Each Day Is a Gift

Toasty 27〫partly sunny!  Slush everywhere...did a pretty good job keeping my shoes and socks dry!  Was going to run 13.  Stopped when I saw Bro. Fletcher's car stalled at the intersection (thus the odd 0.28).  We got it started.  By then I was very tired and hungry. 

Going to the Noah's Reception Center for a Holiday Recognition Dinner tonight...so no running this evening!

Such a nice morning.  27 degrees.  Partly sunny.  No slush nor wind.  But it always seems colder running eastward for some reason, may be it's the colder canyon air.  Ran 7 w/ Wendy in 1:14:31 (AP: 10:38).  Haven't run w/ her for awhile; so it was a wonderful chatty run.  After dropping her home I ran for 7 more by myself in 1:06:15 (AP: 9:27).

Baby Josiah (6 mo) is in charge today, that means no running outside for me.  His parents (my niece & her husband) brought him here yesterday to spend the weekend.  This morning after feeding him, they left at 6:45am for a setting apart and an all day orientation at the Church Office Bldg.

So fun to have a baby in the house...we played w/ finger puppets, read, had tummy time, 2nd feeding. Then it's time for morning nap.  But not until the baby is properly *bound & gagged* (as his daddy calls it); actually *swaddled and binkied*...worked like a charm...he promptly fell asleep!!!  With the baby monitor on, I quickly jumped on the treadmill for some speedwork! :) :) :)

1 mi warm up @ 10:00

1 min ON @ 7:30 (8 mph), 1 min OFF @ 10:00  X 5

1 min ON @ 7:03 (8.5 mph), 1 min OFF @ 10:00 X 5

1 min ON @ 6:53 (8.7 mph), 1 min OFF @ 10:00 X 5

1 min ON @ 6:40 (9 mph), 1 min OFF @ 10:00 X 5

Warm down for 2.5 miles by decelerating 0.1mph every min. (i.e. at 51 min ran @ 7:35, 52 min @ 7:41, 53 min @ 7:47 and so on 'till 60 min at which time maintain pace at 8:34 'till mile 8.5. TT: 1:11:38.  AP: 8:25. 

Thankfully baby stayed asleep the whole time!  I seriously don't know how you young mothers (RAD & Josse) do all you do so wonderfully well!!!

Announcement:  Group run tomorrow on the Lehi JRP,  meet at 8am at the 1500 North bridge.  Hope to see y'all there!

Baby Jojo wouldn't go to sleep 'till past midnight and was up at 4:30.  I could have gone running by 5:30.  Anyhow, got to JRP at 8.  Ran w/ John, Karen and Wendy.  They only wanted 8 so they turned back at mile 4 and I continued on by myself.  Temp was nice, cloudy.  It did get breezy running northward the last 3 miles.  Saw lots of birds, a few hunters, one loose dog, the usual cows and a few walkers.  The river is frozen solid.  Wish the sun would peek out.  I'm a sunshine kinda girl...do NOT like deary days!  I need to move to Hawaii or San Diego! :) 

The trail is closed 0.5 mile from the parking.  Ran around Centennial Park by the trail closure, then turned back for 13 miles.  Could have gone farther if there was someone to run with, O well!  Felt good to have completed 80 miles this week, my highest mileage ever!  :)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

10 on TM autopilot mode.  6 on wet road under fluffy  white clouds/blue sky.  TT: 2:29:28.  The sun finally peeked through the clouds, HOORAY!!!!  :) :) :) 

Here's to a wonderful week y'all!!!

AM:  What a beuuuuutiful day!!!  33 degrees, sunny, blue sky, calm cool air.  Ran 7 w/ Karen, Wendy and Carolyn; then ran Karen home for a mile and 2 by myself to make 10 in 1:36:34.  Would have gone farther but I didn't have breakfast and didn't carry fluid w/ me.  Got home to drink and eat bowl of oatmeal w/ banana.  Was going to go out for more but the phone rang...too long of a break...so did core and strength exercises instead.  I really need to do these regularly!

