4/18/2008

So I got back from Hobbs around midnight-thirty last night. I didn't get a chance to run since I only had yesterday am to do it and I overslept. Oops! I got out today and put in a little 5.2 mile leg-loosener around the neighborhood and that felt pretty good. I am really using the foam roller and stretching as much as possible to keep my legs in good shape for Jemez. I recovered really easily after my 11.5 miler last Friday and then the crappy little 4.5 mile wind fest on Saturday. I am off the next 7 days so I can get in longer distances throughout the week. Aubrey hasn't been involved at all, since he hasn't been wanting to run much lately. And man, does that make for long boring runs when you are all alone. I don't care too much for running with my Ipod but lately that is the only company I've had. I don't know of anyone else around here at my level, i.e. not very fast, that would like to run these crazy ultradistance races. Maybe someone will cross my path eventually.

P.S. I wanted to give a shout out to Shannon Farar-Griefer and tell her thank you. She and I ran together for a couple of minutes at Rocky Raccoon and I really enjoyed talking to her. Her encouragement really helped. Anyway, she sent me a bad-ass pair of flame pattern Moeben sleeves. I wore them on my run today and loved them. So for what it's worth I think everyone who reads this should run out and buy several pairs. You can get them at www.zombierunner.com or www.moeben.com.

4/15/2008

No running the last two days. Been too busy with work and life in general. I am headed back to Hobbs again tomorrow and Thursday so maybe I can get in a short run while there. I'll post again on Friday and let ya know what's up. I gotta start getting some distance in pretty quick. I'm feeling good so it should come fairly easy. Short post but I got the point across. ha

4/12/2008

I just made it home from what I would call a "pathetic display of tenacity." I took off meaning to run my 5 mile loop around my house and it turned into 4.5 miles because I took some shortcuts so I could get home faster. haha The wind was blowing about 30mph directly into my face the whole way, if I turned so did the wind. It was ridiculous. Anyway, I was tenacious and made it home, even if I did want to cry a little. If I had gone out to the lake like I had planned it probably wouldn't have been such an issue. Oh, well, we'll see what tomorrow brings.

I hope all is well up on Bear Mountain and everyone is having a spectacular run!! Good luck everybody!

4/11/2008

Well, today I decided to "get in the zone" and went a' ramblin. I took off from the house and didn't really have a plan on where to go so I just winged it. I ended up in a really big loop of 11.5 miles. I felt pretty good considering I haven't run basically all freaking week. Even with doing a 20 minute run/5 minute walk I was able to keep my pace around 9:45. Not too bad. I went ahead and registered for Jemez today so that will help keep my training honest. I hope to head out to the lake tomorrow for some tough hill training. Man, do I LOVE hill training!! NOT!!
Time to really get in the ZONE!!

4/10/2008

I made it home finally last night around 1 in the am. I never did get out and put in any miles while in Hobbs. I'm going to have some friends show me around Hobbs a little bit and see if I can't find a nice place to run. They've told me that fairly close to the hospital is a really nice 2.5 mile dirt trail which is supposed to be really pretty. I hope so, cuz (no offense, please) Hobbs, from what I've seen, is ugly as Hell. Anyway, I've been assured that it's not ALL ugly so I'll soon find out. I head out to Austin in the am and run the Bare Buns Run on Saturday. I will make sure that I take my Garmin so I can map it out. Not sure yet how I will do since I haven't run for the last 3 days so it should be interesting. I'll keep ya posted.

Addendum: 5:00pm
My friend Shawna called me this afternoon and cancelled on me for the run this weekend so I won't be going to Austin. It would be a really boring and mundane trip to go it alone. Incredibly disappointing! I will just do what I can to get some more beneficial miles in this weekend. They just won't be as relaxing and fun as they would have been at Star Ranch. Again, I'm really disappointed. Oh, well. Fuck!

4/6/2008

Today's run was fairly uneventful. My calves are still a little tender from the FiveFinger workout a couple of days ago so that wasn't too much fun. I guess that's why I'm doing them, cuz obviously my lower legs and feet aren't in the kind of shape that they need to be. Anyway, Aubrey and I ran a simple 6 miles out and back on 1585. I was getting pretty hot towards the end of the run and I hadn't taken any water with me. Just didn't figure I would need it for so short a run. Oh, well. Gotta start getting used to the heat anyway. I love to sweat but I like to be able to replace it. Lesson learned. I head out again to Hobbs in the am and will be there for three days. Hopefully I can find a good place to get some decent runs in while I'm there.

