November 20, 2008

Rolling country hills

I continue to be baffled by the difference in run quality from one day to the next. Today was rather hilly and all on roads and I felt...pretty good. Not free of every issue, but pretty good. I ended up running without my colleagues because they stayed up too late having fun, while I was a dork and went back to my room on the early side. It was probably for the best since I didn't have to worry about anyone else's pace.

The place we were staying was gorgeous--lots of open fields and gorgeous views. There weren't a lot of roads around, but I knew there was one long road leading to the (very cute) downtown Middleburg strip, so I just headed that way. I had thought at the last minute to bring my iPod so that was great. In fact, I felt like country-appropriate songs came on more than usual (Dixie Chicks, etc.) so maybe my iPod is psychic.

The hill down to the main road was a bit steep and I took it slow both going down and coming back up. Otherwise it was rolling, which is generally my favorite since it mixes it up and forces you to focus on your pace. It was pretty chilly but perfect for me. The two things that bothered me on the long, windy road were a pair of dogs behind a fence that went nuts each time I went by and traffic going way too fast for a road like that. But we weren't all that far from Washington, so I should expect it.

I'm not sure how long the run was exactly because I had an issue with my watch. I think I was running for about an hour and despite crawling up the hill leading to the resort, I did not feel that dead. It was a good run.

We spent most of the day "retreating" and then headed back to the big city after lunch. I spent a couple of hours in the office and then was on schedule for my usual gym visit. I wasn't feeling super motivated but I did a decent amount of lifting.

I have another trip scheduled for tomorrow--a day trip to Chicago for a meeting. I hope to get in a workout before having to leave for the airport and it will be quite early. Matt is in LA again, or on his way, I guess--we keep missing each other! I look forward to his return this weekend.

Posted by becky at 9:23 PM | Comments (0)

November 19, 2008

Playing it safe

I was planning on running this morning (it was a cold one) but I noticed that the inside of my knee was still sore when I stepped out of bed. I took it as a sign that it wouldn't be a terrible idea to take an extra biking day. I am really hoping to have a decent run tomorrow morning with a couple of my colleagues at our retreat--although the hotel's location leads me to believe our route will be hilly--so I told myself this would increase the chances of that. (Knowing my knee, it probably won't, but I am trying to be positive!) So I lowered the heat, opened the window in the basement (brr!) and cranked out a good workout. I watched two teenager-focused shows, "Gossip Girl" and "90210". I have never watched them back-to-back but I noticed a lot of (silly) similarities! As for my knee, it did not bother me and I did my usual hill workout. I hope the "rest" pays off.

I am skipping the gym tonight since we'll be en route to our retreat in the late afternoon and then having dinner. Being social is always a good choice in these situations!

Posted by becky at 12:14 PM | Comments (0)

November 18, 2008

Irritated

It was cold this morning--not cold enough to wear pants, but longer shorts (and gloves). Actually, I think it is a lot colder tonight than it was this morning because the wind is howling.

I don't want to dwell on the fact that my run wasn't so great this morning. Actually, I felt pretty good on the run--out and back on the Capital Crescent Trail--but I had a few telltale knee twinges that I knew would mean that my hot spot would be irritated for the rest of the day. It's just kind of the way it goes and I can't seem to predict when I will irritate it. I could bike for days and then have it happen, or I could do a longish run and feel great. And it's not like the pain is unbearable, but I am reminded every time I get up from sitting for a few hours after the run.

Anyway--aside from those complaints, I had a good day. Work flew by because we were crashing on a bunch of stuff, and then I went to the gym. The heat was blasting in there but you could only feel it in certain spots (where the vents were, I guess). I think there was one over the bike I was using--note to self to use a different one on the next cold day.

Matt is back from his quick trip to New York but I am gone tomorrow night on a work retreat and then Matt is off to California again by the time I get back on Thursday! And I am in Chicago for the day on Friday for another meeting. We are busy bees!

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

November 17, 2008

Beloved Monday

I woke up pretty easily this morning and I thought, maybe today won't feel kind of slow and blah like my recent Mondays. But then I looked in the mirror and saw a big sty under my eye--lovely! It has gotten better throughout the day but is still a little itchy. Of course it didn't interfere with my biking/television-watching ability: as long as I could get my contacts in, I was good to go. In fact, I think I biked pretty hard today, judging by the way my legs have felt the rest of the day. I didn't even hear Matt yell goodbye when he left! (He went to New York.) I was also watching a rather bloody "Dexter" episode, so I think I was distracted. I balanced that out with a less-gruesome "Grey's"--but definitely some heavy shows for the early morning hours.

