What Was That?

So the other day I went on a very long training run - all by myself. This was a victory in itself because I always run long runs with friends.  On this day, I just couldn't get my schedule to mesh with anyone else's.  The run went pretty good- the hamstring issue was not too bad and the pace was all right.  Do you get the feeling that it was a mediocre run?  Nothing special, but I am fine with that. Not every run is going to rock!!!  There was one strange thing that happened and left me wondering "What the ...?"  As I was heading into the parking lot (with .001 mile of 24 miles left!!) I felt a twinge in my right calf.  It really did just feel like a twinge so I thought "No big deal."  but as I took the next step I knew it WAS a big deal.  I could not step down!  What happened????  Can anyone answer that for me?  I hobbled back to my car and shed a couple of "poor me tears."  I sat down on the steps next to snowbank and immediately starting icing.  Then I walked up the stairs to the Y and every. step. hurt.  I made it to the Body Pump class and iced some more while I drank the protein smoothie my lovely daughter brought for me.  I have been icing and resting for two days and my calf is about 90% better.  I still don't know what happened and if I don't know what happened how can I prevent it from happening again? I need to know, I need to know more. Any ideas?  Ha ha - that sentence reminded me of this AT & T commercial. These commercials totally make me laugh - I am a teacher, I hear this all the time!!!
Commercial

Today we have a snow day!!  I spent the day baking and laughing with my oldest daughter.  Right now she is cleaning out another closet - she will do anything to avoid cleaning her room!!!!  I love snow days, but really waiting for spring weather!!!!

Power of a Pushup

     My students rock!!!  They will rise to almost any challenge presented to them.  Waaaaaaaay back in November when I was upping my count in pushups I challenged them to join me.  We started out with a few groans and whines, but everybody did them the first day (and every day after that!)  They all thought they were such studs - until the second day!  When they dropped into their first pushup position they were very surprised by the pain they felt in those unused muscles!!  Loud moans and groans accompanied the pushups that day!  But they all did them - every single one.  It was so exciting for them to see their growth - many kids progressed from doing all pushups on their knees to every single one on toes!!  A few of them added in their own styles.  So many times the dismissal bell was just about to ring when one of the kids would shout out a reminder to do pushups.  One time we forgot and one of my students called me after school to ask me to send a reminder text.  The next day the kids came to school to tell me they had received the text in supermarkets, grandparents' houses, or supper time with their family.  They all did the 30 pushups on their own.  These are committed kids!!!  Yes, they had fun flexing those biceps, but the best growth was the self-esteem.  They set out on a challenge that many thought impossible at the start and they did it!!!!!  This teacher is proud!!!

     I am super excited to tell them about the next challenge I have for them (besides rocking the state tests!!) They all know that I am running a 50K in April.  They are great supporters and love to hear about my long miles, new shoes, and running stories. So with this knowledge, I am going to challenge them to run 31 miles in the 31 days leading up to my 50K!!! I have a plan on how we will accomplish that - we will run for the first 10-15 minutes of recess-- together, all of us.  Some may start out walking and that is fine.  But I bet you anything by the end of the 31 miles ALL will be running!!!!  I am calling this run the S'milin' Away 50K!  All who complete it will receive a t-shirt with a huge smiley face on the front. I have been checking out prices and I think I can make it affordable for all.  I would also love to put together a swag bag - if you have any ideas for cheap or free prizes let me know.
     I hope that I am a positive role model for the kids - I truly believe that a healthy body equals a healthy mind.  I want them to know that running does not have to be their exercise of choice, but that exercising should be a choice they make every day!

The Run That Was

     Yesterday day was one of those "make it or break it" runs - fortunately this time I made it!  I had an 18 miler scheduled and it had to start at 4 am.  I know that is a crazy hour but my day was filled with kid stuff and that was the only time I could carve out in the day.  Luckily, I have a friend who is just as crazy and does not mind early, early morning runs!!!  I checked the weather and say that it was 10 degrees - a heat wave compared to the previous three days of negative numbers.  That positive number fooled me into dressing lighter than I should have and that became a problem later in the run.  The run went so quickly, even though we were moving pretty slowly.  My face mask froze twice (I need to solve that problem) and my hands started to get really cold!!  Running into the wind was the worst - it felt like I was in one of those wind machines and my skin was getting an instant face lift!!!  My thigh muscles felt like they were hardening and my butt felt like a rock - and not in a good way!  At 16 miles, my friend finished up and with encouraging words, sent me on my way.  Two miles is not a big deal, right?  Wrong!  I wanted to be done at 16, but I was determined to do my miles. At one point I said out loud "There is no one tougher than you right now!" and I believed that!!  I finished the miles, fell into my car, clumsily got the keys in the ignition and drove straight home to a hot shower!  ( have you ever taken a hot shower when you are painfully cold???  OUCH)

     Today I am looking forward to a beautifully short 6 miler.  It snowed last night, so the world is winter wonderful!!  I am doing a "destination run" - running from my house out in the country into town to the Y where I will do a Body Pump class.  I am NOT running home - my daughter will give me a ride.
     I am also looking forward (?????) to my son"s Super Bowl Party!  What's more fun than 7 13-year old boys????

Stellar Week!

