As much as I would have enjoyed staying in Houston an extra day to see the Houston Marathon and Half Marathon on Sunday (Colleen Won 1st place in the half!), I am glad we flew back home last night so we could spend the day with the kiddos, go to church, take naps, and recover from the trip and race. I woke up at 6 a.m. and couldn't fall back to sleep because I was too excited to see the kids. After stewing in bed for 20 minutes I finally got up and made a big batch of pancakes. The kids started filing out of their bedrooms one by one and we enjoyed an early breakfast together. There is no place like home with my family.
Coach gave me two days completely off after the race so I didn't quite know what to do with myself this morning. Took a nice long shower, did three loads of laundry, went to get a massage in the afternoon, and played with the kids.
I thought my legs felt pretty good...until I started running on them. Yeah, I'm sore. My calves, mainly. It felt good to do a little shake out run on the treadmill though. I would have gone outside but it was -8 degrees in Boulder this morning. The forecast for today is "a high of 0 degrees." Isn't that kind-of an oxymoron?
After a nice run and a bunch of dynamic stretching I picked my kids up in child care and we had a snack together before heading to Ali's gymnastics class. I had a blast in gymnastics playing with Ali. We stayed for the "free play" time after her class and played tag, practiced our forward rolls and bar flips, and ran and jumped around the room together. This song came on over the iPod speakers...I think it is physically impossible NOT to dance to this song whenever I hear it. Reminds me of being in 5th grade cruising around town in our old 1976 Chevy Nova with my Sister who had just turned 16. My sister had that same exact hairstyle too, by the way.
Wow, its amazing what a little rest and easy running can do. My soreness has rapidly improved since Sunday. I was even a little antsy to push the pace a little this morning. Did 6X30 second strides after a few miles. This run was on the treadmill since we are still experiencing record cold here in Boulder. It think the temp was in the negatives all morning. Its deceiving though because it is SO sunny and nice outside! Today is supposed to be the last day of cold and then we'll get back up to our usual mid-40s for February.
I saw a funny scene in the women's locker room this morning. A woman who must have been in her late 60s, very thin and healthy looking in her birthday suit, stepped on the scale and gasped "WHAAAAAT??!" As if to say, "I gained weight?!?!" Then quickly commented afterwards, "Oh yeah, I forgot that I ate breakfast this morning." Hahahaha....maybe you had to be there but I almost laughed out loud because she was just talking to herself but to me passing by it sounded hilarious. Maybe after menopause you can pretty much plateau on your weight and predict within .1 lb what you will weigh each day, but I personally fluctuate 3-4 lbs on a daily basis, which is why I rarely weigh myself. If I slowly start to notice my jeans fitting tighter, I eat healthier. If I have to cinch the belt buckle another hole tighter, I figure I must be eating a little too healthy and I should bake a cake. That's my weight management plan.
One more run on the treadmill at FAC this morning since the temp was still pretty low (7 degrees) and I figured I'd get a better workout inside. My legs are feeling GREAT!! I think I'm almost completely recovered from the race and ready to rock and roll again.
P.M. 4 miles in 7:00 pace
Went outside for this run. It was a gorgeous 33 degrees and snowing!! Felt like I was in Hawaii after those few days with negative temps. Looking forward to getting back up into the high 40 degree temps here soon.
We took the kids to see Jeff Kagen and Paige Doughty (I love how their website is so Boulder-esque) last night and a good time was had by all. It was nice to meet Jeff and Paige and introduce our kids to them. They sure do a great job entertaining kids. And the best part...their concert was FREE! Can't get better than that!!
I was going to venture off the treadmill for the second time this week but it just looked super slick and icy everywhere still. Decided one more day on the treadmill was okay. I downloaded some new songs for my iPod before heading to FAC to help mix things up a bit.
20 minute warm up, stretching, strides
6X3 minutes at 5:45-5:50 pace with 90 seconds easy between each.
10 minute cool down
Felt pretty fabulous! I'm really pleased with how well my legs have recovered!!
For our date night tonight, Aaron and I are shopping for a new mattress. You all would be disgusted if you knew how old our current mattress is. In fact, I don't even know how old it is. Quite possibly older than me....it was a hand-me-down. Gross, I know. It has served us well and now its time for it to hit the curb. Anyone have a brand of mattress they love and would recommend? I'm pretty enticed by the Tempupedic. I mean, who wouldn't be enticed by by THIS..
Got my miles in early so I could attend the Boulder Stake Women's Conference this morning. It was a fabulous program where the highlight speaker was one of my favorite LDS women, Sheri Dew. Sister Dew spoke about being an influential person (helping others), keeping our focus on Jesus Christ and not being distracted by things that don't matter. She also spoke about choosing to be happy amidst less than ideal circumstances, and seeking God's help in performing our individual "missions" here on Earth. I took 7 (SEVEN!) pages of notes and couldn't stop nodding in agreement with everything she was saying...it was awesome!! My favorite part was when she said, "As we try desperately to do what we were sent here to do, we will be fulfilled and happy. God will give us what we need to accomplish what we were sent here to do." I believe this with all my heart and I also join her in the conviction that true peace, happiness, and fulfillment in life comes through following Jesus Christ. After the program I went over to meet Sheri and thank her for her thoughts and wisdom. What an awesome lady!!
