Weight and a big Bowl ;-)

This last week I have seen an exciting trend on my scale. The numbers have been down.  I have not seen 148.X for a week or so.  The other day I even saw 145.X (I can't remember exactly)  I have not been real excited about it because I often have a lower number here and there, but to be consistently 147.X or lower is getting me a little excited.  I have been at 148.8 (usually) for so long that I figured that was just where my body was going to stay.

Well, I looked at a calendar and it turns out that I am due to start my period this weekend . ..  I am always lower in weight right before my period.  So I guess I'll wait to get excited until after my period is over.  I will say though, that I have been really careful with my calorie intake recently and quit eating so much chocolate (Christmas brought a lot into my house and it's mostly gone now.)

I was really good with the chocolate.  I started buying more expensive chocolates that satisfies better, and I was limiting myself to one piece a day (not even a day, but more often than not).  However, Christmas came and we bought cheap chocolate for our stockings and I didn't limit myself to one a day.  It was often 3 or more (small sizes, but still).  I still have some of my expensive chocolate, so I think I will go back to limiting myself.

Anyone have plans for the Super Bowl?

As soon as we knew the Seahawks were going to be in the playoffs I told Chris to request Feb 1st off.  He worked last year during the Super Bowl and it sucked a little.  We couldn't make plans with friends and I had to wait till he got home before I could watch it.  Luckily, he wasn't much later than kickoff and we were only 30-45 min behind.  However, our then neighbors across the street had a huge party and when the Seahawks won, they were outside honking car horns and yelling at cars passing by, waving their 12 flag, making other cars honk . . . needless to say I was thankful it wasn't a close game because we already knew that we were going to win.

This year I was trying to get Chris to make plans before we knew for sure the Seahawks were going to be in the Super Bowl.  He was reluctant, and now it looks like all our friends have other plans, so we'll be at home alone again.  At least I don't have to wait though.  =)  And honesty, I'm not much of a party person,  I like the food . . . but if I'm trying to be good, then staying away from the food is probably a good idea.  =)  I hope the game is closer this year, I think one sided games are boring, even if we are winning.

I got new running socks. =)

Maddox likes them too

Divergent attitudes

I definitely need new shoes.  I know I talked about this last week, but I noticed this weekend and today that I have shin splints again.  Shin splints used to be the bane of my existence, but since switching to a more forefooted run, they have pretty much disappeared.  In fact, I didn't even realize they were gone until they were back.  (Isn't that weird?)  It used to be that I constantly had shin splints.  My family knew that touching my shins was the worst thing you could do, not to even go into actually bumping or hitting them (on accident).  They would get worse whenever I got new shoes, and then they'd get better for a few blissful weeks, then they'd rear their ugly head again when my shoes got too many miles on them.  Shin splints was always the way I knew I needed new shoes.

Well, I noticed them this weekend.  And honestly, they are more like what they felt like when they "got better" than when they were really bad.  But still annoying.  I've been so focused on my feet lately that I had completely forgotten that I used to struggle with constant shin splints.

Anyway, it just goes to show you what you get used to.

I actually don't have a lot to talk about today.  I am cutting back on my running until I get new shoes.  I don't need my feet to complain anymore.  I'm done with the hurt feet.  Last week I ran only 6 miles.  This week I intend to run more but probably not that much, probably close to 9 or 10.

Yesterday I sat at my desk non-stop for 8 hours.  I got up here and there to get water, go to the bathroom, move from a training back to my desk, but I sat all.day.long.  Plus, the 50 min drive to work and then 50 min back home.  So basically I sat for 11 hours, almost straight yesterday.  I need to figure out a way to avoid that.  I got home and just couldn't stand the thought of sitting down on the couch.  In fact, I paced the house for an hour or so before I finally sat down to dinner.  I need to figure out some way to be able to stand at my desk sometimes while I work.  I used to do that at my old job, and it felt nice to stand for awhile.  I had a short blurb about it in one of my posts awhile ago (Sitting Disease).

