Work will win when wishy washy wishing won't

Tom and I woke up leisurely this morning after some emotional days of funeral planning.   We had planned to go do the Provo River Trail this morning.  I wanted to do that since next week's 5K is going to be there.  But Tom's dad's funeral will actually be next Saturday so we won't be doing that 5K, so we decided to do a fun SF loop this morning instead.  We are waiting a while for the funeral because we have a sister in law who is starting chemo on Tuesday and Wednesday in California.  She probably won't be able to come to the funeral, but we wanted to make it so her husband, (Tom's brother), could at least get here.

Lots of things to pass by when you do the longer runs.  Eleven miles can take you to many different little areas.  It was a very nice run.  Towards the end the wind started kicking in today's  yucky weather that is suppose to come. 

I've never ran 40 miles in one week until this week.  I plan to keep mileage at 35 - 40 through Striders's.  Next week may be a little different since we will be spending a lot of time going through papers and house as we settle Dad's estate and spend time with family.

I figure if I hurry and get my blog entry in for the day I can be on the first page of the mileage board for about 3 point 5 seconds.  Tom and I went out into the cold, windy morning.  I may get a few more if Beth is wanting to get out when the kids take off for school.  We'll see...I'm fine either way.

I was able to run the first two miles with Tom.  He then took off for his faster miles and then we hooked up again for the big finish.  My right knee was bothering me a bit before the run so I was wearing a brace, but by mile 5 1/2 it was starting to hurt quite a bit.  It is the IT band on my right knee and that is what took me out of running last time.  I was out for about 2 years.  I am very worried about that happening again.  So Tom ran back to Novell to get the van while I waited for him to come and get me.  I am going to be really careful and try not to let this get as bad as it did last time.  I am icing at the moment and I may take a day off tomorrow.  We shall see.  If I do go out and it starts to hurt then I will stop.  Any and all advise is welcome!  Anyway, having this start up is kind of like the straw that broke the camel's back today.  Sorry about the tears Tom!  The past few years have helped me realize I have a never ending supply of tears and they are always available at a moment's notice!  Please, knee, don't cause me grief!  

I am taking the day off and possibly the week.  I don't want this knee problem to haunt me for months so I'm willing to take some days to prevent that.  I went to the mall to melt away my anguish. (Couldn't find a single thing I wanted though.  One guy did try really hard to sell me a $175.00 hair straightener!  He told me he would give it to me today only for $125.00!)  So after no luck at the mall I went to Macey's and got my groceries and now I need to go make some clam chowder for tonight's Home, Family and "Purse"onal Enrichment Night.

Day two of no running.  Tom is out buying me an IT support band as we speak.  I will try it out tomorrow on a gentle run.  I found out today I will be going to California for a few days to help our sister in law with cancer.  I look forward to helping her out and spending time with her.  I also look forward to a run or 2 in sunny southern California.  

After two days of rest for the knee I ventured gently out for 4 miles today.  I wore an IT band strap just above my knee.  It felt great.  No pain.  I will continue keeping it easy over the next week as I visit sunny Redlands, Californina.  

Today I got to watch Tom's own uneventful 5K.  He was hoping to break 19 minutes.  We were planning an official 5K for tomorrow, but will not be able to make it.  So Tom decided to do his own.  I was going to do it too until my knee started bothering me on Tuesday.  So I did a bit with him before, some on my own during and a tiny bit with him after to get my 4 miles.  He did great on the 5K!  Not even an official race!  No other people to cheer him on but me!  And he still beat his 5K PR!  18:37!  I know that if it were an official race he would have even been able to muster up a little more and get it under 18!  It is so fun to watch how much he has improved over the years!  Way to go Tom! 

I figure that it is important to blog even if I don't run in a day.  Tom and I have had a very enjoyable day with family and friends as we celebrated his dad's wonderful life.  We decided a run wasn't necessary to make today a great day.  It was a wonderful life celebration that Tom described very nicely on his blog.  I hope everyone out there has someone like Glen to be an example to them!  I have been a very lucky girl to have such wonderful in laws!

