Blunck DOWN

Well.. I'm sitting here on the couch being Majorly lazy.. but not because I want to.. because I'm on a VERY temporary (if I have any say in the matter) injured reserve list. It seems I may have 'tweaked' (my word.. don't look for it in the medical journals) something in my back doing the crossfit workout on tuesday. It was a doozy of moderately heavy wt tossing.. power cleans, front squats & push presses (oh, my!) with 95# for all.. the 1st few were OK, but by the end.. it was pretty tough. Actually, though, as I'm writing this & remembering, I wouldn't even say that was the problem.. I started feeling the 'tweak' before the fun even began.. I guess I did it just warming up. Initially, of coarse, I didn't let the mild pain slow me down.. played soccer that night, woke up to my usual spin/sprint wed am brick & then out for a lovely 'chipper' workout at crossfit, which I was able to do just fine (not without pain, but nothing jarring or causing major concern).. Maybe the real clincher was doing the new kids dance game on the Wii with Mason and Matt? We all know how intense a good ol' family dance off can get.. But last night, I was in so much pain.. I had to take short breaths, couldn't cough (really annoying), & just in pain.. I wasn't even able to sleep on my stomach, which everyone knows is the BEST way to sleep.. obviously. I took some muscle relaxors and that seems to be helping. I'm hoping taking today off of my swim and crossfit workout, some ice, meds.. I'll be good as new by, say...2pm today? I have a planned trail run with a friend of a friend & I don't want to cancel.. scratch that.. I won't cancel, I just hope I don't have to cut the run too short.. so wish me luck! In slightly other news, so far I'm keeping to my plan to run at least a bit every day. I'm not running long or anything.. not racking up ultra-training type miles.. but I'm getting out there and getting it done and.. dare I say.. so far so good! I'm able to mix it up enough with treadmill hill repeats and sprints, soccer, trail running, ez jogs in the 'hood.. good stuff! Now to just get this back figured out & continue on this streak of great workouts. I'm not sure how long this will last (probably 'til about next wk when everyone goes back to work!), but everyone seems to want to help me out by joining me in workouts &/or hanging with Mason so I can get out to run or workout.. NICE! I just need to decide how far I will run in the night trail run coming up in a month.. half or full.. what's a girl to do??

Mama got a New pair of Shoes!!

.. and they work! Today was a lovely Christmas day.. Started off nice & early with watching Mason marvel over how Santa seemed to know just what he would want.. despite his freezing up just a bit at his santa visit & only remembering to ask for the football helmet.. but not the 'bikin' helmet'.. He was very worried about that, but all was well! Santa was also pretty good to yours truly, here.. some new Chiefs gear (just as they are working hard to get themselves out of playoff position, of coarse.. always next year!) &, of coarse, some workout duds. I did get a new trainer from my parents, which is lovely.. little less noisy than my last model.. AND it came with a cycling DVD, which is a little goofy, but actually made for a pretty great workout! they have a video that puts you right in the midst of a real, live race (criterium? I think that's the official term..), which acually did a great job of making me work harder! worked up quite a nice, little sweat. Then, just for some extra christmas cheer.. I did the suggested 'home WOD' (workout of the day) from the good folks at crossfit.. four rounds of about 5min each, so not long, but it was a good one! Then, of coarse.. with the sun burning bright out there & new running shoes burning a hole in... my closet.. I just HAD to get out to run a few. I think I was only out there about 30min or so because we had company coming over later & a dinner to somehow whip together despite forgetting to get really any sort of sides or appetizer type things.. We made it work! So all in all.. a great day of celebrating the baby jesus! (nothing says 'happy birthday, Jesus' quite like burpees in the basement!) So I've been kicking around an idea for the ol' 'new years resolution'.. I never make these things.. mostly b/c there's never really anything that I'm like "I need to start doing this".. don't get me wrong.. there's plenty I COULD start doing.. cleaning more often.. cooking elaborate meals every night.. laundry before it gets so backed up we're left with nothing to wear.. Lots of things.. But I know better than to set myself up for that kind of let-down.. But I was thinking maybe making running every day my plan?? Part of me thinks this will lead to 'junk miles'.. but then another part of me knows I really need work on my run, so what better way to improve than to do at least a little work on it each and every day? I don't know.. we'll see.. That's probably asking a bit much, given all the other activities I like to do & won't be sacrificing.. I guess I have a week to ponder!

Major Award!!

