I ran again this morning. What a pleasure! OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration. I was huffing and puffing my way up a hill and I thought my lungs would just give up at any second. Still, I felt pretty good (once I finished). I ran out of the golf course and down Mark Thomas. There is a little path off the road for a block or so. I took that then ran down to Josslyn Canyon Road. I ran out there for 1.25 miles (so I could hit two and turn around). It was almost straight up hill. I have no idea how that happened. It was quite a workout. On the way up anyway. So mile 1 was nice and rolling. Mile 2 was all up. Mile 3 was all down, and mile 4 was rolling again. I turned around at the top of the hill, which was exactly 2 miles from my start point.
I did end up walking for around 30 seconds near the top of the hill. I didn't feel that I was making any progress running! The route was along a residential street. It wasn't that well traveled. Some of the houses were huge and some were tiny. It was a pretty route. I'm sure I will do it again.
I am starting the Half Marathon training program through work, even though my half will be two weeks before the program ends. We will meet Saturday mornings for the long runs and Tuesday evenings. My goal is to run 4x per week, but I want to be smart about it. If I feel pain, I'm going to dial back.
Today's run was 4.11 miles in 43:15.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Trail running
I was finally able to join the spouses running group today. I had a great time. I am sorry that the Half Training will meet on Saturday morning because I wouldn't mind joining these ladies again.
We started at the Bay School in Carmel. We ran a trail from the parking lot to the ocean and then ran for a while in the sand. It was challenging and I was afraid of twisting my ankle, but I made it through and it was a nice change of pace. I would do this run again. I'd like to bring Bill and the dogs too, since leashed dogs are welcome on the trail.
I did 3.11 miles in around 37 minutes. This gave me my first double digit mile week in months. Yay!
We started at the Bay School in Carmel. We ran a trail from the parking lot to the ocean and then ran for a while in the sand. It was challenging and I was afraid of twisting my ankle, but I made it through and it was a nice change of pace. I would do this run again. I'd like to bring Bill and the dogs too, since leashed dogs are welcome on the trail.
I did 3.11 miles in around 37 minutes. This gave me my first double digit mile week in months. Yay!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Running some, blogging little
Since I last posted, I ran on January 16 (3.55 miles), January 24 (3.25 miles), and today (3.84 miles). All of those runs have been pain free! Granted, my muscles have been a little sore, but I think that was from the stretching and strengthening exercises recommended by my massage therapist. I am pretty happy about this.
My run today took me along Garden Road out to the airport. I was planning four miles or 40 minutes, whichever came first. The third mile today was the fastest for me, which is unusual. I thought for sure the first would be.
I think I may run with the spouse group tomorrow morning. It would be nice to have a group to run with. I am going to do the half marathon training program at work and that meets Saturday mornings for a long run and Tuesday evenings. It will be the first time I've trained for a half in a group. Training with Bill this past fall was nice. Way better than training alone. I don't think he will do the Santa Cruz half with me this April because he is still trying to get his ankle fixed. I hope he'll be able to do another with me sometime (if, of course, he wants to do another one). I remember when his first was his last. We shall see. I feel like I need to make the Big Sur Half up to him. I was not the most fun running partner.
My run today took me along Garden Road out to the airport. I was planning four miles or 40 minutes, whichever came first. The third mile today was the fastest for me, which is unusual. I thought for sure the first would be.
I think I may run with the spouse group tomorrow morning. It would be nice to have a group to run with. I am going to do the half marathon training program at work and that meets Saturday mornings for a long run and Tuesday evenings. It will be the first time I've trained for a half in a group. Training with Bill this past fall was nice. Way better than training alone. I don't think he will do the Santa Cruz half with me this April because he is still trying to get his ankle fixed. I hope he'll be able to do another with me sometime (if, of course, he wants to do another one). I remember when his first was his last. We shall see. I feel like I need to make the Big Sur Half up to him. I was not the most fun running partner.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Running again
It has been a really long time since I ran. I mean really ran. On November 20 I ran 13.1 miles. Since then, I haven't run more than two or so. I have been battling injuries. My knee seems to be fixed. Thankfully it was a muscle issue and not a joint issue. I got clearance from the PT to run again, but my Plantar Fasciitis flared up. I could barely stand or walk. The Strassburg Socks made a huge difference.
