Happy New Year!

Little Miss Sunshine and I started the year out with a race. When I was in high school my family participated in a 'Resolution Run' every year on New Year's Eve. The race started at a quarter to midnight and afterwards we sat around in the gym and won door prizes and such. It was a lot of fun. We haven't found a race like that here unfortunately. However, I did find a race that starts at 10 am on New Year's Day. An added bonus: they have kids' races of various lengths (25 yds, 200 yds, 1 mile) beforehand. So LMS ran the 25 yard race and had a great time. She was very excited to be running a race and she thought the finisher's ribbon was pretty cool. This is a blurry picture; my mom's camera has some better ones, I need to get them from her.Notice how she's already working on her form: arms bent and swinging, knees high, big smile. My mom came along to watch her while I ran. Luckily there was a good playground right there at the finish line, so LMS was able to have fun while waiting.

I had the option of running a 5K or a 10K, and you could actually change your mind a mile into it, when the 10K-ers went one way and the 5K-ers went another. I knew from the beginning I was only going to do the 5K though, since I really don't have my mileage up higher than that.
While running, I realized several things:
1. I really need to do some hill work. The first half of this race was all uphill, and it was tough! (It was an out-and-back course, so that also meant that the second half was downhill, but still...)
2. I am not ready to run a half marathon in two weeks. I had planned on doing so, but realized I really do not have enough mileage to be properly prepared. I could do it anyway, but I want to be able to run the whole thing, not have to stop and gasp for breath/rest my tired legs every little bit/have problems with my shins.
3. While increasing my mileage, I also need to strengthen my calves and shins more. I didn't wear my compression sleeves during the race and only had a small twinge in one shin, but it was also only a three mile race.
4. Luckily I have options. There's a half marathon the first weekend of February I can do, but it's rather hilly, so we'll see how my hill workouts go before I make a decision on that one. There's several 5K/10K and 5M/10M races this month and next, so I'll be able to prepare for the half marathon that I will be doing the first weekend of March. I can definitely be ready for that one.

Asthma problems

Running in the cold yesterday hit me harder than I expected. I did expect the cough that I got: that always happens after running in the cold; residual asthma effects from when I was younger. When I was practicing my flute last night though, I found myself having to breathe after every measure, which is very uncharacteristic. I also couldn't take a deep breath, no matter how hard I tried. This isn't good, because that means my asthma was acting up. I haven't had problems for more than 10 years, so I really hope this is just temporary. I don't want to have to take asthma meds again. This morning my lungs felt better, but my throat was feeling worse and I felt crummy. I've had a scratchy throat off and on for the past few days, but yesterday I felt fine. Today, not so much. So I didn't go running today in hopes that I'll be feeling better tomorrow.

Today my brother got the ok to go back on his mission. While he was in the MTC he messed up his knee and had surgery, but it never healed and he was having problems walking, so when the rest of his group went to Korea, he came home. He had physical therapy once he got home, but at that point it had been almost 2 months since the surgery, so it was too little too late. He ended up having another surgery and this time started PT 3 days later. He can now walk without any problems. He had to be able to walk 5 miles without pain before they'd let him go back out, and he was finally able to do that. He's been home almost a year, but he's been able to get some other medical problems taken care of, so that was good. He doesn't have to go back to the MTC, he'll be heading straight to Korea the first week of January. He's very excited because he didn't think he'd be able to go to Korea, he was afraid they'd send him somewhere else.

Running in Hawaii versus here

It was super cold Sunday morning- my car thermometer read zero degrees on the way to church. Yikes! It also read zero on the way to the in-laws for dinner, but their thermometer said 10 below, so I wonder if my car thermometer can't do negatives...

