I'm Back, and It's Official!

I have not been active on this blog in, um yeah, forever. Oops. I think part of the reason for that stems from my lack of goals in my training. And laziness. And busyness. So, last year I don't think I raced more than once-it it was on New Years. Sad! Part of it was time, part of it was the timing of the races, (always on Guard Drill!), and part of it was I no longer had a running buddy, and lost my motivation to train hard.

I still ran all year, but lower mileage than I'm used to. I still passed 1200 for the year, but overall it was a blah   kind of running year. That's okay. We'll just call it an off year, and move on.

Which brings me to the title. I am officially registered for the Seattle RNR Marathon. I have been wanting to do a full for two years, but the timing hasn't been right. Honestly, I don't think it will ever be perfect timing, but at least all three kids are in school, and I have time to commit to a training plan. I am doing the Train Like a Mother Finish It plan. I am liking it so far, and am just getting into week 2. 

I also joined a gym by my house, to help with getting strength training done. For all my good intentions to do it at home, it is just too easy to get distracted. So now I go to a strength class on Monday and Wednesday mornings. I am hoping that it will keep me injury free, without being too much for my muscles to handle. 

I am finding it is not the actual training that is hard, (yet), it's the time. Yes the kids are in school, which helps a ton, but life is still crazy busy. Oh, and me being me, I decided to commit to doing Ballet Exams in March. Which means, I have 10+ hours of dance class a week that I'm committed to. On top of marathon training. Yep, I'm a genius. 

Let's get this party started!

Snow

I am having an unexpected day at home with my youngest today. Gotta love waking up to vomit in the morning! Being a mom is so glamourous some days.

We have gotten over a foot of snow in the last two days. The kids are loving it, and honestly, so am I! Normally snow on March 1st would make me sad, but we have not had much in the way on snow this year and it is pretty. I love where our house is, accross from a vacant field where the deer hang. Oh, and it is the perfect sledding hill. Joy all the way around. Last night we got to eat dinner watching the deer ripping bark off the trees, then start bedding down for the storm. Pretty cool.

Anyways, running. I am still running, but I am not loving it right now. I'm not sure why. January was a really low mileage month at 39, but I knew it would be. 39 isn't terrible considering I didn't run for 3 weeks, and had to come back slowly.

February came in at 110 miles. Not bad, but not really where I wanted it to be. Some of it was life happening, some of it was migraines happening, some of it was an unwillingness to push farther. I don't know. I am just not as proud of that 110 miles as I probably should be.

Yesterday's run was an adventure. There was 8-10" of new snow, plowed in places and not in others. I wore my Yaktraks which worked well if the snow wasn't too deep. It felt like an obstacle course, leaping over piles of snow and running with high knees in the deep drifts. I had forgotten that snow is tough on the legs for any distance. 7 miles felt very long. I made a questionable choice to take the trail home, knowing it would be pretty. I figured it would be slow, but I had time. I thought. Except, no one had been on that trail at all yet. And the snow was over a foot deep because of the snow drifts. And it is all uphill. Whew. it was a very long 2 miles home, and I discovered my nifty Yaktraks don't work so well in deep snow. The snow was actually pushing the chain up and over the top of my toes. After stopping to correct it a few times, I just took them off and slipped and slid my way home. The miscalculations on time left me hauling up the BIG hill to my house since it was most direct, and needing to drive to the preschool in dripping running clothes. (They probably think I don't own real clothes since this is often the case)

Lessons learned? Snow slows you down-a lot. Plan for that next time. It is a lot of fun, but hard work. maybe cutting it a little shorter would have been good.

I have to admit, I kind of like the strange looks I get from people running in the more extreme conditions. It makes me feel bada@#. I have been feeling rather down lately, so it is nice to have that pick me up.

Feels so Good!

I got to go for a run yesterday, for the first time in almost three weeks. I got the tenative okay from the surgeon on Thursday, with a warning to take it easy and see how it goes. I went to ballet on Friday afternoon, figuring that would be a great test of how much my stomach muscles were ready for. It felt great! Except my feet-big ouchie there. They are always the first casuality when you stop dancing for a few weeks.

I was all jazzed to run on Saturday. The funny thing was, not running and laying around instead is a habit now. So weird! It took me until 4pm, (and after eating half a bag of candy orange slices) to get out the door. I was really sore from dance, (just muscles, not from surgery), so the run would either help or really hurt already sore muscles.

It felt great to wear my running gear. I had forgotten that my shoes are on the verge of dead and needing to be replaced. The wind was cold, and I was already having second thoughts. I have been dreaming of being able to run again, and I was not in the mood.

Then it felt great! Running, I love you! I've missed this! I'm flying! Until about mile 1.5, then ugh, why does this hurt? Why am I out of breath? Please tell me I didn't lose ALL my fitness in three weeks!

I finished the three miles. Since my Garmin had been set aside at forgotten the last few weeks, it wasn't charged. It was probably for the best that I ran without it anyways. I am so glad I was able to run pain free, but somewhat discouraged how hard 3 miles could feel.

