September 6, 2008

Those were the days

I woke up at around 8:30 this morning and realized our power had gone out (but had since come back) because of the storm. That's why my alarm didn't go off, in fact. It was still pouring and pretty windy and I remembered all those great long runs I did in the rain (especially this one with Mary)...and then decided to put off my run until tomorrow. Although I really do love running in the rain, I am not nimble these days and worried that I'd have to hurdle a branch or something and would injure myself in some other way. I really hate that I'm not hard core anymore, but I have to do what I need to do to keep myself healthy. So I headed downstairs to the bike and watched several shows (a couple of "House" episodes and "Swingtown") as the rain continued to fall. I felt good, but finishing a trainer ride while it's raining outside is nothing like finishing a run in the rain. What can you do?

Today was Matt's birthday, although we didn't do anything too exciting until tonight when we went to a really cute place for dinner. During the day, I cleaned while Matt relaxed (forgivable on his b-day) and then we did a bunch of errands once it stopped raining. I was still thinking about how I wished I could have run this morning when we got home from our errands, so I hopped on the bike for another little spin. It sort of helped.

I surprised Matt by making a dinner reservation at this small restaurant in Garrett Park, which is a tiny part of Rockville/Bethesda that still has an old-town feel. The restaurant is in the "town center" building, which is basically a big house that has this restaurant and the post office in it. It was really cute and we both enjoyed our entrees and especially the local peach cobbler that we split. Happy birthday Matt!

Posted by becky at 11:06 PM | Comments (0)

September 5, 2008

Long-feeling short week

I am getting ready to leave work and all I've been hearing around the office is how long this week has felt--despite the fact that it was only four days long! I am very much looking forward to the weekend (Matt's birthday weekend) and also to the fact that Matt is coming back from his travels this afternoon. The remnants of Hurrican/TS Hanna are supposed to come our way at some point this weekend, but I am not too worried. I'm sure I can come up with plenty of activities--from biking to shopping--to do indoors.

So this morning I woke up somewhat on time and headed out for a run. My back/butt is more of a soreness than a sharp pain now, but it does restrict my range of motion. I don't have that much need for a huge range of motion with my shuffly stride, but I would have enjoyed the run more had I been less tight. On the other hand, my knee behaved. I did a rather hilly route and I really felt like I was crawling along, and it was quite humid, but all in all not too bad of an outing. I managed to get on the bike for a little while too. I tried to stretch out my back and hips a lot with my rope but sitting all day hasn't been good. Thankfully I will be heading out soon.

Happy weekend to all!

Posted by becky at 4:53 PM | Comments (0)

September 4, 2008

Rushed morning

I knew I had overslept when I opened one eye and saw how light out it was. Ugh! I occasionally turn my alarm off when I mean to hit the snooze bar and this morning I didn't have Matt's alarm for a backup! I bolted out of bed and knew my plan of running and biking wasn't going to happen. I had just enough time to ride the trainer for an episode of "House" and even that was pushing it, but I am generally on time to work so I figured one slip-up was okay. I worked as hard as I could in the short time I had.

To complicate matters this morning, my butt/back (sciatica?) was killing me. It didn't bother me while biking, but I couldn't really do my sit-ups and it was uncomfortable walking around all day. I think sitting made it worse. I took Advil to no avail and iced as well. I tried stretching. Eventually I took a little walk after a marathon staff meeting and I felt a little better. But I didn't know if I would be able to run at the gym. I foam-rolled and stretched when I got there and gave it a whirl on the treadmill. It was weird thinking about an ailment other than my knee (she was on good behavior). It actually didn't bother me much while I was running but it didn't help matters. I avoided any lifting things that hurt and I am going to search for my heating pad tonight.

On a non-running-related note, I recently heard the tragic story of folk singer Katie Reider, who died of a rare facial tumor a couple of months ago at the age of 30. (Great New York Times article here.) While she was ailing, her friends and fans started a site to expose people to her music--http://www.500kin365.org (the URL refers to their goal of getting 500 people to download her music in the next year). I hadn't heard of Katie but she opened for many of my favorite artists, including Catie Curtis. I encourage any folk fans to check out the site, learn about all the lives Katie touched, and download her music.

Posted by becky at 9:22 PM | Comments (0)

September 3, 2008

Not a great run

Lately my runs have been very unpredictable. I've hypothesized in the past that I am not butt-clenching during the bad ones, and I think that held true today. It's sort of like I run normally (i.e. my old stride) and it feels good for about 20 minutes and then--that old, familiar ache comes creeping back and I want to unscrew my knee and leave it by the curb. I actually thought to myself today, "I don't feel like I am using my butt and hips and hamstrings" but decided to ignore it. I think it is just frustrating to have to think so much about every step...but that is also why it seems that my runs get better as I string days together.

Alas...I was not in a good mood when I got home from the run and on the bike (my route was my AU Park neighborhood loop from the weekend). At least I had an episode of "The Hills" to watch. That was about all I had time for, and despite leaving for an appointment on time, I was late because the traffic is all different now that "summer's over."

Speaking of summer, it was 95 degrees today. Ironically this is the hottest it has been since July. And I don't mind too much because it is nice in the morning and who am I kidding, I'm inside all day at my desk!

