update

I haven't felt like blogging much lately, I don't know if you can tell.  I don't feel like I have anything to talk about. 

I don't know if you read my last post, the letter to my Mom, but in it I posted that I started school.  I started a Master's in Professional Counseling program online through Grand Canyon University.  I don't know how fabulous the program is, but I'm doing it.  I'm also freaking out a little about it.  I haven't been in school for 20 years, which means I haven't written a paper in that long either.  I'm a bit worried about it.

Anyway, this program has school weeks that go from Thursday to Wednesday, so each new week (and assignments) start on Thursday.  Today is the first day of my third week.  I have done all the assignments and so far I have an A. =)  This particular class is a intro to graduate studies class, so it's not really about my profession, but it has been pretty helpful in reteaching me things I haven't done for 20 years.

Two weeks ago I ran the Tulip Run.  It wasn't anything special.  In fact it was a pretty rainy, dreary day.  It rained heavily while we were lined up at the start line and then stopped just before the race started.  It was my slowest Tulip Run ever, well, other than the first one that I walked.  Somehow I managed to get 2nd in my age group . . . out of 3.  =)  I did get a medal though. 

The Tulip Run was the last time I ran.  I have been struggling with my foot, I'm pretty sure it's plantar faciitis again, and it seemed to be getting worse, not better, so I decided to take April off of running.  However, I thought that I would regret not doing the Tulip Run because I've done it so often. 

I started going to the gym again.  I was trying to go during the week during my lunch break, but it hasn't been working out very well.  I made it twice last week, but not at all this week.  But I also like working out on the weekends, and I can't drive to Everett just to go to the gym both Saturday and Sunday, so last weekend I went to a local gym and paid the drop in fee. 

I started thinking about it, and it makes much more sense for me to join a gym that is close to home rather than close to work.  I joined LA Fitness because I was going with my sister to spin classes, but it's been almost a year since we went.  Also, Chris is working fulltime in Everett now, so he usually has the car and I can't get to the gym during work hours anymore.  If I had a gym membership close to home I could just go after work when I need to. . . so last night I joined the gym in Mt. Vernon.  I plan to cancel my membership at LA Fitness tomorrow.  I'm kinda sad, because I really do like LA Fitness, but I haven't been going, and I really can't go right now.  Plus, their spin bikes are sooooo much nicer than Urban Fitness (the local gym I joined). UF is $10 cheaper though, so I suppose we'll see how it goes.

I've been going to do a spin "class."  Really, it's me, by myself, watching a YouTube video.  But I have found a couple "classes" on YouTube that are really good.  I will probably get tired of them, so I'll have to look for more, they're not as prevalent as I thought they would be. 

The first Sunday in May is Bloomsday, and I'm walking with my sister, we'll see if spin "class" keeps me in shape enough to walk 7.45 miles . . .

Mom blog

My mom used to send emails to us (my sisters and I) titled "Mom blog." 

If this was a piece of paper, I'm sure it would be covered in wet spots and smears . . .

Hi Mom,

I miss you.  I love you.  I wake up every morning thinking about you.  I had a dream a week ago about you that was so vivid I can still see it.  In it you knew you were going to die so you were going through things in the bedroom in the basement (why you were there, I don't know, I don't think you can even walk into that room now).  I came in and just sat with you, and you put your arms around me and gave me one of your hugs.  We didn't say anything, but I remember thinking this just isn't fair.  And it isn't, it isn't fair, and it isn't right.

Maddox started baseball right after you died.  The first practice was so hard because I kept thinking about how you wouldn't get to see one of his games this year.  I can hear your voice, you know, the one you used when I played sports cheering me on, yeah that one.  I can hear you yelling at Maddox when he hits a ball.  I hated that you were so loud, especially when I was young, now I'd give anything to have you yelling in my ear cheering for Maddox.   I'm so worried he won't remember you.  I was looking at pictures of you with him a week ago.  It was too soon. Neither one of us walked away from that glad we did it.

Damian started spring quarter.  I know we were worried he'd drop out, but I convinced him to at least do this spring and he can reevaluate in the fall.  He's become pretty directionless, and I don't know how to help him.  I think that maybe going to a community college and staying where he's comfortable was a bad idea afterall.  Maybe he should have gone to a 4-year college right away.