The plan for this week is to run every other day, as long as I am still feeling good. I'm glad to not be running today since it is blowing some crazy snow out today. Honestly, tomorrow won't be much better, but I can hope.

3 Things Thursday

Happy Thursday! So this is me blogging on drugs. It could be entertaining, or just incoherent.

1. My surgery yesterday went well, and they were hopefully able to fix something. I don't know. The doctor told my husband what all the did, since I was still out with drugs. And him being him-he doesn't remember everything. I guess I will find out more at my post-op appointment in two weeks.

2. It feels so weird to just lay around in bed. I mean weird. It is hard to imagine doing this for the next two weeks. Right now it is easy because moving is seriously ouch. When it isn't so painful, I'm guessing I will need some reminders to take it easy.

3. Drugs are good. Sleep is good. I had a very random running dream, (that the drugs had something to do with). I've got to say, having wings on my shoes would be pretty cool. Of course, the outfit I was wearing looked kind of like an american gladiator outfit. That was definitely the drugs.

2011 Recap!

Happy New Year! This past year has alternately flown by, and seemed like forever. Isn't that always the case? So here's a brief recap:

Miles Run in 2011: 1442

Total Miles including swim and elliptical: 1511

Highest mileage month: December 159!

Lowest month: July 82

It was not a great race year, I struggled to find my speed after injury. I struggled with injury and illness, (shin again, knee and wisdom teeth removal). My only PR for the year was the Pear Blossom 10 miler, because I had not run that distance as a race before.

What am I proud of for this year? This fall and early winter, I built up my base and feel STRONG! I am injury free, and anything up to 9 miles feels easy most days.

September: 140

October: 148

November: 151

December: 159

I streaked all through the month of December, and have not taken a rest day since November 26th. I ran at least one mile each day. I expected to feel burnt out and tired, but I feel fantastic and wish I could keep going. Unfortunately, today is my last running day for a while. I am trying to look at my time off as a positive break, and I'm sure it will be. I just need to ban all things sugar from my house. My willpower with Christmas goodies=not so good.

Looking into 2012, I have no idea what is next. That is a first. I raced the Hangover Handicap on New Year's Day, (recap to come), but other race plans are on hold due to surgery tomorrow. It could be just 2 weeks off, it could be 6.

If my time off is short, I might due the Eugene Marathon. If not, Portland. After maintaining a strong base this fall without injury, I am ready to tackle my first full marathon. (eek, it's out there now!)

Other goals: Sub-2 half, 10 mile PR, more strength training-and sticking to it!

I'm off to run a few, and enjoy my last run for a while!

Hello Blog, Long time no See!

I am sitting on my bed, looking at a large pile of laundry and thinking of all the things I should be getting done this morning. And I am not in the mood to do any of it, so I think I'll FINALLY write a post.

We have had a lovely fall, with very little snow so far. That is unusual, and it the general opinion seems to be: if it starts late, beware! I am thinking there will be lots of snow soon enough. I have been running as much as I can, getting in the mileage before the weather turns, and before I am forced to take at least a few weeks off, (more on that later).

Monthly totals the last few months:

August: 133

September: 140

October: 143

November: 151

I have been so pleased that I've been able to up my mileage and hold a good 35-40 mile per week average WITHOUT INJURY!!! Huge accomplishment! My 151 miles in November was the highest mileage I have hit that I know of. I am over 1300 miles for 2011. This makes me happy.

This month will probably be a little less, but we will see. I have been feeling strong and great on most of my 7-9 mile runs. My goal is to be able to run 13-14 miles any day and feel as strong. A few weeks ago I ran 12, and I was hurting my the end.

Goals for 2012

• Get back to speed work! My speed has been seriously lacking, and I have been hesitant because of injury
• A sub-2 half. I have been so close a few times, but keep falling short. Thus the speed work!
• Hopefully, a marathon-most likely Portland

That's all I've got at the moment. I am sure that list will grow.

January will be a low mileage, (if any) month for me. I am trying not to dread it. At least it won't be for injury for once! I am having surgery on January 4th. I was hoping to get it over with in December, but no such luck. The surgery will be laparoscopic, so the recovery should only be 2-3 weeks or so, but it depends somewhat on how things go.

(sorry if it's TMI) I had massive complications after baby #3, and spent two quality weeks in ICU. I do not recommend this. Things have never quite been right since, so they are going in trying to figure out why, hopefully fix what they find, and to deal with a few cysts. Fun, huh? Hopefully it will be a simple fix, but we shall see. (if anyone wants the long version, let me know)

It is weird to think of taking weeks off without even being able to cross train. They say it's good to give your body a break once in a while, so maybe I will come back rested and ready to train hard. In the snow that is sure to have arrived by then.

Tale of the Worst 5K Ever

Seriously, I would have to check, but I am pretty sure it is my slowest 5k EVER. Not how I expected the race to go. Oh, and forgive typos and errors, my backspace button is broken. How inconvenient is that?!?!

