Run through the pain

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4075406
3.79m
35:56min
9:28 pace

Groin area still bothering. Was tough to get started because of the pain. Potentially idiotic to run anyway.

Body Express & Spin

30 min Body Express w/ Tara
It's been a while since I've taken one of her Body classes and I forgot how sucky hard they are.
.killer lunges off bench and back up to a knee lift on bench w/ two risers on ea. end
.shoulder pulls (okay, I forget what they're called, but it's this: foot on bench, lean on quad while other hand holds weight, keep shoulders square while bending elbow and pulling weight alongside body up to hip-ish height, elbow around shoulder height/maybe above, extend arm back down to start position)
.tri kickbacks
.pushups
.squats
.dead lifts
.upright rows
.preacher curl
.overhead press
.chest curls with knees above hips, shins perp to floor
.single arm chest curls w/ same as above
.butt bench kisses
.side skates
.upper crunches w/ knees above hips
.upper crunches w/ ankles above hips, add lower crunch at same time
.that's about it

45 spin w/ Tara
A bunch of bikes were out-of-commission - sits or handle bars were off (wtf?) I grabbed a bike in the front row (my preference), adjusted everything (this takes a couple of minutes), and hopped on. Got one foot clamped in and went to do the same on the other. Um, yo, where's the strap? I need the strap. Ugh. Quick move to another bike, repeat set-up procedure. By now I've missed the four-minute warm up. Which is great because we're going right into a hill. (Totally facetious. This'd be like sprinting from the start of a marathon.) No problem, though; I can power through this. Sprinting? Increase resistance? I got it. One more sprint puts me over the edge and I nearly die. I collapse onto the handlebars momentarily and get back in the game. I'm well aware that my energy can affect the energy of the room (front row, remember? Oh, and I'm directly in front of the instructor which is annoying - where I'm I supposed to look? Her boobs are directly in my gaze, and I don't play in that field, so I settle for a slightly askew gaze.) Her playlist rocked and I managed the rest of the class.

Tons of stretching. Got friendly with the foam roller and discovered a new dealio for my back that totally rocked. I need a FR for home - my ITB and back will thank me profusely.

If I were savvy, I'd order one right now while I'm thinking of it. But I'm tired and I'm going to bed.

False starts

5:30am walk to start of bike path. Stretch, jog, pain. Repeat twice. Start the clock and go! Okay, slowly. Hello, old lady shuffle.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4071061
4.79m
50:25

10:31 pace What??? I know I was slow at the beginning, but still.

It took about 2 miles til I started warming up. Even then, tough. It wasn't til the last 1.5 that I hit my groove.

Yeah, so I guess the 10:31 makes sense. Darn.

Big Ring Gummie

6.9miles
1:07:46
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4066613

Warming up before starting the 6.9 (and clock) was helpful. My goal was to run without stopping. Admittedly, I did walk part of it - about a quarter mile maybe, maybe less, maybe more. Specific, eh?

My mind wasn't in it today. Suck. I ran with two other people, but our paces weren't in sync today and it was very distracting. Although, because Michael ran most of the pond just ahead of me (so we couldn't really talk) I felt compelled to push myself to run faster to catch him (which I never did til much later).

I brought an individually-wrapped, single-serving Big Ring Gummie (I'd never heard of them either until I bought a big bag of 'em at CVS this morning) for a mid-run push. Not sure it helped, but I wanted to try something portable for an energy boost. It's kind of a pain to deal with it while running - opening the wrapper, stuffing the wrapper back in my tiny interior key pocket, then occasionally burping cherry. At least I didn't have to spit today. Oh, and that's attractive, let me tell you. So ladylike.

I wonder if the gel packets are any better? Clif makes some. I bet the ingredients are superior. At 5:30am my options were limited, though.

walk in the woods

Hey, isn't this my day of rest??

What I thought was going to be a stroll through the woods turned into an energetically-paced walk - some of it uphill (or was it uphill both ways??). 1.5 hours of this.

So much for a rest day.

spin

6am hour-long spin class which at times I thought would never end (a ten-minute hill - what??), but Lori kept us motivated with her encouragement and rockin' playlist.

Then, a half dozen pull-ups followed by the penguin walk with the band.

My fav part? Stretching.

