The greatest thing about sleeping for 12 hours is how you can remember your dreams. The dream telling below is a little disjointed and choppy, but that's a dream for ya! Yes, that's my excuse.
Dream #1: I was pregnant. I kept putting off going to my first wellness check and when I was down at Timpanogos* Hospital working one day, a co-worker (you know those random strangers that you know in the dream but don't know in real life?) said I should just go to his wife's OB for my first check-up. I felt a little weird about going without my husband but what the heck? He was mad about the whole baby thing anyway. (haha...it's true honey...)
We drove to the doctor which was in this really shady area - we crossed this bridge that was in this scary area of Orem. The building was worn down as well. But the inside was very impressive, bright and pretty. The doctor made me fill out this long questionnaire that was quite annoying. And asked me a ton of obnoxious and irrelevant questions such as what kind of toothbrush I use and if I like jelly beans.
The next day I was really sick from the pregnancy so I didn't go to work. But I also forgot to call into work. At the end of the day I told Josh, "Oh no! I forgot to call into work! But it's okay because Jason Martinez (who in this dream was my boss....) will forgive me."
* Did you know that spell check wants to change Timpanogos to Timpanists? heh.
Dream #2: I was a witch. A very powerful witch. Who could fly. Without the use of a broom, tyvm. I was walking around one evening and wanted to skip over something gross on the ground I didn't want to step on, so I flew up a bit to skip over it and a car. 'Cause it was fun. And this guy saw me. So he knew what I was. He kept stalking me to get evidence so he could turn me into the police. I had to find him so I could erase his memory but he kept getting away.
But then I had bigger troubles. I was investigating a bad guy who was trying to destroy the world. And everyone kept telling me I needed to be in a specific place at midnight the next night or the world would end. I kept laughing because no one can tell the future. But then this woman went into a trance and said "Be at the steel at midnight or the world will buuuuuuurn *cackle cackle cough cough*" and I believed her and the prophecy.
What's the steel? Ya, no idea. But I knew in the dream. Oh yes. And only I could save the world! 'Cause I was powerful and all that. Ya! Go me!
So I flew up to the top of the bad guy's building and kept spying on him, because that is where I was supposed to be. Stopping bad guys!
Unfortunately I woke up and didn't get to find out how I was going to save the world. But I really need to stop watching TV. I blame this on Lost Girl.
You know what? If Stephanie Meyer can write a book based off her crazy ass sparkly vampire dream, so should I! But should I choose dream #1 or 2? hmmmm.... Dream 1 is as interesting as sparkly vampires... ;O)
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Saturday, July 30, 2011
It's been a while
I ran today! Kinda. It's amazing how quickly you can lose your endurance when you don't run for 6 weeks AND don't cross train either. Plus my knee did hurt a little (it wasn't bad) so I decided to go slow and walk a bunch just to be safe. Nothing I'm worried about. Just a little tight. I have 11 weeks until my next half. I'll be able to pick it back up just fine. Today's pace was a joke. And really I can't count that as running today. More like walk/jog.
Our bathroom is being remodeled and the guy doing it is just so slow and he really doesn't do the best job. I mean he does a good enough of a job. But the stuff he does is just okay...like using drywall in the shower instead of greenboard which is much better for wet areas (or so I've been told by friends and the interwebs). This house is owned by my grandma and we rent from her. I tried really hard to talk her out of having him do the remodel. I knew it needed to be done. There's water damage on the walls and sub-floor. I tried to first talk her out of it completely and then talk her into letting me find someone else. But she's totally sold on him. And he's nice enough and it will look really nice when he's done. Yes I'm trying to convince myself. But .... gah.
Work is good - I like the job. Pretty stressful right now with tons of crap going on. But I do like being busy so it fits me well.
I got new glasses that I hate. Yup. They give me headaches and I'm having difficulty focusing on things. I hope I adjust. Or I need to just suck it up and go get that stupid surgery I keep putting off. :) $$ Which will then, hopefully, allow me to get Lasik. More $$.
I close with this - Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair. No wonder my hair is so heavy.
Our bathroom is being remodeled and the guy doing it is just so slow and he really doesn't do the best job. I mean he does a good enough of a job. But the stuff he does is just okay...like using drywall in the shower instead of greenboard which is much better for wet areas (or so I've been told by friends and the interwebs). This house is owned by my grandma and we rent from her. I tried really hard to talk her out of having him do the remodel. I knew it needed to be done. There's water damage on the walls and sub-floor. I tried to first talk her out of it completely and then talk her into letting me find someone else. But she's totally sold on him. And he's nice enough and it will look really nice when he's done. Yes I'm trying to convince myself. But .... gah.
Work is good - I like the job. Pretty stressful right now with tons of crap going on. But I do like being busy so it fits me well.
I got new glasses that I hate. Yup. They give me headaches and I'm having difficulty focusing on things. I hope I adjust. Or I need to just suck it up and go get that stupid surgery I keep putting off. :) $$ Which will then, hopefully, allow me to get Lasik. More $$.