Backing up a bit, this was the Running Y 5K for the humane society. I haven't run a 5k in forever, and i really haven't done speed work in forever, so I had pretty mediocre aspirations for this race. I even joked than anything under 30 minutes was fine with me.

Oh, backing up a little more, I have chronic migraines/headaches. My doctor put me on a new medication hoping to help with his problem. One possible risk, it could slightly lower my (already low) blood pressure. I could just see how it goes.

Race morning: chaos in sues. Kid 1: pick up from birthday party, deliver to soccer. Kid 3: deliver to birthday party. Kid 2: whining that she did not get to do the things kid 1 or 3 did. Add a fight over clothes since we were having our first fall weather, and it was a doozy of a morning.

I got to the race on time, and warmed up a little with A. I was actually wearing a matching outfit, (unusual for me), but due to previous chaos, I don't have a picture. Need to work on that.

We start. Whoa, not used to running with dogs. Right, humane society. hadn't thought of that. OKay, deal with the dogs. Mile 1: 8:38 all uphill, difficult, but doable knowing I had a few downhills. The course looped the golf course more or less, and was surprisingly hilly.

Then things got interesting. Around mile 1.3 I start to feel funny. then I start to see black spots. that can't be good. I slow down a bit, and actually walk through a water stop (in a 5k!). I start up again. Oh, hello black and colored spots now! Dancing! And my hands are numb. Huh. And my feet. That can't be good. seriously, what's with the spots? I slow more. take a quick walk break. It gets a little better. I speed up, hello spots. Dang it. I am leapfrogging a few ladies and feeling ridiculous, like I need to explain that I am a real runner! I can run a 5k! But holy crap can someone take the dang spots away?

The finish. Uphill. a very big uphill. I have been working very hard on hills, but this one defeats my already shredded ego and body. I just want to be done. The course is not well marked, and weird. We finish by cutting across a basketball court then through the parking lot. Finish time, 31:23. Over 30 minutes. for a 5k.

Now let me say, I know a lot of people that run 5k's slower than 30 minutes all the time and that is fantastic. For me, I was bummed knowing I can do better.

A asked if I was okay, which was a big no. I swear birdies were flying over my head. I drank my nuun I had packed, thankfully, and that seemed to help some. It was like I had massive low blood sugar, but that didn't make sense. or low blood pressure. Oh! The light dawned. That would explain the spots and the tingles and why I didn't feel like I could stand up anymore.

I felt odd and weak the rest of the day, and laid pretty low. Sunday morning I still felt so low energy and weird. Walking downstairs felt way harder than it should. We stopped at Fred Meyer's on the way home to get gas, and I went inside to use the blood pressure machine out of curiosity. BP 79/58. Whoa. I have low blood pressure typically 100/80ish, but dang! I've never seen it that low. /that explains a lot.

needless to say, I am NOT taking the medication anymore, and when I see my doctor on thursday, we will come up with a plan b that does not involve me seeing spots, thank you very much.

What I think when it's Dark

I got up at 4:10am to run this morning. It was very very early, and very very dark. My mind was playing funny tricks on me this morning, so I started composing a list in my head. So here we go, (fair warning-very random)

1. Wearing a headlamp helps a lot. Except it ruins your night vision, so everything outside the beam looks a little freaky.
2. Headlamp+sweaty forehead=zits. Lame.
3. I wonder what I look like to cars before they realize I'm a runner?
4. Why are cars out at 4:30am on a Saturday?
5. What must they think of ME running in the dark at 4:30am on a Saturday?
6. Crap! Almost stepped on roadkill. I don't even know what animal it was. Ew!
7. I think it was a raccoon. Maybe. Why am I still thinking about the dead thing?
8. Eek! Eyes everywhere! Where did they go? There they are, wth?
9. Oh, cats. Okay. That's not so bad. A herd of cats? There must be six or seven. Creepy eyes. Quit looking at me!
10. Oh hello deer family eating breakfast. Um, why is the buck running next to me? Seriously, two blocks? I have a new running partner! Oh, back to his family he goes. That was so weird.

A lot can happen between 4:30-6am when your mind is working overdrive. 9.38 miles done before 6am. The amazing part? It's 2pm and I'm still awake.

Tears and Trails

Whew, what a week. I mean whoa. School started for the kids on Tuesday/Wednesday. Yay! I felt a little bad that all the other parents were crying dropping of their kids, and I just felt like doing a happy dance. I'm free!

Okay, that sounds bad, I know. I love my kids. I love being home with my kids. I am blessed to have the opportunity. But I have been home for 8 years, and I am ready for some "me" time. In the daylight. That's right, no more running at 4:30am for me!

What did I do on Wednesday when all three kids were in school? I went for a run. And I just kept going, until I realized I didn't have THAT much time, and I'd better head home. 9.3 miles later. In the daylight. It was great!

