Another Busy Week (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

Two weeks ago I had a crazy busy week.  Last week I was out of town.  And then another crazy busy week.

Monday I got back from Florida in the afternoon.  I had to work a few hours, but thankfully I was able to work from home.  I was able to unpack a little, but enough to empty the suit case and put into piles of dirty laundry, items reused for travel that needed to be reorganized and put away, and items that just needed to be put away somewhere.  I was so tired from the week away that I just went to be really early.

Tuesday I got up and went to the gym.  Nothing really exciting there.  After work I went to another User Group.  As I explained in another post, in IT there are user groups which focus on different aspects of IT.  There are ones for .Net, Database, Networking, and of course Agile.  There are two different groups for Agile in Richmond and this second one I have never attended.  They decided to do drinks, networking, and a Q&A.  So basically it was like a happy hour where you could submit a question and those questions were discussed in smaller groups or the group as a large.  It was a nice night were I met some people, had some good beer, and talked Agile (not everyone would enjoy that last part.

Wednesday I didn't get up and go for a run.  My knee was still bothering me a little and really, I need at least a week of rest before I start running again.  I really hope I do enjoy getting back out there when I don't have to do longer runs.  After work I went to physical therapy.  While my knee had been feeling better, I knew I needed some straitening done.  He ended up needling my IT band and it just kept jumping.  If you have had needling you know what you mean.  Knowing most haven't, it's like someone shocked you.  It usually means that things are very tight and it's getting loosened with the needle.  It doesn't hurt much, just a weir sensation.  And I know that things will feel a lot better in a day or so.

Thursday I went to my FT class at the gym.  Again, nothing special.  Than after work I went out to a happy hour with a couple of ladies from my contracting company and someone that I used to work with that also got a job through them.  As I walked in I saw a running friend of mine.  I said hello and went over to my group.  The three of them are in their twenties and there was more then once that I felt old.  It was a good time, but more then once I had to date myself and had to remind myself more then once that they really needed a few more years to really understand things. :)

Friday I didn't run again.  It was nice to sleep in a little.  After work I met my parents for dinner and then we had tickets to see Rent.  I walked into the restaurant and who did I see?  My running friend that I randomly bumped into the night before at my happy hour.  It was Restaurant Week, so a lot of restaurants have special three course meals that you get for a set price.  A few dollars of each meal goes to the Food Bank.  It's win win.

We headed to the theater to see the play.  I went to get some water and who do I see again?  Yes, my running friend.  Granted, I knew they were going by at this point, but it is a big theater.  I know I saw Rent when it first opened on Broadway.  I remember that I didn't like it, but for the life of me I couldn't remember why.  I did enjoy it this time around.  A couple of songs reminded me of TV shows that have used them, namely Big Bang Theory and The Office.


On the way home from the play I got a text from a coworker.  His wife had their baby earlier that day.  He is such a sweet guy, I know he will make a good dad.

Saturday morning I woke up early to one cat in my face, one on my leg, and the other kneading my back.  I wanted another hour of sleep and they just wanted snuggles.  I guess I really haven't been home much in the last few weeks.

I got up and knew I had to clean.  I still had my piles of stuff from unpacking and my house was a mess.  So what did I decide to do?  Let's make a bigger mess by rearranging furniture.  I rearranged my CD and DVD shelving, which meant I had to pull everything out, which meant that I needed to wipe everything down individually cause everything was so dusty, which meant I just made a bigger mess.

I got most of that done by early afternoon, and really I am happy with the change.  But before I could finish I headed out to the movies to see the new Avenger movie.  I really enjoyed it.  The first part, I was unsure as it was a lot of characters and they quite hadn't fit all the pieces together.  But by the time they got to the Guardian of the Galaxy guys I was rolling.  They really stole the whole movie.  And yes, there will be a squeal to finish up the story line.  We only have to wait till May of 2019 to see it.  Very excited to see the conclusion.  Oh and I got the best shirt to wear to the movie.

Sunday I did all of that laundry from my trip and cleaned more with the rearranging of the furniture.  I still have to put back all the DVDs and clean the kitchen (and a few other odds and ends), it is still better then it was.  I would have loved to take Monday off and finish what I started.

How was your week?  Ever randomly bump into the same person more then once in the same week?  Have you seen Rent?  Did you see Avengers this past weekend? 

I am linking up with Holly and Wendy for their Weekly Wrap!

Weekly Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

It's been a crazy week for me!

Monday I was supposed to run before work but it rained.  I even saw snow flakes in the air as I drove to work.  I don't run when it rains and it's below 50 degrees.  Too miserable.

Someone at my work has gotten a standing desk.  I was going to wait till I was full time to ask about it, but she said that she could get one, but the company wouldn't pay for it.  I had a standing desk for years and loved it, so I checked Amazon just to see what they had.  I wasn't planning on buying one right away, but I found one that had a 25% coupon.  That deal was too good to pass up.  It arrived Monday and got it all set up.  Love it!

Tuesday I went to my FT class at the gym.  Just a normal class.

I got a call the day before from my eye doctor who said that I was going to have to reschedule my May appointment I made last year.  Either I could go Tuesday to the office across town or wait till the end of June.  Since my contacts have been crazy dry, I opted to go on Tuesday.  I schlepped across town in the middle of the day for my appointment.  He has me trying new daily contacts (my last ones were monthlies).  These are of the latest technology and a lot more expensive then the ones I've had for years.  We will see how they work for me.

