Good runs...

Today and yesterday included a couple of good runs. A good run equals one in which I don't hurt myself. :)

Seriously though, K called me at work around 1pm yesterday indicating that he was changing his plan to go run on the Greenbelt during lunch. Instead, I suggested that I run home to get my running gear then we could meet directly after work to get an hour run in. The weather was just right for running with the proper clothing on (I tend to overdress so I was happy that I got it just right last night). K and I met at the 360 access and quickly ended up running separately. I wore my headphones again and enjoyed my own private concert through the woods. I ran to the Spyglass access and then made my way back just before it started to get dark. I felt great - physically and mentally. Trail running is good for the soul. Afterwards, we had dinner at Rudy's. What more could I ask for in an evening?

Tonight was our first Thursday night workout with the Jemez group. We were focusing on hills, as I expect that we will be throughout the program. Robert had a short loop mapped out for us near the HOL and 50kers ran it 4 times. The first time I ran it very cautiously, the second time I felt much more comfortable, but it was dark for the third and fourth times that I ran it so it was just about running as well as I could in the dark. I got to run with Jim and Jeanette, so I didn't get lost which is always a plus. I definitely need a brighter light though to get through the next month or so of these workouts in the dark because my measly headlamp just was not doing the trick. I even grabbed K's (in addition to mine) as I set out on my final loop. My legs felt really good and I know I could have it pushed it more if I wasn't so worried about navigating my way through the darkness. I see many more HOL repeats in my future...

After the workout, we quickly headed out to catch the official Austin watch party of Hell's Kitchen at The Warehouse. I work closely with the mother of one of the contestants so it's been interesting to hear about their experiences with the show. They had a good turnout of folks at the watch party and are looking forward to doing it again next week.

So, coming up this weekend is a trip out to Fredericksburg tomorrow night for our run at Enchanted Rock on Saturday morning. I'm looking forward to it.

Just what the doctor ordered...

Overall, it was just the weekend that we needed (although the house didn't get cleaned).

As planned, I went to yoga at the gym on Friday night. It was my first class with this particular instructor and it was definitely a fast-paced workout. After yoga, we had dinner at home (yes, I cooked) and then I sent K out to pick up cupcakes from a new bakery that I noticed recently on my runs down S. First, Sugar Mama's Bakeshop. Not quite as good as Polkadots in my opinion, but a nice option for close to where we live.

We had our first long run with the Jemez group on Saturday morning. It was pretty cold outside and I wanted to stay in the nice, warm bed. But, I also wanted to get this training program off on the right note so I really didn't waver too much. We met up at the Spyglass entrance to the Greenbelt and the 50k'ers ran 10 - an easy out and back. It was great to see so many familiar faces in our group and I got to run with Dawn and Brenda for awhile. Overall, I felt really good during the run so it was a great way to kick off this training season. After the run, we warmed up and had breakfast tacos at TacoDeli. That's a great way to end a run!

Afterwards, we spent the rest of the day at home. Lots of napping was involved. K made burgers for lunch and I got the crazy idea to put some of our wedding gifts to use by making cupcakes. Since this was my first foray into baking, we weren't sure how it would go. After a couple of missteps, I think we were both pleased with the finished product. YUM!
Since we stayed in yesterday, today was our day to venture out and take care of errands. We ended up having a pretty full day, which we kicked off with brunch at Star Seeds Cafe with Matt and Jennifer. The food was yummy and the company was delightful as always. Then, we headed up north to run several errands. We didn't get home until late afternoon at which time I dropped off K at home and then went back out to take care of the last two things on my list. By this time it was after 6pm and I still hadn't gotten my run in yet so I set off to get in a quick 5 miles in the neighborhood. I was glad that I got it done.

Now we're getting ready for another week ahead...

What's coming up...

Organization and planning are among my strengths thankfully. As I was checking my email before leaving for work this morning, I noticed how many tabs we have open on the internet browser on my laptop right now and how much they all speak to what is going on in our lives right now.

