Battling the Fudge Pudge

First of all, congratulations to all of you who had races today! I've read so many awesome race reports... even a few Boston Qualifiers!

Thanks for all the advice regarding my calf. It still hurts so I'm going to keep giving it rest and try rolling it with The Stick. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back out there soon! I still don't know what is going on with it but I'm not too worried since I've gone through worse in my short running history.

Meanwhile, I will continue with my strength training. The Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge starts tomorrow and I want to kick butt in this challenge... even if it is just my own. I'm going to need the motivation to keep myself from gaining weight over the holidays. My body just doesn't metabolize like it used to.

So Hard to Say NO
My biggest temptations during this time of year are fudge and Egg Nog Lattes from Starbucks. I don't mean to brag, but I make the best fudge I've ever tasted (I think it's the Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur I put into the mix). I love to make it... and sample it. A lot of it.

The Egg Nog Latte thing... let's just say, it's a good thing they don't make them year-round. I would drink them year-round and I'd probably be 400 lbs by now. Mmmmm...

So, my question for you is:

Which high-calorie holiday food(s) do you find hard to resist? How do you successfully avoid them... or at least eat in moderation?

Good luck to everyone taking on the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge! If you don't know what that is, check it out here. I'm sure it's not too late to sign up!

Mule Hill Trail Heart-Break

Friday morning I woke up with a mild headache. I popped some ibuprofen and by the afternoon it was mostly gone. Good news, right? I wish! I think it just went away for a little while to gather more troops for its assault on my brain. My mild headache came back as what I can only describe as an I-want-to-rip-my-head-off migraine by 9:00 pm.

After a very restless night of uncomfortable sleep, I woke up Saturday morning with a pain-free head. The headache left its groggy residue on me, though, and I was worried about doing something to trigger it again.

By mid-morning, I felt more confident that my headache was gone for good. I went outside to test the temperature and discovered a glorious, gorgeous, perfect day! I immediately got ready to run.

I had been planning to do my four-miler on a local trail called "Mule Hill Trail". I had always wanted to try it and this was the day! Beautiful weather, awesome trail, no headache... I was sooo looking forward to this.

I took this picture of Mule Hill in March (that's why it's so green).
The picture was taken as I was running on another trail in the San Deguito River Park.

When I got to the San Deguito River Park which is where the trail starts, I sort of felt like I had to use the "facilities". The problem is, this is the only facility.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you probably know I have a Port 'o Potty Phobia. I decided I would rather find a nice quiet bush somewhere further along the trail if I really needed to. So I made my way to the trail entrance.



As always, I started my run with a brisk walk in order to warm up. I was enjoying the sunshine, the calls of the hawks soaring overhead, and looking forward to starting my run. At one point during my warm-up, there was a small incline. As I walked up it, pain shot through my right calf muscle. This is the same calf muscle that felt like it had a knot in it the other day.

I figured the pain would ease as I continued to warm up my muscles. It did, mostly. Until I started to run. As I took my first running step, the pain shot up my calf again. I stopped to stretch and massage it. I tried running again, and it still hurt. I tried to keep running, hoping it would work itself out. It didn't. It only felt worse. I tried more stretching and more massaging. Nothing helped.

After a couple more attempts, I reluctantly decided to give up. Ugh! I was so disappointed. I felt like crying but there were too many people on the trail. First, a killer headache (which kept me from doing my strength training on Friday) and then a bad calf!

I think only my running blogger friends can understand why I was broken-hearted.


I want to try it again tomorrow (Sunday) but my calf is still giving me trouble. It feels like somebody took the elasticity out of my calf muscle... as if it can only stretch so far before it wants to stop. The pain happens when I need it to stretch beyond its short range.

Any ideas what this could be? I thought it was just a knot before today... now I'm not sure. Any suggestions as to how to fix it?



Ending On Happy Notes

• I officially got the job at my son's preschool! I start on December 1st and am super excited! :)
• I made a yummy apple pie tonight
• I think I've lost weight because my clothes feel a little looser (which means I have to be careful not to eat too much of that pie!)
  

Breaks, Brakes and Other Homonyms

Breaks
I appreciate all your bloggy input regarding my new training schedule! A lot of you affirmed my decision to modify my schedule to one less running day per week. It seems weird to run only three days a week while training for a longish race... but I know my body will appreciate the break!

Brakes
The stupid brakes in our Nissan Quest (minivan) decided to start grinding this weekend. At least that's how it feels. The last time this happened, we ended up having to replace all the brakes and brake-parts. The part that makes me mad is that we did all this work less than two years and 20,000 miles ago. There goes another chunk of money out the door. Grrrr...

