Just a Favor for My Mom

Okay, so it's been almost a year and a half since I've used my blog. . . and now the only reason I'm doing so is so my mom can have some photos from Facebook on her Pinterest.  Sigh.  Such is my life.  :)

So. . . Tired. . . Must. . . Sleep

But, I'm probably not going to. Went for a 2-miler this morning; ran most of it. Got less sleep last night than the night before. Ugh. Whipped the biggest hill on my chosen course (which was a pretty good one, actually). Doc's talking about moving Mom to a SNF for a while. She's gonna love that, when she figures out what he meant by "sniff". I can tell she's clueless b/c she didn't moan, groan, or make faces. Maybe it's wrong of me, but I didn't feel up to enlightening her today. Got the parts put together for my piece of crap car, and another new one bought, now to put the put-together parts together to form a functional vehicle. That will be Jon's job when he arrives home tonight. Not sure what I'd do without good friends at times like these. As for me, I simply can't wait to see my own bed, where hopefully, my baby (and thus, myself) will sleep well for the first time in a few days. Until then, anyone got an IV drip of caffeine?

Bad Blogger! No Cookie!

:( No cookie? But I like the cookie! lol Okay, seriously, yes, I'm still running, although not as much as I might like here recently. I've just been neglecting my blog again. However, since I'm sitting at a friend's house in the middle of the night, with everyone else sleeping, and me unable to decide where to sleep, since my older 3 monsters have taken over my hide-a-bed, I figured I'd put up a quick post. Varying circumstances have hindered my running over the last month or so, but I'm still stumbling along. I may be running in place, as far as progress goes, but it's better than slipping backwards, and eventually I hope to move forward again! My mother has spent the last week+ in the hospital with a systemic MRSA infection (Doctor said it's one of the highest white blood cell counts he's ever seen, and he's been in practice long enough he was my doctor back when I can barely remember.), and she'll likely be there for that much longer. She's hating that, and so am I, though both of us or different reasons. She misses home and the grandkids that she can't see b/c they have her in isolation. I hate the multiple trips to Salem that are KILLING me in the gas $$$ department. Also, my van decided to be a pain in my a$$, and have the wheel bearing go out just now. Perfect. My friend Jon said he could fix it. He was wrong. ~sigh~ It requires a machine press to put the new bearing in. So. . . I'm stuck here overnight, and we're going to fix that in the morning, as (see my surprised face?) the garage isn't open on Sunday. I've had that vehicle about a year and a half. It's cost me nearly as much in repairs and maintenance as it did to buy it. Every mechanic who's ever touched it hates its guts. I think I'm getting rid of it at the first reasonable opportunity. That may take a while, but still. . . van, your days are numbered!

Slowly Stumbling My Way Back

Perfect weather for a run this evening. We had some rain this afternoon, and it was cloudy with temps in the low 70s, so when the RP called and asked if I wanted to go out, I jumped at the chance! Still feeling the sting of feeling like I'm irresponsible for asking someone else to watch my kids for an hour. Gotta get over that if I'm going to try to do a half. We drove out to PP and did our 2.25 there. I had to take a couple/three quick walk breaks on some of the hills, but I finished strong--for me, lol! Legs are definitely feeling the time off. They were starting to think I wasn't going to do this to them anymore. . . and now they're screaming like toddlers having a tantrum. ~sigh~ And just when I almost had them trained. :-( Water's down in Bunker (pump broke), so all I had to take with me was G'ade. Good thing it wasn't hot out there! Splashing Gatorade on your face just doesn't work for me! Unfortunately, it also means no shower until they get it fixed. We didn't think of that! Ugh. Of course, if it's not fixed soon, I'll be finding a friend to impose on so I can clean up! In the meantime, thank God for baby wipes.

