Checking in

Runnergirlknits who? Yeah, I'm still around. Still running, still cross training, still knitting, still whining. Quite a bit of each, actually.

I've slowly built my running mileage back up to close to where it should be. I'd like to say I've closely followed the running schedule produced by my Team in Training coach but ... it would be a lie. I've mostly been following my own schedule to suit my own needs and desires. My normal, perfect-training week would look something like this:

Monday before work: Train with Super-Trainer Katie; mostly core and upper body with some legs thrown in to torture me.

Monday after work: Hike the Rim Trail at Lafayette Reservoir, 5 miles. Try not to fall too often.

Tuesday before work: Train with S-TK. Run a few miles on the treadmill, throwing in some speed work.

Wednesday after work: Hike the Rim Trail at Lafayette Reservoir, 5 miles. Again try not to fall.

Thursday before work: Train with S-TK.

Thursday after work: Buddy run with Team in Training, usually about 45 minutes.

Friday: nothing at all.

Saturday: Run with the Team, slowly building mileage. May include trails and/or hills.

Sunday: Run easy at somewhere like the Lafayette-Moraga Trail.

Looks good, doesn't it? But that's a perfect week which has only been realized a few times this summer. We need to take into consideration high heat conditions and gross smog conditions which cause afternoon runs/hikes to become shorter. We need to think about breathing issues. We need to think about socializing outside of workouts. We need to consider family and exhaustion. But the ambitious scheduling has made me much stronger.

I'm slowly learning to love dirt, although single track still scares the crap out of me. I'm just too uncoordinated for that, either walking or running. But I think running and walking on fire trails has helped that. It's also helped me fall down more often than I'd like. After 11 years of running on local asphalt trails, it's been fun discovering the entirely different East Bay dirt trails. The beauty and changing seasonal scenery will keep me returning to dirt.

My previous ailments are sorta kinda almost better. At the risk of highly jinxing myself, I'll state that I haven't had much problem with my knees or feet recently. Yeah, things hurt after long runs but nothing more than expected. My lungs are very slowly rebuilding after spring's pneumonia, but they're still not where I'd like them. I'm able to run a few consecutive miles at my old pace, before having to slow back down.

I'm excited about my very ambitious race schedule for the fall/winter. I'm hoping to run 3-4 full marathons with a couple of half marathons thrown in for good measure. I honestly have no idea how my body will react to a marathon a month (let alone 2 in 2 days) but it should be fun running in 3 new states.

How is your running summer going? Are you making big plans? Has the latest version of Bejeweled (available for PC, iPhone and iPad, dammit) taken over your life and spare time as it has mine?

Almost next year

I just realized my poor blog is in serious need of updating, but that's not happening right now. This is just catching up. I realized I never posted since I had my foot sliced.

When I went to have the stitches removed the doc told me it turns out that I didn't have a ganglion cyst; I didn't have a cyst at all. I had what the lab called "fibromatosis." Which led to my delight in saying I had fibromatosis on my toesis. It's the little things in life. Anyway, a fibroma is a little benign tumor. Although they are common on feet, they're common on the bottom of the foot, not the top. Usually they're in/on the plantar fascia, not the big toe tendon. My doc told me the chances for it reoccurring are low. Ish.

Since the incision wasn't totally healed he told me I could run when there was no stinging when I swiped the wound with an alcohol wipe. And no cheating or toughing it out, stinging is stinging. As of today, 4 days later than expected, there was no stinging. So I'm good to start running again, yay!

My toeitis on the other foot isn't gone, but it never hurt horribly until I was at about 8 miles so I won't know for a while how healed it is.

I'll have 2 whole weeks to run and then will need to take another short interruption. I had a couple of moles sliced off the same day as the foot surgery (along with freezing a shitload of other moles and freckle-type-things, ouchy). One mole had benign atypical cells, so more has to be removed. It's located high on my thigh, right over the hip flexor. That's going to be a tough one to work around because it's one of the hardest workers in my body.

But when that's healed, I'm back to running. No matter what. I can feel my mood souring from lack of endurance endorphins and lack of sun. Since I can't control the weather I need to get back on the trails, or at least the treadmill.

Have you been running? Can you control the weather? Do you have any good toe jokes?

Hey, look behind you! It's July!

I've misplaced a month, have any of you seen it? Two months, or even three. One minute I'm enjoying April and the next I realize I'm dating things "August." Zip zip zip and summer is gone without even starting.