I close with this - Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair. No wonder my hair is so heavy.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Wasatch Back Ragnar 2011
What am amazing time! That is an endurance test! You're awake for over 36 hours in a van - and you are expected to run three times. Three challenging times. When you're done you're sore from head to toe and physically & mentally exhausted. Yet you're strangely excited to do it again because it was so much fun! The thing that I love so much, as Nancy pointed out, is that we are all running the same race yet it's an individual experience for everyone. Each leg is so diverse. And beautiful! And a different challenge completely.
What I want to know is why are my arms sore? I get why my legs, back and even my hands hurt (story below) but my arms?
What I need to remember for next time (yes you read me right):
Dramamine (I had no idea I could get that car sick)
Pepto (remember the car sick?)
Bring my salt pills & other fueling items such as my shot blocks
Get good sleep the week BEFORE the race (no need to start in a deficit)
AND don't stress!!!
So let's start at the beginning...
Ragnar is a relay race series covering about 200 miles. It is broken up into 36 "legs" and 12 people run it in a team - taking turns on the legs. (Or 6 if you're really really really crazy). You split up into two vans so you really only get to spend "quality" time with 5 of them. Plus if you're really lucky, a 7th person who is your dedicated (and much loved) driver.
Here's the official explanation from their website: http://www.ragnarrelay.com/about
The one I participated in is the Wasatch Back Relay. 191.7 miles. (I think it was a few miles longer because they made some last minute course changes.) Starts in Logan, UT and ends in Park City, UT. I was runner #12 so that means I ran legs 12, 24 & 36. Yup, I finished it! I was in Van 2.
My adventure started on Friday morning while 6 of my friends (and THEIR amazing driver) started the race off in Logan at 6:30 a.m. on Friday, 6/17. I woke up in my own bed that morning which was the main perk of being Van 2 (haha). After a terrible and anticipatory night of "sleep" of course. I was picked up at my house by Kelvin at 8:30 a.m. (Along with Mina who was dropped off at my house.) And then we drove up to Syracuse to meet our van (which was aaaamazing by the way....so much room! Thank you!!), our driver (Trent) and two more team mates (Nancy & Carrie). After that we sped on up to Eden to pick up our last (but not least!) teammate, Leah.
Then after that it was a quick trip to our first exhange in Eden - #6 - to wait for Van 1 to show. Of course, based off of my bad reading comprehension skills, we went to the wrong park (exhange #7) which was on one end of Eden. When we finally found exchange #6 (thanks to the better navigation & reading skills of Kelvin & Trent), we started the "Hurry up and Wait" part of Ragnar. Which should be the official name.
Something terrible I did to myself - somewhere around leg 7 or 8 I came down with a migraine - the visual aura part & head pain. Seriously. No, I didn't tell anyone. I didn't want to worry anybody or give them stress. I took some ibuprofen & acetaminophen and closed my eyes. This is why I said above "don't stress!". I know that stress (and don't forget just THINKING I'm going to get a migraine) is my biggest trigger. It all went away by leg 10 which is a good thing seeing as I was running soon!
My first leg -- #12. I can't figure out which leg was hardest for me. But I'm pretty sure this was the one. 4.7 miles. I "ran" up the very steep road to Snow Basin. It also had a terrible headwind. It's hard to run up a steep hill with the wind pushing you backwards. It was gorgeous though! I didn't take any pictures because I didn't want to mess with that, but I really did have time to look at the view. I had to walk quite a bit of the first three miles. Nothing wrong with that! I'd run for a few minutes, then walk, etc. My asthma was horrible and completely unimpressed with the steep hill. There was one little part that Mina showed up and walked up with me. It was too steep to run. She's awesome!
And, omg, I think I had a cold the whole race. I was thinking it was just allergies but my lungs had (and still have) so much crap in them. After my first leg I was downing Robitussin the rest of the race (and cough drops). I'm soooo glad I thought to bring some with me as a "just in case" measure. And I'm really sorry to my van-mates for the hacking and possible germ spreading I did.
When I was running through the finish line, both Van 1 and 2 were there to cheer me on. And of course the wonderfully sarcastic Clint Luft (van 1) yelled at me "only 1 more mile!" I promptly gave him the bird and continued to run (with laughter from the crowd in the background) to pass the slap bracelet off to Terra Luft. :) Clint is lucky I love his wife. Otherwise I'd be kicking him.... hahaha ;O)
After that we had a few hours to break at a high school where we ate a great dinner of chicken, pasta salad (I made it and it was the yum), bagels and PB&J sandwiches. It started to get dark & really cold which made us all a little apprehensive of our night time runs. Yup, van 2 gets the wonderful opportunity of running all night long. Van 1 had to attempt to sleep and be bored all night in a van. Not sure which was worse.
But thankfully even though it was cold, it wasn't bad. The weather was nice! In fact it was nice the entire race. Unlike right now as I type this where it is windy, raining & hailing outside my window. Wow we were lucky. My tomato & basil plants are not.
