Brown Socks

Wandering...

I have a wandering problem- I wander off at the grocery store, Target, the park....Zack is used to my wandering, he knows that if we get separated at a store, he will have to come looking for me.  I just go where my curiosity takes me...and I know they won't get too pissed off if I do.  Of course when it is only Marcel with me I drag him around with me while I wander.  When he realizes that we are wandering he will get my attention, make sure I am looking him in the eye, and he will sternly say "Mommy, FOCUS!". I think Dad probably taught him that.

Yesterday I went out for a "45 minute steady run" (as listed on my training calendar) before dinner.  I headed down to the greenbelt to run the less populated main trail on the opposite side of the creek.  Last weeks post-work run was full of mountain bikers on the more traveled side and I didn't feel like dealing with that.  So I'm running along at a nice steady pace- keeping my eyes open for poison ivy (I somehow got it in this area last year). Things were going well, I only ran into a few folks hanging out at the spring who hollered something at me about a butterfly (my tattoo?).  I turned around at the spring and had about 15 minutes more to go when I saw a trail off to the side that I hadn't seen before.  It looked inviting, so I decided to go up it. It was pretty steep and rocky, so my steady run turned into a power-hike instead. I kept going up until I was up in the field. Then I kept going until I came to a fork, and decided I better turn around ( I was supposed to be home for dinner soon-oops).   So I came back down the hill (no steady running here either) to the bottom. Then I looked to the left and saw another trail and decided to go up it- it was pretty steep and I had to use my hands to help me up at one point. I realized that if I fell no one would probably find until the next time one of the groups went out for a run, so I decided I should get my butt off the ledge.  It's been about an hour now and I still have about a mile and a half to get back to the car.  Back on the main trail I get back into a "steady run" for a minute before I get incredibly sick to my stomach! My water bottle full of hot water wasn't helping and I couldn't run at all anymore- I had to walk. Miserable, I trudged back to the car trying to figure out what went wrong! Fine one moment, feeling absolutely awful the next with the kind of stomach sickness you get where you have to tell yourself "breathe in, breathe out..." and your skin feels prickly.

I made it back to the car and sat down and drank some cold Powerade. That seemed to help. I looked down at arms and realized that they weren't sweaty.  I had been sweating at the beginning of the run I know, but I didn't have a drop of sweat on my arms or legs. Now for me that is very very odd... I have no idea what happened- it wasn't even that hot out compared to many of my other runs in the past few weeks and I had a bunch of water during the day... but I guess not enough? I had been working in the yard a bit, and hanging out in the garage with him during the day (he was home sick and we played with clay). Perhaps it affected me more than I thought?

I was fine by the time I got home, it was as the stomach thing had never happened. Weird.

So then this morning I wake up early and I'm having a great morning. I get out of the shower and wrap my head in a towel, turn my head, and OOWWWOWW I get a nasty kink in my neck. That was 16 hours ago and it's still there- just as painful. I've tried everything to work it out, stretching, the TP massage ball, complaining...and now I have this sticky heated maxi-pad-looking thing stuck on my neck to try to ease the freaking pain. Nothing is working- so Zack is pulling out the Tequila and making me up a batch of margaritas...

I'm off...

What have I done?

Yesterday morning out of the blue I noticed some pain in my lower shin- from my ankle to about 1 1/2 inches above my ankle.  I could feel the pain with every step.  I thought if I stretched it out it would be fine, but after doing every stretch imaginable, it still hurt when I put pressure on it.  And it has been that way since...  I brought Marcel to the park to play ball yesterday and running after the ball was bothering me. Today I still feel the pain, but it seems to be a bit better- but that could be the Tylenol talking.

I really don't see how it can be a stress fracture- I haven't increased my mileage, my last run before the pain was only 3 miles on the road, and I didn't feel the pain until the next day.  But, the pain feels the way my stress fracture did- and it is around the same place on my leg.  It doesn't make sense!

I think the culprit may be these ridiculous witch shoes that I have been wearing this past week. They hurt like hell, but are so cute and look great with my brown outfits.  I can't stand for too long in them however because they make my feet go numb (I found that out a few weeks ago when I had to give a presentation to a group of people and had to lean against a table so they didn't go completely numb and cause me to collapse...). Perhaps I strained something in my ankle? Not smart, I know.

So now I have a problem- I'm not sure if I should run the race tomorrow. Normally I run through aches and pains, but I can't help feeling a bit worried about this one, it reminds me too much of my stress fracture. I continued to run on that stress fracture for nearly a month thinking it was caused my the wrong shoes, not enough stretching, etc... and I ended up having to stop running for 3 months to let it heal.  I really don't want to go through that again.

