This Weeks Failures

So, my weekend run did not go as planned. I headed out late on Sunday and ran to a local park intending to just go until I hit 4.25 miles and then turn around. I made it to the 2.5 mi mark before turning, I forgot how quickly the sun sets in fall and was getting a little nervous about being stuck in the dark. I didn't help things by listening to my new Halloween playlist along the way.  This was my view:

as the Halloween theme played, creepy right?

It turns out I made the right decision. Not long after turning, my knee started acting up. At first it wasn't pain but more of a pressure, as if something was trying to force my knee inward. I tried to run though it but soon it became painful and I had to walk. My hips started killing me as soon as I began to walk. It's the same pain I've been dealing with for the past few weeks but I have never hurt like this. So here I am, limping home, walking til I can't anymore and then running til I can't, just wanting to be home before full dark. In all, I hobbled only 4.8 of my 8.5 miles.

After class today I went to the Student Health Center to talk with the RN. She gave me some stretches to do and recommended plenty of Motrin. Unfortunately she also thinks it's likely the problem could be osteoarthritis rather than simply ITBS. Great, huh? She told me that after the Tinkerbell run in January, I should think seriously about choosing a new hobby. I don't know what my long-term running plans are but being told I can't (or at least shouldn't) continue is pretty disheartening. I had a very vague notion of someday finishing a full marathon and was at least hoping for another half. 

For now, I'm all about pain management. Thank goodness for foam rollers!

Glad That's Over

This has been a ridiculous week. It started last Saturday with 8 straight hours of homework and ended with a 2.5 hour potions lab this morning. (FYI Potions is what I call my chemistry lab in an effort to make it more fun.) I am exhausted, sore and haven't run in 6 days. I'm really nervous about tomorrows 8.5 miles!

Luckily, this week is over and next week is starting. Tonight I get to see the 'So You Think You Can Dance' tour, tomorrow I get to spend a night with two of my favorite ladies, and next Friday I get to fly to Orlando to see one of my other favorite ladies marry a guy I think is pretty great. I'm hoping to be able to visit the Magic Kingdom while I'm there, everyone's photos from Fantasyland are taunting me! I lived through so much of that construction, I think it's time to see the finished product, right?

How was your week? Got any big plans for the upcoming week? Want to take bets on whether or not I'll survive tomorrows run?

Ballet for Boobies

Look at all the lovely ladies who remembered to wear pink today! In memory and in support, we danced for the ta-ta's today.

Random Thoughts ed. 1

Random thoughts from todays run:

1. Will Mr. March ever make it home? (DON'T tell me!)
2. I know Beth dies, but I can't remember when or how. (DON'T tell me!)
3. Will Jo and Laurie ever realize they're made for each other? (DON'T tell me!)
4. Who played Meg in the movie version? (You can tell me this one)

As you can see, I'm not finished running my way through Little Women. I'm loving it and I really don't know why I never read it before. I mean, I devoured books as a kid! In 5th grade I got in trouble for bringing a Steven King novel to school for free reading time. In 6th grade I would pretend I hadn't done my homework so I could be sent to the detention room while the rest of my Core class had to go play basketball. In both these instances, my mom totally backed me, I'm lucky to have gotten my love of literature from her.

Even though I'm only halfway through this book, I'm already thinking about what's next. Any suggestions?

The Most Important Meal of the Day

When it comes to food, I am a major creature of habit. I like to eat the same thing every day, at about the same time, for months on end. This is especially true when it comes to breakfast. For the past few months I've been having a Costco muffin and cup of coffee every morning some time between 6:30 and 7:30 AM. Well, for the last few days, we've been out of muffins and my mornings have felt totally chaotic. I had a backup plan, toast with Nutella... then we ran out of bread. Today I was really at a loss, no muffins, no toast (and I got up too late to get my dad to fry a few extra eggs for me), no bueno. I ended up with a bowl of instant oatmeal and was ready to gnaw my own arm off by the end of my second dance class! I'm embarrassed to admit I just finished inhaling two grilled cheese sandwiches (with tomato, so kinda healthy right?) and then high-tailed it out of the cafeteria in shame.