4/4/2008

Yeehaw! Today's run felt really, really good. I took off and ran a 4 mile out and back from the house in my FiveFingers. My feet are still pretty tender but no bruises or blisters this time which is definitely an improvement. The weather is fantastic today too, 57 degrees and no wind. Plus nice, bright, healing sunshine. Just beautiful! I really enjoy getting out and running on days like this. I'm not sure yet what my run will be like tomorrow since I am heading out to Hobbs. I may have to wait until Sunday to get in some good distance.
Also my abs are a little sore today from my core workout since I added a ten pound medicine BALL while I do my crunches on a stability BALL. All I know is............I got a lot o' BALLS!

4/3/2008

Today I had to force my ass out the door. I had a lot going on today with work-related stuff that kept my mind busy. Anyway, I finally got out this afternoon and put in an easy 4.5 miles at a 9:30 pace or so. Yeah, I know, really slow. I didn't really push it too hard cuz my legs were still a little fatigued from the hill workout that I did yesterday on the elliptical. I am trying to pull off some extra fat over the next month so I am trying to get in high intensity interval training using the elliptical. I can feel that my legs are starting to get stronger which will be good for me in Jemez. So on top of my run today I did my regular sets of dumbell presses and hammer curls followed by a pretty intense ab and lower back workout. Man, I hate those!! Oh, well, gotta look good naked next week, ya know!! Tomorrow I plan on a good 4-5 miles in the FiveFingers and then pull off a 15 miler on Saturday morning before I head to Hobbs for a 3pm-3am shift in the ER. I will be starting my contract with them on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday so I will take all of my running stuff with me and see what kind of venues Hobbs has to offer. Should be interesting!

3/31/2008

My run today was really great. I even saved a life. First things first however, last night I finished up my day with a good 15 minute hill workout on the elliptical. I really like my elliptical, it's tough but really does a good job. So, now then, my run today was great because I actually got to put some distance back into my life. I ran 10 miles out on 1585. It's just farms, cotton fields, and flat as a flitter out there but this morning you couldn't see 20 feet in front of you because of a beautiful, thick fog. It lifted after about a mile. Now, about 3 miles into it I heard a weird noise. It turned out to be a little goat with his head stuck throught the fence and one of his horns was caught. He was screaming his little head off too! Anyway, I couldn't help but help him out. So I ran across the road and helped him get unstuck. It was funny cuz he ran like hell once he was free and went back to the herd. Now I know there are plenty of jokes about Texas and how we "push goats and sheep through the fence" but this was real. I swear!! Ok, so back to the run. Aubrey met me at my 4 mile point and ran the last 6 miles with me. I felt really good today, no aches or pains at all. Once I got home I stretched and used the foam roller for good measure and then later today I will get in an upper body workout and some ab work. Also may do some HIIT on the elliptical for about 15 minutes. We'll see.

3/30/2008

Well, I didn't run yesterday, I had too much to do with the family. Oh, well, we had a great day together. I slept alot too which was much needed.
So today I was able to crowbar Aubrey out of the house after he'd taken the last full week off. He just really hasn't been into running much since Rocky so I have really been trying to encourage him. He would like to run a 100 miler early next year so he needs to get going. Anyway, we ran my simple 5k loop around the house. I kept our pace just under 9:00 and he handled it okay. He was glad that we didn't do the original 5 miles that we had planned. ha To make up the difference I am going to try and get in a good hill workout on the elliptical later tonight. I plan on a nice easy 10 miler tomorrow to start getting some distance back into my workouts so that should be exciting. We'll know tomorrow.

3/28/2008

Howdy to everyone! I've been gone for the last three days working in Hobbs, NM in the ER at Lea Regional Medical Center. I was very impressed with all who worked there and the way things ran. There are obviously a few tweaks that could be made to run things a little smoother but all in all I had a great time working there. There were several people that went above and beyond to make sure that I was doing okay with everything. Thanks to them!

So finally after the last three days I got to get out and run a little while Zach was at practice. I just ran a little 5k but my pace was about 7:50 and felt really good. Taking the last few days off I think really helped my legs. My hip pain is completely gone and believe it or not, my left knee that has been trouble for the last 2 years is also completely gone. I haven't had to wear my patellar strap the last 2 weeks. Amazing! I should have bought a foam roller a long time ago. Oh, well. So tomorrow my plans include some time in the FiveFingers now that my feet have healed a little including the blister on my left big toe. I'll let ya know tomorrow how it went.

