Thunderstorm

Rainy morning and I have a ton of studying to do. No matter- I'm still going to run.

I put in 4 miles on the treadmill in the workout room.

There's always time for exercise.

No excuses!!!

Nutrition Fuels Fitness

Race Day was Sunday March 26th.

I will have to come back and write about this more when I have time. Point is I did it! I hung back during the first 2 miles, which was probably a good thing...

My time for this 10k (6 miles) was 52:12.

Blue Sky Holiday

The weather has been great the last few days. Sunny, not much rain...even the temps seem a little warmer. But I've been sitting on the couch. I've been sleeping there as well.

All I can say is that I'm so glad I got in my 30 miles last week, cause this week it aint happenin. Just as well though since I have a 10k race this Sunday. If anybody happens to be in Elk Grove you're welcome to come cheer me on.

Today I ran Otter Trail and Hidden Gold. 5.5 miles. I felt like hell the first mile. My head was pounding and my leg muscles were so tight that every step made me think I was gonna break the pavement. Out of sync again! I hate this! My head is so full.

Full of worries, full of pain, full of anger.

Where's the zen? Where's the switch that shuts down anxiety? I've misplaced it. Oh Lord, help me find it! Please! You owe me one!

Did I just say that? God owes me one?

Sure, I'm kinda ticked off at God at the moment (life really sucks right now)...but heck, hey doesn't owe me anything. I am the one who's in debt, not him! I can't get through this without help. I have faith. God is good.

New song to ipod- Bad Day by Daniel Powter

Here's part of the song:

You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee to go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces everytime
And I don't need no carryin' on

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride (replace with RUN!)
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Well you need a blue sky holiday
The point is they laugh at what you say
And I don't need no carryin' on

Sunshine

What a beautiful Saturday! Couldn't ask for a better one. The sun is out and so was I. Even MB got his grove on and took advantage of this break in the rain.

He ran Paymaster. Good for him.

I knew I needed 4 miles to make it to my 30 miles a week goal. I decided Second gate and Otter trail would get me there.

It was okay as far as runs go...but I was more tired and sluggish today. My legs felt heavy and several times my left shoe brushed up against the inside of my right leg.

Most of all I was happy to be warm. Our heater has been having issues this season. Sometimes the thing only blows cold air while other times it just doesn't come on at all. This morning it was 60 degrees in the house. I didn't like that! To cold for me. My fingers and toes turn into popsicles in two minutes. It felt warmer standing outside in the sun. I love the sun. The sun and I are friends.

On the way back around Otter Trail, I saw 2 boys standing on the corner. I recognized them right away. Tyler and Alex. Tyler lives just up the street and has a huge crush on Katie. Alex is one of Katie's best friends. Tyler held a football in his hand. They were obviously going to the field to play. Katie ignores Tyler. It's sad really. I feel terrible for Tyler, but he is very pushy and I can see why she does it.

As I passed I said, "hi boys." They said hi back and Alex, being the funny guy that he is, decided to run along side me.
"You gonna run with me?" I asked. "Well, c'mon then."

They made sure to keep a few steps ahead of me so they could say, "we can run faster than you." I had a perfectly good come back with, "Yeah, let's see if you could keep that up for another 12 miles."

"Your running 12 miles today?" asked Alex. "No, I did that the other day...today is a four."

They were impressed. I felt proud.

"Dang, that's a long way." replied Tyler. We hadn't even gotten to the field parking lot when they decided to stop and turn around. I waved and said good-bye.

Before I cranked back up my ipod, I heard Tyler's voice yell out..."Say hi to Katie for me!"

30 minutes later both of them showed up at my door wanting to know if Katie could come down to the field and play. Katie wasn't interested. Which is fine, cause we have a rule in our house that she can only to the park or field if she has at least one other girl with her. Sometimes she is very happy with our rules. This was one of those times.

Workout Company

More dark clouds filled the morning skies. You know what that means. Yep, the treadmill. I can't risk getting caught in a hail storm. I think if the temps were a little warmer, I'd try running outside...but that nip in the air feels like trouble.

After dropping off the kids at school, I headed back to first gate and parked in front of the workout room. Even before I started walking up the stairs to the door, I noticed it. There is half of a white frame mounted around the door. What is that? I wondered. Holy Crap! It's a screen door! The heavens are shining down on me!! I'll be able to keep the door open now on those warmer spring days when it's pouring to hard outside for running. Yippee!! That was thoughtful. I would have kept it open today, except I wasn't alone in the room today.

When I got there, a man was using the arm weights. I said my "hellos" and jumped on the treadmill. Right away I got back off to retie my shoes. I can never get my shoelaces at just the right tightness. The man (who appeared to be just a little older than me) told me a couple stories of his more embarrassing mishaps with shoelaces and treadmills.

I didn't want to be rude- so I kept my ipod earbuds out for a little while. Just as I was reaching my second mile, he left and I was alone. I cranked up the tunes.

Then it hit me. I'm not wearing green! That butt ugly painting in front of me was the thing that triggered my memory. It's St. Patricks Day. Not that it matters much to me. I'm not Irish...and I don't drink beer.