3 circuits of Pfitz's advanced core strength exercises:

Abdominal crunch ~ 20 rep

Leg pushaway ~ 20 rep

Staff ~ 6 rep of 5 sec

Standing knee hold ~ 15 rep

Back extension ~ 15 rep

Side plank ~ 5 rep of 10 sec

2 circuits of Pfitz's strength training exercises:

Push up ~ 20 rep

Dumbell lat row ~ 15 rep per side

Bench dip ~ 15 rep

Swan ~ 10 rep

Step-up ~ 15 rep per leg

Lunge ~ 15 rep per leg

Squat ~ 20 rep

Alternate shoulder press ~ 15 rep per side

Seated triceps press ~ 15 rep

PM:  2 EZ to loosen things up then Yoga

Another nice day for outside running! :)  Had a yogurt & EmergenC before going for a 10 mile progressive run.  The legs were lead and everything hurts for the first couple miles.  Next 3 miles were easy, tried to be patient.  The last 3 took some focus to not get lazy.  Concentrated on one proprioceptive cue, Navel to Spine, during the middle miles.

10.5 in 1:41:33.  Splits:  11:23 (yikes!), 10:48 (ouch!), 10:07, 9:55, 9:44, 9:33, 9:20, 9:11, 8:55, 8:30, 8:00. 

I find that the nice thing about running in the 30's is I don't need to drink or fuel for 10 miles.

Stretch, yoga.

Jazz game tonight!

2 miles warm up in 19:14 (AP: 9:52)

6 x 800 in 3:42 to 3:56 (AP: 7:27). 

RI of 400 in 2:25 to 2:29 (AP: 9:50).  

2 miles warm down in 16:20 (AP: 8:06). 

8.5 miles total in 1:12:28.  AP: 8:31.

Went to the temple with 7 long time friends, Cathy, Carol, Elma, Nancy, Sharon, Valerie and Viola.  We have been friends for over 30 years since we moved to Lehi in 1980.  Then we went to Cathy's house for our annual Christmas luncheon.  So blessed to have such special friends!!! :)

Going to my son's Chamber Orchestra concert at BYU tonight! 

Ran by my lonesome under cloudy sky which turned to a light rain mid-run.   Did the 7-mile-bench-loop twice minus 1/2 mile on the west end of Bull River.  Lead legs, tight hip flexors, sore vastus medialis. Almost cut it short but so glad I didn't!!!  Rhett still beats me by 0.1 mile though! :) :) :) 

Kept thinking about my 5 sons and my SSF having Finals this week.  Today Bryan has *jury* which is a solo performance graded by the music professors.  He really needs a professional sounding viola.  Eric is finishing up his ER rotation at St. John's, hopefully will get some decent sleep next couple weeks, no holiday breaks for him though.  

I have been asked numerous times, mostly by non-runners, why I run so much.  I used to give quick answers like:  I just love to run, or Because I can.  There are many reasons why I run.  Today my thought is:  Running is the next closest thing to feeling FREE.  There is nothing quite like propelling yourself forward with your own power.  Endurance running is the only sport that I know of that is SPIRITUAL in nature.  I believe our spirits are much bigger and tougher than our bodies!  Indeed I believe there is nobility and greatness in each soul just waiting to break free! :) :) :)  Happy running y'all!

One of the most painful, lonely run of my life, death march, dead legs, at least the weather was nice, high 30's, cloudy, wet road.  I'm starting to question my sanity...why in the world would a 55 yo woman out there pounding pavement when all her friends are shopping or doing Christmas stuff.  Something is seriously wrong with me!  

 Week 17 to Boston

Ran w/ Karen to Alpine.  Beautiful sunny day.  Sky slowed us down a few times when she stopped to puke...must have been the steak bone she ate last night...poor thing.  The pain on the right knee intensified on the downhill.  I think it was a foolish thing to run 80 and 77 miles the last two weeks.

My SSF is a special special wonderful wonderful friend.  She knows my heart.  I am so grateful for her.  Wish I could help her half as much as she has helped me!

3 circuits of Pfitz's CSE while watching movie w/ my sweetheart!  :)

Ran w/ Karen (Sky) and Wendy to Alpine.  Took it slow.  Sore legs.  A little concern about the knee pain.  

