Running with Strangers..

Growing up i’m sure your parents always told you not to talk to strangers, well at least mine did. So when does that warning cease to be so important? Well yesterday I disobeyed my parents…shhh don’t tell ;)

Here let me explain..

You see, Saturdays as I knew them have drastically changed. They used to be days of relaxation and laziness but now my life revolves around running and therefore Saturday’s = long run days (and I wouldn’t want it any other way)! In my last post I mentioned having a scare this week with my potassium levels and getting in enough food. Since I was still a little nervous for the long run b/c I didn’t want to push myself too hard before I was ready. I decided before I headed out that I was only going to do 10 or 12 miles (instead of the 16 I originally wanted to tackle). As i hit the pavement I was feeling pretty good and actually excited for the miles that lie ahead. On an side note, while i am training out here in Cali I have been running by myself (on a very safe bike path) and so although I try and distract myself I usually end up focusing on how much i have left (and gasp i run without an IPod)!

Anyways, I was doing pretty good as I approached the 5 mile decision point, I could either turn around here and do 10 or continue another mile and make it 12. I was tired but still keeping about a 7:50 min average pace so I decided to keep going. I hit the 6 mile turn around point and started to feel the fatigue setting in. It wasn’t too bad but the thought of the 6 miles left felt rather daunting. I ran another mile and then I caught up with this guy  that was running about the same pace as me and we kept passing each other..you know the awkward time where neither of you is going to fast enough to really get away? So there I was freaking out inside because this was just so awkward and as hard as i tried I couldn’t seem to make myself go fast enough to leave this predicament.

That’s when i broke the cardinal rule that we learned as kids and started talking to this stranger :0

It fist started out as the typical “How far are you going?” “Are you training for anything or just running?” type of questions. By then I think we both just decided to run together. As we ran and chatted I kept thinking that I must being going really slow to be able to talk and not feel really tired..i would even get a little upset thinking that this guy was going to ruin my average..but then i would look at the best invention in the world (My Garmin forerunner 205) and see that i was still keeping about a 7:55- 8:10 min average pace. What the heck! how can this be?? But i really don’t feel like it is as hard as it normally is and i am doing better than i usually do at this point?! 

That’s when I was reminded of the amazing benefits of running with others. Man i am really boring all by myself i need to join a running group or something! When you are running with another person it causes you not to focus on running per se, and really find your rhythm. Oh and it made it go by so much faster!! As i approached the end of the 12 miles I was anxious to see what my time and average pace were…ready…I finished in 1:36 (1 hour and 36 minutes) and my average pace was a 8:02 min mile. yay!! and i felt really good afterwards (a lot better than i normally do after a long run)! Oh and don’t worry I didn’t push myself too hard (mom really i didn’t)!

People on the Bakersfield bike path beware..i might be striking up random conversations with you just for my running sanity!

Well that was pretty much the highlight of my weekend, oh and going shopping with one of my all time favorite best friends! Yes, there was defiantly wallet damage done and retailers cheering. I do feel a little guilty but all of Old Navy was 30% off (don’t worry I didn’t buy the whole store) and when you find the perfect pair of GAP jeans you just can’t pass them up! Oh well, if i have to eat more at least i can look cute doing it!

How was your weekend?

Please excuse me while I pass out..

Okay so i didn’t fully pass out but i did leave a family stranded at the register, mid-order, so i could spare them the sight of me on the floor which I was certain would have happened if I didn’t sit down and let my world stop spinning! Yeah a little embarrassing. Oh and it of course was at the perfect timing where there was only me and the sandwich maker in the front which caused me to say “Hey would you watch the register real quick i think i am going to faint” as I ran to the back and sat down in the nearest chair. Luckily my shift was almost over (15 minutes left) and I was able to drink some water and leave before anything else happened!

Why did I almost faint you ask? Well that is a very good question to which I am not quite sure but have my speculations…

1. I hadn’t gotten a lot of water since I had been standing at the register for most of my shift and might have been dehydrated before I even started work.

2. I have had problems with my potassium levels in the past and I think that was the main culprit. You see as I have mentioned earlier, I am training for two 1/2 marathons and a full marathon and with that the training plan that i am on has me running 38-50 miles a week which involves a lot of sweating (even for people like me who hardly sweat) and can throw your electrolytes off balance. I have also had a hard time getting enough calories in for all that I am expending during the week and I think my body had just had enough!

But I have to say it really scared me. My folks are in Hawaii right now and when my potassium levels had dropped really low before I had to go to the emergency room and have an IV to get them back on track and I really didn’t want a repeat! Fortunately, I was able to go home and eat potassium rich food and drink lots of water and PowerAde and now am feeling a lot better :)

This incident has made me stop and think though (along with the loving lectures of my family which I scared to death) that I either need to really increase my caloric intake to meet my running or I need to cut back running! Now I love running and am obsessed with it but I also love my clothes and don’t want to have to get new ones if I gain weight. Big dilemma…

However, I think i am really starting to see that my health is the most important thing and so, with a nervous spirit, I am choosing to eat more and listen to my body as I continue my training plan. By the way, this goes against everything that I have forced myself to believe and act on for the last 7 years (the eating more) so wish me luck!! Oh and thanks for listening to me unload :)

Have a great day!

Tea anyone…….??

