The Slackers

We decided to sleep in a little or "slack" off a bit and start our run a little later today. Even the girl behind the counter at our usual Starbucks noticed that we were running late today. It was a gorgeous day for a run, but I think the cyclists thought so too with the greater than normal amount of cyclist out on the trail. We were dodging bikes every so often from each direction. Throughout our run, the word "slacking off" or "slacker" kept coming up and I was getting quite annoyed by the word. Maybe it had to do with the lack of running recently and the low amount of mileage we've been accumulating lately. I'm hoping we'll be able to change that real soon and be back on to a more regular schedule. If today's run is any indication, I think we're on the right track.

Cheseborough or Cheseboro?

Since this park is now one of our favorite meeting spots, I thought we should at least get the name correct. It's actually Chesebrough, a combination of mine and Patty's spelling. It was a nice evening run with all four ladies in good spirits and the weather wasn't too bad either. No one was suffering too badly and we got through it in a decent pace of 9.27 for 3.65 miles with some moderate hills at the end of it. I'm hoping we can test the legs on Saturday and do a longer run.

First Fall

I've been running for several years now and I've never fallen while running. I've come close and I know many people who have fallen and ended up with bruised noses and scraped elbows/knees. I've never been in that category and technically speaking, I am still not. We always see those runners on the street corner jogging in place while waiting for the light to change. Well I'm not one of those runners. I never jog in place and there's good reason for it. I'm not coordinated enough to do it. Tonight I tried running in place while waiting for the light because it was so cold out and Patty and I weren't quite warmed up yet. I don't know how it happened, but my foot slipped off the curb, then the other one followed and the next thing I know my a** slams down on the curb. It was quite embarrassing and funny at the same time. So you see, I didn't technically fall WHILE I was running. As for Patty saying she had to stop because she felt winded, I know it was really because she was having a hard time breathing from laughing so hard at me. It's okay Patty, I'm just glad you're back out there running with me.

A Run and a Laugh!

I was finally able to get out for a run today with my friend K, and I must say that it really felt good to be out there again. I am not talking about the icy cold wind that was blowing, or the fact that I had to stop and walk because I was having trouble breathing, or even my stomach which hasn't been quite right since the last time I ran. I'm talking about how good it feels to be out running with my friend, even though I slowed her down quite a bit. We got to talk, which I have really missed out on, and we had a good laugh when K fell off the curb and ended up flat on her butt. I have to give her credit, she laughed just as hard at herself, as I laughed at her, it was so unexpected (what a great video that would have been). We really missed C and M, and they missed a good laugh! I agree with the girls, that the run from Cheseborough Pk, is my new favorite, and it is close to home which is very convenient for me. Hopefully as the days go by I will pick up some endurance and a little more speed, but for now I am glad to be back out, running and laughing with my friends.

Formal Fun!

I have been trying all day to download a picture and finally just walked
away and it worked. This is my son's group having a good time while the parents were swarming around snapping pictures. It seems to me that they had a lot of fun, but my son is related to my husband and to his three older brothers so the info I get is minimal. I am sure my friends will fill me in on what "really happened". I did hear that my friends C's daughter looked really good in her dress and that they liked the food at the restaurant that they went to. I thought they all seemed to be having fun and all the parents felt their age when the limo pulled out with music blasting and we were all glad we weren't inside! Oh how sad.

Letting Go Slowly

Today was a day of many firsts. My oldest son took his first SAT today and then put on his first tux and went to his first formal dance. As all the parents gathered to send their children off in the limo, I wondered to myself if I was the only one feeling rather sad and anxious at the same time. So what does any normal person do to get over it and clear their mind? They go for a run and that's what I did as soon as they left. My husband and I ran to Heritage Park and back from our house and did some tempo runs along the way. That was another first in a long time. I thought I was going to have a heart attack! One good thing about tempo runs is that you know ahead of time that the agony is short-lived. We ran 3 short intervals along the trail, one lasting 1 minute, the other two lasting 30 seconds each. Overall, our average pace was 8.4 min./mile for 3 miles. Not bad considering I haven't done any speed work for 6 months or more. And the run did help clear my head and put me in a better mood. I know my running friends will also be wondering about their kids tonight at the dance, but they're pros at this stuff. I'm not sure if it gets any easier, but I'm glad I have them around to ask for advice.