Today's Workout- 5 miles. 4 intervals of speedwork. My mph bounced around like crazy so I won't go into the grueling details. My first interval was 800meters. The other 3 were 400 meters. All were done at about a 75% effort.
My time was 52 minutes. I went pretty slow inbetween intervals.

Also, I started getting a strange pain in my right calf in the last mile. Kinda like my blood vein was gonna pop. Hmmm....it feels fine now.

Wavelength down

To all my Wavelength readers...sorry. Blogger is having troubles. If they get it fixed today you can read a new poem I wrote last night.

Hang in there...I'm sure you'll catch my wave soon.

THIS JUST IN...WAVELENGTH IS BACK. GO CHECK OUT MY POEM NOW. Wait!!! I take that back. First read today's running post, THEN- go read the poem.

hehe.

Hitting the wall at 11 and then climbing over it to 12

The weather here lately is unpredictable. Yesterday my kids stayed home because the school called a snow day. I wasn't able to run, so instead I took Megan out shopping for her mission project.

This morning the sun was shining. My smile stretched so wide! School is in and I am free to run as far and as long as I want!

Yippee!!!

I put on my new running shirt that I bought yesterday (gotta love Target). I also decided to keep the water bottle I bought at the running store even though some of it is red (lions like red).

I set out with the goal of third gate. Ironically, I ended up going a longer distance, but never fully reached the third gate. On Sweetwater I came to Secret Lake Trail. Usually I just go right on by, but today I felt like I should turn left here and run it the crazy way. Uphill. So I did.
All the rain we've gotten lately caused this one little stream to gush like a river...with a big waterfall and everything. It was beautiful. In fact, I saw a several places like that. I also saw an old valentine marlar balloon snagged in an old tree. Hmm. I guess that's what happens to old balloons that get away from you.

I was running slow (it sure seemed), but I made it up that crazy kill kathy hill without stopping. Having the water bottle made the run seem harder. It put weight in my hand and I didn't like that one bit. However, by the time I got home I was very happy to have taken it. Tim (the guy at the running store) told me to take a sip every 10 minutes. He said it will really help with recovery and when I "hit the wall".

I ran past Denise's house and Marley barked at me (her dog). Denise- if you are reading this...I'm sorry I didn't stop to say howdy. I have no excuse except that I felt pressed to keep going and not stop yet.

Back on Sweetwater, I didn't see the point in turning left just to run a few more steps to reach third gate...so I turned right and ran up a small hill to the stop sign at Gulch ?? Oh, I forgot the name...anyway- I felt another compelling urge to turn left and do this loop too. I know this street turns into Cascade and goes by Thea's house. When I got to Thea's house I really debated as to whether or not I should stop. I even ran a little ways past before turning around and going back. I haven't seen Thea in a long time and I just knew in my heart that I should check in with her.

As I was making my way up her very steep driveway, I hoped that I would see her van. I did! Great, she's home. I also saw their new big truck with all four doors open. Hmmm. I saw some legs and assumed it was Ron. He shut the door just as I was standing behind it. I scared him half to death!

I apologized, but really I thought it was very funny. We talked a little bit and I asked if Thea was home. He said yes, but that she's having a terrible migraine today and is resting in bed. I've seen Thea with one of those headaches before...and I've had them myself. I feel awful for her.

I left, wishing I had remembered to tighten the laces on my shoes. O'well...I've already started running again. I'm not stopping for laces unless they come undone completely.

I only stopped for maybe 5 minutes, but it that was enough to throw my rhythm off. Just before making the turn back onto American River Trail, Ron drove by and honked. I think he was trying to pay me back for scaring him. I waved and sort of laughed. Serves me right.

In the last mile before my house, I felt my body wanting to stop. Everything hurt and I was running out of steam. I sucked down my water like it was a baby bottle, hoping it would get me over this wall. It did. I didn't stop, but overdrive didn't seem to exist today. I ran normal pace and almost fell down after crossing my finish line. I would guess I ran about 12 miles??

Ah hell...what a great day it was for a run!!!!

Double Dose

It was supposed to snow all day. Not the case. Instead of snow, we had sun. Ohhhh, I was so happy to be running outside. If only my stride could have reflected the inside. However, harmony was not in the cards...at least not on today's first run. That's right, today I ran twice.

I had a hard time getting my body in sync. My legs and arms felt off. My breathing was labored and my eyes kept falling to the ground. I really had to concentrate on lifting my head UP. UP, Kathy! LOOK UP!!

I attribute this poor form to the treadmill. I think that workout room is a bad influence on me. But, to my credit, if you had nothing to look at but that atrocious painting, you'd be hanging your head too!

I ran Otter Trail and Second gate for a first route distance of 4 miles. It was awkward. I seemed to fumble through the whole thing. This made me mad. Finally- I get outside only to mess it up.
The sun may have been out, but the temperature was cold. I wore my long sleeved running shirt and gloves. I finally started to thaw out as I was coming up the big hill on Otter trail. All of a sudden the gloves had changed from being a blessing to being a hindrance. So I took them off and carried them rest of the way, dangling in my left hand.