That evening I went to a meetup for those that do the same thing I do.  I don't know if they have it for other industries, but in IT there are monthly meetups for everything from .Net to SQL to Networking.  Mine is about the Agile community.  Each month there is a different speaker to discuss different aspects of the community.  The topic interested me, and while I didn't feel like I learned anything new, it made me feel better that I was on the right track.  I also saw someone there from my last job.  It was interesting to catch up and hear what's happening over there now.

Wednesday I got out and did my 5 mile run.  It was around freezing again and I wore my new fleece tights I had gotten a couple weeks ago and it hasn't been cold enough when I ran to wear.  I was worried that the waist was a little loose and I'd just spend the run pulling them up, but it never did that.  They also had a draw string that helped as well.  These are definitely a keeper.

While my knees started feeling better on my runs last week, Wednesday it felt tight again.  No sharp pain to make me stop running, but it nagged at me the whole run.  I probably shouldn't have done the full 5, but I haven't been running much lately and felt like I needed to get them in.  I had a PT appointment that evening and he worked a bit on the same area as last week and found some interesting spots around the same place, but on the outside of the leg.

Wednesday night I had another bad night's sleep.  I hadn't been able to sleep through the night and am up for 2-4 hours in the middle of the night.  My mind is just racing so much that it wakes me up and I can't get it to stop to be able to fall back asleep, even with all my little tricks.  I still dragged myself to the gym for my class.

With the Ukrop's 10k on Saturday the Expo is held Thursday and Friday with no packet pickup the day of the race.  I headed there after work on Thursday.  They had changed venues and I had to go across town to get there.  I understand why they changed venues as the race has grown and where they normally have it, there isn't enough parking.


Of course I got there after work with most people, and I knew it would be a pain to get in and park.  I have done several events there and knew that there was plenty of parking.  What I didn't understand was, with several entrances, why they had the cars come in where people had to cross the traffic to get into the building.  So there was a lot of stopping to wait for pedestrians as well as when you were walking to the building a lot of waiting for cars to pass.  That could have been done a lot better.

The expo itself looked identical from the last venue.  I got my bib, shirt, and shuttle ticket.  I ran into a running friend and said hello.  I didn't see anything interesting at the official merchandise section.  And all the other booths were the same.  I dropped off a pair of used sneakers.  Looked to see if anyone had my shoes with a good discount (they didn't).  And then I couldn't find my way out!  This was not a very big Expo, just everything was high enough not to see any doors.  And there were no signs for exits.  I asked a volunteer and he pointed me in a direction.  I still couldn't find it and eventually after looking around a corner I saw a door.  I was free!

Thursday night was another horrible nights sleep.  It even got to the point where I just got up and started getting things ready for the race on Saturday.  Awake for another 3 hours in the middle of the night and falling back asleep just in time for the alarm to go off.

Friday I did get up for my run.  It was now in the mid 50's which meant shorts and a shirt.  So different from Monday and Wednesday.  I wanted to get another 5 miles in, but I told myself that if my knee hurt I would stop.  And if it was tight I would only do 3 miles.  Within the first 100 feet it was tight, just like it was on Wednesday.  So 3 miles it was.  As I was heading round to finish the second mile I kept thinking of the fact I had a 10k the next day and a weekend of running next weekend.  I looped around the block and called it quits at 2 miles.  This close to races I'd rather rest then get the miles in that I need and hurt myself further.

That afternoon I had to take my old lady cat to the vet for more blood work.  While a month ago we found her kidneys are doing wonderful, her liver numbers were very low.  She doesn't act like a cat that has something wrong, as she has just been her normal self.  The vet has her on a daily pill and wanted to see how the numbers were as well as check her thyroids.  Well the pill was helping and the issues is definitely her thyroid.  So she doesn't have to take the daily pill anymore, but has a daily liquid now.  We will be back in a month to see how that is doing.


After the vet I dropped her off and headed downtown to meet my parents for dinner.  We have a yearly subscription to local plays around the city.  This play was Romeo & Juliet and it was at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which also has a really good restaurant in it.  We had a good dinner and a wonderful bottle of wine.  We were taking our time as we thought the play started at 8 and by the time we made our way down a little after 7:30 we found that it did start at 7:30.  Thankfully the people there know us and there were no assigned seats so we made our way down the side to some vacant seats.  I've seen this play many times, but I have to say the lead actors were very good.  And looked very young.

Saturday morning I got up and headed down to the Ukrop's 10k.  I met up with friends before the race.  I ran it on my own and while it was very hot, I felt very strong for the whole race.  My knee was a little tight the whole time, but nothing like it was Wednesday or Friday on my training runs.  There might be hope for the knee next weekend.  We all met up after the race for brunch and to catch up with everyone. 


I went home and showered and took a nice nap.  After a long week, a hot race, and a few mimosas at brunch I really needed it.  Then I went out to dinner with a friend.

Sunday I did nothing!  Well I did get my laundry done, but really that was about it.

See what a busy week I had?  I get to turn around and do it all over again, but this time heading down to Florida for a runDisney race weekend.  I'm going to need some time off when I get home just to rest from these last couple of weeks.

