Walkies!

Hey hey hey!
I walked to work this morning...mostly as I'm cat sitting for a friend and had to go by abd lock her kitty away for the day in a bedroom for some repairpeoples to do their thing. It'll keep little Wicket somewhere safe and cozy for the day and I can let him out again after work.

I figured hey - I know I ran yesterday so I don't need to run today, but it's my birthday...a walk would be nice. With the detour it's about 45 minutes - not too bad.
So I walked.
It was cold and rainy. Meh.
And as it turns out, I might have to go out on strike today at work.
Meh indeed...you know I'm counting on this day to improve.

It is looking up tho - my luv said he's taking me out for a fine dinnner today...can't wait!
I so rarely go out for dinner as I'm a bit of a cookery snob (and a damn fine chef if'n I do say so myself) so when we eat out and really like to go to the sort of place where there's a chef and the food is in the realm of the divine. That's not a cheap thing...so usually it's just on my birthday or our anniversary we splurge a bit. And so the splurge is coming.
Can't wait...yum.

I call shenanigans

I can't figure it out. It was cold and windy this morning and as I set out I thought "OK, well I'm running into the wind so at least on the way back home I'll have the wind at my back".

But somehow no. I don't know how it worked out but I ended up with the wind in my face the whole time.

Personally, I call shenanigans!

I didn't run on the weekend, even tho it was nice, as I had whackloads of yardwork to do, and a most excellent Halloween shindig to attend.

The least the wind could do is contribute to my health a bit don't you think?

Music to run to in a windstorm: Chemical Brothers - Brothers Gonna Work it Out

Red Fox has landed

I can't believe forgot to mention something this cool...this morning i saw a small red fox on the trail. At first I thought it was a skulking cat on a paved path in the park and ran closer to see if it had tags or was lost - as I got closer I realised it was a poor scared little red fox. Poor guy.
Needless to say I didn't get too close in case he wanted a drumstick ot two.
Hope he's OK...

Indian winter?

It was so nice yesterday - got up to 21! And this morning it was still nice - about 10. There were a lot of people out running this morning instead of just me and another lady I always pass on my way home - nice to see others out and about again. It was like summer just for a day.

I had a nice run, went a few 100 metres further than normal today...not sure if I was just running abit faster or what, but it was a nice run and I feel great. I almost slept in, but J came and said goodbye on his way to work and I thought "if he can be up now so can I" and got up and headed out for a run. I'm glad I did. It's always hard to get my ass out of bed at 5:15 but once I'm there it is usually worth it. I even went harder on my last 8 minute run stretch to push myself a bit and it has left me with a buzz that has stuck with me so far today.
Today it definitely was a good run. I feel great. I've lots to do but, tomorrow is my day off.
Woot!

Music to run to on a warm morning: Gomez - Five Men in a Hut

Don't sweat the small stuff

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck
(Written after she found out she was dying from cancer).

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren'tthere for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that thewonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."

There would have been more "I love you's"; more "I'm sorry's."

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute... look at it and really see it ... live it and never give it back.

Stop sweating the small stuff!!!

Running? Pah! Sleeping is better!

I went to bed stupidly early last night and slept in as long as possible today.
Ah!
That is SOOOO goooood...haven't done that in ages.
I'll be all set for my run tomorrow morning!

Don't hold back, cause you woke up in the morning with a mission to the moon...

Got up and went for a nice run this morning. No stars , as it was cloudy...BUT, it's been unseasonably warm the past few days...it was about 8 degrees this morning. I had a nice run. Why? Well, my love surprised me with a replacement set of behind the ear headphones yesterday and it was so nice to run with them staying in my ears and sounding nice - my old pair didn't fit too well and were so old they were basically coated in electrical tape of various colours. These fit perfectly and sound great.
Sometimes it is the little things that make you happy :)


