Back in the running!

Well, I got through the Owls Roost Half Marathon and after a rocky start with dead legs I was very pleased with the outcome. I started in the back with Irene and started to jog as I began to warm up so I was last from the get go. My chest burning was minimal so that was a pleasant surprise. I started passing people around 3 or 4 miles and started feeling better about my steady pace although my legs were still tired from Thursdays workout and I had my doubts about finishing. I started to count the runners I passed for awhile but lost count. I realized that I'd be able to figure it out by looking at the results to determine how many people ended up finishing behind me. I ended up passing about 28 people so that made me feel great. I was third in my age which I didn't expect but I was happy with that has well. Now I'm excited to do more races and get my endurance back. We've signed up to do a 15K this weekend in Chapel Hill and it looks like a lot of fun. Another single trail event and not too long a distance so it'll be a good training run. Maybe we'll make a comeback after all.
Work has slowed down and I'm only going to end up with 2 clients today which is fine. Kind of nice to have a break actually. I do plan on swimming after I'm done which will be around 7:00. I'm finding I really like winding down after work and it's a great time as the pool is pretty quite by then.
Chico goes to the vet tomorrow to have his teeth cleaned. That always makes me nervous but the vet came highly recommended so I feel as confident as I can feel I suppose.
Well, better get ready for work and play. Lots to pack for the spa plus the gym!
Out!

Owls Roost Rumble

Well, we're off to do the Owl's Roost Rumble 1/2 Marathon. It's in Greensboro about 2 hours from here and it's going to be about 89 degrees so it'll be HOT!!!! Oh well, it'll be a nice day in the woods. I ran about 8 miles yesterday after a leg workout with my trainer. Probably not the smartest workout right before doing a half marathon that you're not up for, but what the heck, who ever said I was all that smart. At least I have a ton of excuses for a very slow run!!!!! It's a good think I'm not too competitive and am not too concerned about my time.
Sunday is the Striders picnic and it's going to be about 88 degrees! A good day to stand around and chat rather than running! I'm hoping to get on my bike Sunday afternoon and for good measure, maybe just in the pool for a cooldown swim!
I've been swimming after work at night and I'm really enjoying it. Once I take the initial plunge I'm always glad I did it but it's tough to make myself get wet. I'm hoping that an evening workout will become a habit and eventually may be able to do something other than swimming but if not, swimming is a great workout.
Well, better get ready for the drive. It'll be great because we'll be able to do a little shopping. Target and Costco! Who could want for more. Who ever thought a trip to Target would be fun!!!!! Well, it is!
Say some prayers for us this weekend as neither Frank nor I are in "racing" shape! I'm mosting hoping not to fall. Ever since I broke my pinky, I'm a little nervous!
Better go!
Out!

Out of my funk!

Today is April 1 and I'm finally out of my funk. Whew! I was just really not doing well. Part of it was probably that I'm so exhausted from working so much and I think I've solved much of that problem. I had been extending my hours and it was just too much. Also, I wasn't running until 9:00 most days and it was just too late as I couldn't get anything else done. So, I'm running at 8:00 and working out with a personal trainer a couple days a week. I felt a lot stronger this morning on my run and am finally making progress. I think the Cross-fit Training will really help with my cardio as well as strength. We're starting to think about running again and have signed up for at least one trail run. We're going to do a half-marathon trail event in Greensboro where they hold the 40 miler in the fall. It's a good way to make a return to the trails. It's on April 25. In May we're doing a 15K in Asheville on the Biltmore Estates. It's supposed to be beautiful although I'm actually a little sorry that we signed up to do it as there are some other events that might be better for us to do. The Biltmore race is on the roads but it's only a 15K so hopefully it won't be too bad.
Tomorrow is the running club meeting and hopefully that will go well. I've got a good agenda and we have a guest speaker coming to talk about feet! Hopefully it will be interesting.
Not too much going on and it's almost time for American Idol so I'd better get ready! Who will get the boot tonight? I hope it's Megan but she seems to skate every week!
Gotta Run!

Where do I begin?

It's been so long since my last post I'm not sure I even remember how to post. I"ll give it a go although it may be a short one. Let's see, what has been going on. Running has been so so and not much progress. It's really discouraging but it is what it is, I suppose. I am planning on working with a coach/personal trainer so hopefully that will get me back on track. The plan is to do more cross-training and mix up the intensity. I"m hoping to pay her in trades! Wouldn't that be cool? I just got back from a few days in Florida visiting with Tate and his family. It was really fun to spend time with them and to really get to know Zella. She is so cute and what a good baby. (except that she doesn't like to sleep through the night) She is very smiley and inter-active. She was always trying to figure out what I was doing and then copy me. Very cute. She's about ready to crawl and then watch out! Ada really loves her little sister and it's fun to watch them interact. Ada is really smart and had a great time in Florida. She's very excited about turning 4 next month. Hard to believe it's been 4 years.
Work has been really busy and actually kind of stressful which I didn't expect in a spa environment but when you have a bunch of women, stress will appear. Kind of funny actually.
Let's see, looks like Frank will be working for a couple of months for the censious bureau so that will be interesting. Looks like we'll be bringing in the dough for a few weeks anyway. It's been so depresssing watching out retirement money dwindle to half of what it used to be. Hopefully, it will recover before we really need it although it seems unlikely.
Today, I've been doing research on continuing ed classes for my NC license. It's so crazy here but if I want to keep working, it's what I have to do. So many classes, so little time. I'm debating between reflexology and a deep tissue techniques. I want both but it's a fortune to take classes cause they're so far away and require staying in a hotel etc.
I'm still getting used to my new computer and haven't completely transitioned. My old computer still holds some info that I need to get moved to the new ones. Such as Itunes. I need to get it transferred so I can download new music!
Here's a picture of Ada and Zella during vacation. How cute are they.
I'll work on posting more frequently but this working 5 to 6 hours a day, sure cuts into my day!
Happy Trails!

