sisters

happy feet

there ain't nothing like a good running shoe. the fine folks at TRANSPORT on solano turned me onto to a new brand. normally loyal to asics, i tried on saucony's progrid omni 7 ultimate. we've been running together a couple of months now and during today's 5 miler when fatigue started to creep up i'd check in with my feet and they felt damn good. the weather today is GORGEOUS just perfect for a run....i know we need the rain....but nobody was happier than me to be outside in the sun today. not even the ipod batteries pooping out after the first mile could alter my good mood......and things just got better when i called in for jury duty and didn't have to serve. woohoo!

welcome to the middle of the road

the comedian dana carvey said it well when he pointed out the as one enters middle age you can get hurt doing absolutely nothing.

last year just before thanksgiving towards the end of my shift i was careless about body mechanics and strained my back while transferring a not-so-small brain injured marine back to bed. luckily i had requested friday off so i had 5 days to recover...i never said a word to my employer. i returned to work after my holiday cautious but able to resume my duties. the incident was however a wake up call that i really needed to get myself back on track with exercise and especially core fitness.

not long after i discovered bikram yoga. i've been to 10 sessions since i started in mid january and the 90 minute sessions are tough. the running is still not where i want it to be but but about halfway around ceasar chavez this morning i caught a glimpse of hope that i'm still a runner and just have to build up again.

so back to my opening comment, on monday about 15 minutes into my shift i was at a patients bedside and as i reached to adjust his pillow my right upper back seized up and a sharp knife like pain swept along the my intercostals.......wtf! i was in agony and all i did was extend my right arm, no lifting , no twisting, again wtf!!!

i had to speak up this time and make the walk of shame to occupational medicine and get checked out. the most obvious limitation was trying to twist to my left side ...it hurt allot! my doctor, who looked about 20 and more like a model than an MD was despite my immediate disdain for her quite sweet and after a few other choice moves that hurt like hell gave me a slip for modified duty and a bottle of ibuprofen...800 mg of course.

so i iced and ate ibuprofen the next 2 days, on wednesday morning i woke up at 5 am in pain and decided to go the 6 am yoga class and it totally blew. i forced myself to stay the entire session and i just did what i could. after wards i wallowed in self pity for a few hours and then i re-read some of my past blog entries and a few others and before i knew it i was picking myself up and dusting myself off. i've always said a shitty workout is often better than no workout.

friday i awoke pain free and when i went to occ. med for a check-up i was given a clean bill of health and am back on regular duty. i went for 3 miler this morning and took a few walk breaks with no weird ego issues, just glad and grateful than i can move and work and be active.

still around

in the last few weeks i've managed to climb back on the fitness train. i'm not interested in registering for any races still but i've been getting in 2 pre-dawn runs a week. i broke up with "Y" and found an awesome bikram yoga studio in el cerritto...i crave heat and have taken to this form of yoga like a duck to water.

my laptop has been in the clutches of repair for weeks....don't ever send your computer in for repair over the holidays...slow, slow, slow.........so at i'm at M's mercy when she's in a rare good mood to use hers...arrgg, meanagers! happy belated new year to anyone who still stops by....i try to check in when M is not looking....when i get my laptop back i'll write more about my comeback, HA HA HA!!!

climate change and sustainability

sheesh,you hardly know how to dress these days. last weekend i was rummaging through boxes digging out sweaters and long sleeve shirts and yesterday i tore the closet apart searching out tank tops.
last week i was baking lasagnas and quick breads and this weekend the thought of even entering the kitchen is unsettling.....things better chill out soon or it's chips and cold-cuts come thanksgiving!

so, apparently i'm no longer a early bird runner..still a runner just not at the butt-crack of dawn kind of runner. i left the house this morning around 8:45 and ran mostly on the asphalt along Peralta and over to Colusa, both nice long stretches that wind through berkeley/albany residential areas. by the time i got to the big hill on colusa i stripped my shirt off and mostly ran to the top. i'm usually more modest but the heat factor dismissed that right away and i ran in my sports all the way home.

i'm not putting anywhere near the mileage,time or energy into training these days but i get in 1-2 runs a week, somewhere between 3-5 miles a pop and you know, it's all good. i logged onto active.com recently looking for a race that might appeal to me and nothing really did.

i've been happily spending time at my new studio getting my sewing and craft materials organized. i'm really lucky to have such a sweet husband who finally agreed that the extra expense was worth it. i have a nice clean well lit space in emeryville, 5 mins. from home to work on various projects that can be left out for me to pick-up on at my leisure.

i've been lurking allot and a few favorite bloggers seem to be resurfacing here and there. i've not spent allot time blogging myself but i check in on many of you daily.

i really like the new job. i just had my 90 day review and i'm so happy i could go on an on but i'll spare you. suffice it to say the right job at the right time in my career has made a profound and positive difference in my well-being.

M and i were out last night and we ran into her pre-school teacher and her partner. Laila, was more than a pre-school teacher, more like a pre-school goddess. she has the most amazing way of saying so much in so few words. she along with her staff literally taught me everything i know about parenting. we've been casual contact over the years and running into her last night was timely.

