... but a slightly sad soul. The good news is that the leg is doing great. Yay! The bad news is my mom won't be able to come visit this weekend as planned. Boo!
Mom phoned this morning that she was at the hospital for suspected appendicitis. It turned out not to be her appendix, which was good, but she does have colitis. She'll be doped to the gills for the next several days and just not feeling well in general for about a week so no get-away weekend for us. I'm hoping I can get a refund on her surprise excursion; I'm a little tired of giving up money these days. Curse my organized, planning-ahead little self! We're hoping she'll be able to come down in a couple of weeks. Since I don't need time off for the Vancouver marathon anymore, I've got plenty of vacation time to use. (I'm still probably taking this Friday and the Friday of the marathon weekend off though.)
In other news, I did a shopping trip on Sunday and got about $320 worth of groceries for only $160. It literally pays to pay attention to the sales! I filled up a whole shopping cart to the brim -- I don't think I've ever purchased that many groceries in my life. Most of it was sports drinks. Powerade, Fuse, Propel Fitness Water and Vitamin Water were all on sale 10 for $10, and if you bought ten of any of that combination you got an instant $5 off, making them 50 cents a piece! I bought ten of each and now have a pantry stocked full of healthy beverages. My bladder and kidneys seem a little grumpy lately so it's nice to have plenty of electrolyte drinks handy. I also found the Gatorade G2 powder again; it comes in these great 20 oz serving size pouches. Saves on space and plastic. I also scored a great deal on pre-marinated pork tenderloin filets: at $10.99 each they were buy one get one free, I had two $1 off 1 coupons that I then doubled. Bottom line: Two yummy pork tenderloins for $3.50 each.
Since my mom won't be here this weekend, I'm tentatively planning to go to the gym to try my leg out on a recumbent bike. Bike riding is not my favorite thing as an adult but the recumbent bikes do circumvent my main complaint -- that the bike seat makes my ass hurt -- so maybe I'll rediscover my childhood love of cycling. I don't want to lose too much fitness because of the stress fracture. Swimming will have to wait until I get a swimsuit that I am able to swim in. All mine are for being in a pool, not for actual swimming. And it's tough to find one that thoroughly fits the girls. My mom hates the suit I wear most often, she doesn't like how low cut it is. I wear it anyway; it's not like I'm doing cleavage on purpose, I swear.
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Friday the 13th will be bad... but Saturday the 14th will be worse!
Anyone ever see that movie? Extremely cheesy but very funny. Wonder if it's on Netflix?
I've been busy trying to get my boss out of town for a few days. Of course, his being gone coincided with our last huge deadline until the end of June, so that was fun. Yesterday involved several phones repeating the same information. Yes, we filed on that one. Yes, that one. We talk about something else, then.... Yes, we filed on that one. Go away, go play golf and drink tequila and STOP CALLING ME.
But now I've just learned that Blogger went boom yesterday so even if I'd had time to write it would have disappeared into the ether.
The leg is doing very well, knock on wood. The aircast is fabulous. I want to marry the makers of the aircast. Only one tiny flaw that I have discovered -- which may only be particular to me, who knows -- is that because it holds in the sweat and it is compressing a thick sock to my leg for hours at a time, my skin was starting to slough off. I took off the cast last night when I got home and scratched my leg and the skin parted under my nails like tissue paper. It was one of the more fascinatingly gross things I've encountered in a while. I decided to give it a go without the cast today so that my skin could get a breather (literally). And so far, so good! I've been able to get around without any pain. It's only now at the end of the workday that the muscle over the actual fracture is starting to itch. I'm going to try the weekend without the cast so long as I am home; I'll wear it when I run errands. I've heard it is going to start raining again tomorrow; I won't have to worry about coordinating a cast with shorts and sandals.
In other good news, I can get a partial refund for the Vancouver USA marathon. Yay! I have the option of turning it into a credit for next year's race but that's just too far out to plan for me so I will go with the moolah. Ideally I'll be able to put it towards a new pair of running shoes.
