On a Roll with Honor Roll

Last night, I was really torn on whether to run/yoga or take a rest day.  This had actually been on my mind through out the day.  I WANTED to run and then do yoga, but was very aware that my legs (especially my thighs) were really, really sore. I couldn’t see where I would make it through half of the PeoplesYoga Beginner 1 class, let alone all of it!  I alsocouldn't see if it would actually be beneficial to do it,  But I am getting ahead of myself..

[caption id="attachment_1758" align="aligncenter" width="478"] screen shot from peoplesyoga.com[/caption]

From a background stand-point, I think many of the 3 of you were reading this blog back in the July - Sept range, when I started a new job in a new state, and then was (finally!) joined by my family 2 months later.  This of course meant - not only a new job for me, but also that my kids were switching schools.

[caption id="attachment_1762" align="alignleft" width="300"] Their new school[/caption]

They started the school year at Horace Mann Elementary in Binghamton, NY and attended there for 2 entire weeks (you can imagine they weren't paying all that much attention for two weeks...)  A quick weekend move on the 15th of September, one day off as we got them registered and then off to Crofton Meadows Elementary in Crofton, Maryland.  Since Maryland schools start before NY, they were a bit behind.  Combine that with moving  from an "inner-city" school to a National Blue Ribbon school, and I am sure you can see where they might have had some catching up to do.  This was compounded for my son by a 5 day hospital stay as well (As if there wasn't enough working against them already!)

Needless to say, this first quarter was more than a bit rough on the kids.  When you add in a two-week attempt of doing no homework by my son (and hiding all evidence from us - such as notes from the teacher) you can imagine what our expectations were for report cards.



Sometimes life hands you pleasant surprises instead of the "knock-your-teeth-out" kind... :)


Seriously? With everything that went on this quarter - they both pulled Honor Roll? WTF??? I have GOT to have two of the most Amazing Kids (and yes, I capitalized that on purpose) ANYWHERE!!!!

After posting these to Facebook (Remember, nothing really happens unless it is posted to Facebook,) gushing over how amazing the kids are - to the kids (never forget to tell how awesome people are TO the awesome people!) - we HAD to go celebrate!


Since this was their celebration, it only made sense that the kids picked the celebration location and it seemed that big ice cream was in order.  We ended up at Cold Stone Creamery, and while we hadn't been to the local one, these two were very familiar with it from Binghamton, NY. So, two peppermint celebration "I Like It" size ice creams later, you can see our two very happy children with my lovely wife!

So how is this pertinent to my wanting to run, and deciding whether or not to take a rest day?  Well, after half of a cold stone Creamery ice cream (mine is the one in the picture with no one currently eating it), I certainly needed to exercise!  I was after all 98 calories over my daily limit (seriously... After eating Ice cream I was only 98 calories over.. I thought that was remarkable as well!)  I knew how sore my legs were, yet I still was set to go run on the treadmill due to being over-calorie.  (My wife thought I was foolish and couldn't wait to hear if I had managed to keep the ice cream down after running.)   My son? I think he may have saved me.

[caption id="attachment_1714" align="alignright" width="320"] Not Just for Dad's anymore[/caption]

"Dad, When we get home, can I run on your treadmill to burn off some of the energy that the ice cream is going to give me?"

So home we went, and I showed him how to use the new-to-me treadmill. He wanted to start our running, but I suggested a walk so he could get used to it.  So last night he did a fast walk , while watching TV - and stuck it out for an hour!  I may have a chance at turning him into a runner yet!

Thanks to my son, my choice was  made and yesterday was (Wisely) a day of rest.  I know that tonight, when I do two miles followed by Yoga - my muscles will be much happier since they were given a day to recuperate! !  I am not sure if I am interested in doing it the same time as my wife though (and I think she returns the thought.)  I suspect I would feel a bit awkward doing it the same time as her - I'm not comfortable in the poses, and I remain as flexible as a board.  Have any of you worked out with your spouse/girl-boy friend? (I mean when you were both OUT of shape, not two athletes working out together!)  How did it go?  Any advice if we do?

In regards to the Kids? I think they are adapting well and are on-a-roll (see what I did there?) toward a much better life than we had in NY.  I know my wife and I are as well!

(Unrelated side note.. One of the "recommended tags" for this post - is "Barack Obama" - how did they come up with THAT one?)

What's the point?

Originally I started this blog as a way to keep track of my running, and to give me a place to review and summarize what was going on.  In that time I gained 3 or 4 followers that occasionally read my posts - and it would make me feel like I had to keep a very direct focus on running.



