Rambling

I forgot to check my schedule for today before I left work yesterday and plan out my day.  I knew I had a 15 minute chair massage.  My priorities are as out of whack as my neck.  My neck is slowly getting shorter as my shoulders and ears get intimate, grrrr...  This is causing a fun NEW problem with my jaw going wacky, can we say stress?  Yeah, think so. 

So anyhow this schedule business.  My a.m. was sporadic with meetings and no 90 minute blocks of time, damn.  My afternoon did have a 75 minute block before a 5 p.m. meeting.  Krikies can I squeeze in a run?  Yep!  3.6 miles.  Down to Avery Point and back.  Pshew.  Post run I was hungry and as I was printing out what I needed to reference for the meeting I spied Peanut M&M's in the department 'kibble dish'.  Skipping back to my desk, paper and candy in my hands Jackass said, "Oh great, you're all goofy from visiting one of your boyfriends and now you're adding chocolate and sugar to the mix."  The conversation degraded from there.  We are going to end up in HR... *sigh* 

All in all it was a nice quick run.  And I felt much better, and yes goofier from it.  There was going to be no way to squeeze in a trail run after a 5 p.m. meeting, the sun goes down before 6:30...  blargh....

One of the many things I like about Avery Point are the sailboats! Someday I will be brave enough to take a sailing lesson...  or swim in the ocean....

The view is just so beautiful, even with clouds.  My approach was what my exit usually is so, mixing it up a little! Clockstupid versus Clockwise!  

Stats

 

Sincerely, 

Beth who loves chocolate and running!

Monday, back in the swing of things

Yes, yes, yes, 4 miles were on the schedule for today, so was TRX, and knitting.  I opted to knit at lunch instead of walking or running.  My knees were a little tender.  They feel much better now after TRX, amazing what a little movement and lubrication of the joint will do for a pair of knees!

Back to the Tue NY schedule.  I'll get in a run during work on Wed then I have a 5K in the evening, on one of my local running routes! Woot this should be fun.  Especially since all I have to do is walk up the hill to get  home from the end of the race.  Hoping to be sub 30 again. Oh hell I am aiming to be sub 30 and will run like hell.  Though it will be a little bit of a challenge having run during the day, but really I don't think that will have a major difference either way.  Thoughts?

Thursday will be more hill work.  I found a hill that is a bit longer and more consistent in its elevation.  Friday Yoga.  Saturday rest. Sunday long run.  We are also having company for the long weekend, this will be great.  A friend of Hubbs from when he used to 'work for the man' is coming for the weekend.    I am sure the boys will entertain themselves and I look forward to catching up him.  I may do a long run on Saturday and then another on Monday, who knows what may happen!?!?

Sincerely,
Beth making plans and changing them!

Back in the Groove

Today I was up and out on a run by 8 a.m.  Feeling fan-freakin-tastic!  Eight mile run felt great.  Easy pace, perfect cadence with the Drill Instructor "Running in Rhythm".  It was a lovely run.  Yeah, I know "Lovely" and :Drill Instructor" don't quite go together.  It was lovely because it was just a perfect pace, my PF wasn't giving me any issues.  My calf still felt tight, never painful, and never tight enough to stop and stretch.

Per schedule I was to run 15 miles.  I was nervous enough running 8.  Yes, I am terrified of injury. Hopefully not to my own demise!

I did two loops around the park, I really do like a nice run around the park.  On the first loop there was a dog training class going on.  On the second loop there was a group of Asians practicing thai chi.  It is wonderful the park is so well used and appreciated.

Ran my usual route up along the Pawcatuck River in CT and looped around and back down town and up the hill to home.  I saw some bikers, they always wave.  So sweet.  There is a couple who walk, side by side, even when there is traffic!  Really?  You can't go single file or even scootch over to the side.  It is people like this who give runners / walkers / bikers a bad name.  Automobiles and Pedestrians/Bicyclists should share the road.  Don't you agree?