K is “doing his research thing” and trying to decide on our itinerary for our upcoming ski trip. We’re considering staying in Keystone and skiing one day there, one day at Breckenridge, and one day at Vail. Alternatively, we may try something completely different and ski at Eldora and stay in Boulder. I’m sure it will be great whatever we do though. I did remind him that we’ll be spending Valentine’s Day there…

We went to the info session for Jemez last night, mostly to get some detail about the trip to the Guadalupe Mountains National Park at the end of April. So, I was looking into planning that trip once we got home from the gym last night. The tricky part is that I only have one day allotted for that trip (plus one day for Jemez in May, 2 weeks for Singapore in May, and then 2 weddings out of state in June so that is ALL of my vacation time) so it looks like we are going to have to fly out to El Paso on Thursday evening since we are running on Friday-Sunday at the Guads.

I’m also trying to plan a party in February for our dear friends Holly and Chris before they leave for Philadelphia for several months.

Thankfully, this should be a relatively low-key weekend for us, which we’re looking forward to after being out of town for the past two. I’m planning on going to yoga tonight then we have our first long run of the Jemez program tomorrow on the Greenbelt. Other than that, we have a couple of errands to run, but it will be nice to have some down time, catch up on the DVR, and relax.

Ready to go...

When we got home late last night, I had the overwhelming feeling of here we go again in terms of so much to do and never enough time. It’s never a good experience to come back to a dirty house after a vacation, especially when you realize that you haven’t even unpacked from your last one! Thankfully though I finally feel healthy again so I have the energy to tackle everything that is to come.

For someone who considers herself a runner (and dare I say an ultrarunner on top of that) I haven’t done much running at all this month so I am really eager to get back out there. Training for Jemez starts on Saturday so it will be good to get back on the trails with our friends and have a training plan to follow again. In addition to that, K and I are also going to do the PR for the 5k/10k program this Spring to regain some speed. So, 2 quality workouts during the week and long runs on the weekend should keep us pretty busy.

It’s hard to believe that just 24 hours ago I was riding a ski lift contemplating how beautiful and peaceful it was out there on the mountain and now I am back at work! We arrived in Denver on Friday night then headed over to Pam’s house (after a brief encounter with TSA in Denver about mangling my ski tube in Austin). It was great to catch up with them before we headed out to the mountains on Saturday morning. K got to experience “ski traffic” on I-70 much to his chagrin. We were fortunate that our room was ready when we arrived at our hotel around 11:30am so we got to check in early and get settled. K was eager to hit the slopes so he headed out pretty quickly to maximize his ski time, whereas I was taking a much more leisurely approach to the whole trip. I opted to spend the afternoon walking through the Main Street area. I had lunch at a good little Mexican restaurant then went through some of the area shops. I skied on Sunday and Monday, mostly by myself because I wanted to go at my own pace and K is becoming much too hardcore about skiing than I care to be. The weather was great both days, although there wasn’t any new snow. The crowds thinned out on Monday so the wait time at lifts was minimal. My main drama occurred after lunch yesterday when K and I went our separate ways to get in the last few hours of skiing before we needed to head back to Denver for our flight in the evening. I mistakenly found myself on a double-black run which I thought was a nice blue. It was right under a lift so I provided some enjoyment to the folks on it as I SLOWLY made my way down. I wanted to call it a day after that, but talked myself into going back out for a few more runs since I didn’t want to end the trip on that note.
We are already looking forward to our trip back to Colorado in a few weeks (February 13-16)! Every time that we go skiing K always gets jazzed up and wants to go back again – this time it actually worked out so that we could go in terms of another free holiday weekend coming up and dirt cheap flights. We’re flying into Denver again, but haven’t decided yet where we are going to ski. Breckenridge is my perennial favorite, but I think K is eager to try out some other places (then he can make an informed decision and realize that Breck is indeed the best!).

Pictures from our trip are here.

