need shoes

I think I need new shoes. I got the pair that I'm wearing about four months ago, a few weeks before the Bolder Boulder, so they have about 300 miles on them.** I think they might have a few miles left in them if a) I was 30 pounds lighter or b) the shoes weren't flats without a lot of padding in them to start with. But as it is, I felt a twinge in my left foot while on the treadmill tonight, and I really can't figure out why else that might be happening. It's like that old Nike ad in reverse - it's gotta be the shoes, right? Right? 'cause I can't handle an injury on top of everything else.

I've really enjoyed these shoes, even though they're flats and I expected to have a hard time adjusting to them. I can tell you that my knee hasn't been clicking and grinding like it used to when I wear these shoes, and I haven't had the pain under the kneecap like I did for, oh, the last three years. Of course, July and August were pretty low-mileage months with all the trauma and drama going on around here, so that might have contributed to the pain-free knee, too. Except that June was a 100-mile month, with the June challenge and all, and even when I hit a 29-mile week, which I don't do unless I'm in major marathon training mode, I didn't have any pain anywhere, especially not in my foot.

The thing is, I tried to order the shoes a couple of weeks ago. Went right back out to Zappos.com and looked them up, ready to just hit "Buy" and then wait for the magic UPS guy a few days later. But the Sauconys that I am wearing, that have been really good for my knee, that are a nice non-girly aqua blue, are out of stock in my size. Because they run small, so "my size" is an Amazonian size 11 (Hey, perhaps I should try Amazon.com...). And I told them to send me an email when they get them back in stock in my size, but haven't heard from them yet. But we may have to get drastic here, if there is pain involved. I need to cut that sh!t off at the pass and make it stop. There are a couple of other health issues going on right now, that thankfully are being addressed (girl issues, if you must know, and we'll leave it at that), but that may have me out of commission for a couple of days in the next few weeks. Shouldn't be too major, though, not like a foot injury might be, or could be, if I don't cut that sh!t off and quick.

So, I need to shop around some more and see if I can find another outlet with the Saucony Kilkennys, and I might have to resort to the fugly red and black models, or heaven forfend the pink ones. Bleagh. We've already tried the pink shoes this year, and I'd rather not do that again, actually. oooh, look, they're in YELLOW!!! But only in size 9, dangit. Nothing for bigfoot betty here. Sigh.

anyway, I guess I best log off and start shoe shopping. Need to get this under control, and the sooner the better. And, I get to go home tomorrow, too, so I'm needing to get to bed so tomorrow will come sooner!!

**NOTE: I actually verified the anal-retentive running log and they have 323.2 miles on them.

back in the groove

ran at the hotel today, nothing spectacular. Just a few miles of hills. it was crazy-humid, even in the AC - by the time I was halfway done, I felt like I'd been hanging out in the sauna instead of on the treadmill. Plan is to do another four-five tomorrow after my training session, and then maybe get a couple in on the morning Friday before the last full day of sessions. Then Saturday is SWAT, of course, unless the weather is uncooperative again.

Sunday will be a long run, as I have decided that the first "comeback" race will be the White Rock Half Marathon in December. I've done the full three times there, but never the half, and the route was re-done last year to include the Katy Trail, so it should be a nice event. I know I can handle the distance, and there is enough time before then (about eleven-twelve weeks) to ramp up the mileage from my current long run of 5-6 miles safely and even maybe focus on some speedwork. And I should be able to still resume the Shaun T Insanity workouts once I get back to the regular routine after this week's travel, too, so hopefully I'll see some benefits to that along the way, too.

The hope is that by getting ready for a half in December I'll be in good shape to transition the training to a late spring full. I still really want to do Oklahoma City, so I'm going to keep that one in my sights. I can't really commit to it just yet, though, until I get a few more months of this work-from-home thing and know exactly what my "free" time will look like. I love the idea of doing the Love the Half challenge again, but I need to stretch beyond that comfort zone, so I think I'm going to aim for the full instead.

anyhoo, I've got a few more small projects to wrap up tonight here at the hotel before tucking in for the night, so I need to boogie, but I did want to update with both the ORN and the new goal. Carry on!!

Reboot

I'm in serious need of a reboot right now. And watching all the excitement over the athletes who are toeing the line at IM Wisconsin tomorrow is making me wistful for the path I was on ages ago, and making me wonder when it's all going to come together for me. I know I consciously put my Iron aspirations on hold a few months ago (yeah, considering I've only got two sprints under my belt, a couple of seasons ago at that, they are definitely far down the road for me), but I need to start working my way back to where I can move toward that goal again. Right now, I'm not even facing the right direction.

