Chug-along-chica!

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!

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.

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.

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. 

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... 

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!