The adjustment to school itself this week has had it's rough moments. Oh boy. The 2nd grader is great and is the best brown-nose there is. I'm somewhat proud, somewhat embarrassed about that one. The kindergartner-that's been a little rough. She was SO excited. The first day was FANTASTIC. Day two, not so much. The bus? Um yeah, fail. I got called to come pick her up yesterday because she was terrified of the bus. What? This is my tough kid. The one that nothing phases. The one with my guts than sense. Of course, she is also the kid who still needs a nap. That could have something to do with it. JJ is in preschool for half day, and is loving it. I think. I did have to pry her off my arm this morning. So I wouldn't be late for a running date. Priorities you know.

Trail Running

1. Trail running is HARD. The hills are brutal.
2. The view at the top is awesome. I mean incredible. Most of the way the view is fantastic. I am just not coordinated enough to take my eyes off my feet for long!
3. Hearing animals in the woods is a little freaky. We heard something big that was definitely not a deer. Probably a cougar. Oh boy.
4. Trail running makes you dirty. Really dirty. And there are a lot of bugs/
   spider webs/etc
5. My skin does not enjoy the weeds we run through. I've broken out in a rash each time, but Benedryl takes care of it.
6. Benedryl makes me sleepy.
7. 6 miles on hilly trails feels like 10.
8. I'm afraid to take my nail polish off. I think I have my first black toenail. Again, half proud, half dreading.

Weekend Rewind

How is it that time goes so slow and so fast all at once? I blinked, and the weekend was gone. Wait, it's Tuesday? Crap.

So here's how it went down:

• Thursday/Friday my ankle was making noise so no running. I made a pathetic effort at core work and push ups to make up for it. Yeah, pathetic.
• Saturday I was going to run first thing. First thing turned into 10am. It was hot, and I didn't bring my handheld. I am a GENIUS! I knew I was in trouble when I stopped sweating over a mile from home. Finished with 6 miles, but had a killer headache the rest of the day.
• Sunday I got up early to get in some miles before church. Squeezed in 7 miles, and still had time to shower and get to church on time. Go me.

This week already has me as a messed up ball of stress. It is not pretty. One minute I'm okay, the next I'm screaming at the kids for leaving a toy in my living room that I JUST CLEANED! What is going on that is so stressful?

We were waiting for word on hubby's job-a sort of promotion into a permanent slot leading up to the official promotion in November. Chief What's-his-name already told him the job was his, we were just waiting for the official announcement. And....it went to the other guy. Wait, WTH? The guy with the lower rank, less time in service, and less qualifications? Huh?

How is this running related? Well, I had intended to get up early as usual for a run Monday morning. I had (another) bad headache, so it just didn't happen. I figured I would go later, or just rest or whatever. Until this news came at lunch time. I was already having a DAY with the kids, and this just sent me over the edge. It was either cry, scream, or eat the frosting in my fridge. I needed a run! So, I called my friend A and begged her to keep my kids for an hour. Like a good friend, she knew I was on the edge in a big way, and I was able to drop off the three crazies and run for my life. 5 painful miles in the mid day heat. It was great. Hilly, hard, and completely consuming and distracting from everything else. And suddenly, I could be mom without screaming at them for everything. Mostly. (seriously, school needs to start NOW)

The next stressful event on the agenda? My mother-in-law is coming to visit tomorrow. And staying with us, for the first time in 8 years. They always stay in hotels. Oh boy. Let the cleaning frenzy begin. My MIL likes to stay busy, but there is little to do around here since it is peak bug season. We'll see how it goes.

In other news, my shoes are already about dead. Sheesh. I just got them in May, but I am over 400 miles in them and my feet are starting to hurt after runs. I run in the Asics Nimbus, but would like to switch into a lighter shoe I think. I just hate ordering something that MIGHT work, when I know the Nimbus works fine and I won't have to deal with any returns. There isn't a running store around here within 200 miles to go try anything on. Suggestions? I am tempted by the Newtons Distance, and the New Balance Minimas, but wonder if I still need a more heavy duty shoe for longer runs?

An Eventful Run

Remember how I am running at 4:30am? And that it's very dark? I was going to get out my headlamp, right? But I forgot Wednesday morning. It was early, and I didn't want to go digging through the garage since I don't know exactly where my headlamp is. I have been running every day in the dark, what's one more?

Event #1

Running along with my ipod on very low, listening to my feet and crickets. Out jumps a big 6 point buck 4 feet in front of me. My heart went in my throat. Scary! He meandered away, not at all concerned about the gasping human.

Event #2

I run in bright reflective clothing, even though I didn't have a light. Neon pink running skirt, white reflective top. Typically there is not much traffic to worry about. About a mile into my run I was going down a quiet, narrow street, the speed limit is 25mph. A truck comes roaring up the hill going at least 40. I move over, he does not. I end up jumping in the bushes on the shoulder. Awesome.