I'm not in Kansas, er..Utah anymore....This morning I enjoyed a nice little run here in Redlands, CA.  I went up past the Redlands LDS Temple and was able to watch the sun come up over the mountains.  It was so fun to run past orange groves, palm trees, lemon trees, flowers and blossoms of every color and green grass. I even had to dodge a few sprinklers!  The people here are all so friendly!  I think the altitute here is a little more enjoyable for running than in Utah.  There was a long stretch of uphill that would have done me in back at home, but it went very nicely here!  It could also be that last week was a lower mileage week and my legs were ready for a good run.  My garmin was not charged so I'm not sure the mileage for today.  I will do it again tomorrow and add the miles in then. 

Day 2 of running here in sunny southern California.  One more day and then back to running in Utah.  My lungs are liking the lower altitude, but my knees are complaining a bit that the gravity is still the same.  So when I feel like I can run faster because of the altitude the knees remind me of the gravity.  Down hill was great!  I was enjoying an 8:30 pace then.  But uphill had to be more like 10:30.   I was wondering why I feel like I have never seen this place with all it's beauty before.  It is because I am usually here later when everything is more dry.  Things right now are just so pretty and vibrant.  One thing could make it even better...that would be having my favorite running buddy here with me!  Miss you Tom!

The last run in Redlands.  Tomorrow I catch a flight back home.  I took my camera with me this morning.  Maybe when I'm home I can add a few to my entry.  I didn't bring the connectors to add them here.  My nice crossgaurd, Larry, chatted with me.  He told me I should have been here last week and I would have seen some snow on the mountains.  Ha ha ha!  I don't need to come here to see snow on the mountains!  He wished me a good flight and told me to come visit again sometime. 

Today we are off to cancer doctors, (for my sister in law).  I am glad I could be here for her this week.  Yesterday was the last day of her first cycle of chemotherapy.  I wish I lived closer to her and could help her more through the next 6 months! 

So tomorrow when I fly home I really hope I don't freak out.  I do not like to fly.  This will be the first time I have ever flown alone.  Tom teases me about freaking out and then him seeing me on the news as they restrain me on the plane and have police waiting for me at the airport.  Luckily it's only an hour and a half flight.  If the weather is ok I will probably be ok too.  But if I have to come in with turbulance and bad weather I might have to do a little white knuckle on the armrests.  Tom, I promise I will do my best to stay off of the news! 

I made it back today. It was really hard to leave my sister in law! I wish I were closer and could help her more! I told her she better get use to lots of phone calls from me!

The plane was an itty bitty little thing! I have never had to walk out onto the tarmac and up the stairs into a plane! Anyone any taller than me had to duck to walk down the low, narrow aisle. If I would have known that was the plane I would be flying home on I would have stuck my thumb out for a ride instead! Anyway, I made it safely. I didn't get too anxious or cause much commotion. I had a couple people around me who offered support and even a hand to hold. (I didn't take the hand.) Kind of pathetic, I know, but I am just a bit whimpy when it comes to planes. I have a friend who was in a plane crash about 5 years ago. She was one of only two survivors. It was a plane that held about 20 people.

After Tom picked me up we were able to go to my brother's house and see him and his wife and their brand new baby girl that was born while I was away! What a sweet little thing she is!

I am happy to be home. I will miss the sis in law and the sunshine to run in, but grateful to be back with the house still standing and in mostly good order. But best of all I'm back with Tom and the kids. Home is a great place! :)

Jeremy, Heidi and little baby Brielle!

Redlands LDS temple.  This was part of my morning route in sunny California.

The lemon tree I passed each morning.  Tempted slightly to take one home, but didn't.

Watching the sun rise each morning was such an amazing experience! 

It took a lot of coaxing myself to get out the door today, but I finally did it.  I didn't pass a single lemon tree or orange grove.  It was kind of sad.  I did pass some stinky horses and had some lovely wind to try to bog me down.  I have ran solo this whole week.  Looking forward to a run with my running buddy, Tom, tomorrow.  Now, back to more laundry that piled up while I was away.....
 

It was nice to gently wake up and not have to worry about an alarm clock.  Tom and I decided we would just sleep until we wanted to get up.  We ended up getting out the door about 7:15. I'm working up the long runs again so I can be ready for Striders in a few weeks.  For Painters I only worked up to an 11 miler before.  This time I would like to get a 14 miler in before the half.  My knees are my problem.  I think I baby one and then the other one gets jealous or something.  The last mile and a half was more of a walk/run for precautionary reasons with my left knee.  Hopefully I can keep both of my knees happy and still be able to run a good half. 