He doesn't talk much about you.  I know he's hurting.  He told me he had a dream about you where he heard your voice.  I think the vivid dreams that we inherited from you has been a curse this last month. 

It's been a month.  Yesterday was exactly one month since you died.  I keep trying to convince myself it wasn't real.  But it is.  You are gone and I have no idea why.

You would be so happy that we (Barbara, Nancy, Tami and I) are talking a lot lately, and getting along.  Yes, even Barbara and Nancy.  We went to Ocean Shores a couple weeks ago, well, Tami couldn't, but Barbara, Nancy, Daddy and I went (we had to take Maddox, but he was great).  Everyone keeps asking how it was, and I don't know how to answer that question.  We didn't go to "have fun."  We went because Daddy needed to get out of your house.  I did run a race on the beach though.  =)  Again, I heard your voice "Way to go Cathy! Wooo!" yelling at me. 

The week after you died, Chris was told by his work that he had to either take the admin job that pays $15 an hour (but is full time) or turn in his 2 week notice.  He decided to take the job, but it's a significant pay cut.  I think he's been pretty depressed, and I don't have anything in me to help him.  His heart isn't any better, and his eyesight is permanent. 

Chris went to the ER 2 days after you died because he had swelling in his legs.  He called the on-call dr (we were home to grab funeral clothes) and the dr told him to go to the ER, I think mostly because we were leaving the next day to go back to your house.  That was a waste of time, and I couldn't stop crying while I was there.  The poor nurses heard all about you.  Anyway, it turns out he has just been retaining fluid, he's on some pills and he lost 21 lbs in 3 days in water weight (I need some of those pills!!). 

Also during the week after you died, I signed up for college.  Yes, I decided to get my Master's degree.  Tara, yes, my roommate from college, drove all the way from Idaho to come to your funeral.  It was so nice to see her.  I haven't seen her in 17 years.  We sat and talked for a long time after the "festivities" were done.  She was the final straw that pushed me to look seriously into school.  I had been talking to a friend at work about it and she just made me decide it was worth it.  Plus, with Chris's job, it will be good to look ahead for me, to better my opportunities.

So I started yesterday on the one month anniversary of your death.  It's a 4 year program, and I'm terrified, and feel like it will take forever.  But really, 4 years isn't that long.  It's a master in professional counseling, which is kinda weird that it's not a MSW program, but all the MSW programs I found were already full, and I decided if I didn't start now, I never would.  A coworker told me about this course that she is doing, and said it's easy (well, her words were "it's not fierce") and they take new students every single Thursday of the year (their week starts on Thursday).  So I called the number she gave me and I got the ball rolling. 

I think a lot of it was because I was looking for something else to occupy my headspace.  So here I am, a college student after 18 years of not being in school.

I'm worried about Daddy.  We all are.  We all are trying to keep in contact with him as much as possible.  And I think he's trying to get out of your house as much as possible.  He interviewed a housekeeper yesterday, I don't know how that went, but hopefully the house won't get too bad. 

I dread going back to your house.  Your house has a very distinctive smell, you even smell like it when you come to my house.  It is a good smell, but it is definitely you.  I dread smelling it, but then I think I dread even more NOT smelling it. 

Oh!  I found this cool running series the other day.  I was going to sign up for it because if I ran 3 races as part of their group, then I would get this really pretty, really cool whale medal.  So I was looking for races I could do, and I finally found 3 I thought I could do without a ton of traveling.  I started looking at the fine print.  I guess you have to sign up to be a part of this group, and pay a fee of $21 a month, and you get all the races for "only" $63 but you can cancel your membership anytime.  So I thought, okay, I'll sign up, sign up for all 3 races, and then cancel my membership and do them and get the medal.  Well, then I saw that if you cancel your membership before a race you've registered for, than you also cancel your registration for the race.  The last race I could do is in October, which means 7 months of paying the $21 fee.  All in all, after 7 months and 3 races, the total came out to $336.  If I paid full price for all the races it would only be $208, so I decided I can't do that.  I won't get that cool medal for you.  One of the races was called the "Orca Run" so I think I will try to do that one for you.  I don't know what that medal is going to look like though.