Yes, I'm going to first whine about the lack of summer weather around these here parts. While the rest of the country is baking, sweltering, melting under the heat of a hundred hot boiling flames, we've been dressing in jeans and sweatshirts. We don' need no steenkin' sandals here! Nobody has to worry about their summer wardrobe fitting because they have to cover it up under a couple of warmer layers. Yoohoo, summer? Over here! I'm waiting for you!

I'll probably pay for that plea later in the month when I go to run 18-20 miles and it's 97 polluted sunny degrees instead of the 57 we've been running in. Fine! Bring it!

During the past month I upped my trainer workouts to thrice weekly. Probably just so I'd have a chance to say "thrice." Mondays at 7am, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6am. We're still doing a lot of TRX which I'm still enjoying. Today I set the goal of a set of real, non-girly pushups by summer's end. I can almost, sorta do 1 sloppy real push-up now. I can do 3 sets of nice looking, good form girly pushups. Katie reminded me that it's August and summer is almost over. Nuh uh, can't prove it by me. Pushups by summer's end. And apparently I'll decide by then whether or not to hyphenate "push-up."

For the most part Bree and I have continued running, or run-walking, once a week around Lake Chabot. A little over-doing it impacted a knee on each of us and we decided that bombing hills wasn't the smartest idea when our training schedules have us running long on the weekend. We're taking it easier there but finding that hill work definitely has it's benefits (strength and endurance) to go with it's negatives (swollen painful knees). The Lake has been lovely to run around in the early evening and it's almost lost all of it's negative connotations from my first run there way back in 2001.

Knitting continues apace. I've been working on several separate projects. My attention span could be better. I'll knit for a few days on a scarf, then on a shawl, then on another shawl, then another scarf. Nothing seems to be getting toward completion. The lace class we were scheduled to take was canceled, of course after we had bought the yarn for it (yes, I bought yarn for it even though I had 2 other perfect yarns in the stash I could have used. What's your point?). So Ann and I intend to get together weekly and figure it out ourselves. In the fall, when it's quieter. Meanwhile I'm hoping to finish a scarf or two.

I ran one of my favorite local races a couple of days ago, the second half of the San Francisco Marathon. I may even get around to doing a race report one of these days. Like past years I enjoyed the race, not so much the finish area mess. They change that part every year and so far, last year was best (in my opinion of course, yours may vary).

I've been reading a lot, which is one reason my knitting is suffering. Still haven't figured out a way to get quality reading and quality knitting done at the same time. I'm not much for audio-books since I like seeing the written word. I'm having enough trouble adjusting to a Kindle instead of paper. And adjusting to being able to buy all the books in a series at a single button push. Or several other books by the same author. Ooopsie, now I have even more to read!

What have you been up to? How's your summer going? What are you knitting? What are you reading? Hot enough for ya?

Random Friday

The sun is out! The sun is out! The sun is out!

I'm amazed at how much my life improves when the weather improves. I've always said I was a child of the sun (hello skin cancer!) and this just proves it. My energy level has increased, my appetite has decreased, and my mood is (sorry) sunny.

Speaking of skin cancer, I don't have any now! My latest skin check was normal and I'm now able to push the check-up appointments to 4 months apart instead of 3. My paranoia still knows no bounds and I check my skin daily for new spots and I wear sunscreen under jeans and long sleeves.

Speaking of sunscreen, I'm thrilled that our government has finally set some standards for the multitudinous purveyors of the stuff. It's interesting that they're saying that those 15 SPF moisturizers aren't doing much of anything, and that SPF greater than 50 doesn't increase your protection (and may even increase a risk since the chemical load is higher). I have a feeling that next year some of my favorites will disappear but hopefully better products will arrive on the scene.

Request to sunscreen developers and packagers: please please please start putting sport sunscreens in little disposable packages so I can easily carry it with me to reapply during a long run or race. I don't have room in my gu-filled pack to carry the big bulky non-compressing tubes and bottles. Now that we know the sunscreen isn't waterproof, and we know that some runners sweat heavily, please provide something easy to use and carry. Thank you in advance.

So last night Bree and I decided not to do our weekly run at Lake Chabot. There were various reasons including our planned run for Saturday at hilly Inspiration Point. I decided that since I'd worked with my trainer in the morning I didn't need to run anyway. Then I remembered that I ate a big lunch and didn't have any calories left for dinner. So I grudgingly dressed for a run and headed out my front door. I ran some, I walked some, I ran some more and when I got home I felt wonderful.

Startitis is my problem. I should get a big banner in my house that tells me to just get moving. Once I'm in motion I love it. I really love to run. I just don't like the whole changing clothes/sunscreening/water filling/getting out of the house part.

