sore legs, happy feet

Posted on January 25, 2012 by melinda

I am tired. And happy.

Today was a busy day. I spent a large chunk of the day volunteering at church- longer than I’d intended but it was worth it. I got a LOT of work done and was just very productive.

I got home around 4:15, and had just enough time to run. The weather was beautiful (47 degrees Fahrenheit when I started, 43 when I finished) and I finished 5 miles before the sun set.

I forgot to look at my watch before I left, but this was a SOLID run. My time is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1:00 or 1:05.

Last week it was cold and I ran. This week it is warm(er) and I ran.

I kinda love the person running has made me.

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Serious injuries triple for headphone-wearing pedestrians

Posted on January 17, 2012 by melinda

I’m not a trail runner, and I often listen to my mp3 player while running, so I suppose I would qualify as one of these “pedestrians”.

But, I think it’s important to recognize the benefit before we count the cost. Listening to headphones slightly increases my risk of injury- that’s the cost. However, listening to headphones gets me outside, exercising, and getting healthier- and that’s a HUGE benefit.

Serious injuries triple for headphone-wearing pedestrians | Fox News.

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three toasty miles

Posted on January 16, 2012 by melinda

I ran 3.05 miles in 36 minutes today.

That’s an 11:48 pace. :)

Also, it was a toasty 56 degrees Fahrenheit when I ran. I wore a tank top and shorts, and wasn’t cold at all!

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7 miles

Posted on January 14, 2012 by melinda

I am tired with a capital T. But that’s ok.

This week has been perhaps the closest I’ve come thus far to “injured”. I was unbelievably sore after the running of the week before. Thankfully this wasn’t a real injury, but it was definitely enough to keep me off my feet for awhile. Since the worst of the soreness was in my back, I couldn’t escape it.

Then last Wednesday I was struck with a very bad case of… *ahem*… lady cramps. Between the exercise-soreness and the cramps, suffice it to say I did not make it out to run.

Today, though, I more than made up for it. Earlier today, I took my dad out for a walk. He is not a runner, and often I don’t think he really wants to exercise at all, but I know it is good for him and constantly push him to take care of himself.  I only managed to drag him 2 miles, and it felt like 2 very slow miles. I managed to push him to do 30 seconds running/90 seconds walking for a majority of the walk.

I still wanted to push myself, so I ran 5 miles afterward. This was a fantastic run… I definitely pushed myself. The only time when I wavered was around mile 3.5 or mile 4, when I had to go up a pretty steep hill. Nonetheless, it was a solid run and I definitely feel like I’m back on track!

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men, women, and running

Posted on January 10, 2012 by melinda


Running Music for a better running experience!

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backaches and rest days

Posted on January 10, 2012 by melinda

This morning’s yoga class was good. Tonight, though, I’m irritated. Not because of the yoga class. More like the irony.

Honestly, I’ve been doing well at working out, challenging myself, REGULARLY, in the past week or so. I’ve been running, not surprisingly, and I’m really, really proud of myself for getting myself out there.

It’s momentum, and it’s working.

Yesterday evening, I felt a little twinge in the center of my lower back. I didn’t think much of it- not like I was ignoring pain, but it really was just hardly noticeable. Today after yoga, though, it was more noticeable. It’s still not much, but it’s enough of an ache that I was more comfortable after taking an Ibuprofen.

It’s not a really terrible amount of pain- more annoying than troublesome. It’s like soreness- feels fine when I’m sitting/laying down/not moving, only hurts when I bend over or otherwise engage that muscle. I suppose I would describe this as a “pre-injury” pain… the kind of alert from your body that lets you know you need to take it easy to avoid a serious injury.

Anyway. The irony is that I believe all my good hard work and momentum is forcing me to take a day off tomorrow. Like I said, it’s a “pre-injury” pain, and of course I don’t want to push myself to an injury. So frustrating- all this good hard work, and then this.