I miss you.  You were (are?) such a big part of my life, it is pretty amazing the hole that you've left.  My kids miss you.  I love you.

Love always,
Cathy

April goals

I haven't put any thought into April goals.  I don't even know if it's worth making goals at this point.  These are going to be the most simple goals there are, just saying. . .

Goal 1: getting outside (hiking) . . . In April I will save $20 towards hiking gear.  That's it, that's all I can do at this moment.  Which is a shame because $20 won't do much towards helping me get gear and it's going to get warmer out, but that's all I can handle now.

Goal 2: yoga . . . In April I will do some sort of stretching 4 days a week for at least 10 min.
I can totally handle this and since I have not been stretching much at all, I have noticed the ache that I had in my left thigh coming back, so I definitely need to get back into it.

Goal 3: PR half and full marathons . . . I will go to the gym at least 2 times a week and do some cycle work on a bike.
I am currently trying to prevent plantar faciitis from getting worse. My foot is pretty painful right now after I run, so I think I need to stop running for a little bit.  Especially if I want to train for another marathon, and PR it.  I am only driving to work 2 times a week, so the gym is not doable more than that and I don't have a bike at home.  If I can manage more than 2 times a week I will try. I do need to start rolling and icing my foot religiously (right now I'm average once a week on really bad days).  So . . . ice and roll 4 times a week.

Goal 4: healthy eating . . . I will eat a salad 2 times a week, afternoon coffee 2 times a week. Count calories and stay within my limit, cut back on the stupid candy from Easter. And I will go back to trying to keep wine on weekends and one day in the middle of the week, but honestly, that might not happen.
I haven't really been weighing in much.  I've been afraid to step on the scale, to be honest.  I even skipped my monthly weigh in yesterday, I can pretty much say that my weight is at least 155, and I don't want to know if it's more.  It will make my life worse.  So I'm going to work on my diet instead.

Bonus goal: Tattoo
Many years ago I had a friend that got a tattoo of her Dad's handwriting that says "I love you, Dad."  At that time I thought that would be amazing to get, so I had both my Mom and my Dad write that on a piece of paper.  My Dad instead wrote "Me too" under my Mom's "I love you, Mom."  I hadn't had any burning desire to get the tattoo before now, but now I do.  So that is my bonus goal, to get that tattoo, or at least schedule it.

March goal recap

Well, March was a bust.  The first week was the week my Mom died, and everything after that has been shit.  But I will go over my results anyway. My Mom died on the 5th, the first Monday, it's the week before that is gone from my memory.  I can remember the week of clearly, but things are pretty fuzzy before that.  I actually met 2 new clients at the end of February and have no memory of meeting them at all.  I met with them again last week and this week and they both remember me, but I have no memory of them.  One of them even asked me how my son's girlfriend was, I don't remember talking to him about it. 
Goal 1: getting outside (hiking) . . . In March I will save $20 towards hiking gear.  Nope, didn't happen.  Didn't even remember I had written this. 

Goal 2: yoga . . . In March I will do some sort of stretching 3 days a week for at least 10 min. and one week of 4 days.I am also going to schedule a massage somewhere.  I did not do this.  I think I accomplished stretching 2 times most weeks.  But there was no massage scheduled anywhere.

Goal 3: PR half and full marathons . . . I will run at least 3 times a week and with a day of speed work. I did not run 3 times a week with speed work.  I think I ran 3 times a week, but no speed work at all. Ice and roll 3 times a week.  I also did not ice and roll at all.

Goal 4: healthy eating . . . I will eat a salad 2 times a week, cut back my afternoon coffee to 2 times a week.  Wine on weekends and one day in the middle of the week. Um, no.  Just no.  I don't know what I ate, it was a lot of fast food the first week of March.  Coffee, well, probably 3 or 4 times a week.  And don't even get me started on the wine.  I've had a lot of wine.

Ocean Shores

My sister, Tami, lives in N. Carolina, she was at my parent's house until last Sunday when she went home. This last week was the first week my dad was alone at his house since my mom died ( I have a hard time saying the polite word, passed, I feel like saying she died is more blunt, and I need to hear that in my own head to completely wrap my head around the fact that she's gone).

