Each Day Is a Gift

ZERO running, NADA!!!  The knee was hurting yesterday late afternoon and evening.  I iced it numerous times and did some light stretching.  The quads were unhappy this morning! Man, I'm a wrack! :)

20 min of P90X ab-rippers.  30 min P90X stretch.

Had a wonderful lunch with my favoritest people!  Then went to my SSF's.  She worked magic on my leg.  I am going to be a good girl so all her hard work will not go to waste! :)

Note to self:  diligently stretch and roll the tight muscles!

AM:  Legs still sore.  Good thing I have Emi here to distract me from going crazy with no running.  We went walking around the block to look at the horses, chickens and dogs, to explore crunchy snow and shadows.  It was brrrrr cold so we didn't go very far! :)

PM:  Walked on 1-5% incline TM for 5 miles.   Stretch and roll the legs tons.

Core workout.

Barbell 10lbs for biceps and triceps.

Foam roll and stretch the quads again.

Legs felt much better after 2 days of no running so I took the new shoes out for a test-run (I wore them yesterday walking on the TM)!  Temp was 12 degrees, sunny, no wind.  Wore, 2 pairs of socks, Boston 3/4 zip fleece, CW-X insulator tights, beanie and ski-mittens...it was PERFECT!

The first mile felt hard...feet, knee, quads started to complain immediately...almost abandoned the run.  Once warmed up I focused on smooth strides, listened to foot-falls and pumped the arms more.  Finally got in the groove after 5 miles.  However marathon pace felt harder than it should be.  Not going to worry about speed right now!

Recovery:  15 min of stretching, 10 min of foam roll.  Will ice if knee hurts and more stretching and rolling to follow this evening!

My son is receiving his Temple endowment tomorrow.  Karen is taking her daughter for bridal dress fitting in Bountiful tomorrow.  So we changed things up and ran our long run this morning!  Karen (Sky) picked me up and we met Lori at the Lehi JRP after the kids were off to school.

Temp was in the high teens, cloudy, no wind, quite pleasant!  It was a nice day for a fun conversational run.  Lori runs like a gazelle.  Both Lori and Karen ran track in high school (800 meters).  Today's run was the longest distance either of them have ever run; however they have run half marathons.  Lori's knee started to hurt at mile 9, I showed her a few stretches.  She turned back at mile 12 while Karen and I went on.  It's a good thing she asked how far we've run or I would have kept going.  16.25 in 2:41:27.  AP: 9:55.

We saw geese, hawks, fox, cats, cows, horses, goats, llamas and a few walkers with their dogs and of course, my friend, Rick roller-blading!

Knee was fine once warmed up.  Will monitor closely.  There's going to be a house-full of young RMs tonight and tomorrow which means I'll be feeding lots of hungry boys! :)

A wonderful day with family and friends witnessing our youngest child make sacred covenants in the Temple with our Heavenly Father!

Cooked breakfast and dinner for 12 adults (10 hungry men) and one toddler!!!   The downstairs family room was transformed into a dormitory with my son and his 3 college roommates sleeping and playing ping-pong there this weekend!  I am treasuring the moment as my baby will soon be leaving home for 2 years...every milestone is the *last*. 

Did 30 min. of core, biceps, triceps exercise.

A nice EZ recovery run w/ Karen (Sky).  It was a beautiful winter wonderland...the whole world is a glistening white, sunny blue sky, gentle breeze!  We ran on crunchy peanut brittle, slushy root-beer float, vanilla sundae while the motorists thought we were NUTS!!!  Extra careful at the slippery! 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE playing with Emi.  She is soooo smart!  She loves to *exacyse* like me: rolling, downward-dogging, pushup-ing, jumping, kicking and of course running! :)

Had a *girls lunch* at Cafe Pasean!  So good to see the Utah County bloggers...it's been toooo long since we've seen each other!!!  FUN times!!! :) :) :) :)

PM:  Abs and core.

