Lost? Lost!!

Today I stay in Rock Springs to work tomorrow, but I don't have to work for 24 hours.  It's cool and clear and I planned a 10 mile long slow run.

I started my day by turning to the oncoming team and asking, "How far away is Billings from Colorado Springs?".  Apparently they are REALLY far apart.  What can I say, I'm not that great with geography.  It was a sign of the day to come.  

The team enjoyed a little teasing and I went on my way to move my stuff to the off duty apartment and go for my run.  I had planned out a run that takes me to the old part of Rock Springs around historical downtown and then back around the other side of the freeway.  I sent the map through MapMyRun to my phone.   Then I realized that I didn't have my phone holder and I wasn't going to hold it the whole time.  I didn't have my fuel belt or any big pockets either.  So I left without it.  

The run started out OK.  I didn't feel tired but I didn't feel very good.  Kind of "urpy".  A little nauseated but not really.  I had woke up this morning with the worst pain behind my left scapula.  I am pretty sure I just slept on it wrong but the pain was intense despite ibuprofen and stretching.  

On my way I thought that I would cut off part of the 10 miles and make it around 8.5 to 9 miles.  After I got through historical downtown I made my way to the other side of the freeway.  The run was going OK, I was running a little slow, but it was a slow run so it was good.  I brought a goo and ate it, or gagged it down and had a big drink of water.  I saw a gas station and thought that maybe they would have ice and water, but I was wrong.  Then on the other side of the freeway there was no sign at the light so I went through.  After about .75 miles I decided to turn around.  Which is good, because I was going the terribly wrong way.  I had just found a gas station that had ice too.  I don't think there should be gas stations without ice and water.  It's teasing the slightly hot and needs more water runner.  

That wonderful detour cost me over a mile and a half and my Garmin hit 10 miles about a mile before the apartment.  I mostly walked after that and stopped at a "Kum & Go" (teehee) and bought a Gatorade that I sipped all the way home.  I was exhausted when I got home, but not as bad as I have been before.  I forced myself to drink at least 3/4ths of the Gatorade.  

Splits:

(Walk 1 minute/ Run 5 minutes)

Mile  1     10:45

Mile  2     10:09

Mile  3     11:11

Mile  4     11:16

Mile  5     11:00

Mile  6     11:44

Mile  7     11:06

Mile  8     11:05

Mile  9     12:02 - walked up a big hill

Mile 10     10:38

Mile 11     15:24

A lot of my times are longer because there is a lot of lights and I didn't turn off my Garmin for the wait.  It auto stops but it's a little slow.

Total Miles:             11:28

Total Time:           2:11:45

Average Total:         11:41

Average of 10 miles: 11:06

I iced and kept my foot up for about 30 minutes after my run before I got in the tub for a hot bath.  The pain in my back worked it's way out during the run and even though I can still feel it, it isn't nearly as bad as it was this morning.

I feel pretty great now!  

Pre-run ensemble.  Bright orange tank, purple lululemon shorts (the Turbo are my FAVORITE but they don't sell the purple online) and bright yellow shoes - the new Hurricanes!

My after run fun.  Ice and elevation for my foot.  Gatorade and some protein powder.  Thumbs up for surviving!!

Blog on...........

Friendly skies

I love this picture. Taking off from the Salt Lake Airport has so many moods.  Today it was the sun peeking out from the clouds after a rain storm.  

I wish I knew how to make pictures more awesome on my blog.  These 4 pics are not changed, instagramed or touched up.   

Later, after we passed the mountains and leveled off at our flying altitude (usually around 20,000 feet) it was beautiful blue skies and billowy clouds.

My medic likes to sit up with the pilot.  You know what they say, if the medic is happy we are all happy.  Well, OK, they say it about the nurses.  That means I had the back to myself and I'm always good for a quick nap.  We obviously don't have a patient because that wouldn't be appropriate, safe or even smart.  

Parking ole Clifford next to the hangar.  He is newly painted and very red.  It's not a bad office though.  I have to say, I love my job. 

All of our gear shoved into the back of my medic Paul's truck.  Our work truck has been getting fixed and because of all the insurance and legal shizznatch the medical crew have to drive their cars and the pilots theirs.  We actually work for different companies and that is what we were told to do.  I don't ask, I just do.  It was raining so we had to get it all into his little back seat.  

Nothing much about running today.  These pictures are from yesterday.  I didn't actually do a patient transport but our plane is down is SLC and so we had to fly there and our pilot and plane took the OB (obstetrics) team to get a patient.  Paul and I sat in the hangar.   I napped, watched a movie or two and argued with Paul over who would get up to get the remote.  Not too glamorous, but we had to be there in case the other plane came back into service or we had a call right after our plane landed.  It's all logistics and gets complicated.  I do love my job but I haven't had a patient flight in 3 weeks worth of shifts.  Even with our plane being the only plane in service, I still didn't get a flight.  I love interacting with patients and family and miss it a lot.  It's normal to have slow times and I am grateful that I have an awesome job, can support my family, provide health insurance and have time to do stuff I love.