Music to run by: Chemical Brothers - Push the Button

Tranceport

Went for a run on sunday morning (well OK noon, I slept in) and learned something - running to trance music is a great way to get a full workout. I realised I'd never run to a favourite older trance album of mine (Tranceport - Paul Oakenfeld) so I called it up on the old iPod and went for a run in the sun across the river. It was a bit windy and chilly, but once I got going I was warmed up. Sweating and breathing hard in fact. The thing about a whole album of music at about 110 BPM is you really get moving without noticing it...I went further than usual and had to stick to my old 5 minutes run 2 minutes walk regimen as I was actually panting with a slight side stitch at the end of my runny bits. It really was a good solid workout and I pushed myself a bit. It felt good, but the last stretch coming home was tough - I should've had breakfast before I went out as I was at the very end of my energy reserves when I stumbled panting in the front door to stretch and do the usual situps.
Reward? Oatmeal with stewed strawberries and cream. YUM!
Yes,...I can be bribed to do anything, including self discipline, with tasty food! (and I wonder, is bribing myself negating my former discipline? :))

Albums to run like an idiot to: Tranceport - Paul Oakenfeld.

Chilly

I ran this morning and it was COLD. About 0...there was frost on everything and it was rather pretty but I didn't warm up until about 10 minutes in to my run...I was glad when I fanally did. So very cold.
I still enjoyed it and my knees didn't bug me until the last minute or so, but I'm dreading calling an end to it all soon...I just don't know how my lungs will deal with the cold once it gets below -5 or so. The cold aggrivates my asthma so I'll just have to see. I'[ll keep at it as long as I can. I used to ride my bike to work until it snowed, so maybe that'll be my run cutoff too. It's been a good encouragement to keep at the running the last few days...that there's only a bit left.
*sniff*
I just like slipping into the mental rythm and focusing on the movement of my legs and arms and my breathimg...just relaxing and feeling the movement of my body, hearing my heart beat, looking at the sky and thinking through whatever pops into my head.
I'm looking forward to a run in daylight on sunday. All the geese are heading south and I hope there'll be a lot more to see in the daylight!

Mumbly and sore

I crazily attacked the yard all tuesday evening, mowing and raking and all that...hours of that made me less stiff than I thought. Yesterday I had a good workout at my bellydancing class, by the end of class I was stiff and sore and tired and crampy and all together quite miserable.
Today...still miserable I'm afraid. Achy and headachy and all that. Being a woman sucks sometimes...but at least I know it'll be over soon.
I do plan on going for a nice run tomorrow - I find that mentally I crave it. The act of being outside, alone and physically exerting myself - it's like a form of meditation for me -it really is. Unfortunately(right when the class is done!) I seem to be getting used to the different movements and am not getting achy knees the next day anymore from bellydancing so they don't ache when I run. Sooo, I now have to keep practicing without a class to go to to keep both up- it will be tricky. I really enjoyed it - it was fun and made me feel very sexy, as well as taught me a bit about the dedication that dancers must go through for their skills...and I that I am quite uncoordinated. I did learn a full 3 minute routine I'd like to practice and get good at...I've ordered a hip scarf (squeee!) and hope that in a while I can do a very nice belly dance routine for my love some snowy evening.
BUT...
Today...mumbly and sore. Keep telling myself I'll be better soon...

It's about time

Finally went for a run this morning. I'm embarrassed to say I've not run foe a while week until today. I've been trying to be easy on the knees. It helped, as they didn't bug me at all this morning, but I really should've ran over the weekend at least once. We've got a lot of home organizing stuff on at the moment and at the end of it all I just didn't feel like it. Not a real excuse, but it was, sadly, true.
But it was brilliant. It wasn't too cold and the sky was super clear. Orion is out and Venus was glowing. Because my watch is dead I didn't have any time to obsess over and just ran a quarter of the way, walked a bit and repeated...made for a nice run. It wasn't as hard as I feared it would be and I feel fab now.

Gotta go!

lazy buttmuffin

Well...I've been quite the lazy buttmuffin this week.
I did my run on Monday, and then my belly dance class on wed night, which again did a number on my knees, so I have been holding off on running till they feel "normal". I figure I'll just get knees used to this and then the class will be over, but it's a lot of fun. Our final 2 classes we're learning an actual routine, which is rather cool.