Speaking of moolah, since I can't run my new preoccupation has been couponing. If you haven't seen the TLC show Extreme Couponers, check it out. Absolutely fascinating. My goal is to save enough money to finance a ten day trip back east next fall for the Marine Corps Marathon. I figure I'll need at least $1,500 to $2,000 to do everything I want to do: fly to and see D.C., see Rhode Island (and maybe drive up there from D.C.), visit New York City again and spend more than six hours there. I'd love to tour the White House, see the Smithsonian, see as much as the Atlantic Ocean as I can, hit as many states as I can, eat lobster for a week straight. And this would be at the end of October so the fall colors will all be out, right? That would be cool to visit some of those funky New England towns and go leaf peeping. Maybe I'll even write my congressman and see about a tour of Congress. The possibilities are endless!
Plus there's also the Marine Corps Marathon. Actual marines! Just watch, the Marine who gives me my medal will be a chick.
And if I can really do well at couponing (or just saving money, period) then I can go visit RG in Amsterdam! Woo hoo!!!!
Happy weekend!
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
I've been busy trying to get my boss out of town for a few days. Of course, his being gone coincided with our last huge deadline until the end of June, so that was fun. Yesterday involved several phones repeating the same information. Yes, we filed on that one. Yes, that one. We talk about something else, then.... Yes, we filed on that one. Go away, go play golf and drink tequila and STOP CALLING ME.
But now I've just learned that Blogger went boom yesterday so even if I'd had time to write it would have disappeared into the ether.
The leg is doing very well, knock on wood. The aircast is fabulous. I want to marry the makers of the aircast. Only one tiny flaw that I have discovered -- which may only be particular to me, who knows -- is that because it holds in the sweat and it is compressing a thick sock to my leg for hours at a time, my skin was starting to slough off. I took off the cast last night when I got home and scratched my leg and the skin parted under my nails like tissue paper. It was one of the more fascinatingly gross things I've encountered in a while. I decided to give it a go without the cast today so that my skin could get a breather (literally). And so far, so good! I've been able to get around without any pain. It's only now at the end of the workday that the muscle over the actual fracture is starting to itch. I'm going to try the weekend without the cast so long as I am home; I'll wear it when I run errands. I've heard it is going to start raining again tomorrow; I won't have to worry about coordinating a cast with shorts and sandals.
In other good news, I can get a partial refund for the Vancouver USA marathon. Yay! I have the option of turning it into a credit for next year's race but that's just too far out to plan for me so I will go with the moolah. Ideally I'll be able to put it towards a new pair of running shoes.
Speaking of moolah, since I can't run my new preoccupation has been couponing. If you haven't seen the TLC show Extreme Couponers, check it out. Absolutely fascinating. My goal is to save enough money to finance a ten day trip back east next fall for the Marine Corps Marathon. I figure I'll need at least $1,500 to $2,000 to do everything I want to do: fly to and see D.C., see Rhode Island (and maybe drive up there from D.C.), visit New York City again and spend more than six hours there. I'd love to tour the White House, see the Smithsonian, see as much as the Atlantic Ocean as I can, hit as many states as I can, eat lobster for a week straight. And this would be at the end of October so the fall colors will all be out, right? That would be cool to visit some of those funky New England towns and go leaf peeping. Maybe I'll even write my congressman and see about a tour of Congress. The possibilities are endless!
Plus there's also the Marine Corps Marathon. Actual marines! Just watch, the Marine who gives me my medal will be a chick.
And if I can really do well at couponing (or just saving money, period) then I can go visit RG in Amsterdam! Woo hoo!!!!
Happy weekend!
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Get a leg up
It's official: tibial stress fracture. Boo!
I had to miss the Cinco de Mayo half, so that translates into an $80 shirt for a race I didn't run. Hopefully it's a tech tee (I think so) that fits well (they're mailing it to me). At least then I can incorporate it into my running wardrobe.
I got a confirmation from the Vancouver USA marathon that I am entered. I checked to see if they did have a refund policy -- they do! Yay! But the last date to get a partial refund for any reason was May 4. I was diagnosed May 6. Boo! But.... now that I read that again, I'm wondering if the distinction "for any reason" means that they'll take pity on me. I'd like to get some of my money back; that's another $80 race.