My current job is working with people in a therapeutic (well, so was my last job, but this one is a little different) and I have a cubicle at the courthouse (which I rarely use).  Anyway, the other day I left my phone on and at my desk at the courthouse while I was away from my desk.  I came back and noticed I had several Facebook notices.  My FB notification tone is a very loud whistle and I felt bad, so I went to the desks behind mine and apologized to those people for my loud phone.  Anyway, one of the girls behind me doesn't have a chair.  Her whole set up is for standing.  I thought that was pretty cool.  =)


Today I was reading the paper and there was an article about milk and how sales are declining.  There was one part that made me chuckle . . .

For whatever reason, the term "divergent attitudes about nutrition" just gave me a laugh.  I like milk and actually have started drinking more whole milk (started buying it for Maddox) but it just highlights the thoughts on how going against traditional diets is so frowned upon.

Well, enough of my ramblings.  Have a great day!!

New shoes

I haven't posted this week because I haven't had a lot to say.

I will say I need new shoes.  I've needed new shoes for awhile.  My current pair I bought in June right before I was laid off from my job.  I bought them at that time because, well, I needed new ones, but also because I knew I wouldn't be able to get new ones for awhile since I was being laid off.  Then I cut way back on my running and thought that I would be able to get by until I got a job (I was fully expecting to be working by October).  Then I quit running in October, so I thought it was okay because I didn't have a job, but I wasn't running either.

Well, I've had a job for over a month and a half and I still haven't gotten new shoes.  I started running again in December, and I definitely can feel that I need new ones.  I am at about 325 miles on them.  They say that you should replace your shoes every 300-600 miles, and I've noticed throughout the years that I tend to need to replace them on the low side of that.  I try to replace shoes every 300 miles, so I'm definitely due.

Last week I did 13 miles, the longest mileage week since September, and I definitely have been feeling it in the feet.  So I don't know if it's the needing shoes, or the high mileage, probably both, but I cut back this week.  I am hoping to get new shoes next week and I'll see how it goes from there.

This week I've only run 3 miles so far (oh my word, I thought I ran on Sunday, so I thought I was at 6 or 7 miles . . . I can't believe Tuesday was my only run this week, well damn).  I was planning on running yesterday but by the time I got home I was exhausted and the thought of running just made me want to cry.  Then Chris handed me a glass of wine and I was sold, so no run for me last night. I took a bath instead.  That does mean that I have to run today.  That will put me at 6 miles (and I don't want to run 2 days in a row, so after going from my high of 13, I'm now going to be at only 6 for the week).

Maybe it's for the better, maybe I need to let my feet heal more.  I know they have definitely bothered me more this week than they have for awhile.  It is probably also the shoes . . . so it might not be a bad thing to just let it be until I get new ones and see how my feet feel after that.

Speaking of new shoes . . . I read Runs for Cookies the other day and she had a q & a post with the founder of Altra Running shoes.  It made me think that maybe I'd try those shoes and see how they work.  I have not found a pair of shoes that I absolutely love.  I've had a couple that I liked enough to buy a second time, but I haven't become a "lifetime" shoe buyer of any yet.  It'd be nice to know what shoe I was going to get and just get them every time.

Well, I seem to have rambled enough for one post.  Below is a quote from a fitness page that I like on Facebook.  A friend of mine is an instructor for Stick-It Fitness and she shared this post, which I absolutely needed to hear.

"A tremendously beautiful thing happens when your body finally reaches a healthy weight:
You can eat a little more, and you don't gain weight, and you can eat a ...little less, and not lose weight.

