can i JUST run?

in an effort to:

1. keep it simple
2. do what i love
3. burn lots of fat
4. streamline my workouts
5. utilize my TIME best
6. keep down costs

and in an effort NOT to:

1. have to join a gym
2. incure more expense w/ clothes/paraphenalia

i have just run.

i'm just HOPING i can continue. i'm hoping, at least for now, that i can JUST run.

personally, "I DON' WANNA" join a gym:

1. don't wanna pay for it.
2. don't wanna go INSIDE (dread) and sweat with other people.
3. don' wanna be cooped up.
4. don't wanna smell the sweat of others. see recurring theme here?

but the LOGICAL me (yes, it's there, just WAY DOWN inside) knows:

1. cross-training is good for you. me.
2. i need to build some upper body strength.
3. i'm female. things sag w/ time. ugh(ly)
4. cross-training keeps over-use (running) injuries at bay.

but, yuk:

1. i don' wanna.
2. ibid.
3. ibid.
4. ibid.

someday, methinks, dh and i will join a gym together.

weirder things have happened. might not be too far off in the future.

we've tried our own homemade-gym-type-venture-in-the-garage route. that might happen again.

1. both of us have lost wt (did-i-mention-he-had-no-weight-problem?)
2. both of us are much more physically active. he: bike, push-ups, sit-ups; me: running
3. on a good food path TOGETHER. fun, really. it's working.

conclusion=we could try it again. the home gym thing.

we'd need a good fan, tho. we have hot summers. yuk: garage gym...sweat. oh, back to that confined-sweat-smell theme. at least it'd be from his sexy bod and not "other people!" =)

thank God for sweat, huh? i knew a girl who did not sweat. she puked instead. true story. her body had to get rid of that somehow. so in summer when really hot and working out, she'd end up THROWING UP. poor thing.

thank God for sweat. and happy New Year.

Grandpa, HALL OF FAME, really

Athletics (Track & Field) World Records
2.11m. Lester Steers (USA) 17 Jun 41 Los Angeles
2.105m. Lester Steers (USA) 24 May 41 Los Angeles
2.10m. Lester Steers (USA) 26 Apr 41 Seattle

that's my grandpa. Lester Leroy Steers. held the world record for the high jump. thru all the yrs listed above.
A. Long. Time. Ago.
i'm very proud to be his granddaughter!


http://www.usatf.org/HallOfFame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=160

Les Steers
Inducted: 1974, athlete

Lester "Les" Steers could have been the world's first 7-foot high jumper if World War II had not curtailed his jumping. While at the University of Oregon, Steers set two world records in 1941, first clearing 6' 10 3/4", then raising the standard to 6' 11". The latter mark would remain the record for a dozen years. A straddle jumper, Steers was an outstanding talent at Palo Alto (Calif.) High School. He later became the 1941 national collegiate champion and won or tied for three National AAU titles. In 1941, he also jumped over 7' in an unsanctioned exhibition meet. No one would achieve this height officially until 1956.


he passed away a couple of yrs ago.
i miss him!

8 miler

Holy Father, hear our prayer
keep us always in Your care
may Your Kingdom come to us
and may we learn how to trust

Friday 12/30/05 11:00a.m. run

RAINY RAINY RAINY ...dunno the degrees... somewhere between 39-45. not bad. warm enuff to strip to the WICKING sh.sleeved shirt today! wow! wore my long sleeved shirt around my waist at that point. no way was i losing that thing! (dh says it doesn't actually hide my backside...but i like to keep up the delusion!) wore my gloves. but they are not rain proof. thus, ICE COLD blocks of fingers when done! wow! wore dh's hat again today. THANK GOD FOR THAT FORESIGHT! w/o that i'd-a been done-in. no way. as it was, when i got back, i stood there, DRIPPING like a rain gutter!

stats:
time: 1:35:31
distance: 8 miles
avg: 11.54 min/mi
max: 7.30 min/mi

well, i tried calling a friend last nite...to possibly meet up for a run this a.m. My good friend B is ALSO training for the marathon. she has her 2 beautiful daughters training w/ her too. mostly from afar. well, i couldn't get a hold of her. i stayed up WAY TOO LATE programming the contacts directory in my months-old cell phone. (the things i get stuck on.) so, this a.m, turned the alarm OFF whenceupon it SHRIEKED at 7:30, then again at 8 a.m. Finally, at 9 i was trying to get outta bed when dear friend B called! she said she only had a 3 miler to do today but we decided to meet up anyway.

dear friend B's mom says "if it's raining by 7 it will stop by 11." so, we waited even LONGER, chatting in her cozy living room for almost an hour. by 11 it still had not stopped but we started out, optimistic that we'd be running dry in just a short time.

HA! the clouds above had OTHER PLANS! it kept dumping on us the whole time. and, PER USUAL on MY RUNS, by the LAST 1/2 of my run, it was POURING ... the FLOODGATES HAD BEEN OPENED UPON ME! did i mention we live in the desert? i think, this yr, we're getting rain instead of snow...ah well.

anyhoo, we drove the route ahead of time, B ran w/ me as far as she wanted and headed home. i tried to get back to her house in 4 miles, got there in 3, bathroom break, gatorade gulp, grab the ipod and back on the loop again.

felt great, really. did the mental thing WONDERS to have someone to talk w/ for 2 miles at beg of run! so, tho i had 6 whole miles left to do, i felt a tad like a 2nd wind. EVEN: (that's how my daughters talk: "even, i had some cheerios for breakfast, mommy!") EVEN: my legs REALLY felt great!

now about 4 miles, it really was pouring. about 5 miles i started feeling like my knee would make that popping noise if i pulled my foot to my behind. but i just kept going. OH YEAH, also at 4 miles, i started taking a one minute break every mile. my garmin is set to beep every mile. it's another jeff galloway tip. i like it. you should read about it on his site. (can't remember if i saw it there or in a runner's world.) there are marathoners who say, using his technique and walking EVERY SINGLE mile (i think for a minute) they have run their PR! weird, huh? sumpin about helping w/ the deep fatigue?

well, i thought it was a good idea. i think the only trouble i really had, the only time when it felt like this run would never end, was between mile 6-7. also, i thought at mile 6-something that i was too close to my car and so i tried to figure out how to go further. i wasn't in MY territory so i was guessing some of the time. good thing about that garmin tho, huh?

isn't it weird that it was only mentally tough from mile 6 to 7? B4 the run, i thought, an hour is nothing! i can do ANYTHING for an hour! and i knew this would take me longer but still, if you break it down like that, MUCH EASIER. like a sitcom is a 1/2 hour, so it's like watching seinfeld and friends or sumpin (used to). or like an hour of csi (more relevant to TODAY). i mean, at home, the hours FLY by. so, what's the big deal about spending an hour running?

and, 8 miles? well, that's over 1/2 way to a 1/2 marathon! whoa! next wk, 10 miles!

if i'm feeling well (legs) i'll do an easy 3 miler on sunday. morn b4 church. if we're not up too late on sat nite. THAT'S THE PLAN STAN.

P.S.: i have a REALLY BAD HEADACHE. the only different thing i did today, was i ran later, w/o morning coffee...and i had gatorade AND water on drive home. i was a frozen, wet MESS at end of run. could it be that? dunno. it's a REALLY BAD ONE. like a migraine. i hope it's gone by tomorrow. the only time i get headaches like this aft.running is in the FULL STRENGTH SUN! so what's up? and it's not like i was POUNDING like i used to.