The problem is, I don't always have much to say about running.  As an example, Right now I am running 2 miles on a treadmill when I run.  How many different ways could I say that?
- Did two miles today on the old treadmill...
- Ran on the treadmill today, two miles!
- The Belt on the Treadmill goes round and round... For two miles!

Ok.. seriously?  Not really a terribly interesting post.. Especially if I am saying it over and over every day.

The last two weeks summarized in one post...

So, I've been quiet for a couple of weeks.  Let me reassure you, this is not because I went back to not exercising... Well, not for much of the two weeks.

It started because our best friends came down from NY and spent a long weekend with us.

Still able to walk down stairs!

It sounds like such a simple thing!

Yesterday, I could feel my plantar faciitis bothering me still, but the pain was much, much lower than the previous two.  This of course meant I was game to try running again.  I hopped on to the treadmill, put my earphones in and started up Battlestar Galactica on the tablet (it seems that the Vice President is going to run against President Roslin, and congrats to Commander Adama!)   Trying to focus on "Doing things right" - I started out with a walk for half a mile to get everything warmed up and funcytoning like it should.  Then a nice 3 mile run at an easy 9:22 pace, followed by a 1/2 mile cool down.

Calf stretches.. Hamstring stretches, Achilles stretch and last but not least the ever popular stretch of the Plantar Faciitis.

Of course, the question I was curious about - was how was I going to feel this morning?  I woke up (Always a great start to the day in my opinion), and didn't feel any significant pain - just the usual in my P.F. and  a wee bit of noise from my leg muscles letting me know I had run yesterday.  Got up - could walk fine... The stairs? NO PROBLEM!!!

Now... I have no idea HOW I ran last night.. I wasn't paying attention to my foot strikes, I was paying attention to the TV.  Don't know if I was fore foot striking, Midfoot Striking or heel striking.  Not sure how I forgot to pay attention to that... I'm also not sure if it is good or bad that I forgot...

Ah well, we will see what happens tonight!

And on the 7th (and 8th) day, he rested..

It seemed an obvious move to take the day I could barely move my calves as a rest day.  The following day, it seems that tightness had moved down my ankle and into my foot.  My Plantar Faciitis was REALLY letting me know it was there yesterday!  No biggie, I took my Aleve, massaged it and rested for another day.

Today? It feels good! (insert James Brown as background music here)  I will hop on the old treadmill tonight, and do a nice slow 2 or 3 miles while watching my Battlestar Galactica. Only 40 or so more episodes to go!)  I have missed running for the last two days, and even the sleeve of thin mints I ate didn't help.  (actually, it made me more aware I didn't run. But boy are thin mints yummy!)  I have foregone the Aleve today (though forgot would be a better word than forgone..) but have my foot support on instead.

A week from tomorrow I will be doing a nice and easy 5k!  My first "race" since the Corporate Challenge, but I really don't plan on any "Racing".  It is going to be a nice run through the woods on a beautiful thanksgiving day!

Posting from a tablet about a to-sore-to-run rest day

I will admit that I had thought I was being careful, but did have my doubts that I was.  Even while limiting myself to 2 1/2 miles, I have had consistently sore muscles.  Already getting close to an  eight minute mile might be the reason.  For the last two days on my treadmill, I have pushed my distance up just a we bit. 

This morning, I got out of bed and headed down stairs......and almost fell flat on my face. It seems that my poor calf muscles were as tight as could be!  I suppose that running longer, and doing so in the evening instead of the morning can  cause some unforeseen side effects!  Tie that in with my first week over ten miles since march and I can see that today might make a good rest day.

Fortunately the world seems to have conspired against me, or I might have gone anyway.  Who can resist 70 degrees in November?  Due to work (on a day off mind you!), building a table (yay IKEA!), scrubbing bathrooms and headed off to the boy's choir I simply didn't have any time! 

I had forgotten how difficult it can be to take a day off of running, once you find that joy that running brings.  (Talk about a first world problem....)

The formatting of this post might be a bit off as it is my first attempt from my tablet.

The belt on the treadmill goes round and round.

The first thing I want to say is thank you to all those who have served in the armed forces of the United States of America.  Without your sacrifices, your risking of your life/limbs/sanity and missing countless family events that all of us take for granted - than we would not have the freedom to say we are the land of the free.  Thank you.

[caption id="attachment_1717" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Thank you to our Vets, that risked losing all, in the belief that their country and its people were worth that risk.[/caption]

Now on to the running talk.

Product Review: Runtastic (comparison to Cardiotrainer)

When I realized there had to be an easier way to track my mileage than doing it manually, I looked for apps on the Android Market (this was before it was "Google Play")  I tried several, and ended up using Cardiotrainer as it did everything I was looking for.  As time passed, they even added a heart rate monitor, which I as a good consumer went out and bought it.