At first glance you might think that's a bad thing, but let me tell you that it's GREAT. It means your body is doing exactly what it's designed to, it's allocating calories properly and working efficiently to maintain homeostasis (aka happy place).
Where people run into problems is when their body's happy place and their own idea of a goal weight is not the same thing. If you find your body very resistant to move up or down on the scale and you're at a healthy weight for your height, it might be time to just enjoy it and focus on training related goals instead. Better yet, toss the scale completely and just enjoy all that your healthy body has to offer!"

By the way . . . Did you hear?!?!?!

Yep, the Seahawks are going back to the Super Bowl!  =)  Which just goes to show you . . .

Because, I'll be honest, they looked TERRIBLE for the first 3 1/2 quarters of the game.

More running

I don't post my weight very much anymore because it's always the same, right around 148-149.  Last week was terrible, I don't know what it was, I wasn't eating more, or crappy, I was actually eating less, I think.  But I also think I was drinking less water as well, which might have been the problem.  There was one day that my weight was all the way up to 151.  I was sick all of last week, I had the worst sore throat . . . well, I had strep throat, and I could barely swallow.  I was taking a lot of ibuprofen, so I don't know if that makes you retain water, or anything, but I wasn't happy with my weight at all.

When I have a significant loss (really anything under 148), I always feel like I shouldn't post it until I see it several times because it always seems to go back up to that stupid 148 number.  And my weight always goes down the week before my girly time (period).  I just looked and the last time I posted my weight I was 147 (and sadly it was one of those times that was just before my period and it went back up the next week), this morning it was 146.4, and that was after half a glass of water.  It's not before my period (that was last week, which may have contributed to the weight gain fluctuation) and I haven't done a whole lot more than I have been, although, I am able to swallow again so my water intake went back up.

Also, as of this week, I have increased my running.  Not by much, but I added another day.  This last weekend I decided to run both Saturday and Sunday, 4 miles Saturday and 3 miles Sunday.  Then I ran yesterday, 3 miles, and I plan to run tomorrow and again on Saturday and Sunday. That will put me at 13 miles for the week.  I plan to see how that has my feet feeling, and I will decrease if I need to.  That's increasing quite a lot, now that I think about it, from about 8 miles a week to 13, but I think I'm ready.  I plan to maintain there for awhile, and if I have any problems, I'll decrease again.

Today my feet feel fine.  I haven't had any pain, or tightness for awhile now. Well, every so often, but then I roll them and they feel better.  I don't limp getting out of bed at all anymore, and have fallen into the (bad) habit of not always putting my shoes on when I get up.  I desperately need new running shoes, but that doesn't seem to be in the budget just yet.  Maybe in Feb.  : (

Ari, the friendly cat.

Pandora, the unfriendly cat.

My kitties, because who doesn't love kitty pictures?  Ari is about a year and a half old and loves everyone.  Pandora is 7 1/2 and hates everyone except her human family (she hates Ari and Gizmo, the dog).  Pandora had gotten very antisocial in our old house, never coming out.  But since we moved she is always wanting to sit with me.  Sunday she sat on my lap for an hour sleeping and purring, which is soooo unlike her.

Breath right

I am working on all sorts of things to keep myself healthy and uninjured this year.  I do not want to continue this trend of having something hurt for most of the year and then taking time off to let it heal.  I have to tell myself that if something hurts, I should rest it, so it doesn't get worse.  There are a lot of things out there that "they"  (whoever "they" are) say you should do to prevent running injuries.  Strengthen your hips, strengthen your core, stretch, breath right, don't strike on your heals, run stairs, squat, etc.  I am actually not great at being consistent with the exercises I have found to help with these things, but I have been trying a lot more lately.