P.P.S.: my eating is doing REALLY WELL. it's a big surprise. i'm on board w/ dh and we are using his "plan." it's just smaller portions, no late nite eating, no big b.fasts, just morn coffee w/ milk. i feel great. it's fun to do it together. and per GOD, i'm not focused on food all day. that is a miracle. i'm just making food for the entire fam, smaller portions and we all eat together. no special diets. hopefully this will continue. i give my eating to God each morning. and dh and i support each other. that's the best part. i love it.

P.P.S.S.: back to going for the YAKIMA CANYON MARATHON, first wkd of april.

week overview: mon did 3 miles / wed did 5 miles/ fri did 8 miles/ sun will do 3 miles/ total: 19

is that too much of an increase in total wkly mileage? last wk's total was 13.45. someone let me know. b4 sunday! THX!

can't run 2 days in a row

and THANK God someone sent me Jeff Galloway's link. he writes about pain-free running.
http://www.runinjuryfree.com/
he suggests running every other day. wow, whatta concept! hmmmm...who advised me this way RECENTLY?? ummmm, could it be DH??? mr. non-athlete, non-runner, himself! way to go, hun-bun! he (JG) says you should have 48 hrs between runs. yeahooo! so, i don't feel like a total sloth today.

couldn't do it. i was still sore this a.m. from yesterday's run. and the sore isn't muscles. it's a little tricky. i HAVE BEEN worried about a stress fracture. well, not too certain about that but i really want to take it easy. i've slowed my pace, i'm much more careful how i step, i'm trying to stay OFF concrete.... & this last thing, running every other day. i'm a little concerned about getting the 'needed' mileage per week. wkly totals. but i can still get my wkd long run in. i just think, i don't need to stress about it. i could possibly walk on my extra short run day of the wk. but running again, like this wk, after my midweek 5 miler, was just too much.

so, here i go over-explaining myself.
but tonite, i'm pondering doing my 8 miler tomorrow instead of sat! dh is home till 1:30 during wkdays so i have longer to do it. on sat he'll go in around 10 a.m. So i'd have to get up super earlier. gonna also try to get a friend to run at least partway with me. try a new route, posible! wa-la!
another reason....I'M EXCITED TO DO IT...I WANNA DO IT TOMORROW ... SOONER THAN LATER! weird, huh? legs achin' to run! this is a new, odd life i'm living!

God Bless y'all!

Hump day Med. run

Wednesday, 12/28/05 10:00 a.m. overcast, ground wet; sporadic sprinkling till mile 3: RAIN

stats:
59.00 min
5.09 mi
avg: 11.36 min/mi
max: 9.00 min/mi

hey, i bought a WICKING shirt the otra noche! weird, huh? runner-geeky of me, huh? well, here's my commercial:

ARE YOU SICK OF wringing out your tee shirt at the end of your run?
ARE YOU SICK OF f-REEZ-ing during your cool-down cuz your shirt is soaking wet and icy?
WELL, buy a POLYESTER "wicking" shirt for your layer closest to your bod!

i mean, who'd-a-thunk it? when, a few months ago, my marathoning friend showed up for the local welch's marathon, which i was running a mere segment of, i helped her pin on her number. i noticed her shirt made of weird material. when she said it was POLYESTER, i was shocked and amazed. "POLYESTER?" I only had visions of polyester, colored pants with that ridge down the front that chubby piano players used to wear at church! (sorry) YUK! so, 2 months later, I BOUGHT a shirt of poly! who'd-a-thunk?

i still had to layer a tee over that cuz it was about 39degrees. tight shorts (i'd call 'em bike shorts except they don't have that chamois in the crotch, yknow?) and capri sweats. (i did buy capris the other night, too, that had a poly blend. but w/ the rain today, i decided to go w/ something i was more sure of. ) then, i DID remember my gloves this time! and no ipod. i was doing a loop of sorts, in our maze neighborhood. it included a pretty steep down hill (which i walked or barely moved down both times) and a slow up grade / longer hill going up which IS SO MUCH EASIER w/ a slower pace! wow! no huffing and puffing any more. and, as advised, i just pretty much focus at my feet or 10 steps ahead.

true to lots of comments in reading material, today's run felt good after 3 miles! that's a long way to run before feeling real good. not hard, breathing wise. just mentally. that's one reason i'm not much for loops. when you're playing the mental game, FOR ME, it's easier to find a reason to quit at the end of one loop. thank God for that 3mile thing, tho, cuz then you could run forever. THEN the only thing to work on is STOPPING at the required mileage so as NOT to OVERdo!

still, i hit 5 miles and it was 58 mins. it's hard for me to stop at 58 mins. "go to one hour" my brain says. "i mean, you're ALMOST there, just keep going." so i sprinted for just a few moments. the clock wasn't going fast enuff so i slowed back down and then stopped before reaching 1 hr. i told myself the important part was the miles. i KNOW it is!

so now, my next dilEMma is working out my 8 miler on sat. not only is it always a dilemma to find a route. i mean, it's easy w/ the garmin to know my mileage, but WHERE TO GO? i've been thinking of enlisting my folks to meet me at like mile 5 or six for a water break and, POSSIBLY ... should i?.....possibly some sort of GU or sumpin! wow, when i break down and buy THAT stuff, i will REALLY BE A RUNNER-GEEK! =) i'm thinking i'll just start by buying gatorade.
also, i could have my fam come and ride their bikes w/ me for a few miles. then they could bring me gatorade. it wouldn't be as lonely as doing loops around the car!

onward and upward....all glory to my FATHER who created me!

a look at this wk

i'm gonna do something amber used to do: post my wk's worth of runs. one thing she tells me that kept her on track was to have her runs planned out. well, i have mine on the kitchen calendar, my dayplanner, the garmin workout scheduler, and now on my blog. ah me. when i do something, do i overdo it? as if it isn't in my head already.

for the last few wks (could it only be 2?) i've been running every other day. trying. then 2 days would go by sometimes and i'd feel like crap. 1, that i dint do it and 2, my muscles ache more when i don't run!

well, to get back into marathon training, i can't do that. that would mean every other wk i only actually log 2 wkday runs' and then the long wkd run's miles. got me? i dunno...dunno if that'd cut it.

SO, i'm scheduling 2 short, one med. during the week. then the one long wkd run. we'll see. i'm gonna try mon(short), wed (med), thurs (short and sometimes a walk run here), and sat (long). okay? okay. (like you have a say.) (well, i do love comments...so comment aWAY!)

