All by myyyseeeelf...

That's what I was on Sunday's run...all by myself. David and Ashley were both out of commission with injured feet, so I went out to White Rock Lake to get in at least a few of the scheduled 19 miles.

Of course, since I'm one who never likes to be left out, I found myself in Dr. Rodriguez's office this afternoon with a running injury of my own.

Here's how it went down. Friday afternoon I went out for a typical run. I tried to slow myself down just a bit, but ended up averaging my 5 miles in an 8:40 minute mile, even though it was a relatively easy run. I felt great afterward. I walked into my house, started talking to David, when it hit me: ouch. My knee hurts. The pain persisted through the evening, but wasn't that bad the next day during our Crossfit workout. I assumed that when I woke up on Sunday with relatively no pain, I'd be fine to at least do the 9 mile loop around White Rock, then maybe even pick up an extra 4 on the Trail. But around 2 miles, my knee started to hurt. Around 4, it really started to hurt. By 5 my kneecap felt as though it were about to split in two. But, being already halfway around the lake, I had to finish the 9...which means today my knee has been on fire all day. I have a wicked limp worthy of a war veteran. So, I scheduled an appointment with the doc.

Although I figured it was a typical case of runner's knee, Dr. Rodriguez was either very unfamiliar with runner's knee, or it's something else. He poked and prodded and twisted my knee and eventually ordered an x-ray. The x-ray showed something strange around the place where my tibia meets my patella, so now he's ordered an MRI. He says it may just be some inflammation, but he wants to get it checked out. I'm hoping maybe it's nothing serious at all and it will just go away on its own in a week. If anything, this denial will get me through a week without one of my favorite things in the world: running. I'll try not to drown my feelings in chocolate. Either way, my knee needs to be at least functional by next weekend. I need it to successfully carry me through skydiving and a dance audition for Grease.

A little anxiety

We have 19 miles scheduled for this weekend. So far, the weather looks lovely: high of 68, nice and sunny. Unfortunately, though, David may not be joining us for the run. Although his foot isn't necessarily injured, it is going to take him getting used to a new supportive insole before he can start running again. That means he may be out for this weekend. I plan on calling Ashley this afternoon and seeing if she's still in, because if her foot injury is still giving her too much trouble, she may be needing a weekend off, too. If so, though, I still want to go...which means I may be trying to trek 19 miles on my own. That doesn't sound like much fun. Guys, anything I can do to coax your feet into recovery faster? Foot massage? Chocolate? You know chocolate can fix just about anything but a weight problem.

So, wish us luck for this weekend. As for weekday runs, as much as I do miss having David along, I have enjoyed getting in a little more weekly mileage at a faster pace. Although when David came with me last week, he sure did push me for our 4 mile run. It was a nice change of pace (no pun intended) to have him pushing our speed.

18, and aches

Today was our 18 mile run at White Rock Lake. We all started out in good spirits; the weather forecast was somewhat pleasant, with temperatures in the 50's, a not-so-horrible wind factor and sunny skies. And it started out that way--but that's not what we ended up getting.

We decided that since the lake is roughly 9 miles around, we would simply run it twice. I'm sure that would have been a great idea any other day...but by the time we were on our second time around, we were all starting to suffer a bit. The temperature had dropped, and we were sure that with the wind chill, it was much less than in the 50's. The sun had gone behind the clouds about 4 miles in and never come out. David and I weren't wearing nearly enough clothing. Then there was the wind, around 15 to 20 mph--and it sure did feel as though it picked up some speed coming off the lake. Combine the gross weather with the achy joints it induces, and you have a nice little pity-party. Luckily, we're all pretty upbeat people, even when we're grumpy, so the run went okay, and we all finished. David did end up walking mile 18, though, due to a bad cramp in the bottom of his foot that worries me. Hopefully if he rests it up this week, it will be okay for next week's 19 mile run. Ashley said that her foot was really hurting her after today's run as well. I seem to be the only one with no serious injury yet (knock on wood), just the usual randomly achy joints, blisters, and tight muscles.

But despite the difficult run, we all agree that finishing it makes us feel stronger. And, of course, there's always the food reward: David and I indulged in a couple of large sandwiches with French bread, ham and turkey, provolone and cheddar cheeses, avocado, pickles, tomatoes, etc. I have also eaten a couple of servings of Valentine's Day candy and watched a chick flick, so my evening has been very nice. Now if my knees would just cooperate when I walk across the room...

