FLU

In case you have been wondering where I have been, I have the stupid flu. Who even gets the flu in the spring? One day I had an awesome 10 mile run, the next day I couldn't get out of bed. I thought I just had a migraine which happens a few times a year, but then I woke up Monday feeling really sick. Of course I went to work anyway because to get another manager to replace me at 5am is a whole ordeal. I figured I could make it until 7 when another manager arrived. I actually stumbled around until 12 then went home & slept for the rest of the day & night. I thought for sure I would be better the next day. Nope! I only made it until 7 when I had to leave. At this point I went to the doctor who luckily received patients early on Tuesdays. They said I had the flu but would run some blood work for other things just in case (still awaiting the results). After that I took off work & stayed in bed until today, when I felt much better. I may even go to work tomorrow.

I have never experienced anything like this before, even typing on the computer took too much effort. Luckily, I was able to read and I had some great can't-put-them-down page turners by Stieg Larsson. So that's what I did, read & slept, I couldn't even eat booo.

Needless to say, my training has been put on hold. I couldn't even get out of bed let alone run or even walk. I'm not sure how I'm going to progess through this. I was scheduled to do a 12 mile run saturday which obviously isn't happening. Maybe next saturday if I can get my short runs in. My fellow runners from runnersworld.com feel that my endurance will carry over. I sure hope so!
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Nature Girl Runs on Dirt!

Miles: 10.01

Time: 2:17:47

• ran on some dirt trails, peed in the woods, got a mosquito bite (on my butt), forded a river twice, tripped and rolled like a stunt man, and cut 10 minutes off of my last 10 mile time

This whole adventure started because my friend Heather (a.k.a Bebe), who is a PA, verbally assaulted me for not varying the surface that I run on. You know these medical types, always telling runners that they are going to blow their knees out in ten years. Once (years ago) I even had a doctor tell me that I shouldn't run because it's "bad for your knees". Maybe they're right but the alternative for me is being a couch potato so I'm going to stick with running, thanks. Anyway, while running on my usual trail I spied a very inviting dirt trail that appeared to travel parallel to the paved one. At the same time, there was a guy in my area that I couldn't seem to lose. Normally people pass me and I never see them again, I tell myself this is because they end at one of the trail heads while I keep going. Anyway, the combination of losing this guy and telling Bebe that I ran on dirt practically made the decision for me. I veered off into the unknown! I was having so much fun and feeling so good that I forgot about my walk breaks, I hoped that I wouldn't regret this daydreaming at mile 7. The dirt trail met up with the paved one and I was at a crossroads. Of course Frost was in my mind telling me to take the path less traveled. The only problem was that there was a steep muddy embankment to travel down and a river to ford. On the plus side someone had strategically placed rocks as a make-shift bridge and there was a stick going over the quagmire of muck. I went for it! I tip-toed around the muddiest parts, hanging onto trees (the stick sunk when I stepped on it) and got to the river. Now, I have crossed many a river in my days of hiking, and the trick is to make sure the rocks are stable before you put all of your weight on them. It was a success! I was over the river! I was having a blast. Unfortunately, near one road crossing the path merged with the macadam once again. This is where I realized that it is much faster to shuffle on pavement than dirt. duh

It was around mile 3 something or other that I really had to pee. I just couldn't hold it. Back to my hiking experience, I have no problem going to the bathroom in the woods, what did concern me was that a fellow jogger or cyclist would wander by. The tree cover is not that great yet and visibility is pretty good. But, there was no way I could hold it for another 4 miles until I got back to the bathrooms in the park. I walked way into the woods and found a fallen tree with another tree in front of it which seemed to provide good coverage. I did my business and was back on the trail jogging in record time. This is when I realized that I had a stupid mosquito bite! That's what I get for peeing in the woods.

I became a little sluggish at mile 5 but my GU perked me right up. The trail was getting fairly crowed and I had two different runners tell me "good job" which I found a little strange. Not bad, just weird. On the way back I debated not taking the dirt trail. I was getting tired and didn't feel like dealing with any surprises. Ultimately I chose to go back the exact way I came; basically because I did not want to mess with my mileage. I had already stopped my watch on the pee break and forgot to start it again for like 5 minutes. I was mentally somewhere in la la land when I TRIPPED. It happened so fast but for some reason the thought that I could not fall on my knees popped into my head. I put my heads down and somehow sprung off of them to roll onto my butt. Crisis averted due to my awesome stuntman-like skills. In reality I most likely appeared to be a weirdo rolling in the dirt. I want to say that my fall was due to a rock but I think I really just stumbled from poor shuffling. Whatever the reason I came away unscathed and was back to the river which I crossed like a pro.

My run was sadly coming to an end. I felt great the entire time. I guess all of the swimming and scaling back my mileage due to vacation really helped. I felt like saying I did an "easy" 10 miles. It was not until my run was almost over that I pushed some buttons on my watch and realized that I had gone faster than the last time I did 10. I was shocked. I ended up going an entire 10 minutes faster! That just made the run even better. What a blessing to run an easy 10 on a beautiful day!

hills?!