Anyway, we thought at least one of us should be there for my dad this last weekend, and I was going to go. However, on Thursday my dad decided he needed to get away and invite my other 2 sisters and me to go to Ocean Shores with him. So off we went.

I had to take Maddox because I had no one to watch him on Saturday, so it was the 5 of us.

This trip was the first step in healing ( if that's possible) and moving forward without one of the most important people in our family unit.  I don't have a lot to say about the trip, so I guess I'll just put up the pictures. 

 The first morning we were there I walked out to the beach to watch the sunrise (well, the sun rose behind me, but the sky was beautiful over the ocean in front of me).  While I was standing there, 2 eagles flew right over my head. 

 My Mom loved to geocache.  If you don't know what it is, it's like an adult version of a treasure hunt.  People put out tokens (or coin) in caches, and then you go find them. If you find one, you can register that you found it.  You can also take them out and put them in a different cache.  They also have traveling tokens (I know I'm not using the right words), that's where someone puts on in a cache with the intent on it getting to a specific destination.  My dad sent one to my sister in N. Carolina once.  In fact, my dad put one in my Mom's coffin, he had the coin number on the memorial "brochure" for the people from their local geocaching group that came to the funeral. 

Anyway, my dad made 3 tokens out of some bath toys that were whales, my Mom loved whales.  My sister in N. Carolina took one and put it in a cache there, my dad put one in a cache in eastern WA and then we went looking for a cache in Ocean Shores to put the third one in.

 While we were eating lunch we noticed some tshirts around the pizza place for a fun run.  We asked when it was and we were told it was the next day . . . and we were there during packet pickup.  So I registered for the 10K.  =) 

 We spend some time on the beach.  Maddox bought this moose hat a month or so ago for the school's Dr. Seuss week.  Maddox loves it.  He also spent a lot of time digging in the sand.  It started out as a treasure hunt, then he was a dog, then he started putting "treasure" in the holes he was digging (rocks or shells).  He did it so much I was surprised his fingers weren't raw the next day. 

 We went to Sharkey's (a store) to see what it was about.  The store wasn't really cool, but the door outside was pretty cool.

My Dad

Maddox

 We spent quite a long time at the beach at sunset on Saturday evening.  There were a lot of tears.  And a lot of silent moments. 

 After the sunset we came back to the hotel and there were some deer behind the hotel.  The baby deer got pretty close to Maddox, but when it realized Maddox didn't have any food it ran away. 

 My family was nice enough to wait to check out of the hotel until after I ran my race.  My dad went to the start of the race with me while my sisters packed the hotel up.  The first half of the race was on a street paralleling the beach and the second half was along the beach.  I was a little worried about the sand, but in Washington you're allowed to drive on the beach (which I'm not a fan of), so with that and the off and on rain all weekend the sand was pretty packed and it was super easy to run on.  In fact I ran the second half faster than the first half. 

Overall, the weekend was good. 

Nothing

Honestly, I don't have any words to write.
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I don't know if I've talked about my extended family much (parents and sisters), but we have always been a very close family.  My brother-in-law thinks it's very weird but that is how we are.  And I have been especially close to my Mom since I became a "responsible" adult (not just adult, but responsible).  Her death was so unexpected and quick that it has caught us all off guard. 

and I find myself crying at random times.  This week has been harder than last week.  The week of her death was the worst, by the way.  She died on a Monday.  March 5th.

We made big collages for her funeral of her and other people.  And while going through my pictures, I realized I have no pictures of just her and I.  The most recent picture I have of her and I, my sister is in it as well.

From March 6, 2015

Sad

Obituary of Shirley Pence

Shirley Maurine Pence, was born Aug 12, 1947 In Bellingham, Washington to Ernest and Maurine Curl.  She attended nursing school in Wenatchee where she met the love of her life, Tom Pence. After marrying they eventually moved onto the Pence family farm south of Lind.  Shirley passed away with all of her family at her side Monday evening March 5, 2018 at the young age of 70.   Shirley was a strong leader in the Connell Church of the Nazarene, always willing to help wherever needed.  She was a very social person, always able to strike up a friendly conversation with anyone.  She has touched many lives in her lifetime and will be remembered by her love.  