Julie, a friend of 40 years, called from Hong Kong.  (We are still on the phone as I type this).  For more than 3 hours we cried, laughed, cried while she poured her heart out to me.  I feel the pain of her loneliness across the world.  She is teaching me so much.  I shall live my life more worthy of the blessings I've been given. 

I had a wonderful day! :) 

Hope yours was too!  :)

Had a nice run with Karen.  Her son is coming home from serving a 2 yr. mission in Ghana tonight.  Can't wait to meet him.  

6 circuits of Pfitz's CSEs

3 circuits of Pfitz's STEs

Got home really late last night after the concert and then visiting with the newly returned missionary and his family.  It's a good thing his mom, Karen, is such a die hard, or I'd stay inside!  14 degrees brrrrrrrr!  It was a nice recovery run for us in more ways than one! :D

I found evidence that my youngest is home from College:  piles of laundry in the laundry room,  dirty dishes in the sink,  candy wrappers strewn about like confetti,  blankets and quilts on sofas in the family room...but where's the boy?  :) :) :) :) :)

So GLAD that my M.A.D (Made in America Daughter) aka RAD ran with me, curing my mild case of S.A.D. !!!  :) :) :) :) :)

After another late late night I would have slept in and hit the boring dreadmill on a snowy morning if it weren't for RAD coming all the way to my house to take me running! 

Last night we went to the MoTab Christmas concert for the 2nd night.  I'm not much a fan of David Archuletta, but a HUGE fan of my son who plays viola in the Orchestra.  Anyway, it was a fantastic concert!  The snow storm hit Utah County as we drove my MIL home.   I-15 was a sheet of ice.  It took us an hour from the Point of the Mountain to reach Orem where we dropped off my MIL and then 45 min. to get home via State Street.  It was an exhaustive white knuckle drive.

I didn't think RAD would come to Lehi on a snowy morning...I should have known better!  She came all the way to my house after her spin class!  Is she superwoman or what!!!  I was looking forward to show her my running route and the Alpine's fountain of youth.  But due to slushy/icy road and traffic we decided to run in fresh fallen snow on the JRP instead.

I had forgotten how much work it is to run in 4-6 inches snow.  But RAD's company made it soooo fun! :)  We were *flying* down the trail when we heard gun shots; then saw gun fire smoke just as we reached the lake!!!  Navigating through thigh-high (for me, knee-high for RAD) snow drift was just plain giddy fun!!!! :D  Our agility and sense of balance were put to the test on some icy spots!  It goes to show that runners do not need snowshoes nor ice skates! ;)

TT: 2:32:30  AP: 10:10.  That may look slow to you but trust me, it's not! :)  It was great workout! We had loads of fun and great chats! 

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, RAD!  I just love you!  I'm seriously in awe of all that you do! :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

My choir did a wonderful job singing Arise and Shine, Touch by a Child, Listen to the Silence of Light!  Can't believe Christmas is just a week away!

So fun to see Emi (20 months) on Skype.  She's growing up.  Melts my heart to hear her say repeatedly "Nana! Nana! Nana!" with a smile.  She's such a happy baby!  Can't wait to see her in 2 months.

Jade, Lex and Luke skyped briefly as they usually *flashed* by the screen.  Can't wait to see them in a month when they welcome their new baby brother.  Airfare has gone up quite a bit from last week.  Wonder if it's going to come down a tad after the holidays.

Ran w/ Karen, peaceful morning, light rain/snow, warm.  

Lots of errands.  Got to get more sleep.  How many days before Christmas? Yikes!!!

I try to take one day at a time...but sometimes several days attack me at once!!!

Super wet snow storm clobbered Utah County.  Woke up to a foot of snow and still coming down hard.  Took me 50 min. to drive from Lehi to north Orem to pick up my MIL to take her to the dentist who was 30 min late.  The tooth extraction took a little over an hour.  It was a bit scary when my car started to roll backward going up Killer's Hill.  Fortunately there was no other cars around.  When I finally got home,  barely had enough time to make to lunch at Fiddler's Elbows in Sugar House.  It was so fun to see everyone and meet Rob & Ann in persons.  Such great people! 

Took Riverton Paul's advice to try out some ellipticals.  Very fortunate to have my SSF accompany me.  She knows just the right questions to ask.  FUN DAY!