But on the other hand, like I said, it just doesn't make sense that it would be a stress fracture.  I have put my legs through much more in the past year, and it hasn't caused any serious damage. Perhaps it is just some major tightness that will warm up after a mile or so and be fine.  I haven't really run on it yet to see how painful running is- besides running in Birkenstocks at the park yesterday for a few yards.

I'm going to go out later and take a run around the neighborhood to see what I am dealing with. I know what running on a stress fracture feels like- and how the pain gets worse as you run... If after my my legs warm up- it feels better, I will go ahead and run the race tomorrow. If, after running for 10 minutes it becomes more painful- I won't run tomorrow.  Until I then I am icing and stretching...and hoping that it isn't anything major.  I've been looking forward to the race and don't want to miss it.

As for the shoes- I think I need to put those up.  I wore them to the running store a while back and the guy that was helping me pick out running shoes scolded me for wearing them.  I didn't listen of course...

Stomach Flu

I haven't been feeling quite right since Tuesday. I had some Thai food for lunch and shortly after I started to feel pretty bad. I blamed the Thai food.

Wednesday, still feeling off- but not too bad. I go out for a 7 mile run at the trail but only make it about 4 before my stomach started to burn and I felt sick to my stomach.  It was a strange feeling- but I blamed the heat.  I'm not feeling too hot the rest of the evening- but nothing too bad.

Wednesday, in the middle of the night, Marcel wakes me up shaking like a leaf. I mean SHAKING. It was freaky.  He said he was sick, then promptly ran into the bathroom and vomited many times.  I put him back to bed, and washed my hands thoroughly so I wouldn't catch whatever nasty bug he had, and went back to bed.

Mar got sick another time in the night.  I woke up to the sound of his voice saying he was sick...and immediately I shot out of bed to the bathroom. Yup- too late with the hand washing thing- I already had this bug.

I haven't had a stomach bug that bad in years...it was awful. Last time my stomach hurt that bad was when I was addicted to Pepsi in '96 when I worked as a waitress in the amusement park...I slept 3 hours a night and drank about 20 cups of Pepsi a day. I think they burned a hole in my stomach because once a week I would just keel over in pain, sweating,  and have to lay down in the walk-in cooler to make it pass.  So that's pretty much what it felt like yesterday...

So Marcel's daycare calls to check up on him, and to let me know that the Stomach Flu is going around the daycare.  Yup- the Stomach Flu, which would explain why I felt like a truck ran over me and why I couldn't stay awake for more than an hour.

But this sick crap- I can only take it for one day. So I got up and went to work. Mar got up and went to school, except the flu hadn't passed- he puked 2 steps into school and Zack had to turn around and bring him back home.  I wasn't feeling so hot myself, but I couldn't stay at home watching ABBA movies another day.  But, I felt like a Zombie at work and left half-way through the day.

I started to feel better this afternoon and I was going stir crazy and needed to GET OUT. I decided to go out for a 45 minute run around the neighborhood (staying close to home was the key if you know what I mean). Well,  I made it 25 minutes when I was reminded that I still had the stomach flu- luckily I was around the corner from my house. It may have not been the best thing for my body- but it did wonders for my mood.

$21 Workout

I didn't do parking lot laps -I couldn't bring myself to do it.  Instead, my coworker and I took a cab to the local community center to use their gym.

The woman at the front desk of the hotel assured me that the community center "was just around the corner" and wouldn't cost too much to take a cab.  We jumped in the cab and gave the driver the address of the center, he said he knew where it was.  But... we didn't just go around the corner, no- we kept going... At first my coworker and I were chatting, not paying attention to our surroundings... but we quickly realized that we weren't going "just around the corner". Our conversation fell off as we turned our attention to the the meter- it hit $9, then $10, then $11...  We looked at each other knowing that this this trip wasn't going to be cheap. With every click of the meter I calculated the total cost. As it neared $12, I realized that this trip was going to cost as much (or more) than a 10K race...or a gym membership for a month.

Fourteen dollars later, we arrive:

"Shit! Why did they tell us it was just around the corner! I asked her if she thought it would be a cheap ride and she said yes! What the F%&#!. This better be a damn good workout"

We workout for an hour, then decide that we are too hungry and have to go back to the hotel to eat dinner.  We call a cab, he picks us up, and guess what?

