THOU SHALT BE A COMEBACK

I went roller skating yesterday at my nephew's 7th birthday party and it was fun!  It has been many years since I rollerskated.  I took all the little boys for loops around the rink.  My boys are skinny light little things and when they started to stumble and fall it was easy to grab ahold of them and put them on their feet and they would just barrel forward!  My nephew is just a tall and big-boned kid and when I went to scoop him up when he stumbled he was a bit heavier than I expected and we both almost bit the dust!  Anyways holding on to him and keeping him balanced was hard work.  I of course skated some loops on my own and played red light-green light and squatted in my skates while my 1 year old grabbed my hands and pulled me so I rolled along(she thought that was great).  This morning I am sore from all of it but at least I don't feel bad about that birthday cake I ate...Off to church this morning and then home to NOT watch the superbowl.  Neither me nor my husband care for football--I might tune in to catch some funny commercials and the halftime show though.

I put in a good long workout today because this weekend, well, really this whole week, I have been awful with my eating!  I warmed up 20 minutes on the elliptical, then 7.68 on the treadmill at 6.6mph(9:05 pace), and then 20:30 on the virtual bike.  It felt really good and I am ready to start this week right!

Nice and easy run on the dirt and gravel roads.  It is cold again--supposedly 22 degrees but there was a pretty stout wind and it made me feel much colder.  I was right on the border of underdressed but one more layer probably would have been too hot.  Did my strength drills afterward.  I am still running pain-free.  Had my whole wheat pancakes made with skim milk and olive oil for breakfast with peanut butter and sugar free syrup.  The kids and my husband really like them too so we have been making them 3 or 4 times a week for breakfast here recently!  I like them because they last for 3 or 4 hours before I am hungry again.

It was a bad dog day again.  I got almost two miles through my nice, easy run when this HUGE dog came running at me.  He had this massive thick rope around his neck that was broken so I knew he was supposed to be tied up.  I run this route all the time without troubles so this dog surprised me.  Anyways he did not bite me but he kept jumping up on me and nipping and would not leave me alone.  He was so big when he reared up his paw was on my shoulder and he was taller than me.  He was some sort of massive mutt with a head like a bear.  He wasn't biting but he wasn't friendly either and  I was getting scared so I broke a branch off a tree and started swinging.  He didn't like that so then he stayed out of reach of my branch but kept hovering.  I walked about a third of a mile swinging my branch before I shook him.  Anyways the rest of the run was uneventful and tomorrow I am running the same route with mace and teaching that dog a lesson if he pops up again.  Did 15 minutes of core work afterward.

I'm working on varying surfaces and watching road camber so I drove to the highschool track today and did 28 laps--reversed directions halfway through.  It was boring--even more boring than I anticipated.  I kept speeding up wanting to get it over with and I was really wrestling with myself to stay at recovery pace.  I finally made the bargain with myself that if I ran at 9:30 pace the whole time I could run one quarter as fast as I felt like toward the end.  It worked and I stayed at 9:30 pace except for an 89 second quarter on the 25th lap.  Felt wonderful.  Did my strength drills interspersed with striders afterward, stretched, drove home, and at a massive breakfast--2 eggs, two pieces of toast and margarine, half a piece of toast with peanut butter(my daughter commandeered the other half), and a cup of skim milk.  

7 one mile loops by my house, dashing through to check my children between loops.  I ran at a comfortable pace but probably a little faster than a recovery room---mostly because of an eagerness to check on my children, in particular my toddler.  Big brother Nick has strict instructions to keep her in sight at all times but at just getting ready to turn 9(in 2 weeks) he can become distracted.  The loops are still nice though since I can see my street and anything that moves on it throughout the whole loop so I would know if a strange car was headed toward my house and take a shortcut to get home.  Anyways, 9:30 between checkups is just a tad too long so I ran faster--not sure how much faster--but I covered 7 miles in an hour.  My muscles are a little sore from the strength exercises yesterday--but no real pain anywhere so that is good!  I found out more about my 10k next weekend.  Surprise, it is actually a trail race.  I have never run in that kind of race before, but I am actually really excited.  I am going to run for fun and take care not to twist my ankles--rather than go for any kind of time!  There are no prizes but you get a picture of yourself running and cookies at the end!

p.m.  15 minute core workout

Nick wanted to go play on the football field today, so we packed up and went.  We brought baby dolls, water bottles, a sippy cup, fruit, fruit bars, books, and a stroller and drove to the track.  I ran 28 laps...eventually.  Between letting Vanessa in and out of the stroller for laps, craning my neck to watch the boys, doing a few dashes up the bleachers when Vanessa was climbing too high, yelling at the kids to be nice to each other, and doling out snacks, it took me a while!   It was not as boring as my 28 laps the other day, as I was quite engaged most of the time!  At the end I did a 100 meter dash in 17 seconds, timed Nick for a 100 meter dash(21.7 seconds) and did some stretching.  Ian didn't want to do a 100 meter dash, and Vanessa would veer off course to explore before she ever made it 100 meters.  All in all quite entertaining.  It was 60 degrees by 10:00 today(how do ya like that Walter?).

p.m.  my husband's basic training workout video.  mostly a lot of pushups and crunches

Didn't renew my membership at the rec center--didn't want to pay the money--so running is the option for my atonement day workout.  I figured as long as I ran really slow it wouldn't hurt to run extra mileage.  