How was your week?  Did you run the Ukrop's 10k?  Was it hot or what?  Have you seen Romeo and Juliet before?

I am linking up with Holly and Wendy for their Weekly Wrap!

Weekly Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

The last couple of weeks have been fairly uneventful.  Especially since I haven't had the motivation to run.  And then I had knee issues.  This past week seems to have picked up a little.

For the last week or so my left knee has been acting up.  It was more of a sharp pain then the normal soreness of things.  And it was the same knee pain that I had way back when I started running.  It really started hurting after not stepping right and hyper-extending my knee.  Hyper-extending my knees are something that is really easy for me to do.  So I have been doing a bit of resting.

After a weekend of rest, on Monday I decided to get out there and test out the knee.  I had 5 miles on my schedule and if at any point my knee started to hurt then I was going to stop and walk back.  I do have to say that it was a good run and I watched my every step to make sure I didn't hyper-extend.  No pain in my knee till the last few blocks.  I was happy to get through a longer run.

And then I went through my day.  And as I did the pain got worse and worse.  Not good.

Tuesday I went to the gym for my FT class.  The knee hurt a little, but it wasn't bad like it was Monday.  I missed Thursday because of it and knew that I would take it easy.  The rest of the day it didn't hurt as bad as Monday, but it wasn't great.

Wednesday I skipped my run as I knew better.  I had a PT appointment that afternoon and had a lot of little things worked on.  While it made my knee feel better, I wasn't sure if he found the actual issue.

Thursday I went to the gym again.  Things were better then they were at the gym on Tuesday but I still felt like my knee was talking to me.  I kept it easy again.  During the day I found a knot in my lower quad, toward the inside.  The more I massaged it and rolled my stick over it the better my knee felt.  I actually found the trigger to my pain.  I did see this beautiful sunrise on the way to the gym.


On Friday I decided to take a short run to see how the knee felt.  I took off on my 3 mile route.  It was actually warm out, like in the 60's at 6 AM.  It did sprinkle and rain a little, but it felt so good to be out there in shorts and a tank and not 5 layers.  While my knee didn't hurt, it could feel like it was talking to me or maybe tight.  But not actual pain.  It's hard to describe, but I think most people understand it.  The real test would be how I felt the rest of the day.  And I had no pain the rest of the day.  I did continue to work out the knot.

Friday night I went to see the play version of Dirty Dancing.  I have to say that I loved the movie growing up and have seen it several times.  A lot of the play was strait from the movie, dialog, movements, songs.  Then there were parts where it just seemed like they were trying to stretch the play out.  Random dances and songs that were not in the movie and really didn't seem like it was part of the story at all.  Don't get me wrong, the dancing and singing were great to watch, it just seemed out of place.  And then there was the audience.  Woot-ing and hollering when the lead actor had his shirt off made it feel a bit like a bachelorette party.  Over all it was fun and made me want to watch the movie again.

Saturday morning I wanted to try 5 miles again.  And like Friday, while there was a little tightness, no actual pain.  The knot I was working on was much smaller at this point.  And it felt fine the rest of the day.  I knew I was on the right path.

Saturday afternoon I went to see Ready Player One.  My friend and I have read this book and enjoyed it immensely.  A very geeky book with a lot of references to the '80's.  We were both worried about if the movie would be any good since movies are never as good as the book.  Overall I enjoyed the movie.  A lot of things that I pictured in my head came out on the screen.  The only thing I think it missed was a bit of character development on how the friends met and how they became the team they were at the end.  I'm afraid if you never read the book that would be a confusing part of the movie.  But the movie overall was good.  I still highly recommend the book to any self-proclaimed geek out there.

Sunday was Easter.  Beyond church, our family never really had any Easter traditions.  Well except when I was in high school.  We would do all the church things having to do with Ash Wednesday and Lent and then on Easter we would head to Kings Dominion.  The weather was usually nice and the crowds were low, especially in the morning.  My mom hated going to church on Easter cause it was full of people that only went twice a year.  So because we never had any true Easter traditions or dinners I feel like others are judging me when I say we don't have plans.  I know they aren't but it's like I'm saying I don't have any plans for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

I hope everyone had a good Easter!

Is there a movie you have seen that was almost or just as good as the book?  If you haven't read Ready Player One and have seen the movie, what did you think?  What are your Easter traditions?

I am linking up with Holly and Wendy for their Weekly Wrap!

Weekly Wrap (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

I keep thinking that each week will be a little less crazy then the one before and I am just wrong about it.  It's fine, I just don't seem to be getting things done like I need to, like getting blog posts written.  One day I'll get ahead of it and not behind. :)

I had 4 miles planned on Monday, but I swapped it out for my rest day on Wednesday because it was very cold out and raining all morning.  I don't mind running in the rain, but not when it's cold out as well.  It was fine as I felt bad all day long.  I had a sore throat and just felt like crap all day long.  I thought I was getting something that a co-worker brought into the office.  I took NyQuil and went to bed early.

Tuesday I woke up feeling much better, though not 100%.  I still didn't have a fever, so I headed off to the gym.  The week before we were told that the gym class that I have been going to for over 5 years was being cancelled at the end of February.  We had plans to have the manager of the gym come talk to us on Thursday.  Everyone was very upset by this news.

