Labor Day Weekend

I had a short run yesterday, trying to be easy on my shin pain. I'm really thinking its the ceramic tile floor in our house. No carpet downstairs so we are constantly walking on hard floors, usually bare foot or in sandals. I'm going to try to wear sneakers, maybe with an insole to see if that helps the pain. I'm not going to let this conquer me!

We played tennis last night, and I use that tongue in cheek. We hit the ball back and forth but I'm not very good at aiming the ball so we run a lot chasing balls. Very good exercise! Last night, once again, my love agrees for us to play against two high school kids. One who is very good and one who is at my level so we had a lot of fun but my thighs are a little painful today! Yikes.

We went to the Houston Zoo today and it was hot and humid, in the 90's and I did reach my 10000 steps Fitbit goal! It is a pretty nice zoo!

Resting Today

I've been battling pain in my left shin this week and so today I completely rested it, no running, no tennis, no workout, just  rest. I'm wondering if it is my shoes but I'm not willing to just jump into a new pair yet. I don't have 300 miles on this pair but I'm getting close! Woohoo, I find that incredible!

 

I had a work physical today for my new per diem job and am hoping the extra shifts will not screw with my training schedule. I only have to work 6 shifts a month and with the week I work in California, I should be able to work it out and get my mileage in.

 

Stopped by the gym this morning to check it out, I may go in the morning and do some laps in the pool. Maybe some weight work if I have time! It's time to get back to being serious!

Tuesday Motivation

I think this every time my distance or time increases! Love it!

Changing The World is a Team Sport

I'm a social media junky, honestly. This morning I happened upon a link on a fellow runners page for Charity Miles.  It peaked my interest and I watched the video, surfed the web for endorsements or complaints, and I've decided to download the app from iTunes. I can pick the charity I want to run or ride for, in fact, I can pick a different charity each day. Sponsors will pay the charity per mile I walk, run, or ride. A win-win, in my opinion.

Technology is neck and neck with runners. I have zombies chasing me, I can compete in virtual races, I can be mentored via an online coach, and I can raise money via an app on my phone. My conspiracy theory loving husband would probably say its just another way to track me, but I really don't care of they are tracking my miles, seeing who I am friends with on Facebook. They will know I am healthy, have wonderful friends, and am a runner. <shrug>

A New Cross training experience

First let me say, yes, I ran today, 2 miles per my norm. It was a punishing run or maybe I was punishing myself after over sleeping again. Looked at my stats on mapmyrun and was pleasantly surprised I have logged 214 miles since March. I have also logged 47.5 miles so far this month. Will be a new first when I log that 50th mile in the next few days!

Anyway. We discovered tennis courts near our house and while I have never played tennis, I knew Mark, my honey, had played in high school. I figured it would be 1. cheap entertainment, 2. a lot of fun, and 3. a good form of cross training. (or not). So tonight, we bought some rackets and a can of balls and headed to the courts. Two high school tennis players were practicing on the other court while Mark and I batted the ball back and forth. I was really not too terrible bad! I had to go out of the fence to collect balls I had hit outside (oops) and when I can back, Mark is on my side of the net and the two boys are on the other side. Why of course I'll agree to play a game of tennis with two varsity players, after all I bought this racket tonight! I must be a pro! We actually had a lot of fun and I think we made them laugh as much as we made ourselves laugh. I'm looking forward to the next time. I wonder if I need one of those little tennis skirts. :-)

Had to share

I had to share this article my daughter, Tabetha, wrote. She writes the newsletter every month for Creative Knitting Magazine and this month really touched my heart. I know I've mentioned that when she visited here in July, I broke her during a run and she is just now starting to recover from the injury. I know I also mentioned that she is a new runner with dreams of running the Colorado marathon next year. She is an awesome wife and mother, my best friend, and a very talented knitwear designer. If you run or if you knit, or if you do both like I do, or simply want to enjoy a good read, this article is for you.

And some motivation for today.

Spur of the moment long run

This saying is always one of my favorites, probably because it is so applicable to my life. Today, once again, I turned my alarm clock off and got up when I was ready. Another day of time management work--FAILED. I was supposed to go to the gym today since it was an after long run rest day. Well, you and I both know, no long run happened yesterday. It was late, I didn't make it to the gym, the weather had heated up outside, so I decided to run on the treadmill. At the last moment, I decided to get my long run out of the way. 6 miles, 6 wonderful long miles. A drop in the hat to some but as I ran, as the sweat dropped from my face, I thought back to last year at this time. An old, out of shape, smoker who could only dream of running 6 miles. And today, I ran, I sang, I talked to myself, and I ran some more. And I am damn proud of myself!

I had something else to blog about today, but since I seem to fly by the seat of my pants, I will write that one tomorrow. Today, I will bask in the glory of 6 long and awesome miles.

Time Management failure but I did get two miles in!

Just a little motivation to those who think they aren't runners because they don't run a 4 (or 7 or 10 or 12) minute mile.