Sick and Tired

Well, I am going to post about something other than running because I have no running news to post. I was told by my friend that it was OK to use this blog to whine, and so I will but not too much. I have spent the past (almost) week going from my bed to the chair and not having the energy to even read or watch TV. I finally went to the doctor yesterday and he loaded me up with prescriptions that hopefully will kill whatever it is that has lodged in my chest. I have to say that I can tell the difference today already. I also heard from my other doctor and he says I have a bone bruise from when I stepped on the rock and that is why it has been so slow in healing. I will try to be a good patient and go to physical therapy (doctor's orders) and hopefully it will start feeling better in a couple of weeks. It already has been since Dec. 3rd and I am not a patient person! The thing that bothers me the most is that I feel I will be starting over, just a little over a month ago, I had finished the half marathon, conquered "the beast" and even though I didn't break any records or post any great times, I could really say I was feeling strong with the running. Ugh! Now I will have to play catch up with the girls, and to their credit they are very patient, but this is hard for me and I know that my family would really like it if I got back to the running, and in a better mood. I have whined and now I will stop.

The Gloomies

This weather and the fact that I haven't run with all my friends in a while is really depressing. I know I shouldn't complain because I'm not the one sick or injured, but when my friends are sidelined I'm not as motivated to run on my own. I suppose it's just as well that it has been raining to give everyone enough time to recover. Maybe I can motivate myself into running on my own right after work.

Desperate Times

These are desperate times when I resort to asking my husband to run with me. It's not that I don't want his company, but he makes me run too fast. However, it was still better than not running at all. Patty is still under the weather and C had something that she needed to do. We needed to pick up my husband's car from the Honda dealer so I suggested that we run there. We ended up running just under a 9 min pace for 3.25 miles, which is way quicker than my comfort zone, but I suppose it's good to run out of that comfort zone once in a while. Those of you who know my husband also know what a prankster he is, so he suggested that we run down the street while holding hands. Now wouldn't that be an interesting sight! Needless to say, I didn't oblige. As we headed toward the bike trail behind Creekside, we realized they have once again closed the trail at the post office and have dug up the trail. We ended up having to run down Creekside. Now that's seriously going to hamper our run from Peete's Coffee. Hopefully everyone will be up for a run by Saturday.

Shoe Mileage

It's almost track season and I started thinking about new trainers and spikes for both of my boys. Then I realized I'm probably due for a new pair too. As moms we think nothing of dropping hundreds of dollars on new running shoes for our kids, but when it comes to us, we tend to procrastinate. In fact, one of my friends who also happens to be a frequent follower of this blog, had the same pair for maybe 3 years! I'm happy to report that she finally purchased a new pair for herself and is back to running everyday. I've always heard that you should buy a new pair of running shoes when you reach the 500 mile mark or when your hips start hurting, but after some research I've realized that there are other signs as to when you might need a new pair of running shoes. Below is a link to some helpful hints:


http://running.about.com/od/shoesapparelandgear/f/replaceshoes.htm


As for me, I'll be buying another pair of Newtons soon.

Change in Weather?

Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew they were predicting rain for later this week, but it was such a shock to me to wake up to cloudy skies. Yesterday my family and I spent the day at Carpenteria and it was so warm and beautiful that I really didn't expect this sudden change. It was actually nice out this morning and the cloud cover actually kept the temp slightly warmer. It was just me and C since Patty was feeling a little under the weather. I hope she gets well soon. I know how she really hates to miss our runs. As for M, she mentioned something about her legs being really pissed off. We originally planned on running at Hart Park, but I'm glad we didn't. I asked my friend's son who runs for Hart about the trails at the park and he indicated that they were rather steep, although he has never been on the back trails where the buffaloes are kept. I looked on Google Earth last night and it seemed quite hilly, but it's hard to tell from the aerial vantage point. I tried to measure the distance and it looks like one loop would be about 1.5 miles. Who knows, maybe we'll get there one day.

At least She's Out There

Well that is what the husband and I always say when we see someone running who is in obvious distress. That is what I felt like yesterday morning when I ran with the girls from Lowe's. I had really wanted to particiapate in "Ben's Ten" which is a ten mile run which starts at Lowe's and takes you out to the Southfork Trail, and back. I knew my foot and lack of running were going to keep me from running ten miles, but it was a nice morning and we figured we would go as far as we could. I didn't make it a mile before my stomach started churning and it kept me miserable for the rest of the run. The nice thing about my running friends is that they are always willing to stop when one of us is having trouble. I felt really bad about ruining their run and even though we were able to get around 4 miles in, I slowed everyone down considerably. I really contemplated about posting something that wasn't positive and full of news about what a great run we had, but I don't think I will have anything great to post until I get past the injury issues. The only good news is that I have such good friends that are willing to wait so I don't have to run under the bridge by myself and will sit and share a cup of coffee with me afterwards. I can't really complain, because "At least I'm out there".