I didn't go running yesterday like I had planned, but I did go today. I went in the afternoon while Little Miss Sunshine was napping. I figured it would be warmer then, which it was, but it was also windier. As I was running I was thinking about how much running I've done lately. It was a bit of a shock to realize it's been a month since I was running consistently. I did go running once in Hawaii, but there just wasn't a good route that was clear of obstacles and not super close to traffic. I try to err on the side of safety when I have LMS in the stroller with me, so I didn't go on any more runs after that. It was a nice run, physically, though. I wore my compression sleeves, and my shins didn't hurt at all. My calves got fatigued pretty quickly, but that should help strengthen them, which should in turn strengthen the muscles in my shins, right? I'm sure hoping that's the case. Anyway, my lungs didn't bother me at all- no problems breathing- of course, we were at sea level, so about as much oxygen as you can get. The two miles I did today showed me that 3 1/2 weeks at sea level followed by a return to higher altitude takes longer than a week to re-acclimate. I took a week off, hoping that would be enough, but I was gasping for air by the time I hit the 1.5 mile marker. Add fatigued calf muscles (compression sleeves again), and it was a tough run. It felt good to get out there again, but I'm going to have to really stay motivated to get past the altitude issues and the fatigued calf muscles. Hopefully it doesn't take too long.

I had planned to do a 10k race this Saturday, but for some reason it hadn't clicked that it was so soon. I need to run the 10k race as prep for the half marathon I'm doing in January, but I'm tempted to do just the 5k. After how cold it was on Sunday, though, I may not be running it at all. I really need to see how my lungs react to really cold, higher altitude air. Today was in the 30's, so warmer than it may be on Saturday. We'll have to see how cold the next couple days are.



Still haven't decided if I'm doing the race on Saturday, but if I do, I'm pretty sure it'll only be the 5K. I'm just not ready for a 10K at this point, which is unfortunate. Sure hope I'm ready for the half in January.

Upcoming Races

I had wanted to run a turkey trot while in Hawaii, but the only race I could find was 6 am on Thanksgiving, and it was a 10 miler. I only wanted a 5K... Plus, I wasn't ready for a 10 miler. So no race in November. My December race is this weekend, but I still have to see if I'm re-acclimated. January is my next half marathon. February is a 5 miler or a 10 miler (we'll see how I feel after the half). There's another half I can do towards the beginning of March, but it might interfere with some other stuff going on, so we'll have to see on that one. If we haven't moved cross-country, I have another half I can run in April. I'm not going to start looking for races past that point, since we don't know where we'll be.

Running in the snow is fun

After not getting much done yesterday, I got a lot done today. I've noticed this tends to happen. I take some time to relax, and I'm much more productive.

Despite cold weather and flurries, we went for a run this morning. My shins were hurting, so I only ran/walked two miles, but it felt good (other than my shins). It wasn't super cold, which is why I made sure I got out and went running. Once the weather gets colder, I need to keep running, and not wuss out, so hopefully if I ease into it, it won't be too bad. I used to love running in the snow and rain in high school, but that was a long time ago. I need toughen up so I can do it and enjoy it again.

After my run, I took some stuff out to the storage container and got our suitcases out. I talked to my Army Guy, wrapped some presents, and cleaned our room. After lunch, while Little Miss Sunshine napped, I worked on the travelmate. I got it mostly done, then ran into a problem with some of my hardware not fitting quite right. I'll fix it tomorrow and get pictures posted. Then I played with LMS, sorted some hand-me-down clothes for her, added 10 inches to some ties I bought for my brother (he's so tall that ties aren't long enough for him), did laundry, and practiced my flute.

A reason for the blahs

This morning I woke up with cramps, and realized why I've been feeling 'blah' and 'off' the last few days. It's a few days earlier than I was expecting it, so I didn't think of that as a cause. My cycle seems to be regulating itself more and more each month. One benefit is that my PMS is getting better (no irrational mood swings this time around, like I've had in the past), but it is opening a new round of worries. Depending on when my Army Guy gets to Hawaii, I could potentially get pregnant next month. I do want to get pregnant, but I'm still trying to lose weight, and I'm really concerned about another miscarriage. And if I do manage to get pregnant, I'll be worried the whole time, feeling like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Not much I can do about it all right now, but it's there, in the back of my mind.