I am doing it!  I am going to run a 50K in April and I have not been really committed to the training - or so I say.  I used to be really good at journaling every run and I could definitely see when I was in the middle of training. I could see the weekly totals, I could see evidence of the good runs and the bad.  I could compare my journal with the chosen training plan. I think without that written documentation it has been pretty easy for me to say "I am kinda training for a race that I MAY run in April."  What??  That is not like me at all!!!  I am usually all over training, writing, planning.  So I did a a little reflecting last night.  Am I or am I not training?  Is my head into it? And what about my heart? Here is what I found out - I AM TRAINING!!  Huge revelation, huh?  Well, here is how I came up with this.  I have done quite a few runs (not all of them pretty) that I would not have done had I not had a goal in mind!
1 week ago - ran 12 miles in sub zero temps, -25 windchill
Mon - hill repeats at 4 am cuz that is the only time I had in my day for that
Th - speedwork on the treadmill, I hate the TM but hated the wind outside even more
Sat - intended to do 14, felt great so we went 16. Facemask froze twice and icicles on eyelashes
Sun - 6 miles outside, started out fast (for me) and then turned to shuffling as the rain turned to ice.
Throw in a a couple of easy runs and three Body Pump classes.

So there it is!  I guess I am in training mode! Those are the runs of a person who has a goal in mind.  Those are runs with a purpose.  The physical piece is there and obviously my heart is in it otherwise I wouldn't be out there doing it! So now if you ask me "Are you training for anything?" I will answer with a resounding "YES!"

Now for something so unrelated to running but a proud mommy moment that I love to share.  My youngest daughter, my "Velcro baby," the one who cried at the start of every dance class, the one who I had to crouch behind at Christmas concerts to keep her on stage, the one who told me at 8 yrs old that she was going to live in my backyard when she was a grown-up, stood up in front of the entire student body at her school and gave a presentation on bullying!!!  This was not an assignment - she did it because she saw a need for it.  She first presented to her class and her teacher was so impressed she asked her to address her peers.  And she did it - eloquently and confidently!  And I got to see her do it!! Yes, I fought back the tears. She amazes me!!! BTW - she also was awarded Student of the Month at the assembly.  In her words "It has been a stellar week!"

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!!!

Wow!!! What a week it has been!  Sunday night and my head is spinning!!!  So much has happened this week that I am not even sure where to begin!  Here's the skinny on 3!

The Good
My oldest daughter had a formal dance on Satuday night.  She looked absolutely stunning!  When she walked into my bedroom to show me how she looked I started to cry.  My baby looked like a woman!  She is graduating this year - I am always crying - but this really threw me.  Where did my chubby little baby go?  I am pretty sure she was walking around with a nukkie in her mouth just a little while ago! After I composed myself, we took pics of her and her boyfriend, then went to her friend's house and took more pics, then went to the Grand March and took MORE pics.  Here are a few of my favorites!

The Bad
I am going to tell this story the best and as briefly as I can so that I honor all that were involved. On Thurs, there was a terrible incident taking place three blocks away from my school.  The police were trying to do a welfare check on an elderly man whose family was concerned because he was making homicidal threats.  The check went very wrong, sadly.  Our school was put in a "soft lockdown" for four hours while law enforcement handled the situation.  The Tactical Response Team was called in to help resolve it.  The elderly man shot at the police and then left his house out the back door and continued shooting.  The police responded and shot the man.  He was killed.  This is an all-around sad situation.  I am not in any way saying the law enforcement made a poor decision.  They did what they had to do.  I just feel so bad for the man, his family, the police officers involved, and the community.  I am praying for all of them.  Such sadness.

The Ugly
Yesterday's run really stunk.  Actually, the run itself was not that bad.  12 miles with three friends in 34 degree temps.  My hamstring thing was bugging me but it was not too painful.  It is what happens to me after the run that is so ugly.  My hip flexors, inner thighs, and abs get incredibly tight and sore.  I can hardly get out of the car!!! This happens after almost every run.  I strength train, do core work, and stretch some.  I don't know what is going on!!!  It has been going on since July.  Has anyone else ever experienced this?  If so, what did you do to cure it?

Have a great week and "Run Happy!"

This Round Is On Me!

The question is "What's on tap?"  Tonight is the first night of "Happy Trails Happy Hour!"
A group of runners - new to the trails and experienced- are joining up at a local park to take on some trails.  It is a beautiful day here in MN - the sun is shining, the temps are in the low 20s, and fresh snow is on the ground.  Perfect reason to gather for a happy hour! I can't wait to see everyone adorned with headlamps and tripping running gracefully through the slosh!  I am pretty familiar with the trails because I run them 3-4 times a week.  But for most it will be a blind run- which I think is kind of fun (and maybe a little funny!)  The beverages FOLLOW the run which is good because otherwise we might not find our way out of the woods!


Tonight's beverage - hot cocoa with a shot of this

or this!

And the Ball Has Dropped!!

Thanks to all you bloggers who inspired me to sit down and post something today.  I have had writer's block - I wanted to sum up 2012, but was struggling with how I wanted to do it.  2012 was an amazing year!  I learned so much about myself, met many new friends, and accomplished SOME of my goals.  I am HAPPY!!!
Ring out the old!
Some of my highlights from 2012

First 50 K

Great River Ragnar Relay 

First ever overall win!!!!  Whoo hoo!

Diva Dash

26.2 Shades of GreyMarathon Relay Team

Ring in the new!

I have not yet set my goals for the year.  I do know I am hoping to shake this hamstring issue and run more trail races.  I have a 50K set for April and would LOVE to push myself to something a little longer.  We shall see!