3/24/2008

I got to run two times again today. First off, I have been doing some research on the net about ITB Syndrome. Anyway, several of the studies that I read said that training barefoot can really help in the long haul. So...........I did. Kind of. I have owned a pair of the old style FiveFingers for the last three years and haven't ever really used them for anything. So I broke them out this afternoon and ran 3 miles at an 8:16 pace. To be honest it felt pretty good but I rubbed one helluva blister on my left big toe. haha I guess my feet aren't as tough as I thought they were. Oh, well. So I am going to work on getting me a new pair of the FiveFinger Sprint's and keep up the training. Ok, so then, this evening at Zach's baseball practice I got to run another 3 miles, this time at a 7:54 pace. I am pretty excited about how I'm feeling even while picking up the speed. Watch out, all you naked asses, I'm in it to win it!!

3/23/2008 Happy Eostre/Vernal Equinox

Well, it's a typical Easter day in West Texas. I don't know how it does it but yesterday it was 70 degrees and gorgeous and today it is 44 degrees with clouds and mist. So stupid but very typical. It does it every Easter. So I have figured out that someone must have mixed up their holidays. I figure what really happened is Jesus awoke, rolled the stone away.............and saw his shadow, so there's going to be 6 more weeks of winter!

As for my run today, Aubrey came over and we ran a 5.02 mile out and back on 1585. My hip didn't hurt at all so I am thrilled. I even ran about a half mile of it at a 6:40 pace and felt fine. I can't imagine sustaining that kind of pace over a long run though. People that can do that are freaking amazing. I am perfectly happy with my 8:30 pace on most training runs and a lot slower than that in an ultra.

3/21/2008

Well, I think my training is going to be a bit boring, blog-wise, until after the Bare Buns Run. I just ran a 3.2 mile loop around the house at an 8:06 pace. I should be upping my mileage fairly soon to get ready for Jemez but right now my runs are staying short and sweet at a faster pace. It's been kind of nice to have a different focus even though I love going long. I will probably run another 3 or 4 miles tonight when I take Zach to baseball practice as well. Practice is way out in the country so the running venue is a little different which is always nice.

Addendum: 6:00pm
I got to run while Zach was at practice. I ran a 4.25 mile out and back on I-27 at an 8:26 pace. Not a bad run and not a bad total for the day with the 3.2 miles that I ran earlier. I have been feeling really good since I have been using the foam roller on my left leg. I guess it really was ITB syndrome. Oh, well........as long as I can fix it then I'm golden.

3/19/2008

Ok, so Monday and Tuesday we were in the big town of Dumas (where I grew up) to be with my Mom while she had surgery on her thumb. She has really bad arthritis in her thumb joints so the doc replaced the diseased joint. Pretty cool, huh? Anyway, she did really well with the surgery and got to go home the same day and she seems to be doing good today as well. So no run on Tuesday. I did get out today and run my silly little loop around the house. This time I took Zach with me and I'm not sure what happened but he didn't feel very well. I had to keep turning around and picking him up, then slowing down and waiting for him to catch up which made my distance a cute little 3.61 miles at a 9:32 pace. haha So all in all it wasn't a very good training run other than it was better than sitting on the couch. I am hoping that Zach learned a lesson from it which is that he isn't in as good of running shape as he thought he was. I think he realized that he is going to actually have to get out and train to get where he wants to be and not just play on the computer and the Xbox. Time will tell if he learned that lesson or not.

Addendum: 8:oopm
I decided to head out this evening and run a little more so I ran another 3.1 miles. I kept an 8:06 pace and felt really good. I am trying to get my average pace down to about 7:00 or lower for the Bare Buns Run. I want to win that bitch!! Therefore, when I can, I am going to run twice a day. With the new job that shouldn't be too much of a difficulty. We'll see!

3/17/2008

I haven't gone out and run yet today so this entry is a little premature..............but I was excited. First off, my new job is going extremely well. I love the freedom of it. I love not having to deal with the politics of different facilities. And I love the 6 dollar an hour raise I got. Awesome. Secondly, I have an itty-bitty race coming up. It's the Bare Buns Run 5k at Star Ranch outside of Austin. These races are so much fun. If you've never had the chance to run a naked race then you absolutely HAVE TO! The people that you meet are just fantastic! Always helpful and always nice! Like I said before, it's incredibly relaxing to not have on clothes and just relax in the sun! Good times!!
I'll post another entry later today after I run and let ya know how it went. Later!

