely under my control for the photo shoot. Just like he always is...at all times. ;)
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.37 | 0.00 | 4.37 |
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What a lovely little run tonight! Felt fabulous. 4.37 miles in shoes at 9:54 pace on ave. The moon looked like a big golden coin hanging in the sky.
Today was a good day--check out the good fortune....We are replacing out air conditioning unit/furnace (which is actually a bummer, because if I wanted to spend that much money on the house, I'd much rather it be for something FUN like new carpet or countertops, or something). Anyway, these big sweaty guys were working on installing it ALL day. But they couldn't fit it in our attic for some reason. I felt very sorry for them--they worked long and hard, and ended up having to remove the stuff they had worked so hard to install. The good part, though, is that the AC company is now going to give us an even better system for the same price. But I have to stay home and babysit the house again tomorrow, which is a little bit blah. Another fun thing about today is that I was able to connect with 2 long lost friends--my adopted brother, Gokalp Ekremoglu (who lives in TURKEY!) and James Nuttall, who was a college bud (hi James!) on Facebook. So I take back all that terrible stuff I said about facebook. He he. Don't worry though Sasha--the blog is still the best ever. :)
Congratulations to all the BRAVE SOULS who ran in the Boston Marathon today! Can't wait to read the race reports.. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.13 | 0.00 | 4.13 |
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2.85 at 9:41 pace early this morning. *Whew* Christine and I are switching back to early morning running together. So now I have absolutely no way out of waking up at 5:30. That's good. Can't leave important stuff like that up to groggy will power. 1.28 barefoot tonight at 10:02 pace. I'm exhausted. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.50 | 0.00 | 4.50 |
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2.85 early with Christine at 9:47 pace. The side of Christine's knee was hurting a little bit. So we decided to run a little slower and take it easy. However, neither Christine or I have a very good sense of what speed we are going and ended up running faster than usual. Weird. Usually I try to run faster, and end up slower. The speed that we go is usually dependent on what we are talking about at the time. If we are excited about it, we go faster. At the end I taught her how to scrape her quads. Hope she'll be okay tomorrow. 1.65 More with James and one kid running & the other two in the jogging stroller. I think Sam ran 1 mile in about 10:05 or something like that, and Joey ran .65 miles at 11:10 pace or something like that. This is Christine. She's an athletic chica! In addition to running, she lifts weights, jumps ropes and/or does some other form of cross training every day. You'd never guess that she was old enough to have a daughter starting college this fall, would ya?
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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Ditto from yesterday. 2.85 with Christine early at 9:57 pace. Christine's knee started hurting with just .1 to go. That chica just does not slow down! I try to slow her down (for her own benefit!) and she just gaps me. Hope she'll be okay.
1.15 miles barefoot this evening. I am in the mood to argue, I mean, debate, if anyone is interested. : ) The burden in on you to pick the topic, though.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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Early morning solo run. 2.63 at 10:10 pace. I'll run another 1.5 this afternoon with my kiddos. Today will be my first full day of homeschooling. Wish me luck! No...PRAY for us. Pray very hard! Had a really fin day with the kids. 1.37 more miles tonight barefoot.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 8.50 | 0.00 | 8.50 |
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Nice longer run (for me) with James. We got a babysitter and spent 1:27:00 just running and talking. 10:22 pace. Really more like 10:40ish pace for the first 7 and 8:50 for the last mile and a half. It was really nice spending the time with James. The only annoyance was that I KEPT getting rocks in my crocs, I mean, shoes. Okay okay, I'll admit it, I've been running in crocs for the last week. I didn't want you to know because I didn't want to seem TOO much like a Sasha wanna-be, but my broken pinky is still swollen, and all other kinds of shoes squish them.
So here is my official product review of $4.88 fake-o crocs from Wal-Mart :
Pros: Very lightweight, very comfortable, very wide toe box to facilitate pinky mutilations, seem very cushioned, but you can still feel the ground a little (esp. when you step on a rock or something) inexpensive, widely available, did not cause any aching knees or hips. I had absolutely no hint of injury this week.
Cons: Rocks get into them--not just every once in a while, but EVERY SINGLE RUN--at least once. Today I had to stop probably 5 times to dump out a little pebble that had hitched a ride. Also they do not stop thorns. I got poked a little by a thorn I stepped on today, although it did not break my skin or anything. They also seem to be very short for the size. I usually wear 7s, and I had to buy an 8 just for my toes to fit without rubbing against the front. This was a good week for me. I got out every single morning at the crack of dawn! Consciousness not required--just miles.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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2.85 this morning with Christine at 9:46 pace. Feeling busy these days!
Last night I dreamed that I easily beat my old high school record for the 5K in a local race. It was such a nice dream. A dreeeeeeeeeeeam is a wiiiiiiiiiish your heart makes... 1.15 more tonight barefoot. I have achieved a very deep level of exhaustion today just working with my kids. Can't wait to hit the pillows tonight.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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2.85 with Christine at 9:57. We were both dragging like roadkill this morning. I don't think I even opened my eyes all the way until we were a mile out. Why am I soooo tired?
Mmmmm. I feel soo much better after taking a quick nap this afternoon. Thanks for the tip, Kim! 2.15 barefoot miles this evening at 10:25 pace. Felt really good.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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2.85 with Christine at 9:46 pace on ave. You know how you are supposed to check your smoke detectors once a month to make sure the batteries are still good? Well, it is very inconvenient to get out the ladder and hike up there so many times. It is much easier to do what I did yesterday and basically burn some scrambled eggs to ashes, and get those alarms all going off at once. The only drawback is that it stinks, and it is noisy for quite a while. ;)
Later....For dinner tonight we ate at McDonald's. But I abstained. I just kept thinking about that 1:50 half in my future. So I came home and ate Raisin Bran instead. : ) 2.15 barefoot tonight at 9:40 pace on ave. I focused on relaxing the whole time.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.15 | 0.00 | 2.15 |
| 2.15 at 9:57 pace including a short stretch of walking. For some reason I got a really painful cramp in my chest this morning. Scared me just a little because it was right where I think my heart is. It didn't go away when I slowed down or even walked, so I just cut my run short. Probably caused by a lack of chocolate in my diet. ; )
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| I'm taking an extra rest day for my heart. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 10.87 | 0.00 | 10.87 |
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Bleh. I had to wait for James to get home from the Father & Sons campout to go for my run. (I still had my little 3 year-old who was sick and struggling with asthma symptoms.) So it was almost midday when I ran. It was good--I had almost forgotten what it feels like to get heat exhaustion. You get that nice layer of dead skin build-up on your lips and start seeing little purple men (not really). But anyway, I hope to get a few more miles in when it cools down this evening. Later...4.79 at 9:52 pace just to push me over 27 for the week. I've been in high 20s for several weeks now. Time to step it up to low 30s. Wish me consistency, everybody!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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2.85 With Christine this morning 2.15 This afternoon on the treadmill. I am so happy to have the use of our treadmill back. It works beautifully! James had to do some complicated repair/replacement dealio, but it works great now. James and I are both recovering from post-Sunday nap syndrome. We both got great, sumptuous naps yesterday and suffered the traditional Sunday night insomnia as a result. We are both flying high on about 4 hours of sleep today. Not good! Tonight we have vowed to go straight to bed when our oldest is down, around 8:30. We shall see. Hold me to it! And don't let me off the hook with the whole "but it really DOES take 20 min. to brush your teeth if you do a really good job" routine. One of the ironies of life is that the more tired you are, the longer it takes to get ready for bed. Why?
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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I feel like a broken record player. 2.85 with Christine at 9:39 pace. Every morning just the same. But it's good, right? I have a schedule right now that is really working, and this slightly faster easy pace feels exactly the same as 10:30 pace used to feel. I felt great this morning--well rested, even. Ahhh. 2.15 on the treadmill. I feel really good today. It's hard to explain, but I feel like I have a spring in my lower back. Not a bad feeling, just energy, and strength. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Like somehow the muscles of the back play a role in running. Anyway, it feels good. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
| Gasp! Look at that. I actually ran a different route with Christine this morning. 3 miles at 9:47 pace. Christine is such an entertaining person. We talk non-stop for the entire run every time. The first thing she says to me every morning is "I'm sorry!" Then she will usually apologize about 5 or 6 times on our run. If I get a rock in my shoe, she apologizes. If I trip, she apologizes. Any time I do anything unexpected, it triggers another apology. Ever know someone like that? She is just cute. Today she apologized because I couldn't find my shoes when she got here. He he he. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
| 3 miles on the treadmill in the afternoon. 2 more miles in the evening outside. BUSY! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
| Terrible night's sleep. I dragged myself through the day and finally got out for 3 miles in the evening. BUSY DAY! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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Groan. This is the day of which I am ashamed. I completely skipped my run. Missing a weekday is bad enough, but when I miss a Sat. I loose fully a third of my weekly mileage. I had a huge piano event today that I was kind of in charge of. I really really hate being in charge of stuff--it just does not come naturally to me at all. I'd so much rather be an enthusiastic supporter! Anyway, there were 300 piano students, 30 piano teachers, theory tests, individual performances, scales evaluations, written reports, oral reports, composer oral exams, sight-reading, duets, original compositions and a partridge in a pear tree. Ug. It went smoothly, but it was taxing making the final preparations this week. Glad it's over. I got 4 hours of sleep last night and was on my feet ALL day--from 5:15 am to 9 PM. I did not drag myself out for my 10 miler like I should have. I was in the last stage of sleep deprivation. They are 1.) tiredness 2.) grouchiness 3.) fuzzy head syndrome 4.) the weirdness, which is much like depression. Today I was in "the weirdness" after the event. I wish I had dragged myself out for at least 2 miles. As it was, I was doing well just to get in bed and pull the covers over my head.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.75 | 0.25 | 5.00 |
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I just ran 3 miles with Christine at 9:52 pace on average. I finished reading "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer (author of "Twilight"). Any chicas out there read it yet? It is GOOD! I want to talk about it with someone. *Later* It's been too long since I ran barefoot, so I dusted off the ol' feet and headed out for a leisurely 2 miles. I got a little bit antsy when I heard a song I liked on my Ipod so I ran the last quarter in 1:33. (6:12 pace--that is darn fast for me.) I've never really tried to run fast barefoot. I liked it. I got the tinglies and everything. *Blush* That sounds totally wrong, but you know what I mean... 9:21 pace on average for the whole run.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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3 miles this am at 9:57 pace on ave. What a great run! The temps were perfect, with just a touch of moisture in the air--the promise of rain. The air was thick with the tangy scent of water on the creosotes. Ahhh. I can't believe it--I actually love running! For so long I was running just so I could blog. Then I started to like seeing progress/improvement. This moved on to getting excited about the health benefits--the increased energy and vitality. Soon I started getting excited about racing and achieving my personal best. But now, although I still like all those other things, I really, truly enjoy just getting out there and feeling truly alive every day. This is a red letter day for me. Even if the blog went down tomorrow (heaven forbid) I would still get out and run everyday because now it is finally part of me, and not just something I force myself to do. 2 more miles this evening with my dog. No touch of soreness from my tiny, miniature speed workout yesterday.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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3 miles this morning with Christine. She got really dizzy and had to stop and go home before we were half-way done. I think it was because of lack of sleep. Hope she'll be okay tomorrow. 2 barefoot miles tonight at 10:07 pace on average. Nothing too interesting to report other than that a big dog tried to kill me. No time to elaborate. *Yawn* my pillow is expecting me... |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
| I got up to run with Christine this morning, and promptly konked out on the couch while I was waiting for her to arrive. She never showed, and she didn't call--that's the very first time that's happened. Hope she's okay--I better call her. James woke me up within 20 min. but I didn't have time for a full 3 miles. So just 2 for this morning, SLOW. I am feeling a little low on energy and have a sore throat this morning. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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5 beautiful miles this evening. I really enjoyed it. Today was my piano recital, so I hyperventilated for at least 45 min. while I listened to my students play. It is so silly, I get more nervous than they do! Except I stay nervous until they are all done, whereas they get to stop being nervous once they play. I'm always thinking "oh, here comes that one part....oh please oh please oh please...Ahh good, oh, here comes that other part..." For forty-five...loooong...minutes. Seems like there should be some kind of cardiovascular benefit. Anyway, that is a huge burden off my shoulders. Now I get to relax and do nothing but play with my kids, I mean, homeschool, for the next 2 weeks. (I believe school can be playful!) Spring break for the piano teacher! Time to celebrate.