Event #3

On the way home now, running up the big long hill. It is feeling easier (finally!). It is still really dark. Normally the sky is lightening by now, the days must be getting shorter. Bummer. Crossing the street, running along. I step in a big hole, and roll my ankle. Ugh, really? Thankfully I have gumby ankles. I roll them all the time, and have sprained that right ankle so many times I don't think it is possible to sprain it. I am hurting for a few blocks, and after that it isn't so bad. And now I'm needing to speed up so I'm not late getting home.

Walk in the door at 5:47 (hubby likes to leave by 5:45). Garmin is at 5.44. Normally I like to do sprints or short hill repeats in front of my house to land on even mileage. My ankle is making some noise-I'll call it good.

Not the most successful run ever, but I got it done. We went about our normal day. I laid around for a good part of the afternoon, because I was GRUMPY and the kids were driving me CRAZY. A new book was a good thing to hide in. When I finally got up and around in the evening. my ankle was a little sore. Huh. Unusual. I set my alarm like normal.

Get up at 4:22, walk to the bathroom to get dressed. Ouch. Really? Still complaining, ankle? Not cool. One day of rest won't hurt. And my bed did feel pretty good.

Friday morning, set the alarm for 5 planning on just doing 2-3 miles to see how it goes. It hurts to point my toes. Seriously? I am feeling like I have the absolute worst luck with injuries and sickness lately. So frustrating! And with a complaining ankle, there isn't a lot of other things I can do for exercise. Can't dance, can't do yoga, can't do any of my videos, had to do push-ups and planks on my knees. Two days off, including not great eating, not great for weight loss.

I am down two pounds. Well, I was on Wednesday. Yesterday there was cake. And pizza. Sigh.

Running is...

Running is hard. Sometimes. Other times, it is euphoric and wonderful. We need those runs to keep us going on the craptastic days that happen to all of us. (please say they happen to all of us!)Running when it is early and you are tired is hard. Running when you can see the stars and there are no cars is beautiful. Running and feeling those extra pounds jiggle is frustrating. Running and seeing the muscles in your legs is empowering.

Life gets in the way of running. So does laziness. Yesterday was a combination. I planned to get up early, but I was just too tired. I needed rest. I planned to run when I woke up. But then there were things that needed to get done. I'll run in the afternoon. We decided it was the day to take the training wheels off my 5 year olds bike and ride. I ran along side her, but that doesn't really count. Would I have wanted to miss that moment? Not a chance. And of course we had to get ice cream after. Now I definitely need a run. And then my son lost a tooth. His sister kicked it out, (thankfully a baby tooth that WAS loose). You can imagine how well that went over. Suddenly my day was over, and my chance to run had been missed. Life happens, especially with kids.

So I was up bright and early. Okay, very dark and early out the door by 4:30am. My legs felt tired even with the rest day. I started on my way, enjoying the stars and a cool morning. I love that about living here. It is August, and it was 47 degrees this morning. by mile 1, I was starting to enjoy my run. By mile 2, my stomach was telling me in no uncertain terms that it was unhappy and I needed a pit stop. Um yeah, nothing is open at 4:30am. I detoured to home. I was just shy of 3 miles, and didn't want to end there. I headed back out and did another small loop to end just past 5 miles.

Then my day started. All three kids to the dentist by 8am (never again will I make an 8am apt). The kids are up by 7am, but getting them dressed, fed, and out the door in a timely matter is frustrating to say the least. And why, WHY does someone ALWAYS lose their shoes when it is time to go? Directly after the dentist, we had a preschool interview for JJ. Whoa, they really meant interview. Colors, shapes, count to 20, find the letters in your name from random order, etc. It was a little stressful!

Good news! She passed! And now I give myself a mommy pat on the back for teaching her enough to pass. Whew!

I need to do my second workout this afternoon, but I'll admit, I am seriously considering a nap.

Summer Running, Silly Kids

Summer weather is here! Which is great! And happy! And wonderful! And it is finally HOT! So what does this mean for my running? Running at 4pm is no longer much of an option. Too hot, and way too buggy.

This is a midge. Around here, they are more bright green than this

photo, but they are EVERYWHERE. The good news is, they eat the mosquitoes, and they don't bite. However, they hang out in big clouds of buggy nastiness, making in very hard to run without ingesting more of them than I care to think about.

Combine hot weather with the eating of many green bugs, and suddenly getting up before 4:30am to run doesn't sound THAT bad. Until about three days in, then I am starting to consider fighting off the bugs.

Running in the early morning is a different experience all together. Some interesting things I have seen this week:

• Bats-lots of bats that like to hang under and overpass I run under for pretty much all my routes. I've only been dive bombed once, which was kind of freaky, other than that they aren't so bad.
• Deer-a lot of deer that are not all that worried about one solitary runner in the early morning. That means, I get to stop and wait for the deer to meander out of my way.
• Even though it's the middle of summer, it is DARK at 4:30. For some reason I have resisted using my headlamp, because Hello! It's summer! This lasted until I almost biffed it big time tripping on a crack I did not see. It would have been a stupendous fall.
• Hills seem harder in the dark. I realize this is all in my head, but dang, the hills are beating me up! and no matter where I run, I am looking at a climb of at least 1 mile straight up to get home. I know they will make me a stronger runner, and I'm thankful for that, but right now I just feel out of shape and annoyed.