1. monday (did) 3miles
2. tues rest
3. wed 5 miles (this is up one from last few wks mid-wk run)(yipes)
4. thurs walk/run 3 (this is cuz i don't wanna add too many total miles this wk...REALLY WANNA BE SURE TO TAKE IT EASY-WEEZY)
5. friday rest
6. sat 8 miles (OCHO!)
7. sun REST
8. start over

~~~~~~~~~~~~~morning by morning, new mercies i seek~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

great is Thy faithfulness!

Running with the wind

Monday, Dec. 26, 2005 12:03 p.m. BALMY then windy, but nice, like 35-45 degrees

stats:
33.42 min
3.10 mi
avg 10.52 min/mi
best 5.25 min/mi (i did some sprints but 5.25??)

i went down to the river (i do love that river) and found a path i'd not seen before. it was a loop. since i was only going 3 today, thought i could handle some loopiness. there were actually 2 loops i could kinda make into a figure 8.

now, except for the DUCK POOP, it was ALL GOOD! lower inside of shin still painful when running. but doesn't seem to be getting any worse. so i'm keeping on.

do you think duck poop is considered "softer surfaces" ... those on which it is better to run?

thank You, Lord, for balmy weather, for ducks, and for my river. (it's the Columbia, b.t.w.)

12-25-05 END OF WK TOTALS

i'm gonna start doing this

Week of Sunday 12.18.05 -- Sunday 12.25.05
MILES: 13.45
TIME: 2:45:24
AVG: 12.18 min/mi

Garmin

yes, dear bro, i have now ENTERED THE WORLD of techno-geek-o-mania. i have hooked up my garmin forerunner 301 to my pc and yes, i have delved into it. I DID IT! thank you ONCE AGAIN! i love it, i do.

it is pretty cool. i still feel unworthy. but i so love it when i'm out there running, trying to get my miles in, and i don't have to follow a certain course. AND i don't have to "drive my route" anymore! my kids, esp. love that exception to our days!

i did, however, use the 'workout' part of the setup. there is this calendar and you can schedule future workouts. i mapped out the next 15 wks or so...the wkly runs, the long wkd runs, etc. to the day of the marathon. at this point, my stomach started to cramp up. well, actually, it was when i was posting such runs as 10, 13, 14....18 miles. lions and tigers and bears...oh...my.

well, i'm PLANNING on it. and i'm SO EXCITED. i am praying my bod holds up. my lungs are my best friends. they are ggggreat partners in this crime. love my enell, love my garmin forerunner (come ON, can i call it a "foremin?" fore(runner)+(gar)min ===hey, thanks), love my ipod (tho, admit i need more variety or possibly READING material on it next loooong run), love God's creation (can't get over it, seriously)...love my fam for being excited w/ me.

i'll just keep keeping on as long as i'm able, k?
i'll keep you POSTed =)

happy Jesus' birthday!

why i'm doing this again...

how did i get here?
why do i think i want to try to run a marathon?

a few months ago, i was just a slogger (well, i still am, but i don't call it that any more) ... and i had been for all the yrs of having babies and battling with weight, etc.

that all changed when some friends started training for marathons. i looked at them and thought, oh, well, they're runners, they're little people (runners' builds), they have lots of energy, THEY WOULD train for and run marathons! it makes sense.

THEN our friend, amber, got on board. she was a complete NON-runner. i think amber is TALLER than i am. i am not SURE, but i think amber is a science and techno -geek- and i say that in the most LOVING way! i know she is technologically SAVVY...and i can't at the moment remember her degree but it was something muy inteligente like engineering...something that gives her more brain power in her pinky than in my whole cranium.

**postscript**what does that have to do w/ amber running? i can't seem to follow my OWN train of thought these days....

anyhoo, amber sent me her running schedule and it looked like something i might be able to do! i started on the schedule and started adding a MILE a week to a 'long run' and whoa! it was fun and attainable and sure, i was sore but it was a good hurt, right?

then, my bro got involved (cuz he's muy athletic and interested in anything thereof) and i musta lamented to him a few times that i had to DRIVE my routes to figure the mileages and PRE-drive new routes to figure mileage for each NEW run. (that or try to do it on yahoo driving directions which was TEDIOUS)

well, to try and support me, he banded the family together and they presented me w/ this GARMIN FORERUNNER 301! i had mentioned it (thinking someday i'd buy the 101 or 210), he'd looked into it and by golly, they surprised me w/ it. (i've written b4 about how he had to go for the gusto and get the top'o the line! typical ... gotta love him for it)

[about this time, tho, i think my knee was really acting up and i thought i'd have to throw in the total running-towel! ahhhhhhggggggg!]

ALL THIS TO SAY...{{after resting my knee a few wks}}, i just charged the forerunner, got the basics down, strapped it on and started running. the rest is history. i just use it for my runs, then come home, type in my stats and post about my run.

meanwhile, AMBER RAN HER MARATHON, and C & H ran 2! well, these are women whom i highly regard!

so, that is what i'm doing, the path leading thereto...and i press on. from my LENGTHY reading of numerous blogs and the non-runner's guide ... i have gleaned that everyone feels as i do. but, yknow, my muscles ache when i DON'T run. i love doing this. really. i just have to work on the mental stuff of the long runs.

and i have to stretch more....

i want to hear from you guys out there:

• how much time do you ACTUALLY spend S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G?
• what about your non-run days?
• have you ever had DREAMS about knee pain and not being able to run?

sorry so long.

i think i started this blog saying i wasn't gonna apologize for lengthy posts. ahh me

Christmas Eve Run

Saturday, 12/24/05 foggy, wet, 35-40 degrees, DOWN BY THE RIVER
stats:
1 hour 27 min 51 seconds (on my garmin....but read on)
7.07 miles
12.26 avg min/mi
9.11 best min/mi
supposedly burned 1365 calories!!

well, i tried visualizing a great run. i tried breaking it down into segments. i felt great physically. the hard part was the tedium..... ! ..... 7 miles? tedious? HOW in the WORLD will i keep going further? could it be my 'route?' i did some loops. could it be my choice of music? i hadn't changed the ipod in ages. but i haven't even USED the thing in so long, i thought it would be a good change of pace and thus would suffice. made me wish for a book to listen to.

i'm not complaining, just stating the facts: it was hard cuz of the redundancy.
i'm thrilled that:

• i DID it!
• i had a plan (out & back: total of 2 miles; stop @ car for water & strip a layer)
• i had no pain
• i still have no pain

well, i dunno about the times. i dint always stop it when i stopped running. i think that's okay sometimes cuz you know you're heart is still pounding...so for aerobic activity, it can keep running for a time if you're timing how long your body is working out. but if you are really keeping track of mins/mile or total time, etc, this can get complicated.

i was only one mile out and hadta pee. thank God the parks and rec has not locked the bathrooms this yr. I know in yrs past they've locked them during cold weather. So, something musta changed. It's usu. s.o.l. so you go when you can. i REALLY did not wanta be going in the brush this a.m.! My point? well, i was only a mile out, sweating like a royal pigola and to juggle the ipod, gloves, PEEL the tights down, yet not peel the knee brace....and keep everything from touching the nasy ground. ugh! see, the MAIN reason i wanted an out-n-back to the van was i knew i'd need to strip a layer. i was GOOSEBUMPIN when i started! even tho the temp READ warmer, i FELT colder than norm. so anyway, if that paragraph makes any sense, that was my ordeal. i'm glad i went to the toidy that early tho! i couldn't be sure that other bathrooms along the way would be open. so i went when i could.

but, yknow, folks, we're still talking, BARELY MOVING out there! there was one period when 2nd Chapter of Acts was singing GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS and i REALLY got to cruising...I felt like it was an out of body experience. i sped way up, didn't feel a thing and was in a great GROOVE! that was at, like mile 5.5 or so! it was cool. other than that, i was surprised every time i passed a walker! i try to hit my pause button on the ipod every time i pass someone. and i did okay except for this one lady walking her dog. she said SOMETHING, probably Merry Christmas (that was out there a lot this a.m.) and i didn't hear or i woulda responded. I know i missed something cuz i felt her looking at me longer than if we'd just said hiya. yknow? but i didn't want to say WHATD'YA SAY? in case she hadn't said ANYTHING. so that was a little silly.

ON THAT NOTE, I MUST SAY, i live in a super friendly area! THIS is a place, where people TALK to passers-by! yeahoo! Eastern Wa is a FRIENDLY PLACE TO LIVE, FOLKS! COME CHECK US OUT!

MERRY CHRISTMAS. HE IS RISEN!!

sorry so long`~~~~~~~~~kt

Warmer weather...which way is it going?

thursday run (yes, i skipped TWO DAYS but it was so icy yesterday i couldn't risk it..school closures and 45 wrecks around town! worth it to stay inside) 9:52 a.m. BALMY...(i'm writing this in retrospect) i think it was about 40 degrees! again, i was strippin on the way!

stats:
39.49 min
3.23 mi
12.20 min/mi avg
7.17 min/mi best (don't remember that)

it felt great. well, actually, felt like crapola for about 2 miles but finally it GOT good! again, IT FEELS GOOD WHEN IT'S OVER FOLKS! ran w/ b.i.l's knee brace! thanks B! 7 miles on sat. is what's on the plate.

can i be on a no sugar/no flour diet and get enuff carbs to do the long distances? that's the current question. heel bothering me during the days now.

JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THIS GLORIOUS SEASON. i pray this finds you trusting in Him as your Saviour! we ARE NOT the masters of our individual universes! (universii?)
God Bless~~~~~~~~~~kt

whoa knee

i think i feel like runner's knee?? oh i pray not. when i stretch out my knee, there is this POP and grating...crackling. but, yknow, i think that's always kinda been there...at times. and now, i really do think SOMEthing akin to the crackling is in both knees so that's norm right?

well, this time i'm determined, if i keep having stuff like this ... i WILL go to a doc. i'm not cemented into the yakima. in factoid, i've found WHIDBEY ISLAND and Sequim-to-Port Angeles (North Cascade something or other) that are MUCH prettier....and i WANT to do one o' them.

i'm just gonna keep the weekday, short runs REAL slow and easy and ice and stretch.
come ON. i've done nothing remarkable in my life...besides birthing 3 beautiful babes...WHICH IS A LOT but i really want to be a marathoner...at least a runner. funny, a few short months ago, i didn't even have my SIGHTS set on the marathon...but i've been won over.

i have a 4 mile in the a.m. promise to ice afterward.... supposed to 2x/day, 10min off and 20 off for a while (?) (different sites say diff things). i need to make a costco run and get more ibuprofen.

MY FOOT PLACEMENT/GAIT: the otra dia, i TRIED to determine how my feet land. it appears to ME that when my foot is IN THE AIR, it is inside UP...like if it had LANDED that way, i'd be landing on the outside ridge of my foot. every "injury" that i think i could possibly have ... ALL say they are from overpronating...WHICH from what i read is when your foot rolls INWARD. i think it would be a stretch, and you'd THINK i would notice if my feet actually went from looking like they were going to land on the outer edge TO landing and ROLLING so far INWARD that it'd be called 'overpronating.' don'tchya think? or am i way off here?

and, i just saw a piece on t.v. about the YMCA! i'm gonna look into it...had no idea we had one here. i'm still skeptical. we'll see. i like the idea of a "Y-Run Club!" which is actually from the Y but it also seems 2B a play on "Why Run?" yknow?

may the Lord bless you and keep you!
~~~~~~~~~kt~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Slogging thru the Snow ....