I've been wearing my Fitbit for the past week or so and I'm having lots of fun with it. It's really just a fun toy another tool in the healthy life style arsenal that aids in tracking. It's interesting to look at my sleep records (or lack of sleep records), to see how many steps I'm taking during the say, to see how much activity I'm getting during my desk sitting workday. When I add it to my food tracking on Lost It! I'm getting a better picture of why I gained weight over our 9 month winter. It's helping me lose that weight and restart good habits in a rational, reasonable and easy-to-use manner.

I decided to add another morning workout with the trainer, Mondays. This will give me a reason to get out of bed (see startitis, above) and we'll be able to work more of my body than we can do in 2 days. I'm not sure how long I'll keep this up but I've found I'm more likely to run or walk in the evening if I've done a trainer workout in the morning. Since the sun has already risen when I leave the house it's easier to go be active. I'm not sure how well it will work when I've run a Sunday race but I don't have another one until the end of July.

Did I mention the sun is out?

Monday, Monday

I had a lovely non-Judgmental weekend. Saturday morning I met my running buddies at what's become our go-to trail, the Lafayette-Moraga Trail. Sometimes running there feels like cheating since the return direction is down-grade and we always fly back. I know most races don't mimic those conditions but it sure is great to feel good when you finish.

We ran a little more than 11 miles, talking non-stop. Weather was perfect for running, including the outbound headwind -- which resulted in a return tailwind. Sweet: downgrade and tailwind. See, perfect! Like usual we had negative splits for the run.

I'm trying new shoes since I finally exhausted my hoarded Saucony's. I'm incredibly fussy about my running shoes since I don't want another stress fracture and I don't want to re-injure my knee. I'd rather have blisters or black toenails than hurt bone, muscle or tendon. I don't just need support, I need the right support. I got the new version of the Grid Stabil and it isn't quite right. The Asics I got don't seem to give me the right support for a long run, although I could do 4-6 milers in them. I have hope that the Brooks will be good, and that I'll be able to rotate them with the Saucony. As always I wear my stripy Injinji toe socks which have really cut down (in fact, mostly eliminated) my blisters. (Note: if I was trying to promote any of those brands I would have included links.)

After spending several hours with mom, doing our usual momday stuff, I celebrated my birthday with Bree and Anita. What's that you say? My birthday was 5 weeks ago? Yeah, but we hadn't done anything yet. We went to Walnut Creek Yacht Club, one of the best seafood restaurants in the area (if not the best). Oh, yummy. From the cocktails to the dessert, we were well treated and well fed. Ever had lobster mac and cheese? You have to try it. The softshell crabs were exquisite. The Remember the Maine (kind of a fancy schmancy Manhattan) was so tasty I wish I had a much higher alcohol tolerance so that I could have had several (Bree was designated driver, I was designated drinker). The sundae with the candle was the topper and we powered our way through it.

Being so stuffed we decided to walk around downtown Walnut Creek for a bit. And wouldn't you know it, we walked right past the cupcake shop! What a coincidence! Ok, maybe not so much a coincidence since there are several in the area. But this is the best one and of course we had to get a little cupcake each. That was it, we were full, stuffed and sated. Somehow I think we way outdid the burned calories from our little morning run. Good thing birthdays aren't daily affairs.

Sunday was a nice, peaceful day. I picked a bushel of lemons from my overbearing tree (not really an exaggeration) and picked weeds from around the peonies (which are starting a glorious bloom). I did the minimal house cleaning necessary to keep me from sneezing my head off or being grossed out, and several tubs of laundry. When I ramp up my exercise/running the dirty clothes seem to multiply way beyond what I thought I'd been wearing. I ran my errands, went shopping, took a short nap, paid bills, made a huge fruit salad to enjoy all week, read my book, knit my shawl. Typical Sunday and what I like best.

Hope you had a good weekend too! What did you do? Do you like runs that finish easy or finish hard?

Single track

Somewhere in the past couple of months I've lost my ability to successfully multi-task. I used to be able to knit and watch television, now I end up frogging more than I'd started with. I used to knit while listening to music or while in company and the end result now is tangles. I could read while watching television and enjoy both the book or newspaper and the program in front of me. Now I have to re-read or re-wind. I run on the treadmill while watching television but again, re-wind. I can no longer even edit pictures on my computer while the television is on. All that is to say that I need quiet and a lot of time or I'm not writing at all. Which means I haven't updated in ages. Here's what's been going on this January:

- I had a cold. It went away. Then a few weeks later it came back in the form of rampant allergies. Doesn't matter what caused it, it all involves sniffling, sneezing and coughing.

