Mt. Sneffels Half Marathon

This race has been on my "to run" list ever since I saw a flyer for it on my 30th birthday trip to Ouray. 

I ran this course several years ago for a training run while we were camping and it quickly became my favorite run. 

My family came to cheer me on, this was the first race they were all present for, and it was great to see them along the course. 

Anne and I ran a great pace as the course is mostly a gradual down hill... Except for the first two miles, and a humongous hill at mile 11. I was pleased with my time of 2:02:11 (according to my Garmin). My goal was to be as close to two hours as possible. 

After the race the family and I enjoyed the town of Ouray - in a rain and thunderstorm. We went on a little hike on our new favorite trail, the baby bathtubs. Though the bathtubs were too full and fast to play in they still were amazingly beautiful. We also got to soak in the hot springs, in the rain. 

I absolutely LOVE Ouray, and the rain makes it all the more cozy!!

It was a beautiful morning to run, and the scenery was that which ranks among the most beautiful places in the world... And there was a nice cold beer at the finish! All in all I'd say it was pretty close to perfect! 

Turkey Trot 2012

This year my sister in law and her family joined us for Thanksgiving. As a large percentage of us are runners, we entered in our local Turkey Trot 5k run. Being a distance runner I don't train much for a 5k, and have no idea how fast I can run one in, I did know I could do at least an 8:45. My sister in law, who runs 5ks ensured me I could do better, so I stuck with her for the race. In the end we crossed the line with a time of 25:30 which puts us just under a 8:19 pace! That's my fastest 5k ever!!!
Here is the picture of the whole trotting crew!

GTIS

Last Saturday I ran my best half ever!

Remember my super secret goal of running it in under 2 hours, well I met it! 13.1 miles in 1:56:01. Needless to say I am do ecstatic about the results.

Here are a few pics from the event. I have a few more on flicker that I will share later.

My Next Half

I have officially registered! I've been walking the line of non commitment for a while now, and it is really only hurting my miles.  So in an effort to take running a bit more seriously (and get my booty out of bed every morning) I crossed the line to committed and will be running my next 13.1 miles from Georgetown to Idaho Springs on August 11, 2012!

I'm actually really excited for this race.  I am feeling really good, no major ailment  - well maybe a inkling of a twinge in my hip flexor - but the stronger I get the less its bugging me.  My last half was my pr  of 2:00:56, so my goal for this half is to run it in 2:05:00 or less. (Secretly I would love to see a 1 as the first number there, but if I told anybody else that, and then didn't accomplish it, I would feel like a failure)  Plus, I think a 2:05 is a great time and completely reasonable.  There are just too many factors and variables that play into my race day success, and I just don't have it down to a science, yet - or maybe even never - and I am completely ok with that.

Training is currently on track, but man is it difficult to squeeze in considering my running buddy is gone on vacation, followed by my trip to Idaho later this month.  This leaves us to run alone for most of the week, and somehow find time to run our long runs in the overlaps of our schedule. Anne hasn't registered, though she is leaving the possibility open. 

Christie is also running, and we have a really great girls weekend in store OR a nice couples retreat in store depending on how things shape up as we approach the date.

So here's to another great half!

San Diego?

UPDATE:Not going to happen, between soccer try outs, and a Park City UT soccer tournament at the same time. Oh well I'll keep running and searching for another half to join.

Currently contemplating running this...

Pros: Can you say "sea level", I could stop with that...but there is more: we are already at a great base to start our official training, we have 11 weeks (plenty of time), perfect weather, no training in the heat of the summer as the race is the beginning of June, elevation is gradually down hill from 250 ft to 0 ft. Girls trip or family trip, it would be a blast, the course ends at Sea World, then San Diego Zoo, and LEGO land, and a trip to the beach sounds like a great family trip.

Cons: Cost, its $135 IF we register before the end of the month then it goes up another $10. And of course travel cost either plane or by car, and hotel for several days, and eating out. Then there is soccer try outs that are from May 28- June 1, still waiting to hear when Madison's try out dates are.

So there you have it... Should we stay or should we go?