Oh well. It’s just as well, I suppose… I am getting a new recliner delivered tomorrow, and they called to say that they would deliver it between 11 and 1. (Naturally- smack in the middle of the day!!) I am also going to be volunteering at my church tomorrow afternoon. So, it’s probably just as well that I’m taking the day off. Even though I’m frustrated by it!!

(By the way, it’s pretty wild that I am now actually disappointed and frustrated by NOT running… wow!)

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Frontier Airlines goes tri

Posted on January 7, 2012 by melinda

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timer intervals

Posted on January 5, 2012 by melinda

This morning I ran 5 miles. And it was good.

I’ve been fighting a bit of “running malaise”, and I wanted to find something to add a bit of spice back into my runs. I dug an old Gymboss timer out of a drawer and set it to 2:1 intervals: 2 minutes of running hard, 1 minute of rest.

I honestly struggled a bit to push myself out the door to run. I was feeling lazy. But I did, and I took the timer with me. I did a very easy warmup- maybe four or five minutes- then started the timer and, for the next hour or so, I did the best I could to run hard during my run times and walk or run easy during the rest times.

Without the timer, like many other runners I’m sure, I have a tendency to run easy on the hard parts (i.e. uphill) and to run hard on the easy parts (i.e. downhill). This isn’t entirely bad, but it’s also important to run hard on the hard parts so that I can build those muscles.

So, this was a tough five miles! I really had to push myself. At the same time, I ran uphill, hard, on hills I would not have run before. My legs are still tired, but it is a very good tired. I like that.

I also saw a lot of neat birds today. Cardinals, bluebirds, sparrows, robins… must be this warm weather! (our temperature peaked around 65 degrees farenheit today!!)

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running and neighbors

Posted on January 2, 2012 by melinda

I came to an interesting realization today…

Running is good for you. Ask any runner, and they will probably be able to name at least two or three of the positive ways running has impacted their life. It’s an accomplishment, it makes me healthier, it makes me stronger, and so forth.

Today I added another item to my list. Running brings me closer to my community.

Since I’ve begun running, naturally I’ve begun exploring my neighborhood. I’ve figured out the distances of certain streets and gained a surprisingly intimate knowledge of the hills near my home. But my familiarity is even beyond that…

Over the weekend, I ran a familiar 3.1-mile route around my neighborhood. A neighbor who lives along this route was in his yard with his dog, a very sweet and well-behaved Schnauzer. I met him shortly after I began running, and I’ve seen him several times since.

I realized today that it’s not just “Nice Old Man with Schnauzer”, as I’ve come to think of him. I know a lot more about my neighborhood today. There are other people I’ve gotten to know. I can tell you a surprising amount about the dogs in my neighborhood. I’ve even become familiar with all the homes in my neighborhood that are a unique color or have unique architecture. All because I run.

Has running brought you closer to your neighbors? How?

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2011: year in review

Posted on December 31, 2011 by melinda

2011 has been a good year for me. Scratch that- it’s been a GREAT year!

I began getting fit in 2010, and in the last few months of that year, I ran a 4-mile, 5k, and 10k race.

In April of 2011, I ran the Rock the Parkway half marathon. It was my first half marathon, and I finished. It’s still just as wonderful today as it was when I crossed the finish line.

In June of 2011, I ran the Hospital Hill half marathon. This race had the “triple threat”: heat, humidity, and hills. It was hard. Finishing this race was a great accomplishment, in an entirely different way than RTP.

In July of 2011, I ran the Rock the Crossroads 5k. This still reins as the strangest 5k I’ve ever run. Before the race, many runners were drinking and smoking. I think many of them continued drinking and smoking after the race, though I didn’t stick around to find out. It was odd, to say the least.

In September of 2011, I ran the Kansas City Zoo 4-mile race. This was the first race I ran a second time, so that was fun. Plus the zoo was fun.

After that race, I decided I would not run any more races this year so that I could save money for my 2012 races. I have continued training, running several times a week and cross training when I can. My life is so good.

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