Sidelined

UGH.

I've been out of the game since Friday due to injury.

Totally my fault, though.

I bought some new shoes Thursday night.  I have been struggling with my shoes lately,

feeling like they have too much cushion, too much barrier between me and the ground.

I loved my first pair of Brooks (PureGrit) and my second, current pair just aren't the same (they are Brooks PureFlow 2). So I bought a more minimalist shoe:

The New Balance Minimus 10V2 Trail 

And then, I went out for a run Friday.  I TOLD myself I'd just do 2 miles.  But I started running.

And it was windy and rainy and Mac was having a blast and so was I...So I kept going.

I did 4.5 miles. Not a huge distance, but a huge no-no in new shoes.  

Like I said, totally my fault.

I felt great after. In fact, I felt great all the way to Saturday evening, around 5, when my right calf started to hurt.  And then my left one.  And by the end of the night I knew I was screwed.

We had a disc golf date on Sunday...canceled.  Instead it was a sit-around-play-board-games,

wrap-my-calf-so-I-can-walk date.  Which helped.  Today it feels better--I can walk normal

(Billy can't call me "grandma" any more).

I'm thinking that maybe tomorrow I'll be able to hit the trail again.  Maybe.

And this time, I'll do it right and transition into my new shoes.

I'm thinking Wednesday I'll do my 7-miler since I couldn't do it this weekend.

Who woulda thought I'd be bummed about THAT?!

books, running, and friends

Yesterday I got to meet the hilarious Christopher McDougall,

author of Born To Run:

A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen.

I am in the process of reading his book and find it encouraging,

entertaining, inspiring and overall a fun read. If you haven't heard of it, or haven't read it,

GET ON IT! He went from barely running due to injuries to running pain-free and almost barefoot and loving it.  His book goes into his personal stuff a tiny bit (just to give you some history) but mostly focuses on his experiences with other runners, the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico, 

and various races and fun tidbits about this or that.

For a better synopsis and more info, check out him and his book here.

The picture is a little (okay, okay.... A LOT) blurry. But you get the gist.
I also got him to sign my book. YAY!

Today the infamous and mysterious Jessica and I went for another run (this time I have PROOF!).
We went a little farther than we did on Monday and her time got faster.
We started out with some wind and rain--not the most fun, but we had a good time.  After about seven-tenths of a mile we got into the trees and found a whole different world:

The sun came out, rain stopped and the wind died down.  Absolutely beautiful!!
Around mile two we even saw a deer (well, the tail-end of a deer far off).

And proof that I'm not a liar:

I've been feeling pretty good about my runs lately.  Faster times on runs that, at the time, I feel are sluggish and tedious.  I'm starting to feel like I am making some headway.

Except that my knees started hurting after my double-run the other day :(

But...I quit doing my at-home PT exercises.  I have since started them back up and hope they will help. Again.

Tomorrow is Friday and this weekend I am hitting the roads for a 7-miler.  Woo Hoo! The longest I've ran without stopping was 7 miles last September during my half so I know I can do it.

  I'm feeling pretty optimistic.

Happy Running!

I get by with a little help from my friends

Today was an historic day. I did something I haven't done in over a month.

I have been wanting to do it for quite some time now.

I just hadn't found the right person to do it with.

That's right...I went running with a buddy!

It. Was. Awesome.

I meant to take pictures (at least one) to prove that I really DO have friends, but I forgot.

You'll just have to take my word for it.

It was Jessica's first time running in a while and she did awesome.

We did three miles with Mac in the field and even conquered the hill at the end of mile two.

I forgot (well, maybe not) how much more enjoyable runs can be with a friend.

And then...

This afternoon...

I went back and did another 4.5 miles. And conquered the hill again.

That's what I was scheduled for today.  I didn't want to short myself out with the morning run, but I REALLY wanted to go running with Jessica and figured she wasn't

up to a 4.5 miler on her first try. Plus, getting ready for the Ragnar Relay in June

I wanted to start working in double runs.  This was a great way to do it.

My knees hurt a bit, but not horrible.  Considering a few weeks ago I couldn't even run 2 miles without pain and now I am up to only feeling pain after a double workout...PROGRESS!

Mac went both times and was absolutely tuckered out in the end. Praise the lawd!

He better sleep well tonight.