Wednesday I went out for a 4 mile run.  It was another run that was below 20 degrees.  I wore my new fleece face mask and it kept my face warm the whole time.  It was a bit warm towards the end, but I didn't mind.  I'd rather be too warm then too cold. The Super Blue Blood Moon was out for the start of my run.  I tried to get pictures of it, but there was a lot of clouds out.



I also saw a very beautiful sunrise through the last couple miles of my run.



We had a lunch planned for the team at work.  This was the first time we did anything social as a group since I started.  It was nice to get to know some of my co-workers some outside of work.

Thursday I headed to the gym, knowing that we were going to have to really make them understand how important the class was to everyone.  The class has been happening at this same gym for almost 18 years.  There are people in the class that have been taking it for over 10 years.  One person had been taking it for 15.  That tells you how much of a family this class is.  Half way through the class the gym manager as well as the class coordinator came up for a few minutes.  They insisted that this was not the right place to discuss the details, but our class would move down to the Strive area (where they have machine weights and aerobic equipment in a circle and you do them as stations, rotating aerobic and weights to get the high interval training in).  We were not happy about that idea so after class a few of us stopped by their office to discuss further.  Basically they consider this class to be a "personal training" class.  None of us were sure what was meant by that, but I have always seen it more like a boot camp type of class.  They said that because sometimes we use stations, where we don't do the same movements at the same time, it's not to their standards.  Basically we are not a per-choreographed class that they pay money for.  They are trying to offer different classes for us to try on Monday and Wednesday, but currently we have been banished to the Strive area.  They are fine for the room to be empty and no one use it on Tuesday and Thursday.

I did another 4 mile run on Friday morning.  I waited a little later to start my run to have the rain finish and I seemed to time it perfectly.  It actually was a bit warmer out and I didn't have to wear the layers I have been wearing.  It's gotten to the point that it feels odd not having several layers on for a run.

Friday night I went to see Finding Neverland.  I knew I had seen the movie before, but the movie was so unremarkable to me that I actually mixed it up with Hook in my head.  When the play started I realized that it wasn't Hook, but I do vaguely remember seeing the movie.   I have to say, the play was amazing.  Something I won't remember if I've seen before or not.  The music and choreograph were a lot of fun.  And there were some amazing voices.  I highly recommend that one.

Saturday was another cold morning.  I had 10 miles on the schedule and a lot to do that day so I couldn't wait till later in the morning when it warmed up a little to get it done.  At the start of the run it was only 14 degrees.  I knew that it would be above 20 the second half of the run, so I didn't wear my fleece face mask as I wanted some flexibility.  I wore just my buff which is just a thin cloth that I can put over my nose and mouth.  I haven't done 10 miles since my last half marathon in April, so it was interesting to see how I felt.  By the end of the run I didn't feel fatigued, but really I was just tired of being cold.  I ran for a little over 2 hours and it didn't get warmer then 26 degrees.  I actually saw someone out running that didn't even have a hat on.  That I didn't understand at all.  All I could think about on the way home was taking a hot shower.

That afternoon I was invited over to a neighbor's house for lunch.  I got cleaned up and stretched and rolled and headed over there.  They are an older Indian couple have lived there about 4 years longer then I have.  And in all of this time, we have never really done anything together.  She invited one of her friends and while her husband went to pray, us girls had a great lunch.  She cooked up all this delicious Indian food and I can't remember what anything was called, but it was all amazing.

I then went out to dinner with a friend of mine (glad I ran 10 miles with all this food).  He isn't sure if he is being laid off or not as there were two meetings, one for those being let go and one for those who weren't - and he was not invited to either.  And two days later no one can give him an answer.  But he was actually in a good mood so we had fun catching up.

Sunday was a very lazy day for me.  It worked out as it rained all day long.  I got a few things done around the house, but not as much as I wish I had.  But it was nice to relax.

How was your week?  Have you seen Finding Neverland (either the play or movie)? Did you see the Super Blue Blood Moon?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Weekly Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

It was another busy week.  The kind where you can't believe it's Friday already.  I haven't had many of those in the last year, so to have two back to back has been odd.

Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  I haven't had that day off since I was in school, so it was a happy surprise to have it off.  It was another chilly day and I was glad that I was able to wait till mid-morning to get my run in.  I did get a new face mask for running and was excited to try it out.  It was soft and comfortable, but I found that by the last half of my 3 miles, I was getting hot.  It is fleece lined and really too hot to use, even in 25 degree weather.  But since it was a shorter run, I was fine with it.  I really did like the face mask part of it as it was more of a shape and unlike the others that I have warn, the material didn't feel like it was getting sucked into my mouth.  A good purchase, but will only be able to use in the really really cold weather.

Tuesday was back to the work week.  Nothing special, but I did get to the class for my FT class.

We got snow again on Wednesday.  Unlike two weeks ago, this one wasn't as bad.  Though it seemed to have a little more ice to it then snow.  Thankfully my run schedule called for a rest day, so I didn't have to worry about the roads or getting to the gym.  Even though I could have worked from home, I made it into the office with a handful of people.  It was nice to be in a quiet office to get work done.  Though I did have to scrape all the ice/snow off my car when I went home.