2011 Year in Review

ME:
I RAN: I ran at least 560 miles this year. This included training and running my best ever half marathon, The Rock and Roll Denver, in 2 hours and 56 seconds.
I READ: I exceeded my Good Reads goal of 24 books by ONE book. My favorite reads of this year would be Cutting for Stone and The Forgotten Garden. I have a goal to read through the entire bible, as of today I have completed through 2 Samuel. I really thought it would be a whole lot more boring to read the Bible, but I am really enjoying it. It's surprising how helpful having read the first 5 books of the Bible has been when reading some New Testament passages...shedding new light on a lot of questions I have always had. Two books that really challenged me to think and grow were Blue Like Jazz and Heaven is For Real.
I (started) GROWING UP: I did a lot of self reflection and resoluting to grow up and get over some of my issues... I have a lot to do still, but it feels good to be opening my eyes to the possibility of embracing change for the better.
I BECAME A BIT CREATIVE: I made a jewelry art piece for my room, canned jam, and convinced my husband into letting me have his grandpas antique stove and used it as a entertainment stand.
I (almost) DIED: discovered the hard way that I am allergic to peaches and now have to cary an epi pen... this caused me some depression, and several dreams where I indulged in peaches, only to wake by trying to make myself puke them up.
I JOINED A GYM: joined Allison and hired a trainer for a few weeks of the summer, who pushed me to do some stuff that is harder than running 13 miles.
I TAUGHT: started my 9th year of teaching, taught a class on standard based grading at a district inservice, and embraced a lot of top down change with the best attitude I can muster... in truth my students are great and make it all worth while.
I GAVE: Anne and I continued to make our monthly meals for the homeless shelter, and this year we took on making gift bags for the ones that would be spending Christmas Eve at the shelter. (In truth ANNE organized it all). But it was great to be a part of assembling and delivering.
I PLAYED TENNIS: Finally Jolene and I signed up and played in the Taco Bell Tennis tournament (we've been talking the talk for a few years). We quickly found out that our 3 weeks of preparation was not enough to hang with the big dogs (old ladies who play every day) and win the whole thing, but we did pull out a few wins and didn't get eliminated immediately.

Madison:
Madison finished 6th grade still loving school, and started (and continues) 7th grade the same way. She has a great group of friends and is very into the social thing (as evident by her 1400+ texts a month). She started taking bass guitar lessons and is now playing in the school Jazz Band. Madison also took a hunters safety course and earned her hunters safety card, though not in time to get a license this year. She had a Halloween party complete with a haunted house that I had to chaperone (thankfully for me it was cheesy), and at this party they set a goal of saving money to go to Hawaii for their senior trip. Madison got a new soccer coach, and the change in her attitude, confidence, and play is incredible; in fact the whole team did a 180 going from not winning but 2 games, to no losses. Madison also got her braces off, and WOW her smile is amazing! She turned 13, and continues to be a wonderful daughter, growing into a beautiful young woman.

Maddox:
Maddox had a year of milestones... he learned to ride a bike, lost his first tooth, graduated preschool and started Kindergarten. We had our first parent teacher conference, where Maddox sat like a perfect angel, and we were informed he is the model student always tries his best, works hard, is kind, and learning like a sponge. I am a bit embarrassed to say that we were surprise by this, and had been expecting to hear that he can't sit still, is a crazy rambunctious boy. He also started his first season of T-ball, and absolutely loved it. Maddox started his second season of wrestling and in the first tournament he got second place. We celebrated his 5th birthday with an ear infection that delayed our zoo trip by a day, but we still made it and he loved it. Maddox has a strong conscience, and is highly compassionate.

Brian:
Brian continues to be an amazing dad and husband. He coached Maddox's T-ball team, and his expertise was evident in our teams superior skill and behavior on the field during practice and games. He is also coaching the Palisade Little Dogs Wrestling. He has been working with the older kids, as we have realized that Maddox receives wrestling instruciton better from someone who is not dad. He took Maddox on his first hunting trip, but Madison continues to be his lucky hunting charm and they got a really nice doe that added 80 lbs of burger, italian sausage, breakfast sausage, and steaks to our freezer. He got sick for Elk season, which bummed him out (and me... I love elk meat).

