WEEK 8: FEB 19 – FEB 25, 8.1 miles
2/25/07, Sun: NO RUN.
2/24/07, Sat: .5 miles, paper route.
2/23/07, Fri: 3.3 miles, 35:26. Little slower than yesterday, but I still felt great.
2/22/07, Thur: 3.3 miles, 33:55. Today, even as I ran through the fog, I felt as if I emerged from a very dark place into brilliant light. The last two nights, I went to bed at 10; I actually feel human today. Maybe I’ll eventually become a morning person. Two portly blue heeler dogs (I’ll call them that for lack of knowledge of what they actually are) ran out at me from the “reservation” trailer house. I spoke to them as if I loved wildly barking dogs who pretended to want to eat “runner” for lunch. Luckily, they stopped chasing me at the edge of their property.
2/21/07, Wed: NO RUN. I’m feeling a little better, adjusting to the early mornings, and getting well, but I’m still so tired and very sluggish. Luckily, I didn’t get really sick; just a brief stint. John joined me for the paper route this morning, and he delivered. What a sweetheart he is.
2/20/07, Tue: .5 miles, paper route. Today I am sick, have fever, feeling horrible.
2/19/07, Mon: .5 miles, paper route. Since starting the paper route last Tuesday, I have been feeling like I have entered a very dark underwater world where the light is very far away; the world is chaotic, disorganized, cluttered, and completely overwhelming.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
WEEK 7: FEB 12 – FEB 18, 7.5 miles
2/18/07, Sun: .5 miles, paper route. Margie was sick and puking today. As run-down as I have been feeling, I feel destined to get sick too.
2/17/07, Sat: 3 miles, 40 minutes. Ran on the treadmill.
2/16/07, Fri: .5 miles, paper route.
2/15/07, Thur: .5 miles, paper route. Today was my third day of the paper route. I drove and delivered today, and I thought it was a pretty good workout, getting the papers to people’s doors and all. Afterward, my glutes were surprisingly sore. I’m going to give myself .5 miles for each morning that I really work hard and run to get the papers delivered.
2/14/07, Wed: 3 miles, 40 minutes. I ran on the treadmill today. It was surprisingly boring (I had expected it to be boring, but that was BORING), but I am thankful that I will have a place to run when John is working 13 hour days and such. Since this was the first time that I used the treadmill, I was very distracted; I kept stopping to adjust the temperature, get water, get chapstick, open the curtains, etc. I did enjoy listening to music while I ran. The treadmill has a speaker jack into which you can plug in your iPod. Very cool.
2/13/07, Tue: If I would have known what a crazy day today was going to be, I definitely would have run yesterday. My paper route started this morning (4am) and the day didn’t stop until I crashed into bed at 11pm.
2/12/07, Mon: NO RUN. Took another day off to let my hips recover
2/18/07, Sun: .5 miles, paper route. Margie was sick and puking today. As run-down as I have been feeling, I feel destined to get sick too.
2/17/07, Sat: 3 miles, 40 minutes. Ran on the treadmill.
2/16/07, Fri: .5 miles, paper route.
2/15/07, Thur: .5 miles, paper route. Today was my third day of the paper route. I drove and delivered today, and I thought it was a pretty good workout, getting the papers to people’s doors and all. Afterward, my glutes were surprisingly sore. I’m going to give myself .5 miles for each morning that I really work hard and run to get the papers delivered.
2/14/07, Wed: 3 miles, 40 minutes. I ran on the treadmill today. It was surprisingly boring (I had expected it to be boring, but that was BORING), but I am thankful that I will have a place to run when John is working 13 hour days and such. Since this was the first time that I used the treadmill, I was very distracted; I kept stopping to adjust the temperature, get water, get chapstick, open the curtains, etc. I did enjoy listening to music while I ran. The treadmill has a speaker jack into which you can plug in your iPod. Very cool.
2/13/07, Tue: If I would have known what a crazy day today was going to be, I definitely would have run yesterday. My paper route started this morning (4am) and the day didn’t stop until I crashed into bed at 11pm.
2/12/07, Mon: NO RUN. Took another day off to let my hips recover
WEEK 6: FEB 5 – FEB 11, 13.9 miles
2/11/07, Sun: NO RUN.