Misery Loves Company

If you read my previous post, you could probably tell that I was rather upset at myself for not doing any form of exercise yesterday. I mean, it's not like I have any excuse like an injury or anything and so because I felt like a complete couch potato, I decided at the last minute to go on a 3.5 mile run from my home this morning. While I'd like to report that I had a wonderful time on my own, I have to say I was miserable. I probably feel miserable on all of my runs, but my friends usually distract me from how I'm really feeling with our bantering back and forth. I'm glad I decided to run, but it certainly was not a pleasant experience. I really could have used the company.

Swimming

I'd like to report that we followed through on our well-intentioned plans to go swimming, but we didn't. The first time we were training for the 1/2 marathon, we were pretty good about cross training in the pool, but for some reason we all seem to have different reasons for not wanting to get into the pool at this time of the year. Patty has her swimwear phobia and I . . . . . well, I just don't like the cold water and getting my hair wet. So we both used the excuse that we had to get tuxes for our sons for the winter formal. Then I later started to feel guilty for not swimming, although I was dead tired from looking at all sorts of suits and tuxes (way too many choices and they all look the same to me). I should have swam or done something, but I didn't. We really do need to get over it and get into the pool. Studies show that swimming 25 meters is equivalent to running 100 meters (4x the distance), but that must be for the really fit because I think it feels more like 8x the distance at a full sprint. Undoubtedly it is a great workout.

I hope Patty's MRI goes well tomorrow and she will be back on the trails soon pain free, otherwise . . . . its time to dust off those bathing suits!

New Trail

Tonight we were without Patty again. We really miss not having her with us. It's not the same. It was me, M, and C. We started at Cheseboro Park again, but instead of taking McBean to Copperhill to enter the bike trail, we took a dirt road that actually leads us right to the Apple Core. The trail is slightly hilly, but very short lived. It even took us by the gate/fence we once climbed over. It brought back painful memories. Once we were on the bike trail, we headed north to Copperhill and ran across the bridge to the trail on the west side of the river. And of course, M had to try to squeeze through the opening in the fence instead of going around like we normally do and ended up getting her shorts caught. Thankfully we were there to unhook her. It's never dull when M is with us. From there we ran down to Decoro and back up McBean. It was a nice run and it's always nice to do something a little different. We were all thinking that we might want to swim tomorrow since C's hamstring is bothering her and Patty's foot condition is still unknown.

I'm Thinking About Crocs!

Since I once again missed a run due to nagging foot pain, I followed K's advice and put my time to good use. I have been on the computer reading about foot pain and treatment of foot pain, looking at gross pictures of black toenails, and comfortable shoes. Since I am not actually sure why my foot still hurts (I have an MRI on Friday) I wasn't sure which diagnosis was truly meant for me. I lost interest quickly and clicked on the link to comfortable shoes for those with foot
pain. I have to tell you there are lots of options and pretty pricey ones at that! I am going to hold off getting any until I find out just what is causing such a slow healing process. However if I have to make to transition to comfortable over stylish shoes, I am going to have to side with my grandaughter, and will definitely go with the crocs. Just look at all the colors! I am missing the running and being with my friends, and am actually quite cranky as you all know, hope it was a good one.

Apple Core

C and I had a nice run tonight, but we missed Patty who is feeling a little under the weather. We started at Cheseboro (?) Park and ran over the bridge and north on McBean. From there we entered the bike trail and went south toward Decoro. On our way down to Decoro, we stopped at what Patty's husband calls the Apple Core and did one hill repeat. I have to say with the new power lines, what looked like an apple core is now gone. I thought the hills were called Mt.Sac by the high school runners, but I later found out that what they call Mt. Sac is actually over by the Wal-mart. So I supposed we'll just call it the apple core. At Decoro, we ran back up McBean and over the bridge again to the park. I paused my GPS while we stopped at a corner to wait for traffic to pass and forgot to restart it until about half a mile later so I'm not entirely sure how far we ran, but it was somewhere between 3.25 and 3.5 miles. We're hoping to do a variation of the same run on Wednesday. We hope Patty is feeling better by then.