Who's got 2 thumbs and received a major award in the mail last night.... THIS GIRL! (sorry.. we've been doing that a lot w/ Mason.. it's way cute when he does it.. perhaps not so much via blog? Oh, well) I got my Tecumseh Trail Marathon medal in the mail last night.. it's kinda cool because.. even though I wish my time was faster (5:22.. but it was my 1st trail marathon.. & make no mistake.. that course is no joke.. but still), they take the time to put your name & finishing time on the medal, which is kinda cool. Anyway. So I think I'm over my little cold or whatever it was.. actually.. I think our whole house is pretty healthy, which is lovely. Hope we can keep it that way! Something I really like to do, but usually gets strange looks from everyone else, is finding running groups, gyms, etc to workout/train with while I'm on 'vacation'.. which is usually visiting family. So I got to do that last week when we went to KC to visit my family.. it went pretty well! I'm always impressed w/ the running community in Kansas.. all you have to do is google 'running in KC' and all kinds of groups, websites, etc pop up.. Very cool. Unfortunately this trip didn't allow me to join those groups, though.. But I've run with 2 different groups in the past & I found a couple trail running groups that I was trying to meet up with, but KC decided to be really wet for a few days while I was there.. which doesn't make for great trail running.. plus.. I didn't bring my headlamp because 1 of the trail groups actually meets to run in the dark every week! I'll remember that for next time for sure! But I did get to meet a friend out at Shawnee Mission Park for a nice hilly loop 1 morning.. Then I got to visit a few YMCA's.. I still think the Y I have here is up there as the best I've seen around, but I got some good spin's and swim's in.. so can't complain. Probably the 'crown jewel' of my travel workouts this visit was finding Sky's Limit CrossFit & working out with them 3 x's while I was in town! (I was only there 3 full days.. so needless to say.. I enjoyed it) They had a really great gym (I guess they refer to it as a 'box'? I'm not familiar w/ all the lingo yet.. I was like.. 'the what??'), good trainer, nice, midwest folks to work out with.. so good stuff! So now I'm back on my own turf.. got a good swim in this morning out with the masters group.. kinda cool because I could actually make the interval on this one for once!...of coarse.. it was a 20x50's main set on 1:30 w/ the goal being to hold your best pace.. which I was right at 0:40-0:43 the whole time, so not exactly a tough interval to make.. but a solid set none the less, & I was pleased. Also got a crossfit in.. always a good time! I'm looking forward to the next few days, which weather.com has promised me some sun & 40's.. they better be right! Because that should make for some lovely running. I also got my super secret (I sent an exact link) surprise christmas gift from my parents already, so I need to go set up my new trainer & get my spin on! My 'power' based spin on, that is.. Yay! All in all.. it's beginning to feel a lot like a very merry christmas, indeed.. Thinking about either a 1/2 or full night trail marathon, which would be in about a month.. so we'll keep posted on that! Also suppose it's worth noting that I've decided that I'll be 1 of 3 coaches for Team In Training's Triathlon team, so I'm excited about that. Should be a very busy, exciting, fulfilling experience & I'm looking forward to it!

Sick & Tired of being Sick & Tired

Well... this week has been pretty much a BUST as far as workouts go... all thanks to this cold/ stomach thing that just keeps on giving! I guess I had a couple good workout things.. made it to 4 or 5 CrossFit's, but things started looking dodgy (is that a word? oh, well.. too tired to worry about it too much) on tuesday morning.. I had planned to do a nice swim at the Y, which I did opt for a solo swim VS a masters swim because I knew I wasn't quite up to par, but still thought I'd be alright.. Well.. the horrific swim that followed was tough to take. I hadn't had a swim like that in a long time. I don't even know how far I swam, but I'm sure it wasn't much.. Mostly I just did the breast stroke set that I wanted to do, but any sort of 'speed' type freestyle just wasn't in the cards. So.. home to rest & off to crossfit later.. crossfit went OK, I suppose.. & then I had a soccer game that night after teaching gymnastics, but I played terribly there, too! Rough workout day for me.. So I took the hint (finally) & took wednesday off.. completely off.. Figured that should be enough to straighten me out. I think that's when I went to the 'doc' (Take Care Clinic.. same thing) & got me some meds.. Thurs wasn't too much better, though.. I'm struggling to even remember what I did, which tells me it probably wasn't great.. I think I rested all morning, then hit crossfit for a workout & then went to the Y before classes to do a little run & stair climb.. Nothing too exciting there. Friday was pretty much just rest as well.. I did go to Crossfit to 'practice' because I was getting set up for a 'competition' on saturday! That's right.. JoCo CrossFit put together a little competiton for us on saturday morning.. I was actually able to do that feeling pretty good the whole time, so that went well.. But then, at some point that night, I started to really feel ill.. So it's like, just when I think I'm doing OK.. BAM.. Back to the drawing board.. So today I've hardly moved.. Well.. Here's to hoping tomorrow starts off the next week on a better foot! I have plans to get things back on track after only doing 1 swim, 1 bike and maybe 2 short runs this week.. I've GOT to get it together here quick! So come on meds.. do your thing!