Thursday morning I looked out my window and my road didn't have that much snow or ice on it, so I knew I'd be heading out.  The gym said that it wasn't going to open till 7 that morning.  My normal class starts at 7, so I thought I would head there.  I brought my running shoes and iPad just in case we didn't have class.  I stuck to my normal morning schedule and got to the gym about 5 minutes before 7.  There already was a handful of cars waiting for them to open up the doors.  The instructor was there as well as other regulars for the class I take.  So we started a little late, but still had our class.

During the day on Thursday I had made the decision to run the Frostbite 15k that Sunday.  My long run for the weekend was slated to be 10 miles and since the race was 9.3 I thought that would make due.  The weather for the weekend, and especially for Sunday morning looked amazing.  Without much thought I signed up.  This is the latest I have ever signed up for a race.  The site said that I wouldn't get a shirt, but that's OK, I have plenty of race shirts.  The site also said that we could check after the race to see if there were any left, so I planned on doing that.

Driving home Thursday night I made a special effort to look at the side of the roads to determine if I was going to run outside or if I had to head to the gym on Friday morning.  They looked fine enough to run on, so I ran outside Friday morning.  Since I was running the 15k on Sunday, I decided to up my 3 miles to 4 to compensate.  The run was interesting as the first 3 miles were in the dark.  So I was judging if the dark areas were shadows or ice and if the white areas were salt or snow.  Most everything was shadows and salt.  There was only one area where the whole width of the road was ice which I carefully walked slowly over.

Since the race was on Sunday, I decided to get out early and run my errands as the stores opened.  I hate crowds, so this is when I like to get out and get things done.  One of my stops was Michael's as I have decided to try and give Bullet Journaling a try.  I've needed a better way to organize my many Post-its and scraps of paper worth of lists.  While I love my lists, I hate that they are all over the place.  I have tried to keep a notebook with everything there, but found that it was hard to organize what still needed to be done, especially if it needed to be done by a specific date.  I ran across someone's post mentioning it a few weeks back and liked the idea.  I wasn't sure if it was for me until I saw the disc notebook at an office supply store.  It is a morph between a spiral notebook and a three ring binder.  It acts and feels like a spiral notebook, but the system allows you to remove and add pages through out the notebook.

With the Bullet Journal the ideas are endless so I spent some time looking through my scrap booking items as well as at Michael's to get inspiration on what I could do with it.  By the end of the day on Saturday I had a basic layout that I cannot wait to put to use.  My main use for it will be organizing items that I need and want to get done, as well as having one place for my training schedule.  Also a place to make notes on my day or events that I go to.  I also want to try and organize my blog thoughts.  I have so many ideas that roll through my brain that I want to blog about but I never remember them when I sit down to type.  If I find that I'm still using it in a couple of months, I'll go into more detail of how I've been using it.

Sunday I was up bright and early to run the Frostbite 15k.  I'll have a full post about it, but here is a sneak peak.  I kinda dreaded this race.  I dread most races the night before and morning of, but I think I am a little out of practice, which is good that I did this race.  I did packet pickup the morning of and it was very simple.  The weather was wonderful and running around the lakes was beautiful.  Couldn't have had a better morning.  I ran into running friends and it was good to catch up with them.  I did end up getting a race shirt after the race.  There were a handful left and I was able to get one in my size.  I got a PR!  Well not as exciting as it might sound, because I have never raced this distance.  I was glad I did it.

How was your week?  Have you tried Bullet Journaling before?  Did you get snow?  What was the latest that you have ever signed up for a race?  Have you ever done race day sign up?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Weekly Update - Even If It's 2 Days Late (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

Last week was a very busy week.  So busy it flew by.  As in, when Friday hit, I couldn't even remember if I worked on Monday or not.

Monday we still had snow and ice on the streets, so I took off to the gym before work for my second in a row treadmill run.  At least this time I knew what I needed to do for the treadmill, that is until I noticed that it was going to end my run after 20 mins.  Well, poo.  So I decided to end that run at one mile and then start it up without it counting down the time.  I did 3 miles watching The Sopranos and it really wasn't too bad.  I feel like I really only work on speed work when I use the treadmill.  But again, I didn't want to push it too much as I'm still really early into a training cycle (one with no real base to work from).

Tuesday I got to the gym and took my class.  That evening I went to an Agile User Group.  I'm not sure if they have them for outside IT, but basically it's groups that get together once a month and have someone give a presentation.  They have them for all different jobs within IT.  They are great networking tools as well as getting fresh ideas about your job.  I did run into someone from my last job.  It was fun catching up to see how my old team was doing.

Wednesday was a planned rest day.  I had a longer run to do that weekend and am watching how many miles I run during the week when I do have longer long runs.  I also had someone coming into upgrade my security system.  While he was there he was testing the window sensors and he leaned over my kitchen table and knocked over a full, unopened bottle of vodka.  It was from a distillery in Virginia and I was really looking forward to trying it.  Not only was it all over the floor, but landed were the cat food dishes are.  It all had to be cleaned up as I not only wanted them around the vodka, but there was also broken glass everywhere.   I wasn't really upset that he did that and he did clean most of it up.  I just wish that he would have offered to repay me.  I wouldn't have let him, but the offer would have been nice.

