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falling down

Running = Happy

Nov 6th, 2011
by gazelle.
3 comments

I have a (not at all) shocking confession to make. I love trail running. LOVE it. I have not run on trails since September 11. I fell on the trails that day, for the 2nd time EVER (and the second time in a month). I was pretty sure that the falling down bits were bad. After all, I was (am) pregnant, and I think that you’re not supposed to fall. On my first fall, which came about 3/4 of the way through a nearly 16 mile run, I felt flat on my face. I was so very newly pregnant, that I knew Alvie was protected by my pelvic bones and was not likely to come to harm. The second fall, I was nearly 10 weeks along, and managed to twist to one side to avoid the faceplant and possible damage to Alvie.

Now that I’m 19 weeks (tomorrow!) along, Alvie is definitely starting to poke out more and it’s not a good idea to faceplant (so I understand). So, it was with a heavy heart after my second fall that I declared no more trail running until I’m no longer with child.

And I’ve barely run since. Three runs between 9/11 & today, in fact.

This morning I decided that not only was I going to run today, I was going to Forest Park. However, I was going to play it safe and run on (the relatively flat and not really technical) Leif Erickson. I drove up Germantown Road to the Leif trail head. The parking lot was packed! So, I just kept driving, and some how ended up at the Wildwood trailhead.

I promised myself that I would take it easy, pay very close attention to the trail, and walk as much as necessary.

My plan was to go for 30  minutes, then turn around. And I followed my plan. (I actually made it back to the parking lot in 59:19, which means I had a 41 second negative split! Woo!)

The good: I feel amazing. Better than I’ve felt in ages. Plus – this 60 minute run (with approximately 7.5 minutes of walking interspersed) was waaay easier than my last 27 minute run.

The bad: Last time I ran this exact same route with the exact same plan, I ran exactly 1 mile further in the exact same time. (Today = 15 minute miles – that is barely even running!)

The ugly: I did fall down again. HOWEVER – it wasn’t while running, so I’m pretty sure that’s okay and doesn’t count. On my last walk break, I was no longer watching the trail and my feet carefully – after all, I was just walking now – and slipped in a mud puddle. It was the slowest and most controlled fall ever – I just slipped in slow motion. The entire left side of my body was coated in mud, but I think it just made me look hard core. I don’t feel that the fall was a result of bad judgment or anything – although I probably should be more careful on the walking parts as well as the running parts.

ANYWAYS – I feel great, even when I consider the slip & slide. This is honestly the most awesome I’ve felt in ages, and pretty much just proves that I need to run NOT on hard surfaces (sidewalk runs KILL me) and preferably in pretty locations at least once a week. I probably will try to stick to Leif and other similar trails and avoid the more technical trails, but I have no regrets.

Gratitude Journal

November 6, 2011: I am grateful for running – and grateful that I am still able to run. I am also grateful for my proximity to the most awesome running park in the history of the world: Forest Park.

November 5, 2011: I am grateful that I was able to discover enough courage to join Toastmasters. I know this sounds super cheesy, but it’s really made a HUGE difference in my life. I am a MUCH better person for the last couple of years as a Brave Little Toaster. AND I will achieve Competent Leader status by the end of November, and Competent Communicator status by the end of 2011! Also, there are days when I think I might need to find a job that involves more public speaking. Who am I?

November 4, 2011: I am grateful for the internet, which gives me the ability to work from home, in my pajamas, this morning.

November 3, 2011: I am grateful that I have a good job that is challenging & interesting, if not necessarily catering to my life interests. I have the opportunity for professional development (weekly leadership seminar today!), have a decent salary, good health insurance, and a bunch of people who are excited for my pregnancy and not at all worried about my maternity leave (in fact, they’ve told me to not even THINK about being available in May – i.e. budget season – and that they’d get through it without me, as long as I do all the prep work before I leave…)

November 2, 2011: I am grateful for the architect, who is simply wonderful. He picks up the household slack when I’m busy with schoolwork, brings me chicken fingers on his way home from work, and is simply the most wonderful husband I could ask for…

November 1, 2011:  I am grateful for my (so far, knock on wood) easy and wonderful pregnancy

It was the best of times, and oh yes – the worst of times

Sep 12th, 2011
by gazelle.
3 comments

The bathroom is coming right along. Unfortunately, we’ve hit a wee snag – the tile did not come in this weekend, which means that we might not have our toilet & sink hooked up by the time the inlaws arrive (which makes me very, very sad. not just for them, but for me).

The architect slaved away on the bathroom all weekend. The walls are 100% done! YAY!  AND, although I don’t have photographic evidence right now, the shower walls and the floor are a beautiful shade of red (from the waterproofing).