The good news is, my husband is going to take the van into the dealership and ride his bike to work from there. I was not looking forward to sitting at the dealership all morning, while the service department checked and replaced brakes that should not need to be replaced already. It also means I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to get in my run for tomorrow. Yipee!

Weak & Week
I did my four mile run on Saturday morning. I don't know what it was, but it was tough! My legs felt stiff and weak. I wasn't expecting this at all since it was "only" four miles. I guess some days are like that. It probably had to do with the strength training I've been doing... and that I had not run for about a week prior. I'm sure it will get easier after being more consistent with the running and muscle strengthening.

Weight & Wait
Back in January, when I was training for my marathon, I initially lost a few pounds. A couple months later, I noticed I was heavier than before I started running. At the time, I figured it was because I got used to eating a runners' diet and then had to take an unplanned, unwanted two months off of training due to injuries. I blamed the weight gain on having to wait around while my body healed.

Lately, I've read more and more accounts of people who claim to have gained weight during training. So, my question is this: Have you/did you gain weight while training for a race? If so, why do you think that happened? If not, what do you think you did differently than others?

I'm curious because I really want to lose weight while I get ready for this half-marathon, not gain it. What are your thoughts?

Knot & Not
I have a knot in my calf muscle that has been there since last Tuesday. It's not as painful as it was but it's still there. Is it true that dehydration can contribute to muscle tightness? I think I got dehydrated in Vegas but I've been trying to be good about drinking water.

But & Butt
OK, there's no real reason to use those two words. I'm just reliving my life as a third grade teacher. While teaching homonyms, those two inevitably came up (from the students, of course). Just goes to show, you can take the teacher out of the classroom but you can't take the classroom out of the teacher.

Bye, my running blogger friends! Thanks for stopping by. Wow! I'm on a roll tonight!

My Running Shoes Behave

Today's Training:
30 Minutes Cross-Training
Bike Riding 5.4 Miles




My Modified Hal Higdon Half-Marathon Training Plan

OK... here it is, in all its color-coded glory


I call it modified because I opted to have one less running day each week on my schedule. After the way my body rebelled during my marathon training, I do NOT want to overdo it again. I also added an extra day of strengthening and stretching. My target areas to strengthen are my legs, arms, and core. I have three reasons for this:

1. To look good in my Running Skirt (vanity, pure & simple)
2. To be able to run faster and better
3. To prevent injuries, especially to my knees

I'm sure many of you more experienced runners notice that I don't have any fancy running tricks on my schedule such as Fartleks, hill repeats, numbers X more numbers, and so on. To be honest, those things scare me... they seem so unrookie-like. I plan on incorporating speed work and Fartleks and maybe even some hill repeats as I become more confident with my training schedule. But I'm not going to jump into fancy foot-work right away.

Back in the Saddle
Well, not really a saddle... more like a bike seat. I went bike riding today to cross-train. It's been a while since I rode my bike. I'm not a huge fan of the bike... especially since my bike needs a tune-up and my pseudo-rural neighborhood doesn't seem to believe in bike paths.

It did feel good to ride my bike again. I didn't ride very far since I was only scheduled to cross-train for 30 minutes but I felt like I got a good workout. That's mostly because I kept the bike in thigh-burner gear. Not because I'm tough but because I still don't get the whole gear thing and also because the chain is more inclined to fall off or jam when I change gears.

Running:1 Biking: 0
Just an observation: My shoes never fall off when I switch gears from fast to slow & slow to fast while running.

Next Up
Tomorrow I will run four miles because that is what my good buddy, Hal, says to do.


High-Five Friday

• Here's one for Tall Mom on the Run... She spent the day taking care of her vomiting husband. Good job and stay healthy, girl! I hope your hubby is feeling better.

• Michelle at LetsRollMama gets one for being sort of new to the Running Blogger World. Check out her blog! She is sure to put a smile on your face, especially if you are a running mom.

• Another new blogger to me is Tricia at Endurance Isn't Only Physical. She gets a high-five this Veteran's Day week for being a being a proud wife of an active-duty army man. Thanks for your sacrifice, Tricia... and thanks to your husband! If you haven't checked out her blog, do it! She's an inspiration.

Happy Friday, Running Blogger Friends!

Super-Quick Post (Really!)

I don't have much time to write tonight. This has been a super busy day! I just wanted to let everyone know that I started a training program for my half marathon in February. I'll show it off tomorrow.... it's even color-coded!

Technically, I should have started the training last Sunday but I was too busy causing bodily damage to myself in Vegas. And then it took a couple days to recover. So, today was the day.

