Getting back in the game...

After being injured and apprehensive about getting back into running for a week and a half, I am now starting to run again.  I'm nervous that I will not be prepared by October 19th but am willing to give it a shot and probably even walk part of the race.  I have run into a small snag in my training however.  As we slowly creep into fall, the daylight hours keep depleting and I am running out of light to run safely and treadmills are not an option for me.  So now I am having to be less picky on when I run.  Thankfully we have been having wonderful weather lately and my caseload has been decreasing, allowing me to get home in time to run in the evening before the sun goes down.  I am now planning on running on Saturday and Sunday for sure and then picking two days during the week to train, which will allow me to be a little more flexible in my training.  

I had every intention of making up excuses once I hurt my back and knee but have since found myself more determined to complete the race that I have signed up for.  

Wish me luck!

I Love My Car

So this past tank of gas has gotten me an average of almost 54mpg, despite driving mostly interstate, as well as highway and in town.  i do feel that I am now spoiled by this amazing mileage, as anything under 50 to me seems like a disappointment.  

I have been doing experiments with different gasoline and have since found that BP gas, with the new "Invigorate" has been giving me the best MPG, while Casey's has been the worst.  I have not yet tried Wal-Mart or HyVee but feel that it is not necessary to test these since I believe they run on par with Casey's.  This test is obviously not scientific but I have been putting in two tanks full of the same "brand" in a row and thus far BP is doing it for me.  Last month I drove 3300 miles and only spent $260 in fuel!  Prior to last month, my average was 2400 miles, spending almost $400.  I believe, despite the value of the car depreciating quickly with so many miles already on the car, it is the best purchase we have made so far.  

YUM YUM

I made banana bread yesterday...and it was good.  My mom gave me an America's Test Kitchen cookbook and I've used it for just about everything.  The recipe called for plain yogurt, however I don't ever have any...so I used Yoplait Light Apple something or other and all I have to say is YUM YUM.  It did need to cook a little longer than the 55 minutes advised in the book but I must say, I am glad that I didn't get around to eating those bananas when they were ready.  Even Ben liked it and ever since a banana oatmeal incident, he is not so keen on banana anything.  

In other news, my back if feeling better.  It seems that flip flops are aggravating the pain so I am on the hunt for more supportive sandals so I don't have to wear tennis shoes all summer long.  I am not a fan of socks unless it is winter and it is most definitely not.  My knee on the other hand, continues to be a mystery.  It still is painful and almost getting worse by not running on it.  The mornings are the worst and causes pain all around it but as the day goes on, it improves slightly and I am able to put more pressure on it.  So far, we are thinking I need to build up my quad muscle and see if that makes a difference but if this continues, I think I'm going to actually see a doctor regarding my pain.  I've never known lack of exercise to cause an issue.  *shrugs*  

No other real big news.  Just going out to a couple of garage sales today to see if we can find any decent furniture without spending a fortune.  My hopes are not high.

I am broken...

Apparently the reason that I have not been a runner all of these years is because my body says so.  After nearly 2 months of running, my back has been out for nearly a week and my knee is suffering from some chronic pain and is progressively feeling worse, much like a knife being ever so gently inserted above and to the right of my kneecap as it bends.  At least this week will be a break from any activity except maybe trying out Curves on Friday to keep working on building the muscles around my knee if that will help.  

This is probably the most frustrating part of the whole thing.  I'm afraid that I am going to end up with pain for the rest of my life.  I don't want to be one of those people who hobble around and accept the pain that they have been dealt.  There has to be something that can make me feel better right?  I'm waiting to have my knee looked at until my back is at least 75% for fear that something will be messed up there, also.

Why did I decide to be ambitious?

Back pain

My training has been put on hold due to an unexplained injury to my back.  Could be the miles upon miles I've walked in my flip-flops or the strange crap on recovery boards at Curves the other day.  Who knows.  What I do know...I am in pain and uncomfortable.  I've been to the chiropractor twice.  The first time was wonderful and I could stand upright again.  The second, I thought was even better until I got put on the traction table and feel as if I did when I walked in bent over in the first place.  So far, I've been icing every hour for 10 minutes.  We'll see how it goes but I am putting training on the back burner until I am feeling better.