My next leg started at about 6:30 in the morning. #24. At this point I was feeling really sleep deprived and sick. When I am really tired I get sick to my stomach. I was weak and not fully with it. A big part of this was most likely because I was not fueling correctly and I wasn't getting enough electrolytes. It was 6.9 miles. I was doing really well the first part of it but then at about mile 4 I hit a wall. Or bonked. Whatever you want to call it, I did it. But first, at about mile 3 I got a rock in my shoe so I was moving over to the left to take it out. I was concentrating on what was directly in front of me so I didn't notice until just before it was too late that there was a rotting deer carcass. I had to do a little leap over one of the legs. It was stinky but not too bad. It had been there a while. That woke me up!!! haha But not for long.
After I hit that wall, I started to get a little side tracked and had a hard time concentrating on where I was and what I was doing. Then the bad happened. The road I was running on in Oakley wasn't well taken care of. Lots of rocks and cracked pavement. At around mile 5 I looked away from the road and my right foot hit a divit in the pavement. My ankle twisted and I fell on my knees and hands and actually skid a bit because I was running downhill at the time (oh how I love you gravity). #1) I'm so glad I was wearing gloves & long pants and #2) I am also glad I didn't sprain or break anything. I jumped up as a van stopped to see if I was okay. I just started walking (and limping) quickly forward and they drove off. But at this point both palms of my hands were killing me (left more than the right) and my right knee was banged up pretty bad. I tried to run again and it hurt.
I was really upset and emotional so I started to cry a bit. This was a "no van support" leg which means my van-mates weren't there to support me at all. So I was lonely, really needed someone to cheer me on to give me energy and in pain. I tell you -- none of my legs were van supported and I felt that. It is really hard to run without people there ringing the cow bells and cheering for you. When I got to an aid-station I stopped and drank some Powerade. They asked if I was okay...well gee, I was limping and crying! haha I just nodded my head, stopped crying and finished my leg. I actually did run some of the last part. The Powerade kicked in and my head cleared a bit. So I ran into the finish line with as much energy (and no limping) as I could! After that, I lifted my pant leg to see the damage and told my wonderful nurse, Mina who took great care of me!
Now for the best part of Van 2. Oh and of course Mina. One of her students lives in Heber. And well, Heber just happened to be where our next set of legs would be starting! So Cam (I think that's how she spells it) let us go to her house for a few hours! I took a shower and cleaned off my knee. Mina bandaged me up. I then tried to take a nap but just couldn't fall asleep. I kept thinking about when we needed to be at the next exchange and was too wired. Plus I was really hungry and feeling yucky.
I ended up getting up and Cam let me have a couple of bowls of cereal for breakfast. Oh yummy! I am a cereal fan. Happy happy! This all gave me much more energy and positive brain power. Then we found out that our schedule was off by almost three hours. Van 2 had a couple of injuries. It was late handing off to them by about 1.5 hours but it was lengthened a bit. When I heard that my body finally allowed me to sleep. Kinda. haha I dozed off and on but mostly just laid there and relaxed. It was so refreshing.
So THANK YOU CAM! Really....she is a jewel and a savior.
Back on the road for our final set of legs. Van 1 was completely finished so all they had to do was wait for us at Park City High School. That couldn't have been fun! All I had to do was be supportive to my van-mates and do my final leg. But I was really stressed and car sick! I didn't get it at first...all morning I'd been feeling sick in the van. But I thought it was just sleep deprivation and lack of proper fuel. But no, motion sickness! I felt great out of the van. Oh and guess what else I did to myself!?? I was so nervous about running on my knee that I got ANOTHER migraine! Gah! This was visual and sensory. Which means I got the aura, then the numbness. My left hand and side of my face went numb. Then the pain. But thankfully neither migraine I got this weekend was too bad. I took more pain pills and just sat in the back of the van, miserable. I didn't mention it until Leah saw me playing with my hand so I told her.
I honestly didn't want to complain the whole damn time! I had my asthma, lung congestion, migraines, exhaustion, car sickness, knee injury, etc. I mean really!! I was a mess! I hate being a whiner and a downer. *sigh* I did my best to be positive and cheerful the whole race but I didn't succeed Oh well, the only thing I can hope for is that I stayed mostly good. Which I think I did.
Anyway, migraine #2 went away. But car sickness didn't. lol But that last set of legs were actually really fun! And beautiful. Leah was sick too but did her leg anyway (and did a great job!) Honestly I already knew she was awesome. So my opinion of her didn't have room to go up. What happened was my opinion was solidified and re-enforced. I'm so glad I talked her into coming with us.
Oh the beautiful is that we went through Heber, Midway and then up Wasatch Mountain State Park - aka Ragnar Hill. Then down to Park City. And wow....the view on the mountain was spectacular! Kelvin & Mina split Ragnar Hill and did a great job! They were both so positive and really pushed through it. We called Mina our little billy goat. haha Carrie took us down that mountain and then I picked up my third, and last leg. #36.
