Running for two--or, mostly walking

Here goes nothing.  I've given in and started running.  I figured out that, since I'm not very good at making friends in real life, I can try to have virtual friends.  I'll let you know how it works out.

 My first week of running has gone something like this, thus far.  Monday, bought new running shoes.  Tuesday, convinced Paul to create a running plan for me.  Tuesday night, couldn't sleep because my neck hurt so badly that I couldn't turn my head.  Wednesday morning, neck was the same in the morning, so I went in to see the chiropractor Wednesday afternoon.  Wednesday evening, felt a little better after seeing the chiropractor, so I started my running plan.

 My "run" went something like this.  I left the house and started running.  After three blocks two things happened.  First, my windpipe started burning so badly that I could hardly breathe, so I was forced to walk to be able to catch my breath.  Second, I started to notice people lining both sides of the road and children running all over the place.  I couldn't figure it out until I saw the floats--it was the Logan High School Homecoming Parade.  So, it was my first run in a year-and-a-half, I was really slow, I had to stop and walk every couple of blocks, and I had hundreds of witnesses.  This is my idea of fun.

I didn't wear my watch today.  I am well aware of how slow I am, so I really don't need any reminders.  I figure I'll start wearing my watch when I can run a mile, or even two, without stopping to walk.  Until then I'll just enjoy the crisp fall air and try not to pass out.

Wow!  I feel so loved.  I knew my plan to trick you all into being my friends would work.

 So, about "running."  I woke up this morning and felt like those barnyard animals had visited me in the night.  Pretty sad, since I only ran/walked two miles yesterday.  Luckily the running schedule that Paul put together for me had me just walking two miles with him today on the Planet Walk. 

 I had kind of a rough day at work today (emotionally, not physically...I just sit for eight hours a day) and for the first time ever had the feeling like I really wanted to go out and pound the pavement.  Unfortunately, pounding the pavement wasn't in the stars for me, so I had to settle for venting to my hubby about my co-workers (I'm really glad he's so emotionally stable.  It keeps me pretty level-headed most of the time). 

 So, I'm pretty much just hoping that I don't get any visitors of the four-legged variety tonight so I can do some running again tomorrow.  I can't believe I just said that.

 FYI--for those of you who are trying to pressure your wives to join the blog because I did: Paul applied NO PRESSURE to me to start running or to join the blog.  My two main reasons for joining the blog were a.) I wanted to finally get fit like I kept telling myself and everybody else I was going to do, and b.) I was jealous at the St. George Pasta Party because everybody knew each other, but nobody knew me.  So, making friends, getting in shape, NOT the hubby.  Well, maybe the hubby a little.

They say it takes 21 days to change your habits, that is, to start a new habit or rid your self of an old one.  That is probably the only reason I went out and ran today, since I was (sadly) still feeling pretty sore.  I must be in worse shape than I thought I was.  I biked to work a lot this summer (4.5 miles round trip), but biking uses different muscles so I guess it didn't help.

 Anyway, my "run" today was passable.  I took shorter walking breaks, but they were more frequent due to the pain in my quads.  I couldn't ever run long enough to get tired, but I think overall I ran more than I walked, so that's good.

I also had to take a lot of just plain stopping breaks because I took the dog today and he has to sniff everything.  I'm sure that some of you have heard Paul talk about how our dog can't run.  I'm starting to think it's just that he can't run with Paul.  I can't run with Paul either, so that makes us a good pair.

I'm starting to get excited about Moab now.  We usually take a big group of people from Logan, but the people we used to go with have all moved away.  It'll be nice to get down there again next year (we didn't go this year because Paul was running the Relay Del Sol in Phoenix around that time) and actually see some familiar faces.  Less than 5 months to go!
 

Can I just say that I LOVE BETHANY!!!  Running is so much more fun when you have somebody else to do it with.  Also, since today was her first run and my third, I didn't feel like I had to impress her.  It was great to have somebody there to push me a little, somebody who is fun and funny.  I can't say enough good things about Bethany!  I'm hoping to see her on the blog soon.

 So, about running.  "Ran" 2 miles on the Planet Walk today with Bethany.  I had almost no pain in my quads this morning, so running didn't hurt as much as it did yesterday.  My legs felt pretty heavy by about 3/4 of the way through the run, but Bethany didn't have to carry me back or anything, so it wasn't too bad.  The biggest news: I ran half a mile without stopping to walk--halfway to my goal.  I'm supposed to run a mile without walking by Wednesday of next week.  I'll definitely let you know if it happens.  (If it does, I'll have to come up with a new short-term goal.)

Do you think it's cheating to count my walking miles as miles?  I figure that, since I can walk faster than I can run, those miles are probably legit.  If I was a running superstar like Paul I might think counting walking miles was cheating, but I'm no superstar.  Bethany tells me I'm too hard on myself, but I think I'm just realistic.  I'm like the Penguin.  He's okay with being slow and I am, too.  I'll worry about speed when I can regularly run without walking.
 

Taking the day off.  I know I only "ran" three days last week, but my body is glad to have a break.  My quads don't actually feel that bad today, which is good because the stairs were kind of a nightmare this week.

 The best news of the last 24 hours:  I talked to my sister last night and she is randomly going to be in New York the weekend of the Trials!  I haven't seen her in more than a year.  She called me and said, "guess what, I'm going to New York."  I'm really, really excited to see her!  They are leaving for home the day of the Trials, but not until evening, so I'm going to drag her along with me to watch Paul run.  She isn't really a runner, but she's going to get a workout that day ;)  I just have to remember to tell her to bring running shoes.

Their hotel is about 2 miles from ours, so I'll be able to get a run in when I go to meet her, as long as she gives me a ride back (I don't think I'll be up to 4 miles by then).  It feels odd to me to even think about that.  I think running is already starting to be a habit for me.  I'm actually worried about what taking a day off will do to me.  I know I need it physically, but mentally I think it could potentially hurt me.

I just have to say that running is a lot more fun this time around than it has been when I've done it in the past.  I'll attribute it to 1.) the fact that I made the decision to do it purely for me this time, 2.) I found a really fun running partner (hopefully I'll have 2 pretty soon--marci, that means you), and 3.) the blog just makes it way more enjoyable.  I'm using the word fun to describe running.  That in itself is a major step in the right direction.
 

I decided that Paul was right about me having a self-deprecating sense of humor and Bethany was right about me being too hard on myself, so I changed the name of my blog.  I'm not saying that I don't think I'm slow, I'm just saying that I won't put the emphasis there anymore.  Having said that, on to today's run.

I walked to the Planet Walk, then ran 2 miles with Bethany.   We only stopped to walk twice during the whole two miles (well, three times if you count the 50 yards at the end, which I don't) and probably ran more than 1.5 miles out of the 2 (Bethany, oh wearer of the Garmin, please don't correct me if I'm wrong about that, I'm feeling pretty good about myself).  I wasn't really sore at all today, but some of my muscles were tight.  I'll have to get a good stretch in tonight.

The first hitch in my running plan.  It came so early, but I think I'll be able to overcome it since I have so many accountability partners.  You will hold me accountable, right?

 Well, the truth is that I wasn't running today, anyway, but I was supposed to "Walk for 2 miles with Hubby on a trail."  It counts as miles if it's on my running plan.  Things didn't work out that way, though.  I ended up having to work until 5:00 and Paul scheduled a run/workout with Cody and Logan, so I just decided to call it and actually get some housework done today.  Yes, this is my life.

On a related note, I've been talking about my running so much at work that I've inspired my co-worker Brian to start running again.  His dad has done SGM ten times and he's planning on doing it next year.  I told him he needs to join the blog.  If he does that's at least one direct recruit.  Sasha, do we earn commissions for that?