I suppose if I really want to indulge, I could watch "The Office" while I fold laundry! Wooo-hooo!!! It's funny, my life is sooooooooo boring on paper. These are the things I do: run a long ways, take care of my kids, homeschool, teach piano lessons, clean as little as I can get away with, hang out with James, blog, oh yeah--and do ward missionary stuff. That's pretty much it. Yet somehow I get a kick out of this simple little life of mine. I remember when I was working full time and hated my job, I used to fantasize all the time about just walking out into the wilderness and living like a bushman. Now I am doing the next best thing. He he he.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 10.00 | 0.00 | 10.00 |
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I got out a little too late this morning and was only able to do 5 before I started frying. So I guess I'll have to do another 5 after the sun goes down. 32 miles for the week! Yea, finally in the 30s. Hope I can actually graduate to the 40s someday soon! 3 weeks of low 30s, 3 weeks of high 30s, then 40 will be my target. There is a 5K next week and I am really looking forward to it. Time to make a serious try for that old high school PR! By the way, who won the Ogden marathon? Top 3 were Logan, Seth, and Sasha, I know that. I can't find the info anywhere. Later...5 outside at night. Bleh. Still too hot.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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3 miles with Christine at 9:40 pace on ave. Doh! I tried so hard to get to bed early last night. I skipped my Sunday nap, got in bed early...but wouldn't you know it my kids inexplicably refused to go to sleep last night, and when they finally did, my dog woke me up with frenzied barking, and after putting him away I had a hard time getting back to sleep. I absolutely MUST have good sleep tonight and the rest of this week. My little 5K on Sat. is my BEST chance for breaking my high school record this season. Soon temperatures will be most unfavorable for setting PRs. Uuuugh. I want to break it sooo badly! I've been thinking about this for over a year! Okay. No stressing out. It is going to be fine.... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! 2 miles tonight, and it is STILL over 100 F. 9:53 pace on ave. It is supposed to cool down for the weekend. (I hope!)
I got new shoes today. I have a funny story about it, but I'll have to tell you tomorrow. Time for bed!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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3.35 miles with Christine this morning. 9:39 pace on ave. Eventful! Yesterday Christine's daughter almost got clipped on the freeway and swerved so hard that she ended up going into a tailspin and crossing all kinds of lanes, only to end up facing the right direction--completely unharmed. Thanks goodness! So the was conversation was even livelier than usual, and it was overall a pleasant run. Soooooo don't die of shock, but I went and got new running shoes yesterday. I've been running in crocs or barefoot for quite a while now. They did a shoe dog analysis/gait analysis that yielded interesting results. I've had my feet/stride analyzed 2 time previously and they both said that I over-pronated pretty strongly and needed a stability shoe (and the right foot could even do with a motion control shoe). But yesterday, the results were better! Left foot was completely neutral, and the right was not pronating so much, as that the arch was a little more flexible, so barely fits into the "stability shoe" category. Better, eh? I tried to tell him that it was because I've been running barefoot, but he laughed and said that if I'd been running barefoot and I needed stability shoes my arch would be worse, not better.... Not according to my feet, but whatever. So here's my funny story...the young man who was helping me asked me what my goal time was for the 5K this Sat. and I said "23 minutes," to which he replied by making a muffled choking sound. I looked at him and he was hiding a smile so I said "slow" and he said "yeah." So he thought my goal was laughable. I was just starting to think of a sign that said: "Wanted: Shoe store employee to do gait analysis and sell running apparell. Tact not required." Then he asked me if I'd ever done any longer races and I told that I recently ran a half in 2:03. He made another interesting sound, so I asked him what HIS half marathon time was and he said "2:04." He was so shocked that I could beat him in a half! It was very gratifying. 1.65 miles later with the kiddos and the double jogging stroller.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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3.35 outside alone at 9:30 pace on average. I am ready for Saturday. I'm going to show you guys that I can be tenacious. Any prayers for my little 3 year-old would be greatly appreciated! Yesterday he chewed up and swallowed some glass. I called 911 and the fire department came, and we took him in... NO cuts in his mouth or throat and now we are all just waiting to see if his body can safely expel it naturally. I am a mess. He seems completely normal, though. 1.65 a little later with my boys. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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3 miles outside alone. What a beautiful morning--so cool and humid. Reminded me of the beach for some reason. Hope we get rain. I run right after James gets back from his run every day, and he scared me a little today by telling me that he saw a real mountain lion not half a mile from our house. I've heard of mountain lion sightings close by, but I've never believed them. We live in a city! Anyway, although I was scared and alone, I was also very curious, so I ran over to where James said he saw it. With about 100 yds. from the "sighting" my feet just stopped without my permission and turned me around. I've got kids. I have to live. : ). By the way, let's not bring it to James' attention that I went looking for the mountain lion. I doubt he would be pleased. 2 BAREFOOT miles outside in the RAIN! 9:29 pace on average. Yippeeeee! It was puddle splashing fun. You've got to try it. Make sure you know your route really well, though. It would be harder to see glass and stuff. I really like barefooting. I wish I could transition to running barefoot all the time. The thing that keeps me from doing it is that then I feel like I have to run the same little .5 mile loop all the time. I don't feel safe just taking these bare puppies wherever because of the possibility of broken glass. Have I ever mentioned how much I HATE broken glass? I HATE IT! Whoever invented glass should be forced to eat it every day for breakfast, with no sugar.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
| 3 miles outside. Wow, the temps were perfect--54 degrees at 7:30 I hope it is like this tomorrow too! James is home today. Yea! We are all going to the zoo today, so that should be a fun time. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Race: |
Arizona Road Racers Summer Series #1 (3.13 Miles) 00:23:37 | | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.25 | 3.13 | 7.38 |
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Woo-Hoo!!! I've dreamed about this moment for a WHOLE STINKING YEAR! I've visualized it hundreds of times, hoped, prayed, and hungered...all for this day. THIS is the race where I squashed my high school 5K pr of 23:58 with room to spare. Feels insanely good to trump my high school self--I was such a punk! It was time to bring me DOWN! (I need therapy, I know.) 1 minute and 3 seconds faster than my old-lady pr of 24:40 set just a couple of months ago. I started with a nice 2 mile warm-up and a ridiculous number of potty stops. As I was warming up at 10:30 pace, I was thinking, 'Man, this feels hard. Can I really run 3 min. a mile faster than this?!?' It was a staggered start. The oldest ladies started first, followed by the 80 year-old guys. Then the 70 year-olds etc. I met up with Shauna, and was having such a great time talking to her (she is such a sweetie) that we totally missed our start time. Whoops! We ended up taking off with the fast dudes. This was a really big race for a 5k, and there was a pretty narrow road to run on. So WEAVING was the name of the game. How can I get past this 5 year-old running with his grandma--without bumping into Mr. Football fan over here? You expect weaving for the first .5 or so in any race, but I was STILL in major weave-central at 2 miles. It was actually a really good mental exercise for me. Usually I hate passing people. This time I had no choice. I passed someone every 2-5 seconds the whole race! I would estimate that I passed over 100 people, and I only got passed by 1 that I can remember. So, major success in the roadkill department today. (Never mind that many of them were octagenarians, but anyway.)
7:37 for the first mile. The first .3 miles were rolling hills with a net uphill. I wanted to quit after .8 (he he).
7:36 for the second mile. This is when I started to see that I could really break the record. Traditionally the 2nd mile is my slowest. I was like, "what? I didn't slow down? How'd THAT happen?"
7:30 I honestly have no clue how this mile wasn't slower. There was some downhill the last .2 of this mile (it was an out-and back course), so I suppose that helped. Sasha taught me how to do downhill when I did the Provo City Half, and I consider it a strength now.
