you get out of it what you put into it

Trails in the "snow" this morning.  Snow for North Alabama on a good day is flurries.  This is what we had.  17 degrees when I got out of my car on the mountain.  My thighs felt like huge, frozen hams for the entire run.  All the water crossings/low parts that had water were frozen.  This was a "fun" challenge for this clumsy girl.  I tripped once, about .5 into the run.  A large tree was across the trail and apparently I didn't lift my leg quite high enough to get over it.  I was graceful though.  We finished out the run climbing "death trail" which was pretty much like death for this novice trail runner.  About a mile long and straight uphill!  

I ran 5.5 miles alone!  I rarely run alone; if I do it's normally a measly 2 miles or so.  Today's run is the farthest I've ever run at once.  Ever.  I'm quite proud of myself... even if it was quite slow.  Maybe I am actually starting to take this more seriously???  If running alone I normally go in the neighborhood by my house.  I don't enjoy it at all but it is a safe place to pound the pavement.  Well today as I was getting ready I remembered an old railroad track that cuts the neighborhood in half.  When I was younger and this wasn't a neighborhood but was cotton fields (yes, Alabama is still the land of cotton) my brother and I used to ride our bikes on it.  So when I was in the neighborhood for my normal 2 mile run I instead turned right onto what I've always been told used to be an old railroad track.  It had 2 "creek crossings" one of which I managed to get wet at both going and coming back.  That was fun in 28 degree weather (windchill of 20 with brutal winds).  The trail starts off being surrounded by houses on both sides but then moves onto cotton fields, a nursery, and a cow pasture (nothing like the fresh smell of manure).  It is mostly a dirt road with some muddy sections that were pretty well frozen today.  The highlight of my run was almost getting hit by a kid on a 4-wheeler.... ahhhhh, I love living in the country!

I am embarrassed to write down my official time.  But I figure I'll never improve if I don't put it down to look back on as motivation.  I ran 5.5 miles on a dirt road with a few small hills in 1:09.  It was my first time on the trail so I'll use that as slow excuse #1.  Slow excuse #2 will be that I'm a cupcake.  Plain and simple.  This will be dubbed the railroad track trail and I hope to eventually cut 10ish+ minutes off of that time.

Oh yea... the best part of my run:  Betsy (my garmin) says that I burned 735 calories.  I'm sure that is not entirely accurate (by a long shot) but it still makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  Now if I could miraculously drop 20 lbs overnight....  

COLD!

Was supposed to run 4 but my buddy and I missed a turn somewhere.  It was dark.  I wore capri tights because all my full length ones need to be washed and that isn't happening anytime soon.  My legs never warmed up.  Grrr.... Alabama isn't used to this consistent cold streak.  We're going on a week now with no temps above freezing.  And, it is going to continue for at least another week.  I don't like it! 

Speed workout.  My first ever.  We sprinted the straights and walked/jogged the curves.  I really enjoyed it which I was not expecting at all!  I'm sure I will not say that in the heat of the summer.  But with it being so cold my legs were numb and I couldn't feel the burn.  It was fun... and I found out that I'm faster than I thought... for .10 of a mile!

Once again, it was COLD!  I don't see how you people from naturally cold climates do it.  I am miserable!  It's actually not so bad when running.  It the walking in/out of work thing that sucks.  And the socializing before and after the run.  Brrrrr......  Alabama needs to get in gear and get back up to our normal temps in the 40's for this time of year! 

Wasn't planning on running today.  But we're supposed to have actual accumulation of snow tomorrow in North Alabama (can you believe it) so I probably will not be out in it.  It was cold and I really wasn't feelin' it.  So I took the short side (left) of the Railroad Track Trail and just ran it in the dark.  I got a little scared in the DARK!  Even with my headlamp.  I will be completely honest and say that I am terrified of the dark.  I don't know what possessed me to turn out of the neighborhood and onto the trail.  Ahhhhh... I am reading the Twilight series right now (yes, I am one of them) and I thought of freakin' vampires when I was in the middle of the woods all alone.  Not Good.  So, I got to my turn around point as quickly as possible (in reality still very slow) and then headed back to the gloriously lit neighborhood.  I'm glad I got the miles in but it was dark and cold.  More importantly it was dark.  Did I mention that?  Pretty sure my dreams of an ultra will never happen if I can't even run a trail 1/4 mile from a neighborhood without having a cow about the lighting conditions...