Aftershocks from the trail

So I just wanted to report that after a 2nd, much more successful ice bath, my legs are feeling pretty good post trail marathon. My knees, which were my biggest concern right after the race because they hurt so bad.. actually feel fine now.. so that's good news! I was able to get out for a 'recovery' swim yesterday, which I just did the ol' 4, 3, 2, 1 workout where I alternate swim, pull, kick, IM distances.. anyway.. I was feeling really good, but started to feel drained by about the 2k mark.. Probably because my appetite was pretty poor after the run (go figure), so I doubt I was well fueled going in. But even so, it felt good to move.. AND it's always a bonus to get to play in the pool with Mason & Matt, so we'll call it a success! Just an FYI, a PSA, if you will, on how to do an ice bath when it's cold outside.. so 1st you need to be warm.. try some hot chocolate, snuggling under warm blankets, etc.. then.. 1st fill the bath with just cold water & get in to that to acclimate a bit before you add the ice.. (just a note, the water is definitely colder than it was this summer. I couldn't get the water that cold no matter what I tried before.. now it's super cold.. but I guess in an ice bath, that's a good thing). So slowly cooling down the water/getting used to it made for a much better ice bath.. good to know, right?! Oh, and I always do this, but just in case it doesn't go without saying, definitely wear a shirt & just roll it up so it doesn't get wet.. but I think that helps a lot with not getting too unbearably cold in there while you work the soreness out of your lower half. As of now, my only 'battle wounds' seem to be a slightly odd little blister on the middle toe of my right foot.. Other than that, my feet are fine! Darn me for insisting on continuing with the toe socks (I like 'em cause they're knee high compression socks, which I thought would be good for the warmth &, of coarse, for the healing powers of compression) even though I know they often give me odd toe blisters.. But this one really isn't that bad. I think it'll work itself out just fine. But aside from that, right now my 'picker uppers' (hip flexors) are the only things that really feel sore, which makes sense given all the extra 'picking up' they did on saturday! So all in all, I think things are back on track! I'll be able to get right back in the swing of things this week.. did a spin this morning.. heading to crossfit later.. tomorrow will be swim, run, soccer.. more crossfit.. So we should be good! Now if I could just get Mason & I healthy.. sheesh, cold that won't quit?! I think it's time for you to move along..

Nice Tights!!

