Tuesday, May 29, 2012

New Nikes

You all know how much I love aqua sox. But I have strayed from the path and bought a pair of Nike Frees to wear at the gym. I've been wearing a pair of year and a half old sneakers which give me blisters and IT band issues on the treadmill. I've been trying to increase my miles during the week, but can't get much past 3 because I can feel the blisters forming.

The Nike Free are super lightweight and have a fairly flat and flexible sole. they have more arch support than I'm used to (there is none in aqua sox and completely broken down in my other sneakers). So I've had to adjust my stride a little. The shoes do help me land easily on my mid foot.

All in all, a great buy!

Miles logged: 3.75

Surprises!!

I must say, I love surprises, whether I've set them up for someone else, or they are for me. And today I received the best surprise ever!

On my way home from the gym, I was working through what I was going to write in my blog. I had decided to give a review of the new Nikes I bought this weekend, but tha will have to wait until next time.

Today I received a box from my best friend from middle school, who has always been a bad influence, but always a great friend! She sent me a gift box of aqua sox!! I can't think of a better gift! 4 pairs, in different colors, to match every outfit! I cannot wait to try them out!!

Miles logged: 3.75

Monday, May 28, 2012

San Francisco Marathon

Today is the 75th birthday of the Golden Gate Bridge and I'm excited because I will be running across it in 2 months. I've signed up to run the half marathon in the San Francisco Marathon!

My husband and I ran SF last year (he ran the full marathon, and I ran the half). The SF marathon offers 2 half courses. The first half runs over the Golden Gate bridge. I tried to sign up for it last summer, but it had already sold out, so I ran the 2nd half course. This July, I will finally get to run the first half and over the bridge. I'm so excited!!

Miles logged: 8.25

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Disturbing

Today I had a disturbing run at the gym. I've seen some things that have probably scarred me for life (let's chalk that up to gratuitous nudity in the locker room), but today I watched men beat the living sh!t out of each other on UFC TV.

I was unfortunate enough to choose a treadmill in front of the tv showing UFC Raw. By the time I noticed what was on in front of me, I had already committed and wasn't going to switch (there were no other open treadmills anyway). I basically watched several pairs of men fight to the death, on a mat covered with other people's blood. It was awful.

When I was in college, I took kickboxing classes at Chuck Liddell's gym. This was before he was a big UFC champion and while he never taught a class, he was always there watching (probably making fun of how terrible I was at it). At that time, I didn't know how violent the sport was!

Miles logged: 3.5

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Bandit

Today I was a bandit. I ran part of the WildRide! WildRun! 5k this morning. I wasn't a true bandit (running the race without registering), just happened to come upon it while running my normal weekend run. I was there before any of the runners, but was there for sound checks with several of the bands. I was tempted to stop at the water station (conveniently located at the top of the hill that I run sprints on), but opted to drink out of my camel instead.
I've encountered races on my normal route, but not usually in the nature preserve. 

A little motivation!
I also had another trip and almost fall today. I caught my left foot on some uneven pavement and almost went down. I was able to right myself before I hit the ground, but not without hurting my hip and foot in the process. This marks trip #4 in the year and a half I've been running. It seems like a lot. Hopefully I'll feel better in the morning.

Miles logged: 8.5

Monday, May 14, 2012

Happy Belated Mother's Day

Happy belated Mother's day to all of you amazing mothers out there. I have no children, but if you read my blog regularly, you know that my Chiweenie (and baby) comes out to support me at my races. I've also recently become a foster mom to a Dachshund. And my boys took good care of me this Mother's day. They each made me a card, cut me some flowers from the yard, and wrapped up a copy of "50/50" by Dean Karnazes! I'm so excited to read about his adventure of 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days.

For my mommy on this mother's day, I took her to a Korean Spa/Bath House. We spent the day soaking in hot tubs, sweating in saunas, and getting a body scrub that left me with no skin (but was amazing). I hoped that the different forms of heat would help relieve some of the pain in my hip. So far I'm feeling good, but haven't gone for a run yet!

Miles logged: 0

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Love

It is possible to love two of the same thing at once. I've now discovered that I love 2 different aqua sox. Both are from Walmart, both are last year's model, neither are easily found at any store. This is my plight.

My newest love

Miles logged: 8.5

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

The importance of routines

I am a woman with many routines. One of my most important ones is running after work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. When the clock hits 5, I'm out the door and off to the gym. I haven't been 100% committed to this routine lately.

The weather was lovely today, overcast and 70 degrees at the most. It was the perfect weather for running outside, considering how warm it has been over the last couple of weeks. I thought it would be a great idea to rush home and run outside instead of pounding the treadmill. I guess I forgot how unmotivated I become after working a little late and suffering 45 minutes of traffic.

When I arrived home, I had absolutely no desire to get dressed and go for a run. I opted to walk the dog, pay some bills, and unload the dishwasher (I was REALLY desperate not to run!). I did spend almost an hour on the elliptical, so I at least got on some exercise today.

Miles logged: 0

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Watching What You Eat

I use running as an excuse to eat whatever I want. Figuring that I will burn the calories off on the treadmill allows me to think it is OK to eat all kinds of sugary crap which I love. I'm pretty good about eating well be for a long run or a race, but have a tendency to slack off when I'm not in tip top training shape.

This week I've been working on a project at work where we've basically been sequestered in a conference room with food catered in. I managed to eat what I thought was a relatively safe veggie sandwich for lunch. And then ended up eating a half of a bag of chips and a bite sized candy bar before leaving for the gym. This combo of foods did not treat me well...I had the worst acid reflux on the treadmill. It was so bad that I had a hard time catching my breath because of the burning. It was difficult to get enough air in me to keep going. I had planned to run 4 miles, but didn't make it that far.

Next time, no candy bars and chips!

Miles logged: 3.25