Of Sweat and Tears

I decided to go for a run today, no matter what.  I needed this completely, for my soul.
I'm tired, I'm mentally down, I'm hurt, I'm sore, I'm just blah.. a run is so needed.
So I went out for a three mile lunch run and came in after five miles.
I preemptively iced the knee just in case.  It does ache just a bit, but not bad.  Maybe I'm back?
Oh my aching body!  the muscles sure aren't used to being used like this. 
Push-ups are out  of the question with my shoulder injury, so I have been doing planks to strengthen my core. 

Any run is better than a day at work!

Ready, Set, Splat!

After a summer of extreme setback, betting back to running would be a dream come true.
There is an upside of starting over, it is easier to correct or modify running form concerns. 
Upon listening to past podcast of The Marathon Show I heard Joe Taricani's guest Richard Diaz of The Natural Running Network talk about heart rate training, aerobic training and form.

My next 3 runs were with what I imagined, much better form.  Oh wow, what a workout.  My arm swing is much improved.  The new form is working the muscles in my back differently which is hard on the muscles hurt during the horse injury.  This injury just keeps on giving back!

A three mile run is much harder than 6 miles before the reform rehash.  The benefits, the new arm swing opens up my lungs, I'm a whole minute per mile faster without any at the same exertion level.  I'm very happy with the improvements, but it  will take some training to strengthen those muscles.

Last Saturday I hyper-extended my left knee.  OUCH!!  Now I'm back to not running.  One mile on soft dirt left me sore.  I'm getting concerned about my fall/winter running plans and the races entered. 

To try and explain this arm swing:  Consider watching an old western movie where their is a gun fight.  You are reaching back to pull the gun from a holster just below your waist.  The arm bend, the swing, everything is in that arc.  There is no crossing the arms on the body or even drawing them close to crossing the mid-line of the body.  All movement is forward, no side to side.  It is a new form.  It really works the muscles over the shoulder blade, but one's chest is completely opened up. 

I'm going to hang out at a race this weekend.  I'm hoping that maybe next week I can ease back into running.  Wish me luck. 

Out of Love With Social Media

I have been considering friendships.

I have running friends, horsey friends, work friends, food friends, church friends.  I don't have friends that blanket all of these areas.  Does anyone?

I think maybe we are knowing too much about each other because of social media.  There are just some things I don't want or need to know.

Chris hates the idea of social media.  August is our anniversary month.  So as a gift to him, and as an experiment I'm off Facebook for the month of August.  I deactivated my account on Aug 1st in the evening.  I logged back on yesterday for a few hours to gather information I needed in private emails.  OMGosh, the hateful posts against people that disagree was just overwhelming in the few hours that I was on.  I was very happy to deactivate again, and go take a shower.

Day 1:  more reading
Day 2: nap
Day 3: realizing how hateful some people really are with a few moments back on facebook
Day4: feeling very clean being disconnected

I use social media as a tool for racing and running activities.  I need to figure out how to get that from facebook without knowing and examining the throw-up of everyone online.
I love seeing my children/grandchildren pictures.  

 So lessons I would like to learn by the end of Aug:
1. Manage online time, if its not productive cut it off and read a book.
2. Limit information received by me by my contacts.  I don't need to or want to know everything.  I don't need the stress of people I know throwing up information that makes it hard to respect them.

16.25 miles

Today was my longest mileage since horse mishap.
16.25 miles in two sessions.  10 miles run/walk/run, the rest of it was walking.

It feels good to move, to sweat and to achieve.  It is frustrating to be in pain, not working, not able to run.  I'm going to battle my way back! 

Happy Running!

Time to start training!

Time to start training, UGH, its hot outside!!! 

No weight lost over the summer, but none gained.

Feeling fat, slow, and depressed.

Live goes on,

Planning for the remainer of 2012

Full mOOn 50K             14 July 2012             volunteer
White River 4 Miler        04 Aug 2012
Watermelon 5K            11 Aug 2012            only if needed for the Dirty Girls Team
Mt Nebo                      25 Aug 2012            if can't run than volunteer
The Ark 5K Classic         01 Sep 2012            If needed for Dirty Girls
Sara Low 5K                08 Sep 2012            If needed for Dirty Girls
Bartlett Park Ultras        22 Sep 2012
AT100                        06 Oct 2012            Pumpkin Patch Aid Station
Styx n'Stones 30K        28 Oct 2012
Bona Dea 50K              10 Nov 2012
Spa City 10K                17 Nov 2012
Sunset 6/12/24 hr        23 - 24 Nov 2012
LoVit Trail Marathon      08 Dec 2012
End Of The World Mar  21 Dec 2012
Day After End Mar        22 Dec 2012

I'm thinking there is muscle damage.

Last week I spent several hours fixing up a flower bed.

The next day a 4 mile rain run was used for worship!!

I'm still so sore I  can hardly move.  I had my last doctor visit and x-ray.  My bones are in great shape, so why this pain clear around my whole shoulder.  I think there may be soft tissue damage.  I'm not going to have that checked out right now.  We will just work and wait for it to heal.

Life of a frustrated runner!!  LOL

What do you do to deal with non-running frustration?