Pictorial Study of an Early Morning Run

While in Arkansas I had the privilege of going out and running through a portion of my childhood hometown.  I was really psyched about this because of the lower elevation and how much easier it would be to breathe.  You see, up here at almost 6000 feet above sea level there's less oxygen and my body has pumped up its red blood cell count so as to maximize the oxygen available.  I'm practically super human, right?  Running at 400 feet elevation would be like a walk in the park.

Wrong.  The air is freakishly thick and heavy and full of water and bugs and you have to chew it before you breathe it.  It weighs on you like a wet blanket.  It is not conducive to easy running.  But I ran anyway.  I ran because I like it and because I had the unique opportunity to run with my brothers and because it's good for me.  Yadayadayada.  And because we rewarded ourselves with Starbucks afterward.

One morning we went across the Arkansas river and back.  Really far, huh?  Told you I was super human.  Just kidding.  My parents live about 3 blocks from the river.  Anyway, the point is I took some pretty cool pictures with my nifty iPhone.  I want to share them with you.

 

Sunrise over the Arkansas River.

Praying mantis over the Arkansas River. I have a thing for praying mantids.

Oklahoma rain forest.

Road kill.  Sorry 'bout that.  Forget I posted it. Think about this instead:

I Ran a 5K

I ran my first race!  Woo-hoo!  It was for a good cause -- a local organization that provides perinatal hospice to families who have received a devastating diagnosis for their unborn child. Our office was a sponsor of the event last year and this year.  I didn't run last year because I wasn't ready but this year -- this year it was time.

I've been following the C25K program and I wasn't to the end of it yet but I made myself run the full 5 kilometers last Wednesday just to see if I could do it.  And I did it.  It was slow, but I did it.  It took me just over 40 minutes.  On Saturday I did it in 37 minutes, 44 seconds.

I clearly have some things to learn about pacing myself.  On Wednesday I ran 5K without stopping.  On Saturday I had to walk a lot and I got very discouraged.  My problem, clearly, was that I was running too fast when I was running and then having to walk to make up for it.  Next time will be better.

So, first race done!  Go, me!

Updating the Number and Other Things

It's summer.  Summer means the kids are gone and I have lots of free time.  Free time that is eaten up by working out, traveling, tasting wine and playing kickball.  That doesn't leave a whole heck of a lot of time for writing.  Something's gotta give, huh?  As always, when I go on a writing hiatus, I miss it tons.

So.  First things first: The Number.  The Number is looking better.  I haven't quite reached my goal yet but that's okay.  I'm eating well and feeling great -- really, really great.  I've embarked on a workout schedule that I really enjoy. It is as follows: Monday, Wednesday and Friday are running days and Tuesday and Thursday are weight training days.  I have completed Week 4 of C25K and will begin Week 5 this coming Monday.  It feels really good to be moving and it feels even better to see muscle definition appearing in places I've never had muscle definition.  I'm on track to run a 5K at the end of July and I'm excited about it.

Early this month Paul and I celebrated one year since our first date.  It's been quite a year.  Paul is a great guy and I am fortunate to have him in my life. We went to Palisade, Colorado and celebrated there.  More about that in the next post.  And lots and lots of photos.  Hold on to your hats.

My 31st birthday is coming.  It feels weird.  Thirty didn't bother me at all; it was fun, actually.  Thirty-one isn't bothering me, per se, but it does feel much, much older than 30 did.  I don't know why.

Later this week I will leave to pick up the kiddos in Albuquerque.  Then we'll head to Arkansas to see my family.  It's been way too long since we've seen them.  I have missed them so.  The kids are pumped.  It's always so much fun to see my kids playing with my siblings.  After a week or so there, we'll head back to Albuquerque where the kids will stay to spend the rest of their summer break.  On a side note, I'm looking forward to running at thousands of feet lower than my current elevation to see how much easier it is.  I only hope the humidity doesn't make it that much more difficult to breathe.  I will report on that next week.

On a blogging note, I have tons of stuff I want to write about but I'm afraid I won't remember it all.  I should start saving notes on my phone or something.

I Can Totally Do This!

I'm not working today -- yay for PAs that go on 2-week vacations to Switzerland and leave the office needing only 2 nurses!  So that means I had time to run and lift weights this morning.

I did awesomely, if I do say so myself.  I programmed the treadmill for an hour.  I almost chickened out and put in 30 minutes but decided I'll never make enough progress that way.  So an hour it was.  I still don't have the endurance to run for an hour straight but I walked a minimum, just enough to take a drink of water and catch my breath again.  Wanna know how far I went?  Three.eight miles.  Woot!  That's roughly 6 kilometers for you non-metric peoples. That means I can totally run 10 kilometers in 4 months!  I can do this!  I am doing this.

As a bonus, I burned over 300 calories.  That's more than my breakfast.

Happy New Year!

And Happy Birthday to this blog!  This is my third New Year's blog entry, even if it's a day late.  Wow, time really flies, huh?

We had a great New Year's Eve celebration.  Jennifer and Caleb hosted a game night that we pieced together with a lot of people that didn't know each other before now.  At one point in the night someone commented that I was the only person who really knew everyone at our party.  And it's true.  I invited work friends, new friends, an old friend from high school who was in the area and of course, there were siblings, significant others and children.  It was a great time.

We played a few games, ate a lot of food, had sangria, wine and some mixed drinks.  We toasted the New Year on the porch with noisemakers, confetti and champagne.  (I was not impressed by the champagne, to say the least.  In fact, I thought it tasted vaguely of vomit, if you're interested.)

Jenn, Caleb, Paul and I have decided to run a 10K in May.  I'm nervous.  I was running a lot during the summer but that has fallen by the wayside since school started and all that.  Paul and I went running yesterday, although I hate to call it running.  We ran a little and walked a lot.  It felt good to be moving, though.  I have a loooong way to go, literally and figuratively speaking.

That's really the only New Year's resolution I have -- to run the 10K.  I don't like making New Year's resolutions.  In my opinion, it's kind of like celebrating Valentine's Day.  Why do I need a special occasion to make changes in my life or turn over a new leaf or show someone I love them?  Shouldn't that be an ongoing thing?  If New Year's resolutions help someone do that, I won't begrudge them that.  More power to them.  But I generally don't want to do it.

I did resolve to correspond with my family better during 2009 and I did, sort of.  With the exception of losing some gift cards and sending birthday cards late as a result, I did keep up my correspondence much better than I did in 2008.  So making the resolution did help that.  Let's hope it helps the running effort.

So ... Happy New Year, all!