Running Thoughts

I'm out of town...at my parents' house in west texas, so I've not been blogging. Sorry! I wanted to mention my new personal record! Fastest run with pierced ears! Haha! My pal, Sara, pierced my ears for me with a do-it-yourself kit and we ran the next day (new PR!--Fastest Run With Pierced Ears!). We laughed and noted that if I ran faster next time, then I'd have yet another PR. Yesterday, my daughter and I mapped out a running course for ourselves and I now have a new pierced ear PR!! Haha! How many times can I PR since the ear piercing??? The world is yet to know! I know, I know, most people getting their ears pierced are ages 10 and below. So I'm late, so what? :) It's pretty tame for a mid-life crisis!

I love to read about running. Next to running, it's a favorite thing to do. That's why I look forward to my "Runner's World" magazine each month. I was delighted to find that John Bingham is a featured columnist and now am saddened that his articles won't be in my future magazines...he's moving on. I enjoyed his final article, and thought you might too. You can read it here . It's about the "Butterfly Effect." How something small today can affect something big tomorrow. I started thinking of Butterfly Effects in my own running, and will share some with you... discovered my favorite shoes are worn out (more about that in a later post)...result might be better performance, less hip pain later on layed off running because of a cold...result may be a stronger and more effective workout tomorrow found a water belt for a buck...can easily carry water for a better run lost my favorite neck gaiter...bought a new one that works even better What ...

Beautiful day today for a run. That is, if you weren't sick, which I was... I managed to catch a cold. Sore throat and achy. I didn't run, but I really wanted to. I almost did anyway, then I thought of how I would have a not-so-great run and would rather wait and have a great run. I already feel better. I did run yesterday. With Sara. Windy and cold, so I was excited to get out again today since today was so perfect instead of windy and cold. I like to run on a yoga day, so tomorrow will be even better! Yoga is great for me because I have a lot of tension in my hips... Here are some yoga stretches that I like.

Today's run would qualify as "bad." My whole left side was completely out of sink with my right....my left hip killed me (always hurts but today was worse), my left side of my neck hurt, my left foot hurt....Then the overly friendly dog jumped up on me, and I'm not kidding you when I say that she licked the TOP of my head. She came down hard on my right forearm which then began to hurt which was the beginning of the right side aches. Next was my head, just above my right eyebrow. It's crazy how 8 miles the other day felt so great and easy, but today's four miles were a total struggle. Interesting, also, is the fact that even so, I loved getting out into the air and living in the moment. So, today's run would also qualify as "good."

8 miles on a beautiful day... My intention was to run 7, adding 1 to my last long run of 6. I drove my jeep out to what I supposed was about 7 miles. Turned out that it was more like 10. I ran 8 and then decided to call my hubby to come get me so that I wouldn't be completely incapacitated. But I totally could have made it the whole 10. I felt great and went to yoga that afternoon. (which takes lots of strength) Yay, Me!

sloppy slushy muddy gunky slippery slimy gooey swamp That was my running terrain today. Kind of like running in mire. The mud would build up in the treads of my shoes until I was carrying weights on the bottoms of my feet and landing on platforms of mud with every step. Then I would kick it off and keep going. Where it wasn't muddy, it was either slushy or slippery. However, I thoroughly enjoyed myself as I finally felt well enough to try a run!! After 5 days of feeling way too sick and way too tired to run, I felt almost like myself today! And it was 40 degrees! And sunny. I thought I might melt. I only went for 30 minutes, but I felt like running the whole time which I didn't expect after being sick. Nice. I meant to take last week to decide what I want to do as far as lifting goes, but with all the sickness, I haven't thought much about it. So, I'll have to figure that out. It's still on hold for the moment. Unfortunately, my youngest son is still s...