As I mentioned earlier, yesterday was the day to see the orthopedist. He was a nice guy, despite his "I only run when chased" crack. He confirmed the stress fracture; official diagnosis is tibial stress fracture. I'm off running for at least four weeks, when I go back in to be re-x-rayed. I'm supposed to be totally off the leg for as long as I have pain. One day of crutches really really really sucked. I'm constantly getting up to make copies, take stuff to people, pick stuff up from people -- particularly heavy files. I couldn't carry anything with the crutches, so I started to wheel myself around the office in my office chair. Lots of fun on the tiled floor, not so fun on the carpet.
Thankfully, the medical supply rep got me set up with an aircast Monday night and I'm able to walk on that for short periods of time without any pain. So nice!! It's a really cool device. There are three plastic plates to it -- a lot like shin guards -- that are lined with plastic air pockets. Two go on either side of the lower leg, all the way down to the floor, then the third goes on your shin. You strap the whole thing tightly to your leg with velcro straps and off you go. The idea is that the plastic supports and the compression transfers the stress that is normally put on your tibia and fibula to the surrounding soft tissue. I don't have to sleep in it, which is good because that would be uncomfortable. I have a terry cloth sock that I wear on my leg; you can do a bare leg but it doesn't breathe well so I found it uncomfortable to do it that way as it every time you move it feels like you're sitting in bare skin on a vinyl restaurant booth seat. I can fit a sneaker around it and I think a pair of sandals; if I do a bare leg I could wear flip flops.
Isn't it sexy?
I am so happy to not need the crutches since I learned very quickly that they are not compatible with either (a) big boobs or (b) big boobs and an underwire bra. I told that to the orthopedics nurse, a skinny little minnie, and she said "oh, a good excuse to wear a sports bra!" To which I'm looking at her name tag and responding "yeah, my sports bras also have underwire, Miss Perky Tits." Miss Perky Tits wasn't really her name, by the way. It was Perky Tits, R.N. I think she prefers to be called Sarah though.
But still, four weeks off. What I need to do is take this time to get my diet back on track. I can't keep eating like I am training for a marathon when I can't even walk for more than short periods of time. I knew that to be the case when I wasn't really do the marathon training either. Hence the five pounds I've gained and the clothes that are feeling a bit snug. I am cleared to swim, and if I don't have pain while in the aircast I can use a recumbent bike and then an elliptical. Once I can don't have pain without the aircast, same activities. No running until I'm re-checked by the doc.
Now I just need to learn how to swim. Or maybe buy some water wings.
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
I had to miss the Cinco de Mayo half, so that translates into an $80 shirt for a race I didn't run. Hopefully it's a tech tee (I think so) that fits well (they're mailing it to me). At least then I can incorporate it into my running wardrobe.
I got a confirmation from the Vancouver USA marathon that I am entered. I checked to see if they did have a refund policy -- they do! Yay! But the last date to get a partial refund for any reason was May 4. I was diagnosed May 6. Boo! But.... now that I read that again, I'm wondering if the distinction "for any reason" means that they'll take pity on me. I'd like to get some of my money back; that's another $80 race.
As I mentioned earlier, yesterday was the day to see the orthopedist. He was a nice guy, despite his "I only run when chased" crack. He confirmed the stress fracture; official diagnosis is tibial stress fracture. I'm off running for at least four weeks, when I go back in to be re-x-rayed. I'm supposed to be totally off the leg for as long as I have pain. One day of crutches really really really sucked. I'm constantly getting up to make copies, take stuff to people, pick stuff up from people -- particularly heavy files. I couldn't carry anything with the crutches, so I started to wheel myself around the office in my office chair. Lots of fun on the tiled floor, not so fun on the carpet.
Thankfully, the medical supply rep got me set up with an aircast Monday night and I'm able to walk on that for short periods of time without any pain. So nice!! It's a really cool device. There are three plastic plates to it -- a lot like shin guards -- that are lined with plastic air pockets. Two go on either side of the lower leg, all the way down to the floor, then the third goes on your shin. You strap the whole thing tightly to your leg with velcro straps and off you go. The idea is that the plastic supports and the compression transfers the stress that is normally put on your tibia and fibula to the surrounding soft tissue. I don't have to sleep in it, which is good because that would be uncomfortable. I have a terry cloth sock that I wear on my leg; you can do a bare leg but it doesn't breathe well so I found it uncomfortable to do it that way as it every time you move it feels like you're sitting in bare skin on a vinyl restaurant booth seat. I can fit a sneaker around it and I think a pair of sandals; if I do a bare leg I could wear flip flops.