I put a bandaid on the blister (left 4th toe) before hand but it came loose mid run.   The poor little piggy was a hurting as I reached the fountain of youth park.  Luckily I saw a school bus pulled into the church parking lot across from the Peppermint Place.  Most buses are equipped with first-aid kits.  I asked the bus driver if he has a bandaid after the passengers (most likely from the Training School) exited the bus.  Roger, the angel bus driver saved my life.  He was astonished that I ran *so far away from home*!  :)  The little piggy was happy for the remainder of the run. 

Walked all over South Town Mall with Emi, Eric and Marianne as we were looking for a pair of dress shoes for Marianne.  Four hours later, we were all tired, no shoes was found suitable; but Eric did get 4 dress shirts and a pair of sunglasses.

The legs and feet are very very tired.  The insertion area of the right tibia tuberosity is very sore.  Will rest tomorrow.

Rest from running today.  Babysat Emi while her parents went to the 6am temple session.  Then it was my turn to go.  Had lunch with my long time friends at the temple cafeteria.  GOOD times! :)

Evening:  Abs and Core.

AM: Ran EZ with Wendy and Karen (Sky).  Haven't run w/ Wendy for a long time.  It was a beautiful day! :)

6 circuits of Pfitz CSE.

PM:  Washed, cleaned, vacuumed.  Stretch and foam roll.

Evening: Played w/ Emi while her parents went to the ballet!  I love her so much!!! :)

KT taped right knee before heading out.  Temp was in the mid 20s, calm, partly sunny.  Perfect running weather. 

Ran w/ Karen (Sky) down Center St to Cedar Hollow to AF Jr High to bridge by the Temple (mile 6).  Gu'd and turned back same route since Karen only needed 12 miles.  Stopped at AFJH for potty break.  Ran up Center St strong.  Mile 12 was mostly uphill and was able to keep it at mp.  After dropping Karen home ran 5 more by myself at mp.  

When I got home, Emi and her mommy were just getting out for a walk.  So I walked with them around the block.  We checked out the chickens and rooster, big rocks and pebbles, neighbors' dogs and cats.  Emi likes to run 3 sidewalk sections at a time.  We'd say: "get set, ready", she'd bend down to touch her toes then up to run on "GO!".  She'd call out "Nana!" whenever I run behind her as if to tell me to keep up....SO CUTE!!!!  April 18, the day I run Boston will be Emi's 2nd birthday and her mommy's 28th! :) :) :) :)

Afternoon:  Iced the knee.  Shopping = lotsa walking.

Evening:  Stretch & foam roll while watching Lost! 

Plan was to run 13 today (a scaled down version of Pftiz schedule).  But the run didn't go as planned.

Ran w/ Karen (Sky) down 3rd West, crossed State St. to 900 North ran west, then turned north to 1500 North, turned around to run on 1500 North to State St. then on the new trail by the rail road to 2600 North.  With the exception of 900 N and trail, there were lots of traffic and barking dogs.  I have never run this route before and probably won't again by myself.

We got to Karen's house at mile 9.25.  Stood and talked for awhile which made the legs all stiff.  The right knee and hip hurt really bad on the last mile home; so I walked most of it. 

In hindsight I shouldn't have run 2 MLRs back to back, both days with hills and cold wind. 

Ice the knee for 20 min in the afternoon and evening.  Foam roll and gentle stretched.

My son counseled me to scale my training way down.  I may follow Higdon's Novice II or Intermediate I schedule so that I can give my knee best chance of healing and hopefully run Boston with not too much pain!   Onward and upward! :)

Eric, Marianne and Emi are all sick, runny nose, cough, fever.  Emi threw up all night. :(

On the bright side, our new shoes arrived.  Marianne got the Saucony Triump7,  Eric got Mizuno Inspire 6.  I got Mizuno Inspire 6 and Elixir 5.  I really like the Elixir's fit.  Have never run in one before; can't wait to try them out. 