 

She is survived by her husband, Tom Pence, 4 daughters Barbara Pence of Hatton, WA, Nancy Curl (Scott) of Lynnwood, WA, Cathy Wheatcroft (Chris) of Mt. Vernon, WA, and Tami Davis (Philip) of New Bern, NC, as well as 6 grandchildren, Matthew and Kaylee (Hatton), Josh (Lynnwood), Damian and Maddox (Mt. Vernon) and A.J. (New Bern), and her brother Robert Curl of Nampa, ID.  

 

Visitation will be held at Danekas Funeral Home in Ritzville from 12 Noon to 7 PM Friday March 9, 2018. The funeral will be held at the Connell Nazarene Church on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at 10 am with the internment flowing at the Lind Cemetery. Condolences may be left at www.danekasfh.com

March goals

😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡I don't know that I'm going to change my goals much this month.  They seem to be working well, but I'm still struggling with a few minor things. The hiking goal is hard when it's so cold and yucky outside.  I feel like I should be doing something, but I don't know what.  I wish I had more money so that the goal could center around buying hiking gear.  Maybe I should work on that. 

Goal 1: getting outside (hiking) . . . In March I will save $20 towards hiking gear.  That is such a small amount, but really I don't know with our current situation if I can do more than that.  If I can I will.  And I will keep my eyes peeled for an opportunity to go hiking with Damian. 

Goal 2: yoga . . . In March I will do some sort of stretching 3 days a week for at least 10 min. and one week of 4 days.
This is working well.  In February I even had a week of 4 days of stretching, so I'm going to add that as part of my goal.  My leg, hip, and knee are all doing so much better with now 2 months of consistent stretching.  I need to renew my last months massage goal and actually complete it, so  I am also going to schedule a massage somewhere.  I first need to find somewhere that will take my insurance.  Maybe I need to call places in Everett where I work. 

Goal 3: PR half and full marathons . . . I will run at least 3 times a week and with a day of speed work.
I am currently trying to prevent plantar faciitis from getting worse, so I don't feel like I can increase my running at this time.  However, I do believe I need to start rolling and icing my foot religiously (right now I'm average once a week on really bad days).  So . . . ice and roll 3 times a week.

Goal 4: healthy eating . . . I will eat a salad 2 times a week, cut back my afternoon coffee to 2 times a week.  Wine on weekends and one day in the middle of the week.
I'm keeping this one.  Maybe I need to change this one up, this will be the 3rd month I've had the same goal (although in February I added the wine component).  This particular goal is to help me lose weight, and I am not losing weight.  My weigh ins this month were consistently in the same range, even a little high one week.  However, my belt was tightened today, but then it was tightened a month ago and then loosened again.  Maybe next month I change it to staying in my calorie range 5 of 7 days (although I'm not usually out of my calorie range, and when I am, not far).

Speaking of calorie range . . . myfitnesspal . . . I had a streak of 868 days.  That is 2 years, 4 months, and 10 days.  And I missed a day.  Just completely forgot.  How do I completely forget after 2 years, 4 months, and 10 days??  I don't know, but I did.  And I was furious.  Mad.  Angry.  Frustrated.  Annoyed. Sad. Very sad. Disappointed.

And as of today I'm on day 5.

February goal wrap up

The end of February snuck up on me.  It might be because there's only 28 days, but it's also probably because time goes so much faster as you get older.

I don't know if I mentioned it, and I'm too lazy to go look ; ) but on Valentine's Day my Mom fell while taking a selfie of herself with the snowman she had built.  And when she fell she broke her leg pretty badly.  She needed to get pins and a plate in her leg.  Well, they scheduled the surgery and about a week after her first fall but before her surgery, she fell in the middle of the night while trying to go to the bathroom.  This time she fell on a table and broke 3 ribs.  My dad took her to the hospital and they admitted her.  Well, while in the hospital she started having problems breathing and they couldn't figure out why.  She was moved to the ICU on Sunday, where she still is.  Today the theory is that she has a lung infection.  She was put on antibiotics yesterday, so we're hoping that gets her better.  The plan is for her to be released to a rehab facility because my Dad just can't take care of her.  He has his own health issues and has a hard time lifting her or anything.  Not that she needs it, but what if she fell again?

