Running Thoughts

Lifted yesterday (workout 2 of below book).  And skipped yoga!  My son's 10th birthday... Today, I was just flat-out lazy.  I could have run, but I didn't run.  I sort of just...didn't.  Do you ever have days like that? This is sort of what I felt like...Do you recognize which one is me?

I think it's funny how my nike mini sometimes forgets her shirt or outruns her pants.  Haha!  Where I live, that would be a little chilly. Well, we have a little naughty viral bug at our house.  My daughter is very sick.  I didn't run today, although, I DID get all decked out in my running gear to go.  I went out to try the weather, but came back inside.  It was just too muddy, icy, and sloppy.  I thought I'd find time to run on the treadmill, but didn't.  I plan to lift tomorrow and hopefully run too.  But then again, yoga is tomorrow night, so I may wait yet another day on the run.  Boo. Report on my new workout program:  My core is sore from these.  And my shoulders are sore from push ups.

I won this book from www.mizfitonline.com the other day.  So, today, I began trying it out.  I did workout number 1.  The workouts are whole body, multi-joint exercises like I had been doing anyway, but with a different "program."  I like to shake things up every so often, so this is the latest tremor.   Incredibly, it rained.  We simply don't see rain in the wintertime here.  It snows, it does not rain.  But, alas, it rained.  Now, it is slushville outside where it isn't completely, neckbrakingly slick.  I opted to jumprope rather than run today.  Then, I began my journey to looking like a goddess as the book's cheesy cover indicates.  The inside of the book is good stuff, though.  Nothing hugely new, but slightly different in the way the workouts are set up, and slightly different is always good.  Pretty much it is about how the rules of lifting for women are the same as those for men:  have muscles, will work them.  No pansy stuff.

2.5 mile run, then sprints. Yoga tonight with new teacher. I loved this .  Maybe you will get something from it as well! My kids are so great. Our whole family has learned so much from my son who has autism about "living right now." We have had a choice... we can yearn for what is not, worry about what's to come, or love what is now. Yearning for what is not: KK is not the little boy I expected. He was a normal baby who began to regress at about 17 mo of age. (I could go into a long oration about immunizations....won't right now) I could cry and pine for the little boy that I had expected, but I would miss the little boy that I actually have. Worrying about what's to come: I could worry over his future or the future of my other 2 children as affected by this turn of events. Again, I'd miss the little boy I have right NOW. Loving what IS: Because I gave myself the power to decide what is good or bad, and I own the ability to make my own choices, I can see what ...

The day looked pretty perfect out my window.  Sure, winter is cold, so there was that.  But mostly, the day looked brilliant.  The sun was shining brightly in a sky of blue at the top of the peaks that frame my home.  The air was still and quiet.  Nothing stirred.  I donned my favorite running shoes and my cute, pink running skirt over the tights that keep me warm on a mountain day in February.  Ipod, check.  Favorite gloves, check.  Out the door with anticipation.  Not far up the road, the wind is a little less still, a little more cold.  Snow blows across my path as I take the upward slope.  I pull my neck warmer up around my ears and chin.  Snow gives way to ice, making the jaunt a little more edgy than it had appeared from my comfortable window.  I shiver, realizing that what had appeared close to perfect from my cozy perspective of home, isn't quite so sublime... as I make my way farther from my "known." My perspective begins to shift.  I live in my own little space ...

Well, the camera is a bust.  Or at least, it seems to be busted.  I can't get it to charge (at least I think that's the problem).  I need my techy hubby to check it out, but it isn't top on his priority list.  Today, snowmobiling was highest on that list.  We had a great, fun day playing in the snow.  We snowmobiled and drug a sled behind a snowmobile, and I cross country skied.  Yesterday, I ran.  I meant to try out one of my yoga videos today, but got quite the workout with the skis, so didn't fit that in.  maybe tomorrow...

Yoga was great this morning.  I really love the strength that it takes to get into and hold the poses.  I'm getting better at it, but there are still lots of things I can't do.   The talent show was great too.  It's a winter tradition for our little town that went by the wayside last winter and I missed it, so I volunteered to organize it.  It was lots of fun as always.  I'm glad I volunteered.   Tomorrow, I hope to run a long run outside, but if it snows, I may be running a few miles on the treadmill instead.  It will be good either way! Monday, I plan to get back to lifting.  I love the yoga, but still want to do the weight training too.  Looking for what will work for me.  I enjoy too many things.  That's the way I've always been...I never get really good at anything because I do a little of everything.  :)  At least I don't get bored.