We Traveled:
We went on our first Caster Family vacation, driving 18 hours to Northern Idaho, 30 miles from the Canadian border; arriving in Priest Lake ID. This was a magical trip, while we were there my soul felt at home, and since we left my soul has longed to return. We also spent almost a week in Steamboat for a soccer tournament, since we travel so much for soccer, we try to make the trips mini vacations; and Steamboat was a nice little get away. We opted for camping out in the pop up at a KOA type campground, complete with a pool and games. I think we all had a great "camping" experience. Another soccer mini vacation was the annual trip to Vegas, the focus was strictly soccer... though we managed a drive down the strip for Maddox, and a dinner in Cesar's Palace. Brian and I took a weekend trip to Ouray, this may be my favorite "him and I" get away ever, complete with a beautiful hike. We also had a mini family retreat with my mom and Dan and all 4 of us kids... they rented a beautiful cabin between Ridgeway and Ouray, that was so massive all 17 of us slept and lived very comfortably. Dan had a great dinosaur dig activity for all the grand kids to participate in, and we enjoyed playing on the lake and campfires at night.

Major Random Events:
Nik and Megan got married in June, the wedding was beautiful, and my kids were perfect, Maddox got hooked on the mother son dance and couldn't wait to dance it again at Brian's cousin, Patricia's, wedding in July.
Brian's grandpa passed away, and we had a beautiful service that surprised me with its huge sentimental impact for me. This spurred a massive house cleaning/estate sale to get their house ready to be sold and Grandma moved into a retirement community.
My brother had his third little girl, Teegan.
My cousin Christa played tennis for the US team in the Special Olympics in Greece, and she came home with some medals too... like silver and bronze... I am so proud!
My aunt Pepper moved to GJ, to live with my grandma. This has been such a blessing for my mom to have her sister close, and between the two of them, my grandma is in good hands!

Here are some of my favorite images from 2011

Brooke's Terrible Horrible No Good Verry Bad Day

One of my favorite books as a kid was Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. I can’t really say why, maybe it was the repetitive nature of saying “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day”, or maybe it extends much deeper into my psyche, my predisposition towards negativity. I don’t know, but regardless this book has stuck with me. I quote it often when my students say “I’m just having a bad day”, telling them “some days are like that, even in Australia.”

So when I am having a bad day I often equate it to Alexander’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, (see) and yesterday was one of those days.

Brooke’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day…

I woke up with sleep in my eyes, and I’m sure a few more wrinkles; staring at the mirror my reflection told me to just hop back in bed, today was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

I tried to find clothes to wear though my bloated belly would not tolerate restricting jeans, so instead I opted for my silky dress. I figured that if today was going to be terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, I might as well feel like I was wearing my pajamas.

Mother Nature gave me her gift, for which I was completely unprepared. I tried to make a cup of coffee, only to discover that I was also unprepared to brew. I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Leaving my children with precise directions to be ready to go by 6:40, I headed to the store… to become prepared… and while I’m there I thought I’d treat myself to a lovely cup of jo… upon my ordering, I am told they are out of the white mocha that makes this coffee my delight! It was going to be a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Noticing that I still have time to get a coffee before the kids would be ready; I headed to another coffee store. While on rout, my husband called to inform me that today is the day for my son to bring snack to school. Why couldn’t I have known this while at the first store. It was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Fortunately I could go to the other grocery store and get the snack AND a coffee. But when I went in, the snack I wanted couldn’t be found. To make matters worse two jerks thought it would fun to make obnoxious comments in an attempt to hit on me. I had to settle for a less than superior snack. And because it was turning out to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, I ordered a venti (that’s large) extra shot Americano WITH the white mocha.

Making my way back to get the kids, at least they were ready, we were not running too terribly late. I get a phone call, informing me that in fact I am a looser, and didn’t get an “invitation”. I drop Maddox off hand him his snack to which he refuses to take, because it is not his snack day. Now who do I believe my 5 year old, or my husband who never forgets a date. Upon further resistance, I throw the snack back in the car and leave my son at his grandma’s gate, open mouth crying, and drive away. Yep, it is definitely a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

The short drive to work is bombarded with phone calls from my crying son, and confused husband, which turns out to be more than I can handle. And the flood gates open, I begin to sob. Pulling into the lot, tears gushing, I try to hold them in but it’s the equivalent of damning Niagara Falls. It’s a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Finally I drag myself across the freezing wasteland of a parking lot, soggy tissues in hand, and miraculously I make it before the bell rings. Plopping in front of my computer, I find an email that states I have used my overdraft protection, meaning there are insufficient funds in my bank account. I can hardly believe this, wasn’t it yesterday that I checked the account balance and had over $800 in there? I really should have stayed in bed; it’s a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

The next email I read is from my mother, she is putting a special memory book together for my brother’s 30th birthday. She wants friends and family to write back to her memories, messages, and pictures that we have of him. Which makes me think back to my 30th birthday, where the only good part was being with my husband and dear friends Vycci and Danny, but the rest was a complete disappointment. Then I think that nobody put together a memory book for me, nobody told me how great I was on my 30th birthday, nobody collected great and funny stories about me and gave me a special book on my 30th birthday. It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day 30 birthday and so was today.

