Just Plodding Along

Max and I have been hanging in Colorado in part because the D was away at training for a few weeks and in part cause Colorado is awesome and the Wild West Relay is happening this Friday!!! I like to think residing at a higher altitude for a few days will help the I can't breathe I am gonna die running up this mountain feeling. I am a dreamer.   I have only been on one run here for a little under four miles but it felt good but was slow due to hills, altitude, and my need to take a picture every 50 feet. I was going to go this morning but it was raining so maybe....this afternoon....or maybe on Friday when the relay starts;).  Instead I have been very busy going to the Denver Botanical Gardens to see the Chihuly blown glass exhibit and then ended up at the Tattered Cover Bookstore where I couldn't resist.  I also hit up the the Parker farmers market where I saw the best sign ever and obtained the best tasting gluten free lemon crumb muffins. I had to, ...

Tomorrow is my birthday! Why thank you! I have a hot date with a mani- pedi, froyo and some other stuff but I wanted to take this opportunity to inform you all of some very exciting news other than it's ALMOST MY BIRTHDAY! (Yep still get excited about them). Because this year is the year of the relay (Smoky Mountain, Wild West, Hood to Coast) I am embracing the opportunity to run through wine country because I feel this relay reflects what I am truly about... I will be joining the wonderful Cathryn from My Heart's Content and her relay crew for a little jaunt from San Fran to Napa for the Napa Valley Ragnar. Doesn't that just sound like the best! It is funny to think that about a year ago I was wanting to do a relay and now it would appear I do all of them. How lucky am I!!!! Now excuse me it is time to *by party hard I mean the big bucket of froyo and a housewives marathon. I live big. 

It is not recommended. In my mind I am still at the same fitness level I was a month and a half ago just like in my mind I am still 21. Sadly I am not really fit at all and I am soon to be 31...(ahhh what, that shit snuck up on me). In a nutshell I am feeling winded and ....mature. I have noticed as I have gotten older I don't get in shape as quickly or stay in shape as long or recover from deciding that lifting weights is a "good idea" quickly. And since I have had about zero time to get back in shape for the Wild West Relay I am not really sure how well that is going to go. On the one hand I am super well rested. Injury free. And a bit stronger due to body weight training and Pilates. I feel ready to go. On the other hand this race is at high elevation and I am way under trained in the running department So my general approach to the last few days and the next coming days until the relay are to run (either a HIIT on the treadmill or and easy outside run) abou...

Yesterday I checked out a gym on Fort Bliss. I was all motivated and decided to lift weights. I did a full body workout. Arms, back, legs, the whole shebang. I even did that crazy stair stepping thing that is like rotating stairs. Never ending stairs. I went up like 70 floors. I felt great. I was like I am nailing this whole fitness thing. Weight lifting is not that hard. Pssshhhhh Well today.... So that was not a great life choice. I should calm myself when I get all hyped about lifting. Just put one body part out of commission at a time not the whole damn thing. My absolute favorite thing about the gym though is the family room. There is a kid pen. Genius! You can dump your kids in the pen with some toys and get your workout on. For some reason I thought this was brilliant and hilarious all at the same time. This gym in particular caters to families so that is nice. Now if you excuse me I am off to lie very, very still.

After not running for a month and then trying to run I have discovered that  oh and that I did a HIIT run on the treadmill yesterday because I decided to play it safe and run on the treadmill in my house because I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen.....( my leg could fall off, I could get lost, it is hot outside, I like climate control, treadmill seems safe considering two days ago I thought I had an alien heart....there were a lot of excuses). Well there was a lot of loud mouth breathing and an embarrassing amount of sweating. I would appear to be rather out of shape. But the good news is I can still run....kinda like riding a bicycle I guess and I did manage to run 4.66 miles in 45 minutes. So to any Wild West Relay members who may be reading this I apologize for the great amount of time I will spend on the course during my legs. Good thing we are starting at the earliest possible time. Yay for 5 a.m. start times!!!! Oh and I also did Pilates for an hour beca...

So just to recap what has been going on: 1) pitifully attempted a 50K in ridiculous conditions 2) felt weird pressure in chest and felt like death 3) went to ER- eh not sure go see cardiologist 4) after ridiculously long wait due to moving to a new state, getting in the system, general time it takes to get an appointment see cardiologist for stress test and echo thingy 5) stress test looks weird 6) wait for week and a half wondering if my heart is abnormal or arteries are in the wrong place or what And then yesterday: 7) get CT scan 8) find out that my heart actually very healthy. Yes it beats funny but that is okay and it beats at a rate and a volume that is really, really good and my arteries are beautiful (ya know that inner beauty;)). Oh and my cholesterol is da bomb FYI. In case you were wondering. Doc says I am gonna live forever. 9) And then the doc said.....YOU CAN RUN..... So you all know what that means! Wild West Relay and Hood to Coast Relay are on!!...

I am hoping to get good news today about running after getting a CT scan of my heart this morning. But regardless of news the past couple of years have been full of awesome running experiences that I am thankful I have gotten to be a part! In no particular order of awesomeness: 1. Kendra getting a 5K PR. Kendra was my first running buddy when I moved to Columbus Georgia and is one of my favorite people. It was awesome to see her become a running badass and I was super happy I was running with her when she killed that 5K! 2. Helping Amanda train for and crush a half marathon. In the past year I have watched Amanda become an amazing athlete and was impressed and inspired by how hard Amanda worked to run her first half marathon....which was in June near Atlanta in high humidity and temps. She obviously likes to aim high. I was so proud of her! Helping her train confirmed that I myself would like to help others achieve their goals and got me motivated to work towards getting m...

Happy everyday to be married to my best friend! We kinds of celebrate twice a year since we sorta, kinda got married twice.....but hey any reason to celebrate. This year has been a bit crazy- just the way we like it. Love you D. Here is to many more crazy years!

This past Thursday I did not get the news I was hoping for. I wanted to hear you are fine, run it up! Instead after an echo-cardiogram and a stress test (which by the way stress tests are one hell of a workout, basically running uphill, like straight up, hold on tight you may fly off this treadmill at any moment your butt will hurt for days workout) I got a we need to do a CT scan to check your arteries because the stress test results did not look normal. No running! No running! No running! To sum everything the doctor said up: I either am totally fine and my heart beats funny or something more serious may be going on with my arteries. So fine or serious. And I don't get the CT scan until the 16th. At first I was all boohoo my life is over. I will never run again. Whoa is me. and then I swung the other way My heart is stupid, how dare you betray me. Doctors know nothing ahhhhhhh I have since landed on I had to give myself a little reality che...

So not running for a month has probably been a good thing for me. Even though I am not a huge fan of this forced hiatus. One thing I noticed is I don't have any more aches or pains especially in the Achilles tendon area which is always kinda bugging me on my left foot. I would say I am fully recovered from any running related injuries/ pains. That is kinda nice. I am hopeful that when I get back at it that I will stay injury free! Not running, or planning running or looking for races etc., etc., etc. has left me some free time to do other things. Oh that and the not working thing. Got some free time up in here. I have been doing some studying for my personal training certification but one can only focus for so long and by that I mean like two hours a day max. So instead I have done some reading. I am finally diving into Game of Thrones- the written version. Even though I have seen every episode of the show somehow it is still horrifying when they all die again. Because t...