booooo

I've been doing a whole lot of nothing lately, or that's how it seems. I've been going to the gym 2-3x a week which really isn't enough. Running has been about 2x a week. Again, not enough. It's been so hard to keep myself motivated to be active when I'm not really capable of working as hard as I want to. I guess I can attribute that to the fact that in general I like to go 110%, and when I can't...well I just don't get anything done. It kind of reminds me of the quote "Go hard or go home." It seems like I've opted with the "go home" mentality. The only issue here is that I still have 5 more months until I can run hard again, so if I do nothing between now I then I have a feeling the comeback will be a little hard. The last few days I've felt pretty crappy, so I haven't been doing much. This weekend I'm out of town, then I'll be gone another week and a half in July. Then 3 weekends in a row in August....so the question becomes when will I get back into a routine?!?! Even if it's a super-modified, low intensity, routine.

The one positive thought is that last time I was chatting with Steve he reminded me that up until June of 2008, I did next to nothing to train for marathons. Then in around 8 months I already had my goal time down to 2:55....so hopefully the same pattern follows and I can get back into running quickly.

Ok, time to quite complaining. Good news is I think I'm going to get a treadmill this afternoon so then I can run even if it's 110 degrees outside. Other good news, we find out in 6 days if the baby is a boy or a girl!

pluses: above

minuses: further up

last few days

Last Thursday I met up with Katie J and we did a 6 miler. It was pretty humid, but overall I felt good. It was nice catching up with her too, so I was glad I got up early to get the run out of the way before the second to last day of vacation bible school.

Friday was an off day. I was beat from VBS, and directly after it was over I drove to Houston for some family time this weekend. We had a bridal shower for my sister, and also ended up getting to spend some good quality time with my dad for Father's Day.

Saturday was a short 3-4 miler with my sister. It was pretty hot by the time we got started so it wasn't the most pleasant run. We also did some lunges, squats, and core work after the run.

Today I went for a 7-8 mile bike ride with my dad. I rode my mom's hybrid bike which was pretty funny. I guess I've gotten to be a road bike snob :) After the bike ride, we went to the neighborhood pool and I swam some laps and did some water aerobics moves with my mom :) It's funny how much my workout life has decreased in intensity, but it's probably a good place for me to be right now.

pluses: dad

minuses: time away from Brian

trail run!

I met up with Karma, Flyer, Mike, Bruce, Meredith, and Bruce's friend (Michael?) for a trail run today. It was really good to see everyone and I enjoyed being back out on the trails. My back was a little stiff when is started but it loosened up alright. It doesn't feel very stiff now which is a good signed.

The run wasn't too bad. I am hoping I didn't slow Bruce and Mike down too much :) The climbs seemed a lot harder than I remember (surprise surprise) and I was slow on the downhills because I was really trying to focus on not falling flat on my face (or stomach) for that matter. Mer had a fall which was a bummer. She's tough though so I'm sure she'll be ok.

All in all it was a good day!

pluses: productive morning

minuses: registration issues for summer conference

town lake run

I met up with my friend Molly today to run around the lake. We were planning on going around 9 minute pace so I figured it'd be a good test to see if my back is any better. After the first 4 or 5 miles, it wasn't too bad...but by the time the 7th mile came around I was pretty sore. I guess this is at least an indication that maybe I can get back to some running, but just shorter distances. I'd be ok with running 3-4 miles twice a day. The sad part is this probably means no more Team Rogue stuff for awhile. It just doesn't really seem to make sense for me to get up at 4:50am to go run 3-4 miles when everyone else is out to do 10-14 miles. I may still try to go to some workouts, but I have a feeling that it won't be long before I'm running with some of my more laid back running friends :) There doesn't seem to be to many people in our group who are "laid back" about running. I guess that's why I'll miss them!

