solar squirrel

Of course I just finish putting my running schedule on my calendar for Towpath (10/11) and go for my paced six mile run Sat. and 4 miles in my dumb knee starts hurting.  I think I have re-injured last year’s IT band.  I ramped up too quickly from being a sedentary runner.

Argh…it is SO frustrating to have the fitness and endurance for something but at the same time not be able to do it!!  So my 13 mile run turned into 5 yesterday (thank you Bridget for stopping and walking with me mutliple times!)  Tonight I’m swimming and tomorrow I will foregoe the track in order to ensure that I get enough rest.  I’ll take a week off of running and then see where I am.  I think the main thing I need to start doing is strength training, since my left leg is so much weaker than my right.

Last Sunday I did the Planet X sprint triathlon - I went into it knowing I was not in the best shape and would be happy with just finishing but I ended up feeling really good the whole time (except during the swim - thank goodness I brought my wet suit!!) I felt good on the bike and I was talking to people - I scared one person when I said hi to her!  Then on the run I was able to run w/ Daisy, until the end where she pulled ahead and beat me.  It was fun and the weather was perfect!  I ended up w/ 3rd female overall - with Mel and Daisy taking 1st and 2nd.  (And wouldn’t you know it - the 3 of us are part of the Akron Marathon relay - LOOK OUT!!)

This was just what I needed to motivate me to get my butt in gear and start a more regular workout routine.  After Sunday’s good turnout, I managed to get in a track workout on Tue, a trip to Westbranch for some mountain biking on Wed, spin class on Thurs, and a solid 12 miles running w/ SERC today in Solon.  Now, for many people I know 4 days of workouts is a joke - but compared to what I’ve been doing this is PHENOMINAL!  I plan to slowly get myself back to 7 days/week.  (Using my swim day as a rest day).  At least for the summer I should be able to handle this, but once school is back in session I’ll likely fall apart again.

Planet X results:

Swim (1/4 mile):  7:12
Bike (11 miles):  36:12 - 18.2 mph
Run (5k):  23:04 - 7:26/mile

At the finish - still feeling good!

Thanks Joey for the pictures from Planet X!  Someone told me they saw pics of me from it and I was thinking it had to be from Joey playing photographer!

My blog needs updates…but I’ll get to it on a day that I don’t have a million other things to do.  For now all you need to know is that my newest goal is to run a 3:30 at Towpath.  (and not die doing XTERRA this year…)

I cannot believe that June is almost over and I’ve basically been a sedentary blob since I started my new job.  Gone are the days of feeling like a slacker if I didn’t work out at least once per day.  I’ve managed to evolve into someone who only exercises about once or twice per week - and doing that is beginning to look like an accomplishment.  My desire to do well at my new job has caused me to eliminate focus on almost every other piece of my life…which goes against my NUMBER ONE RULE, which is that having the proper balance of family, work, social, and fitness/health are key to being HAPPY.  (Note that I didn’t say these were key to being wealthy or key to having a perfect body, etc…since I am not convinced that tipping the scale any one way is equivalent to providing life-long happiness).  In any event I have broken my rule and on my red eye flight back from San Diego Tue/Wed I decided ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.  This is getting ridiculous and I need to get back into a routine that puts me in charge of my balance.  It is not asking too much to take an average of one hour a day to exercise.  Whether it’s running or biking or swimming or whatever,  I’m going to do it because that’s what provides me with balance and happiness.  If it happens that I use 1.5 hours one day and .5 the next, whatever, but it’s going to happen because I’m beginning to feel like a spectator rather than a participant in my own life.

Which leads to tomorrow’s sprint triathlon at Monroe Falls park.  It’s the first of the season for me - I haven’t done a brick workout in probably 8 months and can’t remember the last time I swam, but it should be a fun time regardless.  It’s local and there are a few friends who will be there which will make it fun even if I’m in last place.  It will be good just to get out and do a race!  The weather is supposed to be nice too, so it will be enjoyable.  Looking ahead the XTERRA triathlon is a month away and I haven’t been on my mtn. bike once!  I’m planning on heading to West Branch this Thursday so if you are reading this and you want to go please let me know so I will have someone to ride with in case I die!  I will plan on hitting West Branch once per week until XTERRA which will be about the same training as I did last year.  Hopefully there won’t be too many runners so I don’t come in last place.  (Last year I ended up passing quite a few people on the run, but basically was the slowest mtn. biker on the course…)  I have a feeling that Daisy may just win it for the girls!

Ok - off to do Saturday stuff - going to a friend’s ‘Summer Solstice’ party and enjoying a day of REST!

I’ve had this stupid sore throat for over a week but I think I’m finally getting better.  I managed to get in a few workouts, but nothing substantial.  Again I have gotten buried by work, mostly because everything is new and it takes me twice the time to figure something out because I have to ask questions and do independent research on things.  Luckily as time goes on things will get easier because I will be more comfortable with the industry.  It’s still incredibly exciting and I’m LOVING it!

I am leaving Sat. for San Diego for a water conference.  Basically I’m going to man our product booth and explain our technologies (yikes!).  It should be a fun learning experience.