I spent yesterday in bed sick. It's been over a month of someone or multiple someones being sick around here. I got the stomach virus that began in our home a week ago. My middle child and I were the only ones left who hadn't had this one. I ended up with it all night Friday night and all day yesterday. I feel ok today, but won't be pushing my luck by running even though the day is GORGEOUS! Maybe I'll walk which is what I did Friday. I went back to the chiropractor on Thursday and my hip was too sore to run on Friday. Chiro asked me, "Do you run a lot of inclines?" Me, "Um, yes." Any direction from our little town is UP. hahaha Inclines. Ha.

http://www.runnersworld.com/dogrun/ I liked this link about running with your canine pal. Here's a pic of my running buddy! Banjo and I ran 2 miles Wednesday through muck and mud. I'd planned to go farther, but...yuck. We had fun anyway and were matching with our mud spatters.

Oh, wow. We've had all kinds of sicknesses going around over here. Luckily, I've not gotten the stomach stuff so far, but my poor kids have sure suffered. I'm taking this week off from lifting. I ran 6 glorious miles to the mine and back, running all the hills, on Saturday. Today, Sara and I ran about 3, slow and EZ. Tomorrow, I will concentrate on form. It's nice to take a week to enjoy/concentrate on running.

Bicep challenge picture! I definitely see progress, and that's fun. Sara and I also did our Post-Blitz Strength Test yesterday and measurements today. Went up on all weights, lifting 10 more pounds on bench press for 5 reps at 70 pounds. Up from 15 pounds for 5 reps on bicep curl to 17.5 pounds. Leg press went up from 221 pounds to 245 pounds for 5 reps. Lat pull downs went from 60 pounds for 5 reps to 75 pounds. Lost 2.5 pounds on the scale. Measurements didn't change much, but my thighs are about 2 inches smaller around. We have company in town and other interruptions/blessings that have limited my time. The fitness highlight of the week was yesterday...I fit in a run with 2 mile repeats, the strength test, and a fun snowshoeing excursion. On the health front...sickness strikes again! My oldest and youngest have a stomach virus. That's an especially big bummer because it's my youngest's birthday. Braeden is 11 today and very sick. Our plan had been ...

Now it's my turn to be sick...I have been fighting it off, but it has finally hit me today. I did run 30 minutes on Wednesday, with sprints and formwork. And I lifted and did yoga. I'm sore and sick, so running won't happen today. But the good news is that IT'S SNOWING! Maybe we will all be well soon and I will be able to get all my runs in again. sometimes it doesn't seem like it...

Still here, still going! I ran a short run yesterday because I just didn't have time for the long one. I figured short was better than zilch. And Sara and I did part of our upper body workout today and will finish it in the morning with triceps before heading to the chiropractor. I've had sick kiddos...bummer, but other than that slow-down, all is well.

I was inspired to put some thought into having dreams for myself vs. having vision for myself while I was reading Jeff Galloway's, "Marathon, You Can Do It." It's really a matter of imagination vs. imagination with a plan. I can think of lots of dreams, but until I begin moving toward some kind of implementation, that's all I have...dreams. I want to concentrate on creating vision for myself...dreams becoming realities...imagination with a plan. Seeing myself implementing my dreams. Now, not all of my dreams are necessarily important to me. So, prioritizing those dreams is the first line of business. That's why I am working on my dream of running faster. I want to be able to run with the group of gals here. That's one aspect of vision I have for my running future. It's also why I decided to go to the chiropractor after all these years of putting up with hip and tailbone pain. I think it will help my form to get that adjusted and fixed. I se...

Thirteen years ago, when my middle child was born, I began having tailbone pain. I had two babies and no time, so I just dealt with it, hoping it would get better. When I had baby number 3, my tailbone felt better, but my left hip gave me pain. Since then (11 years ago), I've dealt with tailbone pain and hip pain off and on. Lately, the pain has been mostly on...especially in my hip. I finally decided to do something about it. Yesterday, I went to the chiropractor. My tailbone has been out of place for all these years. And my left hip is lower than my right. My left ankle was also out of whack and my neck is always tense. Anyway, I had no idea a chiropractic adjustment could make me so sore! It's like I already worked out or maybe got hit by a car...so I took it kind of easy just now on chest press and flyes. I'll be taking it really easy on shoulders because that affects my neck, and sara and I will go to the gym to do triceps later today. Interestingly, my jaw has always ...