Duh-d-d-duh (that was supposed to be a trumpet fanfare...it didn't go as planned) I ran my first consecutive mile today!  That's not to say that I did it quickly, nor am I saying that it was easy.  It's done, though.  So, a little re-cap: I decided to run really slow, so that I could make sure to run the full mile without having to stop.  By about a quarter of a mile in, I was missing Bethany, because I'm not very internally motivated and I generally want to stop when it starts hurting.  I pushed through it, though, and, despite my heavy-breathing, I started to feel a little better once I committed to finishing.  Now here's the kicker.  It started hailing (yes, hailing) at just before the half mile mark.  The old me would have packed it in and called it a night, but the new motivated (read: accountable) me didn't want to quit just because of some stupid precipitation.  I'm not sure what the people passing me on the road thought of the slow girl running in the hail, but I also don't really care.  At about a quarter mile left I had to start chanting to myself, "It's only a quarter mile, you can totally run that far.  You could run a quarter mile in your sleep, etc."  When I realized I was going to have a lot left at the end of my run, I decided to pick up the pace and finished at (almost) a sprint.  I still didn't wear my watch today, but from the time before and after my run, I'm thinking it was a sub-12:00 mile, which is pretty good for me.  Moab, here I come!

Double the fun today running with Bethany and Marci.  I was telling Marci before our run that she was going to pretty much kill me and she did.  I'm pretty sure the pace was slow (I stopped to walk at one point and could keep up with them walking), but the company was good.

 2 miles on the Planet Walk.  I think my favorite part is the little bush-whacking section.  I'm  not sure why because it's actually kind of irritating, but in a fun, adventurous kind of way.  (By the way, for those of you who are familiar with the Planet Walk:  the bush-whacking section is the part of the trail that you run on if you run out towards the road instead of just across the railroad tracks and then come back down to meet the section of trail on the other side.)  I'm so glad that I have people to run with.  It makes it so much easier to get out there.  I bought an MP3 player this weekend so that when I am forced to run by myself I will have something to keep me company.

So, I think Sasha might be right, I might be turning into an actual runner.  I'm enjoying myself more right now than I have in a long time.  If I can cut back to eight hour days at work, then I'll probably have more energy to do it, too.
 

I was supposed to take today off, but since I took Tuesday, I thought I'd go out today.  I wish I hadn't.  I could not get moving.  I should have just stayed home and done some housework.  That would have been productive.

 On a brighter note, I decided to try out my new MP3 player.  I love it, except for the ear buds that come with it (they are made for Dumbo or something).  I have learned something from this, though, and that is that I need to make sure to pick the right music for running.  It was kind of irritating switching the song every time there was a slow one.  The good part was that it's really easy to switch songs.  On my player I can set up playlists, though, so I'll put together some good running songs.  It does have a stopwatch function, so I decided to try that out.  I shouldn't have.  Since I couldn't get motivated to run, I was extra slow.  I started with Paul at 10:18 pace and that felt pretty good, but I ended up doing about 14:30 pace with all the walking.  So sad.  Oh well, I did appreciate that I didn't have to wear a watch to see how slow I was.  I really don't like wearing one.

 Well, hopefully I'll feel more energetic tomorrow for my morning run with Bethany.  I'm going to chalk my sub-standard run today up to working too much, getting up earlier than usual, and not being especially motivated (since I didn't have to run today).  I usually have more energy on Saturdays, anyway.
 

2 miles with Bethany on the Planet Run.  We both realized when we got there that we had forgotten to invite Marci.  It wasn't on purpose, it just kind of happened.  Sorry, Marci.  We'll get more coordinated next time.

The run was pretty good, though, despite being down one partner.  I felt way more energetic this morning that I have in the last couple of days.  It was raining when I woke up and I think it will continue for the rest of the day (good luck Paul and Logan...15 in the rain is probably more than I could motivate myself to do).  I was glad to see we weren't the only psychos out there running in the rain, but I was also glad that it wasn't as crowded as usual on a Saturday morning.

I actually like running in inclement weather.  There's something about it that makes it feel more like an adventure than a regular run.  That isn't to say that I like running in the rain more than in beautiful 60 degree sunny weather, I just like both.  I especially like running in the snow, so I'm looking forward to winter for that reason.  There's just something about a light snowfall on a cool evening that makes a run feel peaceful and quiet.  But enough about weather.

We ran the first mile without stopping and then took a walk break.  My lungs were not cooperating much today, so I had to stop two more times during the second mile to walk.  I have a rib that pops out of place and I'm blaming the pain in my ribs on that, rather than my small lung capacity.  Luckily I go to the chiropractor in two weeks or so, so I'll get that straightened out again pretty soon.

So, here's something only slightly related to running: I found another reason to love running, especially running in the evening.  Every night feels like a Saturday night now because I come home from running, take a shower, then put on pajamas and stay in my pajamas for the rest of the night.  Pajamas are so much more comfortable than regular clothes and you can't change into pajamas if you run in the morning (well, some people do).  Anyway, just another reason to enjoy the whole running thing.  It's true, I'm hooked.

2 miles with Bethany on the Planet Run (not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow when I need 2.5, since I'm not all that creative). An awesome run and I owe it all to her! We ran > 1.5 miles without walking, then only took one walk break and finished it off. I felt pretty good and probably only stopped to walk because I felt like I should have to stop. I'm not going to say for sure that I could have gone the full two miles without walking, but I might have gone a little further if I wasn't second-guessing myself.

Confession: I use humor to protect myself from getting hurt. I know, for anybody who has ever talked to me it's a real news-flash, but sometimes you have to say things even if everybody else already knows them. Anyway, it was good today for me to get real with Bethany and tell her about some of the junk in my past. That junk, while not pretty, helped to make me who I am today. It's just as much a part of me as any of the good stuff. So, thanks, Bethany, for listening. If you ever want to tell me about your junk, I'm all ears.

I got new glasses today, so I was slightly disoriented. I wasn't tripping over stuff or anything, but I am able to see things that I couldn't earlier today, so that's always a little weird. I suppose I'll have to get a picture up on my blog at some point so that people can see the new me.

I was feeling pretty good after blogging, so I ran the dog .5 instead of walking him. A little knee pain, but half a mile is pretty easy now.  Does that count as a 2-a-day?  There was only about an hour between my runs.  Yep, I'm hardcore.

2.5 miles with Bethany and Marci and (surprise!) it wasn't on the Planet Walk.  Really nice run at still a pretty slow pace (I know they could leave me in their dust, but they're just too nice to do it).  The big news for me: only one walking break (due to the slow pace).  I felt like I could have gone the whole time without walking, but we all just started walking at one point for about 30 seconds and then went, "Oh, we didn't mean to do that."  We couldn't get any satellites the whole run, so no time from the Garmin (dang!).

I've been thinking about my shoes.  I really like the ones that I'm running in (New Balance 408s).  They are really comfortable.  I have some old New Balance 717s that I wear to work that are really uncomfortable.  In fact, before I changed to run today, I thought I was having some serious knee and ankle pain, but when I took those old shoes off they instantly felt better.  I'm not sure why, but some observations that I made were that 1.) old shoes are bad even if you aren't running in them and 2.) the 717s have more support than the 408s, but the 408s are way more comfortable even for walking (possibly because of the age of the 717s, but possibly because I don't need a stability shoe?).

I'm thinking that maybe I should look for a winter 5k somewhere, but I really hate running in the cold / on ice.  Maybe there will be a Turkey Trot while we're in Indiana for Thanksgiving (Paul?).  I'm not sure that I will be ready by then, but if I had something to work towards, then I might push myself a little harder.  If not then, I might have to do one of the Striders races.  We'll see.

Ran from home today with my companion, Dustin Kensrue (his album "Please Come Home" is awesome!) and immediately felt the effects that all the running has had on my knees.  My pace was slow, even for me (13:30 pace, yikes!), due to the pain.  It wasn't pain like I hurt myself or anything like that.  It was more like the pain I felt after running/hiking down the Kaibab Trail.  I can't wait for my body to adjust to the pounding.  I'm slow because I can't breathe, but I'm slower because my body isn't used to running yet.  Some day.