HE DRIVES US AROUND THE CORNER! We could  see the casino sign as soon as he turned onto the main road. We both looked at each other pissed,  knowing that first driver screwed us.  Jerk.

Luckily my coworker won back her portion of the cab ride by paying slots. I did not. "Big spender Jen" spent a whole $10 at the casino and lost every penny. I was up my 75 cents at one point (whoo-hoo!), but that's about it. 

Another crappy thing- my non-smoking room smelled like an freaking ashtray.  It wasn't from old, stale smoke that got trapped in the carpet a week or two ago- no, it was new smoke that appeared to be seeping into my bathroom from the casino. There was a fan blowing air into the bathroom (that I could not turn off) that deposited smoke smell into my room all day long. Every morning I woke up with a massive headache and puffy eyes. After 5 days in the hotel, I woke up feeling like I smoke a pack of cigarettes (and believe me, I know what that feels like)

Anyways, I was so ready to get out of there this morning!  Loved the conference, but the accommodations....not so good for a runner.  Or a person with bad allergies.

I love Austin.  So glad to be back. Next stop- Greenbelt.

Oh, and by the way,  I have a trail race this weekend!

S L A C K E R

I am a slacker.

We are in the process of going through the exhausting and exciting "home-buying experience"...We have the contract in place, now we are just waiting for the inspector to tell us that all is well (fingers crossed)... So, much of my time has been spent driving across town, making phone calls, filling out paperwork and stressing. That leaves little time for exercise, right.

Yeah, I am making excuses.  To be honest, I don't really feel the need to go running right now. I mean  I am still running, but I don't feel that feeling of "If I don't get a run in today I will totally pull my hair out" sort of feeling.  And it feels kinda nice to let go a bit, and concentrate on another big goal that I have been working up to- buying a house!

Zack will be running the Freescale Half Marathon tomorrow morning (Brrrr!) and we are going to a Kung Fu tournament in the evening- and I am hoping to get a nice easy long run in tomorrow somewhere in between.

Make it stop!

No- not the pain, I can handle that. It's the heat!  It's still in the hundreds this week. There is supposed to be a cool front coming through tonight....PLEASE let it be true!

Half-week recap:

Monday, I took a day off after my Sunday long run, and I sooo needed it. I never run on the road, let alone 16 miles, so my legs were more than a bit SORE.  Achy actually, like my bones were aching.  Give me the trails.

Yesterday I got a run in before work  when it was cool (in the 80's) at 7AM.  I set my alarm for about 5:30 and dragged myself downstairs to eat breakfast and watch TV before heading out.  The guys were still sleeping so I tiptoed downstairs and turned on the dining room light and dimmed it low. I made my way into the kitchen, using the dining room light to locate my breakfast: Powerbar and water.  I fill up a glass with ice and water and proceed to grab my Powerbar to eat in the living room as I watched the news. But the Powerbar is sticking to the counter (yes, the wrapper was on). I pull at the the Powerbar and it is still sticking to the counter. Now, I am still sleepy and it is fairly dark and this makes no sense. Did the package rip open and the sticky bar "melt" through the wrapper and fuse to the counter? I'm baffled and I pull on the bar again, and it is still stuck.

Finally, I get the Powerbar off of the counter. Guess what I found. Three large pieces of duct tape were holding the Powerbar onto the counter.  Zack.  Very Funny.

Today was quality workout day. I checked the temperature before I left work to meet up with the training group- it was 105.  I can not run SLOWLY in the heat like that, let alone up a hill and fast.  We head over to the park, doing our warm up along the way. The warm up nearly made me barf and I hadn't even done the work-out yet.  GREAT.  The workout: 400 meters up a hill at a 10K pace, 200 meters jogging, and 600 meters at 5K pace. Whatever, all of my paces are the same.  Slow.  I just wanted to get the damn thing over with and now throw-up.

The first 2 were just terrible. I felt like I was breathing through a straw and the heat made my arms feel prickly. I didn't think I would make it around another time after the second one.  But, I did another one, and another one- dying the entire time- but staying consistent(ly slow).  For real- it was 105 degrees and I had NO business being out there running at any pace.

The one good thing being in Baltimore next week is at least it will be cooler! I won't know what to do with myself when I breathe in some cool crisp air...

I feel like whining

My poor family.  I am soooo grumpy this evening.