Falling for an age-old weakness- When I saw Runtastic for sale on the Google Play store for .25 for the pro version (there is a free version,) I bought it.  Then I felt I had to try it (I spent a whole quarter on it after all!)

Pondering the proper pace

Up and at 'em Adam Ant!!!!!

I won!  A true victory!   Now, what is this amazing victory you ask?  I GOT OUT OF BED IN TIME TO RUN!!!!!! WOOO HOOOO!!!!!   Apparently the post-election hangover, compounded by a post-stay-up-late-making-sure-your-son-does-2-weeks-of-homework-at-once, hits pretty hard!   We got a wonderful note (the communication was wonderful, not the content of the note) from my son's fifth grade teacher.  It seems he hasn't been doing his homework (and his test grades show this.)  He also hasn't been bringing home the notes from the teacher telling us he hasn't done his homework (thus showing he IS an intelligent child capable of more.)

[caption id="attachment_1691" align="aligncenter" width="564"] Apparently we are old fashioned in my house - when it comes to grades.[/caption]

 

Through Rain and Sleet and Snow and Political Hangovers...

So, I'm a political junkie. With help from Google and NPR (Washington DC's WAMU is a fantastic station!)  I have stayed up on the political scenery, both nationally and locally, as well as I possibly could.  I was also very scared of what our political landscape could look like under the candidates I didn't support, and what it could mean for our country's continued existence (and lets NOT bring up the fiscal cliff and its frustrating absence in the discussions.)  So how this relates to running you ask?  Well, its more the lack of sleep that this caused last night.  I couldn't go to sleep until the "Fat Lady had Sung."

(as a side note - I am very proud of my new state, we passed Same Sex Marriage and the DREAM act!)

But on to the running.. As the Alarm went off this morning, the last thing my body wanted was to roll out of bed and go or a run.  But since, I blew it the day before - up I went.  It was 38 degrees out, so noticeably warmer than yesterday! Talk about a fantastic starting point.

Hanging at the parents

This weekend we headed up to see the loved ones we left behind in NY. We came up Friday evening with the goal of seeing my wife's BFF (and our kitties that now live at their house.). The fun part of surprising people is when they aren't home! We did however get to see our cats, and their kids! The babysitter (also a friend of ours) seemed to think it was funny, at least she did when she got over the shock of us "out-of-staters" walking through the front door! We had come, supposedly, for the Annual Penguin book sale, so we did head out there on Saturday after visiting people (and eating a cinnabon. Sooooo good, and luckily we haven't found them in Maryland.). We stood in line in a cold drizzle and decided that this year it simply wasn't worth it. This morning I did three miles in my parent's treadmill. Booooring. Yet it was still a far better idea than running in the snow flurries! Its 20 degrees colder than Maryland was. I will say that it was awesome seeing the whole family, my brother and sister brought their families. Seeing my ten month old niece Micah Rose was awesome!

Friday's Ramblings... Or why its always nice to give clean pants to a neighbor's child after a dog throws up on them.

So its friday.. I draaaaaaaaaagged myself out of bed this morning (notice all the "a"s?  It was that hard to do..) and headed out to run.  The first thing I have to say, is I have completely forgotten how to dress to run in 40 degree weather.  I was nice and comfy when I got outside and started my run... At the end I went in the house and couldn't get the layers off fast enough!  But I get ahead of myself...

I decided I was going to hold myself back today and take it easy. I have been doing my runs at about the "maximum" speed that I could - for the distance I was running.. I haven't been planning on doing this, it's just that my speed that I ran an easy 4 to 5 mile run last year, is now my "maximum I can handle for 2.5 miles.."  It occured to me that running consistently at that level is probably not the smoothest of moves I could make, my goal today was for a 10 minute mile.  So with that goal in mind, I headed out of the door.

I started my Runtastic.

The streets, without the pitterpatter of little ghouls and goblins.

Ghouls and Goblins.. I don't think anyone actually dresses up as ghouls or goblins anymore.  I know mine went as a Witch (though half way through she took of her hat and proclaimed herself to be a vampire) and a skeleton.  And I don't know about pitter patter either.. They halloweeners I saw were certainly having too much fun (aka loud) to hear any pitter pattering!!!!  But no matter how you look at it, there was definitely a good time had by all!

As you can see my little Witch/Vampire and Skeleton had quite the haul....And somehow I am going to eat none of it.  While this way-to-much-candy-in-the-house season continues, I will keep you updated on how much of their candy I have (or have not) eaten!