In one of the vehicles was a woman waving at me!  This gave me such a kick.  I wave at 95% of the vehicles.  I try for 100% sometimes I miss a few.  Anyhow, this was so sweet.  Either she has seen me out before and remembered me waving or she was a fellow runner.  I can't tell you how many runners I wave at!  They probably think I am a weirdo, really I am so excited to see people running, and a little jealous I want to shout "GO! You are a champion!" but that would make me super weird, an energetic wave only makes me sort of weird, right?

My girlfriend begged off brunch this morning.  I was looking forward to splitting a French Toast Souffle and Eggs Benedict.  She had date day with her husband and was getting a pedicure in the afternoon.  I can only hope pedicure was code for an afternoon delight!  I used my time finishing laundry, watching more Downton Abbey, finishing a baby sweater, and making progress on my socks. Alas, no pedicure of either kind for me this afternoon, bummer.  There is always next weekend for brunch!

I picked up some compression socks at the local drug store.  I've had them on most of the day and been using "The Stick" my calf will be ready for a nice at run work tomorrow, I am quite sure.  I really am amazed at how well "The Stick" has been working to break up the knot.  Each time I use it the pain and knot are less and less.  WOOT!!!  Thursday starts Hill Work!  Two weeks late, yes I know...  remember once a schedule is put together it goes out the window.  I am not too far behind and I am not injured, I think that is a WIN, don't you?

Sincerely,

Beth feeling fine fit and fearless

Today...

I'm feeling rather uninspired to write tonight.  So we shall see where this takes us.  Buckle up.

The three miles on the road was great, a little slow, a little humid, great.  I love to be soaked in my own sweat and stink, it feels like such an accomplishment.  I've been walking the first two minutes, setting that as a lap and then running the miles.  I feel better when I do that, gets everything moving.  I have a desk job, I sit, I stare at a computer, I edit documents, I talk on the phone, the bulk of my activity is getting up to go print something or going to the cafe for lunch!  All the printers in the building were down today so there was just the walk to the gym in the a.m. to sign up for a chair massage, a walk to the cafe for lunch, and another walk to the gym to change and run.  I probably logged the sum total of 3/4 mile walking on campus.  Someday I should figure that out, today was not that day.

The run was great because I tried a new route this one had about a mile of hills, not giant hills but spaced out just right so that when you got a breather from going up and a little down then you got to go up again.  Hill training starts next week, I am excited and apprehensive about it.  I love hills, I really really do.  Getting to the top is awesome and the reward is the speed on the way down.  One could consider the up hill the foreplay and the down hill the big event?

Of course my timing was off and I didn't get as cooled down as I needed to before my shower and then back to work.  The back of my shirt was wet with sweat, post shower sweat.  The boys said I didn't smell but I was glowing.  I believe them that if I smelled they would be the first to offer an opinion on the matter.  Additionally, I manged to tweak my knee on the way down the stairs.  It only lasts for a few steps but I hobble and not one, not two, but three people happened to witness this.  It isn't that I feel weak it is just that I feel a little embarrassed to hobble.  So, yeah, maybe I do feel weak.  I need to cut myself a little slack, I ran 14 yesterday and an easy 3 today.  Tomorrow is a rest day and I'll be back at 3 on Wednesday and then  7 for Thursday and a 10 mile race on Friday. Oh wait, should I run that long before a race?  Maybe I should back Thursday down to a walk so I don't over do it?  Friday is usually my rest/yoga day.

TRX was cancelled for tonight, kinda bummed, however it did give me an opportunity to clean up the mess someone made of a project at work and I could leave feeling satisfied about both work and running. Plus I was able to roll my foot over the bottle of ice for a while longer and it is feeling A-OK, plus rolling both my feet over the ball with all the barbs on it in the a.m.  My tootsies seem to be sort of happy with me, yeah!