Nice tights, you say? Yup. That's what I heard over & over.. all day.. from women, men.. fellow runners, voluteers, spectators.. at a trail marathon?! a place where fashion really has no place.. maybe they were making fun of me?? Who knows.. Oh, well! I threw all tried and true race rule bending caution to the wind today & I wore a WHOLE new outfit. I called it my "I'm not a deer, please don't shoot me with your muzzle loaders (??wha?? don't even know what it is.. but pretty sure I don't want to tangle with it!) or arrows" outfit. I wanted to be bright.. so I hit the local Dicks with Mason & gave him the orders to "find me something bright to wear".. He kept picking out shorts & tank tops.. so really wasn't much help.. but there was 1 pair of knee length tights that were black with bright pink criss-crosses that he was particularly fond of.. so we based the outfit off that & we were set! Well... my, my.. Who could have guessed that they'd be such belles of the ball??! I thought it was funny.. Anyway.. So here goes my Tecumseh Trail Marathon report.. Let me just say.. I had a great time.. It was no joke, though, that's for sure! It's a tough (but fair.. except for that super long, super crazy steep gravel road hill just past 1/2 way.. what was that all about?? Not cool..) coarse, but I also found myself several times along the way just really enjoying myself & loving the trail and scenery.. so it was great! I enjoyed the trail running atmosphere, as usual.. The race directors and volunteers were all great.. every aid station along the way (well.. except that 1 towards the end that had run out of water.. But I carried my hydration pack, much to the chagrin, I guess, of many folks there? Who knew it was uncool to come prepared?? More on that later..) was well stocked & manned by helpful, smiling, encouraging, wonderful people.. it was SO much appreciated! I got off to a bit of an... interesting start.. 1st, we loaded up on the school busses & took off for the start (it was a point to point race).. everything seemed to be going pretty OK.. But.. the bus drivers didn't have directions??! Oh, my.. luckily there were some TTM vets that were able to direct them/us to the start & we were there in plenty of time. Some other busses had a little more difficulty, but it seemed like everyone got there in time to start just a few minutes late. We were also SUPER lucky to have such great weather! For a december trail marathon, it can really go pretty much any way, but today was a sunny (at times) 40-50 degree, quite pleasant day! Really lucked out there (thanks, big guy!). So we're off.. I'm feeling.. huh.. I'm feeling foggy? I had this kinda dizzy, kinda cloudy vision thing going on right from the start. Am I thirsty? drink from pack.. hmm.. time for a gu?....still off.. maybe I need salty stuff... pretzels at the aid station.. still just off. Not sick. Not bad.. just can't figure out what's wrong with me. Honestly, this went on 'til about the 16mi-ish mark & then I finally started to clear up.. Best I can figure is that it was probably from that stuff I sprayed up my nose this morning in effort to combat the stuffiness that I've had for a few days from my cold. Oops! So anyway.. that probably made my run a little slow in parts, but I still felt like I was moving as I normally would & doing OK.. so I don't think too much was lost with that. I started the 1st hour running with my new trail running buds, Kim, whom I ran with a few times while training in Brown County, & her friend, River, who ran with us a few weeks ago. Sadly, though, I think partly because of my foggy head, folks kept jumping 1 person ahead & splitting us up further & further apart (for any non-trail runners.. this was kind of annoying because on this single track portion of the run.. which is most of this run, but there are parts where you can pass more safely.. BUT..it was annoying b/c we were in a long line of runners.. I was right behind Kim, doing just whatever pace those in front of me were doing.. but I guess I left enough room in between me & the person ahead of me (excuse me for not being all up in their business!) that someone could squeeze in.. WHY they felt they needed to bust thier a$$ & risk hitting trees to get ONE measly person ahead?? not sure.. Anyway..). So as they were getting 2, 3, 4, etc people separated from me, I decided to take a minute at the aid station to pack away my hat and gloves & then traipsed on solo from there.. No biggie, though.. it's not like you're ever really alone in a trail marathon! at least not in this one.. Not in a bad way, though.. After folks start to spread out more & more, people get better at a) being amongst folks going the same pace, & b) hearing someone clearly going faster than they are approaching & stepping aside a bit to allow a pass..not a 1 person bunny hop.. a real pass.. Anyway. As I mentioned before, people were giving me grief for carrying a fairly full hydration pack on this pretty well supported trail run (aid stations about every 3 miles, I think?). Well, folks.. as the great G Dub (Bush) once said.. "Fool me once (supposedly supported trail 1/2 marathon where I opted not to carry my own water & therefore almost completely bonked an hr in b/c I couldn't take my gu w/o any water), shame on you, Fool me twice...well, you're not going to fool me twice". So. I opted to carry my water, gu, snacks, extra socks (OK..maybe that was goofy), or whatever else I thought I might need out there. I had more than a few runners comment on how much I was carrying.. word on the street was that I would be able to survive a week in the woods with all that I had, to which I would cheerfully reply that that's what I was going for & ya just never know what you might need.. And then whenever I would pass/see one of them on the trail I'd offer them a snack! (no takers.. I'd also offer a gu to anyone I saw that seemed to be experiencing a bonk.. which, by the way, this prepared runner never had!.. but again, no takers?! I tried to explain that they were underestimating the power of the gu.. Oh, well.. more for me!) But I was so glad I had carried my water. Perhaps I overdid on the snacks.. I really only ate the Gu's that I carried, which I carried mostly on my race/fuel belt.. I kept to a Gu about every 40 minutes or so, though I got a little lax w/ that toward the end b/c I was eating more solid stuff and drinking gatorade at the aid stations.. But all said, I went through a package of chomps & 6 Gu's.. and all the misc treats from aid stations (couple pretzels, cheez-its, gumdrops, 1/2 banana.. really not much at a time, just enough to try to get salt/electrolytes/ & of coarse sugar.. like I needed more of that!). I also went through probably 1 1/2 full 'bladders' (why is it called that?? yucky name..) of water from my pack.. plus I'd usually grab water or gatorade at the aid stations.. So I pretty much ate, drank & ran all day! So where was I.. I continued on through the run.. about 2 hrs in (I didn't keep track of miles.. some of the aid stations (maybe all, but I wasn't paying attention) had the distance marked.. or I'd ask someone about where we were, but I really wasn't that concerned with it.. until the end!) we went through this really nice section where it was flat & filled w/ moss & ferns.. just really enjoyable! There were lots of hills, as promised.. It was mostly fun single track with an occasional stretch of paved or gravel roads. Gravel roads were my least favorite.. Those little rocks start to really get to you! But I really enjoyed the run.. especially once my head cleared up & I could see better! (hard to watch for roots, stumps, rocks, other people's feet when your vision is blurred.. but I didn't fall!) I guess about mi 23-ish I ran into Kim.. unfortunately I figured this wasn't a great thing for her.. I was right b/c she was having stomach problems when a gu didn't sit right with her. I walked w/ her for a bit & she tried to run w/ me for a bit, but inevitably we parted ways.. I had a little munchkin & my husband waiting for me, afterall! You can hear the finish line across the lake for a while before you're actually at the finish.. I could tell it was still far away, so it wasn't too deceiving.. though it did light a little fire in me making me want to hustle as best I could to get to that finish line. Again.. as promised.. the last section was on gravel road (my fave) and included a nice hill.. But I made it.. able to finish pretty strong.. Give my little guy his required race "kiss and a hug" & cross the finish around 5:20? I was hoping to be under 5.. but not today, my friends. I worked hard out there & have the sore (super sore!) legs, knees, feet, ankles, hammies, hips, back..I think that covers it.. to prove it! I'll definitely do more trail marathons..probably this one included!.. now the question remains.. will I run further?? enter the ultra world?? c'mon.. what do you think?? I'd say it's more a question of when.. but let me finish icing these crazy, sore knees 1st. But I think that's about all I have to say about Tecumseh! I highly recommend it, though I doubt there will be weather like today's again for a while..