5am--It is dark and windy, and I keep catching little drizzles.  I figure I can handle it.  By mile 4, the wind is picking up, and the drizzles are heavier.  By mile 5, it is howling like a freight train and I start heading home.  Too late.  The storm blows in and I am caught in torrents of rain.  I can't see with the rain on my glasses, so I take them off.  Now I can't see cuz I'm blind.  All I can hear is freight train wind.  There aren't many streetlights in these parts so I am deaf and blind.  I use my trusty penlight to try and stay on the road and shuffle home, although I think I may have ran in some yards.  The penlight saves me from several mailbox collisions.  I come home soaked.  My husband is waiting with a towel--he heard the torrential rain and started coffee and got a towel, figuring I'd be in shortly!  distance: 6.6 miles

7am--giant breakfast.  2 eggs, 2 pieces of sausage, 2 pancakes, skim milk

8am--full and lazy, but I'm gonna finish this.  Back out for 4 super slow miles.  It's windy(but dry), I'm still full, and have no motivation.  I wouldn't even call it running--more like shuffling.  I make it home, do my strength drills. Done.  

7.4 nice and easy.  Did abs afterword.  Very pleaseant run.

I was lazy today--slept in and did not want to run.  I even false started.  I jogged up the driveway, noted the mud, then turned around and jogged back into the house.  Finally, I decided I needed to buy some surprise Valentines for my husband and kids so I drove into town, ran in town, then went to the store and went Valentine shopping.  The run was okay--I was a lot more into it after a few miles--took it nice and slow, though.

Once again, wasn't feeling the run today--but I did it anyway, pretty bright and early and half-awake. I woke up, dressed, and stumbled out the door. About halfway through I woke up and it was an okay run. I ran pretty slow, but the pace naturally picked itself up and I was running at a pretty moderate pace towards the last mile or two--enough for my breathing to pick up a bit. Went home and did the strength drills I neglected yesterday. Now I'm off to coffee, breakfast, and family time.

Very nice run today--I wasn't dragging my feet.  7 miles--loops by my house while Vanessa napped.  Felt good--took it very easy except for the natural pick-up in pace in the last mile.  I'll probably only run a few miles tomorrow since I have a 10k on Sunday.

3 miles on a full stomach after breakfast at nothing more than a shuffle.  Met up with my one year old for the last quarter mile and sprinted at about 30:00 pace with her:)  My legs should be nice and fresh tomorrow.  I hear this course for the 10k tomorrow has a lot of sand and mud or ice, depending on the weather, and any semblance of speed is impossible.  Sounds fun!  I can't wait to finish and get my cookies!

This was the hardest, yet the funnest race I have ever been in!  I was the 6th person overall to finish and I believe the 2nd female.  The race starts on asphalt, then after a mile you fall off the road(literally, it's almost vertical going down for a minute) and hit a sandbar. Sand is the hugest speedkiller ever!  You plod through this sandbar which kills your legs, then you hit the trails.  The trails alternate between soft, deep sand, and firmer footing.  I quickly realized that rather than try to keep a pace(impossible), I would just try to keep the same effort.  The trail twisted and turned, and shot up and down so fast it almost gave me a headache.  On the sandy areas I would just try to keep the same effort, and then would charge when I had better traction.  There where a few thick grassy areas which would kill speed, but nothing like the sand did!  Anyways I actually had a lot of fun.  I passed a lot of people in the third mile and then after that was on my own.  There was a girl way ahead of me that I would catch glimpses of now and then but I had no hope of catching her.  Anyways, for the last mile you get dumped back out on blessed asphalt, but, unfortunately, have to run uphill for the entire last mile.  I tried to charge the hill as best I could although my legs were beat up from the sand.  Anyways at the end there were 3 guys milling around that had finished and I didn't see the girl I was chasing so I was either 2nd or 3rd female--cool!  I got a dreadfully unattractive picture of myself running(I swear the camera added 30 pounds) and a fudge brownie for my efforts.  I will definitely be back for this run next year!

