Attack of The Lazies

Lazy.  No way around it.  I've been lazy about running and lazy about recording it here when I do run.  I ran last Tuesday, Jan 20th, and did 2.4 miles in 28 minutes.  Still pretty slow, but I'm doing more running and less walking.  On Friday, January 23, I ran the regular 2.4 miles (twice around the school campuses) and then I walked an additional .8 mile around the park.  I wanted to run/walk the lap around the park, but my knee was staring to give me trouble and because of the direction I chose to go, it was slightly up-hill on three sides.  I'm going to have to start adding more distance regardless of how fast - or slow - I am if I'm going to work up to 6.1 miles by the end of April.  The next day (Saturday the 24th) my knee was giving me LOTS of trouble and I was popping so many Tylenol and Advil that my stomach was cramping up.  After that, I had several days of "too busy", "too cold", or "too lazy".

Yesterday, Thursday, January 29th, was beautiful!  Sunny, 53 degrees.  Mattie and Jenna really wanted to run with me, but Mattie was supposed to baby sit at 5pm.  We went out and did one fun, quick lap around the schools together.  The girls would run fast ahead of me and then walk until I caught up with them, while I plodded along at a slow, but regular pace.  We didn't time it, we just enjoyed it!  I am planning to go out again by myself for a longer run today, but it all depends on Jeff's availability to help me out with Ruby.  I have a mini ladies' retreat to go to this evening and my ride will be here at 6:30.  When I allow time for showering, packing, and cooking dinner for my family, that doesn't leave me much time.  We'll see what happens...

Only 1 mile today.  Daisy is throwing up at home and I don't feel too great either.

Injuries

Okay, so my knee pain is not just imaginary or an excuse; it's real.  I could hardly sleep last night.  It's my right knee.  My right pinkie toe is the one that's broken, so maybe I'm compensating more than I realize, or maybe my plantar fascitis (sp?) is flaring up again.  I do have some pain in my right heel when I first get up in the mornings.  No, I haven't made that follow-up appointment with the orthopedic doctor yet, so I don't know what kind of healing progress I'm making with my toe.  What I DO know is the high temperatures for Thursday and Friday are predicted to stay below freezing.  I know I won't run when it's that cold, so I went running in spite of knee pain today because I am planning to not run again until Saturday afternoon.  Mattie, Jenna and I went 2.4 miles around the schools, but didn't mark the time.  They both out ran me.  I had to mentally chastise myself a couple of different times.  My natural competitive instinct says that if you are in front of me, you are my enemy.  Deep breaths, Kama.  That's your daughters' up there.  Be proud of them.  They are healthy and strong and beautiful and you are teaching them to enjoy taking care of their bodies.  They are not your competition, they are your children.

Sometimes You Just Have To

I didn't run yesterday because Ruby was sick.  Excuses, excuses.  I didn't want to go today, either, but Mattie pointed out that she hadn't been running since last Thursday and really needed to get out.  I don't feel safe letting her go by herself, so I went.  And I'm glad I did.  2.4 miles in 29 minutes.  My legs felt like they weighed a ton and my right knee was hurting a bit, but we made another slight improvement in our time, nonetheless.  My mood was better after the run, too.  Funny how that works.

Cooked Goose

Well, now I've really started something.  My brother and his family went to lunch with us today after church and my kids overheard us talking about running.  My 7 year old son, Elijah, and 5 year old daughter, Daisy, made it quite clear that they are feeling neglected and unloved because I have not allowed them to go running with me.  In their minds, it is the new thing to do if you are a part of our family.  Elijah was especially indignant.  After all, he is only 13 months younger than Jenna, 1 inch shorter and 1 pound lighter.  If she, his mere sister, is allowed to join Mom every once in a while, it only stands to reason that he should be given equal time.  So today I broke down and took Elijah and Daisy to the lake with me for a little jog.  We went around 1 1/2 times laughing and talking about all the different creatures that lived in the water and would probably eat us up if we accidentally fell in.  The most exciting part of the run was when we passed a flock of geese on the side of the path.  I got an invigorating shot of adrenaline when the "alpha goose" lowered his head and started hissing and running toward my little Daisy.  Oh, yeah, bring it on, Goose!  You'll be on my dinner table within the hour...

I dropped them off at home and headed to the school to do my regular run.  2.4 miles in 31 minutes after the little 1.5 mile jog with the kids.  Not bad, Girlie!

Weighing In

We concluded a church leadership mini conference today and I didn't feel like getting out for a run.  I did weigh in again, though.  The 8 pound loss of last Thursday didn't seem possible.  This morning the scales said 132.  A 6 pound loss still sounds good... and a bit more reasonable.

Alone Time

I should have left the ipod at home today; the silence would have done me some good.  At any rate, I got to run by myself.  Not that I don't like running with my girls, it's just that sometimes a mom enjoys getting to be by herself.  I ran my regular 2 laps around the school campuses and re-measured it with my car.  I measured it at 2.4 miles.  Completed it in exactly 30 minutes.  I've got a long way to go before I can be considered "fast", but I'm improving my pace every time and that's good enough for me... for now.