 So, I've been thinking about my plan.  Not my immediate plan for the next two weeks, but my long-term running plan.  This is what I was thinking: I want to get up to a certain mileage and then sit on it for a while and work on my speed.  Then, once I get a little faster, I will start doing more mileage.  I don't think I'll ever do more than about 6 miles at a time, but I'd like for that 6 miles to take closer to 1:00 than 1:12.  That extra 12 minutes does make a difference.  Anyway, I talked it over with Paul and he thought that was wise.  It'll probably take me a while to get to that point, but I'll guarantee that y'all will know when I do.
 

Woke up this morning thinking that my knees and ankles were feeling better from a good night's sleep.  Then I stood up.  I wish it was muscle pain.  Muscle pain I can handle.  With muscle pain you hydrate, you stretch, you massage, you work through it and you get stronger.  However, this is joint pain that only occurs when I am standing/walking/running.  I'm hobbling and it's really kind of annoying.  I almost fell down this morning when I started down the back steps and wasn't holding on to the railing (or, actually, since there isn't a railing, I wasn't leaning on the wall).

So, because of the pain I decided that my body probably needed another rest day.  I'm going to take today off, do some stretching, some massage, some rest and hopefully be back at it tomorrow.  If I'm still hurting tomorrow, I'll probably go out and just do a shorter distance than what is scheduled so that I don't lose what little fitness I have already gained.  Well, that's the plan, anyway.  If the pain keeps up for too long while I'm running, I might have to get a gym membership and just do the elliptical for a while.  We'll see.

So, it's official.  I'm a big baby and I can't handle a little joint pain.  I know, wah!  In my defense, I basically went from sitting on my booty to running 2 miles a day and my body just isn't used to the pounding.  So, I have a new plan, which, if all goes well, still includes running the Moab 5 miler in March.

 The new plan looks something like this (without the specifics because I don't have it on paper yet):  I'll take the rest of the weekend off (and suffer the consequences of taking three days off), then join the gym on Monday.  I'll do some elliptical/recumbent and some lower body/core work in order to strengthen my running muscles.  I plan to do one of two things: 1.) take a few weeks off of running and just hit the gym, then start rotating in some running again; or, 2.) hit the gym a few days a week and still maintain a couple days running.  They're pretty similar, so I'll probably just find out what Paul suggests and go with that.

I'm pretty bummed, though, because if I stop running, then I'm really going to miss Bethany and Marci.  We might just have to get together for some yoga instead.  Also, I have a habit of starting up a new activity, being really into it for a while, then dropping it when something goes wrong or I move on to something else.  I really don't want to do that this time because I'm actually enjoying running this time (I know, alert the press!).  So, once again, I'm glad I have the blog to keep me accountable.  I hope it works.
 

Well, I did it.  For those of you who don't know me (pretty much everybody except Paul), joining the gym is a big step for me.  I wasn't even bored.  Paul showed me some hip/leg weight machines, then I hit the elliptical for 20 minutes.  I was surprised that I really enjoyed the elliptical.  I was half expecting to not be able to support the weight of my body for that long on my left knee and right ankle (since I almost fell down when I got out of bed in the morning) and was pretty much set on the fact that I would be on the bike, but when I got on the elliptical it was awesome.  I can't walk right now, but I can do 20 minutes on the elliptical like it's nothing.  I'm not sure how elliptical miles convert to running miles, or I'm not actually sure that they do, but at least I'm getting some cardio in while I'm on a hiatus from running. 

35 minutes on the elliptical.  The ankle is throbbing a little bit, but otherwise I'm feeling pretty good.  I think I was walking a little better today, too, so I might be able to run again by next week.  If I do, it'll probably be to the gym and home (1.5 miles round trip) and then maybe on Saturday.  I kind of want to make sure I'm up to it before I run again, though, because I don't really like being injured.  This is what happens when you go from being completely sedentary to running 2 miles a day.  I didn't want to start with 1 mile because it wasn't worth it to change my clothes to run a mile, but now I'm wishing that I had just done it.  Hopefully this will be a quick recovery and I can get back to training for Moab.

New York City. Woke up late this morning (thank you , Mike K, for letting us stay at your house) and hit the airport. Hobbled over to the the International Terminal after checking in because we were "running late" (apparently getting there 40 minutes before your flight counts as running late). Our first flight was at 8:50 a.m.and we finally arrived in New York at 5:00 p.m., so it's been a long day. I was so glad that I didn't have to drive to the hotel, though, because it was crazy madness and I don't do well driving in heavy traffic. Paul got a chiropractic adjustment when we finally got to the hotel (over an hour to go 7.5 miles) and ran half a mile on a treadmill in the hotel gym, but I watched TV instead. We're going to dinner tonight with my sister, Keri, and her fiancee, Michael. It's 7:30 here, but only 5:30 back home, so I might have trouble sleeping tonight. We'll see.

I guess I should say something running related. Paul thinks he has seen some running celebrities. Ryan Hall, Mbarak something, Culpepper's wife. Yeah, this is getting exciting. Stay tuned.

PM--dinner with my sister and her boyfriend at a little Italian restaurant called Pinocchio's.  The place was so small that there were probably only 10 tables, so we had to wait for somebody to leave before we had a table, which took about 20 minutes.  I've had longer waits than that in Logan, though, so I wasn't bothered.  My sister looks great.  She's lost 50 lbs. since I last saw her in January (I think I said before that it had been a year-and-a-half, but I forgot that I went out in January to see my other sister's baby).  Her "whatever", Michael, is really nice, but their relationship is kind of weird.  I think it works for them, but you can never tell for how long. 

New York City. Breakfast in the hotel restaurant. The restaurant is supposed to open at 6:30, but we got there after 7:00 and they still weren't open, so we went in and sat down anyway. I was supposed to get up before breakfast and hit the hotel gym, but it was hard enough getting up at 7:00 this morning, because that's 5:00 Utah time and half a day isn't long enough for me to adjust to the time. Nothing too interesting this morning. Paul is doing race-related stuff all day, so I'm going to go be a tourist with my sister. More later.

I spent most of the day walking around downtown. I took a taxi (my first) from our hotel to my sister's. They were at 47th St. and we decided we would just walk from there down to the pier to go see the Statue of Liberty. Well, when we got down around 10th St. we decided to pull out the old map and saw that, contrary to what we thought previously, after you get past the numbered streets there is another mile or so to the water. So, instead of walking the whole way, we hopped in another taxi and went down to the World Trade Center Memorial. It was kind of surreal. I mean, the place has so much emotional meaning, but it just looks like a construction site right now. We talked some about where we were when it happened and then moved on to conversations about stupid stuff we did as kids (our conversations always move in that direction). From there it is a pretty short walk down to the water and we were soon there. Guess what was there to greet us! A two-hour-long line. That kind of put a damper on things, since my sister had to leave for the airport in a few hours. We decided to just take the subway (my first time) and head back towards Times Square for some lunch. After lunch we did some souvenir shopping (you can't pass up the 7 for $10 t-shirts) and then it was time for them to head for the airport. I wished that I had more time with my sister, but I'll take whatever I can get.

After they left for the airport, I went back upstairs and Paul was there (after his race-prep day).  We relaxed for a bit, then tossed around what we should do for dinner, blah, blah, blah.  We're pretty much home-bodies, so we ended up ordering some delivery and hanging out in the hotel room.  Logan slept over with us so that he wouldn't have an hour subway ride in the morning before the race.  We all went to bed some time around 8:30 (6:30 in Utah), which was pretty amazing.  More tomorrow.

