Stretch it. Bend it. Rotate it.

Remember the last time when I was training for my half marathon?
I was complaining of a back pain.

I have learned that it is called piriformis syndrome
(I think "syndrome" sounds kinda harsh).  

 picture from: orthopod.com

Yep. I have been feeling a slight tinge of it since my last long run two Sundays ago. I have been stretching and thought I would share a few of these stretches with you. 

Tomorrow morning, if the temperature doesn't dip below 19,  I will be running some easy 3 miles or so with Ms. M and Mr. R.  If it does, I will head to the Y and run 3 miles. 

Thursday will be another 2 or 3 easy miles.  
 I will be doing stretches, especially those above, and massaging my ankles because they have been kinda stiff and tight. 

Any suggestions would be welcomed.

We are fixin' to have another bout of cold weather here.

Quite frankly, I am enjoying this winter a lot.

Mainly because winters here in SE Arkansas is mild and these few snow showers have made it seemed a little more like winter.  

I just don't like wet and cold. 

But sun shine and cold - bring it! 

Have a good night. 

I'll be in bed, reading blogs and messing around on Facebook.  

Wednesday Rambles

Hey y'all!
Long time no write.

On Sunday, I felt pretty bad-a$$ after your compliments of my 10 miles in the rain.

On Tuesday (that's when I usually run), I slept through an alarm that was set, but I had turned my phone to silent and, you know, a silent alarm is pretty much useless.  Silent alarm = oxymoron, right?

So today, I just wanted to "explain" my slight disappearance.  Without running, I don't really have much to talk about. 
My ankles have been tired. Do anyone of you have tired ankles from running?
Since Feb 13 is so near, I am kinda worried about injuries late at this stage of the game.  I have been doing my long runs like I am supposed to, but my weekday shorter runs are kinda ad hoc.  I'm not shooting for any time goals in this half marathon. I just wanna run it and enjoy it and hopefully shave about 1 minute off my previous record.

In other several non-running news/tidbits that I wanted to share ....

1. My younger brother is getting married! I guess when love strikes and the "feeling" or the "moment" is right, the knot will be tied. They are shooting for January 2012 wedding day. Now my momma has gotto consult the stars and the moon and the sun and the wind to see when all that will align with my brother's and my future SIL's horoscopes.
2. 
   
3. My puppy, Paddy Wag, got her first shots on Monday. She weighs a whopping 16.5 lbs. And we are working on "sit."

 

Paddy Wag in my boyfriend's office after the visit to the vet

And I am going to head to bed now. 

I want to be that early bird who gets to run around town tomorrow morning.

Nite!!

My First Virtual Race

I tried to complete this virtual race earlier this week - all 7.something miles of it. But because of a poor prerun hydration and nutrition, I struggled every bit along the way.  I logged 6 miles and also refrained from begging the boyfriend to drive me home.  Today, I wanted to finish the rest of it.

So, I started running this morning. About 1.8 miles into it, I knew I had completed that race distance. But I kept on going. I hated how I had to call the run off earlier this week, and I wanted to run nonstop, the entire race distance. And I did, plus a little bit more.

I am glad I did because I felt good after the run. Above is a picture of me, not wearing a blue top for a change after my 9 miles.

Here are the splits for this run:
Total Time: 1:53.39  Total Miles: 9:27 miles
11:51
11:50
11:51
12:10
12:18
12:20
12:34
12:39
12:42
3:21.91 (.27 mile)

It wasn't fast and I know I can do better. But I just don't really know what was going on with me. My legs felt a little heavy. My ankles just a tad tired. I felt like I could use a good massage - and I am not the kind of girl who likes to be massaged by strangers. Maybe I am a little tired?  Maybe I will continue running shorter distance (like 3 or 4 miles), but at a faster pace this coming week to give myself a little rest?  Ok, I have to laugh at myself when  I say 3 or 4 miles is a short distance. Haha. Six months ago, that would be my LONG RUN! Anyway ....  Do you have moments like these? Do you take a little break from running longer distance?