sing this, to the tune of "dashing thru the snow":
slogging thru the snow
on 2 very comfy shoes
oe'r the ice i go
slipping all the way.........

okay, that's as far as i can go. sure i have creative juices...but there's only SO MUCH TIME i can spend on the 'puter...what do you think?

stats: monday, december 19, 2005...almost the end of the year! snow on ground, ice underneath...but a good 28 degrees which was BALMY! had to strip outta my fleece! wahoo!
37.43 min
3.16 miles
11.57 avg min/mi
8.07 best min/mi
HISTORY TOTAL: since my dear family got me my garmin: 65.28 miles run in almost 13 hours. does that seems right? seems like a lot more TIME. but that is sposedly 10,555calories! wahoo! does it look gone on my bod? nope. ah me...

not too cold out. i was on a time limit ... had to get'er done before dh had to leave for work. slipping and sliding only where drivers had packed the snow and it'd turned to ice. i think the temps musta been up and down all morn. but i could stay where there was fresh, or tire tracks had left a tread, yknow? tried to stay on back streets in the 'hood.

**BE CAREFUL all ye street runners** when in doubt, stay upon the sidewalks and TREAD CAREFULLY!! when the surface is in question, just slide along...like you're cross country skiing. that's a good way to test the surface, too. better to slow down and do that than to risk WRENCHING your knee.. or turning an ankle...you get the (snow)DRIFT... =)

unfortunado, tho i REALLY went slow & careful on my sat long run, YESTERDAY, my poor knee was a tad achy. this sends a shiver of fear thru me. deja vu! i'm trying to put it outta my mind. determined to do this, folks.

so, today, i ran* w/ d.b-in-law's knee brace he loaned me. WOW! except for where the seam goes down the back of my knee --that felt like pins-- wow it really felt good! wow wow wow. is that good or bad? truth is, my knee has not yet hurt DURING a run. it never did, this fall, until it got REALLY bad. but, since part of the problem i've read about is that it doesn't TRACK right, this brace is supposed to help it TRACK. my logic is, if it 'tracks' correctly during the run, perhaps it won't pain-up between runs ( =everydaylife).

you know cuz there is that:: everyday life. running ISN'T life. altho it is one of the best things in my life right now. FOCUS focus, kt. i love getting to know the peops i have in this blogging foray, i LOVE reading about the trainings and overcomings and goals and pursuit thereof, and the dreams realized, ETCETERA of these peops.

anyhoo...i'm a-gonna be an auntie again! praise the Lord! Father, pls bless this little life You've created ... keep him/her healthy and momma and daddy too.. let this new little one Glorify YOU with her life.. amen.

s t r e t c h s t r e t c h s t r e t c h

God bless you today ~~~ kt

to the left: these are my cutie-patooties a few yrs ago in sis-in-law's wedding-ding-ding.

ps... *to clarify "run"...this is a loose term. in light of real runners...what i do could hardly be called running. but i call it that becuz i've read this is correct terminology. that and when in training for a marathon, you're supposed to call yourself a marathoner! weird, isn't it? i dunno. i don't do the last. but i've tried to take jogging, and my favorite, "slogging," OUT of my vocab. cuz, in all honesty, good people, what i do is more likened to barely-moving-SLOGGING. i mean, there really isn't a much better name for it..
and this, i feel, needed to be clarified beCUZ i was just writing about my knee pain, then wrote, "so today when i ran" and that might seem foolish to some. some would think i should just rest and nurse it. but since i'm BARELY moving it and i'm BABYING my whole body so much...i definitely think my heart and lungs get the workout and my body is really okay. the only thing better would be to lose a million pounds before ever stepping on my bones, joints, etc. again. but since THAT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN, i do what i can. get it? got it? good. pray for me, and i'll pray for you.

12/18/05 END OF WK TOTALS

WEEK OF 12.11.05 -- 12.18.05

MILES: 16.57
TIME: 3:28:23
AVG: 12.35 min/mi

10K

stats: Saturday, Dec.17, 22degrees approx. BUT today there was an icy wind!
thank God it was NOT an ICY course!
1hr 15min(?)
6.26miles
13.27avg min/mi
8.32 best min/mi

week total: 16.58 miles; time: 3.28.38; 3390 calories (is that a pound?just about); 12.35min/mi avg pace overall

WELL NOW! now i know what a 13 min/mi pace feels like. pretty cool! as long as you're not going for time...and WHO IS? i'm going for a MARATHON. I'm "going for:" FINISHING a BIG milestone. I'm not out to win...not out to get PR, nothin' like that!