Dreadmill.  It sucked. We have actual snow on the ground here.  About 30 degrees so I decided to run inside b/c I am clumsy enough without help from Mother Nature when I'm out running.  I was totally inspired by Kelli's speed workout of 7 miles on the treadmill the other day.  So I thought I would try something like it.  I ran a .50 warmup.  Then ran 1 minute at 8 minute miles and walked one minute for 10 reps.  Then I walked on 10 incline for .30 and about died.  I'm training for a 14 mile trail race with some pretty good climbs so I thought this was good practice.  Then I went back to speed work.  This time doing 30 seconds at 7:15 pace and 1 minute walking.  It was hard.  I was dying.  I am not a fast runner.  AT ALL.  I walked more incline at the end and ended up doing 3.1 miles total.  I didn't do a good job of keeping up with how many reps I did of each thing b/c this young guy about my age got on the treadmill right next to me.  I mean, 100 other ones were open and he had to get right next to me.  And then he tried to talk to me.  No Thank You.  So that distracted me and made me forget my count.  

Also, I played volleyball at lunch.  Does that count as cross training?  I'm sure all the laughing and joking around I did equals about 30 minutes on the eliptical (aka the devil), right? 

Oh, and let me add a big Roll Tide!  That is the main reason I didn't do a normal night run.  I didn't want to miss the big game!  I was raised an Alabama fan and still cheer them on and love to watch football.  I am proud of the SEC and proud of my state!

Did the railroad track trail with a little extra today.  I was trying to get in 7 miles and came pretty darn close.  It is still below freezing outside (31 degrees when I got back) but most of the snow has melted that is on land.  The wind was brutal but the glorious sun was out today.  It really was a nice run.  I managed to soak my entire left foot about 3 miles into the run.  That was fun!  It was definitely cold for the rest of my run.  I did see this at about 2.75 miles and thought it was absolutely beautiful.  I even had to get out my cell and take a picture of it!  That is a low spot that is always full of water.  In the summer it is a huge mosquito hole (did you know that the mosquito is the state bird of Alabama??) but right now it is still covered in snow and is so pretty! 

So after being home just long enough to shower, I went to the gym.  My BFF has decided that she would like to get in shape.  So I told her I would run with her whenever she wanted.  Well she called at 5:30 and said she wanted to run but it's too cold outside so could we do the dreadmills instead. (by the way, she is a pansy.  it's 20 degrees outside)  So to the gym we went!  We get there and she doesn't even RUN!  She "can't run on treadmills" apparently.  Well then why am I out in the 20 degree weather with my hair still wet and I'm completely exhausted for you to walk at a very slow pace?? (love you, Amy!)  I figured since I was out I should take advantage of what was in front of me.  So I ran a .50 warmup again and then did speed work until 1 mile.  Oh man it sucked.  I was already tired from my earlier run.  Then I started walking and talking to Amy.  I alternated between walking .25 flat and walking .25 at 10% incline which was very steep for 1.6 miles.  My legs, thighs, butt, thighs, and did I mention thighs were burning.  That incline is no joke!  I was pretty pleased with the incline workout.  I definitely need that in preparation for McKay.  I know that I will not be running those hills so a good quick walk will be nice.    

Hmmmm... I wish that's what my GPA was right now!  In my dreams!!!  I set out to run 4ish miles and came out with 4.02.  So that was pretty much perfect.  Nice temps here; starting in the 40's.  Today was the first day we've had above freezing in 2 weeks!  Some people were out grilling and it smelled so so so good.  The fat kid in me wanted to stop and have a bite to eat.  I was definitely hot by the end of my run.  I turned down a side street I haven't ran since summer in order to get my 4 miles in.  I was at 3.6ish without that street.  Well I think about 107 dogs must live down there (.5 mile dead end road).  Most of them were not fenced; another perk of country life!  They were barking at me and it was kinda scary as I'm a big sissy.  I kinda clapped my hands at the most forceful one and said "go away" (I know... how intimidating) and he kinda sorta left me alone after that.  I found my iPod yesterday after it had been missing for a few weeks.  My car likes to eat things sometimes.  Note to KP:  Clean your car out.  I only listen to it on solo runs.  Tonight I had a nice combination of Journey's Greatest Hits, The Eagles Greatest Hits, and Simon & Garfunkels Greatest Hits.  Needless to say it was a very mellow run.  My favorite song for the night:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdP3nZMZQbs  Hmmmm... anyways.

So I got all the way back home and was climbing the stairs to go into the house and the outside of my right knee starts throbbing.  It is still hurting.  Ouch!  Wonder what it is. 