I did not feel like running in the slightest and therefore decided to run anyway and attempt to do some hill work. Makes sense, right? The most enjoyable part of the whole matter is that I do not even know how to properly preform a "hill" workout. The following is what I did. I did a normal 5 minute walking warm-up then I jogged to a hill. I sprinted up the hill trying to be as light on my feet as possible. Then I walked down the hill. I did this for .90 miles/ 10 minutes but I am not actually sure how many times I went up and down the hill. It was pretty enjoyable and I almost threw up my Panera lunch. I'm not sure why I equate almost losing the contents of my stomach due to physical exertion, but I do. Oddly enough, I do not like sprinting on flat ground. I think this may have something to do with my running form. I feel that I have better form going uphill. I will have to look into this in addition to reading the chapter in my book about running hills. Its not really in my beginner program so I skipped that part of the book. Anyway, I jogged the rest of my 20 minute run and did my usual 5 minute cool down walk. The problem is that my right knee is now feeling weird. It started acting up at work today. I'm icing them now and hoping that both will be fine tomorrow!

Tough Start

I wish I could figure out why it is so darn hard to get out of the door and going running. I literally had to force myself to put my running clothes on, walk the pup, and then actually go for my run. I even wanted to cancel after walking the dog even though I was changed and everything. So dumb! The crazy part is, after boo hooing the first 5 minutes, I was happy again. By the end of the session I was smiling I was so happy. Why does my brain forget this feeling when its time for me to put my sneakers on? This is why I don't listen to myself and just follow the routine no matter what. I am so glad that I went for my run.
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Slackin off

Okay, so yesterday I ran and today is a XT day and I totally slacked off. I leisurely walked about 30 minutes and did Mrytle (only because my hip sorely needed it). At least I didn't take the day off. It was rough waking up at 3:10 am again. I actually woke up around 1 with a mild panic attack (I have issues with this sometimes) so I was basically a mess by the time I actually got out of bed. In addition, I can't stop worrying about being sleep deprived again. I cannot put into words how amazing it was to get a full nights sleep for 7 nights straight. That hasn't happened since September. I didn't even realize how worn down I was. Hopefully I will just find an fabulous new job soon!! I'm trying to not get too down about being back from vacay, I just love the sun, warm weather, and ocean soooo much. At least its about time to start going to the shore here. Its not even close to the Caribbean but there is something to be said for the wildness and salty/beachy smell of the Atlantic
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Back from vacay & back to real running

We arrived home from St. Martin yesterday! Booooo! I did no typical running on vacay. James didn't want me running around the island or even the resort by myself. It seemed perfectly safe, I even saw some other women running, but I didn't want him to stress out. I also couldn't make myself run on the treadmill. 30 minutes on the treadmill seemed like 30 minutes of time not spent enjoying the Caribbean. No way. I did run in the pool and in the ocean, and I swam a ton. Water running was really fun! My calves were killing me between walking up and down all the hills on the resort and running in the water. I run on my toes in the water which is how one is supposed to run I guess lol. Plus, when I say swimming, I mean swimming, not floating around on a raft or noodle. I would literally swim for hours a day in the ocean.

Yesterday, our flight landed in the evening and by the time we picked up LG from NYC it was way to late to run. Therefore, today was my first real run in over a week. I planned to do an easy 6, just to get back into the swing of things. It was a little awkward at first, I should say more awkward than usual he he, but then I found my shuffle stride and felt great. My body felt very strong in fact. All of the swimming and hills strengthened some key muscles I guess. I feel like my form was better as well. My knee was a little sore on the side but not wobbly or weak at all which was great. I can deal with sore but not unstable! All in all my run was a great way to combat the back from vacay blues. The woods were beautiful and changed so much in a week. In addition, it was nice to be back in some wild weather. Everyday was perfect in St. Martin, even when it rained it was only for 10 minutes. Today was insanely windy and the sky was enveloped in cloud cover. It made things more interesting. I felt good at the end but I'm glad I didn't push myself yet. Plus, we had nothing to eat for breakfast and no GU's but I did find an old LARA bar which I ate some of after the 3 mile mark. It gave me a good energy boost and seemed to sit well in my stomach.

Soon to be posted: vacay pictures!
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Here we go!

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Vacay!

I am very excited to get to St. Martin, in fact our flight is about to board which is great. Not so great is the fact that I have a huge problem flying. This time my anxiety started driving to the terminal! I'm holding it together fairly well, trying to focus on laying on the beach in the sun, listening to the ocean. My phone most likely will not work over there although James' phone will. Maybe I'll post something later this week, maybe not. Say lots of prayers for a safe journey and fabulous trip! Peace
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Not a fan of flying!

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