Adjustments

Today's Run:
4.12 miles/ 40 min

I'm melting....

I've been having a few back spasms since my run on Tuesday morning. At first I thought something was out of alignment, even though I just went to the chiropractor last week and I'd not been in any kind of collision. Now I think it is muscular so I've been icing, heating, icing, heating, icy hotting, Advil-ing since Tuesday afternoon. I took it easy today and did the minimum today at a reasonable speed. I was uncomfortable for the first mile and then pushed through it. It may actually feel a bit better post-run today.

I wonder if this weird back thing I have going on has anything to do with my form? I'm a neighborhood runner. I've never had anyone look at my stride and tell me what I am doing wrong or what I could do better. There's no reason for that - is there? Lately, each mile I run I try to focus on something different, like relaxing my face or keeping my shoulders down or swinging my arms. Maybe all the adjusting has re-adjusted my adjustment.

It pays to be a slacker

Also needing an adjustment is my fridge. This is the second time since we bought the old icebox 11 years ago that it has crashed and burned. I hope they can shock him back into service. Days like today I should be happy that we never really grocery shopped after our Chicago trip or that we rarely keep anything worthwhile in our freezer, but it's still a pain to basically trash everything in the fridge and start over. I had just purchased a new pint of Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Shortcake Greek Yogurt. That made me really sad. I tried to eat as much of it as possible before it melted a slow painful death. Why is it that when I limit myself to the crappy 1/2 cup portion I feel like I could eat the whole pint. Tonight I couldn't even make a dent it in. Stupid fridge.

To make things more interesting, I leave for a week tomorrow. Yippie! The repairman will just have to come by when I get back. I'm hoping where I'm going it won't feel like 117 degrees at 5p. No, that isn't an exaggeration. That's what the weatherman said it felt like outside with the heat index at 5p today. I suddenly live on the sun.

Olympic Trials

Today's Run:
6.45 miles/ 52 min

A nice tropical breeze - thank you Debby - made the 1000% humidity almost enjoyable this morning. I ran as long as the could before the cloud cover burned off and was pleased to see that I ran faster than I did on Sunday. Improvement is a good thing. Another good thing - my SiriusXM Radio app on my phone didn't lose its connection once so I got almost a solid hour with my man Howard Stern.

About three hours after my run I felt like someone had hit me with a truck. It isn't unusual for me to have an afternoon slump on days that I run (after all I'm up at 5a), but this was different. I seriously felt like someone had slipped me a sleeping pill. I followed my usual routine both pre- and post-run, but for some reason my body was hating me today. Then three hours after being stricken with narcolepsy, I got a migraine.

photo from Track Town USA

So instead of writing exciting wellness communications for my clients today, I listened to the Swimming Olympic Trials that took place yesterday, while my brain took a time out. I've really gotten into the Olympic Trails this time around. I think it was the article I read in Runner's World about all of the Track & Field favorites going into Eugene this week. The personal stories about athletes who really want to excel at what they do, in events that most of the world could care less about except every four years, makes you really want everyone to do well. This is the exact opposite feeling I have when I watch King James play basketball. I would like to see him humbled anytime, anywhere.

photo from Track Town USA

I was psyched to see Kellie Wells make the U.S. team in the Women's 110m hurdles. Her story is heartbreaking and inspiring. Ashton Eaton's World Record Decathlon performance was exciting to watch. And the drama surrounding the dead heat in the Women's 100m is like discussing the rules for a match of rock, paper, scissors. I also like that the women running are mostly in their mid- to late-20s, some even early 30s. It doesn't make me feel so old, unlike watching gymnastics where the median age is like 14.

KC was a baseball scoring official for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Not an umpire, but the geek who sits in the booth who decides if that swing of the bat was a hit or an error and keeps track of all the stats. It was the summer that we met, so the Olympics are special to us. I think he is really annoyed with my Olympic interest this summer as nothing else seems to be on our TV lately - thank you NBC Sports Network. It's just my way of getting back at him for having Sports Center on 24-7. I mean seriously, how many times can you watch highlights of a game that you just watched in its entirety? Obviously, the answer is - as many times as they show them.

Sigh. I'm going to ice my brain again.

Power Up

Today's Run
6.35 miles/ 55 minutes

Yes, that's yogurt on her nose.