As soon as the tile arrives, the architect will take a day off to install the tile, and then, 36-ish hours later, we will grout. THEN, 24-ish hours later, we will sand & paint the walls this color(ish): (I think – I’m not great with color)

Anyways – the architect assures me that our vintage mauve will took fantastic in the black and white bathroom.  (Our color might be a bit lighter and slightly browner.)

After the painting, we will put in the wainscoting (which will be white), and one wall (minimum) of shower tiles. At that point, the plumber can come back & hook everything up.  If the tiles come this week, that means that the floor could be in by Friday, and then on Friday (my day off), I could start sanding (with clear instructions, I can do lots of stuff!), and then hopefully we could paint & wainscot on Saturday/Sunday, and maybe even do the one shower wall, and then could have the plumber come in on the 23rd (Friday) to hook up before the in-laws showed up. Of course, all of that is contingent on the tile arriving in a timely fashion this week.  *fingers crossed*

 

In other good news – I got to watch my friend Jen finish a 31 mile run on her 31st birthday. She ran the entirety of Wildwood Trail (30 miles) + an extra mile in honor of her birthday. She finished strong in 6:19ish, and looked great at the finish line.  (Also looking great at the finish line? Celebratory champagne and cupcakes! YAY!)

****

Yesterday, I went to pick tomatoes, and as I filled up my bowl, I emptied the bowl into my (normal sized) kitchen sink.  By the time I picked everything ripe (i.e. maybe 1/2 of the tomatoes out there), my kitchen looked like this:

IMAG0571

Just in case you’re curious, after peeling, coring & seeding all those tomatoes, that is approximately 13 qts of chopped tomatoes.

Do you know how long it takes to can 17 pints of salsa & 8.5 qts of marinara?

FIFTEEN YEARS!

Or, more accurately, about 7 hours. By 8 pm last night, my kitchen looked like a murder scene, and I looked like a serial killer who bathed in the blood of my victims. It was pretty awesome.

I can’t wait to do it all again in 2-3 weeks when I’m sure I’ll have another sink and a half of tomatoes! (I’m serious – I love canning, and when the next batch is ready, I’m guessing it won’t be 90 degrees.)

Next up – maybe another 6 pints of salsa (we go through about 2/month on average; another 3-4 qts of marinara (1/month here), and then FUN things! Like ketchup! And whole tomatoes! And maybe soup. YAY!

***

When I hit the trail, I hit it HARD!

And now, for the worst of times. I was on a trail run yesterday morning (before tomato-palooza), having a grand time. The best run I’d had since my 15.5 miler (also a trail run) at the end of July. Everything was going so well. I felt great. I was happy with my pace. I’d hit my turn around right on schedule, and was FLYING (relatively speaking) back to my car. About 1.25 miles from the trailhead, I bit it. Unlike last time, I didn’t transition directly from upright to faceplant. This was more of a slow motion fall.

I hit pretty hard on the left side of my body. So hard, in fact, that one of my water bottles, after digging into my side, flew off my fuel belt and landed several feet down the trail (behind me). My right hand is a little bruised and swollen, I have some cuts on my left hand, some pretty bruises in the vicinity of my right knee, and a little road rash on my left elbow. I can feel the deep bruising on the left side of my back, but the best part of my body is my left leg below the knee.

This picture doesn’t really do it justice, since I just took it now, sitting at my desk at work (those of you who followed my exciting foot photo series will recognize the carpet), but I’m thinking I’ll have some spectacular bruising in a day or so…..

IMAG0573

(Please note that my calf isn’t that humungous, but it’s hard to take a picture of your own leg and not get a weird angle.)

That is beautiful, right?

I hurt all over my body. My left side especially. It hurts to move. And to sit. And to lay still, even. It especially hurts to be headbutted by affectionate cats. (On a completely unrelated note – does anyone want to buy a used cat?)

I’m hoping this heels up pretty quickly!

Happy week, everyone! Watch out for gravity!

Long Run – So Many Firsts!

Jul 31st, 2011
by gazelle.
2 comments

Today was my 15 mile long run in the marathon training cycle. There were so many firsts!

  1. First time I’ve ever run in Forest Park and started & ended at my house
  2. First time I’ve ever had to “find some bushes” while running
  3. First time I’ve almost gotten caught while using said bushes
  4. First time I’ve run over 14 miles since my last marathon in October 2009
  5. First time I’ve ever fallen during a run.

The last item is the only one that is even mildly upsetting.

I was running along on Wildwood, having a great run, and all of a sudden I was laying face first on the trail. I seriously felt like I’d gone from upright to kissing dirt with no transition.

The first thing I did (of course) was stop my Garmin. Then, and only then, did I evaluate the injury potential. My right shoulder was a bit sore – it seems apparent that I tried to break my fall with my right arm (it’s apparent by the fact that the entire underside of my arm from wrist to pit is covered in dirt).