I know I just need to start again, and get in the pool, and get back on the bicycle, and for good gravy's sake, just go out for a run more than once a week. But it's harder than I thought it would be now that I'm home again. There is so much that I have to catch up on, that I have to fix, that has been neglected for so long while I was out being Ms. Road Warrior. I'm taking care of a few health issues that have reared their head again, and trying to figure out if they've been the cause of my weight battles, or at least a contributing factor. I'm trying to get the boys set in some semblance of a schedule and figure out what "normal" means to us now. And I need to not be so worried about the end game and the long-term goal, but just worry about today, this week, this month. And I'm trying really hard not to get discouraged when only two pairs of my jeans button properly, and when the drawers full of clothes I wore my first few marathon seasons won't even slide up past my hips anymore. I need to just get out there and do it. Shut the f$#@$ up and run, for goodness' sake. Just do it. All that.

But it's hard. And when someone asked me today if I was doing a 5K in Dallas next weekend, I had to say no, I'm not really running right now. I'm not training for anything at the moment. Not that I can't do a 5K, I can, but I'm just not feeling it. I'm not feeling anything right now as far as setting goals for myself with races or tris or anything, except maybe I'm feeling overwhelmed. And this is worse that when I was just starting out, because I feel like I should be able to do a half-mary without too much effort, or I should be able to do a late fall marathon or a spring full, but I know right now that I can't. Because I'm just not there. And I need to get over it, and get over feeling bad that I can't do it, and instead get my butt in gear so that I can get there, get myself to where I can do it.

I need a reboot.

I'll be glued to the web tomorrow afternoon, watching the finish line at IM Wisconsin. I'll be wishing all the athletes godspeed and safety and that tomorrow is their day. And I'll use it as a chance to reboot, and re-energize, and re-commit. One day, my Iron friends, one day, I WILL be there with you. I can't tell you exactly when it will happen for me, but I haven't given up on it. It's not a matter of IF I do Ironman, it's a matter of WHEN. There's a ton of work to do before then, but I've got to start, to REstart, sometime. And there's no time like the present. Now is when I turn around and start moving in that direction again. Now is when I reboot.

sluggy

haven't worked out (at all) in four days now. And the running is non-existent in more than a week. Feeling like a little salt on me would make me dissolve into a gooey mess (not too far away from a gooey mess as it is). A combination of crazy allergy attack Friday night/Saturday/Sunday, the hockey tourney, and ensuing collateral damage have sucked the wind out of my motivation.

Will need to restart Shaun T's Insanity at week 1. Just when I was getting the hang of those suicides. It's going to hurt all over again. Hell, damn, crap. Sigh.

Clavicle Redux

So, at the end of the season last summer, Elder Child had a bit of a run-in with the boards, resulting in a broken collarbone and about six weeks off the ice. He managed to make it through the summer season this year without any injuries, and worked his butt off all spring to make it onto the Dallas Stars Selects travel team. He didn't get to go to hockey camp in Michigan as planned because of his grandma's funeral, so that was a bummer, but we got through it.

He's playing with a coach he's had before, who's a great motivator, a good instructor and a good friend, too. He's played with many kids that he's been on teams with in the past, and he was really looking forward to a great year. The start of the season was kicked off by a tournament this weekend, so they were fired up and ready. Unfortunately, they lost their first game, even though they played well and seemed to be clicking as a team. And the second game was Saturday night. My brother and his family were in town for a wedding, so they had a chance to come out to the rink for the game, too. We settled into the stands and were getting into a great game when it happened. Again. Yep, slammed into the boards, just like last year. Slow to get up, just like last year. Not getting back onto the ice, yep, just like last year. Maybe it's just a stinger... maybe he just got the wind knocked out of him... Nope, it's broken again. Crap.

A couple of hours at the ER and a few x-rays later, it was confirmed. Same exact spot as last year, but this time it's bent a little more. And of course, because it's a holiday weekend, we have to wait until Tuesday morning for the visit to the orthopedist to see if he needs to have a pin put in or if we just let it heal on its own. Yay.

The good news? The boys rallied to win the rest of their games this weekend, and ended up winning the Bantam A championship. The Boy got to sit on the bench in his jersey and helmet and cheer the team on in the last two games and got his medal, too. It's going to be a great year, it will be. We just have to wait 6-8 weeks before we can fully participate again.

At least I didn't cry

er, um, at least I didn't cry as much during the first workout as I did when we did the fit test... There were some points in last night's Cardio Plyometrics that I spent face down, flat on the floor, working up the energy to do one more set of 4 pushups, 4 counts of running in plank position, then hopping up to a full stand. My lungs were burning, my heart pounding, and every muscle in my thighs (hammies, quads and all those little ones along the inside of the thighs) were trembling. It was awesome!

Currently waiting for the husband to return from morning car line so we can do the next video. Can't do it tonight since there is hockey, so we have to do it before the day gets started (before the soreness from last night sets in) or it won't happen.