Anyway, I've been dealing with that this week.  Not knowing if I need to go over the mountains or not.  My sister and I have talked about staggering our time over there, but then when she went into the ICU we talked about going this week.  I think, as long as she continues to get better, I'm going to go next weekend and my sister is going this weekend. 

But, it's still February 28th and I have a goals update post to write.  ; ) 

So at the beginning of February I had set some small goals for myself. 

Goal 1: getting outside (hiking) . . . In February I will go for at least one hike.  I did not complete this one.  Damian and I were going to go on President's Day, but he decided to hang out with his girlfriend instead.  Plus, we've had extremely cold weather for half of the month and I just didn't want to go.  We did go for a walk along the river, but that definitely wasn't a hike.  But I did buy a pair of hiking boots, so that means I'm one step closer, right??

My very windy run last week.

Goal 2: yoga . . . In February I will do some sort of stretching 3 days a week for at least 10 min.

I meant to take a picture of my mirror but forgot that I needed to write this today, so I didn't.  I have so far completed this goal.  10 min really flies, so even just an average stretch right after my run has equaled 10 min.  =)  I am also going to schedule a massage somewhere. Honestly, I forgot about this part.  However, I did call the physical therapists office where I went a few years ago for my plantar faciitis, but the massage therapist there doesn't take my insurance.  =/

Goal 3: PR half and full marathons . . . I will run at least 3 times a week and add a day of speed work (probably hill repeats). I succeeded in this goal.  I ran every Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday of February (well, I didn't run Saturday the 3rd because my Mom and other sister were in town and I spent that day with them, but I knew that was going to happen).  I also ran hills every Saturday, even on the treadmill one Saturday because it was so cold and windy outside.  And I think the speed work is working, my long runs (only 7 miles all month) are averaging around 9:20 min/miles.

Goal 4: healthy eating . . . I will eat a salad 2 times a week, cut back my afternoon coffee to 2 times a week.  I'm also going have wine only on weekends and one day in the middle of the week.    I actually had 2 weeks where I had wine 2 times in the middle of the week.  I justified it both times, the first time I had wine on Feb. 13th, and then again on the 14th, because . . . well, Valentine's day.  The next week I had wine on Monday the 19th, and then again on Wednesday the 21, I justified that week with the 19th being a holiday and sorta still the weekend, and the 21st was my hair appointment, so obviously!  Hair and wine Wednesday! I did continue to eat salad 2 times a week, often more, and was successful in the coffee only 2 times a week. 

I think I cracked the bone in my elbow when I fell in the middle of the month.  It's been 2 weeks, and the spot on my elbow is still tender and still a tiny bit swollen and I can't rest it on anything.  And when I push on it (not hard) it still hurts and feels like there's an indent in the bone that is not in the other elbow.  I have full motion of my elbow and other than not being able to rest it on anything, it doesn't bother me, so I haven't been to the dr. 

Fun times

My previous post talked about the last week and a half of running, but I also did a couple really fun things during that time as well that I wanted to talk about.

After Chris had his stroke in August my weekly workout get together with my sister stopped.  We did spin class once a week for awhile, then walked outside when it was nice, but with Chris not able to drive and his work schedule changing, I haven't been able to do it with her.  Right now, and for the last 5 months, Chris has been working 2 days a week in Everett for 8 hours, and the other 3 days in Mount Vernon for 4 hours.  He still has Monday off, but he started doing cardio rehab (basically personal training at the hospital being monitored so he doesn't die).  So since he's no longer allowed to drive a work van, he's been driving our one and only car to work in Mount Vernon and to his cardio rehab, which means that I am no longer able to stay late after work.  I've been riding the bus on days when I am not driving him to Everett to work.

Well, in January he told me that his insurance is going to quit covering his cardio rehab in February, and my job is expanding into a neighboring town, which means I will need the car on every other Monday, so I told my sister that every other Monday we can hang out/workout again.  =)  And we started that last week.

We went for a walk in Everett not very far from downtown.  And it was so nice!  I love hanging out with my sister. 