Thankful

Of coarse, since we just passed Thanksgiving weekend, I want to recognize how much I'm thankful for.. It's been a few weeks since posting.. probably because there hasn't been a whole lot 'new' to mention.. I'm still getting my time in running in the woods.. & I'm still really enjoying it. We had an awesome weekend over Thanksgiving here, actually.. around high 50's/low 60's.. can't ask for much more than that in Nov in Indiana! But I believe we've officially left those pleasant temps behind (no this isn't going to turn into a weather forecast blog.. if you stumbled across it by googling 'most accurate weather forecast ever'.. I apologize..) because this week has brought us cold rain.. BUT.. for the marathon on saturday.. it's looking cold.. but not TOO bad.. and should be pretty dry.. maybe even some sun? So given that last yr, this race had to be altered due to snow, I'll take it! I have a slight cold at the moment.. it's thursday, though.. so I opted to make this a rest day & I'll do some moving around tomorrow.. but I really am trying to keep some fresh-ish legs for the race, so rest is a good thing! Especially since my legs, at the moment, are slightly less than fresh after my 3 days in a row of crossfit (actually.. more than that if you count the home 'WOD's' I did over the weekend.. and my 1st 'team WOD' last sat.. but anyway), a soccer game, and my usual bike/runs.. I think this rest today can do me some good. We had a great thanksgiving.. lots of visitors and great food.. I'd say I'm most thankful for my husband and son.. who, bless his little heart, has been dealing with some sickness here lately.. Poor thing had his 1st night of 'yuckies' (pukes) over the weekend & now he's down to just a cold.. but I'm maybe a bit overly concerned given our past issue with croup (NOT fun!! long story short.. we spent a night in the NICU about a yr & a half ago.. so not really wanting to risk it). I must also say that I'm really just thankful that I am healthy enough to do all these fun races and workouts that I do. There's been some folks in our TNT circle that have had reappearances of cancer, so I'm very humbled to know that my family and I have our health & I'm very aware that not everyone is able to do the things that I do. I'm very lucky to have all that I have & I will certainly be thinking of those that are fighting illnesses and struggling to get through each day while I cover that Tecumseh trail, step by step, this saturday!