One of the things that I have been working on is breathing.  I have heard from different sources at different times that it is beneficial to inhale and exhale on opposite feet each time.  For example I inhale when I step with my right foot, they (there's that "they" again) say that the next time you inhale you should do it when you step with your left foot, and so on.  This is supposed to prevent stress on one side of your body.  So, you inhale for 2 steps and then exhale for 3 steps, and so on.  For the last 2 years or so I'll think about this every so often while I run and try to figure it out.  I have never been able to figure out how many steps I have taken while inhaling and exhaling, so then I hold my breath for a beat until I get to the "right" foot.  Of course, this doesn't last long because I sorta need to breath.  =)

I am a counter when I run.  I count my steps between cracks in the sidewalk.  I count my steps when crossing a street, I just like to count my steps.  I don't know why this never occurred to me before, but I finally figured out the breathing technique.  I have to COUNT.  (duh!)  So, now, instead of counting my steps between cracks, I count my steps between breaths.  Inhale 1, 2.  Exhale 1, 2, 3.  Inhale 1, 2.  Exhale 1, 2, 3.  How simple is that?  And once I start, I find that I do it even if I forget to count for a little while (I don't automatically start this when I start running, I usually don't think of it for a block or 10, but once I start, I continue.)

I have also gotten fairly decent at doing at least one move my physical therapist told me to do to strengthen my hips.  But I find I'm only doing it after I run as part of my stretching (which is probably not long enough).  I go in spurts with squats.  Sometimes I'm really good at squatting all the time (strengthening legs) and others I get "busy" and skip it once or twice (or for weeks at a time).  And don't even ask me the last time I did a plank (core).

This weekend I went for a run both Saturday AND Sunday.  This is the first time I've ran 2 days in a row since September.  Saturday was a 4 mile run, which was uneventful.  Yesterday I decided to do a short run to the park with Maddox in the jogging stroller.  Remember this summer when I was home all the time and I started running with Maddox almost everyday?  Remember that I used to live in a very hilly area, and so I was pushing the jogging stroller up hills everyday?  Yeah, all that conditioning is gone.  Where I now live is flat.  There are no hills. (I'm a little sad about this, I like running hills, I feel like it kept me in great shape.)  The park where I live now is a little over a mile from my house, so I thought I'd run there with Maddox and then run home, making a nice 2 and a quarter mile run.

For a little while I debated about doing a 3 mile loop, but then I was pushing that dang stroller and remembered how hard it is, and decided not to.  Well, when we left the park, I conveniently forgot how hard it is, and gave Maddox the option of which way to go, and of course he chose the long way.  I was dying by the time I got home.  I even had to stop and walk a couple times at the end, I was so tired.

When I got home I decided to let Maddox play a little outside, so I did some squats and some lunges.  My butt hurts today, but I feel good.  I'm ready to be more active.  I'm ready to start running more and feeling more like myself.  I don't want to feel so tired after a 3 mile run (even if I'm pushing a stroller).  So, for now, as long as my feet hold up, I'm going to run every other day and both Saturday and Sunday.

Because . . . as we all know . . .

A quickie

I have 20 min . . . can I write a post in 20 min?  We shall see.  ; )

I was going to do another post about my New Year's, but we just went to a friend of a friend's house (went there last year as well), drank a lot and went home.  (Damian has his permit, designated driver, baby.) =)  It was fun, but a long time ago now.  ; )

first picture of the year

fireworks outside

We went home, sat down, and fell asleep.

So what to talk about?

New Year's Day Maddox got sick.  He complained of a sore throat.  And then Friday I got the worst possible sore throat ever.  Maddox and I suffered through sore throats all weekend (and it was bad).  Maddox started getting better Monday, but I made Chris stay home (I don't have sick time yet) and take him to the dr.  The prognosis?  Strep throat. . . I don't have insurance either.  So Maddox got antibiotics (amoxicillin) and I didn't (I'm allergic to amoxicillin, otherwise I might have been tempted to "share" with Maddox).  And I worked through it.  ---Don't yell at me, I am one of the biggest believers in staying home when you're sick, especially when you know you're contagious, but strep throat is a good 5-7 days to get over (my throat is still sore, but at least I can swallow without making a fist, closing my eyes, and gritting my teeth) and then you stay contagious for 2-3 weeks after that . . . if you don't take antibiotics. . . and frankly I can't afford to miss work.  I'm poor.  I also can't afford going to the dr without insurance (or the ER . . . especially the ER), so I can't get an prescription for an antibiotic.  And believe me, Monday I DID NOT want to be at work, that was my worst day, nothing got done. --- Anyway, I am trying to avoid as many people as I can and I am feeling better, not perfect, but better.