6.9 miles down and up rocky, uneven and gravelly trails through the hills of Park City. When I saw my first "drop" I about cried. There was no running through that part! It was a rutted trail that was very steep that lasted about 1 to 1.5 miles. I slid, cursed and laughed the whole way down. Then I was on a fairly level trail for another two miles. But after that it was up up up a trail until I had about 1.25 miles to go. I was actually impressed with myself. I ran up quite a bit of it. But my knee hurt on the up-hill. I felt fine going down. It didn't hurt the whole time though - just would get a sharp pain every little bit which would make me walk. It was getting cloudy and looked like rain but it didn't. It was, however, very windy. It's hard to go up a steep hill with a headwind. Did I mention that? Oh but that last 1.25 miles was awesome! haha Downhill and fast. ;O) And right after the "Only One Mile To go" marker, Mina showed up and ran with me. That was great of her! Did I also mention she's awesome? I was so alone the whole time. (And damn, I didn't take my mace....I was on this path by myself for a big chunk of it....) The whole thing took me 1 hour 47 minutes, but was wonderful. I'm so glad I did it.
Then at the very end, at Park City High School, my fellow runners (minus two who went home...hmph!) were there. We all ran around the track together....albeit a little slow because poor Terra hurt her foot. :( Plus I was quite done. But we did it together! Terra said to a person who handed us our window stickers "Where's the medals?" hahaha We had our picture taken and they gave us pizza. lol I was pretty bitchy at this point and it was pepperoni. Yuck. So I picked that crap off and ate my cheese pizza. haha It was delicious.
38 hours...yes we were slow. No we didn't win. But damn it! We finished. And that's all that matters. So in a way, we did win.
Terra gave us our shirts, we all hugged and then that was it! Took the long drive to Syracuse to pick up Kelvin's car and then Kelvin drove me home. I dropped all of my crap off near the door, ate some pancakes (haha Josh had some leftovers) and crashed! I slept for 11 hours. 11 beautiful hours.
So today I'm sore. My legs hurt because of the running - especially my right knee. My back hurts from the van. My hands hurt because I fell on them and bruised them. But my arms? Ya, explain that one to me.
Why do I want to do it again???? hahahaha To know that I can push my body to its limit and succeed. I didn't give up even though I had reasons to. I finished. It is a huge accomplishment. I learned a lot too! Now I want to do Vegas Ragnar in October. And I'm going to be an early sign up for Wasatch Back next year too!
RUN PIGGIES RUN!!!
What I want to know is why are my arms sore? I get why my legs, back and even my hands hurt (story below) but my arms?
What I need to remember for next time (yes you read me right):
Dramamine (I had no idea I could get that car sick)
Pepto (remember the car sick?)
Bring my salt pills & other fueling items such as my shot blocks
Get good sleep the week BEFORE the race (no need to start in a deficit)
AND don't stress!!!
So let's start at the beginning...
Ragnar is a relay race series covering about 200 miles. It is broken up into 36 "legs" and 12 people run it in a team - taking turns on the legs. (Or 6 if you're really really really crazy). You split up into two vans so you really only get to spend "quality" time with 5 of them. Plus if you're really lucky, a 7th person who is your dedicated (and much loved) driver.
Here's the official explanation from their website: http://www.ragnarrelay.com/about
The one I participated in is the Wasatch Back Relay. 191.7 miles. (I think it was a few miles longer because they made some last minute course changes.) Starts in Logan, UT and ends in Park City, UT. I was runner #12 so that means I ran legs 12, 24 & 36. Yup, I finished it! I was in Van 2.
My adventure started on Friday morning while 6 of my friends (and THEIR amazing driver) started the race off in Logan at 6:30 a.m. on Friday, 6/17. I woke up in my own bed that morning which was the main perk of being Van 2 (haha). After a terrible and anticipatory night of "sleep" of course. I was picked up at my house by Kelvin at 8:30 a.m. (Along with Mina who was dropped off at my house.) And then we drove up to Syracuse to meet our van (which was aaaamazing by the way....so much room! Thank you!!), our driver (Trent) and two more team mates (Nancy & Carrie). After that we sped on up to Eden to pick up our last (but not least!) teammate, Leah.
Then after that it was a quick trip to our first exhange in Eden - #6 - to wait for Van 1 to show. Of course, based off of my bad reading comprehension skills, we went to the wrong park (exhange #7) which was on one end of Eden. When we finally found exchange #6 (thanks to the better navigation & reading skills of Kelvin & Trent), we started the "Hurry up and Wait" part of Ragnar. Which should be the official name.
Something terrible I did to myself - somewhere around leg 7 or 8 I came down with a migraine - the visual aura part & head pain. Seriously. No, I didn't tell anyone. I didn't want to worry anybody or give them stress. I took some ibuprofen & acetaminophen and closed my eyes. This is why I said above "don't stress!". I know that stress (and don't forget just THINKING I'm going to get a migraine) is my biggest trigger. It all went away by leg 10 which is a good thing seeing as I was running soon!
My first leg -- #12. I can't figure out which leg was hardest for me. But I'm pretty sure this was the one. 4.7 miles. I "ran" up the very steep road to Snow Basin. It also had a terrible headwind. It's hard to run up a steep hill with the wind pushing you backwards. It was gorgeous though! I didn't take any pictures because I didn't want to mess with that, but I really did have time to look at the view. I had to walk quite a bit of the first three miles. Nothing wrong with that! I'd run for a few minutes, then walk, etc. My asthma was horrible and completely unimpressed with the steep hill. There was one little part that Mina showed up and walked up with me. It was too steep to run. She's awesome!