Isn't it sexy?
I am so happy to not need the crutches since I learned very quickly that they are not compatible with either (a) big boobs or (b) big boobs and an underwire bra. I told that to the orthopedics nurse, a skinny little minnie, and she said "oh, a good excuse to wear a sports bra!" To which I'm looking at her name tag and responding "yeah, my sports bras also have underwire, Miss Perky Tits." Miss Perky Tits wasn't really her name, by the way. It was Perky Tits, R.N. I think she prefers to be called Sarah though.
But still, four weeks off. What I need to do is take this time to get my diet back on track. I can't keep eating like I am training for a marathon when I can't even walk for more than short periods of time. I knew that to be the case when I wasn't really do the marathon training either. Hence the five pounds I've gained and the clothes that are feeling a bit snug. I am cleared to swim, and if I don't have pain while in the aircast I can use a recumbent bike and then an elliptical. Once I can don't have pain without the aircast, same activities. No running until I'm re-checked by the doc.
Now I just need to learn how to swim. Or maybe buy some water wings.
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
Friday, May 6, 2011
Update on the leg.
Saw the regular doctor today. They took x-rays and there is a suspicious spot in the area where I am having the pain. The next step is for the radiologist to officially read the x-rays and I have an appointment with an orthopedist on Monday to get the verdict. The doctor did recommend that I stay off the leg altogether so I've got a prescription for crutches to fill this weekend. Except for playing around with other people's crutches when I was a kid, I've never had to have them before; this will be interesting.
And the half marathon is definitely out for this weekend. Oh well, it was supposed to rain on Sunday anyway. Plus a 7:30 a.m. race start is much too earlier. Now I get to sleep in! (I'm trying to stay positive...)
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
And the half marathon is definitely out for this weekend. Oh well, it was supposed to rain on Sunday anyway. Plus a 7:30 a.m. race start is much too earlier. Now I get to sleep in! (I'm trying to stay positive...)
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Holding my breath and icing my leg.
I've been debating on if/when to write about this. I don't like to borrow trouble; why worry about something that may not even be? But there has been enough to where I've become fairly certain that I have developed a stress fracture.
You may remember from a couple of weeks ago that I was having some calf pain after a run. It felt like a deep muscle strain. I happened to be at my doctor's office about three days after that started. Because I was flying on a plane the following day, she checked it out as she was concerned it could be deep vein thrombosis.
Another three days or so after that, that pain went away and I forgot about it. Until this week. Saturday I had a great long run, 14 miles. As I've mentioned, I have been working on my form so that my legs would have more even usage. This was because lately I was only having achy quads while my hamstrings and glutes felt absolutely fine. After Saturday's run, I had some aches in all three muscles groups, with the achiness being less in my quads.
Sunday my legs were tight, particularly the right. By Monday, the left leg was about the same, maybe a little better, but the right leg was much tighter -- particularly the inside of my right leg around the calf. Tuesday wasn't much of an improvement but I intended to run five miles, planning to stretch well beforehand and figuring that my legs would loosen up as I ran. And as I started to run that turned out to be true except for my right leg below the knee. There, the muscles felt a little looser but a deep, throbbing ache started up instead, focusing on a spot right below my calf muscle. I stopped several times to stretch and make sure it wasn't swollen or warm (it wasn't) but the ache never got any better. It seemed to reach a threshold where I could have kept running if I absolutely had to -- the ache was relentless though I thought if I had some more Advil (I'd taken two about two hours before that) that it would have helped it -- but I decided to cut the run short at three miles.
Walking back into the gym almost hurt more than when I'd been running. In the locker room, I put the leg up on the bench while I started gathering my stuff together to leave. I palpated my leg and from that angle the inside shin bone was very prominent -- I just about squealed when I pushed on the bone right underneath my calf muscle. By the time I left the gym, the ache had decreased a little bit but I still could feel it every time I put weight on that leg. Same after I got home and RICEd it.
