Recovery and Lessons Learned

I don't know if it was the downhill or that I ran the half faster than I normally do for that distance and on cement, but my legs were actually sore. It was so strange.  I didn't exercise on Sunday since we were in the car and then running errands all afternoon, but I did hop on a stationary bike on Monday which really made my legs feel much better.  My ankle hurts but what else is new?

So you know how I said that you should never wear anything new on race day?  I didn't follow my own advice. I sported Josh arm sleeves and I'm paying for it. It chaffed the crap out of me. I have two nice scabs near my armpits.  They hurt so bad pretty much every time I move my arms by my body.  Point made body, I will never wear anything new on race day again.

Also nice are my now, two purple toenails.  My second toe curls over and I lost that toenail last season. I wasn't surprised to see it trying to come off again. I think my third toe's nail is coming off because at the start of the race I couldn't feel my feet so I'm sure I was digging it into my shoe and didn't even realize it.  Oh well, badges of honor right?  At Josh's request I did buy some new polish to paint them...they do look pretty bad.

When I went to the gym I did sport my new Canyonlands Half Marathon shirt.  Maybe the color isn't that bad when not wearing the hat at the same time...it's still pretty ugly though.

Don't you think?  Yikes on a side note my thigh looks huge in the picture...eek.

On my way out of the gym I had a complete stranger tell me how awesome it was that I just ran a half marathon. When I told him I had a full to go next month he said he thought that was amazing. It was kind of nice to hear.

It's snowing like mad so I'm not going to the gym.  It took me nearly two hours to get home from work and it's just not worth going out in the weather for. Hopefully tomorrow night I'll be able to get in a great workout.

On the Road Again

Thursday was busy busy. As soon as I got home from work, I packed the last of the things I had forgotten to pack Wednesday night, dropped off Lucky and waited for Josh to get home. As soon as he got home it was time to load the car and get on the road.

We had a slight change of plans with our overnight accomodations when TJ told Josh that his roommate's parents had come into town. Not to worry, I found the cheapest hotel possible for us to stay in so that we weren't sleeping on a floor.  That would just not have been pleasant. 

We arrived at our hotel or maybe it was more of a motel since you can park and walk into your room around 10ish? Anyway, we stayed at the Rodeway Inn in Glenwood Springs which yes, did advertise that they have HBO on their sign (eating my words).  It wasn't actually all that bad. I mean it could have used some updating and some new carpet, but the beds were fairly comfortable and we had cable so you know, it worked. When we got up in the morning we were so glad that we decided to head up the night before. While Denver was being hit by the snow storm, we were enjoying our free breakfast the next morning...good old waffles or pastries.

After breakfast we hit the road.  Just a few hours later we arrived in Moab and to rain and hail.  Yes the weather was lovely.  We discovered two things, Zax Pizza aka Woody's only serves breakfast until 11:30 and there is absolutely no checking in early at the Ramada Inn.  Ugh. I was so irritated.  To kill some time we hit a bike store and the hardware store for Josh to buy a new lock (we found out later he had brought his). By the time this was done we were able to get some lunch...yeay for salad bars and pizza.

After lunch I drove Josh up to a trail for him to do some biking. We had to wait out the hail for a few then he was on his way.   I hit the expo while he was riding...not impressed.  Now I know Canyonlands is a small race but I was really disappointed with the expo. There were like two sponsors there and basically just bins of clothes that some stores were trying to get rid of. I did score some new TYR goggles for $6 which was exciting.  Dayglow shirt and hat in hand, as well as my reusable gear check bag, I drove the race course.

Amazing isn't it?

Finally we were able to check in and head out to the Inspiration Dinner.  I was charged with leading all of the participants to the dinner. And lead I did...literally. It was like playing follow the leader in kindergarten. You would think that someone would walk with me, but nope, they all stayed behind me.  It was weird.  We got there and they were all cheered in!  Nice plate of pasta later we got to hear some facts about how much work we've done this season, how many calories we've burned (over a million), and how much money we've raised (just this group $73,000).  Once Ashley was done speaking one of our honored heroes spoke to us about her battle and thanked us for our hard work.  As everything concluded we took team photos and we went home.