And, omg, I think I had a cold the whole race. I was thinking it was just allergies but my lungs had (and still have) so much crap in them. After my first leg I was downing Robitussin the rest of the race (and cough drops). I'm soooo glad I thought to bring some with me as a "just in case" measure. And I'm really sorry to my van-mates for the hacking and possible germ spreading I did.
When I was running through the finish line, both Van 1 and 2 were there to cheer me on. And of course the wonderfully sarcastic Clint Luft (van 1) yelled at me "only 1 more mile!" I promptly gave him the bird and continued to run (with laughter from the crowd in the background) to pass the slap bracelet off to Terra Luft. :) Clint is lucky I love his wife. Otherwise I'd be kicking him.... hahaha ;O)
After that we had a few hours to break at a high school where we ate a great dinner of chicken, pasta salad (I made it and it was the yum), bagels and PB&J sandwiches. It started to get dark & really cold which made us all a little apprehensive of our night time runs. Yup, van 2 gets the wonderful opportunity of running all night long. Van 1 had to attempt to sleep and be bored all night in a van. Not sure which was worse.
But thankfully even though it was cold, it wasn't bad. The weather was nice! In fact it was nice the entire race. Unlike right now as I type this where it is windy, raining & hailing outside my window. Wow we were lucky. My tomato & basil plants are not.
My next leg started at about 6:30 in the morning. #24. At this point I was feeling really sleep deprived and sick. When I am really tired I get sick to my stomach. I was weak and not fully with it. A big part of this was most likely because I was not fueling correctly and I wasn't getting enough electrolytes. It was 6.9 miles. I was doing really well the first part of it but then at about mile 4 I hit a wall. Or bonked. Whatever you want to call it, I did it. But first, at about mile 3 I got a rock in my shoe so I was moving over to the left to take it out. I was concentrating on what was directly in front of me so I didn't notice until just before it was too late that there was a rotting deer carcass. I had to do a little leap over one of the legs. It was stinky but not too bad. It had been there a while. That woke me up!!! haha But not for long.
After I hit that wall, I started to get a little side tracked and had a hard time concentrating on where I was and what I was doing. Then the bad happened. The road I was running on in Oakley wasn't well taken care of. Lots of rocks and cracked pavement. At around mile 5 I looked away from the road and my right foot hit a divit in the pavement. My ankle twisted and I fell on my knees and hands and actually skid a bit because I was running downhill at the time (oh how I love you gravity). #1) I'm so glad I was wearing gloves & long pants and #2) I am also glad I didn't sprain or break anything. I jumped up as a van stopped to see if I was okay. I just started walking (and limping) quickly forward and they drove off. But at this point both palms of my hands were killing me (left more than the right) and my right knee was banged up pretty bad. I tried to run again and it hurt.
I was really upset and emotional so I started to cry a bit. This was a "no van support" leg which means my van-mates weren't there to support me at all. So I was lonely, really needed someone to cheer me on to give me energy and in pain. I tell you -- none of my legs were van supported and I felt that. It is really hard to run without people there ringing the cow bells and cheering for you. When I got to an aid-station I stopped and drank some Powerade. They asked if I was okay...well gee, I was limping and crying! haha I just nodded my head, stopped crying and finished my leg. I actually did run some of the last part. The Powerade kicked in and my head cleared a bit. So I ran into the finish line with as much energy (and no limping) as I could! After that, I lifted my pant leg to see the damage and told my wonderful nurse, Mina who took great care of me!
Now for the best part of Van 2. Oh and of course Mina. One of her students lives in Heber. And well, Heber just happened to be where our next set of legs would be starting! So Cam (I think that's how she spells it) let us go to her house for a few hours! I took a shower and cleaned off my knee. Mina bandaged me up. I then tried to take a nap but just couldn't fall asleep. I kept thinking about when we needed to be at the next exchange and was too wired. Plus I was really hungry and feeling yucky.
I ended up getting up and Cam let me have a couple of bowls of cereal for breakfast. Oh yummy! I am a cereal fan. Happy happy! This all gave me much more energy and positive brain power. Then we found out that our schedule was off by almost three hours. Van 2 had a couple of injuries. It was late handing off to them by about 1.5 hours but it was lengthened a bit. When I heard that my body finally allowed me to sleep. Kinda. haha I dozed off and on but mostly just laid there and relaxed. It was so refreshing.
So THANK YOU CAM! Really....she is a jewel and a savior.
Back on the road for our final set of legs. Van 1 was completely finished so all they had to do was wait for us at Park City High School. That couldn't have been fun! All I had to do was be supportive to my van-mates and do my final leg. But I was really stressed and car sick! I didn't get it at first...all morning I'd been feeling sick in the van. But I thought it was just sleep deprivation and lack of proper fuel. But no, motion sickness! I felt great out of the van. Oh and guess what else I did to myself!?? I was so nervous about running on my knee that I got ANOTHER migraine! Gah! This was visual and sensory. Which means I got the aura, then the numbness. My left hand and side of my face went numb. Then the pain. But thankfully neither migraine I got this weekend was too bad. I took more pain pills and just sat in the back of the van, miserable. I didn't mention it until Leah saw me playing with my hand so I told her.