I hate to say that I'm getting use to the heat, but I have. It was 102 here today between the 98 degree temps and 1000% humidity. I don't like getting up an hour before my run, which starts between 6:30a and 7a, but I've found that I really need that time to fuel and wake up my body. When I wake up, take three sips of coffee and nibble on a Luna Bar I hate every step I take can't get into a groove, so it's worth the effort to get out of bed just 30 precious minutes earlier, but it isn't easy.

One thing that keeps me going for the last five minutes of any run is the thought of the cold chocolate milk in my fridge that is waiting on me when I get back. I love chocolate milk. It makes me feel like a kid when the reward for choking down cafeteria food all week was the ability to buy chocolate milk on Fridays. I even buy the mini-milks meant for lunch boxes for that nostalgia sake - well, that and to make sure I don't drink a half-gallon in one sitting.

When I first started running, I didn't refuel after my runs. Running was helping me lose weight, why would I want to eat or drink all of those calories I just worked so hard to burn off. I would get fuzzy headed for most of the day. Even after I ate lunch, I would just feel weird. Now, along side my chocolate milk when I walk though the door, I have a Greek yogurt while I ice my ankle. Oh, and Seka licks the bowl clean - so nothing is wasted.

Chobani is my favorite. I've just discovered the apple cinnamon flavor, which is addictive.

This weekend we took in two movies:

Seeking for a Friend for the End of the World - B+
It isn't a comedy if you ask me. Some of the stuff people do when they find out Earth will be destroyed by an asteroid in 21 days is pretty funny - like letting their six year old drink beer or yuppies doing heroin at a cook out. Steve Carell and Keira Knightly play nice opposites and have a few nice "real life" moments while the world is falling apart around them. Did I believe they were in love? No, but I can see how someone can easily attach to each other when everything has gone crazy. Good choice if you like to have discussions with your movie partner post-viewing.

Rock of Ages - B-
I love musicals, so keep that in mind when considering this review. In a word, this movie is FUN. If you like 80s hairband music, you'll enjoy it. The non-musical numbers are a bit slow, something that the Broadway show can easily hide with the energy a live stage show brings, but seeing Cruise as a washed up Axl Rose/Brett Michaels is pretty priceless. And who knew Tommy could sing?

Zombies!

Today's Run
5.14 miles/ 50 min

Available on both
iPhone and Android platforms
$7.99

Maybe it's just getting back into the swing of things from vacation or maybe I'm in a running slump, but it has taken a lot of effort the last two runs to get out of the bed and hit the pavement. Today, I decided not to run with my normal running app tracking everything from the speed of my music to how frequently my ponytail stuck to my back (annoying). Maybe all the data was bringing me down?

Instead, I ran with a game app called Zombies, Run! This game makes you a part of the action and the better you run the better your town survives. When you put in your earphones you become Runner 5 and the world is being taken over by a zombie apocalypse. Your missions differ from run to run - like today I had to rescue a kid who was abandoned in no-man's land.

Speed work is built into each mission. As zombies approach you are warned and you must up your pace and sustain it for at least a minute to out run the living dead. If you don't, you drop some of the supplies you've collected to distract those that want to eat you.

The app tracks your pace and distance and uses your music between the story segments. It certainly isn't serious running, but I kinda think it is what I needed today. My last two runs I barely broke four miles. Today I easily did five and could have gone longer if I had the time. Besides, when you look at all the talk of zombies and flesh eating bacteria in the news these days, this app might just help prepare you for running for your life for real!

On the docket for the afternoon - bad movie viewing. Rock of Ages and That's My Boy are on the list and both have totally been slammed by Rotten Tomatoes and Entertainment Weekly (my personal movie bible). Sometimes you just have to watch horrible, mindless movies in order to appreciate the good ones. Movie snacks to be packed include: mini-bag of popcorn, an apple and a Coke Zero. My movie bag is considerably bigger than my actual purse. No it does not have wheels.

Crack My Back

Today's Run
4.3 miles/ 9:01/mile

I'd love to have my own roller table!

Getting back on the wagon is tough. After a week of vacation it wasn't fun to get up early and get out the door. I'm not going to lie, I had grand plans of upping my mileage, but after my lack of motivation I decided to just do 40 minutes and be done with it. Maybe getting back on my "normal" early morning schedule for a few days will give me my motivation back.

Today I went to my chiropractor for my regular adjustment. I started going to the chiropractor a year ago in March thanks to lower back pain that would not go away. My mother was a basket of nerves thinking that some quack would paralyze me by cracking parts of my body that shouldn't be cracked. After a month of treatment, I could finally sleep through the night without getting up and assuming child's pose in the floor of my bedroom to stretch out my back. Now I see her every four to six weeks just to keep everything in line.