Day off today--my hamstrings are a little sore!  If only I could always eat Valentine candy and baked goods and lose a pound....

Nice and easy today.  It is really windy--not unusual, but irritated me today.  I like to run and be able to hear something besides the wind roaring in my ears.  No encounters with dogs today--thank goodness!  I have a bit of lingering soreness today in my legs and decided to wait another day before getting back into the strength drills--I think I will do some abs though in a little bit.  

I wanted to run today--had some frustrations to work out.  I took it nice and slow and felt great.  My muscles aren't sore today anymore.  I finished my 7 and wasn't done yet so I ran some more--raced the school bus a little bit in the next door housing addition as it picked up kids--kinda fun!  Did 2 circuits of strength drills today instead of just one.  They are a bit harder the second time around but I think they make a difference so I will keep doing them!

I needed to go to town and run a few errands anyway, so I drove to the track and ran 28 boring laps and then ran errands.  I don't particularly care for going round and round but my joints seem to like the surface okay and there is little camber to deal with so oh well!  The only bad part is it is so monotonous that it is easy to lose track of what lap you are on...so I think I ran 28 laps, give or take a few!

Got home from work at 1230 and got up to run at 5, which was just as well since I wasn't sleeping well anyway.  It was just a slow, pleasant, dark run today.  I ran with my penlight.  I was surprised at how many cars I saw on the road this early in the morning.  Anyways, I am glad the weekend is here--today is Nick's 9th birthday celebration so I have presents to wrap and pizzas to make.

7.25 in town today while Grandma watched the kids.  No more lingering soreness from the strength drills today, but I decided against doing them today.  I like to do them 2x week but since I had a race this week I will count that as one day of strength drills.  The run felt good--I think it was a bit faster than usual but it was cold and I forgot to wear gloves so my hands were frozen and I wanted to get done!   The 40-45 mpw training range seems to be a good one for me--I think I will hang out at this mileage for a while and not build up any more until I am sure my body has adapted and two circuits of strength drills 2 or 3 times a week doesn't make me so sore.

Day of rest--and it's gonna' be a fun day.  It'll go something like this:  church, lunch, naptime, a few chores, then Delight is picking me up for girls' dinner out with Deb and Brandy--sounds like a fun day to me!

Had a very pleasant, lazy run today and then did 2 circuits of  strength drills.  My right quad is really tight--it doesn't hurt at all unless I try to stretch it too much--that's when I realized how tight it was.  Lots of gentle stretching afterward today and it helped a lot.

The emphasis was on slow for the run today.  My right quad is much better, but I can tell it is time for new shoes.  My legs have little nagging aches and pains.  My shoes should be in the mail any day now.  Tomorrow will probaby be running circles on the track. 

7 miles easy on the track in new shoes.  Felt good.  The shoes are a huge improvement.  Decided to run 400 at a fast but relaxed and comfortable pace.  It felt so good and I didn't feel strained at all that I made it an 800 in 3:16.  Took about 600 meters of jogging to fully recover.  Beautiful day!

It was really humid and overcast outside today and 55 degrees, but not unpleasant.  I shuffled slowly for the whole run--trying to be careful to break in the new shoes and make sure everything is still okay after my quickish half mile yesterday(I am paranoid about injury these days).  Did 2 circuits of strength drills.  I have decided against the 5k in March and am saving my energy for the big 10K in April--it has cash prizes to the top 5 and draws a lot of elite runners from the midwest.  I won't be winning any cash(I can't run a 10k under 40 minutes!)--but it will be a good race to get a nice PR in and there are some awesome post-race activities including a concert and bbq.  There's a 2 miles race too with a cash prize to the winner($200) but these ladies are unbelievable--they can run 2 miles in 10:something.  That's insane!  I can't even all out sprint that fast! 

Had to get up at 5am to squeeze the run in today.  Boy did it get a lot colder overnight.  I was wearing two layers on top and bottom and was still chilly.  The run started out pretty sluggish(less than 5 hours of sleep, yuck)--but I warmed up more and more with each mile and was bounding along happily at mile 7 and then tore through mile 8--eager to get home and get a hot cup of coffee(which is very nice right now).  I cannot believe how with just a few days in a new pair of shoes and nearly all my niggling aches and pains have disappeared.   I will have to be much more astute about replacing my shoes between 400 and 500 miles.  I'm going to take a nap today later on!

If I was gonna run today, it was going to be early!  Good thing I went to bed at 9 and fell right sleep because my alarm at 3AM was EARLY!  Did 7 loops by the house at a pretty rapid pace just because it is creepy that early in the morning, then came home, kissed my husband good-bye as he headed off to work, and now I am blogging and eating a granola bar.  I'm going back to bed in a few minutes!