AM/PM Yoga

45 min of CSE and leg lifts (8 sets of the following):

ab crunch (60 reps)

leg pushaway (60 reps)

straight leg supine lift (30 reps each leg)

plank (60 sec)

side L & R plank (60 sec)

back extension (15 reps)

clam shell (60 reps)

straight leg lift (20 reps forward, outward & inward)

**********

BAA announced the new registration process for Boston 2012 and the new qualifying standard for 2013:

http://www.baa.org/news-and-press/news-listing/2011/february/boston-athletic-association-announces-new-registration-process.aspx

I'll be able to register for Boston 2012 (my 5th Boston) on Sept 14! YAY!!! :)

Let's see.  I played nurse, Nana, friend, chef, Costco going buddy, wife, mother, laundry-maid, housekeeper! :) Yep, everything but a runner today! Sigh! :/  Oh and I ate way too much dark chocolate covered blueberry/acai! :)

KT tape the knee.  Karen picked me up and off we went to the JRP.  Temp 31, cloudy, 10mph SE wind.  Got a nice tailwind running north.  We *trespassed* the construction site since there were no workers and the torn-up trail (aka mud) was frozen; also avoided the school traffic at the elementary had we gone on the *detour*. 

The knee started to complain almost immediately, but survived the uphill.  Running downhill was a different story.  Going south was no fun w/ the headwind.  Took the detour on the return since we didn't want to trudge thru mud. 

Reload the fuel belt at the car (mile 10.8) and stretched a bit; then continued onto the south portion.  Encountered a few dog-walkers which always make Sky a bit skittish.  She seemed to enjoy watching the hawks, Canadian geese and other fowls.  Stopped at Willow Park's pop (mile 12.80) and stretched a bit.  The last 3 miles were nice as we got a bit of tailwind.

This was one of the slowest 18 miler I have ever run.  The knee held out ok but the pelvic symphysis is not happy.  Poor leg turnovers, no energy, forgot to eat breakfast, drank gatorade before start and every 2-3 miles, took 5 Powerbar chews at mile 6-7, hammer gel at mile 13.

Busy day today as we have out of town friends coming to stay overnight and ski tomorrow.   Fun weekend! :)

Our friends from Idaho got here yesterday.  I was too pooped to cook so we (all 9 of us) went out for dinner Fri night.  It was fun to catch up on each others' lives.

All the boys & men went skiing at Deer Valley even though they were sick (except our friends).  They have been planning this ski trip for a long time.  They had to cancel couple weeks ago b/c Paul had to conduct a funeral...turned out to be a good thing since my husband's ankle was still recovering.   They had fun even though it snowed the entire time.

I stayed home with the girls/ladies, cooked and visited.   Didn't notice how sore my knee was until bedtime!

Having a houseful of sick family members while entertaining company is tough!  Thank heavens for Sabbath where we just rest!  I was the only one to stay for all three hours of church plus an hour of choir practice in the afternoon. 

Eric came to Sacrament and played a viola solo.  He was asked last Sunday to do that, before he got sick.  He's been sick all week and today was the worst with a fever of 102.  He played I feel my Savior's Love with his own improvisation.  I could tell he tried really hard not to cough during the performance.  It was a beautiful number that brought the Spirit to the meeting. 

Hubby woke me up bright and early and asked if I wanted to go skiing with the family.  I thought everyone would stay home b/c they were all hacking up a storm.  44 inches of new snow (over the weekend) was very tempting.  But I was too sleepy/tired.  Jeff and Jenn had a photo-shoot which got canceled on Sat b/c of the rain/snow.  So I thought I'd go with them to ski in the afternoon.

After everyone left for Solitude, I decided to go for a run.  Was going to run 5 miles but once I got warmed up the knee felt good to go up on Suncrest Rd.  Since I didn't carry any water or fuel, I ran to Ridgeline Elementary (mile 3), thinking I could get a drink.  Duh, it was closed b/c of President's Day.  So after stretching a bit I decided to run the next few miles at mp.  Ran to Alpine City Park to drink from the *fountain of youth* then kept the pace up on the return.  Felt pretty good throughout the run.  2 days of no running did give me *fresh* legs.  It was a beautiful sunny day, lots of runners out, mostly high school or college age kids.