Paul and Logan left at about 5:10-5:15, I wasn't really awake enough to remember.  I just know that I did remember to have Paul reset the alarm so I wouldn't sleep in and miss the race.  I got up and caught the charter bus down to the finish line.  That's when I had the most drama that I did all weekend.  I got off the bus and realized when I saw everybody else's breakfast passes that I had the wrong one.  The security guards were doing a very good job of following orders and wouldn't let me in without the pass.  So, with all due embarrassment I started crying like a baby because I was missing possibly one of the biggest moments of my husband's running career.  Well, I decided that, despite the fact that I was hungry, I decided to give up on getting into the breakfast and just try to see some of the race, so I walked around to one of the general spectator entrances and just reserved myself to sitting with the average people.  I wouldn't be able to eat, but at least I would be able to see the race.  So, at that point I called Katey Fielding, Logan's wife, and told her that I couldn't get into the breakfast, but that I should probably meet her somewhere to give her the bracelet that she needed to get into the post-race finish area (different from the finish line).  Turns out Logan's mom wasn't going to be there for over an hour, so she let me use her pass to breakfast (which I proudly displayed for the security guards who were giving me a hard time) and then came back out to get her later.

The race itself was awesome.  Ryan Hall was amazing!  There was a good fight going on for second and third.  Dathan Ritzenhein and Brian Sell ended up with those spots, but at various times Meb, Abdi, Dan Browne, and Khalid were contenders. I started crying when Ryan Hall was approaching the finish and he just started praising God.  It's awesome to me to see somebody who displays their faith so readily.  At the finish I heard some people talking about Ryan Shay having a heart attack, but only found out later that he actually died during the race.  It seemed so strange.  I felt really, really sad for his wife of three months.  Just imagine.  It broke my heart.

After the race we hopped back on the bus back to the hotel took showers and headed back down to the bus to go to the luncheon.  It was really, really tasty.  Then we popped into the Brooks party where we got awesome Hanson's shirts (it's a t-shirt with a picture of a singlet on it) and Hanson's playing cards.  We spent the rest of the day hanging out with Logan and Katey.  I know that I should have felt like doing something New York-y, but I was happy to just sit and chat for a while.  We ended up in Times Square again and ran into a guy who sold us tickets for a comedy club (Comic Strip Live, the one where Seinfeld did his thing at the beginning of his show).  We were all a little leery that it might get raunchy, but decided that at $10 apiece if we didn't like it we could just leave.  It ended up being pretty funny, so I was glad we went.  That pretty much wraps up Saturday.

Grrr.  I had this great post about how the restaurant at the hotel was understaffed, but the food was good, but I bumped a button and lost it.  That's what I get for using the laptop on the couch with lazy wrists.  Anyway, my favorite part about Sunday morning was seeing all the top guys hobbling down the stairs.

We had planned to see the Met, but decided that we didn't want to fight through NYC Marathon crowds and then miss our shuttle to the airport.  We ended up watching the marathon for a while (Paula Radcliffe is really tall) and grabbed some lunch.  My favorite part about this marathon was that people put their names on their shirts so you can cheer for them by name as they run by.  If I ever run a marathon, I'm definitely putting my name on my shirt.

That pretty much wraps up our NYC trip.  We got back to Logan at around 12:30 and I went directly to bed without unpacking (well, except for my toothbrush) because I had to wake up at 6:00 for work.

I felt really good Sunday, as far as knees and ankles go.  I guess all the walking that I did while there helped a lot.  So, despite the fact that I didn't follow my plan for the weekend, I still think it was beneficial.  We'll see how things are tomorrow. 

I didn't wake up until 6:20 a.m., but I made it to work on time.  I was super tired all day, but I didn't fall asleep at work or anything.  My knees and ankles were still feeling pretty good, but my shin was hurting because of my two-year-old shoes, so I decided that I need to get some new ones (or get my Birkenstocks fixed).

After work I went and bought groceries, then we hit the gym.  I tried to run there, but my knees weren't up for it (I was capable of running, which is an improvement, but at an even slower than usual pace).  I did the elliptical for 30 minutes, nothing special.  My ankle and knees were hurting on the walk home, but I'm going to attribute that to the five days I took off.  I'm still feeling a lot better and I'm going to try to run to the gym again when I go tomorrow.

So, only slightly related to running:  I've been thinking of changing my work schedule to one that would be less convenient in some ways, but much more convenient in others.  I am working 7-4 right now, which is kind of killing me.  I get up early, I work for 9 hours, I come home then hit the gym, I come back home and make dinner, then I blog, shower and collapse.  I have no energy or desire to do any of the other things that I need to do (namely, housework).  I'm thinking of changing my schedule to 7-11 and 1-5.  Then I would wake up early, go to work, hit the gym, go back to work, come home, make dinner, do some housework, then collapse.  I just don't have it in me to do anything after I go to the gym in the evening.  It's just something I'm throwing around.  I kind of think that working out while it's still light out would help with the whole energy thing, too.  I'll think about it some more and let you know what I decide. 

20 minutes on the elliptical, blah.  I wanted to do 30 minutes, but was feeling kind of fatigued, so I did some weights instead.  Paul went with me to the gym again and we tried to run, but I'm still running slower than I can walk.  It's pretty frustrating, but I am getting better, even if it is slowly.

 I talked to my manager about changing my schedule, as well as all of my co-workers, and everybody thought it would be fine.  I have to wait to change my schedule until my co-worker comes back from her knee surgery, though, so it's still nine hour days for me.  It's temporary, though, so I can handle it.

30 minutes on the elliptical after a pretty decent adjustment at the chiropractor.  I like to do the hill program because it varies.  I can't stand when things just stay the same.  I like the Planet Walk because there is varied scenery, whereas running through the neighborhood feels repetitive.

One of my co-workers tried to tell me that you can't get a very good workout on an elliptical.  I told him that my heart rate, which I kept between 160 and 180 today during my workout, said otherwise.  This from the guy who wants to run St. George next year and only runs on a treadmill and usually only 2 miles a day.  I mean, I'm running zero miles a day, but I'm not kidding myself into thinking I'm running a marathon next October.  I guess it's good to have goals, though, but I'll keep my goals realistic. 

20 minutes on the elliptical.  I wanted to do 30, but my legs were super tired after the beating I gave them yesterday.  My knees were feeling really good, so I would have ran to the gym if it wasn't dark outside.  I can do running by myself in the daylight, and I can do running with somebody else in the dark, but I don't do running by myself in the dark.  I think it's just something that I haven't quite lost from growing up in the suburbs of Detroit.  I know Logan is super safe and all, but I just don't feel comfortable.  I'm definitely going to run on Saturday, though, even though I know it will be really slow.  I'm not so worried about speed, so it doesn't matter.  For me it's just about getting out and doing it.

So tired today. I was supposed to do 30 minutes plus some weights, but I didn't have the energy. I slept really well last night, so I'm not sure why I'm so tired. I was struggling to keep my eyes open at work and then decided not to go to the gym. I told Paul that I would go if he made me, but warned him that when things stop being fun for me that is when I usually quit, so forcing me to go could be potentially hazardous. He didn't push the issue. Still planning on running tomorrow, though.

So, here's something unrelated: I work in the customer service department for ICON. We make treadmills. My supervisor gave my co-worker a project to work on and he couldn't sleep and has been on edge all week because of it. I mean, in the scope of the company, what my group does is important, but in the grand scheme of things my job is pretty meaningless, so I tend to not get too stressed out. I just go and do the best that I can, then I try to leave it at work (well, I leave everything except the stories at work...those I take home to share with Paul). I don't think that people really realize how negatively stress affects you. I told him to do some yoga, but I don't think he'll take my advice. He hasn't taken my advice about joining the blog, so why would he listen to me about this?

"Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows but only empties today of its strength."--C.H. Spurgeon 

Da-d-d-dah (fanfare)! Ran two miles today. Yeah! It was slow, as I predicted, but it felt really good. I mean, my calves were hurting pretty good by the last half mile, but I actually mean that I felt good spiritually during my run. I brought my friend Sara Groves with me and her music is really uplifting. I've decided that my workouts are more gratifying when I listen to Christian music than when I listen to whatever random thing comes up. I was actually smiling during my run and a couple of times closed my eyes while I was running to just praise God. Of course, I quickly realized that I was running with my eyes closed, so that didn't last long. I'm not fast, and my running would bring glory to anyone in and of itself, but if I mean for it to glorify God, then it will.

"To lift up the hands in prayer gives God glory, but a man with a dungfork in his hand, a woman with a slop pail, gives Him glory too.  He is so great that all things give Him glory if you mean they should." --Gerard Manley Hopkins

30 minutes on the elliptical.  I tried to run to the gym, but I ended up walking instead.  It wasn't really that I didn't have the energy (although I was pretty tired) or that my knees were hurting.  It was just that I didn't have the willpower to make myself run there.  Maybe tomorrow.

I did an experiment today to see what kind of workout I could get if I kept my heart rate under 140.  Well, if sweatiness is a good indicator of how good your workout is, mine was pretty good.  I definitely could have gone faster, but I felt pretty good at that heart rate/pace, so I'll say the experiment was a success. 

30 min on the elliptical. Didn't get my heart rate over 140 again today, but not because I wasn't trying to. I just had no energy. I don't know why I've been so tired lately, but I'm getting sick of it. Hopefully things will improve.

Ran to and from the gym today. 20 minutes on the elliptical. I wanted to do 30 minutes, but I was running late. It felt pretty good, but wasn't terribly exciting.

Had dinner with Bethany and Cody tonight. I'm so glad to have met them. Most of our friends who come to Logan leave after a couple of years, so we have to keep finding new people to be friends with. It's pretty easy for Paul, but I'm not very good at making friends. Anyway, the food was really good, the company was excellent (even though Paul was afraid of breaking Lily), and we had a really good time. Now if we can just get John and Marci back to Logan our circle of blog friends will be complete

I had planned to do 2 miles today, but I just got caught up with visiting with Paul's family. I love our nephew Brayden and had a great time playing with him and talking to Paul's sister and parents. I'll just run tomorrow. I had planned to take it off, but I'll get a run in before church.

I'm not really sure how far I ran today, but that seems right. It felt pretty good, except that I had a headwind for the second half of it. I basically just ran for a little while then turned around when I felt like it and went back. Pace was slow, but that just doesn't bother me. I'm a Penguin and I'm okay with that.

The church service was really good today. It really convicted me to find more ways to serve those in need. Pretty inspiring.

I met Paul's high school friend today, the original Dan Lewis (because we had another friend named Dan Lewis in Logan). He was really nice and they probably hadn't seen each other in several years. His wife, who is from the Philippines, was super nice, too. Can't wait to see what adventure tomorrow holds

No workout today, but I did watch the NCAA Division I Cross-Country Championships.  It was pretty cool.  I'd never been to a cross country race before, so it was an experience.  That's all.

I tried to run 2 miles today, but my arms and legs felt really heavy, so I mostly walked.  I had good God time, though, so it was worth it.  A dog bit me (a run-away, not a stray) and I tried to tell some people at the Food Pantry that there was a car with its lights on in the parking lot, but they didn't do anything about it.  I'm feeling less tired today than I have recently, but that might be because I've slept about 10 hours the last two nights.  I wish I could be on vacation every day.

Okay, so I got really lazy on my vacation.  I also learned something about my recent workouts, though, that could prove useful.  As far as the vacation went, we had a lot of really good food, Paul had five speaking engagements on Wednesday, I wish I had had more time with Paul's sister and brother-in-law and especially his nephew (who is awesome), and I really wish I had had more time than the two hours I had with my family in Detroit, but I'll take what I can get.

Now on to more relevant things.  Running at sea level was easier on the lungs, but it was harder for me for reasons that are unique to me and unique to my situation.  Having done nothing but the elliptical for the last 3 weeks or so my legs have definitely gotten stronger, but I have gotten lazy when it comes to running.  The elliptical is so easy on my body that I am now less able to take the pounding of running than I was before I got hurt.  It's totally a mental thing that I know I can work through, but it's frustrating to know that I am capable of doing more than I am allowing myself to do right now.

Having said that, I only did a mile today.  I had to force myself to run the whole way, but I did it.  I might have done a second mile, but I probably would have had trouble keeping myself from walking.  Besides being back at elevation and having this mental block, it was also only 30 degrees which my body isn't used to yet.  I can't say that I love winter and I'll probably be hitting the gym most of the next three months.

So, I have a plan to overcome this mental block that I'm experiencing.  I'm not sure if it'll work, but it's worth a try.  Since I'm changing my work schedule to have two hours in the afternoon free, and since my house is between my work and the gym, I plan to stop at home and run to the gym and back.  While at the gym I'll probably try to mix it up and do some elliptical and some treadmill.  I know that the treadmill isn't an exact substitution for running outside, but it's a closer approximation than the elliptical.  Then I'll still run on Saturdays, which has been the plan for a while now.  If I'm feeling really good and it's warm outside, I might even run occasionally during the week, but it mostly will depend on the weather.  Anyway, if anybody has any other advice for me, I'm all ears.

Well, my ellipto-laziness tried to kick in again today, but I told it where to go.  Ran to the gym, 30 min on the elliptical with about 6 1 minute segments at 7:30 pace (twice my normal elliptical pace), ran home.  It was pretty nice out and the gym wasn't very crowded (not that it's ever really crowded, there were just fewer people there) so I enjoyed my run and my workout a fair amount.  I really had to push myself not to stop and walk while I was running because my right shin was really hurting, but I pushed through it.  I have been having tight muscle problems (hammies and calves mostly) during my runs, so I have to stop and stretch in the middle of my runs.  Considering the distance I'm running that's pretty sad, but I never said I was strong.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that I said the opposite.

So, as far as my new schedule goes, I think I'm going to like it.  It was kind of hard to stay until 5:00 today, but it's only an hour later than I'm used to and I don't have to still fit my workout in after that, so I was able to walk the dog and make dinner before Paul got home (okay, so dinner is still on the stove, but that's an improvement).  Also, four hour shifts are much easier than nine hour shifts, so work flew by today.  I think this is going to work out well, but I'll keep you posted.

I did the treadmill for the first time ever today and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be (incidentally, I expected it to be like the elliptical, so when I first got on I was trying to push the belt faster and I couldn't figure out why it was so hard. Then I realized that you actually have to tell the treadmill how fast you want to go, rather than just settling into whatever pace feels good, which is kind of good for me). 40 min and I felt pretty good. I had to stop a few times to stretch my tight hammies, but other than that it went pretty well. I averaged around 14:00/mile pace, which I know is really slow, but I'm concentrating more on running without stopping right now than I am on speed. I know, though, that I am capable of running much faster than I am right now. I just don't have the motivation to do it. I'm just happy to be sticking with it, which isn't something that I usually do.

Oh, and because Bethany asked and I'm sure everybody is really concerned: Yes, I am still planning to run Moab in March. I haven't registered yet, but I will soon. When does registration end, again? My goal is to break an hour for the 5 miler. I'm not actually sure that I can at the rate that I'm going, but we'll see. My secondary goal is to run the whole way without walking, which I'm pretty sure I can do by March.

No snow today so I ran to and from the gym (well, ran to the gym and mostly walked home). Last night Paul told me I should do an experiment today, so I did and then modified it a little. Paul's experiment idea came from the fact that I know I am capable of running much faster than I am right now and I think he wanted to see if it was true. Anyway, he suggested I just set the treadmill to 10:00/mile pace and see how long I can go. I decided that it would be an interesting experiment, so I tried it.