I then get a phone call from Maddox’s teacher, stating that today is, in fact, NOT his snack day. Turns out my son was right, let the guilt flood in again…. It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

I, miraculously, make it through 4 middle school classes with minimal damage to their emotional and intellectual wellbeing. While driving home I begin to ponder what exactly I might have to contribute to my brother’s memory book, and came to the realization, that I have nothing to offer. I have plenty of stories of how much we fought, how much he annoyed me, how much I was mean to him, but who really wants to read about that in their super special memory book… I am faced with the reality on this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, that I am indeed a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad sister!

After dragging myself on a run with Anne (where we only had to stop once because I was crying), I began to feel mildly better. It’s true that running is my therapy, pounding out my issues on the pavement, while inhaling fresh air and absorbing some natural vitamin D, helps me gain perspective, creates some distance between the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, and the reality that some days are like that… even in Australia.

Learned: I am so glad that a run, the strong embrace of my husband, and a good nights sleep brings about a better morning, that I can look back at yesterday and be thankful that it is now over, that I have people who take me as I am, even on the bad day, and still love me.

Gym Day 5&6

Day 5: Monday was a big day for me... I turned 32, and it was our first day back to reality after an amazing week in Northern Idaho {aka Heaven}, which also meant it was gym day AND the kick off to officially begin training for the half marathon in October. So after an 8 mile run I headed to the gym, I had been promised a day of upper body by our trainer, but she lied... you know how trainers are..."ok, do 12 reps", and at 12 they say "now give me 2 more." Or "only ten more seconds, go as hard as you can" and after 10 seconds they say "now back to normal for 10 more seconds". {I am really not complaining, the only reason to have a trainer is they will push you harder than you would yourself...} but today I was really looking forward to giving my legs a break and torturing my arms, chest, and back.

First circuit: (3 times)
Reverse lunges (with weights) off a step, same leg 16 reps then switch
Lateral Plyo jumps up and over the step, land into a squat.

Circuit 2: 3 times
Wall sit (1 min)
Calf raises (1 min)
Inner thigh (squeeze ball between knees 1 min)
Plyo Push up (push up head to head with partner clap opposite hands at peak of lift.

It seems like there was another circuit we did between these two but I just can't remember {old age}; do you remember Allison?

Day 6: Upper Body
First Circuit: (3 times)
Bench press (51 lb bar) 16 reps
T-bar (?? lbs) 16 reps - this one was working the back, you lay on stomach on this machine and grab a bar below you and pull it back, wrapping your shoulder blades around spine, then elbows up, and one final back squeeze.
1 min. Mountain Climbers

Second Circuit: Bosu Ball (3 times)
Stand on Bosu Hammer curl to overhead press to tricep dip/extension, and back down (12)
Bird dog: knees on Bosu, extend opposite leg and arm reach out and pinch up then tap hand and tow down (8,4,2 on each side)
Lateral Plyo Squat up and over bosu ball (1 min)

This was only yesterday but I may be forgetting something here to...

Learned? I only have 2 more sessions with the trainer {I have to go back to work} but I do think that I am getting stronger and firmer, Brian said he is starting to see some definition in my arms! Let's just hope I will keep up some basic weights after this is all over...

Gym Day 2

Before we headed to the gym Allison told me that we were going to figure body fat %, and I was dreading being pinched with that embarrassing tool... but thankfully technology has come out with a gadget that you just hold and it sends waves through your body to measure your fat. I don't really want to share my weight and body fat with the whole world (or the 2 of you that actually read this), but I wasn't shocked by either, and was happy to find that my body fat % was on the lower end of the normal range.