The trail was dry, but I wasn’t, so my sweat mixed with the trail dust and gave me a lovely mud puddle look.

I decided I was fine – I didn’t even have any cuts (no blood, no foul, right?), so after walking a couple of minutes, I just started back up again.

My overall pace for my 15.25 mile run was 12:51, which considering the ~1700 feet of elevation gain is pretty damn good for me.

I think this is the best long run I’ve ever had, and that’s not just the endorphins talking!  With the exception of the fall, everything just went perfectly. I love Forest Park.

 

Hi! I am still here.

May 28th, 2009
by gazelle.
4 comments

This week has been busy! Between not getting enough sleep, having only three days to do five days of work (usually I have four days to get my five days in), having two big projects due this week at work, and having all these social engagements, this week has been craZy (with a capital Z)!

Tuesday evening, I totally bailed on my kick-ass new neighbors and our planned taco night. The architect made me dinner, and I was in bed by 8, asleep by 9.

I chose to skip the pool Wednesday morning in lieu of an extra 2 hours of sleep (and that was definitely the right choice). It was only later that day that I remembered that in our party-minds Monday evening, we’d decided to have a cheese party Wednesday evening (the 2nd set of kick-ass neighbors have Wednesdays & Thursdays off, so it seemed a good time to schedule that – at the time).

So – I decided that I would get my swim in Thursday morning. I worked hard all day yesterday, hoping to get home in time for either a run or bike ride before the cheese party. Shortly after 5 PM, I closed up shop, walked out of my office, locked & closed the door. And then, not 5 seconds later, I said, “Fuck.”

Do you know what was in the office? My keys. Car keys. House keys. Office keys. There was no one in the office, and I didn’t have the information I needed to contact people who would let me back in. So I called the architect, and he came & got me. Of course, by the time I got home (with a stop to get cheese & wine), there was no time to exercise pre-cheese. And if you know me, you know that I am never late for a cheese event.

I made a rhubarb crisp, and then there was cheese! And wine! But only a little wine. I had one glass & had just refilled when my neighbor (from kick-ass set #2) requested a garden tour. And since I could talk about nothing but my garden for days on end, I, of course, obliged.

I told everyone all about the evil mole that I will slaughter with my bare hands (if I ever catch it), all the different produce that we have, the problem with slugs, and this weird creeping disease that’s plaguing some of our greens. I was in the raised bed gardens talking, and decided that instead of turning around & walking out like a normal person, I would continue to talk and back out like a graceful person. There is one problem though – I am not a graceful person.

I tripped over the side of the raised bed & went ass over teakettle. I did not, however, drop my glass of wine – and only spilled about half of it. I would’ve felt ever so much better if I’d actually had more than 1 glass of wine pre-fall – because falling while drunk is funny. Falling due to stupidity/clumsiness is just pathetic. *sigh*

So, I have a pretty bruise on the back of my right heel (where I hit it on the side of the garden) and general soreness. And now this overwhelming fear that my kick-ass new neighbors are going to start avoiding me since every time we hang out, I fall down.

Today, the architect drove me to work, so no morning workout today, either! However, I will yoga tonight, and will run/swim tomorrow. I’ll probably bike on Saturday & then I’m doing a trail run with a kick-ass person who is not my neighbor on Sunday, so although I’m not hitting all my workouts, I should get most of them. And, I really was treating this as my last week of ease before marathon training starts June 1 (holy crap).

I didn’t measure or take corn pics last night (due to the fact that I was falling out of my garden), but rest assured, most of the little corns are doing well. There are a few scrawny stragglers (I’m looking at you, James Corn), but Carrie Corn is pretty much the queen of the corn field!

Happy Thursday, peeps!

And good luck all you crazy marathoners in San Diego this weekend! The Ambitious One & Mr. Pi, Aron, Tara, Maritza, Danica, Julianne, Amanda, Kristen, Maddy, Shelly, and anyone else I may have inadvertantly left off the list. I’m sad I’m not there to see everyone’s San Diego abs, but I know you’re all going to ROCK this thing! Have fun & run strong!

Adulthood – Am I There?

Nov 25th, 2008
by gazelle.
16 comments

There are many things that have made me feel like a grownup. I have a husband. And a mortgage. And a job.

But one thing that always makes me feel even a little more grown-up? White Egyptian cotton towels. I love my towels.

Do you know how to ruin that feeling of maturity?

Cut yourself shaving. Not once, but twice. Different legs, same shaving session.

And then not really notice.

And then?

Dry your legs.

Now my pretty white towel has bloodstains all over it. Seriously – looks like someone may have hemmorhaged. Who knew the Achilles area could bleed so much?

Fortunately, Jesus is fixing it for me.

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