Here's how it went. I started out at 10:00/mile pace and could tell after about two minutes that I would probably be able to maintain this pace for about five minutes and then I would be toast (for reasons I will explain below), so I asked myself this question: do you want to do that? Do you want to kill yourself in five minutes (possibly I could have gone longer, but there's no way of knowing) and then have nothing left to get you home and then hurt enough that you have to take a day off tomorrow? Or, would you rather go a little longer and have something left in the tank so that you can do it again tomorrow (and you can get home)?

Well, I decided on the latter, so this is the workout I ended up with: 2:30 at 10:00/mile pace then 1:00 brisk walk recovery x 4 for a total of 15:00. I probably could have gone to 20:00, but I decided against it. Why, you ask? 1. My leg strength leaves something to be desired, so my quads were hurting a little (which is a good thing because it means I actually worked them today). 2. The thing that was keeping me from running faster for a longer amount of time was not my leg strength, it was the fact that I felt like my heart was going to explode out of my chest (I really pushed myself to the limit as far as heart rate is concerned). My heart isn't used to pounding so hard and fast yet. 3. I was noticing that my gait is unbalanced (I kind of turn to the left when I step with my left foot), which kind of bothered me. After I stretched later I noticed that my left hip flexor was hurting a lot more than anything else. Not sure what to do about this.

Anyway, I know it isn't anything to write home about, but it felt good. I'll probably try to do something similar (hopefully better, faster, longer in the future) regularly, just so that I don't get lazy. It was fun, so why not?

Where's Stacy, you say?  What happened to Stacy?  Where's she been for two days.  We miss her so much.  We must have more of Stacy.  Okay guys, that's a little much don't you think?  I mean, I'm pretty great, but it was only two days.  Anyway, where have I been?  I worked ten hour days Thursday and Friday, so no lunch break and no energy to go workout in the evening.  I think I'm done with the long days, though, at least for now.

So, today I slept in really late and then realized that I needed a refill on my prescription, so I decided to run my errands today.  3 miles to and from Fred Meyer.  It was cold, but I'm pretty sure it was above freezing, so it wasn't too bad.  The worst part was that on the way home my belly was starting to go numb, so my shirt rubbing on it was really irritating.  Had a good time with my friends Caedmon's Call and had a good stretch with my 100 lb dog trying to lay in my lap.

Paul tells me that I should stick around 12:00/mile on the treadmill for the next month.  That's probably a good idea.  It means that I won't get too lazy and just go with what's comfortable, but I also won't push myself too hard and get injured.  I'm thinking that I'll probably try to find a New Year's Eve 5k somewhere.  Paul knows of a few.  He told me that one of them starts at 11:30 so you can ring in the New Year.  I told him that that would be great if I could finish a 5k in 30:00, but it will probably be more like 35:00 (I'm counting on some race day magic).  It still kind of sounds fun.  We'll see how the next month goes.

OH, by the way, Paul told me that I need to change my mileage on my treadmill running days, so I'm doing that momentarily.  Fun times. 

Another ten hour day.  My problem with working long days isn't lack of energy.  It's lack of motivation.  I go to work and it's dark, I come home and it's dark, I still want to get a workout in and make dinner and do some housework.  It all just seems too overwhelming.  Anyway, when I knew that I wasn't going to get my lunch break again today I called Paul and told him I was going to forego making dinner in order to get a workout in.  He was okay with that (luckily we both like leftovers), so I settled on going to the gym after work.  Well, when it was dark after work I started to feel like I wasn't really up to going to the gym.  So, when Paul called at 6:00 to say that he wouldn't be able to make dinner either (again, thank God for leftovers) and that I should just go to the gym, I decided he was probably right and I went.  I really, really didn't want to, but I went anyway because I know that what I need right now is consistency.  

1.5 miles on the treadmill.  Blah.  The music was okay today, but not great, so I was really dragging.  I tried to maintain 12:00/mile pace, but was only able to maintain it for 1 mile (I still think that 12:00 pace is a bit fast for me), which is a lot longer than I could maintain 10:00 pace, so I can't complain too much.  I'm thinking that tomorrow will be another long day and then I'll be back to my regular schedule.  Hopefully I can get out tomorrow, but it isn't looking very promising.  At least I get paid for overtime.  I'm sure I've said this before, but I am really looking forward to the day that I don't have to go to work anymore. 

Had a chiro appointment today after my 10 hour day (the last one for a while).  I didn't realize how badly my neck hurt until he adjusted it.  Wow.  The best word I can use to describe the noise that my neck made is "crackle."  That plus some Biofreeze left me feeling pretty good.  I had a headache because I had my headset on for 10 hours with only one bathroom break and one break to eat my apple (don't tell anybody, but I can eat most of my lunch while I'm actually on the phone...I know it's rude, but I'm hungry...nobody ever knows that I'm eating, though, so I'm pretty sure they aren't offended).

Paul dropped me off at the gym after the chiro and I could only bring myself to do about 15 minutes on the elliptical.  I ran home after that and was pretty much done for the day.

 So, maybe somebody can give me some input into this phenomenon:  I am getting fat.  Okay, fat is a stretch, but I'll explain.  I'm not talking about getting heavier.  I am getting heavier, but I recognize that at least some of that is due to the muscle gain from running consistently.  No, I'm talking about how I am exercising more, and more regularly, than I ever have in my life and I am getting more and more fat all over my body (well, not my legs, they just have the regular amount of fat that I usually have).  Why am I gaining fat when I should be losing fat?  I'm not saying that I think I'm actually fat or that I need to lose weight.  I'm just wondering if anybody can explain this to me.
 

Today my co-worker needed me to cover him while he was gone for a luncheon, so I told him that was fine if he would come in early so that I wouldn't have to work another 10 hour day.  So, I actually got to go to the gym in the morning, which wasn't really as much fun as some people make it out to be.  I'm not really a morning person (I'm not a night person, either...I'm more of an afternoon person), so I slept in because I could and ran to the gym.  1.5 miles on the treadmill at around 13:00 pace (I know Paul thinks that I should be doing 12:00 pace, but it's kind of the upper limit of what I can maintain for a mile or more), then I ran home.  Blah.  I felt pretty good on my run home, but it is hard for me to keep running when I'm at the gym because it's just so hot.  I always have to take water breaks about every half mile to a mile because I'm so hot.

So, on an unrelated subject: I walk the dog most days after work.  Just a half mile or so.  Tonight I got winded on our half mile walk.  I'm supposed to be getting into better shape, right?  Argh. 

The best word I can think of to describe my workout today is craptacular.  It was such a beautiful day outside that I decided to just run outside, rather than going to the gym.  I wish I hadn't, not because I like running on the treadmill more, but because my run ended up being terrible.  Paul came home from his track workout right as I was getting ready to run, which was nice because I usually don't get to see him during the day.  Well, as we were leaving Paul and I realized we were both going the same way (probably with the same run in mind), so Paul generously ran with me for the first .75.  So, since I was running with Paul I went at a pace that was much faster than I would normally have gone (or at least it felt like it) and I was wiped after that first .75, so I turned around and ran/mostly walked home.  I felt really discouraged for most of the rest of the afternoon, but now as I'm writing this, I think I'm going to look for the silver lining.

1.  I am slow.  I like being slow.  I like that when we go hiking I get to enjoy more of the scenery because I'm passing it slower than those I'm with.  I like who I am and this is part of it, at least for now.  Maybe I'll never get any faster, and that's okay with me.

2.  If my goal is to glorify God, then I can do that at any pace, if I mean to. 

3.  For the first time in my life I am enjoying exercising, I am enjoying spending time by myself, I am enjoying running.  Usually I'm pretty sedentary, so the fact that running is enjoyable and I am doing it consistently is a big deal.  I like running with Bethany and Marci, but I like running with me, too. I'm especially enjoying listening to praise music and just being present with God during that time.

Anyway, just some random thoughts.  So, for most of the day my run was craptacular, but from this point on it was pretty good.