Catch Up time

Things are starting to get back to normal. I'm back to work, survived my first club meeting as well as the Myrtle Beach 1/2 Marathon! Whew! The meeting was well attended, about 25 members so that was a record I think. That followed with a great turn-out for the Saturday group run. We are definitely making a lot of headway in encouraging all level of runners to come out. Work is going okay and fortunately it's not really too busy right now so I haven't had to do too many back to back (no pun intended) massages. My pinky is still tender but everyday it gets better. The Half Marathon was a struggle and I certainly learned that I'm not in all that great shape. I still have a tendency to think that going out to run 15, 20 or even 30 miles is no big deal but it is when you haven't done it for a long time. I'm having difficulty figuring out where to focus. I'd like to get a little faster, thus run some road races and do speed work but then I think about how much I enjoy trail running and long days spent in the woods and think I should just do that. I'm sure that there is a way to have the best of both worlds and I just need to work that out. Lots of possible races on my races for 2009 but none have really grabbed me as THE ONE to focus on for a good race. I'm signed up to do the Umstead Trail Marathon on March 7 and am certainly not ready to run a marathon, especially that one. I think I will still do it but find a way to turn it into a 20 miler or something. There is a 6 hour cutoff and to be honest I'm not sure I could do 26.2 in under 6! It'll just be another "training run"!
I'm also wanting to get in really good (at least good for a 58 year old) and I know I need to do resistance training for that. I've decided to try P90X which is an extreme workout training that's claim to fame is "muscle confusion". I've started doing it and am enjoying it. It does mix everything up. The thing I'm not clear about is how to fit running and other workouts in. I'll just play it by ear I guess. Today I did Plymetrics and then arms and shoulders and felt great although I didn't get a run in. Tomorrow I will run and do the P90X Yoga!

I started a swim class last night and i think it will be fun. A couple of the Striders are in the class. I didn't know that anyone I knew was signed up but it was nice to see a couple of familiar faces. Hopefully it'll get me ready for the Woodlake Tri in May! It's such a close-knit community here that you can't really go anywhere or do anything without seeing someone you know. I really love that about this area. It feels so friendly and welcoming although most are must acquaintances.

I've got to get back to working on the club stuff. I have to write up the minutes from the meeting as well as order the new shirts. Once that is done, I need to schedule an officers meetings and get ready for the next club meeting. That will be here before we know it. I haven't firmed up a guest speaker yet but have a couple of suggestions. I also think I'll start a blog for the club. I think it will be a lot easier that to constantly send emails to the webmaster to update the website and also a lot more user friendly that a newsletter. That reminds be, I also need to remove non-paid members from our Yahoo group. Power!

Gotta Run!

Another setback

Geez, it's been almost a year since I've been painfree/injury-free! What is going on? I haven't even writen about my broken pinky and now I broke (well, okay injured my back!) First things first, I broke and dislocated my pinky and sprained the ring finger of my right hand. Being a massage therapist, this was not a good thing although two weeks of an unscheduled vacation was not all bad. At least I could continue to run run but spinning, yoga and weights were pretty much out of the question. I'm planning on going back to work next Monday and my finger is much better although still pretty stiff. So, I've been running and yesterday decided to take a day off from running (it snowed again) and resume my weight training. I even lowered my weights figuring I had lost some strength but managed to pull something in my back and bamm I was done! I could barely walk and it's still pretty sore. I went to the chiro today and apparantly strained my lower back muscles and it will take up to a week to heal. Problem is I don't really have a week so I'm hoping to get a long slow run in Sunday. We'll see. The Myrtle Beach Half Marathon is the following week and I'd like to at least have a respectable time and more important, is the Umstead Trail Marathon coming up on March 7 that Elsa decided to run with me. Now the pressure is on to do that one. Frank won't be doing it as he's still having problems but it just didn't dawn on me that perhaps I should pass on it as well as I haven't been training and it's hilly and was the beginning of my hamstring problems last year. Do we runners ever learn? Elsa and I have vowed to run/walk it as a training run but Elsa just qualified for Boston at the Disney Marathon so she's faster and in better shape than I. Oh well, I hope she is serious about run/walking the race and just having fun. We'll see.
I've been running a lot more lately (well until my recent setback) with a women Ellen that I met and Elsa so it's been really fun. We're all in our 50s so have really bonded. I was beginning to feel either younger or older than most that I met and hadn't met anyone that I could run with and now I've met two people! We meet at 9:00 and run 6 almost daily so it's very cool and I relly look forward to it!
Tonight is the running club meeting, the first one that I will be chairing. I've been working really hard and think it should go well. I have lots of ideas for 2009 and most will be thrilled but the core group may not be as thrilled as I'm not so sure that they want to the club to grow. They're pretty happy with the click that they're established. I guess we'll just be a club of various clicks! Probably based on pace!
I've spent a lot of time recreating the website and I'm very happy with it although I'm sure we'll be making changes throughout the year. Check it out. www.sandhillsstriders.org.
Looks like we're going to go to Florida in March to hook up with Tate and his family. He'll be much better than going to Ohio! It'll be even warmer than here although it isn't too bad here. Much better than the NE.
Better get ready for the meeting! Wish me luck!!!!:)