Thursday I went to my gym class at the gym.  Friday I got out and got a 3 mile run in.  It was 65 degrees and raining.  A huge change from the week before when it was below freezing.  I got a little bit of a late start as I was watching the radar and local news and saw that if I did wait just a little bit, most of the rain would be gone.  And then a little bit of a later start as I found my head lamp's batteries were dead.  I went back into the house to get my second one.  Dead too.  I grabbed some extra batteries but neither one of them would work with the new batteries either.  I really didn't want to waste more time as I did eventually have to get to work, so I thought I would see what blinky lights I had and see if they would light up enough to see the road.  Then I saw and remembered my knuckle lights.  And the first on I pulled out was dead.  Well this looked like something was telling me I shouldn't run.  But I wanted to run more then anything because it was so warm out.  I wouldn't have this opportunity tomorrow as it was supposed to be cold again.  But as luck would have it the second knuckle light worked.  And out the door I went.

It was a little later then I planed, but it seemed like most of the rain was gone, so it probably was a good thing I had a little extra time running around the house.  When I started it was a little bit of a drizzle.  Not bad at all.  By the time I got to the end of the first mile, it was really starting to rain.  If it had been any colder I would have been upset, but it was so warm out that the rain felt good.  I'm sure the people driving by as they went to work thought I was even more crazy then normal to run in the dark and the rain.  By the end of the second mile it had gone back to a drizzle and had stopped by the time I finished.  I so cannot wait for the weather to get warmer.

Saturday I planned on doing 8 miles.  The running group had 5 and 9 miles planned.  I took their 9 mile route and guesstimated on where to turn back to make it 8 miles.  I knew that we would start off warm and then just get colder as the morning and day progress.  When I turned on the news when I woke up they said that we had already hit the high for the day at 55.  So what to wear was something I himmed and hawed about.  Since I'm a morning runner, I'm used to preparing for temperature during my run to get warmer, not colder.  So I decided to dress for the coldest temperature that I would be out there for.  And from what I could tell it would be between 35-40 by the end of my run.

I decided that I would give myself a head start and get out there about 30 minutes before the rest of the group.  With as slow as I run, I wanted to try and get the run done as soon as possible so I wouldn't be out there when it got really cold.  And I really don't run with anyone in the group.  I'm usually doing more miles then the slower people and I'm not fast enough to keep up with those doing longer runs.  As I drove to our meeting place I noticed that some people still had their decorations up.  I thought to myself that this weekend was probably time to take them down.  When I got out there and started my run, the temperature had already dropped almost 10 degrees.  There was no way I was going to be over dressed.  I brought my hat and sun glasses (as it started off cloudy, but the news said that they were going to part soon).  I put on my hat sooner then I anticipated and never needed my sunglasses.  I really had wished I brought a pair of gloves too.

I read the directions and knew where I was going and knew I needed to turn on Grace Street.  When I got to Grace Street I pulled out the directions to read the next few turns.  Well I realized when I read Grace Street, I really should have turned on Grove.  Not a huge deal, I know the area well enough that I knew how to get myself back to the route without backtracking.  So I ran on.  I ended up passing a house that still had their Christmas decorations up and had to laugh at myself.  I was glad they did as they do the "Nightmare Before Christmas" theme.  I have run by it the last couple of years, but since I had not been training for a January race, I had not seen it this season.  I then had to take back my, "it's time to take down Christmas decorations" as I was happy to see these.





As I got closer and closer to the turn around point I needed to figure out where I was going to turn around.  I didn't know the mileage difference between what I ended up running and what the route was, so I decided to just turn around where I had planned to.  And then I second guessed myself and went down to the next light.  I wanted to make sure I got in the whole 8 miles and didn't want to run around the block over and over to just hit that.  Well it turned out I really didn't need to worry about that as I ended up getting 9 miles in instead.  The extra mile wasn't too bad, but by the end, I was ready to be done.  It had gotten really cold and had dropped down to 37 degrees with a wind chill of 28 and I just wanted a hot shower.

The clouds we so beautiful as I finished up the run.  This picture does not do it justice.

Sunday was a planned rest day.  I had Monday off and I knew I wanted to get my kitchen clean.  It wasn't really dirty per say, but it was cluttered.  I have very little storage in my kitchen, so a lot of stuff ends up on the counters and kitchen table.  Which is how my vodka bottle was broken as it should have been in the cabinet but it was as full as it could get.  So really, I wanted to reorganize and see how I could get as much as I could put away.  I got the eat in section, including my table done.  I even got on my hands and knees and scrubbed the floor.  I thought that when I shoveled snow the week before that I used muscles that I never used.  But scrubbing the floor showed me even different muscles.  I'm still sore today.  Getting my kitchen cleaned meant that I stayed off the computer so that I wouldn't get distracted.  Which is why my post is two days after I planned it.  But when I look at a clean and organized kitchen, it was well worth it!

Did you get a warm day to run last week?  For those who run in the evening, how do you dress as it gets colder on your run?  When stuck on the treadmill, what do you like to watch or listen to to help pass the time?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Weekly Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

I don't feel like this was a busy week, but it sure did fly by.  I can't believe we are in the last week of September already.