Daggers

I could feel daggers in my back as we were climbing the switchbacks behind Helmers. Patty swears that she told me she only wanted to do 4 miles, but I really don't remember that part. Maybe it's selective memory. Perhaps it's because in the back of my mind I thought the loop would be just over 4 miles anyhow because that's what it is from my house, but I guess running the bridge at Copperhill adds about 3/4 of a mile to it. Oh well, it's a good thing I was up a ways with one of C's daughters so I wouldn't hear the swearing behind me. She also helped us keep the pace honest. We did a loop starting from Albertson's at Copperhill down the bike path to Decoro and up the paseos behind Helmers and back towards Northpark and then finally back up north on Mc Bean to Copperhill. I enjoyed this route because it had a little bit of hills, but not too much. I also like the fact that we start on a slight downgrade which gives our muscles time to loosen up before hitting the hills. Next time, I think we should tackle the hill at the water tower, but only if we're going in reverse so we don't have to run the switchbacks right after running to the tower. Next run Monday.

Slow Start to 2009

Well I think we're off to a slow start for 2009 as evidenced by our weekly mileage. Between vacations, foot problems and nagging colds, running has been pretty much nonexistent. I think C and M got in a run or two this week. I'm hoping this little time off will help us all recoup and get back to a more normal schedule. I'm not sure if I'll be feeling any better tomorrow, but I'm hoping to get at least one run in this weekend.

Ski Run

It was nice to get away and enjoy the beautiful winter scenery in Yosemite. Although I didn't technically do any running while I was up there, I did keep myself quite active. On our first day, I did a half day of downhill skiing and a half day of snowboarding. The conditioning from running definitely helps in all other sports. I didn't feel as tired or winded as usual even at over 7200 ft elevation. The only thing that felt tired were my arms toward the last mile of our 6 mile XC ski trip on day two. On the last day, I only did a half day of downhill skiing. What I really enjoy about going to Yosemite is that there is no cell service or wi-fi. That means my kids actually had to talk to ME for a while instead of texting their friends. We really enjoyed some quality family time and even got a pretty mean game of Monopoly going. I swear I was the only one not cheating, which accounts for why I was the first to go bankrupt. You can view some more pictures of Yosemite on my link at the right to my photo site.

I am looking forward to getting back to running so I hope Patty will be given the all clear to run soon. I also hope we can get on a more regular schedule this year, which is pretty difficult when you not only account for all of our very different schedules, but also our kids.

Temporarily Grounded

I know it has been several days since anything has been posted and that is because there is nothing to post about! After our very enjoyable run on New Year's day I spent the next day doing a bit of shopping with son #3 and apparantly wore the wrong shoes, because my foot has been giving me trouble ever since. The constant complaining, limping and ugly shoe situtation finally forced my husband to strongly suggest that I stop running until I can see the doctor again. As much as I did not want to agree to this, I had no choice, since it has been over a month and I still have pain. It isn't that bad when I run, but acts up when I try to do normal walking around in shoes other than running shoes. That is why we haven't posted anything about the wonderful runs we went on, while our friend was in Yosemite, because there haven't been any. I do know that C and our friend Mary were supposed to go out together this morning, so I will hear about that later, hopefully they had a good run. I am going to the doctor on Thurs. afternoon so hopefully he can give me some good news, or I will miraculously feel better with all this rest. I am trying to keep the ice on it when I can and taking the Ibuprophen, so I am doing what I can. I'll let you know what the doctor says.

Happy New Year

What a nice way to start off the first day of a new year than running on a beautiful morning with your friends. Sure beats sitting on the couch watching reruns of Pride and Prejudice while knitting because one is too sick to run with friends. There were lots of folks walking and riding their bikes along the trail probably trying to live up to their New Year's Resolution. What I do know about our running is that its not some phase or resolution, but rather a habit now. Patty expressed it well when she said she hopes to still be running 20 years from now. Well I'm sure my friends will continue running while I'm in Yosemite. I will have to use my GPS when I'm XC skiing. I wouldn't want to fall too behind in the miles!

Happy New Year!

I want to wish my running friends, and my family a very Happy New Year! This morning was another beautiful running day, and all of us made it for a nice 5 miler from Peete's to the South Fork Trail and back. It was great to have our leader with the GPS, so we didn't run any farther than we had to (glad you are feeling a bit better) and it was nice to have Mary along to greet people we encountered along the way, (although she slacked off a bit the last 1/2 mile) It really was a pleasant run and the mood was really upbeat as we sat outside and sipped coffee afterwards.What better way to start off the New Year, than running with my friends. I want to wish everyone, good health, happy kids, and more good runs than bad ones in 2009.