Out with the old and in with the new

 Up this morning.  Quick errands.  Go check on grandma (she is 90 and my family recently moved her home from across the state).  Head home. Quick shower.  Practice violin for lunchtime concert.  Bake muffins between practicing (can't  get enough carbs these days).  Eat 2 muffins with a tall glass of milk.  Change clothes.  Pick up grandma.  Play solo lunch concert at church up the street.  Pieces by Mozart, Glazunov, Rubinstein and Jay Ungar.  Have quick lunch with church members and grandma. 

Drop grandma off.  Get text from sister that Brown's Shoes is having a Leap Day sale.  All sale rack shoes are $29.  I buy ALL my shoes at Brown's....running,  dress, casual, snowboots, everything. So, I decide to stop by Brown's....after all, it's on my way home.  

I walk in the door and Dan (the owner and great "shoe guy") hollers to me "Heads Up".  He throws a turquoise shoe at me.  I catch it. WHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAATTT?  It's THE shoe I didn't expect to arrive until mid-March.  It's THE shoe that will replace my current New Balance Road Minimus.  It's THE NEW New Balance Minimus Zero.  I'm in love and I don't even have it on my foot yet.  It's flexible, with a tough Vibram sole, great tongue design.  I try it on.  It's mine.

Luckily, I hadn't run yet.  I was to have an hour break because of a violin lesson cancellation for the afternoon and had a one-hour run planned with my DH.  YES!  

The run-down: LOVE these shoes.  Had time for 5 miles in them and they were everything I wanted them to be. Great flexibility.  Great response.  Super light.  Barefoot feel of the road...I can feel everything.  Amazing color!  No inner seams or discomforts.  Very thin around the heel and achilles (all the padding around the achilles on shoes drives me nuts!).  If you are a minimalist, I highly recommend them.  

The old minimus.....and the new minimus Zero

Happy Leap Day!

"Hard Long Run"

Usually the long run day says things like "Long Run. 17 miles easy."  "Long Run. 12 miles easy." Today was not that day. Instead it read:
Hard Long Run
1 mile easy
10 miles at marathon pace + 10-20 sec/mile
1 mile easy

Goal marathon pace is 8:00 flat.  So, I need 10 miles of 8:10-8:20s.  When walking out the door, I looked at my husband and said I just don't think I can do this.  It's day 1 of the 7th week of training and already marathon pace stuff for 10 miles....so much more intense than the last program  He said "Just go."

I did.

Was a little too fast on a few of them actually.  But overall did great.  Fastest mile (2 of them) was 7:57, slowest was 8:20 on the dot, all the rest were in between.  Boy, that 1 mile easy at the end felt terrible and great at the same time....wanted to be done but was SOOO glad the hard was over.

A hard long run for sure. I'm pooped.

Eye Tee Band.....bumps

17 on Monday

6.5 on Tuesday

7.5 on Wednesday

3.5 on Thursday

I.T. bands have been insane....they don't feel bad in my actual legs (like tight or strained or causing any other pain), but when I rub my fingers down them they are chunky!!! Like marbles under my skin.  I do my foam roller like a crack addict slowly, quickly, forwards, backwards, again and again.  Today I go to see the massage therapist and cry like a baby on the table....a baby who has just had her feelings hurt SUPER BAD.  They are better now...the giant marbles have turned into tiny grains of sand.  Hopefully they will be all gone tomorrow.  Hopefully I can keep up the maintenance.

6 miles tomorrow....then REST on Saturday for my long run on Sunday.

ViolinNOTrunning....and then 17

This weekend was what I call a "crazy concert weekend".  Full of lots of driving to Durango, Colorado and back, lots of rehearsals and lots of practicing to touch up rough spots.  I had a rehearsal Friday, then two on Saturday and then a rehearsal and concert on Sunday.  Here is a photo from the concert:

I am the one with the dark hair in between the conductor and the cello soloist.