This was the frigid, famous "Cable Bridge Run" in Pasco, WA. They hoist a Santa up in a crane (this race is mostly sponsored by the Neil Lampson company, famous for the cranes they manufacture!) and HE shoots off the starting gun.

I ran w/ friends from church. 3 of us did the 10K and one gal (who thought she couldn't do the 10K BUT SHE TOTALLY COULDA) did the 5K. one of the 3 of us, B, who ran the 10K, PLACED in her age group! she's just a young thang! me (in the 30-39 age group) and the other B (40-49 group) finished DEAD LAST! yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! B wanted to quit a couple of times but i did NOT want her running alone so, each time she stopped, we just took it down a notch and kept moving. i told her, just BOUNCE. if we just keep an up and down movemnt, even if we BARELY move forward, we'll finish. i guess we coulda stopped and walked a bit anywhere on the course, but i knew for ME, i'd have a hard time restarting. NOT TO MENTION the fact-jack, that if we walked we'd-a FROZE to death!

i wish we weren't LAST but i just thought of this as my wkd --long-- training run. so just doing the miles is all i was concerned with. of COURSE, i coulda run faster. but where would that have left B?

this was also YET ANOTHER notch in the proverbial belt...another road race, my 3rd since starting OVER in september. FUN FUN FUN. so fun to run w/ a billion other people. (okay, so i exaggerate! if there were that many, we wouldn't-a been alone at the end!) BUT it was also an exercise in trying to figure out the right mix of clothes to wear. i swear i went potty 5 times before leaving the house. and then i even had to submit my poor self to standing in line at the port o pots!!! and ENDURE the hothouse ODIFEROUS-ness of the inside of that thing. ugh a lug! ggggross! i have NEVER done that in a race before! (you can tell how many i've done by that statement, huh?)

well, anyhoo, about that QUESTION MARK on the stats...i forGOT (howw?) to push the stop button on mine own contraption when i ran thru the chute! ugh! then we got HOT DR. PEPPER and milled for a few minutos before i realized, and hit it off. that was at one hour, 24 mins. oh well. suffice it to say...it was a long time. i thought i'd do it in 60 or 65 mins. so no biggie. B KEPT apologizing ... but i would really hate it if she never did anything like this again cuz of getting dogged! so, i'm glad to do it.

next wk, 7 miles? where? w/ whom? that will be Christmas eve UNLESS i plan it for Christmas day. i'm still trying every other day. so, we'll see. hmmm: monday3, wed4, fri3, SUNDAY 7. that will be okey dokey. we're doing extendo-family stuff on C-mas EVE. except for church, we'll be JUST OUR IMMEDIATE FAM all the rest of the actual day. so i know i can wing it. yknow what my PLAN will be, tho? to do it in the a.m. before church. much better to have it done and outta the way! church is at 10:45. I CAN DO IT!

week total: 16.58 miles; time: 3.28.38; 3390 calories (is that a pound?just about); 12.35min/mi avg pace overall

PS: I used vaseline today in some places...who out there uses body glide. what's the diff?
OH YEAH: and I took water at the offered place today. wouldn't you know they only offered it at about 3 miles! we coulda used it on the back side of the buildings! it's the industrial part of town. like a ghost town there between bldgs. and lonely as we were "DEAD LAST!" but the water was ICE COLD! weird, huh? i woulda thought they'da served LUKE WARM! good grief. it froze in my throat the second it got in there. not to mention, when 100s of peops throw their cups of ice cold water, an ice rink is formed...which MUSTA been fun for the folks as they were leaving the site! =) hope i brought a smile to your face.
God Bless, y'all! REMEMBER JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON! ~~kt

CORRECTION...ipod

okay, wonderful-dear-hubby came home and performed a miracle on the ole ipod shuffle.
actually, we restarted the laptop, and WHOOOPSIES, it worked just fine! ahem.

so don't worry about me and my ipod!

BUT, JUST SO'S YA KNOW.... he did say a co-worker had problems w/ his; he contacted apple; and they REPLACED IT!!! will wonders never cease??? gives ya hope, huh? i was just glad to hear i wouldn't have to go to SHOPKO and beg on my knees. i know i'd get turned down anyway! i do know this guy, tho, mr. john. he gets ANYTHING he wants w/ ANY COMPANY! he makes a phone call, sends and email, or a letter, and I KID YOU NOT, he GETS WHAT HE'S ASKING FOR! it's amazing. and i WILL use him sometime in the future.

it makes me wonder how much these little ipod shuffles cost to manufacture. you know, they gotta be selling like candy. they're about $100 now, i think. do ya think it costs them about $15-20 to make? i dunno.

thanks for any brain function you mighta put into my dilemma. hope you dint lose any time over it. my apologies. i woulda just deleted the post but i dint want you 2B out there, fussin', trying to work on my prollems; just to come back w/ a solution, and get to my blog and the post wasn't there....then you'd think you were bonkers and i'd-a bummed you out and you mightn't ever visit again! i can't handle that!

ah me...a little overboard there.
g'nite and God bless you, every one!
kt

ipod "disfunction" whaaaaa?

omigosh
i just plugged my ipod shuffle into the usb port in the back of the laptop and it "doesn't recognize" it...then a few minutes later, when it would normally be appearing in my itunes box as a little thing on the lower right, it says "device malfunctioned" , "windows doesn't recognize it" , "try again and if it still doesn't work, REPLACE the device!!!" whaaaaaa?
i've had this thing since august! I LOVE MY IPOD, as-you-all-know!

WHAT IS UP?

help!

this was a gift. thus i have no receipt. normally i buy ALL my electronics at Costco...cuz they (we) strive to make the member HAPPY and have an AWESOME return policy. bona fide problemo, you get HOOKED UP! so, this gift was bought at shopko. no deal? ugh!

yes, i've run quite over the past couple of months...mostly when i run w/ others. but still, my best runs are when i'm euphorically blasting margaret becker or petra or what-have-you...

right now, i have this book on there...that i HAVE TO GET OFF! i'm done w/ it. i have more saved in my itunes on the laptop...so i need to move on w/ it...

AND NOW THIS??? what do i do? help. i'm not good at this sorta thing.