Monday I was going to get a run in, but as the evening progressed and I wasn't even tired, I knew that getting up early was not going to happen.  Usually I'm so tired by 9 PM that going to bed isn't very hard.  But Sunday night it was close to two before I started getting tired, so I didn't even set my alarm to run.  And it gave me an extra day to rest my quad.

Tuesday I went to FT.  Through the class my quad wasn't hurting, but it was talking to me.  But by the time the class was done and throughout the day it was feeling much better.  Sometimes it just gets to a point where you need to get it moving and warm for it to get that final kick into feeling better.

Wednesday I did get out for a run.  I decided to up my 2 1/2 miles to my 3 mile loop.  My IT Band felt tight, but the quad didn't act up.  The funny thing is on this run, I didn't see a single person out. Even though my runs are really early, I usually see some people out walking their dogs.  I just thought it was very weird.  The sun was just poking it's head out as I finished the run.  I think I saw a planet.  I know a few are visible during the sunrise to the naked eye.


Thursday was my normal FT class.  Everything was starting to feel normal.  I think all the stretching and rolling I had been doing in the past week really was paying off.  Though my shoulders really needed some help.  So I took my bumpy lacrosse ball to it which helped those knots.

Friday was another 3 mile run.  This one felt hard.  I don't think it was any warmer then normal.  I just think it was one of those hard runs that we all have every now and again.  I was also messing with my new AirPods, which I'm having issues connecting to my iPod.  So I connected them to my phone and listened to music that way.  I just don't have a good running playlist so I had to fast forward through the slower songs, which is not as easy as it is with an iPod.


As I was getting to my door to unlock it, something moved and startled me.  It turns out it was this little guy.  Over the years I have seen one or two of these frogs each year, but I haven't seen one in years.  I think he is adorable and I hope he stays safe.


Saturday I had my first "race" since my triathlon in June.  I put quotes around it as I don't think it's a real race as it's one of those fad races.  This one is a 5k with bubbles.  It was The Bubble Run.  I really didn't want to do this race as I just wasn't in the mood for it, but in the end it was fun.  I'll have a recap of it up tomorrow.


I spent the rest of Saturday trying to set up a new wi-fi router.  I thought it was something I could do as I understood most of the directions.  But it really was I understood enough to make a mess of it.  Thankfully I had an old Verizon router to use.  My friend who is in networking will be helping me set it up next weekend.  Let's hope he can fix it. :)

How was your week?  Did you get in all of the runs that you had scheduled?  Do you find that a good stretching routine can help in the long run?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Weekly Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

This was a busy week for me, especially in the work out realm.

Monday I really didn't have anything planned on my calendar.  I had two good bike rides over the weekend and I really needed to give my legs a rest.  I could tell during my stretching and rolling that my quads and glutes needed extra attention with a couple of knots in them.

Tuesday I went to my regular FT class.

Wednesday I actually went for a run.  This was the first time I had in 2 1/2 months.  I know my relay partners are saying "Finally!"  I did 2 1/2 easy miles before work.  I kept it light and did a 30:30 walk run.  I didn't push myself and I didn't slack off and walk any extra.  It was good.  I kept thinking my run time was set to 15 seconds instead of 30, so that's probably a good sign.

Thursday I went to my regular FT class before work.  The gym at my job offers classes to take as well.  I have taken a couple over the last month and they added a new one on Thursdays.  It's a Core Blast class.  Basically 30 minutes of nothing but abs.  The class lasted about 25 minutes and I felt it as we engaged our abs and lower back the whole time.  While we were doing some leg lifts the knot in my quad from Monday started to cramp.  Oww!  I didn't feel soar after (not even my quad), but I know it was a good workout.  My core is something that always needs to be worked on.

Friday I went on a second run for the second time.  I did the same mileage and run/walk times from Wednesday.  My IT band was a little tight, but nothing that is no different from when it bothers me before so I wasn't worried about it.  I did notice that both these runs were not any slower then what I had done last summer when I was heart rate training.  So I really don't think I've lost too much taking the break over the summer.  There was a beautiful moon out shining through the clouds.  It's just weird getting a whole run in before there is any hint of the sun to come up.
 
I had decided to do the TRX class again at the gym at work.  I had enjoyed it the first time I took it as I feel it really worked my core.  While it was still a fun class, I don't feel my abs like I did after the first class.  So I probably will try to take one of the two classes a week to make sure I get some extra core work in.  My quad was bothering me a bit during this class.  Not bad, but it was talking to me some.

Friday night I took my friend out to a nice dinner for his birthday.  He loves Texas de Brazil, so it was a lot of meat.  I can't eat red meat, so I fill up on their yummy sausages and some wonderful goat cheese.  We then made our way to the Apple store as I wanted to check out their AirPods.  I wanted some truly wireless earphones and I wanted to make sure they would fit properly.  Well they did and they were comfortable so I bought a pair.  I'll post something about them in a couple weeks after I have a chance to use them and run in them.

This past weekend I wanted to try to get at least one bike ride in.  The weather would be nice for riding in the morning.  Saturday I knew my quad was still a little acky to head out.  And the only group going out was a little faster then I'm used to, so I knew I didn't want to push it.  I set my alarm to head out with a group on Sunday morning and when I woke up my quad hurt more then it had in the last few days.  So I decided to not go and stretch and roll it some more.  I decided to use that time to start looking into getting some Podcasts onto my iPod.  I've listened to Podcasts every so often, but it was never a regular thing.  I decided to add a few to my iPod to listen to during my runs.