My new hero: Paula Radcliffe

Sure, from reading the stacks of Runner's World that are accumulating in my closet, I knew who Paula Radcliffe was. I could have told you that she was the women's marathon world record holder (2:15:25 in the London Marathon, if you were wondering.) I could have told you that I estimate her body fat percentage to be .1%, and that even if I stopped eating completely, I would never look like her. I could have told you that she's British and blonde. But, that's about it. I have a newfound respect for her after reading an article in this month's issue of Runner's World that chronicles not only her racing victories (and embarrassing moments), but focuses on her training through her recent pregnancy. Here's a NY Times article on the subject. Basically, the woman is incredible: running through most of her pregnancy, and returning to training only 12 days after giving birth to Isla. It really helps to reassure me about having a baby of my own one of these days. David and I have set our sights on a year or two from now, but it's hard not to have the discussion here and there when my boss and one of our close friends are both giving birth this spring. I am so worried that after all the work I have put into my body and all the training I have done, I will just lose that during pregnancy, being forced to sit around and have nothing to do but eat during that third trimester. At least now I know that I can run for at least 4 or 5 months of the pregnancy, then I'm sure there are plenty of exercise options for the last few months. I'm not worried about getting back to where I was after pregnancy; I plan on getting one of those running strollers as soon as the baby is ready to come with me. It's just a matter of how far I'll have to go based on how much damage I did with extra pregnancy pounds.

Back to Radcliffe: another reason to love her is the story behind her London win, and her impromptu side-of-the-road pitstop. She was having bad stomach cramps that were slowing her down, so she stopped for about 10 seconds on the side of the road to relieve herself and kept going to win. She was 5 minutes ahead of the second place finisher! Seriously, how hardcore is she?

A marathon in Marathon

So yesterday, I was doing some poking around online (i.e., "procrastinating") when I somehow, from one link to another, came across the Athens Marathon. (I'm sure the links that got me there had something to do with my recent hero-worship of Paula Radcliffe, who holds the women's course record, but that's another post for another day.)

A little history: the Athens Marathon is based on the legendary course that Athenian messenger Phidippides ran to alert Athens of the victory in Marathon during the first battle for democracy in 490 BC. The term "marathon" is applied to the 26.2 race based on this legend.

Well, it turns out that there is a whole tour package, including accommodations, ground transportation, marathon entry fee and processing, race number distribution, most of the food, parties, a bunch of excursions/tours, plus running clinics with Runner's World's Jeff Galloway. All in all, it sounds like a very stress-free experience. The only problem is the price is pretty steep. So...it will be a few years before we can even consider it.

But here's the exceptional part. The race week falls around our wedding anniversary: November 11. We're looking at maybe making this our celebration for 5 years of marriage on 11/11/11, running the Athens Marathon and spending the rest of the week enjoying beautiful Greece. How awesome would that be?

It's tough to look that far in the future, but hey, if we're going to be able to afford it, we need to start saving now!

Only eleven!

That's right, we dropped down in mileage for this week, so we had the joy of flippantly informing our coworkers when they asked about this weekend's run that it was "only eleven miles." It's amazing how your perspective changes when you're training for a marathon instead of a half. I never thought I would hear David say "only" when referring to eleven miles, but when you compare it to the 17 miles last weekend or the 18 we have to look forward to this weekend, it seems like next to nothing. We spent a whole hour less pounding the pavement around White Rock Lake. Not that we were entirely ready to be finished after two hours; I'm not sure what my training buddies thought, but considering that it was the most beautiful day we've seen since Fall, I was almost hoping for a longer run. Next weekend should be nice, though; sunny and in the 50s. We're planning on celebrating our mileage with a nice picnic by the lake. That is, assuming we don't feel as though we're about to die by the time we finish.

Musings and worries

I absolutely love the new Nano. Nice large screen display, the little cover I got makes it easy to grip, it totes around 90% of my music, and the sound quality is even better. Plus, it's pink. Just makes it that much more lovable.

I ran 4.25 miles last night with it, and it went really well. David's foot started to hurt him, so he had to head back after 3/4 of a mile. I hope it's nothing serious; I've discouraged him from even using the "I" word for it, so for now, it's just a "twinge" or a "tiny pain." It only becomes an "I" word when it requires a doctor's visit, and I hope it doesn't come to that. The marathon is steadily approaching, so any little ache or pain that persists makes me nervous.