Here's what I did:

45 minutes of strength training
15 minutes of stretching

Tomorrow (Friday) is a cross-training day. I'm going to ride my bike, even though the darn chain keeps falling off. We plan get the bike into the shop for a tune-up so, hopefully, that will soon be a thing of the past.

There you go... short and sweet, as promised!

Happy Friday, Bloggers!

What-Does-That-Have-To-Do-With-Running? Wednesday

How do you like my random, inconsistent blog themes? I doubt by next Wednesday I will remember that I created "What-Does-That-Have-To-Do-With-Running? Wednesday". I'll probably be on some other weekday related kick. It's how I keep life interesting. Plus, I'm forgetful... so it works for me.

Now for the nonrunning-related blog stuff:

It Looks Like Good News
It looks like I have a job! I've been sort of looking since August but have found very few opportunities that fit into my Mommy Schedule. Honestly, I don't know how working moms juggle it all!

I got a call yesterday from the director of my son's preschool and I sensed right away what the purpose of the call was. I had mentioned a few months ago that I would be interested in applying to work at the preschool should the opportunity arise. Well, apparently the need has risen and the director wants me to fill it!

The problem is, I'm both overqualified and underqualified. I'm licensed by the state of California to teach Kindergarten through eighth grade. Preschool teaching is a whole other ball of wax. You don't need nearly as much education to be a preschool teacher... but in order to work in a preschool, state law requires you to have at least six units of Child Development. If you want to be a lead preschool teacher you need several more units.

I only have three units of Child Development (taken almost 20 years ago!) but I'm allowed to work if I am enrolled in classes. I will pretty much be the assistant to the lead preschool teacher. I'm happy with that, I don't want the responsibility of being the teacher. I've seen preschool teachers at work... and I believe they are truly overworked and underpaid! Even more so than elementary school teachers.

So, guess who's going back to school? Me! I plan to enroll in an online child development course through a local community college. I also need to get recertified in CPR and First Aid. I sort of like school so I don't mind the whole college thing. And CPR/First Aid is just something everyone should know.

I don't even know what the pay will be... but I don't care. Fortunately, we are not hurting for money right now. With that said, it will be nice to have a little extra to ease the financial strain that most one-income families have to face. The best part is, my work schedule will be the same as my youngest son's schedule. This is what I have been looking, hoping, and praying for.

Here's the Running Connection
Since it's only part-time, I'll have the hours I need to get other stuff done. I will still have time to train for my half marathon and have a way to fund our half-marathon weekend get-away. I will feel less-guilty about purchasing running stuff (I love running "stuff"). I think I will be less lazy since I tend to be happier and more energetic when I have more on my plate. Heck, maybe I'll even get those preschoolers to train for a half-marathon! Yep, right after I purchase my backyard bull.

One Final and Weird Non-Running Fact
The preschool is a church preschool. My church. It's also the church where my husband works. So, in a round-about way, I'll be working with my husband. Sort of. He has nothing to do with the preschool but our paychecks will be cut from the same place. And I will see him at the monthly staff lunches. Just sort of weird to me... but in a cool sort of way.

IF I actually get the job, that is. I'll believe it when I get the official word from the "higher-ups" I'll keep you informed.

What Happens in Vegas...

It's a LIE!
What happens in Vegas doesn't really stay in Vegas. Especially when it comes to the hefty meals, high-calorie cocktails, and yummy desserts consumed. Those things came home with me... on my butt, waist, and hips.

I had a great time but now I've got some serious damage control to do. I've been heavier than I like to be lately and my poor eating choices in Las Vegas left me feeling like I should try out for next season's Biggest Loser. I need Jillian to yell at me, I think.

The Eight-Second Workout Plan
The Professional Bull Riders World Finals was awesome! This was my third year attending the event and it gets better every year. It is surprisingly exciting to watch someone try to stay on a pissed-off, bucking, 1500 pound bull with a name like "Nasty Town". The riders only have to stay on for eight seconds in order to receive a score... but eight seconds is a looong time and few men make it.

I have to say, those professional bull riders are tough! They are also in amazing shape. I think they all have negative 20% body-fat. And nice, lean muscle. Hmmmm... I think I need a bull of my own. I can keep it in the back yard.

Twelve Week Count Down
I realized today that I only have twelve weeks until the Surf City Half Marathon. It's time to get serious about training and getting in good shape for the race. I'm going to spend the next few days reflecting on my training and race goals. My number one goal for training this time around is to remain injury-free. My number one goal for the race is to do more than "just finish". I'll share any other goals I think of... after I think of them.