I honestly didn't want to complain the whole damn time! I had my asthma, lung congestion, migraines, exhaustion, car sickness, knee injury, etc. I mean really!! I was a mess! I hate being a whiner and a downer. *sigh* I did my best to be positive and cheerful the whole race but I didn't succeed Oh well, the only thing I can hope for is that I stayed mostly good. Which I think I did.
Anyway, migraine #2 went away. But car sickness didn't. lol But that last set of legs were actually really fun! And beautiful. Leah was sick too but did her leg anyway (and did a great job!) Honestly I already knew she was awesome. So my opinion of her didn't have room to go up. What happened was my opinion was solidified and re-enforced. I'm so glad I talked her into coming with us.
Oh the beautiful is that we went through Heber, Midway and then up Wasatch Mountain State Park - aka Ragnar Hill. Then down to Park City. And wow....the view on the mountain was spectacular! Kelvin & Mina split Ragnar Hill and did a great job! They were both so positive and really pushed through it. We called Mina our little billy goat. haha Carrie took us down that mountain and then I picked up my third, and last leg. #36.
6.9 miles down and up rocky, uneven and gravelly trails through the hills of Park City. When I saw my first "drop" I about cried. There was no running through that part! It was a rutted trail that was very steep that lasted about 1 to 1.5 miles. I slid, cursed and laughed the whole way down. Then I was on a fairly level trail for another two miles. But after that it was up up up a trail until I had about 1.25 miles to go. I was actually impressed with myself. I ran up quite a bit of it. But my knee hurt on the up-hill. I felt fine going down. It didn't hurt the whole time though - just would get a sharp pain every little bit which would make me walk. It was getting cloudy and looked like rain but it didn't. It was, however, very windy. It's hard to go up a steep hill with a headwind. Did I mention that? Oh but that last 1.25 miles was awesome! haha Downhill and fast. ;O) And right after the "Only One Mile To go" marker, Mina showed up and ran with me. That was great of her! Did I also mention she's awesome? I was so alone the whole time. (And damn, I didn't take my mace....I was on this path by myself for a big chunk of it....) The whole thing took me 1 hour 47 minutes, but was wonderful. I'm so glad I did it.
Then at the very end, at Park City High School, my fellow runners (minus two who went home...hmph!) were there. We all ran around the track together....albeit a little slow because poor Terra hurt her foot. :( Plus I was quite done. But we did it together! Terra said to a person who handed us our window stickers "Where's the medals?" hahaha We had our picture taken and they gave us pizza. lol I was pretty bitchy at this point and it was pepperoni. Yuck. So I picked that crap off and ate my cheese pizza. haha It was delicious.
38 hours...yes we were slow. No we didn't win. But damn it! We finished. And that's all that matters. So in a way, we did win.
Terra gave us our shirts, we all hugged and then that was it! Took the long drive to Syracuse to pick up Kelvin's car and then Kelvin drove me home. I dropped all of my crap off near the door, ate some pancakes (haha Josh had some leftovers) and crashed! I slept for 11 hours. 11 beautiful hours.
So today I'm sore. My legs hurt because of the running - especially my right knee. My back hurts from the van. My hands hurt because I fell on them and bruised them. But my arms? Ya, explain that one to me.
Why do I want to do it again???? hahahaha To know that I can push my body to its limit and succeed. I didn't give up even though I had reasons to. I finished. It is a huge accomplishment. I learned a lot too! Now I want to do Vegas Ragnar in October. And I'm going to be an early sign up for Wasatch Back next year too!
RUN PIGGIES RUN!!!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Put the gun down Melissa...it will be fine....
I'm trying really hard not to panic for Ragnar. Because of the snow levels they had to change the routes. The problem I have? My first and last legs changed drastically. The first one is now steeper and a mile longer. The last one is 2 miles longer and mostly trail, which I've never liked. The only good thing is the last leg is mostly flat or downhill which is slightly encouraging (oh except for that 11% downill stint ha! It's short though). But trail...I hate trail running. And due to personal issues I've been dealing with, I haven't even trained well the past two weeks. I think I've run three or four times in the last two weeks. Ragnar is in three weeks! Three weeks. I think I'm going to die.
So the plan is just to do the best I can. Without hurting myself. Especially since I won't be able to rest if I do...
Well I guess I better go run. You know it's harder to run when you HAVE to. I reaaaaally need consistently good weather so I can run outside and have fun! I hate treadmills. But I hate running when it's crappy outside more. According to weather.com, Mother Nature will give that to me for my birthday (starting Tuesday that is). Beautiful and clear - high in the 70s. Absolutely perfect. (Don't ruin my optimism by telling me to never trust the weather in Utah...it will be perfect!)
So the plan is just to do the best I can. Without hurting myself. Especially since I won't be able to rest if I do...
Well I guess I better go run. You know it's harder to run when you HAVE to. I reaaaaally need consistently good weather so I can run outside and have fun! I hate treadmills. But I hate running when it's crappy outside more. According to weather.com, Mother Nature will give that to me for my birthday (starting Tuesday that is). Beautiful and clear - high in the 70s. Absolutely perfect. (Don't ruin my optimism by telling me to never trust the weather in Utah...it will be perfect!)
