Keeping Track of my Mileage and a New Form of Cross Trainng.

I've run 4 days this past week. I haven't done that since last fall when I was running every Wednesday with my running group, running a few days a week on my own and running with my sister helping her get into running.

Last Sunday was a nice day in the mid 40's so I was able to run at the lake a slow 3.5 miles. It included having to retrace my steps to find one of my Nike light weight runnng gloves. Even though it was in the 40's, it can be a bit breezy at the lake, expecially running across the dam, which I have to do twice so I started out with gloves and an ear band which I quickly removed. It felt great to be outside. For me running outside is much more diffcult than running on a treadmill but I definitely prefer it.

The rest of my runs were on the treadmill since the weather dipped into the 20's and 30's. Tuesday I ran 3.36, Thursday was 3.55 and Saturday was 3.5. My total for last week was a whopping 13.91 miles! I can hear you all snickering! Most of you run that and more in one day. But I know you're also cheering me on. You know how tough it is as a beginner runner and your words of support and encouragement mean a lot to me and I want to thank all of you for that. Next week I have a goal of 15 miles. I also will start back with my running group next Wednesday.

Today I didn't do much, at least I haven't since 2 this afternoon. Last night all 5 granddaughters spent the night. Their ages are 12, 10, 8, 5 and 2. Five giggling, high-pitched voiced balls of endless energy. They turn the stereo up high, dance and sing to every song, color me endless pictures that I have to put on my fridge, scatter toys, books, colors and pencils up and down the stairs, ride their blankets down the stairs (which I have now forbidden as it leaves lint on the carpet that is difficult to vacuum), bicker over what movie to watch and who is sleeping where.

Last night I managed to get them to bed early - 11:15! The 2 yo wet my bed (no pullups!) and I had to change her and rearrange where we slept. I finally got up a 6:30 for some quiet time - they ALL woke up at 7:00. Today was a flurry of activty until they went home at 2:00. It's always a whirlwind from the time they hit my door until I close the door behind them as they leave. But I love every minute of it.

I think today qualifies as cross training, don't you?

I took a nap this afternoon and this evening I have the academy awards on as I read blogs and drink a well deserved glass of wine. I hope you have a nice relaxing evening too.

Sunshine and Sickies

The weather here has been great! This past weekend it got up into the low 60's with lots of sun. Yesterday and today the temps have been in the mid to upper 50's and more sunshine. A lot of the snow and ice have melted. Great running weather!

My plan was to get outside and run as much as possible but ... you guessed it. I got sick. Last week my boss had a horrific cold but she came into work anyway. By mid day Thursday it got me. I was miserable by 5:00 and didn't make it into work Friday.  I had the usual cold symptoms but started running a fever of 100* but kept it down by taking Tylenol. I went to the doctor yesterday and found out I have a sinus infection, ear infection and bronchitis. She put me on a very strong (and very expensive) antibiotic that I take one a day for five days. We want to keep it from turning into pneumonia like it did last year.

So, I haven't done any running since last Wednesday. I was doing pretty well at increasing my mileage. I did go for a few short walks around my neighborhood on Sunday and today, so I at least got to enjoy the great weather a little.

My mileage for last week was:
   Monday - 3.4
   Wednesday - 4.13

I'm sure I'll be feeling well enough to run again by next week. I hope all of you are healthy and manage to side-step the sickies.

Volunteering is Invigorating

Yesterday I was a volunteer for the running club I belong to. It was a members only race called the Chiller Challenge, a 2 mile fun run, 1 mile kid run and a USTAF certified 8k. I had volunteered on the 2nd but hadn't heard anything back from the Volunteer Coordinator telling me what my job would be. When I got there he didn't have me on the list, but found a job for me - at the water station!

Luckily I came pretty much prepared with my heavy coat, two pair of gloves, one pair of mittens, an ear band and hat. Unfortunately, I didn't get my snow boots out. All I had on my feet were my regular Reeboks and socks. My feet got cold! So did my face and hands. Once I removed one pair of gloves and put on the mittens, my hands got warm. But it was a little tricky juggling those cups of water in the palm of my hand so the runners could just grab them as they ran by me.

After a while I started doing a bit of a jig, hopping around from one foot to the other trying to get my feet warm. Several of the runners commented that they liked my little 'water dance'! It did help to warm up a bit. Even though the temperature was in the mid twenties at the time, I was at that water station for about an hour and half standing in slushy snow. I was cold -- but I had a great time!

After the race there was a chili feed, medals were awarded and there was a drawing. I didn't win anything from the drawing but had a good time talking and joking with the other members.

On the running side - Last week I ran/walked three days for a weekly total of just over 9 miles. Tonight I ran 2 miles before walking a quarter mile then ran another 1.15 miles. I'm definitely low mileage compared to everyone else, but for me - it's a big deal! All last summer when I was running I didn't bother to really track my mileage. This time around I thought I'd keep track.

Oh yeah, I registered for a 10k on March 12th. It's the Leprechaun Chase and sounds like a blast!