Yoga or ITB hell

I requested some ITB work since I ran this morning. Who am I kidding? My IT bands are always tight regardless of whether or not I ran that day. So, the instructor fulfilled my request with a specific pose. OMFG, it hurt like a %$#. Now, there's high discomfort and there's surgery-inducing pain. This was of the latter variety. I had to stop. And I felt badly for stopping because I'd requested it. But I only have two knees and I like to keep 'em. The original ones.

The REST of the practice was nice...

Doin' the shuffle

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4060456
3.5m/32:46
break @1.2m 10:32
some hills
9:21pace

I'm thinking that I need to include jogging in my warm-up before starting the clock because I pretty much just shuffle along like an old lady at first.

At least I double-knotted my shoelaces this time.

Just becase the sun can rise later, doesn't mean I can. Sigh.

I MUST go to bed earlier. There is no way 11:00pm (okay, later, actually) cuts it when I'm supposed to be out of the house before 6. Oye.

After telling myself that I had to just get up and put gym clothes on, then I could go back to bed, I, of course went to the gym.

Rebounding class was fun but tough - Maria gives a good class. I skipped the two water breaks - hey, if I can run for an hour without water, I can get through a 45-min class without water. Then I did some quick bi's, tri's, and quads, followed by a ton of stretching.

My love/hate relationship with the foam roller was in full swing this morning. If you use a foam roller, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Look before crossing

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4055865
4.1m
38:41, two traffic stops, two tissue breaks (maybe 20 seconds, but who's counting?)
9:26 pace w/o accounting for stops (but again, who's counting??)

Hands cold at first, but fine later.
First hill on Lowell went really well - no prob at all. Short hill on Walden seemed tougher. Which is comical to me.

And really, Jen, starting earlier would be in your best interest. Especially if you're going to look AS you cross the street. Didn't your mama teach you to look both ways BEFORE crossing? Yeah, thought so. At least the driver was paying attention. And at least you have quick reflexes in case the driver was texting or something stupid. Still, though - safety first.

Hey, I double-knotted my shoe laces this time - doesn't that count for something?

Scoping the course

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4051189
1:00:02

I ran the course to check it out. Love it! I wonder what'll happen on race day in terms of positioning? I mean, do I REALLY think the dirt path along the Charles will be wide open for moi? Ha! I think my knees will just hate me later while I pound pavement with the other thousands of women. Sigh.

Comm Ave seemed ridiculously long.

Om

So glad I went to yoga. Lengthening and opening was necessary.

Chest openers (my request) and plenty of twisting.

Such a nice way to end yoga tonight: Om.

Namaste.

flat run with sprints

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4043951
3m
(I forgot to press start on my stopwatch, but under 30 min.)

Didn't want to get up the morning. What's the deal with the sun rising later? Who decided? That doesn't work for me.

I think I need one of those lights that turns on gradually, mimicking the sun.

Luckily, there was a text from Michael that he wanted to join me. I responded in my morning fog and he said 6am. I think the only reason I got out of bed early was because of that text.

Picked up speed along Garden and again on Mass (going SE) approaching Davenport
Sprints* on Shepard, Blake and Russell**.

*It must be noted that my sprints and Michael's differ significantly - he is much faster.
**This sucked. Period.

Maybe nearly back-to-back sprinting (B and R) is not the way to go.

Goga

Got home in time for a 20-minute lie down. Bolted out of bed when I saw the time. Found a premium spot in the packed studio.

Holy crap, I'm tight from all of this running. Garudasana was even a challenge or maybe it's my bulging quads! Yeah, bulging quads, that must be it. Anyway, they are getting bigger.

Tons of twists in yoga class tonight. Love. Twists.

Nice morning for a run

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4039068

4.1m
39:10 min

Warmer than Sunday (yay!).

My goal was to run 4 miles in 36 minutes, but I decided I'd be okay with 4 in 40.

I think I was dehydrated since I was kinda nauseous for the last half mile, and dizzy post-run. Scratch that. I know I was dehydrated. Which is plain stupid.

Must. Drink. Water.

But the dehydration is not an excuse for not hitting the 36-minute mark. I know I need to train harder to get faster.

I also need to relax. I was actually nervous when I left the house this morning. Silly, perhaps, but true. I was anxious about meeting my goal. My hands were shaking as I folded tissues to tuck into my waist band.

Speaking of, does anyone's nose run while they run? It's annoying because I'm trying to breathe, but a little snot is getting in the way. Gross. If I had a sleeve, I'd wipe the drip, but I'm wearing tanks.

quim

aka quick gym.

10 hard minutes on the Arc Trainer, followed by a three-minute cool down.