10.5 in 1:36:30.  AP: 9:11.  Splits: 10:40, 9:50, 9:57, 9:06, 9:10, 9:08, 8:49, 8:50, 8:23, 8:26, 8:10.

****

Hubby said I missed the BEST ski day of the season; but it's all good since Jeff and Jen didn't make it back in time, plus they closed the canyon b/c it was too crowded.  I think my knee would not have been able to take the downhill skiing anyway. 

After cooking & feeding the hungry skiers,  I iced the knee (which started to ache) and rolled the quads while we watched a Disney movie Wendy Wu, ridiculously funny no brainer!

What a fun and exhausting 3 day weekend!!

Was worried that I might be sick since I have a bit of congestion in my sinuses.  Karen texted me that she wanted to run 8-9.  If it weren't for her invitation I probably would have wimped out.   Quickly drank EmergenC and ate a banana then headed out towards her house.

We ran a new route today.  Ran west on 2600 N to 600E then south on 600E (aka Killer Hill).  I haven't run down that thing for ages.  It's a dangerous steep hill, narrow county road w/ blind curves and zero shoulder.  We ran down it w/o getting hit by a car, whew!

We then ran east towards Cedar Hollow Rd just in case we need to get a drink at the Jr High (we didn't need to).  I was going so slow.  Karen was kind enough to stay close.  At the intersection of 1200 E we decided to go further east to Highland.  By then my legs got warmed up and I was running comfortably alongside Karen and Sky.  I like running in Highland and LOVE Karen's company. 

We decided not to back track but keep going east then turn north on the first road that leads back to SR 92.  When running on the 2 lane construction zone on the down/up hill portion of SR92, a motorist stopped and warned us that there was a cyote up ahead.  That was very kind of her...it would have spooked Sky.  So we crossed the road to the north side which had a wider shoulder and was partially blocked off with orange construction cones.  We reached the traffic light by Smith and crossed SR92 to the south side safely.  Ran Karen home, then tried to pick up the pace a bit for the solo mile home.  Was dishearted to see how hard it was to get it to 10 mm pace! 

It was a good recovery run, easy pace, fun conversation and great company!  After I got home, I played with Emi while her mommy helped Eric study for his Board exam. 

****Hubby just got home early from work feeling icky icky sick!  He's working from home now before heading to his other job as Stake Pres.! :)

Now off to take care of the sick and afflicted! :)

*** Karen ~ if you are reading this.  I want you to join the blog so I can comment on yours! :)   Pretty Please! :)

AM:  Too beautiful a day to pass up running outside.  After taking Emi to the library for story time, Karen and I ran an EZ recovery 5 miler.  We saw Wendy turning as we approached on 1200 E, such perfect timing, finished the run together w/ Wendy to Karen's then home.  I have missed running w/ Wendy so much! 

***Sinuses cleared up nicely after the run.  Jeff came home early at lunch time feeling sick as a dog.  Everyone in the house has gotten sick now.  I'm knocking on wood that I won't get it! :)

EVENING:  8 circuits of the following CSE about 80 min.:

Abd crunch ~ 60 reps

Leg pushaway ~ 60 reps

Prone plank ~ 60 sec

R side plank ~ 60 sec

L side plank ~ 60 sec

Back extension (straight arm & bent elbow) ~ 60 rep

Clam shell ~ 60 rep

Abductor leg lift (forward and invert) ~ 60 rep

Walk sit ~ 60-90 sec

Biceps & triceps ~ 10 lbs 30 rep

Light yoga to stretch things out

***I'm thinking that my knee seems to hurt only after I pushed the pace or running longer than 2 hrs. 

It's been said that *it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission*.  Well, I really didn't have time to ask for either.  I was NOT planning on doing a long run today.  

Dale ~ You are so funny!!!  All the scenarios you mentioned could very well describe silly ole' me! :)

SSF ~ I am sorry I didn't mention this run; but I thought I left a voice message in your cell blurting out somethin' about just finished a long run, blah blah blah!  But I was seriously very worried about you and the last thing I wanted to talk about was my silly unplanned long run!  Hope you forgive me, please! :)

My original plan was (I've been taking the one-day-at-a-time-approach) -  if the knee feels fine in the morning (it hurts the worst at night) run some 400 repeats either outside if weather permits or on the TM if not. 