Took yesterday off because I worked a long day again.  I want to be more consistent than that, but being mentally tired is harder for me than being physically tired.  I just look at every hour of over time as getting me that much closer to not working anymore.

 Ran with Bethany today for the first time in a while.  I love her, and not how I love ice cream, either.  She is always so encouraging and never allows me to be hard on myself when my runs with her don't go as planned.  Today it was kind of flurrying during our run, but it wasn't too cold so it was fun.  We did the Planet Walk, as usual, and it had been a while since I had done that run, so it was refreshing.  I'm still pretty much a baby, so when I got a side stitch I had to stop and walk, but, like I said, Bethany was so encouraging it was hard to feel bad about it.  She's such a good running partner.  I wish I could be as encouraging to her as she is to me.  I spend too much time complaining to be encouraging, though.  Sorry Bethany.

My plan for next week:  I'm really concerned about my ability to run consecutive miles lately because of the way my workouts have been laid out (run .75 to the gym, 1.5 on the treadmill, .75 home from the gym).  I'm running 3 miles a day, but never more than 1.5 at a time.  So, my plan this week is to just drive to the gym and do 3 miles on the treadmill instead of having the breaks.  The only issue I see with that is that I get so hot/thirsty at the gym, but if I'm driving there I can bring a water bottle so I don't have to stop to go to the drinking fountain.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Not running related:  I love a good sit.  By that I mean that I love to just hang out and talk with people, especially my hubby.  So, when we went to Angie's today and sat for about 3 hours at the counter eating lunch, it was pretty nice.  Lately all we talk about is running, but that's okay because we're both doing it now.  I just can't wait to see what Paul is capable of now that he's in the best shape he has been since we've been married and he has coaching and...well, now is just a really good time for his running.  It's exciting.  Anyway, if any Logan locals want to get together for a good sit, I always have time for that.
 

Okay, so the new plan, I think it's going to work for a while.  It'll probably work until I get up to higher mileage, or if I get faster, because there is a time constraint when I work out during my lunch break.  Anyway, 3 miles on the treadmill today.  I won't embarrass myself by telling you the time.  Suffice it to say that I ran at a pace that I was pretty much sure I could maintain for 3 miles.  I think I'll try to pick it up tomorrow because I still had some in me when I got done, but I didn't have any more time.

I'm still trying to get my co-worker, Brian, to join the blog.  He's trying to train for St. George this fall, but he's only up to 4 or 4.5 miles a day right now and it is all on the treadmill.  Not that I think he can't do it, nor do I think there is anything wrong with training on a treadmill, I just think he could use some encouragement.  Anyway, the more the merrier, right?

Another 3 on the treadmill.  Blah.  3 minutes faster than yesterday, so that's 1 minute per mile faster (in case you couldn't do the mental math).  Here's the worst thing about my workout today: I realized when I got to the gym that I had forgotten my MP3 player.  I'm sure that running 3 miles for most people doesn't take long enough for them to get bored, but it takes me quite a long time, so I was pretty much bored from the start.  I made it, though, and promised myself that I wouldn't do that again.

I'm kind of regretting telling Paul that I wanted to do a New Year's Eve 5k because I think he's going to hold me to it.  Also, we've recruited some others, so there will be more witnesses.  Oh well, at least it's something to do.  We haven't really done anything for New Year's Eve in a while.  It'll be fun, despite being cold. I guess I should probably try to get some more outdoor running in before then so that it isn't too much of a shock.

Blah, blah, blah.  3 miles on the treadmill.  Blah.  I remembered my music today and was rocking out to tobyMac.  1 minute faster per mile, again.  I guess I should be running faster if I'm able to shave off 2 minutes per mile in as many days.  We'll see what tomorrow holds.

So, I just can't help myself when I'm at the gym.  I have to see what pace the people around me are doing.  The guy next to me today was doing  10:30 miles, but I think the guy on the other side of me was doing a similar pace to mine (he was actually one down, so I couldn't really see).  Yesterday there was a girl in the row ahead of me who was doing 10:00 miles and today there was a girl on the end of the row who was walking at my slowest running pace (if you tried real hard you could probably guess it).  I just find it interesting to see all of the different people and all of the different bodies.  It's a nice reminder of God's infinite creativity.  Each one is unique.  I'm not going to lie, I do compare myself, but not in a, "they are better than me" kind of way.  I just like to see what everybody else is doing.  Of course, sometimes there's a Paul or somebody like him, and mostly I just think of how loud they are (the faster you run on a treadmill, the louder your foot strike is...I'm pretty sure there is a direct correlation). 

Blah. 1.25 miles on the treadmill. Today was not a good running experience, but sometimes you need those bad days in order to appreciate the good ones. So, here's how it went down. I woke up late this morning, so I didn't eat breakfast (well, I ate a granola bar). So, when I came home for my gym break, I decided to eat my breakfast then, rather than getting changed to go to the gym. So, I ate and ended up leaving for the gym about 30 minutes later than usual. It was fine because I have 2 hours and I was planning on running faster again today anyway. Well, I got to the gym and went to choose my torture. I usually try to get one of the treadmills that is directly under a ceiling fan or one that has fans built into the console. It gets so hot at the gym that I really need the moving air to keep me going. Well, all of the ideal candidates were taken, so I had to take one of the ones that was just near a ceiling fan. This did not work out. I averaged :30 per mile faster than yesterday (2:30 faster than Monday), but I only made it one mile. At one mile I was dripping sweat (normal) and was so hot I was having trouble breathing (not normal). I tried to drink some water to cool myself, but I just choked on it, you know, because of the whole having trouble breathing thing. So, I just took it as a sign, walked .25 to cool down, and called it a day.  I've had a lot of good days lately, so I figured I was due.  Tomorrow will be better, so it's no big deal.

Pretty much the same as yesterday.  Blah.  I threw in a little time on the elliptical, but was feeling so beat that I quit that, too.  Maybe I just need a little break.  I've been struggling to stay awake at work, so it could just be that I'm tired.  I'm sure tomorrow will be better after two easy days.

2 miles with Bethany and Marci on the Planet Walk.  Thanks for slowing down a little for me you two.  Anyway, I felt really good during my run and was glad to have the company.  It was a little slick in places, but the trees down there really shield you from the cold.  The puppy was a little sad that I didn't take him for a long run today, since I promised him that I would, but I went home after we ran and took the dog for another mile of stop-and-go running (I'm sure some dogs are good for running, but mine, not so much) and he was satisfied with that.

Tons of errands to run today, most of them for Paul because he can't do them himself, being sick and all.  Luckily my boring errands were interrupted by cocoa with Bethany.  I'm not that comfortable around women in general, but Bethany and Marci make me feel really comfortable being myself, so I was glad to have the girl time today.  Thanks again, guys. 

Argh.  Remember how Paul was sick all weekend?  I think I'm getting it now, too.  I did a short, easy, immune-system-boosting 2 miler on the treadmill.  Hopefully this kicks the pending cold to the curb.  Mostly it's just a little scratch at the back of my throat, so maybe I won't really get sick.  We'll see.

Well, that scratch in the back of my throat turned into a full-fledged sore throat, and a cough to boot.  I took a nap at lunch time instead of going to the gym.  I'm hoping this doesn't get too serious.  I really hate missing work (despite the fact that I don't love work).

That cold I was trying to avoid, it finally caught up with me.  I went to work today, but I came home after two hours.  I spent the rest of the day sleeping and watching movies.  I'm not sure, but I don't think I've eaten very much today.  I'm just not hungry.  Hoping this passes quickly so I can get back to running.  And I was doing so well.

Oh my goodness!  Today I felt so much better!  The sore throat is pretty much history and the cough, while still there, is deeper and less persistent (read: frequent) than it was yesterday.  I guess four hour naps and Hitchcock movies will cure just about anything.