On Friday the 9th, I had a training in Mount Vernon.  I had coworkers that were also going to that training, so I rode the bus (it was a regular bus day) and one of my coworkers drove me to Mt. Vernon for the training.  After the training we went out for "1 drink" that turned into 4.  =)  We had a blast.  It was just 2 of us, the other girl didn't want to go out. 

 
Then on this last Saturday that same coworker and another one came up to Mount Vernon again for The Comic Strippers.  I had never heard of them before and my hairdresser told me about them at my last hair appt.  They were hilarious.  I haven't laughed that hard in forever.  They didn't strip, they were more of a comedy act.  they came out with just pants on and a bow tie, and stayed that way for the whole show (one guy, an older guy, had spandex pants that went over his belly button). My stomach hurt after 10 min, they were so funny.  =)

Running

I haven't been on here for a couple weeks.  I thought about writing something last Friday but I only had 15 min and didn't think I could crank out a decent post. (Not that any are good, but I try.)  ; )

I ran hills on Saturday a week and a half ago.  My first hill repeat workout in 2 years, it went better than expected.  I ran 10 hills at a little faster pace than my first ever hill workout over 2 years ago.

Interesting to look at that, it says my distance is close to half a mile farther, but there were more steps on the shorter distance.  But it's the average pace that is surprising to me.  I ran .39 miles farther, but in only a min longer. 

On Sunday I ran 7 miles.  I have found a 7 mile route that I like a lot, it combines my daily route with my long run route, and for whatever reason, right now, that makes me happy.  I especially like running along the river, and I've traditionally only done that on my long runs.  =)

Plus it was super sunny.  Cold, but sunny, and I love the sun.  =)  I do kinda wish it was warmer though. . .

Tuesday I went for a 3 mile run after work.  Even if I'm getting home at 5:30, the sun sets right about that time, so I'm running in the dark.  I was close to home and started crossing the road in a spot I don't normally cross (no crosswalks, and no driveways).  I took a step or two in some grass and then slam, I was in the road on my face.  My foot caught the curb and I was on the ground wondering why I was on the ground before I realized I had fallen.  I hit HARD.  I could feel my knee, elbow, and hip bruising up, I thought I hit my knee the hardest, but after a few days it became obvious that my elbow hit first and very hard. 

That picture doesn't really do my injuries justice, my knee is still blue (a week later) and my left elbow still bothers me if I don't have a bandaid on the scrape, oh, and is very tender to touch.  My hip is pretty much better, and my right elbow still has a scrape, but the bruise is gone. 

But I went for another run on Thursday, another 4 miles. 

This was Thursday after wearing a belt all day, it definitely made the bruise worse. 

Saturday was COLD and windy.  I asked Damian to come home so I could run around 11am, then changed my mind after watching the trees blow around in the backyard.  So I was sitting on the couch feeling nice and toasty, enjoying my book . . . and started thinking about my stupid goals.  Hill repeats every Saturday . . . damn it!  So I got on my treadmill and tried to imitate hill repeats.  0.15 miles on a setting of a 9 incline and a 7 speed (having no idea how fast or how steep that is), then 0 incline with a speed of 2 and 3 for 0.15 miles.  Repeat 10 times.  It was definitely slower than outside, but I did it.

Then Sunday came.  Again, I was sitting on my couch all nice and comfy and snow started falling.  If you've read my blog for long, then you know I love the snow, and I love running in the snow.  However, I hadn't had anything to eat, and no water, just coffee.  So I ate, drank water, and then it melted.  =/  Then we needed to go grocery shopping, then I needed to eat lunch, then we had our tax appt, and then it was too late.  (I totally could have squeezed it in after eating before taxes.) But I had taken Monday off to go hiking with Damian, so I thought that I'd just run before we hike.

Which I did.  7 miles.

Accidental picture of my leg.

And then Damian and I decided it was too cold to go hiking, so we didn't. 

Yesterday I debated on running all day.  I didn't want to.  I usually take a rest day the day after a long run, but it was Tuesday, and I run on Tuesday and I have a hair appt this evening.  So I went for a run . . . and immediately remembered why I don't run the day after a long run.  My legs were tired.  I was slow.  And it was COLD!  But I ran, because . . . it's Tuesday.