HELP ME PLEASE!!!

eeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEk

Slippery Slogging

stats: Thursday 11:46a.m. 22'F brrrrrrrrrrrr!
51:46 min
4 mi
avg: 12.13min/mi
best: 9.37min/mi

now, i know this is my slowest yet. but, tho i was RARIN' to go...i had to go EVEN SLOWER as it was "slicker than snot on a doorknob" out there! i had to pretty much cross-country-slide-it even on the rockier asphalted areas. the sidewalks were --WOW-- slick. good thing i found out the minute i walked out my front door. actualmente, i'm PLEASANTLY SURPRISED that i didn't slide right out on my keester! you know, even if you slip real violently, yet don't GO DOWN, you can wreck up your back. thankYou, Jesus, i didn't do any of that. there's always tomorrow! (now that sure sounded negative, dint it?)

so, i sloooowly made it over to the school --there's an elementary real close-by-- and got on their grass. school was IN session so i dint feel too comfy running around & around their grass...might've scared the little kiddos! --or the teachers for that matter! i was pretty bundled...and i'm sure i make quite a site. you know, to top it off, by the time i get everything on, and becuz it's been DRY added to the cold, my hair gets more and more staticky...till i COULD look like Aslan!! so, anyway, i ran the perimeter, then on the other side there is this path in sort of an oval w/ some curvy parts...i think it's about .3 miles all the way around. well, i ran around and around that silly thing. it's asphalted but mostly so smooth that it was really icy. there are a few places where it was more rocky (mere yards)...then right on the edges of the path there was like short, flattened, dead grass, and in some places, dirt or gravel. so best as i could i sort of barely-moved-jogged w/ one foot on the "other" surface each stride. HARD, actually! i was breathing harder, tho i was going slower, JUST FOR THE FACT JACK, that i had to pay such close attn and step so carefully!!! and then there were periods of time in which i'd run on the grass.

but HARD, frozen, LuMpY grass is muy dificil to "run" on! sure, it's softer but you're turning your ankle every other step cuz it's so uneven. GOOOOD GRIEF! & you know, i HATE running around and around the same path like that. but it wasn't so bad. i was gonna have to really FIGHT it to make it thru 4 whole miles. but amazingly, by the time i hit 3 i was just IN THE ZONE and could keep on going. i'll prob hurt in unusual places tomorrow since it was like skating and maneuvering instead of like my normal running!

I was listening to the broker by john grisham. i'm into it now...by chapter 20, YOU'D HOPE SO!
i don't think i have it all downloaded, tho. think i'll have to borrow it from library AGAIN to get the rest of it! whaaa?

so, we're ON THE PATH! i'm in wk 2 of 'training for a marathon.' i'm tentatively planning for the yakima marathon first wkd of april. what do you think of that? any comments? specifically, and best(ly) would be ANYONE WHO IS READING WHO HAS RUN IT ?? welcome welcome all. amber hopes to come to town to run it w/ me and whomever else from this area. if i make it to that, i think i'll plan for another in the fall. what do you think of that?

SOMEDAY i might have to do the whole triathalon thing, God willing! wouldn't that be great? to be an all-around athlete?

SO, as if there weren't already enuff questions in this post:
QUESTION OF THE DAY: @ what mileage do you have to start using those icky-sounding gels? how do you carry them? i suppose in the shoe is OUT! i really loathe the idea of doing a fanny pack. i mean, COME ON, i have ENUFF padding! down the enell might work. but i'd look pretty funny trying to fish it out. so, again, comments welcome. rob the runner touched on it in a comment to me...i'll take any more you want to add to that, sir. thanks in advance!

God Bless you all! ~~~~kt~~~~

the amazing sore muscle man

hubby spent the better portion of monday IN THE ATTIC crouching in the rafters in and amid tons of blown-in insulation .... well, it's 2 days later and you should hear him moaning! it's like he did 4 hours of squats! he is in so much pain! he had me rub out his muscles today...as he yelled out i COULDN'T HELP laughing! it's funny. i know it hurts, but it's a good-hurt, right? i LOVE that kind of hurt! and cuz it usually means i did something REALLY productive! and SO HE DID!

MY WONDERFUL HUBBY PUT IN ceiling lights and fans in all 3 upstairs bedrooms! PLUS a light in my master closet! what we can't figure out is how all the owners of this home, thru the past TWENTY-SEVEN years, lived w/o ceiling lights up here! good GRIEF, charlie brown! i know part of it musta been they didn't have the know-how or the where-with-all or the ... what is it? tenacity? guts? well, he has it all. it's not like he's a trained electrician. but there is like NOTHING he can't do! yeaHOOO! now THERE IS LIGHT. especially needed in this season, in this part of the U.S. where we have very little daylight hours! i mean, come summer, the light BEAMS in THRU the curtains! we are almost sunburned inside our own home! (slight exaggeration)

so, i just had to write about his sore muscles (and my lack thereof) and how THANKFUL i am for LIGHT up here! i really am a child of the light...i need LOTS of light!

the dunes sans tunes

stats:
Tues. 12-13-05 10:40a.m. approx 20+ degrees
(feels colder than sunday's 15 degrees...i wish there was a degree button on my keyboard. could this ` work?)

37.13 min
3.05 mi
ave: 12.12 min/mi
best: 9.44 min/mi
TRAIL RUN ... sorta

I really dunno what qualifies as a trail run. There are dirt -sorta- trails out behind-around our neighborhood. I know people use them for bike riding and motorcycling and 4wdrive stuff (?) and jeeps and such. (also for throwing trash...i saw a --fitted--sheet out there today!, some real trash, some books, some clothes, some cardboard boxes, some beer bottles --of course...) Well, i NEED to talk to some folks around here, possibly from the local running club (that i haven't made use of yet...soon i might call myself a runner and join...but i'm scared they just get together and drink beer....no, i'm just a pansy. i don't want them to look at me and go, "uhhhh, this club is for REAL runners!") to find out what people do who want to do trail runs in this area. perhaps i haven't made it clear, i live in the desert! i do see some hills (qualify for mountains around HERE) that i think would be fun to HIKE. know-what-i-mean,vern?

but, anyway, if you can call what i did, a trail run, there you have it. wow, it was slow. i mean THAT kind of 'trail,' you really have to watch where you put your feet. and in places, there are extreme low-but-often HILLS...you know for bmx bike riding? yes, well, those are fun(ny) to jog upon! so i sorta ran around and up and down and dint really have a pattern OR a route...just kinda jogged. and prayed. OH YEAH... the non-runner's guide to marathon (not the EXACT title) says to run w/o your headphones. they say to FOCUS on your running. learn to LOVE it, etc. well, i'm a PROPONENT of my ipod shuffle (as you know). so, to me, THAT is PART of my escape. but i thought i'd give it a shot. well, i did pray a LOT....and back there, in the boonies, i just went ahead and did it right out loud. it was cool, the people the Lord brought to my mind! and it wasn't bad. the time doesn't go as fast. i even did that stupid (?) thing the book tells you to do...when you come to a hill you don't despise the hill, you say to the hill, "come run with me!" (doesn't that just reek of silliness?) well, whatever, i did it anyway. not on those million little hills (i avoided THEM altogether) but on this one big hill. now, i don't know that it helped. i just did it and ran it real slow. (they recommend that you also do that with pain, fatigue, etc. weird, huh? well, it works for some.) the theory is that you don't focus on how tired or in pain you are, or how long and HARD the hill is...but that you embrace it, i guess? well, it's all about the mental game thing. perhaps it just gets your mind on another tangent. it MIGHT have done that for me.

well, it was purty darn cold. today was supposed to be a 4 mile run. but i had to cut it short cuz we were planning on going to the narnia movie! 'twas gggreat! dh, ds (9) and i. AND I HAD POPCORN! i'm doing my 6 miler this wkd in a big race for this area, the cable bridge run. it should be fun AND counts for my long run! yeahoo! i wonder if there will be a 1/2 marathon i can do whenceupon i get to my 13 mile long run part of 'my training.' (i'm still only saying that i'm 'training for a marathon' with fear and trepidation!)

any comments WELCOME on the things i'm ignorant about or things i can improve upon. PLEASE! i generally read blogs of hard-core ultra athletes...who like do 3milers as their warmups! (and eat salt tablets, btw! honestly, i hope i never have to do that! it reminds me of reading little house on the prairie and reading about "salt licks" for...i dunno, bison--?-- "in the olden days"!!) ah me. so, comment away. info and input SOUGHT!