Wednesday it continued to feel a little better, particularly after I switched to Aleve instead of Advil, but again it seems to have reached a certain threshold where it's not hurting more but it's not hurting less either. And still, even just when I'm walking. The longer I'm on that leg, the more it starts to ache. There's even a small achiness when I'm not on it at all.
So, after consulting Dr. Google and comparing it to every other muscle strain I've had before, I think my lack of base miles is finally catching up with me. As well it should. I know that increasing mileage too quickly is a recipe for injury. Yet I did it anyway.
I'm going to try to get into my doctor tomorrow to get her opinion (and she is also a runner, so she gets it) or at least talk with the advice nurse to see if I should skip my primary care physician and go straight to a specialist. And while I don't want anyone to say that I do have a stress fracture, I'm hoping that if they're gonna that they can skip the pricey scans and just stick me in a boot or whatever. This also means that I'm not going to be able to run my (extremely expensive) half marathon race this weekend, and probably that Vancouver is out too. Another reason I'd rather not make this any more expensive than it has to.
If you have them to spare, please send healthy leg/no stress fracture/win a small lottery prize vibes my way :) I'll be on the couch, icing my leg.
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
You may remember from a couple of weeks ago that I was having some calf pain after a run. It felt like a deep muscle strain. I happened to be at my doctor's office about three days after that started. Because I was flying on a plane the following day, she checked it out as she was concerned it could be deep vein thrombosis.
Another three days or so after that, that pain went away and I forgot about it. Until this week. Saturday I had a great long run, 14 miles. As I've mentioned, I have been working on my form so that my legs would have more even usage. This was because lately I was only having achy quads while my hamstrings and glutes felt absolutely fine. After Saturday's run, I had some aches in all three muscles groups, with the achiness being less in my quads.
Sunday my legs were tight, particularly the right. By Monday, the left leg was about the same, maybe a little better, but the right leg was much tighter -- particularly the inside of my right leg around the calf. Tuesday wasn't much of an improvement but I intended to run five miles, planning to stretch well beforehand and figuring that my legs would loosen up as I ran. And as I started to run that turned out to be true except for my right leg below the knee. There, the muscles felt a little looser but a deep, throbbing ache started up instead, focusing on a spot right below my calf muscle. I stopped several times to stretch and make sure it wasn't swollen or warm (it wasn't) but the ache never got any better. It seemed to reach a threshold where I could have kept running if I absolutely had to -- the ache was relentless though I thought if I had some more Advil (I'd taken two about two hours before that) that it would have helped it -- but I decided to cut the run short at three miles.
Walking back into the gym almost hurt more than when I'd been running. In the locker room, I put the leg up on the bench while I started gathering my stuff together to leave. I palpated my leg and from that angle the inside shin bone was very prominent -- I just about squealed when I pushed on the bone right underneath my calf muscle. By the time I left the gym, the ache had decreased a little bit but I still could feel it every time I put weight on that leg. Same after I got home and RICEd it.
Wednesday it continued to feel a little better, particularly after I switched to Aleve instead of Advil, but again it seems to have reached a certain threshold where it's not hurting more but it's not hurting less either. And still, even just when I'm walking. The longer I'm on that leg, the more it starts to ache. There's even a small achiness when I'm not on it at all.
So, after consulting Dr. Google and comparing it to every other muscle strain I've had before, I think my lack of base miles is finally catching up with me. As well it should. I know that increasing mileage too quickly is a recipe for injury. Yet I did it anyway.
I'm going to try to get into my doctor tomorrow to get her opinion (and she is also a runner, so she gets it) or at least talk with the advice nurse to see if I should skip my primary care physician and go straight to a specialist. And while I don't want anyone to say that I do have a stress fracture, I'm hoping that if they're gonna that they can skip the pricey scans and just stick me in a boot or whatever. This also means that I'm not going to be able to run my (extremely expensive) half marathon race this weekend, and probably that Vancouver is out too. Another reason I'd rather not make this any more expensive than it has to.