:54 sec. for the .13 (7:00 pace) Right at the end my eyes started doing this funny thing--kind of like I had someone else's glasses on. Wrong prescription by just a little. And my eyes took just a little too long to open back up when I blinked. Weird. I am happy to report that I really gave my all in this race. This is the worst I've felt after a 5k in quite some time. In the finish chute, you had to put your foot up on a step for a volunteer to take off the time chip, so I stumbled up and wavered on one foot while staring at the sky. But instead of taking off the chip, the guy just asked "do you need to sit down?" I saw why he was deliberating--I had put up the wrong foot. *Blush* Overall a great race and a great experience. I have to thank everyone on the blog for helping me get to this point. I never reached my potential in high school because I had no concept of how long it takes for the aerobic development to peak. I'd only run during the cross country season and track season. In between I'd just hang out and get slow. I've learned so much from all the fabulous runners on this blog, and especially Sasha, with his pointed advice. In the last year I've taken 4 min. off my 5K time. 4 more minutes would give me a really competitive time! (Ha ha). But I do know this: there is a 22:XX in my near future. Time to go get it! PM ran a little with the boys. Had a hard time keeping up with my 5 year-old and I am not exaggerating!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.10 | 0.00 | 3.10 |
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Ow! It is absolutely ridiculous to be this sore from a race as short as a 5K. I can hardly walk. I stumbled out the door like a drunk and chug-a-lugged through 1.1 mile at 11:49 pace. The first quarter was at 15:00 pace! My hamstrings are the main culprits. PM Ahhhh. So much better. I really wonder if running barefoot uses different muscles or something because I was able to run barefoot without much discomfort at a more or less normal pace. 2 miles barefoot at 9:47 pace on average. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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2 miles in crocs at 10:09 pace on ave. A little ouchy, but felt better as I went along. Yesterday I returned the shoes I got last Monday and I ordered some Vibram Five Fingers from Steve Hooper. This is the color and model I am getting:  They are basically shoes for people who want to run barefoot. More like socks, really...but the sole is tough enough to provide protection against glass and stickers. Only 4.4 oz each! I'm really looking forward to trying them out. Can't wait until they get here. PM 2 miles on the treadmill, around 9:40 pace. Felt just a little tight in the hamstrings at first. All systems are 'go' for tomorrow.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
| 2 miles at the track with my whole family. Somewhere around 11:00 pace. 1 of the miles barefoot. The track doesn't feel especially good on bare feet. 3 miles outside in crocs at 9:58 pace.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.50 | 0.50 | 5.00 |
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5 on the treadmill in 49:40. OK people. I need a little help. I am having a little bit of waffling in terms of what my primary goal for running is right now. It used to be that any time I was having a hard time getting out the door for my run, I would just think about how good it would feel to bring down my high school record. Now that it is out of the way (hooray!), I have been waffling between 3 running goals: 1.) 22:XX for a 5K 2.) sub 50:00 for a 10K, or 3.) 1:50:XX for a half The significance of the 22 min. 5K to me is that that is where I've always started thinking of a chica as darn fast. It would be nice to be able to think of myself as fast. The 10K time is significant because it is the dividing line between the boltushkas (meaning talkative woman who runs mainly for social reasons) and the non-boltushkas. Now I KNOW that it is actually a really good description of what kind of runner I am (vomit!), and Sasha has said that it is not a derogatory term, but I still just can't help feeling like I am being called the Russian 'B' word! I would LOVE to ditch the title. On the downside, I have never run a 10K and I am a little afraid of the distance. It's long enough to be aggravating, but not long enough to inspire awe from non-runners (haha). The half time is significant because a certain red-headed running guru has commanded (advised) me not to run a full marathon until I can do a 1:50:00 half. According to Pachev prognostication, I should be able to do it by the end of July, providing I have solid training until then. So there will be no marathon for me until I can accomplish this.
So there it is. What do you guys think I should focus on? Vote!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
| 5 miles outside this evening. 3.8 shod (crocked & socked) followed immediately by 1.2 barefooted. God's shoes! 48:10 (9:38 pace).
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 10.00 | 0.00 | 10.00 |
| *Whew* I got really hot and tired on this run. I left too late--around 8:30. It got pretty hot. (Hot enough to start seeing stars by the time I was done!) I had a pretty good mild bonk today because I ran 5 miles right before going to bed last night, then 10 more miles 1st thing this morning, and the only calories I took in between the 2 runs were from a little bit of gatorade and some cheddar bunnies. I took off my shoes for the last mile. My body kept sending me hungry, hot, and tired signals, and I had to smile and think 'you gotta start storing more glycogen, baby!' 9:50 pace on average. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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Well I think I've learned something about moderation. I felt ill all day yesterday after my run--weak, nauseated, and...more weak. I finally just went to bed early (8:30), hoping I would feel better today, and I do. I felt bad being so useless yesterday though, so I better not run any more Friday nights! Today is June 1st. I am sure that date means nothing to most of you, unless it is your birthday or something, and if so, Happy Birthday. But to my slightly superstitious brain it is a day of dread. The 2 worst, most excruciatingly painful days of my life both happened to fall on a June 1st, so I always have a secret desire to crawl back in bed and cover my head with my blankets every time it rolls around. So far, so good. Maybe it's not too late to just crawl back into bed...
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| Night Sleep Time: 9.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 9.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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3 miles this morning at 9:29 pace on ave. All I can say is THANK GOODNESS for early mornings. It is so much cooler. I am pretty happy with my pace because I think this is the first time an easy run has had a pace below 9:30 without much effort. I am sleepy today. Has anyone ever had a 3 year-old wake up at 3:30 AM and INSIST that it is morning? Guess we put him to bed too early last night.
This week I am going to try for 35-39 miles. I've had 3 weeks in a row of 30-32 miles. Time to step it up in sleep and miles. PM 2 more miles at 9:37 pace, barefoot. I am really feeling for all the fabulous runners on the blog who are struggling with injuries! Get well soon, everyone.
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| Night Sleep Time: 6.50 | Nap Time: 19.00 | Total Sleep Time: 25.50 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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5 Miles on the treadmill. I am exceedingly tired this week from very poor sleep. I don't think I will be increasing my miles this week, but hopefully I'll still break 30. Has anyone ever heard of people's teeth never growing in? I took my son to the dentist and he said that a few of his grown up teeth just never developed and will never come up... What the heck? |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.54 | 0.00 | 5.54 |
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4 miles outside at 9:31 pace on ave. 1.54 barefoot miles tonight at 9:30 pace on ave. How's that for a boring entry? Better add something controversial: Why is it that man-sweat is so much stinkier than chica-sweat? It IS true, and don't try to get politically correct on me. It's true...to my everlasting dismay. Again, no need to bring this post to James' attention.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.65 | 0.00 | 5.65 |
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4 miles outside at 9:31 pace on ave. I was soooo tired this morning. I've been having a little bit of insomia this week. And I miss Christine. She is out of town for most of the summer. 1.65 I ran barefoot with all 4 of my guys. Sam ran a mile, then Joey ran .65. It was fun and refreshing. My little boys compulsively pick flowers (or flowering weeds) for me whenever we are outside. I doubt that it endears us to the neighbors, but it melts my heart. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 8.81 | 0.00 | 8.81 |
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8.7 Miles nice and early in the morning at 9:45 pace on average. Ahhhh. Nice and cool (for now!). I spent fully half the time thinking about my next half marathon--drooling for a glorious finish. It is pretty standard for me on a run to mostly think about having a good race sometime in the near future. I wonder if this is typical. What do you guys think about on your solo runs? How much time do you spend thinking about your next race? PM Ha ha, I just ran .11 miles just to get me above the 30 mark. Very important. :) Phshaw, am I tired. I better go drink some gatorade and eat some jelly beans, I mean, sport beans. I didn't handle my long run well yet again. I was so tired and lethargic today! I almost fainted, actually. I went over to my friend's house later in the morning to help her try to organize some stuff in here house--light lifting and such. Anyway after about 2 hours of doing stuff, I started to see spots and felt like I might pass out so I had to leave before we were finished. I ate, and nothing got better. I rested, and I didn't recover. Finally I drank about 24 oz. of gatorade and I was bounding around (not really, but at least able to do stuff) within 15 min. I don't know if it was the water or the electrolytes I needed. But one thing is certain: I am not as tough as Walter...not by a long shot. That guy is always running something like 18 miles, and then pouring 24 yards of concrete. Bleh.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.60 | 0.00 | 5.60 |
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I started out on the treadmill this morning because James was running outside. The stupid thing is that I can't remember how far I ran! It was either 1.35 or 2.35 miles. I don't know--I was just watching "The Count of Monte Cristo" until James got back. I'll assume the lower number just to make sure I don't short-change my training. Anyway, then I kicked off my shoes and ran 2.6 outside. It is a little bit strange to run on the ground after running on the treadmill. It almost feels like the ground is still moving. It's odd. My pace for the barefoot section was 8:59 on average, which is faster than usual. I think it is just because I was warmed up. It didn't seem like it was faster than I normally go. I hope that means I am getting faster! We'll see. I still haven't decided which half marathon to try for 1:50 this fall. "When the runner is ready, the half marathon will appear" is kind of what I am thinking. I wish I could stay local, and yet avoid the crushing heat of the valley. Maybe there is some little half in Tuscon or Payson or something. 1.65 miles in the PM barefoot, with my little kids. James kicked off his shoes for the run, too. Then, of course, my kids BEGGED us to let them run without shoes, too. So our whole family went running through the neighborhood barefooted. We got lots of looks, and even some comments from people in cars. "Doesn't that hurt?" and so forth. It was a fun run. My kids did really well barefooted. Zero complaints from my 5 year-old. And my little squeaky wheel 7 year-old only whimpered twice when he stepped on a rock.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.20 | 0.00 | 4.20 |
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4.2 outside with the dog this morning. Around 9:44 pace, I think. (It got messed up with doggy stops.) Looking forward to playing with my kids and swimming today. I am considering dropping my Saturday long runs. It is just too disruptive to my...I dunno, EVERYHING. These last 2 weeks I have not been functional all day on Saturday after my run. Will it give me the same benefit to run 6 days of 6 miles each as 5 miles on 5 days and then a 10 miler? Keep in mind that my goal race is a half marathon & that I usually break up my daily mileage into 2 runs. Any input?
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 6.20 | 0.00 | 6.20 |
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1.45 on the treadmill at about 11 pace, then 3 more miles outside at 9:09 pace on average. Not sure why the treadmill seems harder at a slower pace. I do have it set to a slight incline (1), maybe that's the culprit. 1.75 barefoot with my family in the PM. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
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4.35 Outside with the pooch. If I run with the boys this evening (which is my plan) I should come out at exactly 6 for the day. I have so little free time these days--I feel a little like a sponge that is being wrung out. It really makes the days fly by. Can it really be Thursday already? I must be getting old. Pretty soon I'll be saying that the last 20 years flew by in the blink of an eye. 1.65 this evening at 9:17 pace on ave. Most of it was at about 9:33 pace, but I did a fartlek at the end at about 7:00 pace.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 6.20 | 0.00 | 6.20 |
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1.7 miles on the treadmill around 9:45 pace, followed immediately by 2.85 outside at 9:07 pace on average. I couldn't find any clean shorts today, so I snuck one of James' pairs and headed out. Add that the list of humiliations I am willing to suffer for consistent training (along with underarm chaffage) because they are so big on me I look ridiculously like a mushroom. 1 mile barefooted with my 7 year-old. I had to run on the asphalt because the trash cans were all out on the sidewalk and I was pushing the double jogging stroller. Running barefoot on asphalt in Mesa in the summer is...well, let's just call it uncomfortable. So I put my shoes on to finish up with .65 with my 5 year-old. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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This morning our church group (ward) had a great activity. They had laid down all these humongous tarps overlapping each other to make a GIGANTIC slip'n'slide that went down a huge hill. They had a fire hose blasting water down it. It was SOOOOO much fun! 5 people could go down at once. James & the kids had a major blast, and I couldn't have enjoyed it more...unless possibly I could have done it without hurting myself. :)
I am all messed up! I was running and jumping all sprawled out in the air on each run, then, well, who knows what happened on the way down. I would turn and twist and scream. It was so great. But I did something to my left hip and now I'm limping. Dang it! My intuition is telling me to ice it. I may try shuffling (running) later. It is my left leg (for once!) and it feels weak. Every once in a while my knee buckles when I am limping around. What really hurts is to bring my leg forward. No can do. A lot of the discomfort (pain) seems more like referred pain than real pain. Probably this will go away really soon and everything will be peachy...I hope! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
| 1 mile on the treadmill, barefooted. Humph. I didn't like it. Taking it easy at around 11:00 pace. 4 miles immediately after the treadmill around 10:30 pace. My left leg felt pretty good, but bothered a little esp. on the little downhills.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
| 3.1 miles outside at 10:20 pace, followed immediately by 2.9 miles on the treadmill at 10:30 pace. James and I have to swap outside/inside running times so that one of us will always be here while our little kids sleep, so this is what I have to do if I want to get all my running done in the morning (unless I wake up at 4:00, but that is ABSOLUTELY NOT a suitable wake-up time in my book. It's a better BEDTIME after reading a good book all night. But there are bloggers who do it...Jon does it every day! Jtshad too, I think. Ouch!)