After a week or so without pain, I decided I could try and run today. Robin (my boss at Fleet Feet Sports Monterey) had a group run this morning with the new 5k-ers, so I thought I'd tag along. I shot out ahead, which was good because the guy ran faster than the group so he followed me and knew where to turn around. I ran 3.08 miles in 32:10, for an average pace of 10:27. The best part? I did not feel pain in my knee or my feet!
When I got back to the start I knew I had a few minutes, so I decided to do some strideouts. Just a set of two. My lungs were struggling and I didn't want to push my tired legs too much, but I wanted to see what I could do. I did 30 seconds max and then one minute cool down and repeated it. My paces were surprising. First max: 6:25! First cooldown: 10:44, second max: 7:57, second cooldown: 11:19. That was 0.32 miles in 3:00.
My total run for the day was 3.4 miles in 35:10. I am happy that I did not hurt and I am pleased with my overall performance. I have lost some fitness (mostly cardiovascular) but I was able to run the entire time. It is good to know that nearly two months off (or mostly off) did not affect my ability to run 3 miles in one shot. I was feeling it at the end, though. My lungs were not happy with me. I'm really happy with the 6:25 pace. Yes, it was only 30 seconds, but I have never broken a 7:00 pace, at least to my recollection, at any time. To have broken it by that much for that long and on tired legs is super!
As I sit here post run, I can feel a little twinge in my right arch. I don't think the PF is fully gone, so I now know that I need to ease back in. I was planning on starting Half Marathon training next week, but I think I need to go one more week with a few short runs before I delve into fully training. I need my feet, not just for running but for work and life, so I have to be really careful. I signed up for the Santa Cruz Half Marathon on April 1. If I can get a 10 mile training run in before then, I'll feel OK about going into the Half. I have a little bit of time to get ready.
I tried a gel today. Six or seven years ago they made me horrifically nauseous. Today they were quite tasty! I am happy to know that they are available as an option for training and races.
It was a little chilly this morning, but the view was incredible. You just can't beat this!
After a week or so without pain, I decided I could try and run today. Robin (my boss at Fleet Feet Sports Monterey) had a group run this morning with the new 5k-ers, so I thought I'd tag along. I shot out ahead, which was good because the guy ran faster than the group so he followed me and knew where to turn around. I ran 3.08 miles in 32:10, for an average pace of 10:27. The best part? I did not feel pain in my knee or my feet!
When I got back to the start I knew I had a few minutes, so I decided to do some strideouts. Just a set of two. My lungs were struggling and I didn't want to push my tired legs too much, but I wanted to see what I could do. I did 30 seconds max and then one minute cool down and repeated it. My paces were surprising. First max: 6:25! First cooldown: 10:44, second max: 7:57, second cooldown: 11:19. That was 0.32 miles in 3:00.
My total run for the day was 3.4 miles in 35:10. I am happy that I did not hurt and I am pleased with my overall performance. I have lost some fitness (mostly cardiovascular) but I was able to run the entire time. It is good to know that nearly two months off (or mostly off) did not affect my ability to run 3 miles in one shot. I was feeling it at the end, though. My lungs were not happy with me. I'm really happy with the 6:25 pace. Yes, it was only 30 seconds, but I have never broken a 7:00 pace, at least to my recollection, at any time. To have broken it by that much for that long and on tired legs is super!
As I sit here post run, I can feel a little twinge in my right arch. I don't think the PF is fully gone, so I now know that I need to ease back in. I was planning on starting Half Marathon training next week, but I think I need to go one more week with a few short runs before I delve into fully training. I need my feet, not just for running but for work and life, so I have to be really careful. I signed up for the Santa Cruz Half Marathon on April 1. If I can get a 10 mile training run in before then, I'll feel OK about going into the Half. I have a little bit of time to get ready.