I did buy myself new running shoes and can't wait to get them on and run down the road.  

This weekend is the first weekend in a month and a half that we don't have any plans...as of now.  Not sure if I am okay with this or going to be bored.  We'll see how it goes.  

Nothing else too exciting for today.  

IDK

I couldn't think of anything witty for the subject so there ya go.  This past week was awful but I ended up with almost a 12 mile week, which was were I had been before.  Only this week, 3.5 of those were walking.  I didn't count the possibly gazillion miles we walked at the State Fair.  I just call them "bonus miles."  Hopefully this week goes better.  I already got a strength training work out in and tomorrow is a four miler, if it isn't dark.  However, without having a respite client this week in the A.M. I really have no excuse...damn.  

On a funner, yes funner note:  my college friend Ellyn is gonna have a baby!  I can now officially use two hands to count the number of pregnant people that I know and/or work with.  I keep telling Ben that this is a sign but he seems to be the more practical? one about it.  Yes, the question mark is there on purpose because as many know/say:  If you wait til you can afford it, you will never have kids.  Well......I guess we are never having kids based on the monetary criteria.  We are by no means broke but floating along just fine, however, my lovely and wonderful opposite is thinking just opposite of me.  Patience is not a virtue I possess and I am hearing an almost constant ticking in my brain on a daily basis.  If only I could transport this noise into his, maybe he would more quickly change his mind.  I will keep you posted on this...however, I think it may be awhile.  Til then!

Crap Day

Woke up at 5am.  It was DARK.  Country roads+dark=me not running.  So I tried the tredmill....I Do Not like this contraption.  I am not in control, which those of you who know me realize that this does not fly with me.  I am very much in charge and running on a belt that picks a speed and keeps it there, not for me.  So I only ran 1.25 miles today on a 4 mile day...so to make up for it, Ben I rode 7.2 miles on the bike.  Not the same but I am hoping to be able to run some tomorrow morning and Thursday and just switch around my cross training days.  So far, this week is about a D on motivation and completeness.  I am a mess.  Maybe the rest will go better.

LOST

One piece of advice if you are going out for a run:  get directions!  I started out on the Greenbelt Trail in Clive on Saturday and thought I had an idea of where I was going and how I would get back.  Taking the trail West, it ends somewhere in rich upscale suburban hell!  All of these mansions were surrounding a "private" country club lake and though I was apprehensive, I decided I could figure it out by just taking every left I could to go around in a circle and get back to the trail.  As I was running, I went to take a left onto a street that ended in -circle.  Any reasonable and smart person, which I feel I am, would not take this road as the name in and of itself tells me I will end up where I started.  I passed up this option and continued to run.  The next left was a -drive.  Maybe this was me just being skeptical but I did not take this one either.  Something about it told me that I would be ticked off taking this road.  Sure enough, after continuing to run straight, out came the same stinking road that I am super glad I did not go down.  I ended up all the way down on University out by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, KinderCare and Panera.  To those of you unaware of Des Moines, this is very much WEST of the interstate, somewhere around 140th-ish.  While running East on University, I came across the main entrance into the country club but chose not to stay lost in the maze and continued on University, hoping to run into 128th and an "on ramp" to the trail.  Turning down 128th I thought it wouldn't be much farther until I was back on the shaded, very flat trail.  I was very wrong.  It is quite a distance and I thought I was going to have to run through the on ramp intersection to 35/80 on Hickman.  Thank God, just before I started to have a panic attack, I saw the connection point from the road to the trail.  Just in time!  I took the last mile back to the car at a pretty sloooooowww pace but I did finish, only walking for 15-20 minutes up the evil University hill.  I ended up running 6.33 miles and now have very sore calves and feet.  Good thing it's too hot out to run so I get a much needed day off!  

Case in point:  know where you are going before you get lost on a run!