Friday, May 13, 2011
Weekend is for resting...right?
This weekend is going to be super busy for me. I have tons of yard work to do. I've already started with pulling weeds and cleaning up my different garden areas. Two down, three to go. I'm exhausted even thinking about all the work I have to do.
Then tomorrow...tomorrow! I have three runs scheduled. My goal is to get through two of them at the very least. A 6 mile in the morning and then a 4 in the afternoon followed by a 4 in the evening. I might just do the 6 mile in the morning, a 4 in the evening and then Sunday morning I'll try another 4 mile. I think that's a lot closer to what the Ragnar race will be like. With about a 12 hour break in between runs. And lots of ice.
I also need to take my bird to the vet for a yearly checkup. I'm also going to get her a hormone shot. She's been extremely tempermental and angry with me all the time. Then the few, rare, moments she is sweet to me, she tries to mate with me. Oh ya...my bird is horny. Brings new meaning to the Birds and the Bees. With a hormone shot she'll definitely calm down. I just feel bad making her go through that. An alternative is to get her a male bird. No way. One Quaker is loud enough!
Then tomorrow...tomorrow! I have three runs scheduled. My goal is to get through two of them at the very least. A 6 mile in the morning and then a 4 in the afternoon followed by a 4 in the evening. I might just do the 6 mile in the morning, a 4 in the evening and then Sunday morning I'll try another 4 mile. I think that's a lot closer to what the Ragnar race will be like. With about a 12 hour break in between runs. And lots of ice.
I also need to take my bird to the vet for a yearly checkup. I'm also going to get her a hormone shot. She's been extremely tempermental and angry with me all the time. Then the few, rare, moments she is sweet to me, she tries to mate with me. Oh ya...my bird is horny. Brings new meaning to the Birds and the Bees. With a hormone shot she'll definitely calm down. I just feel bad making her go through that. An alternative is to get her a male bird. No way. One Quaker is loud enough!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Slow and steady wins the race
Progress!!! I have lost 6 lbs in the last month (and that includes going up a few lbs the first two weeks and then being good again). I also have lost inches (crap, I forget the exacts) and gotten stronger. I can lift higher weights and do more core exercises and have a bit more stamina. (Not much...I need to work on that...haha) Oh and I tell ya...my core is so much stronger. I'm still much weaker than I want to be, but I can see how far I've come. So everything is great! I really like doing the Personal Trainer sessions, but unfortunately today was my last one for a bit. I can't afford it right now. But I'll go back, I'm sure.
So my plan is I'll just keep going every Wednesday at the very least and having it be my weight day. While I'm doing Ragnar training I think I'll go in on Sundays since Saturday is my long (or multiple) run day for my 2nd weight day of the week. I know the exercises well enough that I can do them. The only drawback is I'm positive I won't be as....motivated to do the weight and reps I know I should. It's also really helpful to have someone there watching you to make sure you don't get lazy. And to mix it up. But it will do for the meantime.
Now onto running! And Ragnar training.
Last night I did a hill program for 4 miles on the treadmill which is the first time I've done that. It went better than I expected it to. I was quite happy about it. I just ran a little slower and it was fine. My first leg of the Ragnar is an AVERAGE 5.3% incline for about 2.5 miles of it. Ya. And actually it ranges from 4 to 7%. Last night my max was 1.5%. I have a long ways to go in the next 7 weeks. But I am positive I can do it. Run, walk, crawl.
Today is my first day in the training where I run 3 times total. So this morning I went to the gym before my PT appointment. And of course, all of the treadmills were full. I waited around for a few minutes and after I felt stupid enough for just standing there I did 15 minutes on the stair climber at a higher level than I had last week. (Progress!) When I was done with that, most of the treadmills were open. Go figure. haha I was supposed to do a 5 mile run but I didn't really have time so I did a 5k instead. Which is fine - I'm sorry, the stair climber totally counts.
My plan is actually in three weeks I'm going to simulate my first leg of Ragnar on the treadmill by changing the incline when I reach the same mile. I mapped my Ragnar legs on mapmyrun.com. I just want to see how I do. I know it won't be great...but I will finish it even if I have to walk.
So for instance the first .5 miles I'll do 4% incline, the next .5 miles will be 0%, then for the rest of it I'll do about 5% for most of it, but will throw in a couple of big hills of 7% and 6%. Holy shit.
Until then I'm going to gradually raise my hill training - at least one day a week at the gym on the treadmill (which totally sucks...) but it's the best place for me to get the slow increase in hills I want. And I'm also going to try to tackle the outrageous hill that's by my house in the next month. It also is a 7% incline at the very end. It goes 2% for most of it and then the last 7% bump. Which scares me even more because I know how incredible that hill is at the end... haha
God, this was boring. This is like when people talk about Poker. "I had a 2 and 5 of hearts, then a blah blah" STFU. But now I have the plan written out! This will work! This is insane! Wait, even more insane is that I PAID to do this... But it's gonna be fun! I'm getting excited.
Edit: Wow...I read through this again and realized that just LAST MAY is when I started running. Seriously...one year. One freaking crazy roller coaster year! How far I've come from the girl who couldn't run for 30 seconds without crying. Think of how great I'll be a year from now! Not bad for a soon-to-be 37 year old, huh? ha!
