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In the Zones...

My lack of recent blogging has been because I am currently in two zones.  First, the taper zone.  Yes, the big race, my first half marathon,  is almost here and I'm finally tapering.  I had some problems with my knee last week, (I'm pretty sure it's my IT band) and so I cut a couple of runs short and have been resting, icing, and foam rolling.  No one told me that foam rolling would be so painful that it would bring tears to my eyes.   The knee is doing much better now.  Big thank you to my Surf City pals for their words of wisdom on the knee.  ;)

 

The other zone I am in is the Twilight Zone.  No, not like the movie.  As in the Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer.  I have to admit that almost ALL of my free time lately has been spent reading this series.   I finished the first book, Twilight, in four days, and I'm now halfway through the 2nd book, New Moon.  Both Jess and Jenny both said that once I started reading the series, I wouldn't be able to put it down until I read all four books.  Well, they were right.  I've already ordered books three and four and they will be here by the end of the week. 

Twilight is about Bella, a typical high school student, who moves to Washington to live with her dad.  As the story progresses, she must adapt to a new life -living with her dad, a new school, new friends, and a new boyfriend - Edward.  Oh, and Edward also happens to be a vampire.  That's where the story gets really interesting.  

I was impressed at the maturity of Bella.  I think I also enjoyed this book because like Bella, I had to move to a new town and a new school for my last year of high school.   I loved that this book had a little bit of everything in it - humor, romance, and mystery.  It's been a really long time since such a book or a series has drawn me in like this one.   Though it's marketed as a book for young adults, I think this story would appeal to all readers. 

I will post more about New Moon when I'm done with it - probably at the end of this week.

Have you read the Twilight series?  Without posting any spoilers, what did you think about it?

Hope everyone has a great week!

A Great Long Run with Running Buddies

Yesterday, I met up with Karen and Christina for our long run.  Long runs with buddies always help the miles go by faster, don't they?  While on our run, we all came up with the same too-much-information-this-may-be-a-little-embarrassing-but-I'm-going-to-ask-it-anyway question.  I'm pretty sure other lady runners out there in blogland have had the same question at some point, so maybe someone can answer it for us.  Has anyone ever tried the Under Armour moisture wicking undies, (or any kind of moisture wicking undies) and do they work?  I've wanted to try them, but $20 for one pair is a bit high - especially if I don't know if they really work, you know?  :) 

8 miles
931 calories burned

I finally got a copy of this today:

I had been wanting to read it for a while, and I started reading it in the bookstore and just couldn't put it down.  I started reading "The Time Traveler's Wife" a couple of days ago, but that may have to be put to the side now that I have this book.  I'll post a review when I'm done.

Hope everyone has a great week!

14 Miles, an ice bath, and a cowl

  Yesterday I did 14 miles along the same hilly route that I did last week.   This was probably the hardest run for me ever.  It seemed like it took forever for me to get into the groove.  I had to deal with side stitches during the first few miles, and then at mile 4, I had to use the little girls room REALLY BAD.  Thankfully there was a gas station near by, and the restroom was actually pretty clean.  No bathroom pics though - I'll leave those to Marcy.   Around mile 6 or 7, my hamstrings started telling me to give up now, but I wouldn't listen.  I was determined to finish, and in the end, I DID.

14 miles
Calories burned: 1668

When I got home, I took my first ever ice bath.  I followed Bobbi's tips on ice baths, and sipped on a mug of hot chocolate to take my mind off of the cold.  I didn't put as much ice in, but it was still pretty cold.  I figured the true test would be the next day, and if I didn't wake up sore, then I knew ice baths worked for me.  Well, this morning I woke up, and didn't feel sore AT ALL.  I'll be taking ice baths after all my long runs from now on.

I finished knitting the Birthday Cowl.  I used Malabrigo Worsted yarn and the cowl is really pretty. It's a birthday gift for my friend back east, and I know it will keep her warm during the winter.

Hope everyone has a great week, and for those affected by Ike, I'm hoping things get back to normal quickly for you!

An almost half marathon

I ran 12 miles today - my longest distance so far.  I was out there just as the sun was coming up, and planned out a route with some hills that I had run before.   During the early miles of my run, I was thinking about how 5 or 6 miles is a pretty short distance for me now compared to a few months ago.

Normally when I run this route, I drive there and do a 5 mile loop.  Today, to add to the distance, I ran there.  I knew that the route would be full of hills, but not until I got home and plugged in my route on mapmyrun.com did I fully grasp the elevation changes during the run.   Here's what it looked like:

No wonder my hamstrings are sore.   I'll be ready for those San Fran hills!

Thank you to everyone for your compliments on my latest knitting project.    I absolutely love it and for sure will be knitting up another one.  I started knitting a cowl and should be done with it in a few days and can post pics then.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Adapt. Improvise. Overcome.

The past couple of weeks have not been good. I developed an allergic reaction to some laundry detergent (note to self: even if the store brand is on sale, go with what you know) and developed a really bad case of hives. Think pain like that of a really bad sunburn. You know the kind where it hurts to just sit, or stand, or just be? Yeah, that kind. I've been taking a non-drowsy anti-histamine, which of course though it is non-drowsy, puts me out like a light anyway.

So no running for a little more than a week. I was able to get out and run a couple of times last week, and did a 5 miler today. It was enough to give me the sense that things are getting back to normal again and I am back in training mode. Seven weeks until the Nike Half!

Did you catch this segment on running being the fountain of youth?

I finished knitting the Clapotis, and I love how it came out. Here are some pics.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend!

Milestones

Running milestone: I ran my first ever 10 miler yesterday!   I need to find a north-south route for these long runs as running into the sun for the last half really zapped my energy.  But I just kept moving forward and I had such a sense of accomplishment at the end. 

Knitting milestone: I finished my 18th pair of socks, and this pair is for me.

 

Yarn: Wollmeise 80/20
Pattern: Twin Rib

Hope everyone had a great weekend!