I tried a gel today. Six or seven years ago they made me horrifically nauseous. Today they were quite tasty! I am happy to know that they are available as an option for training and races.
It was a little chilly this morning, but the view was incredible. You just can't beat this!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The move is complete
We turned in the keys to base housing yesterday, so we are officially in the RV. It feels great! We still have work to do in purging all of our stuff. We have a 10x10 storage unit that is full of things that we want to sell/donate/get rid of. One of my jobs over the next few months will be to do just that. I think we can take some of the clothes to a consignment shop. The big stuff like the bookcases and chairs we can continue to try and sell at the bargain fairs and such. The rest of it should probably go to Goodwill.
We had kept our sofa, table and chairs, and recliner around through the holidays for our houseguests. We planned to take them to a furniture consignment shop afterwards to sell. Bill's friend came over and helped load them into the truck to take over there on Sunday. Then we find out that the shop is about to go out of business! I'm glad we waited to take them. Otherwise, we'd probably find ourselves in a major legal battle trying to get our stuff back! We ended up donating them to the American Cancer Society's resale store. We can take a nice deduction on our taxes, but I was kind of hoping to turn them into cash for us. We donated a bunch of office supplies to the elementary school on base and the Kuranda beds the dogs didn't like, a scratching post, and a thundershirt to the Monterey County Humane Society. Both organizations were very grateful and we got receipts from them as well. This downsizing has been good for us. I'm afraid the IRS will come after us for the large amount we'll be deducting for charitable contributions, but we have the information to back them up.
Our repair guy is back out at the coach this morning. There is one more water leak to fix; this time behind the washer. I am so furious about this situation, I can't see straight. I cannot believe that the connections were never finished at the factory and then were not caught by our dealer. We have wood warped and damaged from the leak. Now we have wet carpets in the closet. It is hard to air dry clothes here because it never gets warm and not humid. I don't know how we'll dry the carpet out. I don't want mildew or mold to grow. I'm also concerned with the areas where we had standing water from the first round of leaks. Who knows how much damage happened to the underfloors. We took possession of the coach on December 2 and moved in on the 19th. We have had this for six weeks and haven't lived in it a month and we're having this much trouble? Sheesh! Does California have a lemon law?
By the way, we didn't have a propane leak. We have a propane hog. The furnace burns around 2 gallons of propane per hour. TWO GALLONS PER HOUR!!!!!!!!! We only have 14 gallons! And it doesn't even heat the living space that well. The repair guy mentioned installing a heat pump deal-io in the a/c units. They work really well, and off electricity. I'm going to do some research and see if it would be cost effective. Of course when you figure in around $8 an hour for propane heat (plus the inconvenience cost of taking the tanks out and to a filling station), if we can do a heat pump and still keep our usage to under 30amps, we might have something there.
The plantar fasciitis seems to have faded, which is great news. I bought some strassburg socks and wore them at night for a week. I noticed improvement after the first night! Those socks are amazing! I think I got more improvement from one night in them than I did from weeks in the splints. And they were (a little) more comfortable. Or should I say they were less uncomfortable than the splints. I traded the Brooks sneakers in for Asics Kayanos. I don't know if the Brooks were the cause, but the PF came back not too long after I started wearing the Brooks. Maybe it was the shoe or maybe I got a defective pair. Who knows? I'm much happier and more comfortable in the Asics.
I signed up for the Santa Cruz Half on April 1. I need to get back out there and run. I think it has been two weeks since I ran last. I might forget everything the PT told me to change! I want to start training again so I have have a good showing at the race. I think I will try to run on Saturday or Sunday and see how it feels. I won't go far, maybe three miles. I need to see if the knee issue has gone as well as how my feet do. I don't know if I will be able to run that all the way through! I haven't taken this much time off from running since I started almost two years ago!