And because I don't work tomorrow I can go for a nice run in the daylight. It's been frosty in the mornings, but it should be warm enough my after breakfast for things to be runnable. And there's lots of yard stuff to do too, so I'll be a good little girl all weekend and look after myself.

I think I just need to start using the cross trainer in the basement again. It's so very boring compared to being outside, but a whole lot warmer...

Thanksgiving run

Went for a run at the lake this weekend while visiting family - to the narrows and back...about 5K total. it's true what they say about alcohol affecting your athletic ability. Sunday was feasting night and I ate and drank entirely more than I should have, and my run on monday was a lot harder than normall...but it was a nice run through the woods, and I wouldn't have traded it for anything else.

Hope you all had a nice weekend. I did.

Geese in Spaaaaaaaace!

Wella wella well.
It was a nice frosty run this morning...about 1 degree. But it was very pretty...the river was like glass and the stars were reflected back in it and the geese that are on their way through on their fall migration were floating along, like geese in outerspace. Quite surreal.

I did the 9 minute run 1 minute walk four times, but the last few minutes my knees began to hurt a lot so I walked the last bit. Annoying development. Perhaps The bellydancing is stressing my knees more than I thought....or I need to scale back the runn bits a bit. I don't want to wreck my knees...they've never bothered me before this so it's a new thing.
Anyone have tips for sore knees? I'm not sure how common a thing this will turn out to be, but I want to be kind to my knees so when I'm old I can still walk about.

Do or do not...there is no try

It is funny how knowing you can do something makes it possible. I always thought it was hokey, but it honestly does apply. Yoda was right after all.
Yesterday I knew I could run 35 minutes without stopping from the Cancer run, so I thought "why don't I change my usual run up a bit and run 9 min and walk 1 four times" instead of the usual 5 and 2. And I did, no problem at all...went the same distance and took about the same time. It was a bit chilly in the morning, but the chill was due to the crystal clear skies...I stargazed as I ran - very beautiful. So I guess I'll do that from now on. Feels like I jumped ahead somehow!

It's so nice and "normal" to be back to a regular schedule after working the pledge drive for 2 weeks. I have the energy to get up to run in the mornings again. I amm annoyed that I somehow hurt my foot yesterday evening (no idea how) so I might not run for a few days, just to be sure I don't make things worse if it doesn't stop hurting today.

I'm looking forward to bellydancing class tonight. We're supposedly learning how to combine the lower body and upper body moves we've learned so far...I'm very uncoordinated so it should be very comical tonight. If you hear screams and see a small running crowd of women tonight, it is from me madly flailing about and possbily injuring them and driving them away in terror.
Ah well, what can ya do? Have a good day all.

Victory shot



















Gratuitous victorious cat shot.

Why?
Well, cuz I really did it!
Thanks to my friends Lili and Karen who were on my run team who were my cheering squad (and who run a lot more than me). They encouraged me on, and I ran the *whole* 5K of the Run for the Cure.
All of it!
HEE!
I didn't stop once, and finished in a quite respectable 34 minutes and some seconds...

I have to say - it was an inspirational time. I haven't expereienced anything quite like it...to be around the people I work to help in a place where they had such hope and strength instead of sickness. There were a lot of survivors there, some still in chemo, who were walking because they couldn't run. Some were walking for those who had passed on...for family and friends they'd lost. All I could think of when I ran was "this is hard, but it's *nothing* compared to what they went through". And with the sadness was joy...people holding photos of loved ones they remembered...survivors too sick to run cheering us on on the path with pink feather boas and pompoms...with such joy in their eyes!
It was an amazing thing. I'm glad I did it. I learned a bit about how strong I am inside and how amazing people are.
Thanks to all of you who pledged to me...I hope I honoured you by running well.
And thanks to you Shirley...I ran it for you. Be well.


~crossposted on my other blag~