My day was going fine until 2 different people tried to swerve into my lane (and almost hit me) on my way home from work.  Then I get home from work and I realized my right ankle is swollen from yesterday's fall.  I have a few deeper cuts on my ankle that hurt much more than road rash on my leg, and the ankle cuts appear to be causing some swelling. It is reminding me of when I got my tattoo work done on my ankle - my ankle swelled beyond belief for about 2 days, so badly that my shoe didn't fit on my foot.  I limped around for 2 days.  This seems to be the same sort of thing- I didn't twist or bruise my ankle- it is just these cuts that seem to be giving me a problem. AGH.

So then I go outside and warn Zack, who was on his way home, of my bad mood.  And in the 2 minutes I am outside in the front yard talking to him I get about 10 mosquito bites. As if my leg wasn't already itchy enough!

I know I need to be tough, but I feel like whining.

OK, I feel a bit better now...

Road Rash

This morning,  we met down at the trail instead of the Greenbelt.  Our plan was to do the "Scenic loop", then add a loop around Town Lake.  We started off on the road as the sun was coming up. Less than a mile in to the run, as I am chatting away, I tripped on an uneven patch of road.  I fell down on the side of my right leg, put my hands out to catch me, and proceed to slide a few inches.  My upper leg near my hip, my entire lower leg, my right ankle, and the palms of my hands were scraped and bleeding. 

I only had a handheld water bottle with me to last me the next 6.5 miles, so I conservatively wash off the road crap and blood off my leg and hands and resume running.  Sometimes when things like that happen, I see them happen in slow motion- like when Marcel fell down our stairs, I saw it frame by frame in slow motion. But not this incident- I didn't even know what hit me. All I knew was that my shoe was now very loose on my right foot- it was if my running shoe got stuck in a road dent and I went flying forward (and sideways) as a result.

Now, despite the running that I do on much rougher surfaces, this is my first fall. I felt like such a dork running the rest of morning with scratches and blood all over my leg! But, on the trails I am constantly watching my footing, ready to move in a way to counteract a fall. On the road today I was just babbling, and looking ahead up the road with no regard for what was underfoot.

For the first mile or so after I fell, it was hard for me to just brush it off. My left hand and right lower leg were burning and the fall really zapped my energy. I was running tentatively, feeling like the rest of the run was going to suck.  But soon, I was focused more on the humidity than my leg and hand- and pretty much forgot about it.  We got back to the car after the ~7 mile loop and I went to the car to grab my emergency hiking first aid kit, cleaned  off my leg with water and an antiseptic wipe- and headed back out for the rest of the run. 

I got home and took a shower and screamed when the hot water hit all of the little cuts and scrapes. I hadn't realized how many there actually were until that point- the entire side of my right leg was stinging. It still has bits of Lake Austin Blvd.  embedded under the skin, so I am hoping to soak the  out this evening.

Now, hours later, I feel like someone ran over me out there. I thought that I would have mostly worry about the burning of the road rash today until it starts to heal. But my body feels achy in areas that typically do not feel sore after a run. Who knows what odd body-configuration I was in when I fell- the fact that I slid on my side is baffling. I can't figure out how I didn't go down on my knees or do a face-plant. The soreness reminds me of a time when I fell with Marcel when he was a baby- I was leaving a restaurant and slipped at the end of the sidewalk. When I fell, I somehow wrapped my body around him to protect him as I landed on the concrete.  He never touched the ground, or even realized what had happened- we got up and got in the car and drove away. I was very shaken, but didn't have any cuts or bruises. The next day though, my entire body was aching and I felt like I had whiplash.

So now, not only am I happy that I bought those closed-toe shoes for the upcoming wedding that I am attending- I am happy that bought a long dress to c0ver up this mess of a leg.

(my missing toe-nail on my pinky toe is also on the foot that is attached to the road rash leg. Let's just say I was a lovely sight at the pool today)

Did I say that?

OK,  you know how I said I was going to do 7 miles, from my house to the Greenbelt and back... Ha! It didn't happen.  I really, really, really wanted to sleep in yesterday ('til 8:30!) , so I opted for my run to occur at the end of the day instead.  I knew it would be hot, but I figured if I waited until after 7PM, the sun would be going down and it would be as bad...and up until yesterday that was perfectly logical. But, I knew I was going to have problems when I checked the weather online and it said the temperature was 97, and the heat index over 100...at 7PM.  So, I headed out, willing to turn around and come back if I needed to. I made it about 18 minutes from my house when I decided that I needed to turn back around. The air was so thick that I was wheezing as I ran up each hill.  Got back to the house and downed some ice cold Powerade to cool myself off.