2/10/07, Sat: 5.6 miles, 1:02:00. Today, I tried out a run/walk technique, which allowed me to feel better for the duration of the run, but the walking actually made my hip joints hurt. The pain would subside as soon as I started running. Hmmm.
2/9/07, Fri: 2.5 miles, 26:48. I wanted to run farther, but I had to get home so John could go to work. Today, Margie and I slept ‘til 10am, and when I got up, I was definitely leaded – literally, not in a caffeinated way. So running today was all about “getting the lead out.” As usual, I donned gloves, long and short sleeved shirts, and hat, along with fleece pants. Talk about overkill. It was sunny in the 40s, and I was roasting. I had to shed the long-sleeved shirt, hat, and gloves; I had not taken a rubber band for my hair, so my hair was swinging about like a wild animal skin attached to the back of my head. Annoying. About ½ mile into the run when I took off my hat, I made it my mission to find a rubber band for my hair. I decided that the most likely place to find a rubber band, and to avoid slowly running while scouring the ground, was on a newspaper in someone’s driveway. I ran quite a while before locating a sodden newspaper in the wet gutter by the street. Every other newspaper that I spotted was either in a driveway with cars parked in it, or was at a house that had people looking out the windows, or someone was driving by at the time I was passing the paper. What can I say…I’m a chicken and will do pretty much anything to avoid confrontation. So I waited until I found a “safe” newspaper in the gutter from which to yank the rubber band for my wild beast hair. At the end of the run, I felt less leaded, and I was able to get through the rest of the day with some modicum of aplomb.
2/8/07, Thur: 2.5 miles, 25:09. Just went out for a quick run this morning. I really tried to let loose, but my body had other ideas – I felt a little sluggish. Today was the first day in a long time that the weather wasn’t sunny and cold. It rained last night, so everything was wet, although it wasn’t actually raining while I was running. I relished the smell of damp earth and wetness in the air
2/7/07, Wed: NO RUN.
2/6/07, Tue: 3.3 miles, 33 minutes. I really need to get a new running watch. The time approximations are driving me crazy. I worked hard today to overcome the “Emily Shuffle” and I think I succeeded. Just pump the arms a little harder, lift the knees a little higher, I kept telling myself. Two weeks ago, I ran this same run in 38 minutes, so this was a definite improvement in speed. I decided that if I’m going to PR at Robie this year, I had better kick up my pace a notch. It’s no longer good enough to just plod along at the Emily shuffle for two miles and call it a good workout. My toe hurt a little bit today, and I’m not quite sure why. I do know that I have been having nerve pain emanating from the base of my toe where the numbing shot was, and it seems to affect the tip of my toe as well. I see the doctor for followup on the 13th, so I’ll mention it to him then. Also, something else that I need to work on, in addition to my speed, is my DIET. For the last week, I have been eating pizza, chips, cookies, and ice cream. Yuck. If I would just tune up my diet, I think my body would tone up dramatically. I have already lost a few pounds, but I would like to tighten up a little and lose a few inches off the “saddlebags.”
2/5/07, Mon: NO RUN.
2/11/07, Sun: NO RUN.
2/10/07, Sat: 5.6 miles, 1:02:00. Today, I tried out a run/walk technique, which allowed me to feel better for the duration of the run, but the walking actually made my hip joints hurt. The pain would subside as soon as I started running. Hmmm.
2/9/07, Fri: 2.5 miles, 26:48. I wanted to run farther, but I had to get home so John could go to work. Today, Margie and I slept ‘til 10am, and when I got up, I was definitely leaded – literally, not in a caffeinated way. So running today was all about “getting the lead out.” As usual, I donned gloves, long and short sleeved shirts, and hat, along with fleece pants. Talk about overkill. It was sunny in the 40s, and I was roasting. I had to shed the long-sleeved shirt, hat, and gloves; I had not taken a rubber band for my hair, so my hair was swinging about like a wild animal skin attached to the back of my head. Annoying. About ½ mile into the run when I took off my hat, I made it my mission to find a rubber band for my hair. I decided that the most likely place to find a rubber band, and to avoid slowly running while scouring the ground, was on a newspaper in someone’s driveway. I ran quite a while before locating a sodden newspaper in the wet gutter by the street. Every other newspaper that I spotted was either in a driveway with cars parked in it, or was at a house that had people looking out the windows, or someone was driving by at the time I was passing the paper. What can I say…I’m a chicken and will do pretty much anything to avoid confrontation. So I waited until I found a “safe” newspaper in the gutter from which to yank the rubber band for my wild beast hair. At the end of the run, I felt less leaded, and I was able to get through the rest of the day with some modicum of aplomb.
