Running foo'

Yesterday I went for my first outdoor run since November of 2009. It was amazing...ly hard. It felt great to be outside - just me, the pavement, my ipod, and some sunshine. In some ways, though, it felt like starting over. Two and a half miles had my lungs searing, and the extra weight on my frame made me feel like I was running in slow motion. Clearly, I have some work to do, if I'm going to keep my date with the 2011 Missoula half marathon... I stood her up last year, what with being enormously pregnant and all, and I don't want to leave her hangin' two years in a row.

Snibble, No. 1

(Author's note: snibble was my grandfather's word for a 'little bit', usually in reference to a snack or other food item. In his memory, I have decided to call short, single story posts "snibbles." Love you, gramps...)

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Last night before bed Luis was reading his Runner's World magazine, giving me some tidbits from the Human Race section. He told me about an ultra marathoner (someone other than Dean Karnazes) who runs crazy distances - and fast. This guy ran a 100k race (62 miles), and then the following week he ran the Boston marathon in two and a half hours. (I should add that this is only slightly longer than it takes me to run half that distance. Holy crap.) Then he read to me about a blind guy who ran seven marathons in seven days, each on a different continent. The blind guy's slowest marathon time was about five and a half hours - still a little faster than my anticipated marathon finish.

The crux of this story? I run slower than a blind guy with jet lag.

Real quick-like...

I finished my 5k this morning in :30:14. That made me happy. The 10k last weekend took me 1:07:34 (although I heard that they mismeasured the course, and it was a little longer than 6.2. I'm sticking to that story...) I've been getting down on myself lately about my race times - I've definitely lost some speed since the summer, and I wasn't fast to begin with. I have to keep reminding myself that I do it for fun, and that plenty of people never sign up for a race at all, so I should still be proud of my accomplishments.
That being said, Luis and I are going to start doing some speed work this week. I want to run my next 10k in under an hour, dammit. :)

It was lovely being off work today - I got a lot done. I ran a race, washed seven loads of laundry, did the dishes, washed my car, went to the store, and I'm just getting ready to finish up my care plan for obstetrics. I've been super busy the past few weeks, and sleep deprived to boot. Last weekend I worked all weekend, and also wrote two papers. I was up until about 3:30 on Sunday night finishing up, then I had class on Monday, and clinicals on Tuesday and Wednesday starting at 6:30 am. There just hasn't been any time to catch up on sleep. However, I'm off tomorrow, and I can finally sleep in! (If you call my house before 9 am tomorrow, I will hunt you down where you live.) Of course, when I do get up, I have another paper to write. Oh, well. Can't win 'em all...

All things miscellany...

Due to the large number of projects I've taken on for this year, I figured that I might be a little more stressed than normal.
Yep.
There's this constant low-level stress humming in the background of my head almost all the time lately. I feel like I'm managing okay, and I think that I'll get everything done that needs to be done. Sadly, when I get busy, the first thing to go is my social life. The second thing to go is my skin. So basically, this fall I've become a recluse with acne.

Missoula is so beautiful in the fall - the neighborhood near campus is a riot of reds and oranges. I love the cool, crisp smell of the autumn leaves.

I'm a feminist and a cynic, so I have a tough time with some of the wedding crowd. For example, I like the idea of do-it-yourself wedding projects, but I have a hard time not poking fun at some of the women on the wedding websites. They all have screen names and graphics that say things like "257 days until I get MARRIED!!!" or "future Mrs. Peterson!" Seriously, gag me with a cake topper. I understand the excitement of getting married, and I understand being excited about having a wedding. I know that these girls are probably just giddy in love, and that I shouldn't be so judgemental. But, I hate the idea of a woman basing her sense of self worth solely on her marital status, and I sincerely hope that they realize how wonderful and important they are all by themselves, whether a Mrs. or not...

Last week was my first week of ob clinicals, and I got to watch a young woman give birth. It was the first birth I've ever been present for, and it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. The joy in that room was so tangible it made my heart swell. It was human nature at its' best, its' most pure. It makes me excited about starting my own family someday...

I came to work this evening, and there was a huge jar of candy setting on the counter next to my computer. I, being the good girl, relocated it to the break room. However... I, also being the hormonal one, have been back to visit the break room three times since. :)

Tomorrow I'm running a 5k in the 2007 Pumpkin Run. I've never done a 5k before, and I'm hoping that I can push myself to go a little faster than my usual pace, since it's only 3.1 miles. Proceeds from the event go to the Missoula Food Bank. Should be a good time.

I'm a runner.

"The difference between a jogger and a runner is the entry blank."

~ Dr. George Sheehan

Tomorrow I'm running a 10k at the Blue Mountain Clinic All Women's Run. This will be my fourth road race, and my second 10k (6.2 miles). I signed up with the same long-legged friend with whom I did the Roots Run, but this time with the good sense to start farther back in the pack than her and a plan to meet up at the finish line.