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 6.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
| 6 miles on the treadmill...slowly. Eventful. (Groan...I do NOT want to tell you what happened. I feel like such a dork!) I was watching a movie and not paying very much attention to running, when suddenly I felt like someone grabbed my foot and pulled it HARD. Actually I had drifted to the side and partially stepped off the moving belt. So of course I did the logical thing and screamed and fell down. In the process the big toe on my right foot somehow got folded back under itself for a second. It is quite painful today (I am blogging this on Thurs.) I am terrified that this may affect my ability to run this week.
It is almost like I am subconsciously sabotaging myself by flinging myself off hills and treadmills. This is absolutely ridiculous. So I am going to get this off my chest and hopefully I can stop hurting myself. 1.) I don't want to run a marathon right now. 2.) I don't want to run a hot half marathon, so I may wait longer than just this fall to run my next half 3.) I don't want people to judge the efficacy of the blog or anyone's running advice by watching me. If you want to see if Sasha knows what he is talking about when it comes to running, look at how many miles he logs without ever getting injured, and how well his kids are doing. *Phew* Now I feel better--much less inclined to try "sudden death" training techniques. :)
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
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3 miles on the treadmill, slow. Absolutely no problem with the toe, which was slightly disconcerting. I probably should have run on Saturday...dang. Hey, since I've decided this is my off season and I'm not feeling all that inclined to race, I've come up with a new goal to help keep me motivated. I just checked back on the blog to see what my record is for most consecutive days of running since I started up running and blogging over a year ago. It is 24 (Sundays don't count). It was right after I humiliated myself at the Provo City Half, and right before my recent break-through 5K. So here are the rules: must be at least 2 miles. OK, I guess there's only one rule. But anyway, let the games begin! Today is day one. Hopefully I will make it to day 25 and beyond! And in other news, I moped around the house in my pjs today until the day was half over because I was sulking that my parents left for home this morning. We had such a nice visit with them! If I were to design a heavenly life for me and I was completely in charge, my parents would live in our cul de sac, along with the rest of my siblings and several other dear friends. It would have to be a big cul de sac, I guess. There'd be several people from the blog there, too, and running buddies galore. And summers wouldn't be so dang hot...I could go on and on...
In other news, my little brother just got engaged!!! I am happy for him.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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Day TWO of my longest string of running days ever... 1.65 outside this morning. I got out a little late and I couldn't finish on the treadmill because one of my little guys woke up early. 2.35 on the treadmill tonight. Since I recently *ahem* fell off my treadmill, I actually hooked myself up with the little safety thing. It's supposed to stop the treadmill if I fall or whatever. But what actually ends up happening is that I inadvertently pull the string with my arms while running and it puts the mileage counter back at zero...so I have to start it up again and add up the fractions of how much I think I probably ran to see how much more I have to do. I did that FOUR times. No wonder I never use that darn thing. It would be nice if things that made us safer were also convenient (unlike carseats! But don't worry I still use them).
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
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Day three I never would've run today if it weren't for the challenge. I spent the day traveling to Chicago to meet my new sister-in-law. By the time we were all done visiting and I was finally back at the hotel it was 11 pm. So I dragged Laura with me to the gym (to make sure I wouldn't get abducted that late at night) and got in my compulsory 2 miles. Poor Laura! She sat there and fumed about the weird Chicagoans we had met that day--and there were many. It was quite an adventure. Have you ever had cab drivers argue over who gets to take you somewhere? It is most uncomfortable. A different cab driver got into a shouting argument with another commuter while we were in the car. Weird beyond measure.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
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Day four Traveled back from Chicago. I know, a short trip! Got in late, dragged myself through 2 miles on the treadmill again. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
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Day 5 I am taking a rest week...I guess. I just don't seem to want to run, but running only 2 miles seems like nothing, and for that I am grateful. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.60 | 0.00 | 2.60 |
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Day 6 Today is our anniversary--11 years! Love you James!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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Day 7 5 easy miles this morning. I am amazed that I was able to get up at 5 ungodly o'clock to get it all done. Partly on treadmill. One mile with CACTUS spines all over my hand. Have you ever seen those red fruits that grow on cactus? I really wanted to see if the fruit was squishy, you know, like a peach? Curiosity is seldom rewarded, I am finding. One mile or so carrying dog...stuff in a baggy. Running is not a dignified sport.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
| |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 4 Miles outside in New Mexico with my sister, Laura. She is my ultimate running buddy. It was really fun for me. One odd thing is that my leg turnover was about twice as fast as hers and we have the same leg length. How'd THAT happen? My leg turnover increased a lot during the period when I was barefooting more. Ug, Laura made me run FAST at the end. I thought I would have to slow down a little to stay with her, but she sprinted like greased lightning with about .1 to go and the truth is that I ran as fast as I could and couldn't seem to quite keep even with her. Sheesh! Who is the one who's been running longer here?
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
| |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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4 miles, mostly outside at 9:42 pace. Last quarter of a mile on the treadmill. Soooo, you may have noticed that I didn't break my most consecutive days of running record. Man, I hate falling short of my goals. However, I was prepared to cut myself major slack because for the last 2-3 weeks I was seriously convinced that I was expecting. It turns out, though, that my body was just playing a little joke on me. It is a stupid joke, and I have heard it before, yet I somehow fell for it once again. It is easy to believe something you would like to be the truth. Anyway, no harm done other than a week-long vacation from running. It was a pretty good vacation. I got a little more sleep and got my legs nice and rested up. Now it is back to the serious business of surviving the summer heat. I need a snow cone.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
| |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 4 miles on the treadmill at about 10:30 pace on average. I was watching "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and just kind of keeping a wary eye out for making sure I don't step off the belt. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
| |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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4 miles . Half outside, half on Fred. Our internet connection was down yesterday so I couldn't blog my run. One whole day off the blog! It seemed like an eternity. I don't see how anyone can run without being part of the Fast Running Blog Community. :) I know I wouldn't. Those of you newer to the blog probably don't know how I started running. I married this really fast guy who seemed to need running like I need sleep. Although I ran in high school, I saw no point in running without a team to run for. Anyway, one day James told me that some guy he met on the internet and his family were going to come stay at our house for the weekend. I was a little bit ??? James, are you SURE they are not murderers? But murderers seldom travel with children, do I was willing to give it a try. So Sasha and Sarah and their adorable kids stayed at our house during the Del Sol relay--back when the blog was too small to support a full, fast relay team without including many non-bloggers. Anyway, while they were down here I gave Sasha a 10 min. piano lesson and he ran 1 mile with me (which was an accomplishment for me!) So since then Sasha has played the piano every single day and I have become a runner. Although Sasha never misses a day with his piano practice (and I definitely have missed days of running) I am still winning, since I spend a LOT more time running than he does playing the piano (just kidding, Sasha). I think the reason I wanted to start running was because I saw how running could be a family sport--with the kids involved and everything, instead of just being James' weird compulsion. So far it has produced a lot of positive results. My favorite is probably that my little boys were all able to come off their asthma medication. But being able to run a faster 5K than I ever did in high school was also very nice. I have to remember these things at times like this when I am struggling just a bit.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
| |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
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Wow! Today was SOOO much nicer. Best run I've had in months!!! It poured last night so today it was cool and fragrant. YEA! There is an inverse relationship between the temperature and my running enthusiasm. I got all excited today looking at upcoming races. I want to run the Moon Valley Grasshopper Bridge 5K BARE FOOT this year and hopefully get a new personal record. (Shauna, you must come if you can--you are my lucky charm. What else explains my last 5k PR? I've heard that elite athletes are very superstitious...so, if I can't be as fast as them, I figure that at least I can be as susperstitious... ) There are also some local half marathons coming up that I am...hmmm...seriously starting to...possibly consider...at some point.
Tomorrow we are heading off to Florida for a week. I am SO excited about that. (But geez, has anyone else noticed that we are gallavanting off to a different state every other week?!) Anyway, I packed running clothes! But I won't be able to blog. Take care, bloggies! I'll catch up with you guys when I get back. Be good: just say "no" to carbonated drinks.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
| |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| I intended to run today, but I had to pack in the evening when I should have been running. Minus ten points for poor planning. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
| We traveled to Florida all day today. We had quite an adventure when our taxi never showed up to take us to the airport. We ended up having to dash down there and park in the airport parking. We were hideously late, and I was very grateful we run with our boys. You should have seen us in the airport running with our suitcases and our three little boys following close like ducklings. It truly was cute, and frantic. We finally got in around 10 pm and I went for a frightful run alone in the parking lot. I felt scared the whole time and finished as soon as I could stomach. I though it would never end. I had to do so many loops! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Today we went to church in Fort Lauderdale Florida. The people were so nice and friendly! They must be used to having visitors. Also, fully half of the congregation was late for church, which was just interesting. We took the kids beach combing and we gathered a big ol' pile of shells. They were absolutely everywhere! Even the sand was made of small pieces of shells that had been worn smooth and it sparkled beautifully. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
| |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| I went to run on the treadmill, but the gym had closed already. I didn't want to run in the parking lot again! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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4 miles on the treadmill in a resort gym in Florida. It was boring except for the lively dudes who kept yelling out how many bench presses they had done, followed by excessive manly sounds of triumph. Those guys were yelling the whole time I was there and I was really glad to leave. I think this was the day that we went to the science museum. This was one of my favorite things on the trip. We got to see lots of live animals on display in the everglade exhibit. My absolute favorite was the AMAZING frog exhibit. So many frogs! The little venomous ones from the rainforest were the most adorable. There was a little luminescent one that is so venomous that even if it just touches you, it would be quite dangerous. The exhibit said that it was more venomous than any snake or spider on earth. Imagine that! There were also these little dime-sized ones that were SOOOO cute. 