It wasn't a terrible run, but uncomfortable.  It was also very strange;  I was running through the neighborhood and everyone was throwing July 4th parties, waiting for the fireworks - music was playing, cars were parked everywhere on the street, hot dogs were grillin'...which by the way I think made my run even hotter- those grills...I encountered a few party-goers on the street, heading to parties. The first people were 2 girls dressed in "party attire" , they stopped their conversation as they looked at me like I was insane. The next was a group of hippyish folks getting out of their car, lighting up cigarettes. I can't really describe the look I got from these folks...but it wasn't a "thumbs up", let's just put it that way...

Oh well... I did some elliptical at the gym during my lunch, and plan to head back out there tomorrow, when it is cooler, like only 80 degrees.

It's all a blur

Yesterday was one of the crappiest run in my short running history. What started out as a nice 2 1/2 hour run, ended as a 30 minute run...followed by a migraine...followed by a entire day of feeling like I had been run over by a school bus.

I got up early and headed to the trail at about 7:00 AM to do a 2 1/2 hour run.  It was very humid, and immediately I was dripping with sweat. About a quarter of a mile into the run, as I turned to go up a slight incline I suddenly felt like I had smoked a pack of cigarettes- my chest was tight and breathing suddenly was more difficult.  I used to smoke, and clearly remember the feeling of waking up the morning after smoking a pack (or 2) of cigarettes, feeling like my cat was lying on my chest. It wasn't like "oh my god I better stop" difficult but more like heavy humid air difficult. I kept going, but began to feel weaker and weaker as I couldn't get full breaths in. I started to contemplate going home but tried to push on, hoping it would pass. It didn't, and by 30 minutes, I didn't have it in me to keep going. I headed home, extremely disappointed, missing my chance for a long run this week.  Even driving home I felt short of breath. When I got home, Zack seemed a bit surprised to see me so early, but was very supportive. He was glad that I had decided to come home, because sometimes I push myself too hard and end up sick or exhausted. Looking back, I am very glad I came home when I did...

Shortly after I returned home, I started to see spots, which is a signal that I am about to get an ocular migraine. Sure enough, within minutes my left eye was seeing "television static". Despite taking a decongestant, after about 30 minutes of blurry vision, the migraine set in. I just shut down, and slept for a few hours because I had no energy left. Even when I woke up, after the migraine was gone, but I still felt weak and tired.

I'm not exactly sure what happened yesterday. I haven't had an ocular migraine since November. When I get them (rarely) they happen for 2 reasons- stress or extreme sinus pressure brought on my allergies. Yesterday it could have been either, but I am assuming it was allergies. I think that that chest pressure I felt early in my run was a reaction to something in the air, perhaps mold(?). A similar thing (though not as bad) happened on Friday when I was at the trail, when I was running in an area close to the water. Perhaps it caused sinus pressure, and the sinus pressure caused the migraine. 

It is strange to go from feeling like you have so much energy to feeling exhausted. But my lack of energy could also be because I have been eating crappy this week (Corn-nuts and Cup Noodles every day) and I haven't had nearly enough sleep.

So I took the weekend off from running, and went kayaking with the family today instead.  It was nice to have a workout that didn't include using my legs! I know I am going to be sore tomorrow though, we were really trying to haul ass out there (and work against Marcel's row in the opposite direction sabotage).

I am a apprehensive about getting back out there tomorrow. I felt so bad on Saturday, I hope to not have that happen again. It freaks me out to think I could have stayed out there at the trail and had to deal with the blurry vision there. I would have been able to make it back to the car (perhaps would have bumped into a few people), but would not have been able to drive home. Hopefully, I will have a great run tomorrow- but I am staying away from the muggy trail! 

Kink in the run...

See the picture below? That is apparently how I slept last night. In fact, I think I remember waking up a bit crooked this morning when Zack's alarm woke me up at 5:45 AM with "Stairway to Heaven". Stairway away from a heavenly sleep, actually. Nothing like some classic rock in the morning.

No amount of stretching is helping me get this darn kink out of my neck. It even hurts inside my ear (OK, I'm sure it isn't really causing ear pain, but it feels like the whole right side of my head and neck is on fire!)

Not sure if my planned run is going to happen, surely I should work the kink out first? Or will it help to make it better? Geez, how did I do this to myself!?!

Oh, and about the picture- yes, my hair really looks like that in the morning when I wake up. I have acquired the nickname "Medusa" because of many morning Medusa-ish hair moments. And, my husband would probably object to those peaceful looking zzzzs above my head, because apparently I SNORE. There is no evidence of this however...