It's supposed to be cloudy and 37° at race time. Here's hoping for a little sun...

Bedtime post.

Hi there. I tried to go to bed, but my mind wasn't quite ready for sleeping. Perhaps a little writing will do the trick.

We're in the middle of the third week of school. It's busy. I've had two weeks of inpatient pediatric clinicals, and they've gone well so far. Best thing about peds rotation = one day a week. Worst thing about peds rotation = twelve hour shifts. I'm seriously not a five AM kind of gal. I have a coffee pot, and on rare occasions I actually use it. Tuesday mornings at 5:00 are definitely some of those occasions.

Our first Montana Student Nurses' Association meeting was this week. We had pretty good turnout, and I think we'll have fun this year. I'm always impressed by my fellow students - our Community Health Director suggested some events and things we could do to volunteer our time, and sent around a sign up sheet for anyone interested. Everyone signed up. Nursing students are insanely busy, yet they all still want to volunteer their time and energy. Amazing people.

Luis's guitar recital is this Friday at the University of Montana. If you're interested in coming, contact me for additional information. It'll be good, you should go.

I'm off work this weekend, and I'm thrilled. It's been a busy couple of weeks, and I am ready for a break. I have a few homework assignments due Sunday, but other than that I'm planning to relax. I want to get to the Farmers' Market Saturday morning - there's only a few left for the year! I'm also running in the River City Roots Festival 4 mile run on Sunday. My friend Kate was looking for someone to run the race with her, and it sounded like fun. Hopefully I'll be able to check out some of the festival too.

I have an appointment at a bridal shop to try on wedding gowns later this week. Luis's brother Emilio found what he was sure would be the perfect dress, but I think I'm going to keep looking. :) I went dress shopping once this summer, and mostly I felt awkward being laced into twenty pounds of satin, beads and poof. (I also forgot to wear my engagement ring when I went to the boutique. That might have had something to do with it.) Anyhow, I think now that we've got a date and a location, dress hunting will be more fun.
Makes me wish my mom wasn't so far away.

Okay, I think I'm sufficiently tired now. G'night...

Mileage.

Awww... look - I got a certificate!

(Actually, when I logged in today, I'd run twenty-two runs, with a 110.5 miles total. Since June 8th. Awesome.)

Ten miles!

Yesterday I ran ten miles. That's the farthest I've ever run - I'm pretty pleased with myself. :)

I've added the handy nikeplus run log onto my sidebar. I used it once before in a post, but I didn't realize that it was a fancy one that will update with my new information all by itself. Kind of a cool little gadget, even though it clashes pretty badly with my page. So now, if you feel so inclined, you can track my running progress.

More race and running news:

Here is a link to the article in today's Missoulian about the race. There were over 3,000 participants this year. That's not too shabby in a town of less than 60,000. It's great to live in a place that has so many fit, active people.

I was number 128 out of the 208 female 10k finishers. I'm really proud of that. Not in the top 50%, but close enough to that I will be next year. :)

I run 30 to 45 minutes a few times a week, (or as often as my school schedule allows), but I've never done any actual "training". But, this week Luis is going to help me personalize a training schedule, so that I can be injury-free and prepared for the half marathon in July. I've started reading Jeff Galloway's "Marathon," and the schedules he suggests aren't that much more than what I'm doing - I just need to start increasing the distance on one of my runs each week to start preparing for a longer distance race. Time to recalibrate my nike + ipod kit! (I haven't had time to get to a track to recalibrate it since I got new running shoes a while back, but it's going to make my training so much easier to track and record...) Since I have plenty of spare time this summer (no summer classes - woohoo!), I'm going to go all out - speed work, hills, all of it.

I'm psyched.

Booyah!

I ran my first 10k today.

I finished in 1:02.

I rule.

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I figured on twelve minute miles plus some cushion for walking and water, which I estimated would put me at the finish in just under 1:20. Instead I averaged ten minute miles. And I did the first one in :09:15. Pretty respectable numbers for my first race. I'm not breaking any records, but I'm not last either. :) I'll post a link to the times when they're available.

I was waiting until after this race to decide for sure, but now it's official. I'm going to run the Missoula half marathon in July!

Feeling the crunch.

I'm in the throes of end-of-semester madness. This is without a doubt the most pressure I've felt ever at the end of a semester. I have several projects and papers that came due at the same time, and poor planning on my part has me scrambling to finish some independent clinical hours that I need for a class. Ick. Time management has never been my strong suit, but I'm working on it. Better luck next semester, I guess...

On a much more exciting note, tomorrow is my first ever road race! I'm running 10k in the Riverbank Run. I'm not fast, but I'm enthusiastic. The weather is supposed to be sunny and 75°. It's going to be a great day. :)