Happy Superbowl Sunday!! In anticipation, I ran my long run yesterday. I'd planned to lift yesterday and run today. Then, I remembered that it was superbowl weekend. So, around 3:00 I went out for my run. All of this brought me 2 new revelations. 1. I've never cared about superbowl sunday until this year. 2. The days are suddenly soooo much longer. So, why the sudden interest in football? After 20 years of marriage, I've finally found it within me to enjoy my hubby's interest in a sport I don't understand. (I really don't get why it's a legal play to crush someone's bones and send them off the field on a stretcher, but whatever you do...DO NOT grab the guy's jersey!!) It's like this...I've spent over 10 years learning to truly enjoy my autistic son's interests, whether it's moving my fist back and forth in front of my eyes or bouncing up and down past my calves giving out or running back and forth across a room over 100 tim...

Today's Top Ten (in no particular order) 1.movie with family 2.coffee with sara 3.3x400's on the treadmill 4.squats and lunges with sara 5.story writing with kids 6.biology with gracyn 7.general science with braeden 8.time alone while my kids read 9.rockband 10.fajitas

I thought I'd post, for the record, my fitness happenings. I forgot yesterday when I posted my bicep pics. Saturday, Braeden's basketball team had a great time in their first games ever. It was so fun to watch them! So Saturday was spectator day for me. Oh, except that I did chest press and inclined press before we left for the games with the intention of doing shoulders later...didn't get that done. Sunday, I ran to the mine and back- 3miles up, 3 miles back, a great 6 mile run. Yesterday, I finally got to triceps from Saturday's unfinished workout. Still no shoulder work. It's all ok. Today is scheduled off for lifting. My plan is to run. But Kaegan had a rough night with a stomach bug, so we'll see how today goes for us. He seems ok now, but who's next? Anyway, I'll be thrilled to make the run happen! And if not, then my expectations are set that it could fly out the window! :) Update: Got that run in! I took it nice and slow up along the creek on th...

November December January I don't see much difference, but here are my bicep comparison shots. I think I'd have to lose some fat to see the muscle growth, and that isn't happening very quickly for me right now.

Ruth posted a "Bucket List" of fitness-related things she'd like to do in her lifetime. I loved reading hers, so I decided to put some thought into mine. It hasn't been easy for me, though, because I'm really struggling with this low thyroid thing and have been somewhat discouraged. Luckily, I was able to dig deep and realize some dreams. Here they are. My Bucket List: Climb the 5 fourteeners surrounding our town (peaks over 14,000 ft) Learn to snowboard Run faster (I have a number in mind, maybe I'll disclose it when I reach it) Run a marathon run the 50 miler here in my little town, maybe in a few years sweep the 50 miler this summer investigate every trail in my vicinity and write about it go on a running vacation like this plan my own running vacation, beginning in one town and running to the next for overnight, then run the next day to another little town for overnight...and take friends with me organize a fundraiser race to raise money to buy a hyper...

Wow! Being without internet is debilitating! What a spoiled person, I am! I haven't had strong enough internet signal to get sites to fully load or to post anything, and I thought I might not survive until it got resolved. But I did! Some things that have happened that I wish I'd had a camera for... I went snowshoeing on Sunday with Sara and Lydia. We took the Alpine Gulch Trail, which is my favorite, favorite any time of year so far. It's the one that Ruth and family took last summer, so I immediately scolded myself for not taking my camera. It was incredible. The snow covered trees bowed to the creator, making a canopy over and around us. The trail goes up and up so I love that the beauty distracts from the pain, ha! We went to the 3rd creek crossing (I can't remember how far that is, but there are 9 creek crossings over all on this over-6-mile trail) and decided that time required that we turn around and get Sara back to Baby Brooks. We turned and retrace...