Good enough that I went for a run on Tuesday.  It was a short run after I got home, nothing really to talk about.  I am thinking about running tonight too, especially since I had a donut this morning . . . One of my supervisors is really great, super nice and very enthusiastic about the future for this company, but he likes to bring donuts.  I think he's a friend with a popular donut maker in the town he lives in.

My job is going well.  Some frustrations with some of the way the person before me did things, and the expectations she created, but I'll get through it.  She was only here 2 or 3 months and very part time, so it's not like she made lasting impressions.  ; )

And that's a post.  =)  I did it, with time to spare.

A look back at running in 2014

Happy New Year!  . . . 5 days late, but who's counting.  =)

I saw on facebook a page that I follow ask how many miles you ran in 2014, and I remembered that I do like to look back on my year and report my progress . . . or in this case lack of progress.  So in 2014 I made some goals 

• to run another 10K (I haven't run one since my very first one in 2012) I wanted to PR a 10K and was planning on running the same one I ran in 2012, the Fowl Fun Run. - Fail - 
• to run a marathon - Fail - 
• to run more races than 2013 - Fail -
• to run 100 miles every month - Fail - 

I am mostly okay with this.  All of my goals failed because I didn't take care of myself the fall and winter of 2013/2014.  My plantar faciitis never really went away, and I didn't "baby" it at all.  Even though my physical therapist had told me not to increase my mileage, I was so focused on 100 miles a month, that I ignored it and right away increased my mileage in January.  This year I have one hard and fast goal . . . to stay healthy.  Yes, I think 1200 miles in a year would be cool, and yes, I very much want to run another half marathon, a 10K, and even a full marathon . . . but my primary goal is to stay healthy.  If I can go the entire year with no injuries I will be very, very happy.

So what did I accomplish? I ran 817.93 miles in 2014 (if I had known I was so close to 818, I would have ran that last .07 mile).  ;)  I ran 3 races, and placed in 2 of them, 3rd for my age group in the Nookachamps 5K

and 1st in my age group for the Tulip Run.

I ran the entire Bloomsday race, including up Doomsday hill. All of those are big accomplishments for me.  =)  My weight got down to 143.8 but didn't stay there long, however I did manage a loss for the year.  My first weigh in for 2014 was 153, and my first weigh in for 2015 was 148.4.

My longest mileage month was April with 104.12, and my shortest mileage month was October with 0.

So here's to another year of running.  =)

Merry . . . er . . . Christmas . . . ?

When I started this blog (almost 3 years ago, wow!) I started with the lofty goal of blogging every.single.day.  That didn't happen.  I was pretty good for a short time, but not on the weekends.  Then I went to 3-4 times a week and was happy with that.  Then I lost my job and I think I was lucky to write one once a month, and now I'm about one every 2 weeks.  I would like to go back to at least 2-3 a week, but I forget.  Maybe I should put a reminder on my phone for that . . . something to think about.

Merry Christmas!  Oh wait, I'm late on that one. . .

My Christmas was nice.  We celebrated at my house Christmas morning and had friends over for dinner Christmas evening.  It was mostly a quiet day.  I didn't do even half the stuff I normally do, mostly because of my new job, and being so tired every night.  I decided that I wasn't going to stress out about it, and if people didn't get their fudge, then people didn't get their fudge and I would give it to them next year.  I didn't make any pies this year either, the first year in 5 years, I think, that I didn't make pies.  I enjoy the baking, and the fudge making, but I just didn't have the time this year, and I decided that was okay.  In fact, I bought (*gasp) cookie dough instead of making it.  I didn't roll it out either, it was just boring circles.  I had some left over chocolate and vanilla frosting from birthdays and we slathered that on the cookies and called it good enough.  And while I missed the baking and the decorating, I also didn't.  I know, that's strange, but I feel like my new job and new house has created enough stress for me, I didn't need to add more.