Why don't I just go to the grocery store? I could tell you how busy my schedule is, how I'm saving every penny for a plane ticket to the Miller/Taylor wedravaganza, or how my mom prefers to do the grocery shopping each week, but the real truth is I'm just really lazy. Going through the whole Costco experience for just one dozen muffins seems like an awful lot of work and adding a trip to the grocery store on my way home for somewhere rarely ever works out. I get home and then realize "Oh, I meant to stop for bread... oops."

The thing is, I didn't really realize how necessary that breakfast ritual is to me. I firmly believe it is the most important meal of the day. Without breakfast, I am ravenous, unfocused and short-tempered. I make terrible lunch choices on days I don't eat breakfast and they never really satisfy me anyway. As for the "ritual" part of it, I like starting my day the same each morning. It helps me to feel organized and in control of the day to come. I can arrive at class confident that I remembered to put on deodorant, brought the correct books and locked my car door. Any little change to my morning and all bets are out the window. All I know is, thank goodness today is a dance day or I would totally be the stinky kid...

Are you a breakfast eater? Do you have a morning ritual or just freestyle through life? Do you carry deodorant at all times or just on days you know you'll be working out?

Seven Miles

I hit a new milestone today, seven miles! That's more than half of a half marathon, y'all. I'm not pleased at how much walking I had to do, but my overall pace was 13'08" and as long as I can stay under 16' I'm okay with it... for now. And I'm too busy being psyched at finishing seven miles to be too disappointed anyway!
Today was also the first time I ran with a water bottle. I borrowed my Mom's amphipod, a water bottle with a padded handle/pocket. It was great having water along the way, especially since I had to run after noon, but I really didn't like having to carry it the whole time. On the other hand, I'm not sure I want to rock the fanny pack holster. How do you hydrate during your runs? Do you prefer belt packs or handhelds? Or are there other options I haven't even considered yet?

Running and Releves

You know what doesn't go together so well? Running and releves. You guys my calves are KILLING me! I really need to get better about stretching after my runs, I've been focusing so much on flexibility in my hips but not so much on the rest of my leg. On a happy note, both my dance teachers complimented my turnout today so I guess I'm doing something right. Also, I love ballet! I don't know that I'm any good at it but I am having so much fun, it really doesn't matter.

Yesterday was my longest run (without a walk break) at 25 minutes in a very long time. For some reason I'm having a hard time controlling my breathing lately. It doesn't take long for me to get out of breath, but I know my pace hasn't sped up or anything odd. Maybe it's the cooler weather? Has that ever happened to you, things are going along fine and then you seem to regress for no clear reason? How did you work through it? It's such a mental struggle to not let this ruin my motivation.

Ultimate Multi-tasking

I'm happy to report that I did get my butt in gear and went out for my 5 mile run Saturday morning. It was... uneventful. I guess the honeymoon phase is over. 5 miles is my longest run yet, but somehow I wasn't very excited about it. Maybe it's because I had to take walk breaks every mile, maybe I've lost a little of my enthusiasm, or maybe I'm just jaded now. Regardless, I did it and I'm glad I did.

A while back, I stumbled upon an awesome website full of free audio books. LibriVox has hundreds of titles to choose from, all from the public domain, mostly classics and such. You can download the books in a few ways, I use the 'subscribe to iTunes' version which downloads the books as a series of podcasts. Instead of music, I've been listening to books while I run. Right now I'm in chapter 8 of Little Women, and in book worm heaven. There is never enough time in my days for reading anymore, but now I can multi-task and enjoy two hobbies at once. It's awesome!

Do you listen to books while you run? Or music? Or do you prefer to tune into the sounds of your running instead?