As I had mentioned in my previous post, while being in the lovely land of Bako I am working part time. It is one of those always faithful jobs, you know the ones where you started in high school/college and every time you move back home you are able to pick up a few shifts here and there?! Yup that kind. I starting working at this place in 1999 (yeah crazy 10 years ago) and have worked there on and off for many years. I am working at a local sandwich shop (Sequoia Sandwich for all you locals) 2-3 days a week. It has been really good to get some extra $$ and give me something productive to do during my stay.

The nice part was that although it has been about 4 years since i have worked there, not a lot changes and well it was pretty easy to catch up and get back into the Sequoia routine. And I have a really amazing boss who has always be so gracious to let me come back and work when I want. It actually worked out really well because a girl was going on maternity leave so I am filling in for her while she is gone. So it’s all great right?

Well let me just say i don’t remember it being such hard work! Seriously folks, i mean my cheeks started cramping up from saying the same thing over and over with a smile ("Hi, what can i get for you...we have chicken noodle and broccoli cheese, is this for hear or to go?, etc.!") The first two days i was in “training” and just getting caught up on all that has changed and refreshed on everything else. It really hasn’t been that bad, kind of fun actually. However, when you start something new there tends to be some mistakes made…but you learn from them right?! Well I decided that if I was going to learn from my mistakes I might as well make them entertaining for every one else :)

For instance, always check that the spout is closed before you brew the tea or else two big bins of nice brown tea will soon be taking up residence all over the floor and mat. Also, when cleaning the cart don’t bend down in front of the swinging door where no one can see you or else they might just slam open the door, hitting you right in the head and sending you flying back across the floor, and finally…make sure you only sit by people with lids on their drinks during break or else you might end up with water spilled all down your pants right before you open!

Yay for being back to work! Who knows maybe i will have more entertaining stories to pass on from the never dull moments at the sandwich shop :)

I’m alive and writing from the other side of the Country :)

Ok y’all I am backkkk and I have missed each and every one of you crazy bloggers! I actually wonder if anyone is reading this little blog anymore since I think I just won the award for least dedicated blogger for the end of 2009! So first to my fellow readers/bloggers, you loyal ones that still check my blog and see the same post over and over again, all you who have nudged me back into this world that i love but so easily leave…I am offering a Humongous thank you and i vow right here and now that I am back in the blogosphere in full force and I will try my hardest not to let this happen again.

Now moving on :) Oh but I am also so excited to read what has been going on with everyone else as well. When i said i had been absent from this world I really meant it, I have not even looked at my blog for about a month and a half (gasp)…I know, I know and I am truly ashamed!

So without further ado..here is a little recap of all that has been going on and why I have been so absent..

I know that I had mentioned before that in Mid-November we got word that the Hubbs was being deployed in mid-December. This of course happened during the crucial part of our first cycle in our fertility treatments (I will expand on that more later) and since we never do anything normal we decided that in an effort to save some big bucks we were going to move out of our house and into storage and I was moving to Bako CA to stay with my parents while the Hubbs was gone. Oh and if you have a hard time doing math like me, we had about a month to get all this done and all our affairs in order before he left!

Some how we managed to get everything done and the Hubbs left a few weeks before Christmas (boo)! My wonderful Daddy flew out to the East Coast and together (with the Charles in tow) we drove cross country to bako in three very very long days!! I don’t know if you have ever driven for that long in a car with a yellow lab that has gas…not the most enjoyable! But everyone was a champ and we made it to Cali safe and sound!

The holidays flew by and I had such a wonderful time with friends and family although i missed the Hubbs so so much.

I knew that in order to keep my sanity and help the time go by fast I had to have things to work towards and look forward to. Which leads me into my newest (well not actually new but newly mega obsessed) past time…RUNNING :) Right before the Hubbs left he had gotten me a book about running for Women and boy did that feed the small obsession I had before. Since being out in bako I have decided to run in two different 1/2 marathons and the Hubbs and i are training for the San Francisco Marathon in July! It has been really good to have to the time to really get into the training (although i now revolve the rest of my life around my running) so don’t be surprised if I have several posts dedicated to this new obsession..like today I was totally excited to run 14 miles which is the farthest that I have ever ran before!

Oh and I also are so stoked (yes my cali language is coming back full force) that my good friend and someone I adore is going to be running with me in the Paso Robles 1/2 marathon in March! I am so proud of her and so excited to run alongside her!

I have also been working while i am out here (more stories from that later too) so I am really keeping busy.

The Charles is loving the warm weather and huge backyard that my parents have so graciously allowed him to take over (really folks…their woodpile is now his toy box as my mom says)! Believe me there will be plenty of stories to come on the new adventures/trouble of the Charles :)

I can’t wait to get fully into the swing of things and I will do my best to be a better blogger and keep everyone updated/entertained my the wako dog and my crazy life! Oh and for those of you wondering about the fertility stuff…unfortunately we did not get pregnant the first cycle and then since the Hubbs is gone (and he is a crucial part of the process) we are putting everything on hold until he gets back. I am not going to lie, I was very disappointed at first, but we had prayed a lot about it and I know that it will happen in God’s timing. We had actually had a false positive for about a day and that helped me see how much i want the Hubbs to be here for the whole process!

Thanks again everyone for not shunning me after my horrible bloggy behavior :)