Then my two favorite leg machines. Quad presses and leg extensions. The usual stuff on both, plus some single-leg work on the leg extension using my left leg which needs some extra attention.

Followed by plenty of stretching.

Done.

Ma, I miss you

Dear Alzheimer's:

Please return my grandmother. You've borrowed her long enough (too long!) and I want her back. I realize this is selfish on my part, but I truly believe she - the real Ma - is in there. I know this to be true because I see glimpses of her. An expression washes over her face, a note of familiarity on her part, then just as soon fades. Please release her from your custody. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Jen Matheson, Granddaugher


Today's visit.

Always a neatnik, she brushed crumbs off of herself today and adjusted a chair into place. As usual, she noted that my hand is cold (it was). Some things never change! We spoke briefly about something in particular, though I have no idea what we discussed. She said a word or three that made no sense, but we both just nodded and agreed as if it were clear. I know at that moment we connected over the few words.

That was it. The rest of the visit was worse than usual. The decline is obvious. It saddens me to see her like this when I know she can't express herself the way she'd like. I speak and I can see that she has tremendous difficulty engaging in conversation and understanding what I am saying.

She is in pain. Her neck aches because her morning Tylenol was losing steam by afternoon.

What startled me the most was to see her reaction when I gently covered her shoulders with a jacket when she was cold. She was clearly uncomfortable, didn't know who I was, and actually looked frightened. After finding Ma's nurse to help me interact with her (how is it that I need help interacting with my grandmother??), she calmed a bit then got tired so the three of us brought her to bed. Sue pulled up one side of the bed railing so Ma couldn't roll back and left the room. I said "I love you lots" and leaned in to kiss her forehead at which point she freaked and growled "get away from me". "Ok" was all I could say.

Since I'd promised myself that I could cry later if necessary (just not while I was with her), it was all I could do as I scurried down the hall not to cry. I barely lifted my fingers to Sue in parting, afraid to open my mouth for fear that doing so would release the tears. But they started streaming down my cheeks when I reached the alarmed door. Thankfully, someone called out "Jen, the code is..." and I barreled out of there.

This isn't fair, for either of us.

Knee pain? Read this article.

http://www.drbookspan.com/KneePainArticle.html

I tried to run "lightly" today - not pounding on my knees. Ha! Yeah, totally need more muscle strength. At least now I know what I'll work on this week in the gym.

Inward smile: I actually knew this all along; I've know what I need to do in order to prevent further knee injury.

I guess I just needed to read the article to remind myself.

Batman blows off

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4033746
5.4m
54:39


Um, so where are you? It's 6:30am; I'm here. Stretch. Pace. Okay, so I'm going to get my Shuffle.

I just grabbed my music, a coupla cashews and dried cranberries, and hid my keys again. You're not here, so I'm running without you. Sigh. Was really looking forward to the companionship. Plus, I planned my day around a 6:30am run and skipped running with Andrew along the Charles. Maybe this is better - I need to be able run solo since it's not like you'll be running Tufts with me.

It's a tad chilly out. Should I have worn gloves?? I'm not ready for cold runs. Unbelievably, as I type my hands are still cool.

For a while, I ran with my thoughts - headphones on, music off. I miss running for the pure enjoyment of it. On Sundays I like to run with a vague idea of where I'll go, and allowing detours down pretty streets. But last night I mapped a route and stuck to it today. No stopping for anything - not even traffic (love early runs for this reason!). And luckily my shoe didn't come untied until I was stretching after the run! I did slow while I blew my nose twice 'cause I haven't figured out how to breathe hard, run, and blow at the same time. That could just get messy.

The home stretch down Mass Ave was tough through Arlington. I imagined someone coming up beside me, taking my hand, and pulling me along for a bit. Then a woman walking by smiled and said hello genuinely, and a squirrel ran with me - leading the way. I turned on my music and pushed through.

Jen, you can do this, I thought. And I did.

Crane Beach

Alarm sounds at 4:30am.

Is there really any better way than to start the day walking along the beach at low tide, shoes off?

I don't think so.

My heart is here, at the beach, I realize as I take off my Crocs and feel the sand underfoot. Tears welling. Sun shining. Surf gently rolling.

Hello, and there's my ass!

I thought it'd be a swell idea to do some strength training today. And what better time than late this afternoon since I was short on time after my run this morning? A 45-minute Bosu Challenge seemed ideal. Ideal, I tell you.