If you have them to spare, please send healthy leg/no stress fracture/win a small lottery prize vibes my way :) I'll be on the couch, icing my leg.
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Can you run 10,000 miles in your lifetime?
I was browsing around the Marine Corps Marathon page this afternoon -- this is my number one destination marathon -- and saw a little link at the bottom from Aetna that asked "Can you run 10,000 miles in your lifetime?" At first glance, that seems like a lot but then I did the math. If you ran 500 miles per year for 20 years, you would run 10,000 miles. If you're one of those crazy people who run 1,000 miles per year (or are one of those people who actually do the miles your marathon training plan calls for ahem), then you'd reach that goal in ten years. Anyhow, I think 10,000 miles in my lifetime is a pretty cool goal so I think I will put together a sidebar widget that tracks that for me. Once I figure out how many miles I've actually ran to date. I think it's something like 20, but whatever.
Yes, I've been a bad, bad CilleyGirl, pulling out long runs without the base miles to back them up. Shame on me. And my sore foot is reminding me just why the base miles are important. I am going to the gym after work today, I swear.
Back to the Marine Corps Marathon. As I said, this is my number one destination marathon. I admit with some reluctance that a large part of that is that it's probably the only marathon that would actually impress my stepdad, but there is a real coolness factor in that actual Marines put your medal on you. And I found out today that they give an actual award -- the Penguin Award -- to the official last place finisher. Totally worth aiming for that one. Oh, and while I would want to run this in under six hours, the course does have a seven hour limit. I've messaged a friend of mine who lives in D.C. about invading her house next year (2011 is sold out) for this. We've been friends for about 18 years now online, but have never gotten to meet in person. I've also never been to D.C. so it would be so great to finally get to meet her, do the marathon, and see D.C. Plus I have other online friends on the east coast, one in Rhode Island (I've never been there either) and one in New York City (where I have been, but only for about five hours), that I've known just as long and also never had the opportunity to meet in person. If I could manage the finances, I'd love to be able to spend a week back east, sightseeing with long time friends. Hmm, Dear Santa....
Almost gym time!
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
Yes, I've been a bad, bad CilleyGirl, pulling out long runs without the base miles to back them up. Shame on me. And my sore foot is reminding me just why the base miles are important. I am going to the gym after work today, I swear.
Back to the Marine Corps Marathon. As I said, this is my number one destination marathon. I admit with some reluctance that a large part of that is that it's probably the only marathon that would actually impress my stepdad, but there is a real coolness factor in that actual Marines put your medal on you. And I found out today that they give an actual award -- the Penguin Award -- to the official last place finisher. Totally worth aiming for that one. Oh, and while I would want to run this in under six hours, the course does have a seven hour limit. I've messaged a friend of mine who lives in D.C. about invading her house next year (2011 is sold out) for this. We've been friends for about 18 years now online, but have never gotten to meet in person. I've also never been to D.C. so it would be so great to finally get to meet her, do the marathon, and see D.C. Plus I have other online friends on the east coast, one in Rhode Island (I've never been there either) and one in New York City (where I have been, but only for about five hours), that I've known just as long and also never had the opportunity to meet in person. If I could manage the finances, I'd love to be able to spend a week back east, sightseeing with long time friends. Hmm, Dear Santa....
Almost gym time!
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Awww, weekend over
What a great weekend!
First, Portlandia had some SUN. And I was able to get out there and enjoy it!
Saturday, Julie and I did our long run. The schedule called for 16 miles but we didn't think it was a good idea to make a big mileage jump and risk injury so we planned to do 14 instead. Having been out sick from work for a good part of the week, that worked out very well for me.
This was a great run for me. We got a somewhat earlier start than usual, although the sun did catch up with us by the end of it. I hadn't thought the clouds would burn off until much later so I foolishly did not wear any sunscreen. My left arm got pretty crispy from a inch below my elbow to an inch above my wrist, and I'm well on my way to that fabulous running capri tan on my legs.
We did the Burnt Bridge Creek trail over in Vancouver. I ran this once before last year and except for the calf injury I came away with, I liked the trail. This year, no calf injury! I feel like my overall cardio fitness is much better than at this point last year, as well as the best it's been all year.
