zomg these are GREAT for photography too!

1.  I’ve been wanting a pair of Knuckle Lights since daylight went away in November.  The $40 price tag turned me off, but so does my cheap-o headlamp that dies by the end of a run.  On a whim I went to the Knuckle Lights website this week and noticed that they are sold right here in my area, which makes the $40 price tag less offensive when I don’t have to pay for shipping and WAIT for shipping.  Have I ever mentioned I’m impatient?  Do I have to mention it?  It should be fairly obvious.  Anyway, the Knuckle Lights are great, and they will get a lot of use even in the summer when I wake up at the crack of dawn for before-work runs.

2.  Another product I tried recently was Honey Stingers energy gel.  GROSS.  Too sweet, and it tastes like honey, and, um, I don’t like the taste of honey.  You read that right, I don’t like the taste of honey, but thought that maybe Honey Stingers might be worth a shot.  Go ahead and throw tomatoes at me.  Or better yet, throw snowballs at me like Mr. HappyPace did on our cross country ski excursion last Saturday when I was loudly and dramatically gagging from the honey.

3.  Did you know the garden snail is considered the slowest land animal with a speed of only .03 miles per hour?  I didn’t know either, but after feeling slow on my progression run I googled “slowest animal” just to make myself feel better.  The snail didn’t make me feel better, but the kind support from DailyMilers sure did!  Thanks friends!

4.  I found The Runner’s Book of Daily Inspiration book at a used book store.  Who would sell this?  What runner doesn’t need inspiration from time to time?  Well it’s mine now, and I’m INSPIRED.  The book is written with each page dated, and Thursday’s resolve just so happen to match the mood of my Thursday run, “I let go of a bad day and look for better things tomorrow”.  The better things tomorrow (today) are it’s FRIDAY, it’s rest day, it’s book club day, and I’m content with everything at the moment.

2.  The treadmill is not the torture that some of you make it out to be.  I plan my time on the treadmill to be during good TV:  Modern Family, Suburgatory, The New Girl, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, or whatever other garbage I can find.

3.  Speaking of treadmill, let’s not be so quick to judge runners who use them.  I’ve been using one because it’s a way to run pain-free while I’m trying to get my pelvis back in line.  Another thing is that I work until 5:00 Monday through Friday, it’s dark by the time I can get out there.  I’m not afraid of the dark, actually, I really enjoyed running in the dark in November.  That was before ice became a threat to my legs.  Another thought I have about this, is that I might have changed my stride due to limited vision of where my feet land, which might have been a factor in my recent left leg pains.  Anyway, don’t judge a person who uses a treadmill.  Don’t belittle them and make them feel like less of a runner.  There are reasons, not necessarily excuses, but GOOD reasons some people use a treadmill.  Treadmill runners are still running farther than the person on the sofa.

4.  After that little rant, I am looking forward to getting OUTSIDE, in the COLD, IN THE SNOW tomorrow for some cross country ski fun!

He’s a triathlete, a swimmer, goes to the same gym as I do, and most importantly, treated and questioned me for what I went in for in the first place.  Instead of treating me like a text book subject, he conducted the visit for me and my pelvis.  He did make an adjustment and my glute felt great for the next 6 hours or so.  The glute pinch did creep back a little later, but I did go for my long run after the adjustment, which I know I really shouldn’t have done.  Also, my insurance covers all of the visits from this chiropractor, which is just peachy.

The long run was interesting.  The upper part of my quadriceps were obscenely sore from cross country skiing on Thursday.  That was the first time in a year that I went cross country skiing, so some muscles that haven’t been used that way in a long time got a wake up call.  It literally hurt to put pants on the following morning.

After a few errands and noticing how much of a struggle it was for me to get out of the car the mister said, “Are you sure you can run today?”

“Yeah, I’m going to feel like ass by mile 6, but I can’t be a puss every time I’m sore, it’s bad enough every time I’m actually hurt”.

So off I went into the winter wonderland of Madison.  The sidewalks were covered in mushy snow, it really felt like running through sand in some spots.  Some people shoveled well, some people don’t own shovels?  I was wearing StableIcers for the first time, which kept good traction, but I need another not-s0-sore run in them to really know if they contributed to slowing me down.

Something else I should mention about StableIcers is that if they are small on your shoe, they will bend them inward a little, and cause horrible, horrible blisters.  I have one on the side of my big toe that is the size of a quarter and filled with blood.  I can’t look at it in the imaginary eye, it’s really gross.  It makes me queasy.

I was right about feeling like ass by mile six, I had to stop, walk, and stretch.  I repeated this every mile until I got home.  It felt like slow, molasses ass, but it was good for me.  My legs can’t be fresh for every run, it was an exercise in toughening up.  Something that occurred to me before I even left the house for this run, is that lately I’ve been coming up with fears and excuses to not run.  Sometimes the fears are within reason, but sometimes I’m just being a big wimp.  I need to get back to fearless running.