Addendum: 2:45pm
Ok, I ran 3.2 miles this afternoon and kept it at an 8:30 pace. My hip felt pretty good since I have been using the foam roller. I guess it was ITB Syndrome. It seems to be getting better. Anyway, for the next week or so I am going to focus on building speed because I want to WIN this race. I placed first in my age group last time in Decatur and 16th overall so now it's time to up the ante and go for broke. Wish me luck!

3/14/2008

Okay, so I ran a 5 miler today at around a 9:30 pace and my left hip is still a little sore. Nothing major though. I found a couple of stretches that seem to pinpoint the pain and I am going to keep doing those. I still can't figure out what the hell is causing it. I am going to go to the store today and see if I can find a good foam roller and use that as well. It can't hurt, that's for sure. I need to get over this crap quick-like. It's getting ridiculous. I feel like The Flash in a wheelchair! Of course, I've never been that fast and probably never will be. haha

3/13/2008 I've Been Tagged

I've never BEEN tagged before so this will be a first. I'm not sure that enough people read this blog to even worry about it but it should be fun. Let's just hope no one gets offended. ha
Ok, so 7 things about me.

1. I believe that we should surround ourselves with beautiful people. My family is beautiful. I love them and wouldn't want to live life without them.
2. I am a hippy! I hate war and everything about it. John Lennon's song, "Imagine," is like my theme song. Life would be so much easier!
3. I don't believe in guns. I grew up with a BB gun, shooting sparrows off the wire but thankfully I grew out of it. I don't believe in taking the life of any living thing. This is a hard one since I live in Texas- Home of "Quick, shoot it before it gets away!" ha
4. I am a firm believer in karma, good smelling incense, and being outside where nature is all around me.
5. I love to be naked, hence the name of this blog. There is nothing more relaxing. Removing your clothes removes your stress.
6. "The Flash" is the best superhero around. Anyone who can run that fast and far and not get tired is totally my hero.
7. I love life and I think it is too short. Therefore I believe that if it feels good, do it!

Ok, so that's a good start. Like Anthony was saying, "Ok, so, now that I got to seven, I think I have about 100 more things that I could share." This was actually more fun than I thought it would be. It's interesting what kinds of things were actually popping into my head but I would probably be banned from Blogger. Maybe I'll get tagged again later. But until then..............STAY NAKED!

3/12/2008

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KISSYFUR!! Today is my little sister's 28th birthday, unbelievable that she is that old. Of course that also makes ME older!

So today I got back in the saddle and hit the road. Not much, mind you, but a run nonetheless. Aubrey came over and we ran a nice little easy 3 mile loop around the house. I felt ok, but my hip is still a little sore. I wish I knew why. I am just going to ease back into it and not push too hard and hopefully that will allow me to heal. I am still really bummed about the Grasslands. I was looking forward to that course. Ahh, well, there's still next year. On that note, I need to find a good race in April to work towards, so If anyone knows of any good races around here in April, let me know.

My son, Zach has decided that he wants to start training for a half marathon. He's set his sights on a 20k at Palo Duro Canyon in October and is really excited about it. He'll be 11 by that time so I don't think that he will be too young for that distance either. They also have a 50 miler so it will be a fantastic weekend of running. Palo Duro Canyon is gorgeous and the early fall weather will make it really comfortable temperature-wise.

3/2/2008 Pain in my Ass............literally

I headed out today to run 10 miles in the 30-something MPH wind and it was really rough. The wind would gust up to 40 MPH and blow me into the bar ditch from time to time which was no fun at all. Also something is hurting in my hip and has been the last several times I've gone out to run! I haven't mentioned it here simply because if I ignore it, it will go away. Yeah, right! The pic shows where it's hurting, so if anyone knows what could be causing it, LET ME KNOW! (And NO, it's not really a picture of MY ass!) It's not a bad pain, just kind of nagging. It's definitely not in the joint itself which is good, maybe just a ligament or a muscle of some sort. I have a call in to my massage therapist so I can get in to see him today and see if he can fix it. He can do pretty amazing things to fix my beat-up body. He always just laughs at me when I come in with all of my various aches and pains but then proceeds to fix them. In light of this nagging thing and my lack of training over the last couple of weeks I am going to take myself out of the running at Grasslands. I believe that it would be a waste of my time to even try right now. I think I will be better served to get my ass fixed and train for the next race on my agenda, Jemez Mtn. 50 miler. What do you guys think?