- I ran some long distances. The big problem is I haven't run the short distances. See above sinus problems for that reason. Without the weekday runs, the weekend runs are nowhere as enjoyable as they should be. Yes, 20 miles is hard no matter what but I enjoyed my fall 20 miler much more than then one last week. Ditto the 18 miler. I have my fingers crossed for the 22 miles.

- I registered for one marathon (Napa) and made travel plans for another (Oz) and daydreamed about many many others. I'm trying not to plan too far ahead or put too many races on the calendar because I don't want to pay for something I can't complete.

- I spent a lot of time in Summitt Hospital's emergency room with my mom (she's ok now). Then I spent time with her while she was an in-patient there. Then back in the emergency room. Just when you think the worst is behind, it isn't. But I repeat, she's ok now.

- I knit a lot. I also ripped out a lot of what I had knit. I decided to keep one mistake in a shawl and called it "planned." I finally cast on for the second sock of a pair of socks since I'd love to wear them some day. Preferably while it's still cold out. I've dreamed of other projects I'd like to start but the shawl, sock, other shawl and scarf sitting on my counter keep me from doing that.

- I've started planning the end of my life. No, seriously. I was told that my view of "fuck-em, I'm dead" toward my heirs having to go through probate, etc. was a little rude. Since I'm single and childfree, without a will or any planning my sis and bro would have a major pain in the ass if I dropped dead in the middle of a marathon (I'd be pretty pissed off too). Not that I have Walton-type money, but I do have a house and some retirement accounts. Not to mention all that yarn, those bears and those books. So I've started talking with an attorney and planner about the documents and other stuff. Also, for those friends of mine who care, I've instructed my sis to hold a big yarn party for my friends and give it all away (but if you hate red or black or gray, stay home).

- I pulled out the huge box of historical family pictures my mom dumped on me gave me when she moved and started trying to find wall space for everything. I've hung a few of them and the rest are scattered on my dining room floor, like jigsaw pieces awaiting some final form.

- Each Tuesday and Thursday morning I continued going to the gym and meeting with my trainer for a killer workout. From weight bars to mountain climbers to kettle bells to TRX to push-up after push-up, we're doing it all. Dark, cold, fog don't matter. At 6:00 am I'm at the gym ready to go.

- I fixed my screen door that's been broken since last summer. I removed the square wheels and replaced them with spanky new round ones. Remarkable how much better the door rolls when you do that. Even if the door frame is old and warped, round wheels make a door move better. Then I replaced the door handle which has been broken for years. Now I can open/close the door no matter which side I'm standing on. I can even lock it. For added measure I cleaned up all the leaves that came off the trees this year.

- While I was on a roll I cleaned out all the dead leaves from under my jasmine hedge by the back door. As usual the jasmine fought back and I was cut and scraped all over. I managed to do it on one of the very few beautiful warm days we've had this year. Unfortunately the leaves were all rotting and dusty and see about about allergy problems.

- I changed out a couple of the broken landscaping lights around my house. I need to get to a hardware store so I can replace a couple of others too. A light bulb change worked for a couple, but others are just dead as doornails.

- Haven't lost any more weight but haven't gained any either.

- I've played way the hell too much Bejeweled 3. I warn you, do not even think about following that link. If you do, don't download the free trial. If you absolutely have to try the game, at least don't buy it! If you end up playing for hours and hours and hours while your health (and your blog) deteriorate to nothing, don't blame me!

That's about it. How has your month been?

Still here, didja miss me?

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I guess I've been a busy busy girl since I haven't posted since before I went to DC for the Marine Corp Marathon. Yes indeedy I ran it, and ran it well (yes, I will review it at some point). I also ran the Big Sur Half Marathon on Monterey Bay and ran that well too. In fact, I ran that one well enough to set a new PR, breaking my old half marathon PR from 2002.

My training is going well, with my trainer continuing to find new and inventive ways to hurt me while increasing my strength, flexibility and endurance. My diet is still on track, although I'm just aiming for maintenance over the holidays.

I've been reading a lot, napping a lot, spending time with my family. My 3 current knitting projects are slowly getting knit. Very slowly, since I'm spending more time reading and I still can't manage to do both at once.

I didn't write another "What I'm Thankful For" post this year because I'm thankful for much the same as I was last year, and the years before. Mostly this year I'm thankful for the good health of me, my family and friends. Quiet is good, routine is good, status quo is good.

I hope you had a good holiday with loved ones, and hope we can all have many more.