2/8/07, Thur: 2.5 miles, 25:09. Just went out for a quick run this morning. I really tried to let loose, but my body had other ideas – I felt a little sluggish. Today was the first day in a long time that the weather wasn’t sunny and cold. It rained last night, so everything was wet, although it wasn’t actually raining while I was running. I relished the smell of damp earth and wetness in the air
2/7/07, Wed: NO RUN.
2/6/07, Tue: 3.3 miles, 33 minutes. I really need to get a new running watch. The time approximations are driving me crazy. I worked hard today to overcome the “Emily Shuffle” and I think I succeeded. Just pump the arms a little harder, lift the knees a little higher, I kept telling myself. Two weeks ago, I ran this same run in 38 minutes, so this was a definite improvement in speed. I decided that if I’m going to PR at Robie this year, I had better kick up my pace a notch. It’s no longer good enough to just plod along at the Emily shuffle for two miles and call it a good workout. My toe hurt a little bit today, and I’m not quite sure why. I do know that I have been having nerve pain emanating from the base of my toe where the numbing shot was, and it seems to affect the tip of my toe as well. I see the doctor for followup on the 13th, so I’ll mention it to him then. Also, something else that I need to work on, in addition to my speed, is my DIET. For the last week, I have been eating pizza, chips, cookies, and ice cream. Yuck. If I would just tune up my diet, I think my body would tone up dramatically. I have already lost a few pounds, but I would like to tighten up a little and lose a few inches off the “saddlebags.”
2/5/07, Mon: NO RUN.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
WEEK 5: JAN 29 – FEB 4, 12.1 miles
2/4/07, Sun: 2.5 miles, 27 minutes. Although my cardio conditioning suffered slightly for not having run in three days, I felt great otherwise. For the first time in a very long time, I had NO toe pain. So I’m glad I had the procedure done, even though it was totally gross. I actually could have run the last two days, but I had so much going on in my life that there was no time to run. I’m just glad I got three runs in this week. That’s one of my running rules – three is the bare minimum times that I can run per week, and I try very hard to run four or five times.
2/3/07, Sat: NO RUN.
2/2/07, Fri: NO RUN. My toe was a little sore still today, but it really doesn’t hurt much at all. Most of my pain is imaginary – I’m just so grossed out by the sight of it and the knowledge that nail bed is exposed. In addition, I’ve been protecting and favoring this toe for over six months. Old habits die hard.
2/1/07, Thur: NO RUN. Today, I had my toe operated on to remove the ingrown toenail. It was just as bad as I thought it would be. The numbing shot was horrific, nearly making me pass out. I really wanted to watch the procedure, sort of like a final goodbye to the infection that had become routine to my life. But I started becoming hot and woozy at the numbing shots; everyone in the room emphatically urged me to not watch the actual procedure. I tried to look, but something internal compelled me to keep my eyes closed. Oh well. The doctor bandaged my toe so that it looked like a goofy giant light bulb. I am tentatively planning on Saturday to run again.
1/31/07, Wed: 4 miles, 38 minutes. I didn’t have a chance to run during the day today, so after putting the kids to bed, I drove down to the Y to run around the indoor track. Tomorrow I have my ingrown toenail procedure, so I wanted to make sure that I got a run in today because I don’t know how long I am going to be out of commission. Each mile consists of 12 laps around that dinky little track. Talk about monotonous; but at least it wasn’t as boring as running on a treadmill. In addition to the monotony, I kept tripping over the cant on the corners of the track. John would call it a floor ninja, but whatever is was, I kept tripping over it. We have determined that clumsiness runs in the family; dad’s excuse his size 14 feet. My feet aren’t boats; I don’t have a good excuse. I also found it very difficult to keep track of the laps. Forty-eight laps is a lot of counting for someone who has an approximately ten second short-term memory.