Troubled times...

This paragraph has been censored by K who I think is being overly paranoid right now...

Well, today ended on a note of bad news. To be positive, the good news is that K still has a job. The bad news is that his company continues to experience the fallout from the poor economy (of which I can apparently not talk about the specifics even though this affects our lives). We are obviously thankful that he still has a job. But, this new development is still worrisome, mostly because we don't know how much more of this is to come. K continues to feel strongly about staying put there, so I guess we're going to ride it out and hope that the ride takes a turn for the better again.

After a week now of being sick, I'm frustrated to report that I'm still not back to 100%. Definitely better than I was, but still not back at full speed. Which obviously means that I haven't been able to run or work out yet either, so I am really frustrated with that. I am trying to reframe this experience as an opportunity to rest up for Jemez training which starts next weekend, but I have my moments where this just sucks - I missed a race last weekend that I had been looking forward to and I also had to change my plans in terms of upcoming races that I had been shooting for. Again, looking for positives, I had a good massage with Ann tonight. It was great to see her again and she definitely put the good hurt on me! Overall, she said my legs didn't seem too bad (I'm sure the recent lack of running partially contributed to that), although my calves are chronically tight. Yes, yes, I know.

We're really excited about our trip to Colorado this weekend (I'm hoping that my ears do okay with the flight tomorrow though because I am still pretty congested). We fly up to Denver after work tomorrow and then are staying with my friend from internship there, Pam, and her family. It will be great to see them. Then, we are driving up to Breckenridge on Saturday morning for a few days of skiing before heading home on Monday night. With lift tickets as expensive as they are, I'm not sure how many days that I will actually ski although K plans to ski for the 3 days that we're there. We have ski in ski out access from our hotel which will be nice. I love the town of Breck - it's such a great little mountain town with fun shops and restaurants. I know we'll have a great time. Now, it's time to pack and the challenge will be trying to minimize having to check luggage since there is now a fee for each checked bag. But, I think it will be inevitable though to check bags since ski clothes are so bulky and it may be hard to get it all into one carry-on. We also have to measure my ski case to see if it will be considered oversize luggage for which the checked bag fee is $75! If that's the case, then obviously it will be more cost efficient to rent skis this time and perhaps just take my boots.

Such a lucky woman...

To have this man as my husband!

Jane tagged me on her blog with instructions to post the fourth photo in my fourth folder of pictures. That particular folder is from our trip to Atlanta in 12/07 for my brother's college graduation and to celebrate K's birthday. We had a lovely trip with family, friends, and of course sports. My best friend, Stephanie, made K a birthday cake to celebrate his special day. Here he is enjoying it:

Urgent Care is your friend...

Home again from work today. This after a trip to an urgent care center in San Antonio late yesterday afternoon.

After pretty much sleeping the entire time we were in San Antonio after the race on Saturday morning except for venturing out to the Riverwalk for dinner, we checked out of our hotel around 2:00pm yesterday with a few hours to kill before the Spurs game at 7:30pm. We ate lunch and then walked around for a little bit. But, I didn't have much energy and I wasn't sure that I could handle a few hours of that. I also knew that I wasn't feeling even the slightest bit better on day 4 of this sinus infection and I didn't want to waste any more time until I got back on track so I started searching around for an urgent care center that was open that I could get into and get some meds in me before the game. After a few dead ends, I finally found a place and convinced K that this was what I wanted to do, although I think he questioned my judgment about it. So, I was able to get in to see a doc and get prescriptions for a couple of meds which we were able to get filled and actually make it to the AT&T Center in time for tip off! SUCCESS! Yes, I could have waited to see a doc today back in Austin, but now I already have 2 doses of meds in me so I am 2 steps closer to kicking this thing. My goal for today is to stay out of bed, even if that means I have simply moved to the couch, because that would be major progress over the past few days.