Of course I laid everything out and was able to get a great night of sleep thanks to Advil PM. Lifesaver!

Dreadmill Eighteen

I've been in denial for a few weeks now that something might be wrong with my ankle.  As we were running a couple weeks back I knew I landed wrong as my foot connected with the ground. Running on those icy,  uneven trails is really hard on the body. I played it safe and took a few days off and did my run last weekend on the treadmill.  It was a taper week so it wasn't too bad. 

I finally broke down and went to the doctor on Friday afternoon.  Low and behold...tendonitis.  UGH!  I thought I had successfully avoided it this season, but those trails took their toll.  Luckily it's just my ankle and not my knees this time.  The doctor said I could keep running as long as I ran on an even surface and used kinesio tape...which meant the dreadmill for an entire 18 miles...booo.

Bright and early yesterday morning I headed to the gym all taped up, two water bottles and my gels in hand.  I decided not to push too hard so set the treadmill to a steady 10 min/mile pace and started running. The first six miles flew right by and were a breeze.  By the time it slowed me down for cool down it was time for my first gel. 

The next six miles were interrupted by my stomach. It could have been the pizza or the gel but my stomach was not happy.  Quick run to the restroom and I was off again.  Mile 12 came and went and it was time for gel #2.  Done and done.

Mile 15 comes along...my stomach acts up again!  This is making me realize that running at the gym definitely has its advantages.  By mile 16.5 I was just ready to be done. I'd already watched an episode of Law & Order, The Practice, Ruby and was almost through Guiliana and Bill...yes I know, bad TV.  To help get myself through it I popped some PowerBar gummies and cranked up the speed to 9 min/miles.

With only a half mile left my knees stiffened right up.  I was going to push through but realized it was probably best to stop and stretch. Twat squat and I finished that last 1/2 mile.  When I was done it did not feel like I had just run 18 miles. I mean last season I was dying on that run. This time I was soaking wet and a little sore but not even tired. I thought about staying at the gym a little longer to do some upper body work but figured it was in my best interest to get home and ice.

Today I'm still feeling good.  My ankle is sore and my knees a little bit too, but I can still take stairs no problem and figure I'll be nearly 100% tomorrow. 

With that it's time to board my flight to Oregon...yes, I'm off again.

Doing Something We Can Control

Yesterday I was not really looking forward to my run. It was a taper week for me so I only needed to run 9 miles but I just was not feeling motivated.  But when I got to the trail, everyone was in high spirits which instantly put a smile on my face.  Before we start running each week we always have what we call a mission moment. Usually we read a story about a patient or survivor that was sent to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society office, but ocassionally someone is brave enough to share a very personal story.  This weekend Amanda, who is just the sweetest, cutest thing ever, opened up to the group.  Now for privacy reasons I'm not going to give any details, but she really made us all choke up.  She told us about her brother who is struggling with illness.  An illness that has struck my own family.  I can't imagine how difficult it was for her to share with the group, but one thing she said really stuck with me.

Amanda said that none of us can control getting sick, who gets cancer, who dies from cancer or any other horrible disease, but we can control what we do to try to make sure that no more families lose a loved one.  No one else loses their best friend, brother, sister, mom, dad or grandparents. 

I haven't been able to get her words out of my head.  Everyone who is doing Team in Training is doing the only thing they can to control cancer.  Each of us is dedicating our time and bodies to raise money to help find a cure.  We could just sit around and wait for someone else to help fund patient programs or research, but instead we are out there, early on Saturday mornings, in the snow, ice, wind and cold for LLS.  We are doing what we can to change the world we live in, where cancer many times is a death sentence. 

We may not be able to control anything else, but we can control this.  Please help myself and my team help others by making a donation.  Any and every donation helps!  For the next week or maybe two, I will match every single donation to my efforts for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society up to $400.  So make your donation really count!

P.S. Aaron and Amanda still have $6000 to raise in order to be able to do the Nashville Country Music Marathon...so if you want to donate to them too click here to visit their site.