Grateful Friday??  Wait - its Saturday.  I am loosing my mind.  

After my last run I was worried about my foot and it's been doing GREAT!!  YEAH!  The new shoes feel awesome and the pain is not nearly as bad as it has been.  I know I trashed my foot during the half marathon. I am going to have to be very careful during the Ragnar so I can finish all 3 of my legs.  I run 6.6, 8.3 and then 7.8 for a total of 22.7 miles.  It's going to be a challenge but it's much easier to do it in increments then all at once.  My first Ragnar was 17 miles and I had a bum knee and had never run past 9.  I'm getting pretty excited, we leave next Thursday.

Off to do a long run today.  Just an easy 10 around the great city of Rock Springs.  I'll be here until Tuesday morning working 2 weeks worth of shifts and even an overtime!  

Blog on...........

Mid day run

What I really should call it is learning to procrastinate until it's noon and starting to get toasty outside.  

I have to confess a couple of things.  
1. I have weird sleeping problems.  
2. I have been deemed Lord Procrastinator.  (I know this because I procrastinated this post until I couldn't sleep)


It all started 9 years ago when I became a nurse and was working days and sometimes nights.  Last year I tried all nights and that helped a little except on my off nights I was sleeping from 4am until noon.  Then I became a flight nurse and things improved somewhat.  I'm certainly not up all night as regularly and as long as I was when I worked in the hospital but lets face it, people need critical transportation even at night. Couple that with not sleeping great when I'm on shift and having a good night sleep is just out of reach.  I know it's making me age faster, I can feel it.

Gone is the life when my eyes would get heavy around 10 and I'd shuffle to bed and sleep great until the early light.  I remember years ago getting up at 530am to do a power walk before my ex-husband left for work and the kids woke up.  I can still do that but the times are few and far between.  I can't really do THAT specific thing, with the kids being older and the ex-husband refusing to come to my house at that hour to get ready for work. rude!

Now I go back and forth from sleeping as little as 3 hours a night to sleeping like a rock for 14 hours a night coupled with a 3 hour nap.  It makes it difficult to plan for early morning runs.  What usually happens is the alarm goes off and I've only had a couple of hours sleep and I'm exhausted and stay asleep in bed.  

I have sleeping pills that I try to avoid or at least try to avoid taking every night.  I have tried to avoid TV and internet a couple of hours before bedtime and taking that time to read and relax but it doesn't make much of a difference.  

That leaves blogging at 6am after only about 4 hours of sleep and complaining.  I'm at work now, so I look forward to a good nap.  I usually have great naps at work.  It's encouraged so you don't have to tell my boss.  We are to rest and eat when we can because before you know it we could be on an 8 hour transport with neither of those.  

My run:

I drove to a great park that is close to downtown SLC.  It's flat and you have many options for running around it.  Concrete, black top, wood chip path or grass.  Its rectangular and around 1.4 miles around once.  There is an Aviary, pool, grass and pond with lots and lots of trees. There is also a couple of sets of restrooms and an ice cold drinking fountain.  I love it for speed work and like today, a chance to get 5 miles in while working on form, breaking in new shoes and trying not to trash my foot.  

Yes, yes and yes.  I ran 5 miles, I felt great about my form and my new shoes are heaven.  A lot lighter then previous stable running shoes that I've had and comfy.  I only had to correct myself a couple of times to look up and increase my cadence.  It did get pretty hot and I had to keep slowing myself down.  I still managed to hit under 8 min miles at some point in my split.  I know how important keeping it slow and keeping hydrated when it's hot but I still had to pull it back a couple of times.  I was starting to feel that headache come one.  Luckily it never completely blossomed. 

I would love to share my splits right here....
But unfortunately my Garmin is in the trunk of my car in Rock Springs and I am in Salt Lake at the AirMed Hanger.  My plane is flying to St. George with the OB team.  Yep, my job is all about the glamour.  

I remember that I ran an average of between 10:11 to 10:30 min/miles each mile.    


After I was done I changed my shoes and ran errands.  I can't say my foot didn't hurt at all but it was more of an ache.  I didn't get any pictures of my sweaty self in my most comfortable running outfit (Purple Sugoi shorts and white tank)  but I did get a picture of all the guilt food I bought my kids.  