Now try to tell me that that's not cute! What you can't tell is how tiny he is. He would fit on my fingertip. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
| 2 miles, unshod. I wanted to have a nice barefoot run in Florida. Unfortunately, there weren't sidewalks for most of this run, and though I enjoyed the temp and the scenery I ended up with horrible blisters on my feet that made it quite painful to walk for a day or two. Dang! I think it would have been okay if I didn't have to keep getting my feet wet. Every time a car passed me I jumped off the road into the lush grass on the side of the road, which was invariably soaked. Having dry feet is imperative for preventing blisters! We spent most of this day in the resort pool, which had water slides and other fun stuff for the kids. My 3 year-old was brave enough to do the water slide! I was impressed. The thing I enjoyed most was watching the daddies from our group play water volleyball with 4-5 year-olds in their arms. Every time the big beach ball they were using went over the net, the dad would lift the kid high and the kid would hit the ball. The kids felt like a million bucks getting to play in an important capacity like that, and the dads all got a major upper-body workout. It was adorable.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| I missed a couple of days of running here, but my feet needed to heal a bit anyway. What I really enjoyed during these days was swimming in the ocean. I liked to swim out past where I could touch the ground and just float like a piece of kelp, and enjoy the slight feeling of danger, since I'm not that great of a swimmer. There were little tiny fish that swan around and tickled your toes. They added some fun. Something stung me though--probably a jellyfish? It wasn't a bad sting. I only felt it for 20 min. or so. Just glad it was me and not one of my kids. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| I didn't run today but I did walk around almost continuously for, count 'em, EIGHT hours. The girls all went shopping today at this HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE mall. My mother-in-law is a shopper! I never thought a 60 year-old lady could walk that far, that fast, for that long. I most ly tagged along, but I got some really fun stuff too. All the chicas were sore the next day.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 4 miles early in the morning in Florida. It was hard for me to run early in the morning while we were there because of the time difference. 6:00 felt like 3:00 am! Anyway, I finally did it and got really lost and found my way home again within 4 miles. Thank goodness for Garmins! Only slightly disappointed to not see an alligator (he he). We spent most of the rest of the day packing and traveling home. We also saw that kids' movie , "Wall-E." I liked it! It was really different from all the other Pixar movies. Nice ending, I thought.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
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1.4 miles barefoot, and the rest in crocs. It was just as humid as the east coast, but at least it was relatively cool. The clouds made a beautiful sunrise. My feet are still a little sore from the blisters I got in Florida. I want to barefoot as much as I can in the next 2 months so I can be ready to race barefooted in September. The race directors aren't going to give me a hard time, are they? There are no rules against running a race barefooted, right? Wait...if there are rules against it, don't tell me. That way I can at least plead ignorance. ;) |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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2 miles barefoot at 9:30 pace. I got out a little late this morning and didn't have time for more. But I hope to run a few more miles tonight. And by way of confession.... I may have accidentally ingested some chocolate on my Florida trip. This is a picture of a pitcher of melted chocolate overcoming my resistance to temptation. 
2 more miles barefoot tonight with the dog. Stupid dog tripped me up! So...I fell again. A cute, fluffy, little off-leash dog ran up to Sparky and he freaked out and dashed in front of me. I skinned my knee a little and embarrassed myself in front of yet another neighbor. I hate meeting people and having the first thing they ever say to me be "Are you okay? Do you need help?" Obviously. Dogs are the cause of 90% of my injuries.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
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2 barefooted miles in the morning. I had a limp from the knee that I fell on yesterday. I have a bruise right on my knee cap and it is a little swollen. I just kept it really slow, like 11:30-12 pace. My knee felt better throughout the day and I really should have run last night but I had a stubborn moment and stayed in. James was home sick. I felt bad that he was miserable, but I must admit that I liked having him around. He has a very soothing presence.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
| 2 miles on the treadmill this morning, watching "Groundhog Day". Felt great today! I gradually increased the pace until I got to 7:30 pace at the end |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
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2 BF miles this morning outside. I forgot to set my alarm last night, so I slept in until 7:00 (which means I got 10 (!) hours of sleep last night! It was absolutely heavenly. The bad side was that I had to face a little more heat than usual because of the lateness of the hour. I started out at 10:40 pace, and gradually increased the pace until I was going quite fast at the end. My average pace for the run was 9:05. It was a nice invigorating run. Then I took the boys to the library and the Phoenix Science Center for the rest of the day. Fun times!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.15 | 0.00 | 2.15 |
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2.15 barefoot miles at 8:57 pace on average. I pushed a little on the last mile, and ran the last .1 as fast as I could. It was a really nice morning--not too hot! The only item of interest was that I got behind a walker with her ipod cranked up just a little to high, and I almost ran into her because she did not hear me repeatedly saying "excuse me." I was going to go around her, but she stepped sideways a little to avoid something on the road and almost got smooshed by me. I'm amazed she didn't scream. If I were her, I would've screamed. I mean, here it is, 6:00 am, you're completely alone, and then out of nowhere a runner materializes right next to you and almost collides with you. Very ominous. It probably helped that I was wearing my pink running clothes today. It's hard to be scared by someone in pink...
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
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2 miles outside BF. I had to hurry a bit to be back in time for Shark Week on the Discovery channel. Happy Shark Week, everyone!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
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So, you may have noticed that I am not running so very much these days.... It is true, I have really been feeling yucky toward running. I have toyed on an off with the idea of just giving it up. There are a several reasons not to give it up, though. The days that I miss my run really do not seem to go as well as when I DO run, despite my reluctance. Last night I prayed that I would wake up with a desire to run, and I did! My eyes popped open at 5:40 without an alarm clock (THAT is a miracle, people) and I went for a short run on the treadmill. It felt good, kind of like scratching an itch. I think that until this lull in running enthusiasm subsides I am happy to just run 3 miles a day to maintain health. And in other news, BREAKING DAWN comes out tomorrow. YEA! I hereby pledge to...try very hard...not to stay up all night tomorrow reading. Doh! I can't promise, though!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
| 3 miles on the treadmill followed by a lot of reading! I watched a terrible kids movie, can't remember the name. I decided that I absolutely MUST run a marathon at some point. I wonder if 2009 will be it! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
| Feeling pretty sleep deprived--running on just 3 hours and NO nap! But I eeked in 2 miles anyway on the treadmill just for the sake of consistency. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
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3 miles on the treadmill this morning in about 28:00 minutes. So Laura asked me to elaborate a little on why I went from not wanting to run at all to pondering a marathon. So, here's a long pithy BORING explanation that I strongly advise all of you not read:
You guys never listen to me... Okay, so I've been looking back through my blog trying to solve the case of the missing motivation. I think my motivation peaked after running the Provo Half Marathon in March. I was so humbled that I could fall apart that much just by running a longer race. It ignited a kind of excitement. A real challenge! (Plus, proximity to the Pachevs always makes me want to run. It takes a couple months to wear off.) So I had 2 really good running months. At the end of May I ran a great 5K that achieved the goal I had most set my mind on for over a year. It was a little having that goal crossed off. I didn't feel as passionate about any of my other goals. So then it got super hot and all my running buddies gave up running for the summer months. So, working backwards, all I need to do is set a new goal that I honestly really feel something about (that's where the marathon completion comes it), find some new running buddies, the weather will cool on it's own in the next couple of months and we're all good! I work with motivating people a lot as a piano teacher. The thing that I try to remind them of when they go through rough times is that they pass! Sometimes all they need is a fabulous new song, a performance situation, or going to a piano concert to snap out of it. Discouragement is not a permanent thing, but quitting is.
I'll tell you why the marathon goal is the coolest goal in the whole world in Wed. post.
PS I finally got my 5 fingered shoes and they don't fit! My toes are deformed. They're more like vestigial toes than anything else. Rot it all!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 4 miles on the treadmill, watching "Pride and Prejudice" with Keira Knightly. I LOVE that one scene in the rain. I had to rewind and watch it again. Ug. I wrote a long thing on marathons, but I took too long and didn't save it, so it fell into the black cyber hole. Durn! Maybe I'll try again later.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
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2 Token miles on the treadmill.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| This day I was going to run after I finished some work preparing some new curriculum for the new year for my piano studio. Too bad I badly underestimated the time it would take me to get it all read and printed out....I stayed up all night! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
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2 Miles after watching the Olympics. Don't you just love watching the Olympics? It makes me proud to be a human. ;) I've been a little sick ever since my all-nighter last weekend. (Go figure!) But anyway, although many of you may want to give up on me, you will see that things are heading up for me in the running dept. You can't tell because it doesn't show in my mileage yet, but I can tell because of how I feel. You will see!
And guess what? I have located a possibility for a dedicated running buddy! I give piano lessons from 6:45 to 7:45 am on Tues. Actually, I just started this new schedule--today was the first time. But anyway, the mom of these two little guys ran around my neighborhood during the lesson, instead of hanging out in her car like a veal. Her name is Brynne, and she is sooooo cool! It would be an absolute delight to get to know her better. I better go call her now, while I'm thinking about it. She has 3 boys, just like me--that automatically puts her in the cool person group, or at least, the "What the heck happened to my sanity group? (which tends to correlate to coolness (or at least that there are a lot of funny stories to tell on our runs.)) He he he.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| Mixed feelings about my run tonight in the low-broil oven of early evening. Good-I am running. This is good, this is back on track Bad-Jeez, this seems like a really long way! 4 miles didn't used to be this long, did it? Ugly-Feeling plump in my cute clothes. Fat is so unforgiving.