I rode the spin bike tonight at the gym for a bit while catching up on the latest celebrity gossip on TMZ's nightly show (I don't even know what it is called). Highly entertaining. I was also entertained by the gym regulars having a political "debate" (i.e. calling each other stupid because of their political beliefs). It was all in good fun though and I enjoy the banter sometimes, as long as it isn't directed at me.

Matt is still away for a couple more nights and I am doing my usual taking advantage of the quiet and heading to bed early. An extra hour usually makes a difference for me at work the next day and I have several meetings on the agenda tomorrow!

Posted by becky at 9:50 PM | Comments (0)

September 2, 2008

And so it goes

Getting enough sleep this weekend was great because it wasn't that hard to get up when the alarm went off this morning! I was just kind of down because I knew that Matt would be leaving tonight for another few days and I am tired of all his trips. In any case, I was dressed and ready to bike in no time. I watched most of "Definitely, Maybe" and I am even going to finish it tonight. Of course it was cheesy and a chick flick, but those get me every time. I do, however, feel like Abigail Breslin plays the same part in all of her movies: a beyond-her-years, witty ten-year-old (or however old she is). Whatever brings in the (big) bucks, though, right?

Biking felt good although my knee was a little stiff. Sometimes it feels that ironically my knee bothers me more on days I know I don't have to run. Maybe it is psychological or maybe this is because I usually have run several days in a row before taking a non-running day. Maybe it's a little bit of both, huh?

I was glad to have my office mate back today after a week of vacation. We are quite compatible as work buddies because we can both do our own thing but stop at any moment to bounce an idea (work-related or not) off of each other. Otherwise things were pretty quiet around the office; I imagine people are still getting caught up after that final summer vacation.

Everything was status quo at the gym tonight, except it seems that each night I notice the sun setting earlier. I don't really mind when it gets dark earlier; it just makes me think summer is over and it really isn't, at least not in terms of weather. In any case, after lifting, I made sure to foam roll my shoulder/upper back since it has been sore for a few days. I can fall asleep in virtually any position and that often results in neck/shoulder/back cramps--must be more careful when closing my eyes!

Posted by becky at 9:14 PM | Comments (0)

September 1, 2008

Relaxing day

For the third (and final) weekend day, I slept late enough so that I actually felt rested when I woke up. Although I knew it would eat up a chunk of time during the morning, I decided to go to the gym and do my workout plus lifting to get it out of the way. It ended up being a good decision. First I ran for about 40 minutes on the treadmill. It was nice not to have hills to worry about! I felt good, but I think I will make tomorrow a non-running day--I've had four decent runs in a row (three outside) and I don't want to push my luck.

After the run, I switched to the spin bike and got even sweatier. I alternated between watching coverage of Hurricane Gustav and an "America's Next Top Model" marathon. Biking felt fine although I did not stay on too long because I didn't want to run out of energy for lifting. Having a Balance bar helped, too, and I was able to get through most of my normal weekday routine without crashing.

When I got home it was after noon already, and Matt was about to leave to go play some touch football. I ended up sitting outside in the backyard and reading for a few hours; it was a beautiful day in the shade. I also had time for a quick trainer ride while watching "Oprah." (True fact: this is the first time I had ever watched "Oprah" but she had the author of "Eat, Pray, Love" on and I wanted to hear what she had to say!) Tonight we went over to our neighbors' house for dinner and were highly entertained by their one-year-old son. I actually feel like I had a long weekend, and hopefully the beginning of the work week won't be too hectic!

Posted by becky at 8:45 PM | Comments (0)

August 31, 2008

Glad for an extra day

We watched another movie last night that I fell asleep halfway through. I am very predictable. I slept on the couch for probably an hour of what was left of the movie and then whatever Matt watched after that. I don't think that counts as quality sleep because once again, I had a hard time waking up! But it was much less humid and cooler out when I finally did get outside for my little run, so it wasn't too bad.

I ran basically the same route as I invented yesterday, but in the opposite direction. It was much hillier this way and I was probably a little slower. But I had no major complaints, just a few twinges, and I managed to pick up the pace a little toward the end. My knee has been a little sore for the rest of the day; that seems to be how it goes. I biked when I got back while watching a random movie that was on TV--I think it was "Anywhere But Here," featuring Natalie Portman back when she was a kid and not yet a sexy movie star. I biked easily the whole time because my legs were really sore and tired from the hills!

Matt and I took a walk up to the shopping area that is near the Friendship Heights Metro, the stop closest to our house, this afternoon. It is about a 15-20-minute walk each way and the sun was really hot so I was not too happy until I got into the nice and cool stores. One of our goals was to look at couches at Bloomingdale's, but the furniture department at this particular store was very small. We ended up each getting a couple of summer items on sale at various stores, so it wasn't a totally unsuccessful outing.

When we got home, Matt went to play basketball and I just did some abs and stretching because I wasn't in the mood to go to the gym. I was sweaty enough from our walk anyway. Now I am going to go make dinner, the first time I've cooked a meal in a few days so it better be good!

Posted by becky at 7:28 PM | Comments (0)