 

While I was in Denver, my daughter and I sat down and mapped out the goals we've had and "never found the time" to complete. For instance, I have a half finished novel sitting in my filing cabinet and she has umm, the same (we are two peas in a pod sometimes). We decided to hold each other accountable. We both have, ugh, terrible time management skills. So to compensate and help correct those lacking skills, we spent a considerable amount of time mapping a detailed schedule for each of us with "working on our novel" always in the same time period. If I'm writing, she's writing, that kind of thing. Then we could instantly share out work. So on my schedule, I of course have training time penciled in. Running, cross training, and gym time. My goal was to get up at 8 (or Lord have mercy, before 8), have my coffee, check email, and then get my run in or whatever the schedule called for each day. Mark and I have discussed my riding early enough to run before it got too hot or in the evening after the sun does down, er, it hasn't happened yet. So last night, with the best of intentions, I set my alarm clock for 8AM. Then I read for an hour before going to sleep (my body insists its still a night shifter, what can I do). The alarm went off this morning and I didn't hit snooze because it would have screwed my schedule up so I turned it off completely. Bye bye Tuesday schedule. I slept til 9, piddled around and drank my coffee, answered some emails, made my to do list for the day, ate a bowl of cereal (a rare treat of junky Capt Crunch since I got it on sale and had a coupon so it only cost $.75 for the box), I admit, Facebook time and of course 5 lives of candy crush. Look at the schedule only to realize I had changed my weekly long run to Tuesdays because it fit into our schedule! Lord Have Mercy! No way was I ready to do a 6 miler today, I'm so ashamed of myself. Well, not really, I know I will just flip some time blocks and get it done later in the week so I say I'm bad and move on. I will keep trying though. I miss running outside, I'm anxious to learn the area in terms of running, and I want to umm, finish my novel!

 

On a side note, I ordered a new fuel belt today. I'm so an Amazon shopper. I checked the local sporting good stores around here (and online) and Amazon still beat them especially with my prime no shipping costs! 

Mondays Motivation

I am a Runner

I love this poster! I should print it out and hang it above my desk so I can see it everyday, every time I have doubt. When people ask me if I am a runner, I blush, shrink into my shell, and mumble, "well, I run". If you run, you are a runner! Do you run a mile or do you run 20 miles? It doesn't matter, you are a runner. Have faith in yourself, believe in yourself, and just...run. I will too <smile>

Busy Weekend

We had a busy birthday weekend for my grand daughter, Sophie, but I did manage to get on Tabetha's treadmill once and then get an actual run outside with my sidekick, Ayla. The 5000+ foot altitude was difficult to run in and I felt like I was struggling to suck in enough air! We got a good mile in though before dinner and I had some hill work on the way home. I'm going to look for a fun 5k that Ayla can do with me. She has the determination (and the clothes) for it!

 Just for fun, this is the Lego cake we made for the party.

Lego Cookies I made for the favor bags

 

 

Whats on your playlist?

I found it ironic the other day that while I pushed towards five miles, a few songs popped up for me to hear. Superwoman by Alicia Keys, Here I Come by Fergie, Press on by Maggie Wheeler, and Stronger by Kelly Clarkson. My intent today was to post my running play list on here but I have no idea how to export it from iTunes to the blog! I have an eclectic list, Everything from Leona Lewis to the Zac Brown Band to Pink. I'm always looking for some good running music so if you have some suggestions, let me know! If you know how to upload my play list screen, give me instructions please!

I'm off to Denver tomorrow at oh dark thirty so might not check in until our return Tuesday night. I am looking forward to some run time with Ayla, my sweet grand daughter! No running with Tabetha since I broke her the last time we ran together and she's not healed, grimace!

I'm going to come up with my own 50 reasons in an upcoming post! What are your reasons?

Feeling Motivated and Very Very Proud of Myself

I never, not once in my life, would have imagined that I could or would run five miles. I know I registered for a half marathon but planning to run one and actually running one are two very different things. I'm training hard and yesterday was my weekly long run, a whopping five miles. I'm hesitant to run the highways in our new town so I stuck to the treadmill, appropriately inclined. I told myself that if Forrest Gump could run for 3 years, I could run for an hour and a half! And then I ran, and I ran, and then I ran some more. Seventy seven minutes. The sweat dripped off my elbows, ran down my face, I sucked down two bottles of Gatorade, and ran from the Zombies (see yesterdays post!). I have to admit, I talk to myself when I run, sometimes out loud, but always in my head and yesterday I was counting steps, counting pace, counting down mileage. Today is a recovery day, my loving husband made me promise that I would not run today so I will do some cross training and wait for tomorrow to arrive before I lace up and get my run on.

Zombies, Run!

I love zombies and I love to run. What could be better than a running zombie game app! Zombies, Run is incredibly cool! It walks you through the story as you run and mingles your own play list music throughout the session. It has speed workouts as well as interval training, if you dare! Collect supplies, build your city, be motivated to run faster and more often with this epic adventure. No, I have no interest in the company but I wanted to share an app I have enjoyed!

Runners, Marines, Semper Fi

Runners are a special breed, in case anyone had any doubt after the 2013 Boston Marathon

The Story

CFS All For Hope Virtual 5k 2013

CFS All For Hope Virtual 5k 2013

Anyone who wants to run a 5k and "can't find one" near them now has the opportunity to run a virtual one and help a great cause in the process. Count me in!

I just have to find a decent 3.1 mile route!!

Home today and looking forward to the new stuff!

 

I am home from work! To some, that would mean going to work in the morning and coming home in the evening. To me it means flying to California on Wednesday and flying home a week later. Six 12 hour nights and then hop a flight to Texas. Gotta love long commutes. I missed Mark while I was gone and I only ran my first day there, the rest of the week I slept and worked, that's it. So now I'm home and I'm getting back on training track.

Sneek Peek at 2014

I've run my typical 2 point something miles (thirty minutes) twice since I've been home and am trying to make a 5 mile route for my long run this week. You'd think it would be easy but it's not. I live in a subdivision and it's short circles of roads that don't amount to anything. To map a 5 mile or longer run, I'm our in 50-60mph traffic. I realize Texas is the home of "friendly drivers" but it still worries me to run with traffic whizzing by. I may have to do a straight out and back shot and even then...its not an easy thing to route around here. Even Mapmyrun doesn't have any decent routes in the area. I guess I'll keep trying.

WOW!

I'm enjoying all the new shoes and gear the running sites have been previewing for 2014. I love the bright colors for sure. Shoes seem to be getting more advanced and lighter every year.

I think the purple will be on my feet next year!