Today's work out focused on upper body, but there was plenty of leg work involved too.
Warm up on the stair stepper/elliptical machine (5 min)
Bis and Tris - wide bis, tri pull downs 3 sets of 16 each {discovered I am a weakling}
Push ups- bosu ball, against a squat bar, and floor.
Plea squats with weights(3 sets of 15)
Frog Jumps (3 sets of 15)
Back lung with sissy squat (never coming to full standing position.)
Pull ups (wide and narrow)
180 Mountain climbers
3 plank sets for 90 seconds

Yesterday was a very active day for me, before the gym I went on a run. I changed up my typical run a bit. After a mile warm up I ran the next mile pushing my pace to 8:30, then for the 2 miles home I did intervals, where I sprinted for 30 seconds then recovered.

Later in the evening we went to play tennis under the lights. I was really looking forward to playing for a few hours but a huge storm rolled in, and while we are water resistant, we are not lightning resistant, so we called it a night.

Day 1 With A Personal Trainer

Allison has convinced me to join her 2 days a week at the gym and work out with her and her trainer. Today was our first day, and I must say that I would rather run 10 miles than go to the gym. When I run it becomes almost meditative, I get into a rhythm and, though I am sweating and breathing hard, I am not maxed out. But I guess that's the whole purpose of going to a trainer, they push you more than you would push yourself.

Now for the boring stuff... so I can remember some different exercises to do on my own after my month is over.

5 min on this elliptical type machine at a resistance of 40, had to keep cal/hr above 800.

5 min on the stair mill doing speed intervals.

Circuit 1:
Bench berpies (1 min): hop up on a bench/step, hop off, bend down to put hands on bench kick legs back to plank, jump legs back beside bench stand up and jump onto bench..

Push-ups 1 min).

Squat and toss (1 min): squats with tossing a medicine ball with each upward thrust.

Plank hold (1 min)

Circuit 2:
2 min cardio of: Squats (no weights), frog jumps, forward lunges, scissors.

Weighted squats (1 min)

Medicine ball twists (1 min) stand back to back with A, and hand of the medicine ball twisting side to side.

Circuit 3:
Sit squats (1 min) squat to sit on bench and then stand up.

Plyo squats (1 min): squat and hover just above bench then jump up out of squat onto the bench.

Squats sequence: Drop it low squats, down three up one, up three down 1, down up half way down up half way hold.

We did each circut 3 times then moved onto core.

Core work:
Superman: lay on stomach engage back muscles lifting arms and legs off floor, bring arms back and then forward, and back down.

Swimmer: lay on stomach engage back muscles lifting arms and legs off floor and "swim" rapidly bring arms and legs up and down.

Abs: random abs involving crunches.

Learned: As much as I felt like a wimp today, I know this cross training will be good for me, even if I only go for a month.

A New Season...

Running this trial on the Colorado National Monument has been a weekly occurrence every summer for the past 2 years. It is by far the most challenging run I have ever done, no matter how many times I run it, it remains so. I think it is more mentally and physically grueling than any of my long runs because for a solid 30+ minutes my legs burn deep, and my lungs gasp for air. While the final miles when running 10 or 12 are difficult and I feel tired- legs heavy, I never feel this intense fire in my arss and legs.

The distance is somewhat debatable, on the official site it says it is 1.75 miles one way, but my running GPS says it is closer to 2 miles. In that 2 miles it gains 700 feet in elevation and classified as "steep".

Once reaching the top of the trail the downhill is a welcome reprieve for my burning muscles. By the time we reach the bottom again, the pain is almost forgotten, and since we are tough {or suckers for punishment} we turn around and run it again.

My first year of running this I was able to run the first two uphill miles all the way with out stopping after 3 or 4 weeks, and by the end of the summer I was able to run it both times. Last year, I don't know what happened but I really sucked, and it took forever before I could run it all the way one time. I am happy to report that on the 2nd week this year I ran to the top BOTH times, I ran the entire 8 miles non stop! Yahoo!

Learned: The feeling of accomplishment I get from this run is unbelievable. There is nothing like accomplishing something when your brain says you can't.

Run Update

I placed 6th!!! (in my age group)... But still I am pretty happy with my results. If I would have known that I was so close to the top I would have pushed it harder. My best pace for 5 miles is 8:45 which would have given me a 2nd or 3rd place finish, and a prize... probably a water bottle... but still a prize!