M is a teenager now, and to be honest i tend to think of how much of a drag this fact is for me, the tortured mom of a drama queen. Laila put it so succinctly when she said "the only thing harder than being a parent of a teenager is being a teenager" i don't know why but it was like a loving smack upside the head rendered by a loving trusted alli that resonated deep down. for as hard and unmanageable as it seems at times, being what i need to be for M, Laila reminded me of how important perspective is and how tough this time is for M too. it's so easy to get caught up in the "all i do for you", "your so ungrateful...", or "when i was your age...." instead of focusing on how hard her behavior is on me it really makes sense to step back and remember how fucken hard it was at her age, how insecure and frustrated i was...(am still sometimes..)

so i find myself spending less time high on a ridge somewhere, less focused on training or the next race and more time in places like Sephora or Claires or Ikea. i still have to carve out me time, i do but with less intensity. i like the pace at which i'm moving right now. it feels sustainable.

GO OBAMA

VOTING WITH A VENGEANCE. DECKED IN RED, WHITE AND BLUE AND GETTING MY PATRIOT ON. LIKE MICHELE SO ELOQUENTLY PUT IT BACK IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS INCREDIBLE CAMPAIGN, I TOO FEEL PROUD FOR THE FIRST TIME TO BE AN AMERICAN AND I BELIEVE WITH MY WHOLE HEART BARRACK OBAMA IS GOING TO TAKE US ON A PATH OF RENEWAL AND SELF DISCOVERY.

IF NOTHING ELSE THIS MAN HAS INSPIRED PEOPLE TO LOOK UP AND REMEMBER THAT OURS IS A GOVERNMENT FOR THE PEOPLE BY THE PEOPLE AND THAT WE CAN COLLECTIVELY AND INDIVIDUALLY MAKE DIFFERENCES THAT MATTER. HE'S INSPIRED ME TO BELIEVE IN MY EFFORTS AND TO GET INFORMED AND INVOLVED AND THAT WILL STICK REGARDLESS OF TODAY'S OUTCOME.

peeing in public and epiphanies

had a nice run up at Lone Oak again...without Brandy this time. 3 miles in 36 minutes.

as soon as i hit the trail i had to pee. i don't have a problem with taking a leak in the brush when necessary but i am vain enough to CARE if i'm caught with my ass hanging out and because this low key loop is popular there's always a good chance of that.

there was a guy that i had to pass to find the shoot off trail to some privacy. i trotted down a little embankement, crossed a creek and hid amongst a few big ole redwoods but still could hear that guy on the nearby main trail...which made my bladder bashful and the longer it took the more certain i became of getting caught with my pants down! eventually i relieved myself and headed over towards the main trail.

i was father along than i realized and found myself climbing right away. there's always this point when i'm on a hill when i start bargaining and it realy works. i give myself permission to back off and one of two things happen: 1) i back off guilt free or 2) i just keep going. this loop is half the distance and steepness of Strawbery but is very challenging with longish climbs in certain sections. i hiked it this past sunday and running it today felt hard but not too hard like Strawberry and i should've started here to begin with several weeks ago but i let my pride get in the way .............and now that that's out in the open i'm going to publicly give myself permission to backoff on the 20K.

Torn

feeling "soft" and "bloaty" having uncomfortable periods (when i was more active i barely noticed them) and the fear of menopause (i'm 45 now) has me reconsidering my lazy ways. i needed to register for a race so it would register in my body that i needed to start moving again.

at the time a 20k seemed reasonable i had plenty of time to train i just didn't and then i tried to cram and while i didn't do any real damage to my knee it's strained. it never bothers me when i run and i just avoid leading with the right leg on the downhills but still there's some discomfort especially when i walk on pavement. it was a dumb move on my part to try and rush things along after virtually no trail running for 6 months!

what is it with me and actually training? the only time i really trained was for the sprint tri's in 06. everything with the exception of golden hills last october was relatively easy because i was able to rely on my base. now that's pretty much shot and i really am starting over....and i know this because even though i could run 6 to 10 miles right now it would hurt. just because i can doesn't mean i should.

mistakes are good it you learn from them. i started training late and then tried to cram fitness in. my pride has been hurt as much as my knee and i resolve to show fitness the respect it deserves. it took me a long time to build up to runs like Strawberry. i need to appreciate that more and build up slower.

i'm lucky to live pretty close to the parks and Redwood is beautiful. i dig the low key vibe of pctr. there smaller and it's not long before i'm left with my thoughts on the trail. i like the commaderie but i enjoy the me time i get on a trail run the most. races allow me to feel safe, supported and enable me to explore terrain i'd otherwise might not be so bold to.

anyhoo, we'll just have to see how it goes. i ran (road) monday before work and today (dirt) the plan is to repeat monday's run on friday before work and maybe a modified Strawberry run sunday,otherwise Lone Oak for sure.

it feels good to be moving again. a routine is slowly beginning to emerge. time will tell if i can be patient with myself. sliding behind the wheel of my car as i left Lone Oak this morning i licked the salty grin on my lips and thought "oh yeah this is why i run"