One big concern though from my doc visit last night is that my blood pressure was through the roof! Seriously high. It could have been due to the sinus infection or all the meds that I have been popping every 4 hours for days now. So, I am going to wait until all this clears up and I'm off the meds then I need to go get it checked out. It really worried me.

Bandera "Race Report"....

This isn't exactly the race report that I thought I would be writing...

We stayed in Boerne last night and got up at 5:30am to get ready and then made the final part of the drive out to Bandera. The weather was quite cold and windy, which actually made me kind of happy that I wasn't running. Once we arrived at the race start, K checked in for the race, while I checked out - "DNS" = did not start. :( This is day 3 of feeling like poo with no real improvement at all yet.

We huddled under the tent next to the 100k start area trying to stay warm until the 7:30am start. Meanwhile, we caught up with some of our friends from the Palo Duro group who were running various distances today.
As we were chatting away, we realized it was getting close to 7:30, but there was still a large mass of people in the tent area and I guess we were waiting for some sort of announcement to head out to the respective start lines. That never came though and everyone eventually hustled out to the start line of their race, a few minutes late though. K started a few minutes after the race had officially begun, but he's K and he doesn't stress out about those kind of things. He wasn't planning on "racing" today anyway.

Feeling like crap, I had been planning on sleeping in the car for a couple of hours while K ran, but that changed when I ran into Dawn's boyfriend who was out there to cheer her on in the 25k too. We eventually figured out how to make our way to a couple of the aid stations nearby to see K and Dawn, as well as cheer on the other 50k and 25k runners. It was great to see our friends coming through. This was definitely a role reversal for me to be the one supporting K in a race because it's generally the other way around. It was nice to be on this side of it though today.

Once K finished, I was ready to head for warmer temperatures because I had been absolutely freezing for several hours, even while wearing a t-shirt and 2 big sweatshirts! As a result, we left pretty quickly after K finished, although I would have liked to have stayed to watch the others finish had I been feeling better. We had lunch back in Boerne then headed down to San Antonio where we were fortunate to check in early to our hotel so that we could crash because we were both tired.

I really hope that I will feel better tomorrow because right now I just want to cut my head off. I guess what we end up doing tomorrow will be contingent on how I am feeling. Fingers crossed for magic. :)

Options...

I know I am making the "right" decision by not running tomorrow, but it doesn't mean it is an easy decision by any means. I have been mulling over the possible scenarios and here are the options as I see them, none of which are desirable:

A. Run the 50k and DNF (which I have never done)
B. Run the 25k and DNF
C. Do not run either race
D. Get hurt running either race because my mental acuity is not really that great right now since I am doped up on medications and all systems really need to be 100% given the challenging course out there
E. Have a slight chance of finishing

This just sucks and yes, I get to whine about it for a minute or two. There is no need to try to be a tough girl and attempt to run tomorrow, especially when it would be likely that I wouldn't be able to finish or get injured in the process. That is just not worth it. I have to also keep the bigger picture in mind here, which is that Jemez training starts in two weeks. Keep your eye on the prize, mel.

So, I think I am going to make the conscious decision NOT to pack (which I still haven't done and we are leaving in an hour) my running gear to avoid the temptation to try to run tomorrow and "see how it goes." That is exactly what I would talk myself into doing once we get out there and it would not be the smart decision. Rationally, I have been in bed for two days straight now, I have taken a variety of medications in the past 48 hours, I have not been able to go to work, I have not gotten dressed, I have not had much of an appetite and have clearly not eaten enough in the past two days to be prepared for the 50k distance, I feel weak and have no energy, and I don't see any signs that this is going to miraculously clear up in the next 12 hours.

I think not running may actually be harder than running would be. :(

Trying to find a positive, now that I won't be tired and sore from running, hopefully I will feel slightly better enough to enjoy our weekend in San Antonio after K's race in the morning. We are staying on the Riverwalk tomorrow night. Hopefully, I will have enough energy to be able to enjoy it.

Sick day take 2...