The downside was that it didn't feel as Christmasy as it normally does.  But I didn't grow anymore grey hairs, so I think I'm okay with that too.

It started out so nice and calm.  I had to finally wake the kids
at 9am because they were still sleeping.

And it ended in a tornado having gone throught the living room.

And Maddox trying hard to not fall asleep while watching his new train. 

On Friday Damian, Maddox and I went to my parents' house.  Chris had to work, so he had to stay home, which was really hard for all of us.  It was a quick trip there, we came home on Sunday, I would have liked to stay a little longer, but I had to work Monday morning.

The drive there, not very good company.

My mom's tree is so pretty.

My Mom and Damian

It was a good Christmas.

I was going to try to get you all up to date, but all the pictures makes for a longer post than I intended.

My weight is holding steady right around 148.  I am running 2-3 times a week, and on Wednesday I ran 4 miles, which is the longest run I've done since September.  My feet bothered me a little bit yesterday, but feel fine today.  And they weren't that bad, so I'm not worried.

I will try to post again this week to get caught up and hopefully get back to more regular postings.

I hope you all had a safe New Year's!  Happy 2015.  =)

Happy today

Today is a good day.  Today I got my first paycheck for my new job.  It's not huge, my field doesn't pay much, but it's a paycheck.

Another reason today is a good day is because I ran yesterday.  Now normally that's not a big deal.  I've been running for all of December, very short distances, and only about 2-3 times a week, but yesterday I ran outside in the dark.  Why is that significant?  Because I have never run in the dark before.  I've always been scared to.  I bought my treadmill 2 years ago this January so I wouldn't have to run in the dark.

I was planning on running on Wednesday after I got home on the treadmill, but then we decided it was time to take Maddox to see Santa, so we did that.

Then Chris and Damian decided they wanted to go out to eat, so we did that.  And we didn't get home till after 8pm and I have been in bed around 8:30pm since I started working.  I had no energy to go run, plus I don't like to run right after eating anyway.  So yesterday I was thinking on my way home that I really, REALLY didn't want to run on the treadmill.  I was thinking about skipping my run again, but I hadn't run since Sunday and since I'm running so few days and so few miles, I couldn't justify not running.  So I started thinking about just running outside.  I have a light green running jacket, and my pants have a reflective strip on them, I thought maybe it wouldn't be too horrible.  I could stick to busier roads, where there's street lights, and take my pepper spray . ..  so I got home and was getting ready.  I told Chris I was going for a run outside, and he asked if I wanted to use his headlamp that he has for his job, and I said yes.  So I had that, plus a light pink hat.  I didn't feel unsafe at any time.  I liked the headlamp a lot, I may have to get me one. I was aiming for around 3 miles and I ran closer to 3.5, but today my feet feel fine, so I'm super happy about that. My poor treadmill might not get much use now. . . and I'm happy about that. ; )

Needless to say, I woke up in a great mood today.  =)

On Sunday I ran outside in my new neighborhood for the first time.  It was only 3 miles but I felt good about it.  I am happy with the way things are going with my feet.  They are not 100%, but they are not getting worse, and I can run, even if it's a little bit.  I am scared to increase my mileage and amount of runs, so I'm not doing that yet.  Probably not till next year (which is only 2 weeks away, by the way).

