Monday, July 25, 2011

lumberjack warrior

Post LJD 5k, you can't really tell but I was a sweaty, smelly mess.
I'll add more later but I did two races last weekend: the Lumberjack Days 5k on Saturday and the Warrior Dash on Sunday.

Saturday was hot, humid and I had strange things happening with my right leg (was going numb - kind of like it was asleep) during the race.  The ankle is still an issue so off to the sports doc I will be going.

Anywhoo..... Should have brought my camera along - Carrie Tollefson was there and I could have gotten a picture with her.  Dammit!!  I was a hot mess when it was done.

The Warrior Dash was so much fun!  I didn't dare take my good camera with me on my mud-slogged journey so I carried a waterproof disposable camera instead.  Hopefully, we got some good shots on the course.  I have to get the film developed (so old school!) so I'll do another post when I get them back.  But here are a few before & afters (taken with the digital camera) to whet your appetite:




Pre-race.  I am unable to keep my eyes open.  Again.




Here's mud in yer eye!  And up yer nose!  And in yer mouth!
And in every other orifice.

The husband's legs AFTER getting rinsed off.

Post-race.  The husband took one for the team thus allowing
 the photo gods to show me with my eyes OPEN!!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

what up?

Learnin' to shoot!! Typical American 4th of July activity
 meets mother/son bonding time.  Here's SS teaching me how
to use a BB gun on our recent trip to Omaha.
Hey peeps!  Here's what I've been up to lately, along with my typical stream of consciousness-type blogging....

Fitness
Running?  Not so much.  My ankles are still really sore.  I've been taking it easy, just doing 3 miles at a time, nice and slow.  And daily walking with Jane of course.  My right ankle in particular is bugging big time.  The pain is now starting to travel up the ankle bone..... I might need to schedule some quality time with my sports doc.

Our awesome shirts for the Warrior Dash!
I'm signed up for two races next weekend: the Lumberjack Days 10 miler on Saturday and the husband and I are doing the Warrior Dash on Sunday.  The Warrior Dash shouldn't be a problem but I'm a little worried about the 10 miler.  That could be an ugly one, especially with my practically non-existent mileage.  We shall see what the weekend brings.

I started a couple of new programs - 100 push-ups and 200 squats.  They are both 6 week programs brought to me via my new iPhone.  There's an app for that!  My upper body strength is crapola so I'm hoping the push-ups will help with that.  And call me crazy, but I LOVE doing squats.  Both of these will be easy to incorporate into my day so I'm thinking they are doable and attainable goals.

Name-dropping
Hey, remember Misty?  I was lucky to run with her for a while in the Stillwater 20 miler and then saw her heading towards the finish line at Grandma's.  I'm not the only one who's inspired by her.  There was an article in the Pioneer Press about Misty and her amazing accomplishments!  Way to go, Misty!!!

Weather
We are in the middle of some nasty-ass weather.  Feelin' hot, hot. hot.  And humid.  I think the humidity has been in the high 70's.  It's like being underwater when you go outside.  I actually LOVE hot, humid weather but this is getting to be a bit much, even for me.

How I ruined the husband's birthday last year. 
Work
Work has continued to be super busy.  Super duper busy.  It's awesome that I can work from home about 50% of the time.  It's so nice to not have to spend 2-3 hours a day in rush hour traffic.

The husband
We celebrated the husband's birthday this week.  Last year I pretty much destroyed his birthday by getting in a 3 car accident on the interstate (during rush hour traffic) and totaling my Pilot.  It was the first car accident I've ever been in.  Scary!! I wasn't hurt, other than major torquing of my body and LOTS of muscle pain, so that was good.  But it did kind of put the kibosh on any sort of birthday celebration, unless you count time spent in Urgent Care as celebrating.  And my trusty Pilot didn't survive.

the calorie-laden remains of the husband's birthday cake.
This year was better.  I didn't try to steal his thunder with my usual attention-seeking behavior (e.g. totaling my car).  He didn't get home until late on his actual birthday (Bastille Day!) due to two kids in sports but I made a fantastic german chocolate cake for him.  It's his favorite.  Almost a whole pound of butter between the cake and the frosting.  I think it's about 800 calories per slice.  No lie.  It's so worth it. (My mouth is watering just typing this.  I might need to go get myself another piece.)  We've spent the last couple of days extending the celebration.  I think he's enjoyed it.

Photo shoots always tire Jane out.
I signed the husband (and myself) up for the Medtronic TC 10 mile lottery. It's limited to 8800 runners and is run the same day as the Twin Cities Marathon.  We'll find out in a few days if we made the cut.  I love 10 mile races.  I think it's the perfect distance!  I really hope we can get in.  It would be fun to be a part of the TCM festivities!

So that's about it.  Things remain pretty quiet here in Lake Wobegon.

What's everyone else been up to?

Friday, July 8, 2011

winning

So I've been a bit of a slacker lately, as far as running is concerned, anyway.  The knees and ankles have told me they need a bit of a break so I'm trying to be nice to them.  They're on to me - they know I'll be asking them to carry me through another marathon in the not too distant future so I have to try to stay on their good side.

Had a mini-vacation with the husband and three of the five grunions.  We went to the husband's parents house in Omaha for the 4th of July.  It's always a good time with his family!  While we were there we managed to get out for a couple of slow, short runs (3+ miles only).  It was hot and humid as only Omaha can be and the runs were exciting!  We saw bunches of wild turkeys, I got attacked by a nasty-ass wicked little dog (nothing serious really, but it scared the crap out of me), and we made sure to catch the nearby neighborhood parade where the kids decorate their bikes, put ribbons and bows on the dog and walk around the block.  Those kinds of parades are the best.

Back to running.......  Unfortunately, despite the reduced mileage, the eat-age hasn't been proportionately reduced.  And all that eat-age is starting to add up.  Looks like Ima need to ramp the mileage back up again 'cuz we all know I have problems with portion control.  Dang, I like food.

Here is my su-WEEEEET new necklace!!
It's so new that they haven't named it yet.
Anywhoo.....

So.

Ok.  You know how much I love free stuff, right?

Love it!!

But you know what's better than just getting stuff for free?  WINNING stuff.

Well.

Today was my lucky day!!

I won the most awesome necklace from Sporty Girl Jewelry!! She was doing a giveaway on her blog and the random picker thingie picked me!!

I am so excited I can hardly stand it.

And now I have to get my ass back out running or I just won't feel right wearing something that says 26.2 on it.

Thanks Sporty Girl!