God bless~~~ kt

how many miles?

30K=18.6miles
50K=31 miles
10K=6.2 miles
5K=3.2 miles (?)

sometimes when i'm reading other blogs i find it dificil to comprehend OTHER PEOPLE's mileage! why, oh why, don't they measure them in miles instead of Ks??? easier to come up w/ an even number? but, being AMERICAN, living in AMERICA...where we DO things in inches, miles, quarts, teaspoons, (did i mention inches?)...why, i ask you, can't we just do the old MILES for races? i guess i understand meters for shorter races...otherwise we'd be doing yards or feet. that's silly. but for longer runs....TELL ME IN MILES. then i can go, okay, that's a little more than a marathon. or, okay, that's like 1/2way to Portland. yknow?

just a little beefy thing i got going on. =)

Just call me Frosty

Can only be described as a FRIGID RUN this morning b4 church...CAN YOU BELIEVE i had FROST on my shoulders?! I noticed on the last turn home! Why's that?


8:15a.m. RUN...15 degrees outside
STATS:
35.09minutes
3.02miles
avg:11.39min/mi
best:10.14min/mi

besides the frost on my shoulders, the toes i couldn't feel (but only for a mile), the frost on my eyelashes(! I could SEE it!), the worst parts about this run were #1: feeling like i could fall asleep as i ran--my legs were that tired; and #2: my hands, tho gloved, started to really hurt.

my blogger friend LETA is running the Honolulu Marathon AS I TYPE! you can see her blog link over there...it's "marathon training." GO LETA! she is READY. we'll have to ask her if her lack of sleep 2 nites before the race hurt her or not.

gotta shower then it's off to WORSHIP THE KING! (then i have toddler care today! happy attitude) then time w/ hubby today! yeah for grandparents! date nite. that is why i HAD to get this run in!

i can't believe i had frost on my shoulders....like i'm a pc of meat!

Icy Cold

the 'kiddos' are mentioned w/in the blog...of course, my inspiration! this photo is about 4 yrs old!

stats:
40.19 minutes...3.67 miles...average: 10.59 min/mi.....best: 9.02 min/mi

i've taken on a new tack (??)

i'm trying to WAY slow it down. i swear i've tried to bring it down to 11-12 minutes per mile. up there in the stats you see that my avg was about 11 min/mi. Well, it avgs to that cuz from about 2.8 on, i sped up so that lowers the avg. ESPECIALLY (as advised in the The Non Runner's Marathon Trainer) in the beginning of the run. no WONDER i usually have such a hard time for so long in my runs! THANKS, AMBER, for showing me the way!

so, it is actually ENJOYABLE! listening to my music...the best to run to are PETRA, Margaret Becker...those are my all time favs. But i've been listening to the same mix ever since the welch's marathon! (and i'll qualify that, in case someone's reading my blog for the 1st time: i ran on a team of 4 girls...we each ran a ~6 mile leg) So, I'm due to change out my shuffle. BUT since we've re-booted and re-vamped the computers in the household...this means i must DOWNLOAD the software AGAIN and then put in the cds AGAIN!!!!!!!!!! ugh-o-rama! and that gives me no assurances. next thing i know we'll sell that computer which i put it onto. NICE! but ya gotta have music, I SAY. so again i go.

have i mentioned...I LOVE MY GARMIN. i know i have. it's just SO WORTHY of mention!

okay, i just looked up the YAKIMA MARATHON...it's April 1, 2006. then i hooked up a calendar. well, it's a mere 16 wks away. doesn't that sound like a long time? well, to me it does. all i have to measure it by is PREGNANCY. 40 wks ... so then i think of 1/2 a pregnancy (16 wks is a little less than 1/2)...and pregnancy was ETERNAL to me (all 3 times) so i think, "oh, that's FOREVER away!" but whence upon i looked at the ole calendar....well, folks...that doesn't look as far away!

when you look at a calendar, and see how quickly time moves (esp looking BACK on your calendar of the past yr) it is mind boggling. esp.when you have kiddos. (**THIS IS WHY I PUT IN THE PIC...BUT CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO PLACE THE PICS IN THE BODY WHERE I WANT THEM! HELP ME IPODMOMMA!**) the time just goes TOO quickly! when you're dieting...or trying to train for a marathon (?i can't really talk here...YET) each day is a looooong time! ah me.

we just need to be ever-thankful!

so, should i do it? should i make the commitment and GO FOR IT? i know i do love running again. i haven't gone over 5 miles tho. and on the route i'm on, i'm running every 3rd day. so i might have to change "the training" a little to fit my needs. i am REALLY petrified of getting hurt again.

16 wks. i'm gonna go look at my non-runner's guide to see where that puts me. amber ran the philly after training for 13 wks, methinks. and i just found another great blog by doing a search for marathon training. it's INSPIRING! i'll ask her if i can link her on my blog. she does a 'thon in HA this Sunday! Go Leta!

God bless, all! ~~kt

OH Yeah!

stats:
5.20 mi
1:00:23 (yes, one hour!)
11.37 min/mi avg
9.21 min/mi best
952 cals burned (??)

Yes! I GOT IT DONE! I drove to the park, my all-time fav place...so many variations available. parked the van and started at 3.49p.m. Yes, I knew it would prob. be getting dark before long. Of late, it gets dark by 4:30. But away I went. Of course, since it was around 29 degrees, there were VERY few people out. I did take a headband/ear-warmer thing this time which was very good. Only a few wks ago when I did that, it was WAY too sweaty and itchy. (i think it's made for skiing.) But I knew my ears wouldn't make it. That was over my earphones and I just left my hair down to keep my neck warm. Gloves are a must this time of yr too. I don't wear them the whole time but w/o them, I'd probly get frostbite!

(btw: I LOVE MY GARMIN!)

So, I had my gloves and ipod to contend w/. Not too bad. I'm back to tying my car key in my laces. I'd forgotten about that trick. No biggie. You don't even notice it. Tie it onto the side. Make it as sturdy as you can but don't push it thru the laces that go up the tongue of your shoe...that will inhibit your foot movement and the key will feel like it's cutting your foot! Anyhoo, since I'm no longer wearing SHORTS, and don't have pockets...this is a new thing to have to worry about. When I run w/ FOLKS, I just carry my keys. Cuz then I don't use my ipod. I don't have one of those nifty arm deals to hold it. I don't want that at this point. I like to hold it in case i need to change the song or pause it to say "YO!" to a passer-by. (ok, so it's more like hello.) I also like being able to control the volume so I can hear traffic better at some points or BLARE a fav. song at other times!

Well, I MUST SAY: I could not feel my little toes on either foot for about 1 mile. I noticed my ipod cord was very hard....like the cold had frozen it. Ipodmamma's hubby wrote me that her ipod had a hard time in colder weather. So, I was trying different ways to carry it. I came up w/ putting it down my sweatshirt...then it was pulled too taut. So then I tucked the actual POD into between my tights and my shorts on under. Well, that was okay for a while. But for some reason the cord was pulling hard enuff that I felt the ear phones trying to come OUT, UNDER my head band! That was irritating. So, THEN I decided to run the cord down the arm of my sweatshirt and right into my palm! PERFECT! Why dint i think of that before?? I ask you! That was about 2.8 or sumpin ... before i had all that down. So, from then on I could just have fun.