When I neared my finish line, I considered going further, but decided that probably wouldn't help. That's when I had a great idea.

I'll just try again later. Why not?

So I did. At 5:00 o'clock in the evening, I left my house for another run. The second time was much better as far as body and mind synchronization. I only ran another 2-3 miles, but it was a nice run. I did the Pointed Rocks and Westville loop. The sun was setting. The clouds were big and round. Some were white as snow while the rest were smaller with varying shades of grey.

It was a lovely sight. I've seen it brighter on other nights...nights that fill the sky with orange, pink and purple. This evening streaked with a blaze of blue, grey and white. It was different, but beauty has many forms.

My second run was smooth. It was satisfying and I'm glad I took another bash at it.

If the weather is nice tomorrow...I'll try third gate.

Thursday March 9th Treadmill

Yesterday I ran 5 miles on the treadmill. I also worked on my arms and did 100 situps. 50 upper abs and 50 lower abs.

Today my schedule got a bit messed up because I went to a friends candle party during workout time.

I plan on doing a light jog tomorrow and then a nice 10miles on Sunday. At least...that's the plan. We'll see. Life Happens.

What do I say? Nothing, just don't stop.

I stepped outside and lifted my head to the sky. Another big, dark, shadowy cloud hang above me. I considered the risk. Run in the rain...or go to the gym. Maybe it won't rain. Yeah, right!

I remained optimistic. I left my ipod and water bottle at home, thinking I might actually get to run outside. By the time me and the girls got to first gate, it was pouring.
I dropped off the girls at school and headed back home. Okay- so I accepted defeat. With ipod in hand, I drove back down to first gate where the gym is. Hey- at least I have access to a nearby workout room! I am grateful for that.

I started out on the treadmill I usually favor, but after just a half a mile I sensed it wasn't going as fast as it should be. So I stopped the machine and got on the one next to it...much better. I finished up my run with 3.5 more miles, which included 3 intervals. On each interval I increased speed to 7mph for one lap (400 meters).

A friend of mine came in while I was running. Tanya doesn't like to talk during workouts, so we got along perfect. I sailed on through listening to my ipod and she waved good bye when she was done.

Self disciple is hard to do.

I can be proud of myself today. I got much done.

It started with helping Katie carry her closet sized wardrobe box up to her classroom in the rain. Some of the gold paint got on my running gloves and jacket...I hope it comes out.

After that I went straight to the workout room. 6 miles and a little over an hour later, I stretched and worked my legs. I passed up working on my arms due to a pain I've been feeling in my left shoulder. I set the pace a little slower today. I had a couple reasons for this.
1. I have a tendency to start off to fast which makes me loss steam later. Naturally I wanted to practice taking it down a notch.
2. Something inside just told me to.

So, what else did I get done today?

Some book writing, some barn painting....the really fun stuff like dishes and laundry (NOT).

Despite the rain, it was a good day.

Ah yippie yi yu, Ah yippie yi yeah

I know this is a very cheesy song and by all accounts it should make me sick....but I like it. Sue me.

It's called Dr. Jones by AQUA and it really picked up at the final quarter mile of today's run.

I ran out to the Third Gate. I have a few good reasons for wanting a 10 mile day.

1. NO RAIN TODAY- the weather was chilly but nice.
2. To beat the heck out of my cold virus and send it packing!
3. No time constraints.
4. New shoes.

Now #4 isn't really a plus. I love my new shoes, but taking them out on their second day for 10 miles is not exactly a smart thing to do. They might organize a revolt.

So, how did the run go?

Well, I felt like throwing up twice. My left ankle started hurting in the 6th mile. Then the left knee. Soon I could feel the blister on my right toe puffing up. On my last mile the skin just below my armpit on both arms began stinging. Okay- I'm done complaining. Here are the good things...I didn't stop, I completed the course in 1 hour 45 minutes, I had my music (very grateful for tunes), I didn't get hungry or need a bathroom and I got to take in deep breaths of fresh (real) pine scent.

This is training...and training is hard!

Mostly I thought about the upcoming race. It's just 3 weeks away.

Family running

Yep, I'm getting the whole family hooked on this running thing.

I signed us up (me, MB & Megan) for a race in late March. The money raised will go to help fight childhood obesity. I am just liking the fact that Megan is thrilled about running in her first race. She will run 800 meters (a half a mile). MB will run a 5k (3 miles) and I will do a 10k (6 miles).

Yesterday I was sick and just laid in bed sleeping all day. Made me feel so incredibly lazy. Today I was tempted to do the same boring thing, but managed to get out in the blustery wind and drive down to the workout room. Since it was another snow day and school was closed, Megan came along.

Megan ran 1/2 mile on the treadmill and walked some. She became very bored once the novelty wore off. Surprise, surprise. I couldn't blame her. I tried to encourage her to explore the other machines, but I didn't want to stop my own workout to help her move the pins and adjust the seats.
Also I had in my headphones and had to keep pulling them out to hear her talking to me. It was a frustrating 5 miles for me. Finally I was done and she was more than ready to go.

I did a little bit of stretching and showed a couple guys that came in how to use the quick speed feature on the treadmill.