Because of all the crazy concert stuff, I had to postpone my long run until Monday morning.  I got to bed early last night and planned to get up at 7 and out the door around 7:30.  As planned, I got up, got dressed, downed some cereal.  Then I checked the weather to make sure I was dressed properly.  Hmmm...22 degrees.  20mph wind.....so weather channel says "feels like 8F".  Ugh.  Ah well.  I think to myself that I could wait until later but the wind was supposed to stay strong all day.  So, I headed out.  I had planned to go my usual "long run" route and add on a new little loop at the turnaround point to make it a 17 miler.  As planned, I pounded through.  Had some Sharkies gummies part way through, and some nice orange Gatorade to wash them down.  The gummies were pretty much frozen so it took me a mile to get them all down.  At around mile 9, my hands were so cold....my gloves just weren't cutting it in this crazy wind.  I thought "Ah, well...I'm already halfway so now I just have to run home".   It wasn't so bad. My pace was nice but my heartrate was a little high (probably from the cold).  17 miles.....done in 2 hours and 30 minutes....that's an 8:48 per mile average.  Whew! 

My Running Buddy

My hubby has had a calf issue for 4 weeks now....so no running.  Generally during the week we train separately because we have opposite work schedules, but we do our weekend long runs together.  It's a good thing my fawn doberman (Sentry) is 1 1/2 and has taken quite nicely to winter running.  Sentry started running when my hubby and I started in April but he was too young to go very far (not good for his growth plates) and temperatures were not ideal.  Starting over the Christmas holidays, he was putting in 25 miles a week with us.  His newest mileage record for a single run is 11.1 miles.  It was only 23 degrees when we did that last week and he was fabulous the whole time.  He has learned to "heel" very well.  His favorite run is a 2.5 mile straight shot to the dog park.  I run laps on the little dirt track around the edge of the park, while he plays off his leash.  Then I hook him back on the leash for the 2.5 back home.  Today we did 7 miles this way.  This is a photo from a few weeks ago.....if this guy doesn't have a runner body, no dog does!

And one more pic of him because he is just the cutest guy ever:

Running for Sherry in the Snow

The run for Sherry Arnold was Saturday, but that was supposed to be my rest day. I thought I'd go for a shortie just in her honor, but then I decided it'd be ok to be a day late and do a long run as programmed in honor of her.  It's a good thing I made Sunday that day....to run for someone else.

I woke up early....leaving the hubby in bed on Sunday morning (Sunday IS my sleep-in day so this was hard to do).  I put on the running gear, quick bowl of cereal and was out the door by 7:05.  The wind was pretty strong and there was a 50% chance of snow....being New Mexico I figured that was more like a 5% chance.  Well, 15 was on the program for today....I thought of going back inside to bed...out of the wind and cold.  I looked down to sync up the Garmin and saw the running bib for Sherry attached to my hydration belt.  I had to go.

Mile 1....lots of trash.
Mile 2.....12 snowflakes...I counted them.
Mile 3.....the hill I always hate....it's steap and dirt (no sidewalk)
Mile 4.....lots more snow....WAY too many flakes to count
Mile 5....now it's a blizzard and really windy...my black fleece is now white
Mile 6....my eyelashes are totally snowy and icy...eyebrows too....my face is wet and cold
This is crazy. I should turn around and go home....but if I run another mile and a half and then turn around, I will have my 15 for Sherry.  Keep going.
I do.
After the turn around, I was just past mile 8 and close to Wordquota's house. I really needed a waterproof jacket.  I was soaked.  Not cold....but I dreaded as the snow continued that the wet would penetrate and make me cold. I called Wordquota.  She was home and would me outside with a jacket.  My HERO for the day!  The best part was her cheering for me as I ran down the street covered in snow as she approached with a jacket for me.  I traded her the fleece for the jacket (I will see her tomorrow at her daughter's violin lesson).  I can finish this 15.
Mile 9....I look at Garmin and he tells me that I am going 8:17 for this mile.....wow.....that's crusin for a long run.
Mile 10-13 More snow....snow on the sidewalks, snow on the roads. My feet are now soaked. I am soaked. My hair, my socks, my legs, my poor cold face.
I thought of Sherry Arnold. I thought of her family and how she is missed by them and all her students....and her community.