I have been working hard at getting wineries on board for the spouse club wine tasting in March. So far I've got four participating. I'm hoping to hear back from more over the next week. Otherwise, I'll have to make some calls. I want to have 15 to 20 participating to make it a good event.
Work is still going well. I am enjoying it. I work with Dale now and not the owners. He's fine to work with. He's funny. I do miss working with Robin. She is a real sweet person. I like the company, the owners, my coworkers, and my job. I'm really glad I gave it a shot.
We had kept our sofa, table and chairs, and recliner around through the holidays for our houseguests. We planned to take them to a furniture consignment shop afterwards to sell. Bill's friend came over and helped load them into the truck to take over there on Sunday. Then we find out that the shop is about to go out of business! I'm glad we waited to take them. Otherwise, we'd probably find ourselves in a major legal battle trying to get our stuff back! We ended up donating them to the American Cancer Society's resale store. We can take a nice deduction on our taxes, but I was kind of hoping to turn them into cash for us. We donated a bunch of office supplies to the elementary school on base and the Kuranda beds the dogs didn't like, a scratching post, and a thundershirt to the Monterey County Humane Society. Both organizations were very grateful and we got receipts from them as well. This downsizing has been good for us. I'm afraid the IRS will come after us for the large amount we'll be deducting for charitable contributions, but we have the information to back them up.
Our repair guy is back out at the coach this morning. There is one more water leak to fix; this time behind the washer. I am so furious about this situation, I can't see straight. I cannot believe that the connections were never finished at the factory and then were not caught by our dealer. We have wood warped and damaged from the leak. Now we have wet carpets in the closet. It is hard to air dry clothes here because it never gets warm and not humid. I don't know how we'll dry the carpet out. I don't want mildew or mold to grow. I'm also concerned with the areas where we had standing water from the first round of leaks. Who knows how much damage happened to the underfloors. We took possession of the coach on December 2 and moved in on the 19th. We have had this for six weeks and haven't lived in it a month and we're having this much trouble? Sheesh! Does California have a lemon law?
By the way, we didn't have a propane leak. We have a propane hog. The furnace burns around 2 gallons of propane per hour. TWO GALLONS PER HOUR!!!!!!!!! We only have 14 gallons! And it doesn't even heat the living space that well. The repair guy mentioned installing a heat pump deal-io in the a/c units. They work really well, and off electricity. I'm going to do some research and see if it would be cost effective. Of course when you figure in around $8 an hour for propane heat (plus the inconvenience cost of taking the tanks out and to a filling station), if we can do a heat pump and still keep our usage to under 30amps, we might have something there.
The plantar fasciitis seems to have faded, which is great news. I bought some strassburg socks and wore them at night for a week. I noticed improvement after the first night! Those socks are amazing! I think I got more improvement from one night in them than I did from weeks in the splints. And they were (a little) more comfortable. Or should I say they were less uncomfortable than the splints. I traded the Brooks sneakers in for Asics Kayanos. I don't know if the Brooks were the cause, but the PF came back not too long after I started wearing the Brooks. Maybe it was the shoe or maybe I got a defective pair. Who knows? I'm much happier and more comfortable in the Asics.
I signed up for the Santa Cruz Half on April 1. I need to get back out there and run. I think it has been two weeks since I ran last. I might forget everything the PT told me to change! I want to start training again so I have have a good showing at the race. I think I will try to run on Saturday or Sunday and see how it feels. I won't go far, maybe three miles. I need to see if the knee issue has gone as well as how my feet do. I don't know if I will be able to run that all the way through! I haven't taken this much time off from running since I started almost two years ago!
I have been working hard at getting wineries on board for the spouse club wine tasting in March. So far I've got four participating. I'm hoping to hear back from more over the next week. Otherwise, I'll have to make some calls. I want to have 15 to 20 participating to make it a good event.
Work is still going well. I am enjoying it. I work with Dale now and not the owners. He's fine to work with. He's funny. I do miss working with Robin. She is a real sweet person. I like the company, the owners, my coworkers, and my job. I'm really glad I gave it a shot.
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