Tomorrow I am getting my hair done for the first time in 4 months (I'm super happy about that).  And then we are going down to Lynnwood where there's a really nice Christmas store that we go every year to get ornaments.  That has been Damian and my thing since he was small, we get an ornament every year.  I wish I had labeled them with the years, because now I don't remember, but we enjoy it.  I also started doing it with Maddox (and I am labeling the years on his), and Chris and I always get an icicle.  We are up to 17 (we didn't start it when we got married, so we got a bunch the first year we started it, and we also included the years we weren't together, which is strange, but okay).  Chris keeps talking about getting an artificial tree just for our icicles.

And then Sunday is going to be a whirlwind of shopping because we haven't done much since I haven't had a paycheck until today.  Chris's money was going towards living.

Oh, and there were donuts at work today.  I ate one, and that makes me happy.

I am happy with the way things are right now.  We are blessed, and I am thankful.

Merry Christmas!

Getting back into the swing of thngs

What has been going on here?  The last post was 2 weeks ago . . . So I haven't even talked about Thanksgiving. 

Our Thanksgiving was pretty chill.  Every other year we are at home for Thanksgiving, and that was this year.  We invited a few friends over for dinner, but one of them had to work, so it was a late dinner.  (Well, late for Thanksgiving, but actually an earlier than normal dinner.)  The Seahawks played Thanksgiving day, so we recorded it and put it on after dinner.  Most of our friends are not football fans (I know, how can we be friends with non-football fans??) so they didn't stay for the game.  They stayed for a little bit, but they also all had to work in the morning, so they left fairly early.

I was trying to get a good picture of us all, and I think this one
was the best.  ;-)

Then last Monday I started my job.  I have to tell you, it has been an interesting week and a few days of "training."  I am often left alone for entire days and told to read manuals on orientation stuff and policy stuff.  It has been . . . boring.  I'm hoping that things will pick up soon.  In fact, I didn't even have a permanent computer or phone, or even desk until yesterday.  I find that strange that they told me to start on a certain day and then didn't have everything ready for me when I got here.  Oh well, I am finally in my permanent location now, with a phone and a computer . ..  now if I could only get a key . . . 

The drive to work is about 50 min but the drive home takes an hour or more.  =/  The first day I started, Dec. 1st, there was snow on the ground in Everett, where I am working.  My car was not built for snow, at all.  Luckily, it was a day or 2 old and the streets were cleared, the only issue I had was getting into the driveway at work because it's a pretty steep, but short, uphill to get to the parking lot and it wasn't plowed or salted, or even sanded (which is more common here because we don't have that much snow).  But I survived and didn't have to push myself anywhere.  =)

The best news of the last two weeks?  I am running.  =)  I am only running 2 miles every 3 days, but I am running.  I have only had one outdoor run, and that was the weekend right after Thanksgiving.  (It actually wasn't a very smart move for me because I took Damian and Maddox to a park in Mt. Vernon to play while I ran the boardwalk along the river that used to be part of my long runs.  It was 20 degrees outside, Maddox was so cold when I got done - only 20 min later- that he was crying.  Bad Mom moment.)  I actually decided a few runs ago that I was going to do 20 min on the treadmill no matter what, so that is currently equaling out to 2.17 miles.  I am thinking about increasing the days a week I am running to every other, and keeping the 20 min time limit.  I'm trying to be very cautious and slow with easing myself back because I don't want to continue to hurt.

So far it is going really, really well.  My feet rarely hurt and when they do, I roll them with a lacrosse ball and they go back to being okay.  They are not very tight (the best describing word I can find for how they are) in the morning now, and I continue to wear shoes everywhere, which is better now that it's colder.  I am working on strengthening my hips, although I don't do it as often as I should, and I continue with the exercises the physical therapist gave me for my arches a year ago.  I think about that in the shower because it's the one place I am barefoot, so I do those exercises when I wash my hair and shave.  =)

I am thinking about doing the Nookachamps 5k that I did last January.  I wanted to do a 10K this year, but my feet didn't allow me to do the one I was going to (the Fowl Fun Run that I did 2 years ago) so then I was thinking about doing the Nookachamps 10k, but I'm thinking it might be smarter to stick with the 5k for now and look into a 10k later in the year.  I definitely want to run another half marathon and a full marathon, but both of those will come later in the year.  Maybe I'll try to train for the Tri-Cities Marathon that I was going to do this year, and do the Skagit Flats half again next year.  I want to do all this slowly so that I don't hurt myself again.  This is the second year in a row that I have not run in the fall (and only this year because I didn't let myself heal completely last year).