It was an uncomfortable, yet enjoyable run in the beautiful winter sunshine.  Now, post run?  Ouch, ouch, ouch I want to live in an igloo and have a maid that brings me vodka and cheesecake for the next week or so.  Can some one go ahead and arrange that for me?

*twiddles thumbs*

Shortly after that I read this great quote:

“I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth. Then I ask myself the same question” – Harun Yahya

To answer that, in reference to run goals, is plain and simple; I don’t trust my legs, or the condition of my pelvis. My pelvis is 16 millimeters high on the left side, which is causing a rotation of pains from the pinch in my glute, to the hamstring, to the overworked calf.

To fix it, I’ve called a couple of chiropractors.

Chiropractor #1 – I went in for a consultation, all went fine until he said this, “No running”, and quickly left the room. WHAT?!!  You can’t just say that and walk out.  I won’t see a health care professional who does that.  After that absurdity, I went for a pain-free 3 mile treadmill run.

Chiropractor #2 – I went to this guy the following evening for a consultation, and found his listening and retaining my specific pelvis problem to be spotty.  Sort of like poor cell phone signal.  The second visit was an hour lecture about the spine.  I realize it’s good to know a little about what’s going on, but it was information overload and not specific to my case.  When I finally got an adjustment it was done on my neck.  MY NECK!!  Including the first consultation, getting my neck cracked cost me $89 out of pocket.  The desire to go back to him is very slim.

Chiropractor #3 – Pending discovery.  Third time is a charm?

What’s most important to me right now is that I’m going to keep fighting no matter how frustrating it is.  To quote Jenn’s 2012 mantra, “I’m FINDING A WAY”

My head is on straight, and now I just need to get my pelvis there too.

On Friday I abandoned my plans for a midnight 8 mile treadmill run at the gym.  My calves were extremely sore, and I didn’t want to fight it with a sluggish feeling run.  I had a little hope for Saturday, but by then I made plans with my friend Diana to chase her and her fast husband during a 10 mile run on Sunday morning.  Making these plans was an ingenious ploy by me to ensure that I would lay off the excessive Saturday night booze consumption.

It worked.  And lamely, I was in bed by 10:00.  On a Saturday night.  omg.

It was an odd feeling to spring out of bed at 6:50 a.m. on Sunday.  Normally it’s a slow moving crawl out of the bed and to the aspirin.  The coffee table wasn’t covered in dozens of empty beer bottles and half eaten bags of potato chips.  Living the lame life looks cleaner, and is clearly healthier.

The run was fantastic.  Did you know that when you wake up early on a Sunday morning there is no traffic?  You can run down the middle of some normally busy streets, and go in a direction you might not normally go because of the potential traffic light stops.  The route Diana mapped was refreshing (and, um, hilly, but apparently it’s goooood for me)!

I was having a great time running in the company of good people and didn’t have an opportunity to stress out about the health of my legs.  I ran out of my flat-terrain boundary and ran up some hills that made me out of breath.  I ran through moments where I would have slowed down significantly if I were on my own.  Basically, I tricked myself into a great run by running with Diana and her mister.

1.  I cooked ahead.  I’m trying to eat less fake foods and more real foods, and the only way for this to happen is to cook ahead.  On Monday I boiled broccoli and mushrooms in chicken broth, and then mixed them in with couscous.  It’s a simple side thing to pack for my lunch, and I’m pretty sure it’s good carbs.

2.  On Tuesday night I put the TV remote in the freezer and declared it book night.  No TV, just read my books until bedtime.  My brain probably really appreciates the exercise in reading than the zombie treatment I give it while watching TV.

3.  In the morning, after a bowl of cereal I down a cup of whey protein and skim milk.  In Racing Weight, (book I’m reading, SEE #2), Matt Fitzgerald says that consuming whey protein is the healthiest and most efficient way to increase protein intake.

4.  I’ve been leaving my house 15 minutes early to go and enjoy the sunrise every morning.  There are so many good ways to start the day, but taking in a vibrant sunrise really ninja kicks the soul into being in good spirits.

(For magical, super awesome, big quality view: Click!!)

3:00 am – Hmm…I should really go to bed if I want to make that 11:00 am 5 mile race.  ZZZzzzzz.

8:00 am – There are gnomes tying knots in my stomach.  How rude.  I will drown them with 3 bottles of water.

