Holy Crap! I forgot to post!

I also forgot to run for 2 weeks! But they were the final weeks before the Academy Awards, and I had movies to see! Lots of them! And a party to plan, which turned out to be really great. We had a Mexican theme complete with Oscar-shaped pinata and Mark's most excellent chili verde, Mexican chocolate ice cream, and many other goodies. This is not an excuse and it's probably not even a reason. But anyway, that's what happened.

Also, I lost my iPod. In a taxicab. Of which I don't know the name. And for which I paid cash, so I have no way to find out the name to call the company. So there you go. I had to buy another one. And another pair of headphones. And then my Nike+ sensor stopped sensing so I had to send it back to Apple for a replacement. And how can a girl run these days without all the proper technology? (More bad excuses.)

Anyway, I did start running and working out again after the Oscars. And speaking of technology, Michael found an article in The New York Times (Really? Michael found an article in the NY Times?) about a new software product called The Repacer. It will take any mp3 song file and change the speed to the Beats Per Minute (BPM) you specify so that you can maintain a regular rhythm while running. And it does it without making the song sound like either the Chipmunks or a weird character from a David Lynch film. It helps me stick to my goal of 88 BPM, especially when I get tired and feel like slowing down.

And in other product news, I've gotten back into my deep water running in response to problems I've been having with my LEFT shin and have been using a pair of AQx Sports Aquatic Training Shoes in combination with my Aqua Jogger to better mimic the feel of road running while in the pool. The shoes add resistence but also have "fins" that add stability while "running." It's kind of fun.

A week ago, I was at the King Pool in Berkeley all my myself in their deep pool and felt like I was in a David Hockney painting. The patterns on the water were just like that.

Day Pool With 3 Blues, David Hockney

Damned Right Leg!

Argh! My right knee is killing me! Okay, it's not killing me. But I don't think it's supposed to feel the way it's been feeling for the last 2 days. And on top of that, well actually below it, the left side of my shin is hurting too. Ever since I got out of bed yesterday morning.

Then, to add anxiety to injury, I was reading a new book on BART yesterday called Marathoning For Mortals in which the author emphasizes going slow and stopping training when something hurts. He's all full of scary warnings about how your legs will fall off and you'll be stuck in a wheelchair eating through a tube in your nose and no one will ever love you if you run when your legs hurt. I know! I know! But I just want to do this Half Marathon! I really want to do it! Can't I just wash down some pills with a big glass of tasty denial juice and keep going???

So I didn't run my 3 miles today on the road. I used my new Aqua Jogger for the first time at Temescal pool. (No, that's not me in the picture. Just imagine a navy blue bathing suit and maybe 15 more pounds. And no, I'm not posting a photo of me in a bathing suit on the web!)

I was starving, so I had a big hummus sandwich on the way to the pool: just the thing your mother tells you not to do. I didn't get a cramp and drown, but with the Aqua Jogger belt tight around my middle, I felt like I was going to barf.

Anyway, Temescal pool is much nicer than the gym's. The pool is big and outdoors and goes to 10 feet deep. I hung out in the deep end and ran in place for 35 minutes. It took a few minutes to get the hang of the rhythm of underwater running without looking like a spaz, but soon I was chugging right along. I just hope that doing this today gave my knee enough of a rest and the rest of me enough of a workout to do my 10 miles on Sunday!

Other things I have learned from Marathoning For Mortals that will be goals for the coming weeks:

1) Add 10 minutes to EVERY SINGLE run to warm up and cool down. That means, walk for 5 minutes before running and then walk for 5 minutes afterwards.

2) Add more time after the run to fully stretch all the relevant muscle groups. (This one is actually in my training manual, with illustrations, but I have been lax. Not stretching enough is probably part of the reason for my pain now.)

3) Get at least 8 hours of sleep each night.

8 Mile

You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo

Yes! One more mile! I was dreading this run because I'd have to do it while visiting my brother's family in Coalinga, CA, where the temperature is 105F during the day. I started at 5:45am to beat the heat. Will helped me map out a 4-mile loop, so I could come back to the house and rehydrate after the first 4 miles. I left a bottle of Gatorade in the driveway and chugged half of it down between loops.

http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=44325

The run was flat and mainly uneventful except for a couple of little yappy dogs that chased me home both times I entered my brother's housing development. They were cute but I had to slow down so as not to squish them under foot.

The air in the morning was cool and dry, perfect conditions for running. Afterwards, I stretched really well and then sat in the hot tub. I wasn't sore at all afterwards!

And speaking of water therapy, I'm going to try Deep Water Running. I bought an Aqua Jogger Friday but haven't had a chance to try it out. I'm hoping that running under water will help me strengthen my legs without excess soreness. Thursday, I ran in the pool at the gym, but I don't think it was as useful running on the bottom of the pool as it will be to run in deep water without touching the bottom. We'll see.

This is why I hurt today!

This is why my arms and shoulders hurt:

Forearm Plank


This is why my sides (obliques) hurt:

Sideways Forearm Plank


This is why my hamstrings and knees hurt:


Foreward Lunge



Single Leg Squat


I did my 3-mile run this morning, and it was hell. I need to sleep! I wake up every hour with wacked out dreams, sweating like a pig, and can't go back to sleep. today, I give in. I took a hot shower and some Advil and some Valium. I'm hoping to sleep for 12 hours tonight.