This morning Karen text me about when to do our long run.  After telling her I planned to run on Sat., she sent me an alert about the possibility of 6-12 inches of snow accumulation on the bench.  She wanted to run the long run TODAY!!!  My first thought was: "What?!  I'm not afraid of snow!  I've run in all kinds of weather before! Plus, I am SO NOT ready to run long today!"   I mumbled something about how long run is the bread and butter of marathon training and should be well planned in advance, blah, blah, blah.  Well, may be I'm a push-over or perhaps in a sleep-deprived-state-of-mind, I agreed to run long, totally threw logic and sensibility out the window!  She showed up within 15 min. to drive us to the JRP.  Gulp! :)

I tried not to whine about it!  But seriously, the first 3 miles were painfully slow.  I was a huffing and a puffing right off the bat.  I had to WALK up the last hill at the top!  Very pathetic! :)  I tried to be very very careful going down the hills so the knee won't get mad at me. ;)  It was warm running north but cool quickly running south w/ a headwind!

Felt better as the run progressed.  We ran a faster AP today than last Friday's 18 miler on the same course.  We stopped twice to gu and potty break. 

19 miles in 3:12:57.  AP: 10:09.  Splits (for Karen's reference):  11:20 (told ya I was SLOW), 10:35, 10:25, 10:23, 11:36 (walking uphill), 10:45 (Gu), 10:11, 10:06, 9:47, 10:10, 10:20, 9:55, 9:40, 10:38 (Gu), 9:59, 9:33, 9:07, 9:33, 8:32.

So proud of Karen's tenacity and positive attitude running her longest run ever.  She is a GREAT runner and athlete!  She is going to do AWESOME on her first marathon in April.  I only wish I could run it with her!

Afterthought ~ SO GLAD we got'er done. The weather man is forecasting a winter storm warning this weekend!  Hubby is thinking about canceling the ski-trip to Deer Valley! ooookay!

****The aftermath ~ No time to stretch due to a busy afternoon and evening schedule.  The knee is complaining a bit (tight and tender at the tibial tuberosity).  Have been icing and heating after dinner.  Will see how it feels in the morning! 

6 inches of fluffy snow on the road/lawn and still snowing as we drove down to the LC.

55 min elliptical

upper body weights

leg extension

core, stretch

By noon, all the snow has melted, sunny, cold and windy, very strange weather! :)

Birthday lunch w/ friends and family at Cafe Rio.

Dinner tonight at Market Street Grill.

Congestion galore, swollen glands!  Light snow, wet/slushy road, not wanting to get the new shoes wet (really really want to try them out).  So ran on the TM instead.  The shoes feel really snug; may be I should get a half size bigger.  

10 in 1:33:39.  AP: 9:21.  2% incline.

Off to watch BYU vs SDSU.  Go Cougs!!! 

Worried that I might have a sinus infection as I slept fretfully, congestion, headache and woke up with achy muscles. Will take it easy today.  

Ran to Karen's to meet her for an EZ recovery run.  Ran down 3rd west to trail-head then up on the trail 'till it dead-ends at SR92.  We trespassed the construction zone; ran on dirt then thru the newly constructed tunnel heading east; then back on Bull River.  Temp was in the low 30's but felt colder with the windchill.

No splits or exact mileage since my Garmin's battery is dead.  Grateful to have Karen's company or it would have been a miserable run! :)

Felt fatigue all day while catching up on laundry, kitchen mess, church stuff, etc. Thankfully there's no fever or other symptoms! 

Lots going on right now w/ my family:  Jeff signing the papers and closing on his first ever BIG purchase today...54 days before his wedding.  Eric taking the Board Exam on Mar. 2 in AZ.   Bryan trying out multiple violas that cost $1600 and up...gulp!  Steven getting ready for his mission.....joyful as well as stressful time! :)