9:00 am – La la la, taking the dog for a walk, la la la.. Ohhh, my porch stairs are slippery.  OHhhhh, the driveway is icy.  OHHH THE SIDEWALKS ARE UNSAFE.  Well shit, do I want to risk trying to run on slick roads?  If my leg slips and twists into an irregular position it could really flare my hamstring back up, it’s still sensitive.  Uggghh.. I don’t want to be a wimp either.  People are going to think I DNS’ed because I drank too much.  What to do, what to do….

9:20 am – Go to the event website, click things, look at the course map.  Hills on ice?  Nope, not worth it.  Not going to re-irritate anything on my left leg.

9:45 am – Nap.  ZZZZzzzzzzzz.

11:00 am – First ever DNS.  Sad trombone.

2:00 pm – Think I’ll head to the Arboretum to run on some trails.  I’ll run 5 miles and wear my hat that I got in the race packet from my first DNS.  It’ll be like I ran it in spirit.

2:20 pm – Well shit, my calve doesn’t want to do this at all.  No sense it making it hurt so bad that I’ll be limping all week again.  At least now I know I wouldn’t have been able to even finish the 5 mile race, or if I did it would have some painful consequences.

3:00 pm – Nap.  ZZZZzzzzzzz.

Well I’m not off to a good start in 2012, no goals have been set, no resolutions, no inspiration, motivation, nothing.  It’s difficult to want to aim for anything when I’m on an apparent injury-steak.

Also, the header banner to my blog just up and went missing.  If you find it, please send it back.

Happy 2012!

Don’t get all smashy on the keyboard just yet.

I finished my 100th mile of swimming in 2011 on Wednesday night, where I had 33 minutes of thinking time.  In those 33 minutes, I reminisced about where this whole swimming thing started.

One word that stuck out is “resistance”, which is appropriate since the act of efficient swimming is all about being less resistant.  If I remember correctly, Terry Laughlin’s words in the Total Immersion book advised swimmers on how to become more slippery.  Slippery sounds dangerous, we’re all familiar with the “caution, slippery when wet” cones that retailers put on floors so that we can’t sue them if we fall.

Back to resistance…I did not want to get into a pool.  I thought if I got into the pool I was giving into the injury and telling runner’s knee, “Okay, you won”.  In January, I gave in.  When I first got into the pool, I didn’t know what the hell I was doing.  I literally doggie-paddled for 30 minutes, just to get some exercise in.

I was annoyed with the act of swimming.  I couldn’t just get in, swim laps, and have thinking time like I could with running.  My mind was always occupied with breathing, strokes, kicks, BREATHING…Aside from the act of swimming, the preparation one must do to go swimming.  Shave my legs, get my suit on, DRIVE SOMEWHERE, go at an appropriate time so I can hopefully snatch a lane, OMG WHAT IF I HAVE TO WAIT FOR A LANE…Swimming is just not as convenient as running is.

Over the course of the year I did became less resistant.  I opened my mind, I made progress, I gained courage, I embraced the chlorine, I became a triathlete.  As I became less resistant I found swimming to be useful cross training and found comfort in it.  The whammy of it all is that swimming became my go-to relief when I was hurt–each and every damn time.

I swam 100 miles in 2011, and the chlorine didn’t pinch me until the 100th mile.  As I swam my 100th mile, I appreciated the fact that I was able to think, to swim second natured, and to reminisce.  What makes swimming 100 miles more special than running 700 miles (which I’m painfully close to) is that I just learned to swim this year–SELF TAUGHT.  This is one of the several things that I can say I’m proud of this year, because swimming has really taken me to all the places/races that I’ve been to this year.

Caution:  Slippery can be a good thing

Ran a mile at midnight into the start of 2011

My first itty bitty trail run coming back from runner's knee

After a 6 mile run with my pal Robin where we discussed the potential of me shitting myself

Glacial Drumlin State Trail

First race in 2011 coming back from runner's knee, 5 minute PR, BAM!

My favorite quarter mile stretch to run on, I always, always include this on my way home from a long run.

General silliness

The rewards of my first triathlon

Ran my heart out at the Madison Quarter Marathon with a finish of 56:11

Chicken dance run to T1

I ran 14.9 miles, fell down, and got back up again to finish my 15 mile run

Stabby.

I was THIS close to breaking 2 hours for the Madison Mini Marathon

Goodbye Chicago

WooWOOOooo My second ever 10k

I got around the Lake Loop!

I kept my legs healthy enough to be able to run in the snow!! (Let's not discuss the fact that I had to drive 2 hours north for that snow)

Though it’s the first year we didn’t send out Christmas cards, it is the first year that we put up a tree, and it’s a GOOD tree.

I was worried that my dog was thinking, “Why are you decorating that toilet?” while perfecting the ornament spacing and placing.  But he’s been a very good dog.  In fact, he’s taken care of a few things…

Have a holly jolly Christmas friends!