Enter my ass. OMG. Hello! I have one. It hurts. We did some butt stuff. I mean, plenty of fucking butt stuff.

I can only hope all of the butt moves will help with my running. Like the trainer said, I need to fire up my glutes to help propel me.

Consider them fired. And now they're hired.

3.7miles

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4026433

Perfect weather.

While I missed seeing the guy* on Mass Ave who reminds me of my grandfather, Papa Bob, I had tweaked my playlist last night and that carried me through.

*He's been on Mass Ave a bunch of times and always says something encouraging and has a huge grin. He's awesome. I sometimes wonder if he is a runner or former athlete. I've seen him wearing a Bos mara jacket, but never stop and look to see if it's a volunteer issue or athlete issue.

Here's the thing. So I went out looking to do 4m - starting slow, picking up speeding in the middle, then reducing. My plans changed halfway through. I had to go. Number two. I could take my chances and finish my run, but I was increasingly losing focus on the running (which might have its merits aka distraction!). I stopped in at home, dropped off the kids, and blew out the door. (First washing hands, grabbing small handful of raisins and two cashews.) Ah, much better - now I could focus on the run. Since I'd had the short respite, I needed to justify it with some fast running.

Total distance 3.7m
Total running time 34:55
Pre-home 2.4m
Pre-h about 22 min
Post-home 1.3m
Post-h 12:55 min**
**The 1.3m consisted of running normally, then picking it up for a half mile, then back to normal, then a sprint on a flat, then walk, then jog, then sprint the same flat.

Gobs of delicious stretching followed.

soga

So, yoga, to go or not to go? I'd been planning throughout the day to grab a 5:30 class. Ate well (but didn't hydrate enough). Left the office with plenty of time to spare.

Then the games: I don't HAVE to go. I can go TOMORROW. I'm too dehydrated. It won't be THAT good. I don't love the instructor. I'll just lie down on my bed. For a bit. No, really. That'll make ALL the difference.

"Alright, but not 'til everything's ready", I told myself. I stripped, got my yoga clothes and mat out, looked at the time and plopped on the bed for a six-minute power nap. If I miss it, I miss it. "But Jen, you really want to go. Besides you need a good stretch." Yeah, but. "But nothing." But it's so cozy in bed. And I could do laundry instead of yoga. "Gimme a break." Fine, I could use some arm toning.

5:21pm Throw on clothes. Check look in mirror. Hey now, I look kinda tan.

So, yoga. I went after all.

inspired 3 miles

Yesterday I looked up old 5K race times and was inspired seeing my results. Granted, I was a whole lot younger. Still, though, if I did it then, I figure I could do it again.

So, I mapped a route and went out. I was a little anxious knowing my plan, but I went anyway. Started slowly, then picked it up. The route: Mass at Russell. To 16, around teeny island and back (and holy crap my time is good so far - 8:41). Down Davenport, cross Elm, up Burnside, right on Summer, down Linden, right on Elm. Somewhere around the JFK Elementary School I got a cramp in the right side of my stomach. I pushed through because I knew I was almost done - just had to make it to Burnside. When I did, I felt mildly like I could puke which quickly passed then I was mega thirsty.

Goal: 3m at 9min miles
9.7.10
27:15
3.09 M
8:4912 pace
Goal exceeded :)

"long" run not so long

After sleeping in fits - kept awakening from weird dreams - went running at 630am with MF. We ran at a fairly fast pace to the Tufts track, did 2.25 miles there. The intent was to run up a few hills after this, but I crashed during the first hill. Mentally, I wasn't in it and I knew it. I tried to get back in the game, but it wasn't happening. I felt like a jackass for falling short on our run. Of course, MF was pleasant and understanding. We picked it up again after walking the remainder of the hill and down another. We wound our way up College to Broadway and back to Davenport at Mass.

I'd said: "so we'll end at the bottom of this hill?". MF: "I thought you wanted to finish at your house." Me: "Yeah. Okay." (Damn it, MF. And thank you.) He has a way of pushing me that doesn't feel like pushing.

9.5.10
5.7M

hill sprints with Michael

9.2.10
sunny, coolish (or muggy, depending on who you ask and whether they slept with a fan or AC)
6am
walk
jog to Tacos Lupita
the sprinting toward and past Somerville Hosp...Porter, Crocker, Tower...
working on pushing from glutes
ended on good sprint up Tower (starting from wall sign)
jog...working on longer strides
walk