After my main goal of at least getting out today I had two goals I wanted to accomplish.

1. run at least enough miles to know I did something.

2. stop before I felt any sign of pain in either of my knees.

Happy to say all goals accomplished.  With the biggest goal  being to just get out today.  I had a hard weekend, (which means Tom and the family had a hard weekend also.)  The past few years have had some major crisis between both of our extended families.   The past few months and especially the past few weeks have taken a toll on my emotional system and the PMS factor has come into play a little harder than it has in the past.  As I had a little melt down Tom searched the internet for some clues on how to help him help me out at times like that.  He found a few videos on youtube that helped explain things better.  We found that PMS actually stands for Prehistoric Monster Syndrome.  There was also a funny bit with Jim Carrey that made me chuckle once I was in the right frame of mind.  Anyway, I hope we are out of the woods for a while again.  Prehistoric Monsters are very unpredictable and you should use lots of caution and chocolate to tame them!   

I'm really glad I'm done with my run for today.  It's always a bit hard to pull myself from bed early, but I'm always happy when I don't have to get it in later.  It was a nice morning run with Tom.  I noticed on his blog he mentioned that there were no prehistoric monster sightings, so that is good!  

Tom didn't have to be to work quite as early today so we were able to enjoy a nice 6 mile run with 5 of it in the bright, warming, loving, embracing, wonderful, amazing SUNSHINE!   Just what the doctor ordered!  There was some wind, especially on one stretch that ALWAYS has wind!  But even that was bright, warming, loving, embracing, wonderful and amazing!  I love when I feel like this. (I think Tom likes it better too!  : ) )  Happy, content and thrilled with life!  I am also starting to get excited for Strider's.  I'm not really planning on any certain time. I just want to be able to run it the best I can.  I've never ran that course, so I'm not quite sure what to expect.  That is why I am not setting any certain goals right now.  I did Painter's in 2:05.  I would like to stay within 5 minutes of that.  Hopefully the same or better, but I just have no idea.  

I am now going to head out and do some Easter shopping.  The Easter Bunny always brings my kids a new hat with a little chocolate in it instead of an Easter basket.  I wonder what hats they will get this year?  They always get so excited for them.  One year the Easter Bunny tried doing the baskets for a change and all 5 kids were quite disappointed.  I'm sure my kids will want the Easter Bunny to carry on that same tradition for their future families!  

Perfect running weather today!  I had to wait until this afternoon to get out today.  I am planning a 14 miler for Saturday so I am keeping today and tomorrow a little shorter.  I was excited to hold one whole mile with an 8:32 pace.  I wish I could do that for 3 miles.  Maybe someday.  

This weather is so perfect!  Running in shorts and a short sleeve shirt is so much more enjoyable than layers and layers of clothing!  I shook things up a bit in my run today.  I took mostly my normal loop but did it backwards!  No, you sillies, I didn't run backwards, I ran the loop starting at the other direction.  I decided to run down the hill from 2300 E. into the river bottoms.  Then up Heartbreak Hill.  I made it all the way to the top of the hill without a walking break!  Yeah!  A truck passed me about 3/4 of the way up and gave me some cheers that helped get me to the top.  Appropriate cheers from people sure to help motivate a me!

Before I went for my run I went out with my neighbor.  She has lost 125 lbs over the last year.  The other day I asked her if she would like to start trying to do some walk/runs with me.  We have a block in front of our houses that is .25 of a mile.  We started there with 4 laps today.  A few small, slow running breaks with mostly walking in between.  I am excited to help her get going on something she never thought she would be able to do.   I'm not counting that mile with my running miles.  If it ever turns to a whole running mile I will start adding them then.  Isn't it fun to share a fun, healthy habit with someone you really care about!? 

In preparation for Strider's half in a few weeks I did 14 miles today.  Tom and I just slept until it felt good to get out of bed.  We finally got out the door around 7:30 or so.   Ran into several runners today, some we knew, but many that we didn't recognize.  I am very happy with today's run!  It felt good the whole way!  The last mile I did have to stop and stretch my left knee a couple of times to keep it feeling happy.  

I have to thank Tom for rearranging his schedule for me!  He does his hard runs on opposite days so he can run with me on mine.  He uses my hard or long runs as his easy/recovery runs. 