I've noticed as I've upped my mileage, my back gets a little out of whack a bit easier and my neck gets pretty tight. Obviously it's a form thing and I'm not sure how to fix that since I'm so new to running, so for now I try to think about relaxing my shoulders and visit my chiropractor regularly. I also try to work in a massage from the massage therapist at least every three months. It's not like going to a fancy spa, but she's good at what she does.

Lake Front Trail - Chicago

Today's Run
5.7 miles - 9:21/mile
Lake Front Trail, Chicago

I was happy to sneak in this run after a far too big breakfast celebrating Father's Day with my FIL. Note to self - running and jalapeno peppers do not mix.

Running on the Lake Front Trail in Grant Park was a feast for this southern girl's eyes. Between the water, the marina, the sky scrapers in the background and the diverse group of people out on the trail on Sunday morning made the time fly by.

I was in the minority this morning. Most people seemed to be on bikes - something I don't have to worry too much about on my local neighborhood treks. I became a tad bit paranoid and kept looking over my shoulder in fear of being run down, but I escaped without harm.

The other thing Chicago didn't lack was a multitude of people with ridiculously awesome bodies. Lots of eye candy on the trail. And in total juxtaposition to the sweaty, super-fit that were seen along the way, I saw two Muslim women, covered from head to toe out running together. I'm pretty sure this is something I won't see again (at least for a very long time) and it made me smile.

I spent the rest of the afternoon looking at crazy skeletons of things that should only be living in some creative movie maker's mind and not having lived on our planet at some point in our Earth's existence. Seriously, whales with arms and legs or giant sloths the size of elephants totally creep me out. But I did like getting a closer look at a T-Rex named Sue.

I'm kinda just running without any goals right now, other than not dying of dehydration from the heat. I've decided to pick back up the Ease to 10K program if for no other reason than to begin building my stamina for my half training this fall. I can run this far, but I feel like I need something or someone to tell me what to run each time and this distance seems heat friendly enough.

Vaca Running

Today's Run:
Jim Gibbon's Traffic Jam 5K
25:51 - 7th out of 73 in age group

Until six months ago, I would never have thought about how to get a workout in while on vacation. Vacation = Lazy. The last two trips we've been on, I've kept to my every other day running schedule. This one has been a bit more difficult, but I managed to find a race to do in Chicago the evening we arrived. I thought it was the perfect, "welcome to the city,"experience.

This was the 18th year for the Jim Gibbon's 5K and all race proceeds went to Leukemia research. I thought Jim was a local news man at the ABC affiliate in Chicago and KC and kept looking for and wondering why we couldn't find the reporter anywhere in the crowd.  Unfortunately, Jim fought a long, hard battle with Leukemia that ended in the mid-1990s. His son runs this event in his memory. I'm glad we didn't ask someone where Jim was.

I had an unexpected running partner for this race - KC. He runs on the treadmill regularly, but doesn't run outside or have any interest in running races. But, since we were on vacation, he decided to strap on a bib and enjoy a run along Lake Michigan.

It was 85 degrees at race time, but I'm not kidding when I say it felt cooler at race time in Chicago than it does when I get up to run at 6a in Georgia. The race kicked off on the local news and you can see me (in white hat and pink shirt) and KC run by around the 1:07 mark of the video.

He paced off of me the whole race and out-sprinted me at the end to post a 25:40. I was very pissed that he beat me proud of him.

I was proud of my time and I ran better than I have in my last two timed events. The girl who won my age group actually came in third overall female with a time of 19:02. Holy f-ing cow.

They had a few food trucks at the post-race festivities. My favorite - the Chubby Wiener.

After the race we decided to walk along side the lake through Lincoln Park and enjoy the fabulous weather. We ended up walking three of the six miles back to the hotel before it got too dark for us. Along the way we watched beach volleyball tournaments and a dodgeball game that was pretty intense.

After seeing what competitive dodgeball is about first-hand, there's no way I will ever willingly participate in a dodgeball game. Insert balls flying in my face joke here.

Between the mile and a half walk to the race (after getting off on the wrong L stop), running three miles for the race and walking another three home, our legs were a little on the sleepy side to say the least. Our big plans for taking in the comedy festival that is in town this week were quickly nixed. Old people need their rest.