AND HAVE FUN I DID. I really tried to just slow it down a lot and not over do. I read about long term aerobic benefit...and wet losss (of COURSE) & "they" do say that longer periods will have more effect. I guess a good goal is 90 minutes ... maybe not all the time. But that is what i'd like to do more often. Well, I felt like I was barely moving...but i wondered why i usually try to push it faster, harder? I think, of late, it would be becuz i'm in traffic. I don't want people SEEING me and thinking I'm a slow pig out there, super OUT OF SHAPE! Isn't that insane? It's lifelong, folks. I wish i didn't care.

Who saw that Oprah show once about the lady that wanted to overcome her inhibitions....and how she did it was to don a BIKINI and jog around the neighborhood...even going up to houses and introducing herself! She was not bikini-worthy (by American standards) and so it was really SOMETHING! She was running right down the street, waving to cars and talking to everyone! It was an EYE-POPPER! Of course, she had Oprah's camera crew right there with her...WHICH, on ONE hand would be better becuz she had lots of company...like: supporting her. But, on the OTHER hand, THE WHOLE WORLD GOT TO SEE HER, not just her neighbors who were the ONES she was trying to overcome her fear of. (i know that was an incorrect sentence...so sorry.)

All that to say, I've often thought of her, when i'm super-inhibited about running in public. I would look a LOT worse than her in that bikini! I LIKE covering up! But sometimes I'm most stymied by what I look like.

I know i've said it before: when i take off, i'm concerned about what i look like. However, on the home stretch, i could be running naked and i'm so euphoric, it wouldn't matter. Now, that's a gross (eyesore) exaggeration but YOU GET THE POINT (i hope)! (just don't try to imagine...that would be too scary.)

So, today i felt purty good. Great, in fact. I just took it real easy. I think, sometimes there's something to be said for taking some time off. I mean, i want to get right back in the saddle...but tonite's run it was like i could run forever! It makes me want to run less. The prob. w/ that is my whole life kinda goes down the drain on days i don't run! ugh! balance, kt!

Okay, i made a point to tell you i'd started right b4 dusk. Well, I ran down the length of the park, then moved out onto the residential street that parallels the river path...then ran all the way back, just on the streets. This is an old part of town which i've always loved! The homes are all government houses built in the 40s i believe. Lots of them have been re-done and they are way cool! I've always wanted to live there! Close to the river would be a big plus too, eh?!

Well, by the time i got even w/ where the car was parked, it was dark. I was spooked. I didn't want to go down there. I thought about stopping at the fire dept which is right there and asking if there was a roaming firefighter (hero-guy) who could spare a couple of minutes to walk down w/ me. I himmed and hawed for a while and just went on my own. I was walking and kept my eyes PEELED...just like "they" say to do. The unfortunate part was i had to unlock my car...just carrying a key i didn't have the remote lock. There was, also, a car, parked closeby IDLING! Spooky! I prayed on the way down, "Lord, go before me and behind me!"

And, on the way home I tried not to get my hopes up that there would be a Christmas tree awaiting me....until i forgot about it. As I turned the corner and looked up to our 2nd story window, I BEHELD A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT! DH and the kiddos HAD gone out and got us a TREE! Yeahooo! He knew and did it just for me! Whatta guy!

God Bless and love to all!
kt

ps: check out AMBER's blog...i have a link up there. she has updated her's ...w/ info about her MARATHON!

nope

didn't do it.
trying not to feel too guilty.
woke up yesterday w/ headache;
went to bed last nite w/ headache;
awoke again this morning w/ headache...
until it culminated into an all out and out fullblown migraine midway thru the day...

3 ibuprofen finally cured it....and dd's sweet prayers whilst she rubbed my poor noggin!
it is so weird w/ those. i was completely at the end of my rope, called dear hubby at work (so i was at the comPLETE end!), he would call me back in 15 mins to let me know if he could break away and come home; and right away i turned a corner! when he called back, i was able to open my eyes and my eyeBALLS didn't hurt anymore, neither was the blood POUNDING inside my head. weird, huh? what IS IT w/ those headaches.

sadly, i am sure i know the culprit.
well, it could be the sinus infection i could possibly have.
and, this morn, lying in bed i was seriously considering i might have a flesh-eating bacterial disease, inside my brain nibbling away at it. at one point i thought i could actually pinpoint the thing eating my optic nerve! then i was sure it was in my occipital lobe.
now, these are places i'm actually sure i cannot feel. but such was my state! ugh!
i told dear hubby to call and check in thru-out the day so as to make sure the kids weren't running around w/ an unresponsive mommy somewhere in the house. yikes!

we are planning, now to walk to costco to pick up some PICS i sent down there earlier in the day. can you believe you can do this? technology!

perhaps a midday run tomorrow aft church when d.h. is home w/ kids.

God bless to all!
kt

ps: the real culprit, methinks, is the sugar i've indulged upon. not much, mind you, but sugar nonetheless. i know one other gal who suffers migraines and has sworn off sugar never to have another migraine. well, sugar AND flour. she is completely abstinent. i have not had a migraine in forever ... but i've let sugar and flour back in this wk. Lord, HELP!

No Run, No GOOD Excuse

i'm wallerin'

yuk

well, there WAS snow yesterday...and the aftermath of wet, yuckiness today...

but what, really, is the excuse?

i missed wed's run which was the first mistake. couldn't get outta bed early enuff...

thurs i shoulda made it up but my neice came to stay all day and she came quite early...still dark....and snowing...no WAY i'd-a made it up THAT morn.

and then there was this a.m. well, i just stayed up to darn late to make it! and i could hear tires CRUNCHING on icy, broken up snowy stuff that had melted and re-frozen over nite...yuk! i think, when i go, i'll have to go in my old duckie snow/water boots anyhow. not a fun prospect!

after the late nite last nite and mommy not getting up, our WHOLE household was in bed till almost 10 a.m!!! unheard of! granted, both girls had gravitated to OUR bed sometime in the night ... so, for me, at least, "sleep" is a real loose term. more like, immobile semi-consciousness. and an UNCOMFORTABLE position i stayed immobile in, too! ugh! at about 7 when my alarm went off, i moved to dd's bed. tho a twin, MUCH more comfy than being in the midst of dd 4, dhubby, and dd 7! i'm serious, we all fit in there like a puzzle and there is NO moving around for the MOMMY! yuk and ugh! i wonder what dreams they musta had to end up w/ us this nite! ?

okay...so, here's hoping my saturday will include a morn. run. here's PLANNING an earlier nite. and wouldn'tchya know, i'm STILL playing around w/ a chest cold. dd7 had a unique thought this a.m...."maybe we're all sick cuz we stay inside all day long!" Well, truth be told, i AM sure to get us out most days at some point and i'm REAL conscientious about all getting exercise. so i nix that theory. we ARE planning to get our ducts cleaned out though. i'm thinking that can't hurt! it's a 30something yr old house. gross master!

have i told you lately how much i love my husband and love my children; love being a stay at home mommy and i LOVE caring for my household! even my housework i love! and now, i'm getting out Christmas stuff...wow, i sure have accumulated! we have a bigger house this yr...wonder if i'll be able to find places for everything. we've eliminated a t.v. entertainment center this yr...that was where a ton of the stuff was set for yrs. so, i'm thinking our downstairs windowsills will have to take up the slack.

JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON! (no matter what target says!)

blessings~~~kt