Spring Break 2011 Sun Kissed and Snow Kissed

This was the first spring break in a few years that was absolutely beautiful!

We had great weather nearly all week, and took full advantage of it. We headed to Ouray for our annual trip with Allison and our kids, the weather was perfect (actually any warmer and it would have been too hot to be in the warm water). Maddox was swimming like a little fish, he even ventured out with out the floaties he usually clings to. Allison and I got a lot of time to just chat, but it is never enough for us.

We also spent an entire afternoon at the park with Ari and the kids, in which both Madison and I got a bit sunburned. We took bikes and scooters, and balls, and the dogs. This proved to be plenty of entertainment for several hours. We ended the evening with a complete St. Patty's day meal at Ari's house topped off with a Snakebite and Guinness chocolate cake.

The kids and I went to a movie with my niece and mom. We tried to go to Rango, but were advised to not take a 3 year old because it was too scary, so opted for Mars Needs Moms. Even though it wasn't the movie we planned on going to (and it was still scary for my niece and they left early), it turned out to be a pretty cute show...

Brian had the day off on Friday, so we took advantage of the freshly fallen snow, and sunny skies and headed up to Sunlight. The snow was perfect, and the kids skies great! Maddox has come so far with his skiing ability in just 4 trips up. Madison continues to improve and try new things. This trip she attempted to ski in powder and took a pretty good digger. "How do you turn in this stuff!!" she exclaimed from her back buried in the snow. We skied hard all morning and by 2 Maddox was D.O.N.E. Madison and Brian were going to ski a few more runs but it had gotten so warm they were skiing in slush, so we headed home.

Saturday I headed to Moab to run the Canyonlands race. I had been training so hard for this half marathon, but got hurt/sick, which sidelined me several weeks from the race. I just couldn't get my training up to the mileage I had before so I changed my entry to the 5 mile run. I am glad I did because I would have tried to run the half when I got there... as it was I was even trying to find a way to pretend to be Anne and run her half, or have them change my entry back, the entire drive there. In the end I mad the smart decision of just running 5. I expected the weather to be beautiful, instead it was cloudy and windy, really windy! After I finished (47:30)I headed back out to the highway (the worst part of the race) to find my friends running the last mile of the half. I found Jan, and paced with her for a while, but she was running too fast for me...7:30s even after 12 miles (she finished in 1 hour and 44 min)! So I cut out early with her and headed back in hopes of finding Lisa or Christie... I must have missed Lisa, and ended up finding Christie and running with her all the way to the shoots. It ended up being a pretty good run, and I am excited to begin training for another race...maybe the Grand Valley half in May, and maybe the Denver Rock and Roll Half in October.

Now here I sit on Sunday afternoon, only a few hours until I return to work, and I still have a few activities to attend... First up, a bridal shower for my husbands cousin. Following that is a get together for Anne's birthday... YEAH! BBQ, Margaritas, and time with a great friend!

R.E.S.T. (and an admittance of how shallow I really am)

Well after being a big baby last weekend, Brian drug me to the foot specialist. The good news is I do not have a stress fracture...the bad news is I have tendinitis of the peroneus longus tendon and it takes 3-6 months to heal. There is a small, small, chance I will still be able to run the Moab half marathon and it all depends on my ability to rest for 2 weeks and then runs short, very short, distances gradually building up the miles... as long as there is no pain.


Well that is all fine and dandy except I have this mental issue with no running...as soon as I haven't run for 3 days in a row I instantly gain 10 lbs and my clothes don't fit. So as you can imagine that does wonders for my mental state... then you throw in me not being able to wear high heels during the "rest" period which means I end up wearing jeans and committing a cardinal fashion sin... cute jeans and dressy tops with tennis shoes...blah!

.

So now, not only am I not running, packing on the mental pounds, getting no stress relief/decompression time, but I am also banned from looking cute! Egats! I hope I can survive another week...of rest.

(Here's to hoping that it's only one more week.)

Oh and its been one week and there is noticible improvement, but still noticible pain...especially by the end of the day.

January, When you go...take these with you...

Winter Storm - Photo Courtesy of NOAA.

January you have been a bit cruel to me... so with only one day left, I'd like to say good riddance and please be sure to take the following with you on your way out!