 I ran 4 miles with Tom.  After getting the kids off to school I went out for my wogging date with Stacie.  Got one in there.  Then I decided to head off and get a few more on my own.  Just as I started out I saw Beth and went 3 walking with her.  So I have put in 8 miles today, but I am going to count the four with them as one running mile.  I feel good,  I was able to have some  husband time, friend time, moon time and sun time.  Oh, and I can't forget wind time....definitely wind time!
 

I decided to run a different route today to try to make it more exciting since I had to go alone.  It was OK, but I had a bad side stitch the first 2 miles.  It finally eased up in the 3rd but was faintly there throughout the whole run.  Not much excitement, except a couple dogs in one yard looked and acted like they would rip me to pieces if they were able to get through their fence.  I was feeling quite happy that we had the fence between us!  I ended up by Heartbreak Hill towards the end so I went halfway down and back up 2 times.  No unwanted aches and pains today except for the side stitch.  Tom says every run is a great run, I say this one was an OK run.

Six out in the early, mild morning with Tom.  I need to be more trusting of the temps.  When it is in the 40s I still get nervous if the sun is not shining so I always overdress!  Could have been in shorts like Tom was.  It felt really good this morning.  Did a few striders and some hills.  I love the improvement I have seen since I started running again last September.  

I also went out on my wogging date with Stacie just now.  We do a mile, about 1/2 of it running.  So I will add the running .5 to my miles.  I can already see a difference with her ability in the few times we have gone out.  We are going to open up this wogging date to all the ladies in our ward and try to get more of them out doing a healthy morning routine.  So maybe next week we will have more of a crowd.   

Ran 5.25 with Tom.  He put in a few more after I was done.  I really wanted to get at least one more with the way I was feeling, but I needed to get home and in the shower so everyone would have shower time this morning.  I can usually wait to get in the shower later, but  have to leave earlier than usual today.  

When I got home we had the weekly email from our missionary waiting for us!  He has been gone 13 months!  He had a great report for this week with lots of happy news except one minor loss of a fingertip with a vegetable slicer.  Said it kind of ruined his spaghetti, but not to worry. 

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can........

Update:  I knew I could and I did!  Thanks Tom and Bonnie for the confidence!  

Great run actually!  I decided that since I was such a wimp at trying to get out today that I was going to work hard once I got out there.  I feel like I did that.  I had three hills along my route today, (not Heartbreak Hill).  On each hill I went up and down it 2 times.  Also on the 4th mile I decided I would try to keep up with the 8:55 guy.  I ended up keeping up with the 8:37 guy!  That is my goal, to be able to keep up with the guy in the 8:30s for an extended amount of miles.  Someday down the road that will happen!  I haven't written my mile paces in for awhile, so I will today. 9:24, 9:14, 9:44, 8:37, 9:44, 9:32

Tom and I had a very enjoyable run down in Manti this morning!  We were happy the temps weren't as bad as predicted.  No rain, wind or dogs.  Just lots of up hill, including up the temple hill and behind into some fun areas we haven't ran before.  

Spent the rest of the day going through Tom's parent's house.  Lots of memories, lots of stuff for the thrift store, lots of stuff for the dumpster!  I feel like we have accomplished a lot today.

Felt bad to miss our daughter, Tani's, piano festival.  She scored superior on both songs!  Great job Tani!

Last night when Tom and I went to bed we thought about getting up and getting some miles in before he went to work.   But we said that if we woke up and heard that nasty SF wind that we would continue to sleep and get our miles in later.  We heard the wind....so we slept!  

When I went out after getting the kids off to school I was glad we hadn't ventured out in the dark with how slippery the roads were.  Back to winter for a few days.  I guess Mother Nature got confused between a lamb and a T-Rex because March came in like a lion and is leaving like a T-Rex!  

I ran 3 miles and then had to get my dog to the vet.  Spent a bunch of money on him there and booked him a kennel for spring break.  (He's not going to like his spring break very much.).  I came home and ran to the school to put some PTA notes in the teacher's cubbies and finished off another 3 for a total of 6 today.

Yesterday I had them announce in Relief Society that anyone who wants to start up on a walking/running/wogging program to meet at my house this morning.  Zero, (besides myself), showed.  Where is their commitment?