Good intentions

Not a great run this morning. I got in about 1.5 miles and then my legs started tightening up and my knee was feeling a bit weird. So, I headed home and stretched for 30 minutes. I really think it's because it is first thing in the morning and just hard for my legs to get moving immediately. I do stretch them out before (and during) my run. But sometimes, they are just not cooperative. I refuse to get bummed out about this morning's attempt.

Temp was 45 altho it felt quite a bit colder. Wind was a challenge too. I had put on some layers and even dug out my winter running hat. Weird since I ran Monday in shorts and a t-shirt.

Saw a police officer driving through the neighborhood. Just a little friendly early morning patrol. Guess he didn't mistake me for a home invader since he kept driving.

Interesting fact about this weekend's Final Four:

Pick a shade, any shade. Carolina blue, or Kansas blue? UCLA blue, or Memphis blue? (Relax, Tiger fans: At least nobody will be wearing orange.)

GO TIGERS!

And, it's baseball time. Yesterday was opening day (actually delayed a day for rain) for the Yankees and my boyfriend Derek Jeter. He went 1 for 4. Glad the season has started and he'll be making regular appearances again on ESPN. I heart him.

I am a slug

First, GO TIGERS!! Tough first half - I was nervous - and we even trailed at half-time. Houston wanted it bad, but the Tigers pulled it out during the 2nd half. The first few minutes of the 2nd half were beyond awesome. Big test ahead this Saturday against UAB on the road. Crowd will be hostile and a sell-out I'm sure. GO TIGERS!!!

Slugs only have one foot and they do not move at an astonishing speed. In fact, they only move at a meagre 0.025 miles per hour. That's one mile per 1.6 days. The slug would be descriptive of me today. What an off day I had. I was supposed to RUN for FOUR miles. I ended up WALKING for TWO miles. Slug. My body just said "No way" this morning. Honestly, I just could not run. Normally when the alarm goes off, I'm able to get up and get moving pretty quickly. I do love early mornings. But today just wasn't like that. The alarm went off and I was so tired. I felt completely wiped out. I had good intentions of running the entire distance. But nothing from my knees down was working. At all. It just wouldn't happen. So now I am trying to decide if I should put in 2 miles tonight to get my 4 miles in or just take the remainder of the day off to rest. My head says add the 2 miles. My legs say no thank you. I am discouraged this morning, but determined to press on. At this rate, me and the slug are running at about the same pace. It should take me 41.6 days to complete the marathon.

Calm after the storm

I hope everybody is ok after last night's major storms and tornadoes. The kids and the dog spent about an hour in the closet. There were a few times I had them "assume the position" when I heard some streets mentioned on TV that were less than 1 mile from my house. At one point, I went outside and I heard a train. And I started to freak out because everybody says that a tornado coming sounds like a train. But then I heard the train whistle and realized it was a real train. Whew. But the storms were major and there was loss of life and property right here in Memphis. It was scary. I took this picture on my patio looking south. Not sure what it was, but I didn't like the looks of it.



I think even Dave Brown was a bit rattled when they said the National Weather Service had issued a "tornado emergency". I looked that up on Wikipedia (love me some Wiki). Check this out: "A tornado emergency is issued by the National Weather Service when a large, violent tornado is expected to impact a populated area. Since its inception in 1999, the Tornado Emergency text has only been used on ten occasions, and until February 5, 2008, no more than one per day. During the Super Tuesday Tornado Outbreak of 2008, four Tornado Emergencies were issued in Tenneseee." That's pretty major. It was a bit scary, but we all made it ok and I'm thankful for that. I am, however, still missing a patio chair...

Now to the topic at hand. This morning was very pleasant and a lovely morning for a walk. And that's just what I did. Walked. All stinking 3 miles. My calves were so tight when I tried to run that they felt like they would snap in two. Bad enough that I just didn't think "pushing through the pain" was a good idea. So I walked it. I'm trying not to beat myself up about this. I know I have to listen to my body and I certainly don't want to really injure myself and be in major trouble. So, I will look at the positive side and be ok with the fact that there was "continuous movement" (that's what the coaches encourage). I'm sure part of the problem is that I get up and stretch and then go run (or try to) first thing. But it would probably be more helpful if I had more time to really warm up and let my muscles wake up, etc. Because now, 2 hours later, I'm feeling ok and I'm a little ticked about that. Maybe I can get the runs in later at night after homework, bath, bed, etc. Not sure how that would work. In the meantime, more ice, Advil and lots more stretches.

Progress made:
My fundraising total is $1,376! WOO-HOO! Thanks everybody!

Less than ideal

Boy was it cold out there this morning. Twenty-five degrees. I dodged remnants of last night's wind storm - garbage cans, basketball goals, shingles...

Today was a tough one. My shins were really giving me some fits. I walked quite a bit, but still put in the 3 miles. I was accompanied this morning with some nice musical selections from Lenny Kravitz, The Foo Fighters, and Prince. I iced my shins when I got back inside and that has helped a lot. From what I've read, shin splints are common among beginning runners. I have been researching some stretches that I hope will help me out. I need to get some help from somebody down in PT today. In the meantime, Advil and ice are my friends.

I'm just disappointed with today's effort. But I guess that happens sometimes...

In the fundraising arena, my total is now $775. I'm excited about that. I'm so appreciative of the support that everyone has given me. Was particularly touched by a gift from a friend of my dad's cousin (who I've never even met) and also a gift from a friend of my parents who lost her husband to leukemia just a few weeks ago.

Progress made:
Doing well with my fundraising.

Lessons learned:
Not every run can be perfect.
Do not try to run on treadmill during sporadic power outage. Did that last night while I was working on my iPod. Not smart.

Need to work on:
Getting this shin pain under control
Nike+iPod was a bit better, but needs a bit more attention in the callibration department