Workout-wise I’ve been a huge slacker, but I am going to start training for the towpath marathon like - today.  E-Speed told me that I could do an 18 week program, but I’m already behind so I’ll have to pick it up in week 16…or whatever week I’m on.  Can you tell I’m not awake yet?  (Still drinking coffee - I realized that I could start keeping my blog up to date if I did it in the morning while drinking my morning coffee and waking up)

In other news Todd’s parents are here visiting from Oregon and he has put them to work remodeling his bathroom…which has caused there to be several new holes in places where we didn’t used to have holes (to get to the pipes).  It’s been disappointing because we wanted to get a bigger shower but because of the location of things we’re going to have to stick with the same size; and hot and cold water pipes are in locations which require punching holes in walls, etc.  I can’t wait to see it complete, though - it’s going to be very fancy!

Thanks for keeping me on my toes, Ben R. - this blog post is dedicated to you!!

I feel like I’ve been moving forever.  I started on Saturday, packing up everything and getting ready for the moving truck on Sunday.  I worked ALL day Sat. cleaning and packing, then moved ALL day Sunday, and did unpacking and finishing up today.  I have about an hour’s worth of work left for tomorrow and then I’ll finally be done!  Sheesh.  I know that the following will be unthinkable for most of my running friends - but I haven’t ran since THURSDAY.  Yes, that’s right - it’s been 4 days sans running for me.  I have been so sore and tired from moving that there is absolutely no way that I could have brought myself to go running.

Friday I went mtn. biking at Ray’s indoor mtn. bike park - what a fun time!  I was so scared at first, but then I just forced myself to go over stuff and go through certain sections.  The part that scared me the most was the fact that the ground is concrete, and that there are lots of people riding around.  I didn’t want someone to crash into me and cause me to go flying into the hard floor!  When I took the shin guards off my pants were soaking wet from sweat!  It seriously was such a good time, I just wish it wasn’t so out of the way to get to, or I would go there more often.  Definitely a fun place to hit up after work during the winter, though.

Tomorrow I’m getting back to running and heading to the Solon track with Bridget.  I should be feeling pretty good since I’ve had 4 days ‘off’.  (Trust me, moving is a tough workout).

Yesterday was a cold, rainy, yucky day.  I told myself if I went running in it I would reward myself with a new pair of running shoes (which I needed anyway - I’ve been running on the roads in my trail shoes because I didn’t want to spend any extra $).  I bought some cute pink Asics which have tons of support.  I’ll wear these at Boston.

So I forced myself to go out in the rain and run.  You know - it wasn’t so bad!  I wore shorts, technical Tshirt, and a light fleece and gloves.  I was cold for about 20 seconds when I first walked outside and then I was perfect.  The rain wasn’t too bad at all, and I was out on the towpath by myself.  I like running on the towpath when no one else is around because you can hear the river.  It sounds really neat splashing along.  Plus you can hear the birds now that the weather has warmed up a little.  I didn’t wear my watch, but I felt like I was running pretty fast.  I only ran like 5 miles because I didn’t have much time so I was running a bit faster than I normally would.

Thank you everyone for the wonderful words of encouragement and congratulations on my new job.  I’ll be posting info about it once I officially start on April 6th.  I’m so excited!

Tonight I’m going to Ray’s indoor mountain bike park.  I’m a little nervous as I haven’t been on my mountain bike for MONTHS!  Oh, well - it will still be fun!

First my training:

Monday:  Swam w/ Brian (we talked a lot but managed to do a ladder)
Tuesday:  Track workout - 2 * 800 and 4 * 400 with ~2:30 rest.
Wednesday:  7 mile trail run.  Fell hard and scraped up my knee and leg.
Thursday:  Rested after falling
Friday:  Swam w/ Kristin and Sharon
Saturday:  No working out - worked on school stuff basically all day
Sunday:  ~17 miles w/ SERC at 8:20-ish pace.  Laid tile in Todd’s basement.  Exhausted.

I need to get on the bike ASAP if I think I’m going to be doing any triathlons this year!  I am so excited about spring and outdoor cycling (road and mountain).

Now a super awesome update:
Last Sunday I got an email from the HR director at Aclara RF telling me she was in the process of putting together an offer letter for me!  This is precisely the type of job I wanted AND in the industry I wanted!  (Product Marketing Manager in the AMI - advanced metering infrastructure - industry).  I of course accepted the offer and I am scheduled to start on April 6th.  If you were wondering, no, I was not working with a recruiter to find this job.  That’s because recruiters told me that I wouldn’t be able to make a career shift into marketing.  Well, I refused to work for an industry I didn’t believe in doing work that I’m not excited about, so I went off on my own and found a growing company in an exciting industry.  I can’t wait to learn all about their products and help them become more successful.  After I ‘officially’ start I will provide more details and updates.

*It was actually 19, but I’m calling it 20.

What a great day for running yesterday was!  I planned to run w/ SERC again yesterday since Dawn showed me a really nice 20-mile route that goes out to the Polo Fields off of Chagrin River rd.  Bridget needed to get in 20 so she and I planned to run together at a pace that was comfortable for both of us.  I honestly don’t care too much about the pace when I’m doing anything longer than 12, I just want to get in the miles.  So her awesome hubby stashed gatorade and water for us at the 8/16 mile marker (that’s mile 8 and mile 16 - same spot) and we were set!