Ummmm... I cheated on my "rest" time.  It was absolutely spectacular when I left work today; a nice 44 degrees and the sun was setting into a beautiful sunset.  I texted my BFF, Amy, who has decided that she wants to "get in shape" to see if she was up for a quick jog.  I know that she can't go far so I thought it would be a good way for me to see how the ol' knee was feeling.  Well, she had plans with her boyfriend.  How dare she!!!!  Needless to say, by the time she and I texted back and forth over my drive home I was in the mood to do a few miles.  Remember how nice it was when I left work (nice in a cardigan and winter coat I had on) well I decided to wear shorts and a long sleeve Patagonia capiline shirt, which is pretty thin.  I was pretty cold the whole run as it was 37 degrees by the time I actually started; the sun had already set.  Oh well, it just makes my legs numb!  You would think with all the extra fat they are carrying around that they'd be quite toasty though...   So, the knee was feeling quite a bit better.  I could still feel a little sharp pain in it, but not near as bad as it had been.  I will rest it Thursday as I have class then and Friday as I am young and have a life.  So I think it will be good to go for 5 or so miles on the mountain Saturday morning.

Tonight's music mostly consisted of CCR.  Classic!  Although my favorite song of the night, and the only non-CCR song was by Queen.  Please listen and enjoy.  This is seriously my new anthem.  LOVE IT!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEbEMjKitA4

Stopped at gym on my way home from class at 8PM.  It was way too crowded for my liking.  Anyways, I forced myself to go in even after seeing the amount of cars in the parking lot.  Ran .5 warmup and then alternated between .25 walking on 10 incline (sucks!) and .25 walking at 0 incline (fabulous!).  I'm trying to strengthen my legs a bit for the uphill climbs I know are ahead for the trail half I'm doing.

Also played volleyball for 1.5 hours today.  We were playing 3 on 4 (I was on the team of 3 that WON) today as some of our regulars are in Phoenix at a conference.  It was a good workout and brutal on my knees as I was diving from one end of the court to the other.  I really should quit being so aggressive... It's my favorite sport though.  Where as I don't care about winning at running, I do care about it in volleyball; even when it's just a pick-up game we do every Thursday.  

Okay, Nevels, my friend.  Can you figure out what my favorite song of the night was from this.  You are an engineer after all.  This should be right up you ally.  By the way, do you listen to current music?  If not you may have no clue what I'm talking about.

Okay, hint:

Do ya know it?  Huh?  Huh?  Huh?  Do ya?

I'll give you another hint:

She is a complete and total FREAK!

And, I totally jam to her music for some reason.

Okay, it's GaGa.  That would be Lady GaGa if you are unfamiliar with current music trends and have no clue what I am talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I 

I have the day off work today; thank you MLK!

I didn't do my long run yesterday because it rained all weekend here and I knew that I had off work today in order to get in a few extra miles.  Yesterday I finally went and bought some trail shoes.  I got the Montrail Streaks and I love them!  I have had a difficult time finding the perfect road shoe as they all seem to hurt badly until I get them broken in.  I didn't have any pain from these shoes today and that was a major bonus in my book.

Last night I took my first of 8 consecutive "Yoga for Runners" classes at our local Fleet Feet store.  I did it with 4 of my good friends and had a great time.  I normally don't have any trouble bending down and touching my toes, but that is about the extent of my flexibility.  This class was a challenge!  It is taught by one of our local ultra runners who does 100's.  She is awesome!  Anyways, WOW!  I enjoyed the class but definitely struggled a bit.  One older lady was in the class and she did worse than me.  Thank goodness for her!  I think everyone else was a pro... made me look bad!

I enjoyed my run today.  My brand new trail shoes are now completely covered in mud.  With all the rain we've had my 2 creek crossings were up and I definitely got wet today.  I practically went for a swim in the one that normally just gets me a bit wet.  After my shoes got completely soaked they were SO heavy.  The weight of the mud and the wetness factor really got to me mentally.  It seemed like each foot weighed 50 pounds!  My hips were killing me from about the halfway point on.  I can only assume it is due to the yoga class from last night as we definitely did some hip stretches.  Over time these are supposed to help with my running (I assume) but it caused me a great deal of pain today.

 Overall it was a great run.  The temps started about 45 and it was nearly 60 when I finished.  This is why I love Alabama... 60 degree temps in January.  It was a perfect day.  I wore shorts and a thin long sleeve shirt.  This was the first run in months that I haven't worn gloves and ear warmers.  It felt great to put a hat back on! 