The great thing about running alone at night with my iPod is that, although I sufficiently freak myself out by listening to "Living Dead Girl" and running in the part of the neighborhood with fewer street lights, I run about 2 minutes/mile faster than I would with David, allowing me to get in some speed work. I've run alone twice in the past two weeks, and I had forgotten what my legs can do. It's empowering.

17 miles, feelin good

Our 17 miler was yesterday, and it was great!  Weather was fairly sunny, between 55-65 degrees, and just breezy enough to keep the air moving.  We ran all the way up White Rock Creek Trail to its end in North Dallas (7.5 miles), picked up an extra half mile running around the nature trail up there, then ran back and finished up at the lake.  Our time was much faster than last time, averaging just over 10 minutes per mile.  Our spirits were higher, too.  Once you get over this hump in training, I really think things get much easier, both physically and mentally.

We came home as quickly as we could and showered and dressed before we had to be at Cafe Istanbul for dinner for Sara's birthday.  Talk about amazing food!  It's a Turkish restaurant, so we got an appetizer with hummus, feta cheese, dolma (stuffed grape leaves), and babaganush (eggplant puree), and of course tons of pita bread.  My entree was delicious, and beautifully presented: it's called doner durum, and it's lamb and beef wrapped kind of like sushi in a thin pastry, with tomato sauce and yogurt, with a side of cracked wheat pilaf.  All the food was so good, and really perfect for a post-run meal.  We finished off the night with the Cold Stone I'd been craving for a month: dark chocolate with gummi bears and cookie dough.  Yummm.  It will be a while before I'll have that again!  I really think limiting my sugar made me feel so much better, so I'm going to continue to limit my sugar during the week and have one treat on the weekend.  It's better for my training, I think, and the hiatus served its purpose: I'm not addicted the way I used to be.  Sure, I still want it, but not nearly as much.

Today, I feel great.  I woke up with very little soreness.  We went and got massages, and now I feel even better.  I can tell already, it's going to be a great week.

Goodbye, old friend...

Well, it seems as though my relationship with my first gen black iPod Nano has finally come to an end. My husband suggested several days ago that I spend some of my bonus money (which I got today's pay check) on a new Nano. I said, no, that would be silly, I'll just use my old one until she finally passes on to the wild blue yonder before I bring in a younger, cuter model. I owe it to her. I remember the day I got her...

I ordered my first Nano during the training for my first marathon, the Nike Women's Marathon, with Team in Training. Before that, I was using a Sony portable no-skip sports CD player; a big, bulky thing, but it carried me through many a short run, blaring my Silvertide, Jet, or The Killers CD as I made my way around the LSU lakes. But, like a best friend in elementary school, I began to outgrow my CD player. Even my short runs were becoming so long that I had to listen to the CD more than once. So, I got my Nano. I managed to convince my mom that it was a great idea to go ahead and let me order it and have them pay for it as a birthday present, even though I ordered it in October and my birthday is in December. I remember my mom saying that she thought it sounded like "a spoiled brat" present. This is, of course, when MP3 players were still a relatively unknown technology to my family, and the thought of being able to carry around your entire music collection just seemed excessive to my mom.


But I convinced her to let me order it, and we spent many a long run together. We trained for that marathon, three half marathons, a 5K, and began training for another marathon before she finally began to fade. The Nike+iPod David gave me a year ago for my birthday made her the perfect running companion on both solo and group runs. Then, recently, she's been acting strangely, and her screen has a shade of burnt orange creeping in on the right side. And last night...every time a song finished, 10 seconds into the next song the Nano would completely restart, little gray apple screen and everything. This makes a 40 minute run
pretty frustrating, escpecially in the freezing cold when I'm wearing gloves, and it's difficult to use the little buttons.


So, I say goodbye to my old friend today, and hello to a new one I plan to purchase this afternoon: the new, flashy pink version of the iPod Nano. I can already tell we're going to be great friends, too.

Morning Thoughts

As I sit here waiting for the cars to defrost from the overnight freeze, I really can't wait to finish the rock wall. I'm probably within a couple of hours of finishing all of the framing, but finding the time to spend out there in the cold between training runs is a bit difficult. Oh, for the warmth of Spring!

I've found the greatest running invention ever. Ashley claims I need one on our long runs. Little does she know I'm only running faster than her so I can get it over with. Long runs aren't easy.
Nike Parachute

Yesterday we had the first of our annual chili cookoffs at work. I decided to make this wonderful vegetarian sweet potato and peanut chili from our favorite new cook book, 'The New American Plate'. Suffice it to say... I bought my way into last place. Charlie Brown Chili lived up to its name.