First...
My injured foot...Early last week after running 5 miles on the treadmill, my foot hurt... like really hurt... it hurt to walk. So I took some alieve and went to bed. The next morning I felt great, wore my high heals to work and had NO pain at all, in fact I had almost forgotten about the injury until later that night when I put on my running shoes to go for another run...OUCH! So I took the rest of the week off, felt great, no pain. I got up Saturday morning to run 10 miles with Anne and Lisa. I had an alternative plan in case I started hurting again, but I ran the entire 10 miles and felt great... until I got out of the car at home and I could barely walk. Then Brian made me stick my whole foot in a bucket of ice water for 20 minutes with a promise it would help...and here I sit on Sunday with an extremely sore foot, barely able to walk, and not to mention possible nerve damage from the freezing cold water (ok, that last part is a bit of an exaggeration...). The worst part is I am 7 weeks out from the half marathon and feeling panicked...so January, PLEASE take this with you when you go.

Secondly... take the rashes, and hives, and the molluscum contageosum that have appeared on my boys skin. The rashes and hives are from a virus and make him quite itchy. I am sure the m.c. is from wrestling, and it won't be the last of the wrestlers curse we see, but you did not have to see the disappointment in my son when the Dr. said he couldn't wrestle. He got so mouthy and rude to me because he didn't know how else to express his own disappointment. Then he cried in the car on the way home (just a little when he didn't think mom was looking). Even the promise of wrestling with dad couldn't cheer him.

Thirdly, and the worst of them all... take the sorrow and questions about the death of my student...it is just too much to bare. All I can think about is what her parents are going through, I can not even imagine the pain the loss of a child brings. I keep having dreams about my own children getting lost, kidnapped, murdered... and that is a terrible feeling to wake up to, but at least mine are still safely sleeping in their beds.

January, I hope that the next time we meet, it is on better circumstances...

Winter Sun 10K 2010

Saturday a group of girlfriends and I headed to Moab to run the Winter Sun 10K.
Lisa, me, Jan, and Anne (missing Ari and my mom who couldn't come, and Christie who came but wasn't there for our picture)

Our sole purpose for running this race was to get the guaranteed entry to the Canyonland Half Marathon in March. If your are the first 100 to register you get a secret code to use in the "bat cave" secret registration website. Ari was hurt and didn't want to show up and, being so competitive, end up running anyway; so we picked up her swag and assumed that we would get her secret code....but they took it away saying if you don't run it you don't get it...that caused us all to wait around for the entire prize give aways in hopes of winning a guaranteed entry for her... but we are all unlucky in the door prize department...

Despite our downtrodden luck, we did not walk away empty handed.... Jan won 3rd place in her age group with a time of 43:50, and her friend Jodie, also won 3rd place in her age division. I of course cheered overly obnoxiously (as promised if she won) and embarrassed Jan pretty good...

This run is billed as an ALL downhill course... and that is mostly true except for one pretty long and pretty steep up hill section. I run serpents all summer long and compared to that this hill was just a speed bump, so I know my struggle was not for lack of physical ability. I mean when you are in down hill mode for 2 plus miles then are hit with this monster it does something to you mentally. I really thought I was going to puke and it was only mile 2... but thankfully I recovered quickly and was able to pick up my pace again. It really felt like the miles were flying by and before I knew it I was running into the high school stadium and around the track to the finish. I ran my personal best 10K time ever,
6.2 miles in 52:55!

That's an average of... 8:30's with my best pace being 5:50 (I am sure that pace was held for all of 2 seconds).

So I couldn't be happier with the results.

Learned:
Through all of the preparation (or lack of) for this run, I had an epiphany... a 10K is not enough motivation to keep me running regularly. I ran sporadically for the weeks prior, and no longer than 4 miles. And I had no anxiety or doubt about my ability to finish the 10K. I remember several years ago when I was training for the BOULDERboulder (10K) and ran 5 times a week, all in an effort to build up to 6 miles. That was the longest distance I could imagine myself running.

This is now my motivational distance...(Thanks Anne for the motivational magnet)

I think that says a lot about my progress as a runner.

A new personal best

Yesterday I went for a run and it felt great. I dont know if it was the music choice or weather or my mental state but I had one of my best times ever!

As I began I noticed that I was running pretty quick but didnt feel like I might die so I decided to see how long I could keep up the pace!

Turns out I could do it a lot longer than imagined!

I normally am happy to run anything under 10 minute miles and stay around 930s. Last night I rocked at 845s!