Saturday I went for another nice run, enjoying the beautiful warm weather. I ran about 3.5 miles and walked another .5 to 1 miles (not sure on the exact length- need to measure it still). It felt good and was motivating. Of course, this morning was cold and foggy and nasty. I'd actually planned on going for a swim today, so I never planned on biking or running, but the swim didn't happen either. The cramps aren't as bad as I've had in the past (they seem to be getting better, as well), but they're still enough to make me not want to do anything. Overall, I didn't get much done the last few days. I should be able to get more done tomorrow though.

Lovely weather for a run

This past weekend was pretty nasty and cold, so I wasn't sure if we'd have any more nice weather. However, this morning was gorgeous. We went for a really nice run: ran 2.5 miles, walked 1.5 miles. It felt really good to run, not too many twinges or too much pain. I could have gone further except the last quarter mile of the first two miles was uphill, and pushing Little Miss Sunshine in the stroller took it out of me. I walked a half mile after that (had to catch my breath), then ran another half mile, which felt good, though there was a stiff breeze that slowed me down a bit. There was another hill at that point, so I walked the last mile home. 55 minutes altogether, just shy of the 60 I was aiming for.

After I got home I ran through my stretches and exercises (45 minutes worth) which felt good, but reminded me why I never liked weightlifting: it's too stinking boring. I can tell it's going to take some work to make it a habit. I really need to be doing it before I go running, but I took so long to get going this morning that if I'd done my stretches first I wouldn't have made it out on my run. Another thing to work on: not taking so long to get out the door in the morning.

When my dad got home from work this afternoon, he brought another load of gravel for the driveway, so I got to help shovel that. As if I hadn't already gotten enough exercise today...

This afternoon I worked on a pad for LMS's jogging stroller (why buy one when I can make one), but I managed to break the last of my needles, and now I have to buy some more before I can finish the cushion. I have a smaller pad, a Kiddopotamus Snuzzler, that I found on craigslist soon after I found the stroller on craigslist. At the time, LMS looked so tiny in the cushion. It's been a great cushion, but now she's way too big for it. So I'm making a bigger cushion for her. She spends enough time in her stroller that she might as well be as comfortable as possible.

I didn't get around to wrapping all the presents yet, but it's still on my list. I did get my closet cleaned out: I kept a few things in there that I thought I'd use soon, but it'll still be awhile before I get to them, so no point in them taking up space inside. I really like de-cluttering! Now if I could just figure out how to keep my desk clear. There's always paper stacking up on it, that needs to be filed or tossed. It's a never ending battle.

Fun with Photoshop

I have such a massive headache! I finally got around to buying Adobe Photoshop Elements, and I waited so long that the new version came out- last night. I let it download overnight, then started messing around with it this morning. All told, I think I spent about 6 hours playing with it and trying to get it to do what I wanted it to (finally figured most of it out), and then changing my blog template. I used to think I was fairly computer literate, but since entering the world of blogging, I've realized I am not that computer literate. I really struggle with HTML (I have to do a lot of trial and error to get things looking the way I want), and digital scrapbooking never seemed like much of a time saver to me (it still doesn't).

So I have a massive headache from staring at the computer screen for so long, but I did manage to do about 90% of what I wanted to. I still need to figure out the other 10%.... I had originally planned on taking Little Miss Sunshine for a bike ride this morning, but that didn't happen since I got caught up in Photoshop. After she woke up from her nap, we went outside and I started organizing the storage container while LMS kept busy with her sand and water table (she could play with it for hours on end).

Right now I'm taking a quick break from working on my quilt. If I finish it quick enough I'll hop on my bike for a little while, since I still haven't exercised today.

Here's a picture of me and LMS after the marathon. I had fun photoshopping certain identifying things out of it, and it turned out pretty good, I think.