pluses: catching up with old college friend

minuses: lots of small projects to do around house

16wk check-up and weightlifting

Today Brian and I went to the doctor for the baby's 16 week checkup. Everything seems to be going well so far. We got to hear the heartbeat again and it's at 140. I always start laughing when the doctor tries to find the heartbeat which apparently makes it harder. Apparently a lot of women cry the first time they hear it....maybe somethings wrong with me :) I talked to the dr. a bit about my lower back pain when I run and she suggested wearing running tights up to my bellybutton....ha ha ha ha. Now that would be HOT! I'm not sure whether I'm willing to give it a try. I guess she was just saying it would offer more support. We also scheduled our ultrasound for July 6th. So that's when we'll know the sex...woo hoo!

In my exercise life, I've been good about going to the gym. I've been doing my workout from Marc every other day and trying to focus on strengthening my abs and back...and everything else too. I've also been walking. I feel lame saying that, but oh well. I walked about 3 miles yesterday. It was like 100 degrees outside (at least it felt like it) when I went, so I at least broke a sweat. I'm going to walk again this afternoon and meet a friend to go for a slow jog tomorrow. I'm hoping that goes well.

pluses: good appt

minuses: no running :(

finding a balance

I'm having a hard time doing that. In reality, I really want to just run, run, and run some more right now, but my body isn't really allowing that. Since the hamstring injury I have had little success at getting into a regular running routine. I tried to come back a few times and my hamstring wasn't ready. Once that was healed, there was baby to deal with. Slow comeback...but I was at least running. Then I had the sinus/upper respiratory infection that lasted over a week. No running. Finally last week I was at it again, and now my back is really bothering me. It seems like if it's not one thing, it's another. I think my body is trying to tell me I need to balance things out and not just run. Perhaps the best approach now is to lift 3-4x a week, swim, do some yoga, and maybe run when I can. I really want to get back into running 50 miles a week, but I'm just not sure how realistic of a goal that is. I'm not racing this fall so it isn't the end of the world if I don't run right now, but I really wanted to use this time to add miles, build a base, and then come back strong and run Boston 2010. I'm concerned that if I don't run now, Boston 2010 won't happen. I'm not sure how much of a time crunch I'll be on to try to knock 20 minutes off of my current marathon PR. I think the first 10 minutes won't be too too hard, but after that I'll probably be fighting for every minute...maybe every second. I guess I just need to take each day as it comes and realize that November will probably be here before I know it.

pluses: lunch with my sister today

minuses: inconsistency

10 miler

Angie and I ran 10 miles on a pretty hilly route. Somehow with the new morning stretching routine and everyone starting at different times, we ended up being the last ones to start. We missed the first water stop which was also a bummer...so we went about 7 miles with no water. It wasn't a big deal since it's not super hot yet, but we'll have to be more careful to not do that in the future! The run was good. Not too hot, nice pace, enjoyed the company.

My lower back has been pretty sore the last few times I have run. It feels like the same pain I had in my back right before the San Antonio marathon last year. I'm just going to continue with the stretching routine and maybe get a massage in the next few weeks if it doesn't loosen up.

pluses: group run, teammates

minuses: back pain

short run

I am back on the road. Finally. I think I got this sinuses cleared up. I ran a short 4 mile run this morning after taking yesterday off because I was still coughing up a lung. The weather was a little cooler because of the storm last night, but it was still pretty humid. Looking forward to running with the group tomorrow.

pluses: free lunch and dinner

minuses: have to be in lakeway from 8:30am-9pm

still sick

I can't seem to get over all of the crap in my nose, throat, and chest. I didn't run yesterday and felt pretty horrible all day. Today I felt better, but was still coughing a lot, so I decided against running again. I'm going to go ahead and show up to the group work out tomorrow and see how that goes. Hopefully it'll be better because I feel pretty useless when I'm not running or doing anything! I did watch like 4 espisodes of Law and Order today...really productive.

pluses: enjoy time at SoCo

minuses: lazy