 Oh yea... edited to add:  When I was just starting out on the trail (maybe .25 into it from the neighborhood) a kid on a 4-wheeler came up behind me but I didn't hear him because I was jammin' to my iPod.  Well he slowed down to pass me (thank you!) and I didn't realize he was there until he was literally right next to me.  I screamed, and I mean LOUD, right in his ear because he scared me to death.  I nearly had a heart attack!  Poor kid; he'll probably have hearing problems in his right ear now.  

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, champagne in one hand - strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming WOOOOHOOOO!!!! - What a ride!!!

-Mavis Leyrer

Ran 2 at lunch with my ultra buddy.  IT band started hurting again.  Darn.

Did the dreadmill with Amy (bff) on my way home from class.  Ran a .50 mile warmup then did a run/walk combo with incline thrown in.  I was too busy talking to remember the specifics.  I do recall running .25 a few times at an 8:30 pace and .15 at a 7:20 pace.  I know that is a minimal distance, but who knew I had it in me!??!?  It actually felt good.  Then I did 10 minutes on the bike for the heck of it.  That did not feel good.  It hurts my butt; am I the only one?  Then I did 35 crunch things in the ab-room.  What got into me?  Really, Amy was trying to waste a little time before meeting her boyfriend when he got off of work.  So we did the bikes and abs in order to kill time.  We should do it more often because killing time or not, it is still good for us!

My fortune cookie from the Chinese restaurant at lunch reads: A pleasant surprise is in store for you soon in bed. Yes, I am serious.

I had a "toothache" at work and left early to run with my girlfriends.  We planned to do 8 but it started to get a bit dark so we turned around shortly after 3.5 to head back to the car.  My ITB was a dull but doable pain for the first 3 or so miles.  After that it became excruciating.  I've played "real" sports my entire life and have had injuries but nothing like this.  It was horrible.  Horrible.  We were taking it easy, running 5/1's (run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute) and that was going well until my knee gave.  I stuck with the plan the whole time because I am horrible and have a "suck it up" mentality that isn't always a good thing.  That 1 minute seemed to go by quicker and quicker.  My blessed and lovely friend Laura tried to keep me deep in conversation  in order to not think about the pain.  It didn't work, but I appreciated her effort.  When we got back to the parking lot and were talking for a few minutes, my knee got VERY stiff from just standing around.  I could hardly walk the 20 feet to the car.  It was pathetic.  Then, I had a party to go to.  Which meant I had to go shower.  Getting out of the car and climbing the steps might've been one of the worst things in my life.  I've never given birth to a child, so I will rank it right up there with that kind of pain.  Horrible.  Needless to say, I wasn't moving well last night.  When I got back home I did the roller which moved me to tears.  I slept horrible, about 4 hours.

 This morning I hobbled down the stairs at 5:45 to go work Mountain Mist, a local 50k that Nevels was running.  It was a slow and labored walk, but I really forced myself to put some weight on my knee.  I took 3 Advil (unusual for me; I generally don't take any medicine) to dull the pain.  My knee did well at the race.  I hobbled around and really began to walk seemingly normal on it although it still hurt.  Nevels did not run.  PANSY!!!  He had some lame excuse about being sick.  He was there to cheer on his buds and it was good to chat with him about Lady Gaga (yes, that is just for you Burt) and some guys wicked awesome tattoos; they were insane.  The race was a lot of fun and I had a good time with my girlfriends.

Anyways, that is my long, drawn-out knee pain injury story.  I am disappointed in myself for being such a baby over it.  I am normally not like this at all.  It just hurts.  Plain and simple.  I'll definitely be taking a few days off.  I plan to do the roller this week and maybe try to get in 10 or so on Saturday.  Hopefully I'll be back up to par by then.  

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

My knee is still in quite a bit of pain.  I am even considering going to the sports doc about it which is a huge deal as I don't do doc's.  I miss running more than I would've ever thought.

I've thought about crosstraining.  I hate the elip with a passion.  The bike hurts my butt. And, I am entirely too fat to put on a bathing suit.  

0 excercise this week = 1 unhappy KP

First form of exercise in 9+ days... I've missed it.

Planned to just walk on the dreadmill but once I got to the gym I couldn't just walk.  So I walked .50 at 15min/mile (that's a pretty quick walk!); ran .25 at 8ish min/mile.  I continued that until I hit 2 miles; walking 1.5 and running .50.  It took me 27:00 on the dot, which, in reality isn't too much slower than I run... maybe I should become a speed-walker!  My knee was hurting pretty badly and I probably should've just stuck to walking.  It is just so boring!!!!

I plan to walk a few times this week (and, yes, I will actually walk) and hopefully get into the sports doc tomorrow.  Note to KP:  Call Sports Doc.