Oh . . . I told you that not working was bad for my weight.  Since I started working I'm back down to 147 (as of this morning).  I haven't been that low since I lost my job.  =)  Yay me!

I ran!!

I ran 2 miles!  You heard me . . . or read me . . . right!  I ran 2 miles.  They were slow miles.  They were on the treadmill, but they were running miles.  Something in me yesterday just said I'm going to run.  I've read several other blogs of people that have or are dealing with plantar faciitis, and they all are running, slower, or less mileage, but still running.  I gave myself 2 months, and decided I was going to do it.  I decided to do it on the treadmill because it was a dreary, drippy day (in the Pacific Northwest, the rain is often more "drippy" than rainy) and I would have had to take Maddox in the stroller. 

I honestly felt I could have run forever, but I knew that I have to start slow and careful with my feet.  I smiled the whole time I was running. 

 

Yes, my treadmill is in the garage.  We haven't had the opportunity to move it to the basement, but it was set up nicely.  I was able to put my computer on the dryer (yes, the dryer outlet is in the garage, but the washer is in the house . . . it's a pain in the neck). 

Afterwards I couldn't stop smiling.



 

Even in the shower I was smiling.  I kept repeating in my head "I ran 2 miles"  "I ran 2 miles." 

 

Maybe it was a small thing, but I felt awesome about it.  I felt like I had run 10 miles for the first time again.   And this morning I felt like I ran 10 miles.  =)  I am sore.  I am surprised at how sore I am.  Especially my calves, which is the most surprising to me.  I realize I haven't run in 2 months, and I haven't done Insanity for a month? three weeks?  but I didn't expect to be sore.  I guess I just didn't actually think about it.

 

I did wonder if I'd be able to run 2 miles, I thought maybe I'd be back at square one and have to run/walk, but I didn't.  I wonder if it's because I ran on the treadmill and not outside.  The treadmill is so much better at keeping a certain pace, and I definitely didn't want to go too fast.

 

An acquaintance of mine is very, very involved in lifting.  It is an interesting story to me.  When I first moved to Mt. Vernon and got a job here, I was working directly across from the biggest gym in the area, and I decided to join.  They had a "women's only" area and that is where I spent all of my time.  Anyway, a couple times I saw this girl on the elliptical and on the treadmill.  She was a very heavy girl but she was there often.  A few months later I went to the Nazarene church and saw this same girl playing the drums in the worship band.  She did not stop going to the gym and lost a lot of weight (I don't know, I asked once and she said she didn't know, she doesn't really care about the scale).  We became "friends" on Facebook, but haven't really talked much in person. 

 

Anyway, somewhere along her journey, she became a lifter, and I didn't lose any weight, stopped going to the gym, and then started running and lost some weight.  She is also a drummer, she does concerts, plays at the local theater, and is an actual music teacher at a high school.  She found her perfect type of workout called Pound and opened a studio. 

 

All of that was to say that I am going to her free class tomorrow morning to check it out.  I decided I need to take going back to running very slowly.  As much as I want to go jump on the treadmill again today, I feel like maybe I should take a break.  So no running today, no running tomorrow, and maybe I'll run on Friday (okay, let's be honest, I'm running on Friday). 

 

I meant to mention yesterday, and forgot, that my weight has stayed pretty steady.  Yesterday morning I was exactly 149.  I am okay with that, maybe not happy, but keeping steady and not gaining is a very good thing.