1/30/07, Tue: NO RUN. I actually could have run today, but today, studying for tomorrow’s math test absolutely had to come first. I had one window of opportunity to do something for myself, and studying had to be done. I have realized that running sometimes has become an excuse to not do homework.
1/29/07, Mon: 5.5 miles, 60 minutes. With great trepidation and nausea, I called a podiatrist to schedule an appointment to get my ingrown toenail fixed. It just keeps lingering; I mean, I’ve had the thing for over six months. Sounds deranged, but I’ve almost grown fond of it. Anyway, the toe was particularly puffy and painful today, even after recent concentrated efforts at soaking and cleaning it, so I am going to throw in the towel. Sigh. In other news, today was the longest run I have completed so far this year, and I am happy to have run the entire distance comfortably.
2/4/07, Sun: 2.5 miles, 27 minutes. Although my cardio conditioning suffered slightly for not having run in three days, I felt great otherwise. For the first time in a very long time, I had NO toe pain. So I’m glad I had the procedure done, even though it was totally gross. I actually could have run the last two days, but I had so much going on in my life that there was no time to run. I’m just glad I got three runs in this week. That’s one of my running rules – three is the bare minimum times that I can run per week, and I try very hard to run four or five times.
2/3/07, Sat: NO RUN.
2/2/07, Fri: NO RUN. My toe was a little sore still today, but it really doesn’t hurt much at all. Most of my pain is imaginary – I’m just so grossed out by the sight of it and the knowledge that nail bed is exposed. In addition, I’ve been protecting and favoring this toe for over six months. Old habits die hard.
2/1/07, Thur: NO RUN. Today, I had my toe operated on to remove the ingrown toenail. It was just as bad as I thought it would be. The numbing shot was horrific, nearly making me pass out. I really wanted to watch the procedure, sort of like a final goodbye to the infection that had become routine to my life. But I started becoming hot and woozy at the numbing shots; everyone in the room emphatically urged me to not watch the actual procedure. I tried to look, but something internal compelled me to keep my eyes closed. Oh well. The doctor bandaged my toe so that it looked like a goofy giant light bulb. I am tentatively planning on Saturday to run again.
1/31/07, Wed: 4 miles, 38 minutes. I didn’t have a chance to run during the day today, so after putting the kids to bed, I drove down to the Y to run around the indoor track. Tomorrow I have my ingrown toenail procedure, so I wanted to make sure that I got a run in today because I don’t know how long I am going to be out of commission. Each mile consists of 12 laps around that dinky little track. Talk about monotonous; but at least it wasn’t as boring as running on a treadmill. In addition to the monotony, I kept tripping over the cant on the corners of the track. John would call it a floor ninja, but whatever is was, I kept tripping over it. We have determined that clumsiness runs in the family; dad’s excuse his size 14 feet. My feet aren’t boats; I don’t have a good excuse. I also found it very difficult to keep track of the laps. Forty-eight laps is a lot of counting for someone who has an approximately ten second short-term memory.
1/30/07, Tue: NO RUN. I actually could have run today, but today, studying for tomorrow’s math test absolutely had to come first. I had one window of opportunity to do something for myself, and studying had to be done. I have realized that running sometimes has become an excuse to not do homework.
1/29/07, Mon: 5.5 miles, 60 minutes. With great trepidation and nausea, I called a podiatrist to schedule an appointment to get my ingrown toenail fixed. It just keeps lingering; I mean, I’ve had the thing for over six months. Sounds deranged, but I’ve almost grown fond of it. Anyway, the toe was particularly puffy and painful today, even after recent concentrated efforts at soaking and cleaning it, so I am going to throw in the towel. Sigh. In other news, today was the longest run I have completed so far this year, and I am happy to have run the entire distance comfortably.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
WEEK 4: JAN 22 – JAN 28, 13.9 miles
1/28/07, Sun: NO RUN.
1/27/07, Sat: 4.1 miles, 45 minutes. I have wanted to take my camera running for a while now, and today seemed like a good day to do it. Marge has shared with everyone fascinating and beautiful photos from Korea, so I thought I’d return the favor by sharing, um, BROWN pictures from the Caldwell, Idaho countryside from a runner’s perspective. Every time I run, I see lots of this:
a lot of this:
even more of this:
and a zillion of these:
.