Back to the Races

Well, since my blog hasn't received much attention lately, those of you who read it may or may not know that it has been 3 weeks today since my last run. Somewhere between my last run and what would have been my next run, I injured my back by sleeping wrong (yes, I know, pathetic). And just when I thought I was about ready to return to action, I did it AGAIN, only worse, leaving myself unable to sit on the couch without a pillow at my back! Seriously, am I 29 or 92? So, my only workout in those 3 weeks has been a 7.5 mile walk to the lake with my TOPS buds, on a good day. Insanely fun day, btw. However, that was also the day the wheel fell off my stroller. We got it back on and got the last half-mile or so finished, but since then, I don't really trust my equipment! (Go figure.) Anyway, my RP called yesterday wanting to know if I was doing the 5K today in Salem, and my response was, "What 5K?" Really, Salem race organizers need to publicize their events better! Ordinarily, that short a notice would have resulted in me not being able to go. And I've still never scored a t-shirt, lol! However, Jon said he'd watch the Mouse, and Mom kept the other 3, and off I went on my apple-cinnamon oatmeal (w/ craisins, yum) and 4 hours of sleep! I haven't been fueling or hydrating properly here lately (less reason when one isn't running), and that coupled with the lack of exercise kinda showed. Still, overall I was pleased with my time. I shaved a little time off of my last run of this same course (the Relay for Life 5K). Still got whipped by a little white-haired speed walker. . . Oh, well! What I'm not telling you is that it was 15-20 degrees cooler out there today than the last time! Lol. I could tell I'd lost some cardiovascular fitness out there, mostly b/c my heart rate was running higher than usual. I walked some (when don't I, so far, at the 5K distance), but not more than I consider reasonable for a hilly course, and a comeback at that, and I finished strong. Lol. Dug deep in those last few meters trying to catch Janis and finish with her. . . and what does she do? Starts running again when I've almost caught her, and stays a few steps ahead of me to the end! Rotfl!!! It was her first 5K. She hasn't made it past Week 4 or C25K yet, and is starting to get a little discouraged by it. Told her keep trying; it'll come! She still beat me, and I've technically graduated! I have until August to get my 3 miles strong so I can start my HM training. Wow. Not as much time left for that as I'd like, after spending 3 weeks off. May have to start seeing Amanda and Marca's chiro, so this doesn't happen again! Today, Advil was my friend, if only for a confidence booster, lol.

Just Because the Blog is Feeling Neglected

Okay, short post needs to go up, since it's apparently been over a week since my last post. Been a busy, yet uneventful time, at least in the world of running. My runs have been terrible! At first I was blaming the fact that I was suddenly shoving around about 50 pounds of stroller + baby all the darn time, but then I met up with Marca, Allie, and Beth for a workout, and Marca relieved me of my stroller so Allison and I could run together a bit. I felt a little better to see Allie struggle right along with me, but not much, as she hadn't run since the Memorial Day 5K. Finally, though, late last night, I got my breakthrough and my validation. The weather had been cooler over the last few days, cloudy and in the 60s (heaven, for a runner, lol). And I hadn't had a chance to go out and run, or, truthfully, much inclination. Had some issues in the personal life dragging me down. But last night, I decided I was going out. Weather's supposed to heat back up soon (was supposed to today, but didn't), and I didn't want to miss it! So, I strapped on my Garmin after the kids were asleep and told myself I'd just run around in laps real close to the house and rack up a mile, at least. Well, that mile felt so good, I went for 2. Could probably have gone 3, but I don't like leaving the kiddos alone long, even if they are all asleep and I'm running back by the house every 10 min or so to listen for them. Felt great! So. . . it's not the stroller that's killing me; it's the heat! And I feel better also to realize that no matter how crappy the workouts seem to be at the time, I'm making progress with my fitness that will show itself when the temps drop to sane levels again. I logged my fastest pace for last night's run, as well. Okay, okay, some of you don't think 13:49 min miles are anything to brag about, but it's a personal triumph! (in the words of Blanche Devereaux) I ran twice as long, at a better pace, than my Jr. High torture sessions, and felt WAY better doing it! Put that in your whistle and blow it, Coach. My training method kicks your method's a$$! Oh, and the scenery's way better, too, but that part's not your fault. :-) Unless you consider that part of the scenery back then was you. hmmm. Yeah, you coulda been more pleasant. Okay, okay. Enough cattiness for tonight. Unfortunately, I leave you with that, as I suddenly seem to be out of things to say. ~Yawn!~ Goodnight, world!

Hot, Hot HOT!!!

And it ain't gettin' better anytime soon! Ran/walked/shuffled the Relay for Life 5K at Salem today. If I'd started running when I first stepped out my front door, I'd've been pretty good. As it was, I had to drive to Salem and wait for the race to start (supposedly at 8, but in my limited experience so far, these things never start on time). Shady spots along the course were a welcome relief, but there sure could have been more of them, lol! Not sure what the temp was when we started out, but by the time we finished, it was climbing into the 80s. I was just a touch overheated at the finish, but it passed. Got my ass handed to me by a couple of old guys out walking in Wranglers. ~sigh~ Thank God I've never had much ego when it comes to athletic pursuits, or it would currently be bruised, broken, and bleeding out. Of course, it might help if I could ever get a decent night's sleep before a race. Was up last night til past 1, then had to get up at 6. And I think I woke up somewhere in the middle there. Urg. Oh, well, at least the baby slept. I have yet to score a t-shirt from a race (keep getting registered too late), but I bought myself a new tech shirt and a pair of sunglasses today, so next time I run, I get to find out just what the bfd is about tech shirts, and not have the sun in my eyes. Of course, I look remarkably like a hot-pink sausage in the shirt, but wth? In other news, my bathroom scale registered a magical number this morning--199.8. I'll take it, lol.