I left last night for work (I work about 175 miles away from home and stay there for the duration of my shifts) to do an extra 12 hour shift for a sick call. I will be here for about 6 days.  My kids had to be home one night alone because my husband, who also works out of town a lot, is on the road for his job.  My kids at home are 17 and 19, so really, I shouldn't feel too guilty.  Plus my 24 year old is back in Salt Lake (he works in North Dakota - I'm sensing a theme here) and he said he would go check on them.  

I bought them plenty of treats so at least they wouldn't feel like they had to starve to death too.  Yes, wheat thins is a treat at our house.  I rarely buy crackers or chips. I eat a low carbohydrate diet with lots of fresh veggies and fruits and there is always plenty of that in the house. To a teenager that is not food.  Food to a teenager is a Hot Pocket.  My son was shocked and awed by my purchase of Oreo's.  Oh heck, why not.  Once in a while wasn't going to hurt anyone.  Plus there was this awesome sale at the grocery story if you buy 10 certain items throughout the store you get a smokin deal.  I refused to buy double stuff Oreo's though.  That is just gluttonous!! 

Here's to a day complete with an awesome nap!!

Blog on............

Just this side of lazy

Sunday night we went up to my friends property in the mountains and spent the night. Even my daughter went, which was a miracle!

We had an awesome time time with great weather.  We sat around a fire until it was dark and then Gary put a sheet up and we watched a great movie while sitting on comfy camping chairs and sipping a cocktail and eating his dutch oven peach cobbler.  Not bad eh??

In the morning, my husband broke out all his favorite camping gear and stove and made us a yummy egg breakfast.  What a wonderful time to get some fresh air!

In other exciting news:

TODAY I saw the UPS guy pull up to the house and I knew it was going to be AWESOME!!

My new stable Saucony Hurricane 14's.   I immediately took a picture and posted it on Instagram and Facebook and then slipped them on to check them out as I worked on some housework stuff.  Comfy as can be and although they didn't really match my jammie bottoms, I was willing to make that fashion mistake to have these bad boys on.

Speaking of running, I haven't ran since the race on Saturday.  Taking my time to really working on my foot by taking regular ibuprofen, stretching and elevating it.  I ice it about once a day and do some stretching.  I finally found a file that had enough grit to smooth out my insert (I had to use a rasp!) and right away it felt a little better.  I can't really go without running until the Ragnar, so I'm going to get up and while it's cool put in a 5 miler'ish and then on Saturday I'll get a long run in.  My first Ragnar I did with a bum knee and not a lot of training.  I didn't break any records but I feel pretty confident I can give the team 10 min/miles average this time even with a big let up on training the last two weeks.  It's slow down time anyway!

But don't worry, I've been sweating.  I have taken a couple of core Pilate's classes this week and I have to say, ouch.  It's amazing how my core muscles are so sore sometimes.  But I love doing it because I can definitely see the improvement.  

Next week I leave for San Francisco for the Napa Ragnar!!  I am very excited!  I am the captain of this team that we call, "12 deadly Zins".  I don't know if this happens to everyone, but I'll get 10 people to talk me into being captain and then only about 6 can commit.  I don't know if it's the cost or the time.  I try to be upfront about the cost, especially with being from out of town and having to drive, hotels, etc.  I was lucky to have found enough people to fill the spots and I look forward to meeting them and making new friends from around the country.  They all seem to be kind, compassionate and hilarious.  We are in it for the experience and the medals!

I'll definitely keep posted on that one!

Blog on.................

Recap: Salt Lake Half Marathon Relay

Pre race.  Feeling strong.  Me, Nicole and Tera are running the relay and Jason was running the full half marathon.

I took the first leg and it was 4 miles up, up and up.  We have run it a few times (Jason, Tera and I) so we could get a feel for it.  I knew what I was in for and I was pleased with my speed considering I'm a crappy hill runner.  

Coming up the hill looking strong.  As soon as I high five Tera, she took off and apparently I was going to walk into the mountain.  All that form I was working on all the way up just vanished as soon as I finished.  It was a great run and I was exhausted!!  

We must have done something right because we took 3rd in the women's relay.  I averaged 11 min/mile and Tera averaged less then 9 min/mile (she was ALL downhill) and Nicole, we figured averaged about a 10 min/mile.  We aren't a fast team but it was a great time and we had matching leg sleeves!

Mmmmm  Delicious 

Oh how we love a medal!  These were etched glass.  I've got to get me a medal holder!

During my run I was really trying to put the things that I have learned about form to work.  When my cadence was fast and my form was good my foot didn't even hurt.  I feel great knowing that I'm finding the tools and information I need to work out this injury.  Podiatrist and physical therapist are great and they give great advice and feedback but in the end I have to take responsibility for my running and my body.  

Off to spend a night in the mountains.  Hope there isn't any rain or flash flooding!

Eeekk

Blog on..............