Procrastination at it's Best

The time is now 2:33 pm and I have yet to pack a single thing for our trip.  We leave early on Friday morning and the last thing I want to do right now is pack.  I'm dreading the process.  Just look at the huge pile of laundry I just finished.  Would you want to tackle that?  Yeah, me either.  If I just keep procrastinating maybe it will magically be put away and my backpack all packed or maybe Lucky will put it all away for me.  A girl can dream right?

So here's what's left to get done before we leave on Friday:

-PACK-Now I just have to figure out what to bring. I don't want to look like a sloppy American but want to be comfy.
-Pack up Lucky for the kennel and Hil's house. Drop him at Happy Tails.  (Never thought I'd miss a dog, but how can you not love this face?)

-Gather gifts and such for dinner at Shana's house on Christmas Eve
-Fit in a 75 minute run (Probably on the dreadmill since it's still snowing outside.)
-Return memory sticks to Wolf Camera
-Enjoy the ride to Italy.

Sounds managable right?  Hopefully I won't be up super late tonight.  On a positive note, my cold is almost gone!  I've now gone an entire hour minute without coughing.

Snot Very Pretty

This weekend was just not my weekend. I'm hoping that I just had a bad one because I have such a fabulous vacation in just a few days.  I can also taste the gelato it's so close.  But back to the bad weekend.  So I've been sick, thanks Lobster, for about a week now and though it's slowly getting better (I'm pretty much like a leaking faucet instead of one turned all the way on) I still feel generally crappy.  Which lead to me having to cancel on two of my favs Sarah and Lisa on Friday night. 

Now this was just the start.  I was already feeling down about that when I went to meet with Erin, my new nutritionist at Momentum Health.  That appointment was actually super helpful and informative and I'm very grateful for Erin working with me. So you ask what went wrong here?  Nothing major except somehow in the past three months, I've replaced 2 lbs of muscle with fat.  How this is possible I'm not sure. So regardless of what the scale says, I am in fact getting fatter even though I'm holding a steady weight.  Man I'd rather gain weight (muscle of course) than been losing and gaining fat.

Well then it was time to have some dinner.  I was just chewing a piece of pizza when one of my teeth decided it had been used quite enough and broke.  Seriously?  I mean WTF, who loses a quarter of their molar eating pizza?  Must have been a sign from the diet gods that I should not have been eating pizza in the first place. Of course do I have a dentist in Longmont?  Ha...

First thing Saturday morning instead of running with my team, I was at Comfort Dental in Boulder numb for almost 3 hours.  The verdict, apparently my last dentist didn't fully drill out a cavity before filling it. So it continued to grow and caused the tooth to break. Right now it's been filled so that I can head to Italy with a complete tooth. When I get back though it's time for the dentist and a crown.  Boooooooo.  Did I mention I hate dentists offices?  They smell of rubber, tooth dust and gingivitis.  Blah. (No that is not me in the picture.)

Luckily I got in some good laughs with Tawsha during our business meeting later that afternoon.  I'm pretty sure she was more laughing at me and my feeble attempts not to drool and speak normally even though half my face was numb.  Regardless, I can always count on her for a laugh. In fact I think last week my abs hurt from laughing with her so much.  Well that and this stupid cough.  Isn't it ironic? Don't you think?  (Tawsha that's for you ehmmmmmmmmmmm ok?)  I am really looking forward to the Wedding Preview Event even though I will be in Moab running my little heart out during the 1/2  marathon.  I have total faith that someday sooner rather than later, Tawsha and My Big Day Planner are going to be emensly successful. 

I spent Saturday night trying to infect the city of Boulder with my cold.  Aaron, Amanda and Kelsey joined me at Borders to wrap gifts for donations.  We actually wrapped quite a few books and such, the final tally...$38 and some change.  Really?  We had one lady alone who we wrapped 10 items for.  She left $1.  Come on people...it's for cancer.  Speaking of which, I am seriously lacking in the donations department.  I still have a long ways to go, please donate, right after the first of the year is just fine.  Thanks.

