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.