I will leave this post with a couple of quotes from my kids

(at walmart grocery shopping) K: "Mom! You should get this! It says it will help you los

e some pounds! See, it says right here, lose 5 pounds in 2 weeks! You should get it and lose some pounds" Gee, thanks. The lady shopping next to us tried to hold in her laughter, and just couldn't. I agree. It was pretty stinking funny.

A, to her brother and sister: "You need to treat me like royalty! Don't you know that? You need to treat me like royalty, and this is most certainly not the way you treat royalty!"

A: "Mom, if girls have to wear shirts when it's hot, so should boys. Because that's not fair. And besides, no body wants to see THAT!"

And a picture of JJ who was clearly hot at bedtime. She looks like she was shot and fell that way. Play hard, crash hard. And yeah, she is clearly getting too big for her toddler bed.

Please Work, Blogger!~

Blogger has NOT been cooperating with me lately. Has anyone else had this problem? I have had 4 posts not go through, and not save. Not cool. Who has time to write the same thing over again???

So quick recap-I had a bad case of bronchitis after Seattle RNR. Not good at all. It equaled almost 2 weeks off of running, since every time I tried I sounded like an 80 year old with emphysema. I am finally better, and managed to log 25 miles last week. Sad to say, that was a lot comparatively.

My dad and my (half) sister came and visited this

weekend. Very fun, very crazy. Throw in an Air Show, (which meant work for hub

by), and the whole weekend was crazy. We took a trip up to Crater Lake yesterday, a first for my hubby and kids. I had forgotten how incredible it is up there! They had a record amount of snow this year, (over 12 feet), and there was still a lot in places. Like where we planned our picnic. Fail. So we tailgated our picnic lunch.

The Crater Lake Rim Run is in a few weeks, (half marathon, marathon, or 6.7 miles). I did not make the cut off to sign up, and honestly, I'm kind of glad! Seeing the hills and feeling the altitude was intimidating just on the short hike we took. I know I could not have run the half. This year. Next year, oh yeah, I am so in!

I need a race on my calender. I've got nothing! So that is this weeks goal. Find a race that I can afford-that is the tricky part. And make a training plan to get serious. My weight is slightly up, my speed is way down, and my overall conditioning is sad. I've got some work to do!

(Thanks Kerrie, for telling me how to fix blogger!)

I'm Confused

Am I injured? Or not?

On Sunday my knee really hurt. Monday morning, I was feeling pretty good. I wasn't sore anymore, and I could straighten my knee without pain. Great. I dance on Monday, and felt just fine. Tuesday, more rest-mostly because of the awful cold I came down with on Saturday night.

Today I met my friend Lisa for an easy run. I told her I would give it a try if I was pain free. We did 4.5 miles at a nice easy pace. She is a little slower, and I was coughing enough where it felt good to go slow. My knee? Felt totally fine. I had a tiny little twinge around mile 3, and then nothing. No pain afterwards, no swelling. Nothing.

What the? I'm confused. On Saturday I wanted to saw off my own leg it hurt so freaking bad. I mean bad! It was swollen and angry on Saturday night and Sunday morning. And now it's, good? I'm not sure what to think, other than I seriously need some better Race Mojo.

My body is messing with me.

Hopefully I will have time to finish my Seattle recap soon. Right now, my kids are driving me CRAZY. My hubby gets here tomorrow night, so I will have backup with the kids-just in time for the insanity that is all of us being in a wedding. Awesome.

Seattle RNR Quick Update

What a great weekend! The expo was a lot of fun, the Bloggy dinner was a fantastic party, and the race was pretty great too.

Okay, the race did not go as I had hoped-but I finished, and got a pretty medal for my effort. I will take it! My time was 2:15ish. I am not on my computer, so I can't load my official Garmin time, and I dont' have the patience for the RNR website. I'll do that later.

My knee was unhappy with my from about mile 7 on, making it a battle of wills to the finish. The will to keep going, but at the same time not to push too hard through the pain and hurt myself more. Success on both accounts! I finished in a ok time, and my knee is already feeling better. I haven't run, but I am feeling better than Saturday and Sunday for sure!

Most importantly, I am done beating myself up over having a few bad races. I have been plagued by injuries all spring, and I have not trained well. Or really, at all. I have gotten mileage in, but in quantity, not quality. No speed work, no tempo work.

So next goal? Get healthy! And then work hard to train better. I will write a full race report with pictures later.

You have Got to be Kidding Me!

First of all, I hope everyone had a fantastic Father's Day spent with family. Our day was great. I woke up early to run, but had a killer headache. Ow. So, I went back to sleep. It didn't take too much convincing to not get up at 5am on a Sunday.

I got up and made my hubby french toast. Yummy. (after that I felt a little bad about missing my run) We headed to church, and did a barbecue afterwards. After nap time we dropped the kids off with some friends, and we went for a hike.