And the best news? Jessica is going running with me again on Thursday :-)

Schmoozing for the camera.  Little Stinker.

Usually the longer the tongue=the more tired he is.  That's one long tongue right there!

Bulldog Jog 2013

This morning I ran the Gonzaga Bulldog Jog 5K.

A 5k.  Shorter than most of my

training runs.  So why was I nervous?

Apparently, no matter how long or short the event, nervousness is unavoidable for me.

But, once the run started, I settled into my groove and didn't

do half bad! I logged my fastest pace since I started recording them 

and didn't have any knee pain.

But I didn't really enjoy it.  I was at an event full of college-age kids 

that all seemed to know each other and have a running partner or two.  

And I was all by my lonesome.

I've run races by myself in the past; in fact, most of my races I run solo.

But normally the ones I run alone my mom comes and cheers me on.

This time I went absolutely, 100% alone. 

I showed up alone.

I waited alone.

I ran alone.

And I left alone.

At the time, it kinda sucked.  I felt like a loser.

But, now I am feeling pretty proud of myself.

I showed up.

I waited.

I ran.

And I kicked butt.

AND...I got a t-shirt out of it :)

Ups and Downs

I've been a little M.I.A. on here--sorry 'bout that.

Last week I was in Vancouver visiting my family and working without my computer

so keeping up on the blog was a bit of a challenge.

But I'm BACK.

Also a challenge? Celebrating two birthdays, catching up with friends and family and not gaining weight.  Whenever I go back and visit (about every 2-3 months and during summers)

I either gain weight or plateau. It isn't that I stopped running. I didn't--I stuck to my training schedule.

It's that there are so many good restaurants there that I don't have

in Spokane.  And so many friends and family to go out to dinner with.

And my momma's home cooking 

(which is actually pretty healthy, it's just so dang good I eat too much).

Needless to say, I gained a few pounds.  And not just last week, but the week before.

I think I new what would happen on my visit so I threw in the towel before

I even started.  7 pounds in all.

But you know what? I don't feel horrible.  I had a great visit, my clothes still fit (even my "skinny" clothes) and now that I'm back home I'm back on the eating right wagon.

I've already lost a little over 2 pounds by rigidly sticking to my weight watchers

and I know the rest will come off with a little bit of focus.

It's nice to know that my weight doesn't control me; that the number on the scale, while important to me for my journey and my health, can fluctuate but not ruin my life.

I'm still less than 10 pounds to my next goal weight and they are the 

HARDEST flipping pounds to lose!

But I'll get there.

Panting it out while I stretch.

Beautiful day to go running in the woods.

I'm pretty sure this is what Mac thinks when I say "heel".  Maybe I should change it up

Can't pee on my parade

WOOHOO!!!

Ran my long run yesterday with Mac.  On the leash.  Let me repeat that.  I ran 5 miles with Mac, the hyper-as-heck, OMG-I-have-to-smell-and-then-pee-on-everything-dog attached to me. 

 And I'm still alive!!

He only tried to trip me 4 times (yes, he made sure there were people watching EVERY time) and only slowed my times down

a tiny bit.  Overall, it wasn't too shabby of a run and he was pooped afterwards!

That's all I have time for now--out of town and working like crazy.  But still running!!

Run as fast as you can

Did my 3.5 today. Started out with beautiful blue skies, if a bit windy.

by the time I got to the end and was doing my cool down walk?

I was in the middle of a snow storm! Like full blown swirls of snow coming down sideways and pelting my face cuz the wind was blowing so hard. 

I put Mac on his leashed and BOOKED IT back to the car which was still

.7 miles away.  So much for a cool down.

It's hard to see, but it WAS snowing.  And the hazy look to the hills back there? Yup, you guessed it: snow.

So, I got in my car, proud of myself for pushing through my run and not walking up the hill

(yes, that means I jogged..er...ran all the way up the sandy thing) but not feeling

overall good about what I just did.  Until I checked my stats and I had 

a faster per mile pace than any of my other runs thus far.  BOOYAH!
Proof that even if I don't always feel like it, I am making progress and this running
business is paying off.

Now it's out to dinner with the hubs.

But first, some Mac pics:

Always after our runs he hangs his head through
the seats and DROOLS on everything up front.
I think it's his way of saying "thanks".

He loves car rides.  Especially when they lead to runs.