Sunday was actually the best day of the weekend.  Other than nearly breaking a toe when my baseboard moved two inches in an attempt to maime some of my poor toes, I finally got in the run I was supposed to do on Saturday morning.  Since I didn't have the team to run with and I was feeling super unmotivated, I just did the loop around our neighborhood twice. 

Time:  60 minutes    Distance: 6.28 miles    Avg. Pace: 9:33 min/mile


I'm not going to lie this was a hard run for me.  I took everything I had not to stop and walk.  I was wheezing, I had snot all over my face and I was hacking like a smoker the entire time.  I was so glad that there were only a few other people on the path.  I looked like a preschooler who had been hit hard by the boogieman.  Yuck.  Once my run was over (Thank God) I entered the house so that Josh could be present for a 10 minute serenade of coughs.  I think he really enjoyed it.  But hey, on the bright side, it makes me feel good to know that even when I'm sick I can finish a 10k in under an hour.  I have come so far from the summer of 2008. 

The rest of the day was spent going to four different stores looking for a new digital camera.  We finally bought a new Sony Cybershot at Wolf Camera.  So glad that's over.  One less thing to do before the big trip.  We headed to Dad and Liz's house for a family dinner before they took off to Costa Rica.  It was a good thing I went on that snotty run because my dad warmed up some Hanky Pankies aka Shit on a Brick and then we had Indian food. Love Indian. 

Weekend is now closed and not a minute too soon.

Wind and Snow...ha

You know it takes a lot to get out of bed some mornings to go to our Saturday runs.  This Saturday was no exception.  Still trying to catch up on my sleep from Vegas, I woke up around 6 to start my pre-group run routine.  Last season I ate PB&J toast before my runs...eh, I can't do it again for another four months. Now that I've rediscovered my love for oatmeal, I've switched over.  Quick bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon and brown sugar and my belly was just full enough to get my through our quick 45 minute run we had on the schedule.  Then it was time to get dressed. I purchased something I swore I never would.....yes, it's true, the dreaded running tights.  Eek.  Now I am not one to wear tapered anything, let alone skin tight running pants, but hey, in the Colorado cold, it's better to be warm and have your thighs and ass hanging out there than to be cold.  Nothing is worse than being out for a run and being frozen.  Add an Under Armor turtleneck, a hooded running jacket, windbreaker and some gloves and I was all set. 

One of the best things about being up early on winter mornings is the calm and the beautiful sunrises over the snow capped mountains. Just look at the view leaving my neighborhood.  Amazing right?  I might not have a beautiful ocean view and warm weather all the time but I love my view of the mountains. 

Our run was at the Big Dry Creek trail in Westminster. Why they call it this I'm not sure.  We only really pass by the creek like twice.  I think they should rename it, the big, run by a landfill, no tree trail.  This trail is a pretty flat and easy one. I did my last 11 miler on it before the Denver 1/2 Marathon in October.  I know it oh so well and enjoy it when it's about 45 degrees and slightly overcast with little wind. Well no such luck this weekend.  It was a balmy 20 degrees with a steady wind of about 15 mph with wind gusts of about 30-35 mph.  Running out with the wind was awesome. I felt like I was flying right through the snow, down the trail with little effort.  Then came the turn around.  That is when the wind came after me. I'm pretty sure I was basically doing the running man dance when the strong gusts came. If it wasn't already difficult enough running in the snow and ice, the wind made it extremely difficult to stay upright and moving in a forward motion.

We all pressed through the run and amazingly, had smiles on our faces.  We were all happy we didn't have a real long run in that crazy wind.  I have to say that I am itching for my double digit runs. I know I'm crazy.

Time:  47:33 (I went a little over my time)    Distance: 4.65 miles (that's it?)    Avg. Pace: 10:14 min/mile

Somehow I managed to maintain my ideal long run pace through the elements.  (My goal is to average 9:45-10 min/miles for the marathon, so my long runs should not be any faster than 10:10-10:30 min/miles.) Surprisingly my legs were actually sore.  Running through that wind was excellent resistance training. It was definitely like doing hill repeats without the hills.  After some stretching and silliness we headed to Starbucks for a quick clinic on cross-training.  Must say I love cross-training.  I think I'm going to start doing the 30 Day Shred again. After a month of that I can really tell that I've strengthened by upper body and abs.  Both excellent for marathon running. 