The big hill/hike around here is called Hogsback. You can go straight up the face and along the ridge line, or go around the side where it is slightly less steep. I hadn't done the easier route before, but knew it was a better choice for hubby.

It was a gorgeous day! Warm and windy, but the wind felt good while we were climbing. We saw a lot of wildlife: deer, 4 snakes (almost stepped on one), 3 lizards, 2 rock chucks, and various birds. The wildflowers were amazing, and I was enjoying our date. So much more fun than a movie! Hubby had to rest a few times, the hike is steep.

The top was awesome, and a huge accomplishment for him! Almost 3000ft vertical climbing in 2 miles. Yeah, and that's the easy route. I was feeling fantastic the whole time, so much that sometimes I forgot to wait for him. Oops.

We started down, just enjoying everything about the day. We were 3/4 of the way down, and I had to stop. Ouch! My knee! I hadn't fallen, or done anything to it, but suddenly it felt off. Like something had shifted? I don't know, just off. We stopped for a moment, and I stretched it out. I wiggled it this way and that until I felt like it was fine. We kept going, and it felt pretty normal. We ran the last few flat spots and raced to the car. Hubby cracked me up, he said "I gave up being competitive when I married YOU, knowing I would never win at anything again." I felt proud and sheepish all at once.

We headed home, and fed dinner to the family that was willing to take our three monkeys for the afternoon. I went to bed, happily exhausted, but with my knee feeling a little funny when I straightened it. I didn't think much of it.

I woke up this morning, and my knee hurts. It hurts to straighten it, it hurts to walk without a limb. Oh no, oh no. This cannot be happening! I did not just work my way back from a shin injury to hurt my KNEE less than a week before Seattle RNR! No no no no.

I have no idea what is going on with it. I was supposed to have a dance class this morning that I canceled, and I have a running date with a new running buddy tonight at 7pm. I will be canceling that too, although I really don't want to!

For now, I am icing like a crazy woman, and praying that whatever is tweaked in there, rights itself quickly. I am supposed to drive to Washington tomorrow morning! Sigh. Sometimes I think my body doesn't want me to be a runner. Isn't that silly?

7 Morning Miles

Yesterday I knew I was not going to have time to fit in my run. The afternoon was busy, and warm. I not acclimatized to running when it is hot yet! Monday afternoon A and I ran our loop downtown and ran some errands, (literally). Run to the bank, the store, etc. We came home the trail and it was HOT. We finished with 8 miles instead of the 5-6 we had planned. which reminds me, how much do you taper before a half?

Tuesday we went shopping all day. I planned to run after we were home, but FAIL. My feet were tired. It didn't happen.

Yesterday I knew I had a fondue party in the evening to go to. Mmmm cheese and chocolate and all the goodies to dip in it. What's not to like? I wanted to get up early to run to make sure I was burning off some of the calories I planned to eat.

My alarm when off at 4:25. Wow, that is early. I had had a hard time falling asleep, so I only slept about 5 hours. Not ideal, but I got up anyways. I checked the temp outside-whoa only 35 degrees! I put on my fleece shirt and gloves.

With my hubby's work schedule, I have become an evening runner more often than not. This morning run felt like a special treat. The sky was just starting to lighten, and it was so incredibly quiet. I was wearing my ipod, but never did turn it on as I was enjoying the sounds of the birds, crickets and frogs.

About a mile in, I saw a herd of deer crossing the road. I kept going thinking they would move. They just looked at me like, "what? you want US to move?". It made me laugh. The deer around here are not all that scared of people. Maybe I should be worried.

They repaved the trail around here, which we were all excited about. New pavement to run on! But, they did a crappy job. I mean seriously. It is already cracked with dirt showing through, and it is not at all even. I ran downhill on it, and it did not feel great on the inside of my calf muscle. You know? that funny muscle that is impossible to stretch? Yeah, still hurts. Stupid trail.

I looped through downtown and enjoyed how quiet it is at 5am. No cars, no waiting at the lights, just being able to run and enjoy it. After downtown, all uphill to home. Very uphill. I love where our new house is, but being on top of a hill has it's downsides. Mostly that no matter which direction I run, there is a big uphill for at least a mile to home. It will make the hills in Seattle seem easy!

I got home at was at 6.42 for mileage. I hate ending mid-mile, especially with Dailymile. They either round up or down, either way it feels like being robbed. I checked inside, hubby was still in the shower. He obviously wasn't waiting for me, so I ran out and finished the half mile to end at an even 7.

There is something so awesome about being able to run 7 miles before 6am, when the rest of the world is still asleep. I should get up early more often.

The slight downside-it's 6am, and I can't shower or it will wake up the kids, or make any coffee. A pop tart was the only easy (quiet) thing I could find to eat. Going to have to work on that!

Let Summer Begin!

Schools out for Summer! Ballet recital is DONE! Yay! I am so happy that I will not need to put my poor sore feet into pointe shoes for a good long while. This week was exhausting and I celebrated the end of it by sleeping in this morning. Sleeping in with three kids means interruptions, but going back to sleep after they are set with breakfast and cartoons. I'll take it!