It is unprecedented for me to take two consecutive sick days, but that is exactly what is happening folks. I think my yuckiness has evolved into a sinus infection so I have switched over to that type of medication now. I woke up at 4am and didn't get back to sleep until 8-9am, and I know I kept K up (sorry, honey!). I am coming to terms with the fact that my race tomorrow may not/will likely not happen at this point. I would obviously be tremendously disappointed if this had been my "A" race that I had been training for months for, which it isn't; however, I am still obviously disappointed because I wanted to take in the experience of what running Bandera is like and this also has implications for Rocky. I really needed to get this distance in and another 30+ mile run in two weeks to feel even slightly comfortable running Rocky at the beginning of February, which I just registered for on Wednesday! I guess it was quite fortuitous when I laid out my 2009 race plan a few weeks ago and said that it was contingent on me staying "healthy and focused." With my fall on the Greenbelt before Christmas and now getting sick, the "healthy" aspect is turning out to be the hard part! I am trying not to get too bent out of shape about this, accept it, and revise my goals to move forward. Dealing with the unexpected is part of running and training, right?

Sick day...

What goes up must come down. In my case, what goes go-go-go all the time must STOP. I am sick. My body is telling me it needs a break. Hell, mentally, I need a break too. As expected, this week has been super busy with work, working out, and other things. That's nothing out of the ordinary though, which I guess is part of the problem because it's been one week after another lately with no time to breathe, especially with all of our holiday travel a couple of weeks ago. I don't take sick days from work, although I have about a month worth of sick leave accrued. I don't get sick very often, and when I do, I have a hard time letting go of my responsibilities at work to take care of myself when I need to. But, that is exactly what I am doing today. I am home sick and have been in bed all morning. I have responded to my work emails though, so I haven't been able to completely let go of that.

Obviously the timing of this isn't ideal with Bandera in two days, although when is it ever a "good" time to get sick? I need to pack for this weekend, including preparing any drop bags that I want during the race. The 50k at Bandera is one big loop course compared to Palo Duro where I went through the start/finish area 3 times which made it very convenient for me to drop off/pick up gear as needed. I'm not too worried about additional nutrition/hydration needs since I will have the luxury of necessities available at each aid station - I will of course carry my Camelbak with some things in there. Weather looks windy and chilly, so I'm going to have to figure out my clothing situation. That's always tricky for me.

On a positive note, I have quickly become a believer in the effects of yoga! I no longer think it's all in my head, but I do feel there has been a noticeable change in my body in terms of more range of motion/flexibility. And, I also noticed an impact on my running earlier this week in that I was actually able to lift my legs rather than shuffling along - so, that's what running is supposed to feel like! I have a massage with Ann scheduled for next Thursday so I am eager for her assessment of how things feel.

We finally got the Christmas tree out and all the decorations put away last night. That had been a lingering item on our revolving to-do list so it was good to finally get that taken care of. We also got our new chair home and modified the living room set up slightly last night in order to accommodate it. K kept commenting that he doesn't know how we ever get things done because we're so darn busy.

While we were taking down the Christmas stuff, we had a discussion about the economy and our situation. K is pretty concerned that there will be more layoffs at his company and opportunities at other companies also seem more limited now than they have been in the past. Fortunately, my job is fairly secure, but we couldn't live off my income alone. In addition, my mom lost her job last month too due to the company closing so that is another concern for me. All in all, we are going to try to be more mindful of our spending and hope that things improve.

The married life...

I am coming to the realization that managing this household is a full-time job! And, I am pooped. Buying groceries, washing and folding multiple loads of laundry, paying bills, cleaning, sorting the mail, and cooking takes a lot out of ya. And, we haven't even started putting away the Christmas decorations yet. I think that has now gotten pushed back to Monday night. :)

Then, throw in us being such an active couple and there's pretty much not much time left. We're trying something new by adding yoga into our training regimen to see if it has an impact on our running in terms of improving flexibility and building strength, as well as treating K's nagging injuries. We went to our first yoga class at the gym last night and then went again this afternoon. Maybe it's all in my head, but I already feel a positive difference with my hips. K also had a free personal training session today at the gym. I think we're both really looking forward to "officially" training again and doing more trail running once the Jemez group starts in a couple of weeks.