No pics from my new camera today...it didn't charge for some reason.  I'm trying again.  I didn't run either.  I got dressed to run, hoping that it would happen.  But it didn't warm up until very late in the day and I had things to do.  Besides, I think another day of rest was good for me.  I feel better after letting myself rest and I'm planning to go to yoga tomorrow morning.  I'm the organizer of our community talent show, too, which is tomorrow.  That will be super fun.  I'll try to fill you in on the exciting details!  lol

Yoga yesterday.  Today, I rested.  I haven't been feeling quite right and have been ignoring it and going strong anyway.  I decided to take a break today.   A more interesting post tomorrow (I got my teeny tiny camera!)

Seriously, there's quite a bit of snow out there.  It snowed about 4 inches overnight, so my 2 mile run was like running through sand. Here are my orders that I mentioned in my last post.  The camera is the size of a credit card and will fit in my little pockets in my shorts, skirts, and pants that I run in. And the Yoga videos...I ordered a set of 3.  Very happy about them.

I had a great Yoga practice this morning.  Our teacher leaves on Sunday, so I'll be trying to catch all her classes I can this week!  :)   I ordered some yoga DVD's and I think a teacher may drive in from another town to teach yoga beginning soon.  At least I found out that I like yoga.  I'd never had a really good yoga class that was about strength.  I'm not sure the new teacher will be the same style.  I'm not into just a relaxation kind of class.  I want core strengthening work that makes me sore! It's been snowing all day, and probably will again tomorrow.  Not sure if my run will be inside on the treadie or out in the snow.  Depends on wind.  I don't like wind. My hubby ordered a credit card sized digital camera for me to carry in my pocket on my runs!  I'm so excited about that!  I can't wait for it to get here!  Maybe tomorrow!

Our Yoga teacher is leaving.... I've known this for a while, but last night when I went to Yoga practice and no one was there, it hit me that she might already be gone.  I am really enjoying yoga.  It's such a strengthening workout and I can tell my balance is getting better as my core strengthens.  Our teacher isn't gone yet, and I'll be going to yoga tomorrow, but I'm now aware just how sad I will be when she actually does leave.   Enough whining.  I had a great tempo run today outside in the warm sunshine with the snow glittering along the path.  I managed a tempo ranging from 12 to 11:30 for about 15 minutes through snow, ice, and slush with my bulky cleats strapped to my shoes, so I'm pretty happy with that.  Especially since I wasn't even working on speed, just enjoyment.  :) My Friday Fotos are of my cleats on my poor running shoes and of tonight's balloon glow before the weekend balloon festival which is always fun.

I've been pondering what to focus on within my running.  It seems to me that when you get better at one thing, you typically get better at everything, so I'm thinking that I want to focus on one thing about my running.  I thought maybe I'd work on shaving off a few seconds to my pace.  Or add distance.  But really I love to love my runs.  I want to focus on that.  So, that's my focus.  Enjoyment and fulfillment.  I figure that I will learn from this to be fulfilled in life in general.  Doesn't it usually work that way with running?  It's like mini-life. I'm loving Yoga too and finding that I want to do that right now rather than concentrate too much on lifting, but hopefully, I'll find a balance there so that I am doing both.

Dear Ruthie's Foot, I'm so sorry to hear that you are feeling low.  I'm posting this for you because I thought you might pass along this information to the upper half of your body, you know, Ruth's head.  So, here's the deal....  I read this article about feet and foot pain and here is what it said about you. "...try this exercise to strengthen your toes and feet:  Keeping your heel on the floor, curl your toes down against a towel and try to drag it closer to you.  Plantar Fasciitis can also signal tight calf muscles, ...gentle stretching of those muscles can ease the pain and prevent recurrence."  Some things that can cause foot trouble according to this article are leg-length discrepancy (me too) or strength imbalance.  It's all in the March Runner's World that I got in the mail today.  Me?  I didn't work out even my toes or feet today because Yoga has me pleasantly sore all over.   I hope you are back on your...selves?...soon.  Keep grounde...

Yoga this morning, 3 miles this afternoon, and bellydance this evening.  Fun day. Do you know who Lolo Jones is?  The article in Runner's World about her is about core work and how a strong core will make you a stronger runner.     There are 5 pages here, so be sure to check them all out! Well, I'm tired to the core. g'nite!

The following is an excerpt from the book by John Bingham, No Need For Speed, with my own alterations in blue.  I made it fit me and where I run without taking away the meaning. "Because of running, I'm a little more alive every day.  What was once a slow, steady march toward old age has become a race to cover all the miles my life will allow.  Each step is one step farther than I thought I would get and one step closer to where I'm going. Those who wonder why you run and race won't always understand.  They won't understand the joy of running in a spring mountain  rain or the sweat of satisfaction on a hot summer afternoon .  They'll shake their heads as you put on your tights and vest to run in the autumn chill.  They'll look at you as if you're crazy when you layer up to run on a snowy winter day. But then they won't see the sunflowers poking their heads from between the rocks along the edge of the river.  They won't feel the cool mountain air...