I am thrilled school is out, but it was a little distressing that my two oldest were fighting in the first 45 minutes of him being out of school. About geometry. How many 7 and 5 year old argue about geometry?
K "Two triangles make a rhombus."
A "Two triangles do NOT make a rhombus, they make a square. Or a diamond. Are you sure you are in second grade now? Shouldn't you know this stuff?" (my 5 year old is such a smarty pants) Me telling them that they were technically both right did not go over well. I hope this doesn't set the tone for the whole summer!

This afternoon I have 12 miles with A planned. It will be my longest run since my injury, and my last long run before Seattle. Normally I really enjoy long runs, but this one I'm a little nervous about. My legs are tired I know, and my toes are not loving me either. We will see how it goes.

Normally before a half, I like running a long run of at least 14 miles, knowing I won't have to go that far on race day. This year, obviously I'm of out time. I know I can finish 13.1-I've done it many times. Seeing my goal time and corral start made me a little sad, knowing that my "a" goal of 1:50 is not even a slight possibility.

So what are my goals for Seattle? Finish, obviously. As for time? I don't really know. I have done no speed work, few long runs, and my running schedule is a mess. So should I just run and enjoy it, or try and race and hope I don't bonk? The lack of altitude will work in my favor, but I don't know how much.

We'll see how 12 goes this afternoon!

Lake of the Woods Race Recap (finally)

First of all, Friday I got a brutal migraine. Not cool. Unfortunately said migraine usually arrives around that time of the month. Awesome timing, huh? I took my meds, tried to eat anyways, and hoped for the best for Saturday morning. I told my hubby if I woke up with a migraine, I would just bail on the race. (the advantage of it only having a $15 entrance fee)

Saturday morning I woke up with a medicine hangover, but very little headache. I was still a little on the fence about racing-which is unusual. The kids got up ridiculously early for a Saturday, so that sealed the deal. May as well drive to the race!

The race was only about 45 minutes away, and we got there in plenty of time to get parking and pick up my stuff. Pretty low-key start, which was great. They did a kids dash around 9am, and started the 5k and 15k together at 9:30. I lined up at the front not because I wanted to go out fast, but because I didn't want to dodge people, strollers, and dogs. Yeah, people did this race with their dogs. (only 5k)

You know sometimes you start out in a race, and you can tell in the first mile it just isn't your day? It was like that. I didn't feel bad, but I didn't feel good either. My legs felt heavy at the very beginning. Not encouraging! My friend Amber and I pre-race. She won first place female, 5th overall!

The first 2 miles are uphill. Not super steep, but a steady climb. After that starts the rolling hills. Lots and lots of them. The course loops the whole lake, but you can only see the lake from certain points.

"Make sure you keep the kids out of the water-I didn't bring extra clothes" (yeah, I wasted my breath-they were soaked)

I decided to try the Galloway run/walk knowing I was going to have trouble racing the distance. Since I have not practiced doing this, it didn't go all that smoothly. First, I would forget to stop at regular intervals. Then, my walks were poorly timed with the water stops, so I would have to walk again. The water stops were off the road, so you really did have to walk through them. (the road was not closed to traffic). When I would start running again, I think I would take off too fast, wanting to make up the time, and it was driving me crazy having people leapfrog me. I looked down and was running a 7:42 shortly after a walk break. I am NOT in shape to maintain that!

We looped around the back side of the lake around mile 5, and then it got ugly. More rolling hills, but more uphills than down. The downhills were short, but steep. I was trying to take it easy on the downhills to save my shin, but that meant I trashed my quads instead. Crap. I slowed down.

Lake of the woods is about 6000ft in elevation, so pretty high up, and cold. It was about 40 degrees at the start. Running around the back side of the lake, we were having to run in the tire tracks that were mostly clear of snow. Otherwise there was between 2-3 feet of snow on the road. Nice, huh? Some June weather!

So add snow to that back loop with punishing hills, and I was suddenly really wishing I had run the 5k. I felt like I was getting a blister on the ball of my left foot. It was on fire! Not a good feeling.

We come down off the back side, and have to run along the highway for about 1 1/2 miles. As soon as we turned that corner, the wind was blowing hard in your face. Awesome. That mile and a half felt like forever, but I did not want to walk on the highway with all that traffic.

Turn off the highway, last 1.4 miles or so. It felt so much longer! Gradual uphill, but it felt horrible. I was glad to not be the only one walking on this stretch. Finally, the last turn to the finish. It was blessedly downhill! Which hurt an amazing amount considering. I did chick two guys on the last half mile, that made me feel better after being passed by several people the last two miles of the race.

Final stats: 15k 9.24 miles

Time: 1:32 11

Pace: 9:57 So glad to be done!

Elevation: 2509 Ascent, 2451 Descent

Next year, I am going to be prepared to RACE this and kill my time. This year, not so pretty, but glad I did it anyways.