My knee didn't bother me while I was biking, but I noticed on my walk from the car to my office that the back of my knee was achy. This is something that has plagued me off and on for years and I've gotten several different diagnoses, from popliteal tendonitis to a hamstring injury to "that's just where you are feeling your arthritis." It's not really painful; it just feels like I need to put my leg up on something and stretch, if that makes any sense. Anyway--I am keeping an eye on it and it didn't bother me tonight at the gym, so that was good. I did one new chest thing tonight and I have a sinking feeling that I am going to be very sore in the morning.

Matt is at a very cool event tonight: 24 Hour Plays on Broadway (http://www.playbill.com/news/article/123379.html). It is a benefit which, according to Playbill, "attracts some of entertainment's biggest names as they join forces to participate in a rite of extreme live performance: writing, directing, and performing six original short plays, all in just 24 hours." When they say big names, they mean it--everyone from Julia Stiles to my personal faves, former "ER"-ers Maura Tierney and Julianna Margulies. He is under strict orders to secure autographs for me at the after-party. Next year I am going to plan better so I can go too!

Posted by becky at 9:16 PM | Comments (0)

November 16, 2008

Better today

I let myself sleep in this morning and felt well-rested (for once) when I finally did get out of bed. I heard the wind howling, though, and I had a feeling that the temperature would be significantly lower than it was during yesterday's run. It was definitely on the brisk side, but only because of the wind. I would much rather fight the wind than the humidity.

My legs definitely felt more normal today than they did yesterday, although my knee bothered me a little bit and I have a feeling that the bruising from the fall contributed. It's hard to tell since it's all in kind of the same area. But paying attention to my form (i.e. clenching my butt) helps that area, too--so at least there was that. In general I felt slow on the (minor) hills and pretty strong on the flat parts. I ran mostly in Chevy Chase and wondered where all the stray leaves were--I guess leaf cleanup is more precise in the tonier neighborhoods!

The rest of my day was pretty relaxing, except for the 20 minutes I spent in Whole Foods. I don't know why I go there in the middle of the day on the weekends. It was extremely crowded and there were way too many people walking around pushing their carts aimlessly with one hand and holding their cell phones to their ears in the other. Aaargh!

I biked tonight while waiting for my lasagna to cook. I don't think I ate enough all day though and didn't feel too energized. But I did get to watch another episode of "Gossip Girl" so I can't complain too much...

Posted by becky at 8:43 PM | Comments (0)

November 15, 2008

Too humid for Nov.

I had been looking forward to today's run all week because I planned to meet up with Liz (my idea--she agreed to slow down for me). Although I enjoyed the company, today just wasn't my day. First of all, it was super humid and already 65 degrees at 9 am. Not my kind of weather. Second of all, my knee has felt better in recent days than it did today. Thirdly, I slipped on some leaves and wiped out, right on the inside of my knee where all my other issues are! It was just a little cut and bruise but I wasn't happy about it. Otherwise, we had great conversation and I was definitely glad to be distracted from some of my complaints. We started our run in Georgetown and did the loop I used to do with Camille on Sundays. The last few miles were on the Canal which was chock full of muddy puddles! It would have been kind of fun to dodge them if my legs weren't feeling like lead and my knee wasn't hurting me. Ah, the joys of a sub-par run (but thanks, Liz, for not noticing too much!) I will try and remember to ice both the new and old aches tonight.

The rest of my day went by quickly. My stomach has been bothering me a little ever since I got home from running--I think I am still a little dehydrated from the humidity--but I rallied to have lunch with a grad school friend in town for the weekend. Then I drove out to Dulles to pick up Matt and we took the opportunity to swing by a nearby Wegmans. We could spend all day there--it really is a huge store. We finally got back home around 6 and plan to stay in tonight. Although I didn't do anything too strenuous today, I am pooped!

Posted by becky at 6:25 PM | Comments (0)

November 14, 2008

Rainy run!

The Jets pulled through and won a big one over the Patriots last night, but not before the game went into overtime. That meant I was up a lot later than planned, so it was not easy to get up and outside into the rain this morning. But it was actually only misting a little and it was quite warm. I wanted to stay on the bike path as much as I could to avoid traffic lights as I got a bit of a late start! So my loop was really more of an out-and-back but I had my iPod and I was feeling okay so I didn't mind. My knee was a bit twingey today and it was probably good that a lot of the run was on gravel/dirt. I tried to take it really easy so that I can hopefully have a couple of decent runs this weekend as well--we'll see.

Since I didn't get a chance to lift yesterday, I went after work today. A bit out of the ordinary for me on a Friday, but Matt is still in L.A. so I was making my own schedule tonight. The gym was definitely a lot quieter than it is on weeknights! I didn't do a whole lot and now I am looking forward to a couple of hours of catching up on TV...if I can stay awake!

Happy weekend to all--enjoy tracking the NCAA regionals if you are anything like me!

Posted by becky at 9:25 PM | Comments (0)