Now, what to do about this neck of mine?

Day (Hiccup) of (Hiccup) Rest

Today is a day off from exercise! Tonight I am going to see Spinal Tap at the Paramount with Zack and some friends and today is about eating, drinking, laughing- and not running, or lifting, or sit-ups...

I toasted up a bagel about an hour ago, and after the first bite I was hiccuping. Sometimes that happens to me when I eat dense bread, but is usually stops in a few minutes. It hasn't yet. It's exhausting!

Hic...CUP!

I looked up the definition of hiccup and found that they can also be called a "hiccough".  Did not know that...

Hiccup/Hiccough: A spasm of the diaphragm resulting in a rapid, involuntary inhalation that is stopped by the sudden closure of the glottis and accompanied by a sharp, distinctive sound.

Great. This may be an interesting day....

Hic...CUP!

Training or Torture?

Tuesday night I headed to the trail after Zack got home from work. I knew it would be hot, the weather reported the temp was in the mid nineties, but I figured what the hell. I drank a bunch of water before I left, and brought my hand-held bottle along for the run.

I dragged my butt along the 3 mile loop, feeling like I couldn't get a full breath in, because the air was warm and dense. It was so incredibly difficult to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I had to stop and walk for a few minutes, but tried to keep moving forward as quickly as I could (which was actually pretty darn slow) to just get the run over with! Even though I had my water bottle with me, I still had cotton mouth. My "22 years in New York" body is trying to throw up some barriers to my plans.

But I did it, and hopefully when I go back out tomorrow, it won't be as hard. I remember last year acclimating to the heat was torturous at times, but eventually I could run without feeling like I was going to melt into a puddle, or pass out.

When I told a few people about my first summer run experience, they looked at me like I was insane. But there are hundreds of runners down there doing the same thing; running in the heat- running "smart" in the heat, with sunscreen, sports drinks, hats, water, and salt caps when necessary. There are people down there that are running hard without a drop of sweat on their body, well adjusted to the heat. And there are people down there like me who are covered in sweat and salt, red faced and wheezing...But it should get better. I hope.

Well, off to the gym for an indoor workout.

Step it up

After the Prickly Pear, I realized that I need to work on my quad and ankle strength. I am hoping to get down to the greenbelt to do some trail running before the Belt race. In addition, I am doing some step-ups, lunges, squats, etc... That is, I started doing these things on Sunday night. I didn't feel like going to the gym, so I did a bunch of push-ups, ab exercises, and leg stuff here at the house while I watched Desperate Housewives - multi-tasking rocks!

Yesterday I took a day off from exercise and I was moderately sore. But today I am really sore. I think it was from all of the step-ups that I did on the stairs. Not only is it going to be HOT this evening when I run, I think I am going to be in pain...

Race Face

Why do they put that overlay on the photos like that? Isn't one enough? I understand that they don't want you to jack them off the site and then photo-shop them, but geez I can't see my face in either photo! I could be drooling, my tongue could be sticking out, or I could have snot hanging out of my nose- I can't tell.  It looks like I am sporting some wax lips.  Oh well, looks like another running photo in which I look like a Muppet.

No Running- January to March

January to March (or so)

I couldn't run for about 1 1/2 months due to my stress fractures. All previous plans out the w i n d o w.

Not to mention I got a cold, some flu-like thing, and a sinus infection.

Ouch

From 1/01/05

Haven't posted since Decker....I didn't realize it at the time, but I did something to my shin/calf along the run that I have yet to recover from. Finally got it through my head that I need to stop running and cross train for a bit.

I hope to be back running soon, and working on getting my mileage back up to 14 miles to do Hogs Hunt in April, and the Rogue series in the summer. I'm crossing my fingers.

First Run after Rocky Raccoon- not so good

Well, looks like I am still feeling the after-effects of the 25K! My legs were weak on my 7 mile run today, and my foot still feels bruised. I took it easy, and took a few walk breaks and tried not to suffer too much. Between my lack of energy and the over-population of the trail, I was ready to be finished.

From October 31, 2004

I have had enough with rude running groups also, today a group that had been behind me for a few miles finally caught up with me as my legs were turning a bit jello-y, and practically ran me off the trail- I was forced onto the grass I eventually stopped to let them by, because of course, they were very important. It is amazing to me that 240 runners negotiated a single-track trail for miles last week at my run, and a running group with a 8 foot wide trail must run a runner off onto the grass. I guess it is time to hit the streets.