Unfortunately, Julie wasn't feeling the same. A suspected combination of dehydration and too-tight shoelaces left her with horrible leg cramps for the last four miles. Because I was still feeling good and I have my half marathon next weekend, I ended up running ahead in the last two miles or so. Our original aim was to finish 14 miles as close to three hours as possible; I was hoping to hit the 13.1 mile distance in that as well. We weren't able to make that, but I was able to run out the half distance at 3:14:35 so I am hoping that bodes well for a time close to -- or maybe even under! -- three hours for the Cinco de Mayo half next weekend. With a goal of getting under six hours at Vancouver, this is where I would need to be at at the halfway mark.
I worked on my form during the run and was happy to have much less fatigue in my legs, not only during the run itself but afterwards. I focused on keeping myself over my sit bones and what felt to me like slumping my shoulders forward but in actuality was my not pulling them back tensely. (Did that make sense?) I also had a bagel and a half and 20 oz of gatorade about 45 minutes before our run, and drank 20 oz of gatorade during the run. I still had a post-run headache, but nothing like what I usually have. I was able to function afterwards, which typically I have trouble doing. Today, my legs are tired and a little sore but I can move around pretty well.
It probably helped that I did several hours of yard work today. It got up to about 67 degrees today, and I took advantage of that (and of how well I was feeling) to mow what lawn I have as well as re-edge the area and then lay down bark over where the grass won't grow.
Here is a picture mid-project. The grass has been mown and I've re-edged the area.
As you can see, there are only a few clumps of grass in this area plus a whole lot of moss. What you can't see is the area up against the deck where nothing ever grows. It's basically a big mud pit all the time, and the favorite place of my dogs to dig up rocks and grubs and dirt and then eat it. In the bottom right corner is the ramp I got for my dogs to get up the stairs more easily, with the help of RR's CSN giveaway.
Here's how it looks now:
Much better! Well, except for the part where now I need to re-bark the rest of the yard so it doesn't look so dingy. I found out that you can buy broken open bags of bark at the home improvement store for 50% off. That meant that of the eight bags of bark I bought today, four of them were only $2.07 each. Score! I would have bought more but (a) I bought all the marked down bags of bark they had today and (b) more probably would not have fit into my car. Once I return those aluminum cans you can see at the top of the picture (I have about eight bags in all, plus one in my office), I'll have some more cash to put towards this project. Since I rent this doesn't add any value to the house that I'll get any benefit from so I don't want to spend too much money. At the same time, it is nice to have a nice yard. I'm hoping that Ginger will want to hang out in the newly barked area; when I put the ramp in, it went in over her favorite spot to lay in the yard. This should be a much better alternative for her.
Now I just need the grass to grow. I bought some grass seed today that is guaranteed to grow anywhere in any conditions, even on concrete. We'll see. My yard gets more sun and water now that I had the landlord trim the trees way back last year but there are parts where it never seems to take. The whole area I want to have as grass is only about 400 square feet. The whole yard isn't even 900 square feet. Not much bigger than my apartment, actually. I have a garden weasel-type tool that I'll use to aerate the bare spots then I'll lay down the seed and see what happens. It is supposed to be nice again after Monday so I can work on it in the evenings. And keep those legs limber! I also want to get lettuce going in some pots and maybe some basil and some flowers. Which reminds me -- has anyone grown broccoli before? I saw some plants and wondered what it's like when the broccoli grows. It is more like fruit on a tree or more like cucumbers on the ground?
When downloading the yard pics, I found the ones I took at my grandparents'. I didn't take very many, but I did get some cute shots of their basset hound Happy and the kitty. I'm also posting one of the CBS dog of how she splays her legs when eating a bone. No wonder she has problems with her hips!
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
First, Portlandia had some SUN. And I was able to get out there and enjoy it!
Saturday, Julie and I did our long run. The schedule called for 16 miles but we didn't think it was a good idea to make a big mileage jump and risk injury so we planned to do 14 instead. Having been out sick from work for a good part of the week, that worked out very well for me.