It’s a friendly place. Yep. Actually, I thought this horse looked rather friendly as he peered over the rail at me.
Running through town brings another whole fascinating set of visions.
An interesting looking house,
the obligatory small-town water tower,
and friendly graffiti, of course.
John says these pictures make it seem as if I’m running on a Native American reservation. Here are some other fascinating sights I encountered out on the road:
A morose cow (I’d be morose too, if I had to live there).
Classic country mailbox art.
Fast-declining farmland.
1/26/07, Fri: 3.3 miles, 38 minutes. I was amused today by the smiling ram who peered at me through the window of a cinder block shed. When I went back Saturday to take pictures, I was disappointed that the ram had been moved.
1/25/07, Thur: NO RUN. I allowed myself a lazy day today. The pear-shaped runner:
1/24/07, Wed: 2.5 miles, 27 minutes.
1/23/07, Tue: NO RUN.
1/22/07, Mon: 4 miles, 41 minutes. What a gorgeous day! At 38 degrees, the air felt so warm that I had to shed my gloves and scarf and roll up my sleeves. The windiness of previous days has subsided – there was a very slight, almost spring-like breeze today. Spectacular running weather. Having learned a couple days ago that the Doberman’s name is Sadie, I called the dog by name today, thinking that she would be impressed enough at me knowing her name to stop barking. She wasn’t.
Baby Margie has been sick for the last couple days, so she has been sleeping less than usual. This means, of course, that I have also been sleeping less than usual. Margie, since about the age of six weeks old, has completely spoiled me by sleeping 10 to 12 hours a night. There’s no way that I get that much sleep, but if I can get seven hours, I feel pretty good. However, last night’s four and a half hours of sleep left me with a truckload of gravel in my eyes and a crabby attitude. Running helped immensely, and I was able to come back to the house and be moderately productive.
1/28/07, Sun: NO RUN.
1/27/07, Sat: 4.1 miles, 45 minutes. I have wanted to take my camera running for a while now, and today seemed like a good day to do it. Marge has shared with everyone fascinating and beautiful photos from Korea, so I thought I’d return the favor by sharing, um, BROWN pictures from the Caldwell, Idaho countryside from a runner’s perspective. Every time I run, I see lots of this:
a lot of this:
even more of this:
and a zillion of these:
.It’s a friendly place. Yep. Actually, I thought this horse looked rather friendly as he peered over the rail at me.
Running through town brings another whole fascinating set of visions.
An interesting looking house,
the obligatory small-town water tower,
and friendly graffiti, of course.
John says these pictures make it seem as if I’m running on a Native American reservation. Here are some other fascinating sights I encountered out on the road:
A morose cow (I’d be morose too, if I had to live there).
Classic country mailbox art.
Fast-declining farmland.
1/26/07, Fri: 3.3 miles, 38 minutes. I was amused today by the smiling ram who peered at me through the window of a cinder block shed. When I went back Saturday to take pictures, I was disappointed that the ram had been moved.
1/25/07, Thur: NO RUN. I allowed myself a lazy day today. The pear-shaped runner:
1/24/07, Wed: 2.5 miles, 27 minutes.
1/23/07, Tue: NO RUN.
1/22/07, Mon: 4 miles, 41 minutes. What a gorgeous day! At 38 degrees, the air felt so warm that I had to shed my gloves and scarf and roll up my sleeves. The windiness of previous days has subsided – there was a very slight, almost spring-like breeze today. Spectacular running weather. Having learned a couple days ago that the Doberman’s name is Sadie, I called the dog by name today, thinking that she would be impressed enough at me knowing her name to stop barking. She wasn’t.
Baby Margie has been sick for the last couple days, so she has been sleeping less than usual. This means, of course, that I have also been sleeping less than usual. Margie, since about the age of six weeks old, has completely spoiled me by sleeping 10 to 12 hours a night. There’s no way that I get that much sleep, but if I can get seven hours, I feel pretty good. However, last night’s four and a half hours of sleep left me with a truckload of gravel in my eyes and a crabby attitude. Running helped immensely, and I was able to come back to the house and be moderately productive.
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