you get out of it what you put into it

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