I was really impressed with our pace - which was sub-9 almost the entire time.  We had intended on 9:30’s but seemed to get into a groove at about 8:50 so we stuck with that.  I felt awesome until a little after the turn around.  It could be because we stopped for a while - had gu, drank water, used the bathroom, stretched - I think for next time I need to keep my rest time to about 3 min.  When we started back up I felt like I had stopped for too long and it was hard for us to get back into a rhythm.  (That was ~mile 12).  By the time we were at the top of the hill at 91 I was DONE.  Sore legs and super super super super SUPER hungry.  I was dizzy I was so hungry.  When we were back at the bagel shop I realized I had only done about 19 but at that point I either stopped and ate something or passed out.  Bridget had another mile in her and she kept going!  She’s out of control!!!!  She set out to do 20 and that’s what she intended to do!

I need to remember - one gu for 20 miles isn’t enough.  I need something w/ protein like a cliff bar or I just can’t do it.  Also - thank goodness for the water/gatorade that Steve left for us.  It helped break up the run because we used that as a target to get to.  My legs feel great today - no muscle soreness at all - just a little stiff in the ankles when I got out of bed.  (Which reminds me I have to buy some road shoes…I’ve been running in my trail shoes because I am trying not to spend any extra $, but road shoes are an essential item so I will maybe buy some today - and I may have some super exciting news about a job - you’ll have to stay tuned for that!!!!)

I also have some great news about my ENTP project.  I’ll save that for another post - check back soon!

Sunday was our SERC running club banquet and the Youngstown Half marathon.  Last year I did pretty well - finishing 10 min faster than the year prior.  I approached this year knowing that I would probably be slower due to the fact that it’s been difficult to get a regular running routine down since being laid off.  I know that doesn’t make any since at all, but it’s really hard when each week is different than the last.  I’m balancing an incredibly intensive course-load this semester - 3 classes that all require TONS of work outside of class.  Adding to that are random interviews, career fairs, networking events, etc. that require prep. time and travel time.  I never know what my schedule is going to be from week to week.  It makes it difficult to plan a regular workout schedule.  I’ve been putting tons of miles on my car driving back and forth to school, interviews, networking events, presentations, lectures, class group meetings, class interviews, and class presentations.  My time on the phone has also increased.  I had to increase my monthly minutes from 450 to 900 because I’ve been on the phone so much trying to nail down things for my class projects and getting tons of calls from recruiters who I wish would not bother me.

Side note on recruiters:  I hate you all.  You don’t care one micron about helping me find a career - you only care about getting your freakin’ money.  You are worthless and don’t understand software.  You mispronounce industry terms and don’t say acronyms correctly.  You are totally and completely without credibility or tact.  You are nothing but a poorly trained telemarketer who is lacking social skills and industry knowledge.

Anyway - needless to say I’m having issues staying focused on training.  Sunday at Youngstown I was reminded that I need to start putting more miles in.  I was only a few min. slower than last year - but I was really sore afterwords.  I’m still sore today - 2 days later.  My finish time was 1:47:13 (8:11 pace).  I’m not too terribly disappointed with this, but I would have like to have been faster or equal to my time last year.  In order to do that I need to run more - but I DREAD running by myself.  I just can’t do it.  I’ve only gotten better as a runner because of running with others.  Running alone is like running on the treadmill - I don’t like it one bit.  I used to religiously run Tue and Thurs with work friends at lunch.  I don’t have that anymore and boy do I miss it.  I can’t tell you how much I miss it.  It’s like a part of me is missing.  Ugh.

So here’s the good news:  It’s going to stay bright later now that the time has changed so I can start going to the track again Tue nights.  I’m planning on going tonight.  Bad news is that I’m moving out of Solon because I don’t have an income and my sister and I both don’t have jobs.  Solon is a great place to live if you’re a member of SERC because that’s where the Sunday runs are and we do track workouts at Solon High School.  What am I going to do in April when I don’t live there anymore?  I guess I’ll just enjoy these next weeks that I have while I still have them.  Hopefully I’ll get a job near solon so that I can at least still do track workouts after work without a long drive.  I know I won’t do them if I don’t have anyone to do them with.

So I made a promise that I would keep track of my workouts…not sure what happened but I didn’t stick with it.  Here’s a recap of the past week:

Monday:  Rest
Tuesday:  Ran 4 miles w/ Bridgette
Wednesday:  Swam ~1600 meters
Thursday:  3.5 mile tempo run
Friday: Elliptical and bike (30 min); swam ~1600 meters
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Ran 8 (pine lane) + 4 on towpath. 12 mi total.

When running yesterday I tripped on a root, fell hard and hurt my shoulder.  The trails are seriously dangerous in the winter.  I am really looking forward to some spring and summer weather!  Pine Lane was so bumpy my ankles were sore after only 8 miles!  Thank goodness Bridgette ‘forced’ me to run 4 more.  Brian wimped out after only 8.