But the worst tragedy is that I had to miss out on teaching discussions tonight. That is one of my favorite things in the week. Get better soon, Lyndsay! And I have one other important thing to say: Gooooo Michael Phelps! The universe has compensated you for giving you such unsymmetrical ears by blessing you with speed!!! Great job making the most of it! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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2 miles on the treadmill twice today. Look! 2 days of running over three miles in a row. Somebody call Guinness. This week my 5 year-old went to Kindergarten. *Sniff sniff* You spend all your time helping them and hoping they will grow, and forcing them to eat veggies so they will grow, making them go to bed so they can grow...and THEN a terrible, terrible thing happens. They grow!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 4 miles, all outside. 2 this morning, 2 at night. Beautiful both times. This morning it was cool, and there were some gorgeous storm clouds set off by the sunrise. This evening there was a big thunderstorm, and I got to go out after and run in the newly-washed glory of it all. One of the unexpected benefits of running for me is getting to see a lot more of nature. Any "nature" I see other than during my runs is usually unwelcome--i.e. a scorpion in the house or something. Yech! Dadgum nature!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 1.50 | 0.00 | 1.50 |
| It was cool and cloudy today. Yippee! I took my 7 year-old for a run outside. Missed my evening run, though. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.50 | 0.00 | 4.50 |
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2 Miles this morning on the treadmill, barefoot. Didn't seem all that bad today. Usually I hate running barefoot on the treadmill, but recently it has seemed less inconvenient to just run barefoot on it than to try to locate my shoes, if you can believe it. I just keep thinking about my tendons and ligaments getting tougher and more resilient to injury. Jeez, I hope that is what is happening. 2.5 Miles on the treadmill barefoot tonight. Yea, I broke 20 miles this week for the first time since the beginning of June! Now a slow and steady climb to 30 is in order. Wish me luck! Quick poll: My 5 year-old's KINDERGARTEN class has 37 kids in it. Doesn't that seem like a lot? Especially for kindergarten? The teacher and aid acted like it was a totally normal number. What is going on here?!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 2 miles in the morning, 2 in the evening. Both barefoot on the treadmill. Felt really good and perky tonight. 8:40 pace at the end. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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2 miles this morning barefoot on the treadmill. Wanna know something kinda cool and kinda wierd? I stepped on (kicked, really) an open safety pin that was jammed in the carpeting and it DIDN'T pierce the skin on the bottom of my feet. I thought it was just an errant staple or something that got stuck in the carpet, because all I felt was some snagging, but no pain. I'm take this as a sign that my feet ARE actually getting tougher, despite the lack of visible change. I had been waiting and waiting to see some evidence of my soles thickening, but to no avail. But this is good news!!! I don't really want to have ugly calluses on my feet, I just want to have TOUGH feet. So...tough and cute are not mutually exclusive. Tough, cute. Better than chocolate and peanut butter, and much less fattening. ;)
Anyway, I've gotta go get my last 2 miles in. Sorry I don't have much time for blogging these days, people! It's not because I don't care...I am just SO dang busy! When I get my fall schedule a little more under control I'll be checking out more blogs and leaving more comments, I hope. But for now [bulk comment coming]...um...Great run! Keep it up, you are an inspiration! 2 BF TM miles too late at night. Sleep running.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Ew! I feel sick today. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
| Well I woke up feeling a strong compulsion to run this morning. Nothing works right if I miss my run in the morning. I've got about an hour to an hour and a half before my kids wake up in the am to 1) run 2 miles, 2) shower and get all spiffy for the day, 3) fold a load of laundry, and 4)study my scriptures. If I REALLY book it I can get all those things done before my little blessings wake up and command my full attention. But if I miss my run, I don't do any of those other things and I wake up when my kids force me to (usually by jumping on my bed). This is the scenario that leads to still being in pajamas at noon, and needs to be avoided as much as possible. So, even though I was feeling sick yesterday (sore throat, feverish, can't hear out of one ear) I headed out this morning, determined to get 'er done. I felt really clunky this morning--kind of tense, and rather slow despite moderate effort. I was running outside barefoot as the sun came up. I was thinking about chi running. I'll admit it, I know nothing about chi-running, but Laura mentioned it yesterday in her blog, along with something about leaning forward a little bit. Now, you all know that there is a little axiom about a little bit of knowledge being a dangerous thing, and in this case it proved to be quite true. I basically just leaned forward a little more than usual, and reveled in the "chi-ness" of running in some Taoistic (I think I just invented that word) way. I definitely was able to achieve a high level of detachment, as my chi running suddenly became chi-flying, followed shortly by chi-crashing. I don't want to talk about it, other than just mentioning that this is by the most skin I have ever lost off my knees. But I finished my run and got the laundry folded etc., so the day went pretty well from that point on. I did start to feel sicker throughout the day though, so I will not be putting in my little end-cap of running this evening.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
| 2 Miles on the treadmill this evening. Pretty sore from yesterday's eventful run! Sore back, ouchy toes (they lost a little skin too), knee purty painful if I bend it too far, but fine for running slow. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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2 Really pretty BF miles this morning. It rained last night, and it always smells so good! I ran through a flock of about 50-75 little black birds, probably starlings. They all took off from the ground together, so I got the cool sensation of running through a living tunnel. I wished I had time to run a little more. Tomorrow morning I'm going to try waking up just 10 min. earlier and see if I can get 3 in the am instead of just the usual 2. Whoops, it'll have to be Wed. because Tuesday is when I start piano lessons uber early in the morning. I don't want my poor students to come and find me all sweaty from my run.......again. BLUSH BLUSH BLUSH! 2 more miles with my cute little guys tonight. I'm developing a grow-your-own-running-buddy program over here...so far so good!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 |
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I only got one mile in today! But one is infinitely more than zero. I got interrupted by children waking up during my morning run, and chose to spend time with James instead of running in the evening. I mean really, what kind of choice is that? Husband time trumps exercise anytime.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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2 miles this morning outside. Shod. The weather was cool and threatening thunderstorms. I thought I'd have a good story to tell...however, the clouds held onto the rain until I was done. The clouds looked really magnificent! It looks like the sky was engulfed in a gray liquid, and part of it had been stirred up by a huge spoon. And in the middle of this disturbed section, a wide, diffuse waterfall from sky to earth. Beautiful! 5 more minutes and I'd have been as wet as a chicken. ;) 2 miles tonight on the treadmill, BF. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
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2 miles in the morning BF on the treadmill. I am so excited to go on our trip tomorrow! We are going to New Mexico tomorrow, picking up my beloved parents and taking them to Colorado Springs with us on Sat. Then we will hang out at Laura's house (on the blog) and relax on Sunday. Then MONDAY is when the fireworks start. Laura and sweet hubby James are running a half marathon. I intend to run the last 5 miles or so with Laura, if I can keep up with her! I am so excited for Laura because this is her first half ever. Quite a big step! I'm also excited for James. It's been quite a while since he raced. Holy smokes, there are a lot of buttons to choose from down there. Er...I can't make decisions this late at night. I've got option shock!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.50 | 0.00 | 4.50 |
| Pain. I am soo sleepy right now. I stayed up quite late last night packing for our trip. Then we left at 5:30 am. We got in around 1:30 local time and had a great time with the fam. here in New Mexico. Happily, we were able to share in the joy of celebrating my big brother's birthday. I gave him a big book about weather, with lots of cool pictures in it, 'cause he is interested in weather. Unfortunately someone had already given him a big weather book last year for his birthday...ME! I completely forgot that I did that...I remember thinking that I should do it. I bought it online so it only took 1 min. of my time, and I guess it didn't leave that big of an impression on me! Today was all about running as a family. I ran about a mile with my 5 year-old (actually, I was chasing him and tickling him, but I kept it up for 12 min. straight, so that's got to be at least a mile.) Then I ran 1.5 miles with my 7 year-old. He is getting healthier and has a tougher mental attitude about sticking to it. I'm so proud of him. I'm gonna have to work to keep up with him in the next year or so. Then I got to run 2 miles with James, which was my favorite part. He has such a light, springy gait. I chuff along and he's *boing boing boing* bouncing right along side me effortlessly. It's fun. I never worry about dogs or weirdos when I am with him, even though he got some wolf-whistles and a "hey baby!" from a chica who passed us in a car. How rude to do that right in front of someone's wife! But I can hardly blame her. He's hot, no doubt about it. *Chuckle*
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.50 | 0.00 | 2.50 |
| Running with the kiddos in Colorado. Man, the altitude is really noticeable! I think it's about 6,500 here in Colorado Springs where Laura lives. She'll be flying if she ever comes down to Mesa to run a race. I'm gonna twist her arm and see if I can gt her down here. Annnnnnnnddd, this is the first week that I've run all 6 days in a long long time. First of many! I'm starting to feel the excitement about racing and training again. This is going to be a better running year for me than last year. You'll see! Fall, Winter, and Spring lay ahead like a big present for enduring the summer.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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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. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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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.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
| BF on TM |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| BF outside and BF on TM. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| BF on TM |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
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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. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 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!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
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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.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 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.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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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...
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
| Only 2, but that's pretty decent for a Tuesday. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.50 | 0.00 | 4.50 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.50 | 0.00 | 4.50 |
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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?
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
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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. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 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. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Race: |
MV Grasshopper Bridge 5K (Bare Footed) (3.2 Miles) 00:26:25 | | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.80 | 3.20 | 4.00 |
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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!"
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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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.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 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!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| My left hip was really tight last night when I finished my run, so I slept on a heating pad (on low) all night. In the morning it was SO much worse! Dang it, should've done ice instead. I tried to go for my run, and I seriously made it about 8 steps before I almost cried out. It's a sharp pain right over the ball of the hip joint. It has gotten progressively better throughout the day but not nearly good enough for running. I am walking pretty strangely, favoring my right foot a lot and now my foot is hurting too. Bleh. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
| |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Hip still sore esp. in the morning, but feeling better by the evening. Tomorrow we leave for St. George. YEA! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
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I jogged 2 miles with beloved hubby. He forced me to wear shoes just because we were in St. George and didn't know what the heck was on the ground in the area. Hip was okay. I felt it just a little.
We went to the blogger party in the park. I got to see Jody in person! That was exciting. Also met the Wild Bull in the flesh for the first time. Is he from a foreign country? I thought I heard an accent. Always good to see Christi, Mik'L, Josse, Kim and Tom, and Brent and Sylvia. Class acts, every one. I got to meet Dustin's wife, Sunny, and Monaflash's wife, Allison. Running widows unite! Michelle Lowry looked so dang athletic. She is skinnier than last year for sure. The other Michelle was there too--what a sight for sore eyes! She had her adorable new puppy with her, "Libby." (That is the SECOND friend of mine who has a dog with my name, btw. Luckily they are both cute dogs. Nobody go name a big ol' nasty mutt after me, 'K?) I got to meet the famous Kellies, too. I mean Kelli and Kellie. Both sweet chicas. JeffMC was there with Kimia. He looked like he was itching to get running. In between bites of raw garlic and avocado on bread, Sasha did a dramatic impression of a drunk Russian singing and passing out. (It is very fortunate that Sasha became an anti-alcohol Mormon athlete--he would have made a terrible drunk Russian. Fate is kind.) People were pretty subdued at the party. Next year we need some music or something! Or Marion. Marion could have revved it up, I think. ;) I missed Sarah.