I finished the run strong, with 20 minutes of moderate.  My shoes gushed with water.  My socks squishing inside.  The running bib I had printed was soggy and barely attached as I stepped onto the front porch.  I had finished.  Fifteen for Sherry Arnold.

Carb Loading

So, ever since I started all this running....all I want is carbs and yogurt.

I started making my own yogurt last fall because my yogurt bills were getting pretty high (and making it yourself is CRAZY cheap).  So, my awesome hubby got me a yogurt maker for Christmas and now I make it every week and eat every drop myself (he doesn't eat the "yucky" stuff as he calls it).

Then there's bread. I had never baked bread because I have an old and very cold house and a gas oven that doesn't allow for great proofing. I had done cinnamon rolls and stuff like that, but never real bread loaves.  Well, we had to get a new stove just after Christmas and ended up getting a rockin' dual fuel (gas range and electric oven) that had been returned (so less than HALF price).  So, proofing bread in the oven became an option!!!!  I have gone crazy and have not purchased a single bread product since December 28 (sandwich bread, hearth loaves, rolls, even hamburger buns).  I have also taken to grinding my own flour for yummy whole wheat recipes for bread and my newest favorite: MUFFINS (seriously last week I made a dozen muffins and ate SEVEN in one day).  Oh my....thank goodness for all the running.

So, on Thursday:  a beautiful hearth loaf and three loaves of sandwich bread:

RUN FOR IT!

Good

Today was a GOOD day.  I ran with 3 girls....on a "Girls Lunch Time Run".  It was fantastic....or rather the girls are.

They all have kids.  They all make time to run in their lives.  They are all super fit.

They run because they love it. They run because it gives them a chance to escape from their days. They run because it's healthy.

The run took us on a steady 5.5 mile run with a few good hills through downtown and up through a busy part of town....everyone on their lunch breaks. We pounded the pavement, with strong heart beats and lots of chatting.

These girls are so amazing because not only do they run, but they are good moms, good wives, good athletes and good people.

Today was good.

downtown

Tired

Why does life have to be so exhausting sometimes?  No rest for the weary I guess. I just feel like I have been going non-stop lately; let me re-phrase: I HAVE been going non-stop lately.  Lots of concerts, lots of lessons, just lots of playing violin in general. The last two days, running has felt like a task cause there is barely time to do it.  Once I've got the shoes on and am out the door, I am so glad to be doing it.  Making the time is just hard when I'm tired and would rather have a nap (like that EVER happens!!!!!!!)

I need  get to bed earlier.

On a happier note, I have my favorite socks on today.  They are Fits Sock Co.....merino wool. LOVE LOVE LOVE them.

Only in New Mexico

So, it's February 5.  Today it was snowing big fluffy snowflakes and was sunny at the same time.  I headed out at 2:00 in the afternoon on what was to be a 12 miler with 20 minutes of "moderate" at the end of the run.  Well, I found a new favorite spot to run.  There is a city sports complex with tennis courts and 8 baseball fields a few miles away.  I have run past it on many of my runs.  Today (being Super Bowl Sunday and all) I figured I would have the place all to myself and I was right.  I ran in every dug-out gate and ran around the dirt edge of all the baseball fields.  I also ran up the 1/2 mile hill to all the tennis courts and back down.  Then I continued on out to the highway and circled around downtown.  Ended up 13.1 miles on the dot.....and in under 2 hours....that's not bad for an easy Sunday afternoon run in the "sunny snow".

Crazy Week

Monday
11 miles....whew.

Tuesday
4 miles

Wednesday
4 miles

Thursday
6 miles

Friday....none

Saturday
6 miles

Next week will hopefully be better. This week was crazy with extra appointments and commitments.
Sentry did all 31 miles with me though. He is turning into a Marathon Dog!