Later that night Shana, Adam and their kiddos came up for the Longmont Parade of Lights. Now it's no Denver Parade of Lights, but it was fun anyway.  After the parade we headed into Roosevelt Park for some free hot chocolate and fireworks.

Oh yeah, I also chopped my hair off.  I lost about seven inches of hair. It feels so strange.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Since Thanksgiving has now come and gone, it's time to move immediately to Christmas of course.  Josh and I have started to try to have our own holiday traditions that we do every year.  His family likes to sing Christmas songs every Sunday during Advent, but since I'm not much of a singer, I'm not so hot on that tradition. One tradition we can on are Christmas cookies and A Year Without a Santa Claus.  After putting up our tree (we really need to collect some more ornaments), drapping our stairs with garland and hanging up the wreath outside it was time to get to the good stuff. 

Mmmmmmmmm sugar cookies.  When I was little my brother Tom and I always made sugar cookies with Grandma Walker.  Decorating of course was second only to eating as many as we could.  RedHots always topped the trees and there were plenty of sprinkles to go around.  Tom usually licked his finger and touched every cookie he could until I pushed him away.  No one wants Tom cooties on their cookies.  Haha. 

I've found that things don't change all that much.  Josh and I both ate dough as we cutout our Christmas trees, snowmen and stars.  Letting them cool was so hard!  To keep my occupied, I sang along to A Year Without a Santa Claus.  The Heatmizer and Snowmizer are my favorite!  Once the cookies were cooled, we quickly frosted and decorated them mainly so we could eat them finished product.  As you can tell we don't have the Martha Stewart touch.  So delicious...in fact I think I need to eat one right now.

Now that I've enjoyed my cookie back to business.  Every year Longmont has an outdoor ice skating rink in the Pavillion at Roosevelt Park.  Finally after two years we made it over to the rink.  Now the last time I went ice skating was with Jess Cutler during Greek Week my freshman year of college.  We went to every single event that week so that we could earn housing points for room selection. As it turns out we had tons of fun doing them all.  Ice skating was a lot more difficult than I remembered and Jess and I fell on our butts more than once.  This time I was a little more graceful though both skates stayed on the ice at all times.  Josh did his best figure skater impression.  We pretty much has the entire rink to ourselves which was really nice.  Neither one of us fell down...I don't think my already sore butt could have taken a fall. 

What a great way to start off the Christmas season.  After ice skating we went for some Italian food...Italy is so close!  Off to make dinner and head to the gym for an interval workout. 

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow

It is officially cold and the snow is still falling.  It's been snowing now for almost two days straight and as of late last night we have just over a foot of snow at our house.  We are definitely getting an early taste of winter this year. Hopefully it will snow only during the week and be beautiful outside on Saturday mornings for our team training runs this season. 

Yesterday I decided to work from home and nurse the cold that will not just hit me completely, rather than brave the winter driving conditions. Even Lucky didn't go outside until Josh came home and made him go for a walk.  I stayed inside where it was nice and warm while they ventured out.  Poor Lucky had to jump from place to place because the snow is almost as deep as he is tall.  Pretty sure he came with springs in his legs. 

This morning I was not as smart. I looked out the window and saw that it wasn't snowing in Longmont anymore.  I got out to I-25 to start the long part of my commute and realized I should have stayed home.  As I slowly made my way to the office, slipping and sliding, I was wishing I would have stayed home in my sweatpants with Josh.  Note to self...ignore all feelings of guilt about not being in the office two days in a row next time it snows more than a foot.  Lesson learned.  So I headed home early and hung out in my sweats, under a blanket with tea in hand to finish my work for the day. Much better plan!  When I got home I made Lucky come outside with me.  He was not so happy. He looked at me shaking with his little ears down. I think he'd be happier if he had little boots and a jacket.

Best thing about living in Colorado, it's supposed to be in the 60's again this weekend. Bye bye snow.