On a totally unrelated note (that is, to get back to running), when I went back to work after my lunch break (which I used to finish Paul's Christmas present rather than going to the gym) it was beautiful and about 40 degrees.  However, when I left work four hours later, there were several inches of snow on the ground and there were huge flakes coming down.  It was like a wonderful, beautiful dream.  So, of course, I couldn't resist and had to get a run, albeit a short one, in while it was perfect snow running weather.  My first snow run of the year and it couldn't have gone better.  Okay, maybe if I had had some company it could have been better, but it was still pretty good.  I could still feel the cold in my lungs a little while I was running, but I didn't cough until I got home.  Winter is finally here.  Now when is it going to be over? 

I'm not sure why I tried to go for a distance PR while I was still recovering from this nasty cough, but it was just so tempting. Needless to say, I wasn't able to run the entire way because I haven't acquired the ever-impressive skill of running while hacking up a lung, but I ran about 3 miles of the 3.5, so I still feel pretty good about it. Hopefully I'll be able to get some good miles in next week, since I think I'm pretty much done with this cold (plus I'm okay with walking while I'm hacking since I'm a beginner runner).

So, about my run, it was pretty uneventful. It's a good thing that I'm not concerned about speed because, with the sidewalks covered with ice, I'm pretty sure that I was going faster when I took those coughing/walking breaks than when I was running. What ever happened to the age old tradition of shoveling your sidewalk? There must have been ice that was three inches thick in some parts, which is pretty impressive considering that we got our first snow two days ago. I'm pretty sure that there's a city ordinance about shoveling your sidewalk that says something like if you don't shovel your sidewalk then the city council is allowed to drag you out into the street and make you do a one man parade with your pants around your ankles. I could be wrong about that, but I think people would definitely rather shovel their sidewalks than show off their skivvies. I could be wrong about that, too.

I almost forgot.  I heard my new favorite song on my run today.  It's by Sixpence None the Richer and it goes like this:  Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, lean not on your own understanding.  In all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight.  Don't worry about tomorrow, He's got it under control.  Just trust in the Lord with all of your heart and He will carry you through.  I love songs that are based on Scripture. 

 

Cross country skiing with the hubby.  Really nice time down on the golf course.  I took it pretty easy and Paul enjoyed the hills.  Perfect Christmas day.  Mostly we just laid around all day, so it was good to get out and do some physical activity.  I didn't get a run in yesterday because I think that cold I assumed I had kicked is still kicking me.  Hopefully I'll feel better later in the week.

Not a spectacular run I have to admit.  I only really ran half of it.  Slow.  I don't know why I'm so tired, but I get going and then reach a point where I can barely lift my legs.  I'm just going to chalk it up to still being sick (my head hurts now when I bend over, which is really inconvenient) and hope that I'm feeling better in time to actually run the 5k on Monday.

Pretty much the same as yesterday.  I hope I can get some more energy soon.  On a brighter note, I have been sleeping really well, so I can't complain too much.

Same as the last 2 days.  I'm getting really sick of this, feeling a little depressed and disappointed with myself, and wondering how I'm going to run Moab.  I know, it's only 5 miles and it's still a couple months away, but it's still on my mind.  Hopefully tomorrow's run, being outside and all, will be a little better and a little more encouraging.  If not, there's always more Veronica Mars to lift my spirits (not because it's uplifting, but because I love it).

Did I mention that I've been sleeping well. Last night I slept like a rock and for a long time, too. In fact, I slept in so late that Paul finally came in and said he was going to run errands. I said I would go with him and he said, "No, I'm going right now." So, needless to say, I rolled back over and stayed in bed a little longer. I know that sleeping in won't cure my sleepiness, but my bed is just so comfortable.

Anyway, my run pretty much mirrored the rest of my runs this week, except that it was really cold because it was outside and I did more miles. I did the same run that I did last Saturday, but ran far less of it. Not really sure what is going to happen Monday, but since I'm not out to win any awards anyway, I'll just be glad that I got out there and did it, even if it does take me 45 minutes to run a 5k in the dark and cold. Here's to hoping I don't finish in last place.

Oh, and have I mentioned the dizziness?  It seems like about a mile into my run, or when my heartrate gets over 150 (I've worn a monitor a couple times this week) I start getting slightly dizzy.  So, that, coupled with the tired adds up to needing to walk to bring my heart rate down just so I don't fall on my face.  The longer I run, the dizzier/more tired I get.  Oddly enough, I usually have more energy after my run than I do during it, for a little while anyway.  

I'm trying to be grateful for the good things in my life.  My wonderful husband, family, and friends.  Job security.  Financial security.  All of the blessings that God pours out on me every day.  It seems like I forget sometimes that my life is really blessed and I start getting depressed and then I start to despair.  Often I just need a reminder to get me back on the right track.  Paul gave me that last night.  Once again, grateful for the hubby. 

This is now my third attempt to write an entry about my first ever 5k. It seems that hitting the "save entry" button doesn't really save anything for me except the info in the header. I just might give up if it doesn't work this time and call it a day.

My first ever 5k. Whoopee! I was pretty bummed that Paul couldn't run today, but I was more glad that he was feeling better after his adjustment. Hopefully he can run tomorrow. I definitely have to preface this race report with a shout out to my support crew: the Drapers. Bethany got me through this race and Cody came and pushed the pace on the final straightaway. I can't say enough good things about the Drapers, especially Bethany without whom I would have quit before halfway.

The race started at an arbitrary point on the road, which seemed to bother some (Cody), but didn't bother me, since that might have made the race oh-so-slightly shorter. Also, I'm not out to win any awards or break any records, so starting lines really don't concern me. We started right behind this guy who was running with his Golden and got passed early on by a woman pushing a jogging stroller. This is my idea of fun. Running in the dark at 15 degrees in downtown Ogden. I'm sure complaining a lot for a race that was my idea.

So, one block of slight uphill followed by one block of steep uphill pretty much kicked my butt. I tried to convince Bethany to go on without me, but she insisted that she wanted to run with me. Have I mentioned how great she is? She could have gotten a PR today, but she chose to run with me instead. I never would have even finished without her. When I got to the top of that hill I could barely lift my legs, but somehow she got me through that. I will admit that the uphill section of the race (the first half) pretty much destroyed me, but the downhill section was a lot more fun.

When we got to the part of the course where the loop joins back up with the straightaway we saw Cody run around the corner and gave him a little team spirit. He, of course, returned the favor and went on to take 2nd overall. Nice comeback, Cody. We turned onto the loop part of the course, saw some interesting (read: tacky) Christmas decorations and started on the downhill. So much easier to run downhill. I need to stick to the downhill races. I'm just not conditioned for the uphill stuff.

With I'd say about a mile to go Cody met back up with us and ran us in to the finish. I appreciate him pushing the pace a little because I was kind of just on cruise control and Bethany was just sticking with me. Anyway, I guess we were pretty hilarious, or at least that's the report I got from Paul who said that Cody told him how funny we were. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's the comedy stylings of Draper and Petersen. We'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip your waitress.

When it came to the actual finish I tried to get Bethany to take it and she tried to get me to take it, but we ended up pretty much crossing together (I ended up letting her take it by stepping behind her). Then I went back to my coat rack (Paul) and we hit the Rock part of the Rock and Run. Dinner was good and we met some interesting people (John and Cindy Patterson, who seemed to know everybody there), who tried to convince us to move to Ogden and in turn we tried to convince them to join the blog. We'll see how that works out.

So, about my goals. I think that, despite being cold and complaining a little (read: a lot), I do think that just getting out there and doing it and actually enjoying it is pretty good. I hope that God was glorified in the fact that I just finished, which, again, I owe to Bethany. You know, I'm not really a racer. I'm not really a runner, either. I am trying to take care of my sanctuary, though, and I'm pretty sure that counts for something.

I hope everybody had a good 2007! I know I did. I can't wait to see what 2008 holds! Hopefully more running and more blogging. Two things I can't get enough of.