How is your training going?  Do you listen to Podcasts?  If so any recommendations?

Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up.

Functional Training (Friday Five Edition)

So I have been wanting to post about the class I take at the gym for awhile, but never got around to do it.  Friday Five topic works perfectly into this.


I have been taking a class at the gym for about 5 years now.  It's a class full of regulars and an amazing teacher.  It's called Functional Training, or FT for short.  This class has been going on for almost 20 years.  One of the guys has been going to it for 18 years.

The teacher is an older gentleman from Turkey.  He is short, quiet, and has a heavy accent and he works us hard.  He is also a runner.  Not only a runner, but back in the day he won the Athens Marathon.  Yes, won it.  He also almost went to the Olympics, but he hurt his knee just before.

The class is offered three days a week at 7 AM.  This works out well for me, as when I was working, I could shower there and head strait to work.  Now it's a good reason for me to get up and get my day moving.

Each of the three days is set up differently.  On Tuesdays we have our mats at the back of the class and do abs and weights for the first 20 minutes.  Then he will have us go run the track a few times.  We will either have stations set up for the rest of the class or something else that he has set up for us.  During this time he will send us out to run a few more laps.  In total we run 6 laps for a total of a mile.


On Thursdays we each have our own station set up with a mat and steps.  We do different ab, arm, and step workouts.  We will do group things like lunges, ab workout on the ball, and running back and forth on the side of the room.  There is no running on the track on Thursdays.


On Friday there about 25 stations set up around the room.  Each station is done for a minute then move to the next.  Throughout the class, we are to run 1-3 laps around the track, equaling 6 laps for a mile.  I usually do not go to Friday's class as I am either running or swimming that day.  I also found the same setup each week makes me not push myself as much.


No matter what type of shape you are in or if you have something that is bothering you, you can work at your own speed.  Use heavier or lighter weights, do all the reps or sit some out, or even walk or use the elliptical instead of running the laps.  No one cares how much you do, they are just happy you are there.  It's nice that everyone knows everyone and notices if you miss a day.  It's a great motivator to keep coming back.

What I like about this class is that on Tuesday and Thursday everything is different.  We might do a lot of the same exercises, but none of them are in the same order.  He always likes to throw new things in every so often to throw us off our game.  But we always get strength and aerobic exercise in. 

Do you have a class at the gym you go to regularly?  Or are you motivated enough to do something on your own?

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0

Five Exercises I Do Everyday (Friday Five Edition)

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Since my first half marathon several years ago, I have been plagued with IT band and knee issues on my left leg.  Below are five exercises and stretches I do every day - well at least 5 days a week.  I can tell when I slack off.  I have found that my cats love "helping" me do my exercises.

**Disclaimer:  I am not a doctor or physical therapist.   These are just things I have picked up over the last few years that I have found that has helped me.  Everyone is different and different things work for different people.

1. The Clam Shell - I put a band around my lower thighs right above the knees.  It's best to start with no band and work your way up.  I started out with 20 reps both sides and am now at 60.  I need to get a tighter band and start back down at 20.

2. Standing Abductor Lifts (to the side, angled back, and to the front) - I use a band around my ankles, but like the clam shells, it's best to start off without, you still get a good workout.  I do the side and angled back to help my hips and glutes and the front to help strengthen my quads.  I do 40 each leg, each position.

3. Seated Leg Lifts - The teacher of my FT class I take at the gym got me hooked on these.  When I start building up my mileage I try to find extra things to help strengthen my quads.  This little move does not look like it does a lot, but man it really gets your quads good.  I do 20 quick pulses then five slow ones trying to get as high as I can and then 20 more pulses.  To make it harder, don't let your heal touch when your leg comes down.

4. Butterfly/Piriformis/Glute Med - I love these stretches!  My hips get so tight the more I run.  A lot of that tightness is in my glutes.  I do the butterfly and each leg twice to the count of 20.

5. Rolling - I roll everything.  My IT band, quads, hips, glutes (though sometimes it's hard to hit that right spot), and back.  I love to hate my rollers.

It hurts so good! I have to credit this and point to the post which is great!

I have several rollers.  The green one is a softer one which I use for my back.  The smooth black one is a harder one which I really try to get my IT band, glutes, and quads with.  The spiky one is just as much a torture apparatus as it looks.  I only use that when something is so tight, I can't get it worked out with the others.  Both black ones are a nice travel size to bring with me on race-cations.  The two sticks are hand held versions of the rollers.  They are great to have in the office or for travel when space is limited.

I did use this at the gym and think I might have found another one for my collection.  It's really an addiction.

I do a few other things to stretch and work my core a little, but these are the basics.  In total, it takes me about 20 minutes to do everything.  Sometimes if I have time and feel like it, I'll spend longer stretching and rolling, especially after a long run (and I'm not rushing off to work after).  I overall feel a lot better doing it everyday.

What exercises do you do?   Do you love to hate your rollers too?  Do your pets love to "help" you stretch?

Linking up with Courtney, Mar & Cynthia