This is our only weekend at home before we are away again so I am also trying to take care of some errands and other things around the house because I can already sense that we are going to have a busy week ahead - some sort of important football game is on Monday night, HCTR meeting on Tuesday night, picking up our newly purchased chair on Wednesday night, and packing on Thursday night when there's another important football game on as well. And of course running, gym time, and more yoga amidst all that. We're headed out after work on Friday for Bandera on Saturday then staying in San Antonio for the Spurs game on Sunday night. Then, the following weekend is our ski trip to Breckenridge. Yippee!

First post of 2009...

A rant to start off the new year...

K and I just did a preliminary estimate of our taxes for the year. We were quite surprised to find that we are going to owe at least a thousand bucks - due in part due to us now being married, making "too much" money, and lack of the appropriate taxes being taken out of my checks for the teaching gig (which either way turned out to definitely not be profitable for me in the end and offers another reason against doing it again). I have gotten a nice size refund for the past couple of years since I found out about the student loan interest deduction so I was quite eager to see how our taxes would turn out this year. Needless to say, I am now in no hurry to file since I've got to come up with $500 for it. GRRRRRR.....

In other news, 2009 came in without too much of a bang (well, literally there was quite the bang with all the fireworks around here at midnight). I stayed at home while K opted to go out last night and meet some friends who were in town from Dallas. Once again, he partied like a rock star with The Party and didn't get home until 3am. That pretty much threw out the possibility of doing the Runtex to Runtex run this morning. We ended up spending the afternoon furniture shopping because we were looking to get a leather chair for the living room to replace an old chaise lounge chair that I have had since my days at SMU (a long time ago, people). After hitting a few more stores than we had intended, we finally found success and are looking forward to getting our new chair early next week (just in time for K to watch the National Championship game).

The year didn't end on the best note for me in terms of running since my fall on the Greenbelt and forced hiatus for almost 1 1/2 weeks. It was just enough time for me to lose some momentum and fitness. I've done a couple of short runs so far this week - the first one back was UGLY. I felt like a 50-year-old 200 pound woman running for the first time - I felt the pounding and everything seemed to creak and ache; I felt heavy, slow, and inefficient (not exactly what you want obviously!). Things seemed to loosen up once I got a couple of miles in thankfully and my next run was much better - I was able to hit under 9 minute miles again but with much more effort than it was taking just a couple of weeks ago. I worry that I have lost a significant amount of fitness which is obviously a concern with a 50k next weekend and hoping for a 50-miler in a month. I have to remind myself that I just ran a marathon 2 1/2 weeks ago and you don't lose it THAT fast. I'm hoping to run long out at Bastrop this weekend and we'll see how I feel, not exactly what I would do if Bandera was an "A" race in which case I would be tapering right now.

I had a massage earlier this week and asked my massage therapist for her analysis of how my legs seem to be doing. In short, everything is tight, namely my calves and hamstrings. K got me a pack of gift certificates to go see Ann again so I am eager to see her in a couple of weeks and let her inflict the pain that I know is necessary.

I had to work all day yesterday and have to work tomorrow too. I really wish that I would have been able to take some time off for down time over the past two weeks, but essentially every vacation day that I have and will get over the next few months is already accounted for. We still haven't taken down our Christmas tree and other decorations so that is on the agenda for the weekend. Our house also needs a good cleaning so I am hoping to get to that as well. And don't even get me started on my nails. My nails are generally a good indicator of my stress/busyness level and they have been in terrible condition over the past couple of weeks. Let's just say that I have absolutely no business wearing open-toed shoes right now, although I am.

We're off to the gym in a little bit. I'm hoping that the New Year crowds won't really hit until next week. We shall see.