The best part is I feel great today!

Learned: its a good thing to push yourself and are just how far you are capable of going. (every once in a while).

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Powered by ShowMeBlogger.com

31 And Better Than Ever!

Today I turn 31 and I can honestly say that I feel amazing...

Let me elaborate: I feel more confident and secure with myself and my place in this world than I ever have before. I feel stronger and healthier physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I feel loved and my life is enriched with many positive relationships. I truly feel amazing.

This has been the BEST birthday I have ever had. Brian did an amazing job planning a great birthday surprise party for me on Friday night. The most amazing thing is he was able to keep a secret from me...for over two weeks he kept the party a surprise. It wasn't until the day of that both he and Madison started acting weird about stuff... Like dressing nice for what was supposed to be a bbq hang out night at the Mueller's, (see how nice and "matchie" they were)
or snapping at me for looking at a blank card on the counter, or asking "is that how you are going to wear your hair", or having a strange phone conversation with someone while on our way... you know hind sight is truly 20/20!

Brian invited all of the most important people to me, and he even got Vycci to make the trip from Denver! (Taken at breakfast the next morning, another surprise was they stayed with us and we got to stay up late and talk then continue through out the morning till they had to leave.)

He enlisted the help of Anne and Ari in this huge undertaking and they both did an amazing job in keeping the secret, making a delicious spread of food, and great decorations(blue and white- GO COLTS - thx Ari!). It was a great evening of friends and family that I will cherish for a long time to come. The only bummer is that because it was a surprise for me I didn't have my camera along, so no pictures were taken. Maybe someone else got a few... if they surface I will post them too.

Here is a list of everyone who was able to make it... just so I don't forget! Anne and her family, Ari and her family, Kelly Marachien and her family, Heather (my team teacher) and her family, Vycci and her family, Carrie and Rob and Myla, Dillon, Amy and Cecil, Mom and Dan, and Jerry and Maria and their kids.

Call me crazy, but on my actual birthday I wanted to run Serpents Trail. It was all about proving to myself that age is just a number and at 31 I can still kick some butt running a super difficult trail run. So I got up early and headed out for our weekly run. I truly have the best friends around, (Ari, Me, Anne, and Jan) they got up early on a Sunday to run with me, then had a birthday doughnut complete with a candle and the birthday song (see picture at top), and a Bolthouse Farms Mocha protein drink. Maybe we should have run it 3 times to counter act all the extra calories I consumed!

Another thing that made this birthday completely out of this world... (and I admit this is totally superficial) Brian gave me tickets to go see PEYTON MANNING when they play the Broncos on September 26. Ari and I got tickets on the SECOND ROW right behind the visitors bench!!! And if it couldn't get any better Ari got me a WHITE Peyton Manning jersey... Now I can coordinate "outfits" with him! (See I told you it was totally superficial).

Learned? If every birthday from here on out brings me this much joy, I am ready for them all! Heck I'd have one every day!

March Running: Week 4

No excuses.... this weeks total 1.3 miles....

OK.. well my reason (not excuse) I had a pretty bad asthma attack because burning started in the valley, and my inhaler was expired... I had tight lungs with little relief till the end of the week when it got refilled.

Then I left early for Denver to see my mom after her surgery, because there was a big storm coming in... (glad I left cuz the road closed the next day). And I spent the entire weekend at the hospital.

So all I can say is... better attempt next week! ( I guess it's this week now.)

Learned: Having a goal to run 10 miles a week has really helped me up my miles this month, and I can't feel too bad about myself for falling quite short this week.

March Running: Week 3

So last week I really did meet my goal of running 10 miles (miscalculated my serpents run)... so I don't feel as bad to report that I missed my mark of 10 miles.

During soccer practice on Thursday I felt really good and ran 5.5 miles. I almost quit at 4 just because, but thought since I felt so great I should keep going; man am I glad I pushed it a bit more cuz it turns out that I didn't have much time to run this week while trying to work and finish the bathroom.

Sunday I ran Serpents (just once) with Anne for her birthday, though I use the term "run" loosely... the serpent is still kicking my booty!!

So for this weeks total I made it 9.5 miles!!

Learned: being a teacher, a construction worker, and a runner is asking too much of me....so I can cut myself some slack for not making it a full 10 miles!