Saturday I got a little pressie in the mail from a friend.  Dirty Girl Gaiters for my trail runs.  Hmm I may have a solution for my now mounting problems.  I am dying to use these, and with the Friday race and jiggering around my miles, plus a long run of 14 on Sunday.  Wednesday I can run the trail after work, oh wait, I've got solo dog duty... hmmm...  well damn.  I'll fit in a trail run on Wednesday, by gum! The dogs won't have been alone too long, although they will be freaking stir crazy.

Not exactly a one of your finer pieces of work there Beth...

Divas Dine

Dinner out with three gal pals tonight.  I ate my worth in pasta primavera, bread, and garlicy oil.  Hubb commented that I am belching up garlic, tee hee, sorry dear.  The company was divine and always inspiring.  Yeah to my GF who passed her latest breast cancer re-occurrence scare!!!  Seriously this woman does not need any more to test her mettle.  Open heart surgery and Breast Cancer in the last 5 years all before age 45, seriously?  All is fine and the biopsy came back negative.  Pshew!!!  Yeah to my GF raising wonderful children and embarking on the 'turning into a woman' process with her eldest,  you can do it!  Yeah to my GF for muble years of marriage and two beautiful successful grown children!!!

I squeezed in a 4 mile run post work, pre-dinner.  Felt really good!  It was sans-tunes!  OMG, IKR?  No music, what is a girl to do when she can't hear her "Mambo #5" and just gets to hear herself sucking wind?  Well, it was nice to focus on my breathing a bit, and after a mile or so I didn't notice anything and enjoyed the peace and quiet, mostly.

I lost the left earbud thingy that goes over my ear.  Such a COOL invention, they snap on to the regular Ipod earbuds and make an over-the-ear thing. I was going through a Belkin sound converter thingy.  Oh, let me back up a bit.  My tunes are on an iPod shuffle 3rd generation.  The controls for the volume, FF, RW, and Pause are on in line, not on the unit.    The Ipod ear buds do not stay in my ears when I run, I need an over the ear hook.  I found a nice over the ear hook headphones, and this Belkin adapter so I could have in-line controls.  Ok so that catches you up, oh dear reader.  I was going through one of these $20 converters every couple of months. I always had a back up in my gym bag.  Then I found these over the ear hooks that snap on to the Apple iPod buds, to freaking cool, they were like $8 or something totally ridiculously cheap.  Well the left one has been coming off, I don't know why, I never really think about investigating the reason because I am running or about to run when it happens.  I just hope it lasts for the run and I'll deal with it later.  Well, later never happens, natch.

Oh, where was I?  Yes, I lost the over the ear adapter thingy, so I was sans tunes.

I had a in-line over the ear earphone set (and a Belkin) waiting in the wings.  Pshew the in-line over the ear worked with the iPod.  Now to just find the charger.  I need my tunes for the 1/2 marathon on Saturday!!!!

It was still a skitch warm, just about 80, the humidity on the rise, the sun blaring down, however a bit of a sea breeze to cool me down and shade for most of the run back to campus.

Cute little GPS, eh?  Damn I do love the wonderful area I live and work in...  could. not. ask. for. better.  I just hope to remain employed and our location remains open...  if not, feh, we will figure something out.

I redid my training plan, I know I know, once it is done it is out the window.  Well, I needed to do this for me.  I also track my total miles for the week against scheduled.  

Unveiling the latest schedule.   You will note I have swapped Thur and Wed miles and opted for Sat as a walk.  I think this will do just fine.

My Work Husband agrees this is the ultimate in geekdom.  Oh crap, now he knows what I call him...  erh, ah, well... there you go...

Tomorrow I am going to discuss why I run and Lung Cancer Alliance and start begging for donations.  I also send my note around to my work peeps and my friend peeps, possibly with a link to this blog...  Yes, I am crazy.  But hey, there is nothing wrong with a little bit of crazy, right?

Carpe Diem!