James and I went to the pasta party at the convention center. I can't believe how much spaghetti I ate! You know how husbands sometimes gain sympathy weight when their wives are pregnant? That was me...trying to give James more glycogen by quaffing mountains of over-cooked noodles for him. That's the first time I've had non-whole wheat pasta in a long time. Slimy but satisfying. I spent quite a bit of time in the evening painting a ginormous banner to hold for the bloggers as they run by. I'll show you a picture tomorrow. Good luck bloggers!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
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2 miles on the treadmill after traveling home from a grueling, soggy, St. George Marathon! hips feeling better. Congrats to all the fine runners who finished the SGM this year! This was a marathon to remember. I regret I had but one voice to loose while screaming crazy-go-nuts at mile 24. And for the love of feet! So sorry to all the first time marathoners, who persevered beautifully. It will only get better from here.
You never expect to almost freeze to death in St. George--especially in early October! But you should have seen, dear reader...you just should have SEEN the masses of soaked, miserable, blue-lipped bloggers at the finish of the St. George Marathon this year. The have absolutely no fat! There is absolutely no insulation! I wished over and over to have some warm blankets to distribute. My kingdom for some warm blankets! I was quite concerned over both Kory Wheatley and Sasha, especially--shivering like they were about to have some convulsions. Lucky for them, there were both popsicles AND ice cream sandwiches on which to refuel. Honestly, some marathons! But of all the marathoners, the one I was the most concerned about was my dear hubby, James W. He trains in Mesa, in super hot conditions. His body has adjusted to shed heat. His lips were so blue, I honestly thought (HOPED) he had just finished sucking on a blue popsicle. But it was not so. So of course, I did the most logical thing and freaked out. We tried to get his stuff from the clothes drop, but the numbers on the bags had all washed off, and they couldn't find his. So, again, I did the most logical thing and wrapped him in some trash bags, and my coat. 
Well, nobody has ever claimed that running marathons is a dignified sport.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
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My little seven year-old was my buddy for half of this. Tomorrow I will be back at full distance, after carefully watching the ol' hip for a few days. All systems are go!
I finally read the thing about avoiding injury on the discussion forum & I'm feeling inspired. I think I've been doing a lot of stupid things, and I am going to do my best to break the habit! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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1.5 With my oldest boy. He ran so well today! 14:27. Isn't being a parent amazing? I really am happier when he does well than if I do well myself. Now to extend that kind of love to everyone...
1 mile with my 5 year-old at an exceedingly maidenly pace.
1.5 miles on the treadmill at an ungodly hour in the morning. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 4 miles for today. I am having a good running week. The weather is turning BEEEEEYOOOTIFUL in the morning. Perfect running weather. Couldn't ask for anything better. A sweet little running buddy whom I love, nice weather, energy and health to run, and a whole, long, fall-winter-spring season ahead of me to look forward to. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.30 | 0.00 | 0.30 |
| With my 3 year-old, if you can believe it. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.50 | 0.00 | 4.50 |
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3 miles alone at 10 pace, 1.5 with my 7 year-old at 11 pace.
This is my friend D'Net. She is a piano-teaching goddess. Last night we went out for some girl time.
Lettuce wraps ala Cheesecake factory...trying to find stuff without white flour or white sugar.
Creativity gone awry. I can't be trusted with purple cabbage...especially when I've been drinking (water with lemon, of course).
I did NOT eat the bread sticks.
But we put them to good use. Isn't she cute? |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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4 miles, and it was COLD this morning. We went straight from being 70 in the morning to being 45. This makes me worry for my dear friends in Utah. Where did fall go? I have something very special to share with you today. 
This is Shae. She is the best friend I've ever had. We were inseparable as teenagers. I called Shae a couple months before I turned 30 (freaking out about it) and left a message to tell her that I felt like I was turning into a fossil right before my own eyes. She she responded with a message notifying me that she had registered us both for a race, Pat's Run (4.2 miles) and to start training. So I did--1 mile 3 times a week. (I was so awesomely prepared for my race that I was able to run sub 13:00 min. miles for the whole race--I was pretty stoked.) 2 months later I met Sasha and Sarah Pachev. 
This is Shae holding her very first baby, Ava, a much anticipated and precious little girl. 
Ava birth was a miracle. Doctors all said that Ava would not survive labor--her little body was not built for life in this world.
We are all so very grateful that they were mistaken. Ava was a fighter. She survived the birth process and lived for 15 hours. 
Thank you, Ava! Thank you for fighting so your mother and father could hear your little voice and your hold you in this life. 
I do not believe that it is the length of time we spend on the earth that changes it--it is the love we bring to it. Ava's mission is complete. I love you Shae. I love you Dan. I love you Ava. This month I run for Ava.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
| 4 miles on the treadmill. I got up really early, got dressed in my warm running clothes, took 2 steps in the pitch darkness, turned around and hopped on the treadmill. I am being a ninny these days about running alone in the dark. Thanks so much for the kind comments on yesterday's blog. I know it is sad to see, but I think it is important to honor her little life in whatever way we can. I thought a lot about her on my run today. I want to be a fighter, too--not just always taking the easy way.
Today I taught my last day of Tuesday preschool (it's a co-op) until February! That means Tuesdays will go back to being an almost normal workload day. Yea!
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 |
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1.5 with my 7 year-old son. New PR for him: 14:21. He is really showing improvement, and it is all thanks to effective bribing. He gets a smoothie if he runs sub-10 pace at least once a week. 2.5 tonight outside. Man, it was GORGEOUS. Perfect temps, nice fresh scent, and no traffic. Love it. Guess what I did today? IREGISTEREDFORTHERAGNARRELAYDOWN HERE:THEDELSOLRELAYANDIAMSOEXCITEDIABSOLUTELYALMOSTCANT CONTAINITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! If it goes well I will register for the St. George Marathon this year. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.50 | 0.00 | 3.50 |
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1.5 with my little boy and 2 on the treadmill. I'm feeling pretty proud that I have been getting up super early for all my runs this week.
Can I ask you guys something? Remember how my little guy (3) had that high fever last week? Well, he has a fever AGAIN. No other symptoms. Just really groggy, sleeping alot. No coughing, running nose or anything. It got up to 102.8. No one else in the house has had any fever or any other symptoms. I took him to the pediatrician and she said his ears and throat were NOT infected--no other signs of infection, and that it is probably just allergies. What? Do allergies cause high fevers? I've never heard of that before. Have you? |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 10.00 | 0.00 | 10.00 |
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Did you see the mileage...I mean, did you SEE the mileage? This is the rebirth of the long run for me, and what a glorious birth it was. I met up with Camille and her cute little friend Bethany to run this morning. I was skeptical. I don't usually run more than 4 miles in a day, and usually I break that up into 2 runs, so I almost never run more than 2.5 miles. Can you believe it? I FEEL GREAT! I did it, and we did NOT fade one bit. 10:07 on average, with just a tiny bit of a negative split. NO sick feeling in my stomach, NO chaffing, no refueling, no water, and still NO whining. Well, minimal whining...I got a little bit of a blister from wearing shoes for the first time in a jillion years.
Camille, thanks so much for running with me! What a great run. It felt shorter than the 2.5 I usually run alone. You and Bethany are fun!
We are hoping to do this again--yea! Running buddies are the key to happiness. I totally have that runner's high feeling right now and can't wait for the rest of my day. Happy Saturday to you all!
***Later*** Oof, I am a little bit tired & stiff. Methinks I shall be sore tomorrow. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
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Well, I've felt better...I truly have. Was this because of my long run on Sat.? I don't know. I have a stiff neck. I woke up with it on Sunday. And one of my feet exploded, sort of. It felt fine Sat., it felt okay on Sunday, and today it exploded. THIS is what comes of running in dadgum shoes!!! High heels on Sunday do not help, either. Question: why can't they make dressy shoes that are cute and yet have no heels? It's like they decide that if someone is buying flats, they must not care about looks anyway. So they throw the ugly stick at you.
Anyhow, I am icing my foot and limping around. What are you up to?
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In other news, it has come to my attention that I have the weirdest readers on the planet. No, not YOU, dear reader...it is all those OTHER weird readers I am talking about. According to the quantcast demographic thingy at the top of this blog, the AVERAGE reader of my blog is:
1.) Male (how could this possibly be true, when 90% of the comments are made by chicas?)
2.) Between the ages of 12-17 years-old. Hmph. I can hardly even think of any guys on the blog in that demographic range that speak to me.
3.) Have children...that's a little frightening.
4.) Make a lot of money (McDonald's must have updated it's pay scale...)
5.) Have college degrees.
So, they are amazingly intelligent, promiscuous, overpaid teenagers. Hmmm. Don't be shy, now, leave a comment and prove your existence if this describes YOU. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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So would you like to know what the doctor said about my "exploded" foot? Ankle sprain. Nothing exciting, but definitely annoying. 2 weeks at least of NO running. After that, start with walking and gradually build up to running 2 miles. "Be super careful--this could drag on for months if you aren't careful. Your chances of re-injuring this are really high."
I did it on Monday, on my run with my little boy. It has nothing to do with the wonderful, awesome run last Saturday. I rolled my ankle, felt nothing unusual, finished the run feeling fine, and then it started to bug...then it started to ache, then it started to hurt, then it started to REALLY hurt. THEN I had to walk to get my son home from school because they CLOSED my dang road for resurfacing and I COULD NOT use my car. I thought I was gonna die. I kept thinking, "The pioneers walked all the way across the country, for goodness sakes, and they didn't die. I won't die from walking 1.2 miles...." And then I thought, "actually, many of the pioneers DID die. I am a goner." And the rest of the walk was just "ow. ow. ow. ow. ow..."
In the spectrum of bad things that can happen in a life (on a scale of 1-10) spraining your ankle has to be about a .35, possibly as high as .5. Not much. Nevertheless, I am very much put out. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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I miss running. I miss blogging, too. Last night I had a Fast Running Blog dream. Everybody from the blog was going for a 20 mile run together. Everyone was there, Kim and Tom, Sarah and Sasha, Lucia, Camille, Monaflash etc. etc. But I got sent back after half a mile and everyone else went without me. I was very distressed about it. Geez!
So I'm waiting for this mildly sprained ankle to heal enough to go for a short jog. It doesn't bother me very much unless I've been on my feet too long. Then it aches. I bet I could probably run a mile on it now with minimal pain, but I think it would ache afterward, and probably take longer to heal. So I wait...but not idly! I am trying to focus on improving my sleep habits and eat healthier.
Ooooh! I've started eating a "goddess salad" every morning for breakfast. It's basically 2 cups of fresh spinach, several sliced strawberries, some chopped nuts, and a honey vinegarette dressing. It is yummy, and I feel so dang healthy for eating it! Then about 2 hours later, I have "second breakfast," oatmeal. (Yes, I am on the Hobbit eating schedule. Elevensies next...)
Anyway, though I feel like a goober posting when I'm not running, I think I'm going to do it anyway. Sorry. |
| Night Sleep Time: 8.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 8.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 |
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The last couple of days I have walked a mile for exercise. My dear ol' ankle ends up just a teensy bit sore by the end, but every day it is a little better. I'm also doing a couple of exercises that the doctor recommended for strengthening the ankle.