So my plan is I'll just keep going every Wednesday at the very least and having it be my weight day. While I'm doing Ragnar training I think I'll go in on Sundays since Saturday is my long (or multiple) run day for my 2nd weight day of the week. I know the exercises well enough that I can do them. The only drawback is I'm positive I won't be as....motivated to do the weight and reps I know I should. It's also really helpful to have someone there watching you to make sure you don't get lazy. And to mix it up. But it will do for the meantime.
Now onto running! And Ragnar training.
Last night I did a hill program for 4 miles on the treadmill which is the first time I've done that. It went better than I expected it to. I was quite happy about it. I just ran a little slower and it was fine. My first leg of the Ragnar is an AVERAGE 5.3% incline for about 2.5 miles of it. Ya. And actually it ranges from 4 to 7%. Last night my max was 1.5%. I have a long ways to go in the next 7 weeks. But I am positive I can do it. Run, walk, crawl.
Today is my first day in the training where I run 3 times total. So this morning I went to the gym before my PT appointment. And of course, all of the treadmills were full. I waited around for a few minutes and after I felt stupid enough for just standing there I did 15 minutes on the stair climber at a higher level than I had last week. (Progress!) When I was done with that, most of the treadmills were open. Go figure. haha I was supposed to do a 5 mile run but I didn't really have time so I did a 5k instead. Which is fine - I'm sorry, the stair climber totally counts.
My plan is actually in three weeks I'm going to simulate my first leg of Ragnar on the treadmill by changing the incline when I reach the same mile. I mapped my Ragnar legs on mapmyrun.com. I just want to see how I do. I know it won't be great...but I will finish it even if I have to walk.
So for instance the first .5 miles I'll do 4% incline, the next .5 miles will be 0%, then for the rest of it I'll do about 5% for most of it, but will throw in a couple of big hills of 7% and 6%. Holy shit.
Until then I'm going to gradually raise my hill training - at least one day a week at the gym on the treadmill (which totally sucks...) but it's the best place for me to get the slow increase in hills I want. And I'm also going to try to tackle the outrageous hill that's by my house in the next month. It also is a 7% incline at the very end. It goes 2% for most of it and then the last 7% bump. Which scares me even more because I know how incredible that hill is at the end... haha
God, this was boring. This is like when people talk about Poker. "I had a 2 and 5 of hearts, then a blah blah" STFU. But now I have the plan written out! This will work! This is insane! Wait, even more insane is that I PAID to do this... But it's gonna be fun! I'm getting excited.
Edit: Wow...I read through this again and realized that just LAST MAY is when I started running. Seriously...one year. One freaking crazy roller coaster year! How far I've come from the girl who couldn't run for 30 seconds without crying. Think of how great I'll be a year from now! Not bad for a soon-to-be 37 year old, huh? ha!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Did that week really happen?
I just completed week 2 of my new job. I have to say that I'm having a lot of fun. I like the people in that office for sure. It's kind of back to what I'm used to. That is my being one of just a few girls surrounded by lots of guys in a totally geeked out environment. The last job was unique for me with mostly girls. It was actually hard for me in the beginning to adapt to hanging out with a bunch of girls versus guys. You really have different types of conversations. Thankfully I get along well with either. I'm a chameleon! Oh no...that song...
This week was filled with quite a bit of stress - but only because I had so much information coming at me all at once and I had to somehow process it quickly and help fix everything that was going wrong. I just happened to show up right when a bunch of things suddenly went very wrong. They don't fuck around in that place! lol
But everything turned out really well and I'm super happy. I thrive off challenging and stressful - to the verge of tears - situations. Because once they're resolved it's a huge feeling of accomplishment. Even if all I did was babysat. I still helped. :)
So the office is by the airport. And the location is great because it's 10 minutes away from so many great places to eat. haha We have downtown SLC, Bountiful and West Valley. My favorite restaurant is downtown. And of course we went there my first day!
Oh ya, did I mention I like the people? Really truly - it's a small group of people and everyone is so nice. I didn't think I'd hate them by any means. I knew a few people before starting there. But they make me happy by being awesome and fun.
And now, I'm going to bed early. I really need it.
This week was filled with quite a bit of stress - but only because I had so much information coming at me all at once and I had to somehow process it quickly and help fix everything that was going wrong. I just happened to show up right when a bunch of things suddenly went very wrong. They don't fuck around in that place! lol
But everything turned out really well and I'm super happy. I thrive off challenging and stressful - to the verge of tears - situations. Because once they're resolved it's a huge feeling of accomplishment. Even if all I did was babysat. I still helped. :)
So the office is by the airport. And the location is great because it's 10 minutes away from so many great places to eat. haha We have downtown SLC, Bountiful and West Valley. My favorite restaurant is downtown. And of course we went there my first day!
Oh ya, did I mention I like the people? Really truly - it's a small group of people and everyone is so nice. I didn't think I'd hate them by any means. I knew a few people before starting there. But they make me happy by being awesome and fun.
And now, I'm going to bed early. I really need it.
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