This was a great run for me. We got a somewhat earlier start than usual, although the sun did catch up with us by the end of it. I hadn't thought the clouds would burn off until much later so I foolishly did not wear any sunscreen. My left arm got pretty crispy from a inch below my elbow to an inch above my wrist, and I'm well on my way to that fabulous running capri tan on my legs.
We did the Burnt Bridge Creek trail over in Vancouver. I ran this once before last year and except for the calf injury I came away with, I liked the trail. This year, no calf injury! I feel like my overall cardio fitness is much better than at this point last year, as well as the best it's been all year.
Unfortunately, Julie wasn't feeling the same. A suspected combination of dehydration and too-tight shoelaces left her with horrible leg cramps for the last four miles. Because I was still feeling good and I have my half marathon next weekend, I ended up running ahead in the last two miles or so. Our original aim was to finish 14 miles as close to three hours as possible; I was hoping to hit the 13.1 mile distance in that as well. We weren't able to make that, but I was able to run out the half distance at 3:14:35 so I am hoping that bodes well for a time close to -- or maybe even under! -- three hours for the Cinco de Mayo half next weekend. With a goal of getting under six hours at Vancouver, this is where I would need to be at at the halfway mark.
I worked on my form during the run and was happy to have much less fatigue in my legs, not only during the run itself but afterwards. I focused on keeping myself over my sit bones and what felt to me like slumping my shoulders forward but in actuality was my not pulling them back tensely. (Did that make sense?) I also had a bagel and a half and 20 oz of gatorade about 45 minutes before our run, and drank 20 oz of gatorade during the run. I still had a post-run headache, but nothing like what I usually have. I was able to function afterwards, which typically I have trouble doing. Today, my legs are tired and a little sore but I can move around pretty well.
It probably helped that I did several hours of yard work today. It got up to about 67 degrees today, and I took advantage of that (and of how well I was feeling) to mow what lawn I have as well as re-edge the area and then lay down bark over where the grass won't grow.
Here is a picture mid-project. The grass has been mown and I've re-edged the area.
As you can see, there are only a few clumps of grass in this area plus a whole lot of moss. What you can't see is the area up against the deck where nothing ever grows. It's basically a big mud pit all the time, and the favorite place of my dogs to dig up rocks and grubs and dirt and then eat it. In the bottom right corner is the ramp I got for my dogs to get up the stairs more easily, with the help of RR's CSN giveaway.
Here's how it looks now:
Much better! Well, except for the part where now I need to re-bark the rest of the yard so it doesn't look so dingy. I found out that you can buy broken open bags of bark at the home improvement store for 50% off. That meant that of the eight bags of bark I bought today, four of them were only $2.07 each. Score! I would have bought more but (a) I bought all the marked down bags of bark they had today and (b) more probably would not have fit into my car. Once I return those aluminum cans you can see at the top of the picture (I have about eight bags in all, plus one in my office), I'll have some more cash to put towards this project. Since I rent this doesn't add any value to the house that I'll get any benefit from so I don't want to spend too much money. At the same time, it is nice to have a nice yard. I'm hoping that Ginger will want to hang out in the newly barked area; when I put the ramp in, it went in over her favorite spot to lay in the yard. This should be a much better alternative for her.
Now I just need the grass to grow. I bought some grass seed today that is guaranteed to grow anywhere in any conditions, even on concrete. We'll see. My yard gets more sun and water now that I had the landlord trim the trees way back last year but there are parts where it never seems to take. The whole area I want to have as grass is only about 400 square feet. The whole yard isn't even 900 square feet. Not much bigger than my apartment, actually. I have a garden weasel-type tool that I'll use to aerate the bare spots then I'll lay down the seed and see what happens. It is supposed to be nice again after Monday so I can work on it in the evenings. And keep those legs limber! I also want to get lettuce going in some pots and maybe some basil and some flowers. Which reminds me -- has anyone grown broccoli before? I saw some plants and wondered what it's like when the broccoli grows. It is more like fruit on a tree or more like cucumbers on the ground?
When downloading the yard pics, I found the ones I took at my grandparents'. I didn't take very many, but I did get some cute shots of their basset hound Happy and the kitty. I'm also posting one of the CBS dog of how she splays her legs when eating a bone. No wonder she has problems with her hips!
Cheers,
the CilleyGirl
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