Busy day with visiting teaching, shopping.  

Dinner party at Cuisina Tucana, the most delicious, fantastic Italian gourmet experience EVER!

Took my youngest to the dentist for checkup for his mission papers.  The last time we went to the dentist was 3 years ago.  Steven has one cavity and 4 wisdom teeth to be pulled.  Bryan has NO cavity.  

Busy day.  Finally got on the TM at 9:35pm.  

So so so glad RAD organized a group run at the Lehi JRP! :)  I started my run 36 min earlier to get in 4 miles before everyone got there at 9am.  It was so good to see Cal, Kelli, Scott, TomSlick, Allie, RAD, Quiet Pirate, and met Chad for the first time.  

Got to run with Kelli the whole way!!! :) :) :)  I just love running with her! :)  She has such great running form.  I have missed her soooo much!  It was warm (mid 30's), overcast, zero wind, no snow on the parkway!  Right knee complained a bit.  Had no fluid for the entire run. 

RAD brought us hot chocolate, special donuts and oranges!  THANKS Rachel!

TT: 2:20:00.  AP: 9:10.  Splits:  9:59, 9:20, 9:07, 9:07, 9:27, 9:16, 9:02, 8:45, 8:41, 9:21, 9:00, 9:01, 9:00, 9:10, 9:20,  last 0.25 @ 9:10

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!!

It's almost 1:30am...I think I better go to bed before Santa comes down the chimney!

Got up at 5 am to put the turkey in the oven, roast in the crockpot, etc.  Thought about sneaking out for a run since everyone was still asleep; ...but didn't!  It was a good thing b/c both my daughter (from TX) and son (at Michigan) called at the same time, and we google-cam'd on Jeff's lap-top and my computer.  It was pretty cool and fun to have the whole family "gathered" around from three different States :)  My mother-in-law was astonished to see her 4 great-grandchildren via web-cams instantly.  Jeff announced his good-news to the family.  He is engaged to be married in April!!! hopefully 6 days after Boston :).   

After all the fun celebration, including David's birthday (yes David, my 4th child turned 25 today),  hubby and the boys went downstairs for ping-pong tournament, I went for a Christmas day run!  Wore shorts, l/s and s/s tops, gloves, sunglasses (yay, the sun is out!)  Nice EZ run reflecting on all the wonderful blessings given me! :)  Lots of happy happenings in the next few months:  5th grandchild being born in Jan., Jeff getting married in April, Steven leaving for his mission at the end of Winter semester, Eric graduating from Podiatry in May.  I am the luckiest mom and nana!!!

Hope y'all enjoying your family on this Christmas day!

The day began with a picture text of a new-born baby and the message "Happy Birthday" on my cell phone!  My daughter gave birth to her 4th child at 6:45 this morning!  He wasn't supposed to be born 'till Jan 30th 2011.  At 35 weeks, he weighed 6 lbs.  He has difficulty breathing so they put him on CPAP.  They won't let him be held or fed so he's on IV. 

Fun day skiing with the fam.  Made 20 runs on Moonbeam and Sunrise.

Dinner at Red Maple, a full course Chinese seafood gourmet!  :)

14 EZ TM miles while watching Lost.

Ski day again!  Sunny, perfect condition.  A power outage stopped all the lifts for 20 min.  The chair I was on was the next to be uploaded; darn luck!  Hubby was the only one not stranded on the lifts.  

Early dinner at Texas Roadhouse.

Booked my tickets to Houston.

13 EZ TM miles in the evening watching Lost.

Hubby's right ankle is very sore.  He can't even put weight on it.  With the huge blizzard going on, we opted to not go skiing today.  Busy all day w/ taking care of post-Christmas cleaning and tending to hubby.  Hate to see him in pain! :( 

Baby Jett is off CPAP, my daughter held him for awhile; although his respiration is still rapid so he's NPO and still on IV.  Can't wait to see him next week!

10 miles in 1:29 AP: 8:53.

5 circuits Pfitz's CSE.

Chillin' at home w/ my hubby whose ankle is swollen, red, sore and sensitive to touch. 

The boys and Jen had a fun day skiing powder.

Baby Jett still has scalp IV and tube feeding.