You guys wanna know something fun? I have a hobby/obsession with at-home pregnancy tests. I've taken...hmmm...probably hundreds over the course of my marriage. I always feel like such a little scientist looking at the line slowly appearing--staring so hard that I can *almost* see a second line. It's fun. And rewarding, er... OK, it is a complete waste of time, but for the most part harmless. Anyway, for the past year and a half I have become increasingly annoyed at all these pregnancy tests that always come back negative. Only one line. Ever. But just over a week ago, I finally convinced one to give me the result I wanted: TWO lines! So, I am not quite at the point where I am announcing that I am pregnant. When you tell people that you are pregnant, you are basically saying that you fully expect to have a sweet little baby in your arms in 7 or so more months. That's not where I'm at. I really shouldn't even say ANYTHING for several more weeks, but DAH! Who can wait several weeks with news like this? I am almost ready to burst from not telling and it has only been, count 'em, 8 days! (But they were quality days...)
Anyway, at this point many people don't tell others because of the possibility that things won't work out. That's why I'm NOT telling you guys that I'm pregnant. But...is there anyone out there who would like to help me celebrate TWO LINE DAY!?! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 1.00 | 0.00 | 1.00 |
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I ran a mile today! YAY! There is such a HUGE diference between one and zero. Think about it, one kid, versus zero kids. That's a big difference. One hubby versus zero, one language, one day of rest, one sport you participate in, one reason to vote etc. etc. So one mile can look pretty little on a runner's blog like this, but it is just a beginning. It's a comeback!!! from the world's most ridiculous and pointless ankle sprain (meaning, of course, I don't even have a cool story to tell about the ordeal). I felt great on this little run, and I can't wait to get out there again on Monday. I think next year I should sprain my ankle in June, and come back in Sept. when it begins to broil less. I feel so fresh and excited about running through this...er, these next 7-8 months (avoiding the "p" word still).
My oldest son Samuel was baptized today. He looked like such a little angel in his little white jumpsuit, and he was so happy! Every time I looked at him he was giving someone a big hug. This is one of the biggest days in his life, and probably the most important, other than possibly the day he gets married. 
What really made it special was having James' parents come all the way from North Carolina. His Dad gave the talk on the Holy Ghost, and his Mom sang a beautiful duet with James. I played the piano for the whole thing (there were 4 kids getting baptized). Now do a quick calculation and figure out how many adults that leaves in the pews to guard, I mean, take care of my 6 year-old and my 3 year-old. Zip. That is how my 3 year-old ended up on the stand, wandering around during the songs. But overall, it was just such a sweet experience for me and my family. 
In other news, I had an ultrasound yesterday. Everything looked completely normal and healthy--sac, placenta, yolk sac, except for this tiny little detail that they couldn't find the baby. I measured 6 weeks 4 days. Usually they can see the embryo and the beating heart at that stage. The doctor said we'll check again in 2 weeks, in the meantime don't worry, it's probably just too early. Hmmmm. Why is it that as soon as a doctor tells you not to worry, it is about the only thing you can do? Probably because I am a stinker. Not the most obedient patient here! (I've already planned out how I'm going to flee the scene the next time they try to draw my blood. That phlebotamist must be at least 60--she probably won't be able to catch me if I make a run for it. The only reason she got me last time was because the nurse headed me off.) Happy Saturday, all!
Oh, and I've been poking around on the blog a little bit today. Man oh man, I am really feeling for Lucia (Argentine Rocket) and Walter (Wall-E), and the rest of you injured bloggers. Get well soon! |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 1.75 | 0.00 | 1.75 |
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Man oh man, this was the first time I've run with Sam in quite a while. That little dude is WAY to inclined to nearly kill of his momma with sudden surges. I naturally feel that I should keep even with him, since he is knee-high to a chipmunk, and we run on a road. Visibility, you know. But geez! If we are running 10:30 pace, it actually means we are running 11:15 pace, with some bursts of 8:30 pace thrown in there. One unexpected benefit is that I was feeling quite nauseated before the run, and though I was certain I'd have to ralf at some point during the run (I didn't) I had ABSOLUTELY NO trace of nausea after and for the rest of the day! That is a miracle. Is running a remedy for morning sickness? My adorable parents-in-law left today, but not before my beloved mother-in-law, Sandy, took me shopping. She is always trying to help me get a clue where fashion is concerned. So today she bought me a Ralph Lauren sweater to wear to church (which is ALWAYS freezing--even in the summer! The air conditioner is set to actic temperatures.). She gives me clothes as often as she can, and they always look great and fit perfectly. I am more likely to love something SHE picks out than something I find. How in the world does THAT happen? I don't know. She is a shopping goddess, I guess. She informs me that I am drawn to whatever clothes make me look most pregnant, or like a little old lady. She tries to steer me in the right direction, but I am a slow study. She, on the other hand, will never age. That woman looks 20 years younger than her real age. I really love hanging out with her, although she can out-shop me by about 8 hours--she is like the energizer bunny in high-heeled sandals! Do NOT attempt to go to a large mall with her unless you have been training for at least a year. Start by walking a mall for an hour a day and work up to 4 hours gradually.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.50 | 0.00 | 2.50 |
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1 mile on the treadmill and 1.5 with my little boy. I had no problem keeping up with him today. He woke up with a cramp in his leg and it bothered him the whole run. Growing pains? I hope so, that little guy needs to GROW! Are growing pains real? Does it indicate rapid growth? One can always hope... I feel a little bad cursing my kids with my stunted genes. It doesn't matter as much with girls, at least I never cared that I was short, but I do think it is a little harder on the little boys.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 1.50 | 0.00 | 1.50 |
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Oh man! This little tiny run with my young son just about killed me. He took off like a rocket today, and I was continually trying to slow him down. he kept drifting toward 9:30 pace, and I wanted to just go 12:00 pace or slower. I am feeling pretty sick today. I'm not sure if I am really sick or if it is all just morning sickness, but it took quite an effort just to get out the door. But my son was bursting with energy this morning. He saw a butterfly and started chasing it, he saw a bunny, and he wanted to sprint to where he'd seen it. He kept saying that we should do a 100 yard dash. Ughnnnn. The whole world was full of exciting things from his perspective, but from mine, everything was just nauseating.
When I first started running with Sam over a year ago, he was only 6, he would occasionally whine that it was too hard, that he couldn't do it, or that it was too far. Now a dramatic role reversal. Me: "Ughn, slow down, I can't do it." Sam: "Just do your best, Mommy." Me: "Groan, not so fast..." Sam: "You have to believe you can do it." When we got home: Me: "Ug, that was awful!" Sam: "Just think how good that was for your body!" I don't think I'm going to run any more today, unless it is to the bathroom to yak.
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 3.00 | 0.00 | 3.00 |
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This was a confidence building run for me, and I enjoyed it a lot. I ran alone, no dog dragging me and no little boy trying to break a world record. This was my longest run since my ankle sprain, and it held up just great! I didn't bring the garmin, so I didn't know how fast (or how SLOW, I should say) I was going. I just ran by feel. It was nice, the only thing that felt a little different than a couple of months ago is that my legs felt a little bit heavier...which is probably true. (Too many twinkies, well, not twinkies, but I have been eating a LOT because it is the only way to keep from getting sick.)
Ideally, I think I'd like to run about 4 miles a day. I'll only be able to do it if I run slow, though.
And just for fun, here are some pictures of my sons trying to make faces resembling their jack-o-lanterns:
Sam is a bit of a stinker (where does he get THAT from?).
Joey has Bambi eyes.
Adam is angelic. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 0.00 | 2.00 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
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My dear neglected blogging buds! So sorry to have forsaken you for this long. Let me 'splain... 2 weeks ago I hurt my back. It was so stupid! I was just sitting there, hunched over and eating my cheerios. Well, I have always loved cereal, and I guess I must've been eating a little too vigorously (?) because I had a sharp shooting pain in my back that almost crippled me. This kind of thing happens to me about twice a year. Sharp pain during normal movement, followed by not being able to stand up straight for about a week (running is out of the question), and then I go back to normal. Weirdness! Anyway, the chiro got me all fixed up and I healed, and then I went to Texas the next week. And then this week I've been lazy. So that sums up the last 2 1/2 weeks of my life.
The most important thing that happened in that time period, though, was my 2nd ultrasound. This is where those of you who don't want to know personal details should just tune out...
I was soooo nervous on the way to the appointment. (You'll remember that in the first ultrasound they couldn't "find" the baby, and had scheduled me for a recheck.) The more I thought about all the complicated processes that have to work flawlessly to result in a living child, the more likely it seemed that this was probably not going to work out (jaded? I guess so. I've had it not work out several times.) So I steeled myself. I was NOT going to cry...not in the office, anyway. I knew exactly what it would be like...the ultrasound tech would be quiet, she would say she couldn't tell me anything and that the doctor would explain the results to me. I'd be sent out into the waiting room--a room FULL of gloriously pregnant women and ladies with newborns...and I would just sit there and NOT cry. Just read a magazine and wait for the Doctor to call me in and talk about my "options." And I would be tough, I would be so stoic that she would wonder if I had wanted the pregnancy at all. Then I would go home and cry for the rest of the day and try to resurface after a day or so. I ran over this plan several times on the way there. But I was not prepared for what actually happened:
I laid on that table, with my heart rate around 200 bpm, and the ultrasound tech immediately said "oh! Here's the heartbeat." A tiny fluttering sound filled the tiny, dark room and it was just like a poorly built wall in my chest came crumbling down and my traitor eyes started brimming over. The best laid plans.... Can a little blob with a big head and a heart be cute? Yes it can. That's because children are made of more than just a finite number of cells. Children, and babies especially, are also made up of love.
So I am pregnant now, officially! Yea! Unfortunately, this leaves my Del Sol Relay team in a lurch. There's no way I'm going to run 15 miles or so in February. So any of you who would like to be part of the amazing Ragnar Relay down here in Arizona (I am especially looking at you, Bonnie, or you, Shauna) please contact Burt McCumber or Camille (both on the blog) and let them know. It is a fun team with lots of spirit. They get together to socialize and stuff all the time. You won't regret it!
P.S. HELP HELP HELP! I haven't run for 2 1/2 weeks and I've wimped out exponentially during that time. I know I'll feel better if I run, but I haven't been able to drag myself out yet, and I am concerned that I am going to become a permanent fixture on the couch if I do not break the cycle soon. |
| Night Sleep Time: 0.00 | Nap Time: 0.00 | Total Sleep Time: 0.00 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 781.24 | 25.33 | 806.57 |
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| Night Sleep Time: 353.25 | Nap Time: 36.33 | Total Sleep Time: 389.58 | |
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