Olympic observations

I am an Olympics junkie. I have been watching a lot of the coverage, and even recording it on the DVR so I can watch it later. Just call it my visual crack.

Being that I love it so, I have noticed some things that may or may not be interesting to anyone else. I will share these observations with you anyway.

1) Olympic swimmers are the most fidgety athletes ever. Every time they show the swimmers as they are waiting for the race to start, they're wiping their goggles, fidgeting with their caps and suits, again wiping their goggles, etc. Over and over again. Seriously. It's almost annoying. But I still heart watching them swim.

2) All the Chinese women gymnasts appear to be 12 years old. And I could probably scoop them all up in my palm and hide them in my pocket. They're that tiny.

3) Synchronized diving is just plain crazy.

4) Badminton and beach volleyball are surprisingly addicting. Honestly. I can't believe it myself.

5) While watching some men's rowing the other day, I thought "Why couldn't I have been that fast when I was a rower?" Then I remembered I was a woman. But the women Olympic rowers would totally kick my ass, too.

I just did a VERY short, VERY easy elliptical workout tonight to shake some of the soreness out. I am hoping to run tomorrow evening.

Today's stats:
Elliptical:
Time: 20 minutes

My legs...they have been worked

It's only 12:30 and my legs feel like they're ready to go to bed for the rest of the day.

I participated in the Arcata Sunrise Rotary and HealthSPORT Trail Run this morning, and I can say now that nothing chews me up and spits me out the way trail running does.

But it worked me in a good way. And I survived.

The course was gorgeous. Trails weaved through a redwood forest, the canopy so thick that it was too dark for sunglasses. I knew it would be hard when we reached our first hill at the 1/2-mile mark. A steep hill that seemed to climb forever, and continued around corners endlessly. I wasn't disappointed.

This course had some of the steepest hills I had ever seen. Seriously, there were at least two hills I walked up and felt like I was losing ground with every step. It was freakin' nuts! At least there were downhill sections after the uphills, but the uphills were quad killers.

I'm not ashamed to admit I walked up some of the hills. But I ran more than I walked, so I consider this a victory. When I crossed the finish line, I was so happy that I did this run. And I wasn't last! Yahoo!!!!

I was going to tack on another 2.4 miles to make it eight and qualify for Nancy's 8 on the 8th Virtual race, but my legs had other plans. Sorry, Nancy! Maybe I can squeeze in that additional distance tomorrow....

Today's stats:
Run:
Distance: 5.6 miles
Time: 1:11:20 (according to Garmin; I think my official time was pretty close)
Pace: 12:44 minute/mile

I'm doing the weekend trail run

I sent my entry form in the other day for the Arcata Sunrise Rotary and HealthSPORT Trail Run and Walk, set for this Saturday. The entire course (5.6 miles) will be run in the Arcata Community Forest. It is such a beautiful area, but trail running scares me. I am hoping entering this event will help me get over that fear. But I also anticipate having to walk some of it, especially since there are some gnarly uphill climbs in said forest.

After that run, I plan to tack on another 2.4 miles to meet the eight mile distance for Nancy's 8 on the 8th Virtual race. Looking forward to it!

I am planning on a short track run tonight. I don't want to run too much before Saturday's big event. I might do an elliptical workout today, too. We'll see how everything feels.

Oh, and I am DONE with physio! I don't know my final test score yet, but I feel confident that I scored better than 73, which is all I needed to get to keep my A. I should find out within the next couple days. I am so relieved it's over! Only 19 days until microbiology starts....

*Coming back to add stats*

I ended up doing two miles around the track. But I did "sprint" intervals instead of running a straight two miles. I only recorded my actual running time, although the entire workout was probably about 30 minutes (since I walked between intervals).

Today's stats:
Run:
Distance: two miles
Time: 18:43 (includes 1/2 mile warm-up jog, 1 1/4 miles of intervals and 1/4-mile cool-down jog; no walking calculated)
Pace: 9:21 minute/mile

*Coming back to add more*

I just heard from my physio teacher (via email), and I got 96 out of 100 on the final exam!! I got an A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Birthday hangover

I am having a birthday hangover today. Not an alcoholic hangover (I don't drink), but a hangover from all the fun I had yesterday. And that fun included a small hot fudge sundae AND chocolate cake. Yummy on the lips, torture on the hips.

So I did a nice, long brick workout today. I got out of school early, since we are having our final exam tomorrow, so I took advantage of the time for a stationary bike ride followed by a run. Talk about a great way to shed some of the guilt of eating all those sweets!

After tomorrow morning, I will be a free woman (school-wise) until the end of August! And I only have to earn 73 points out of 100 to secure my A! Yes!! Three A's in three classes! Next week I will be heading out on vacation with the kids, but I can't even think about it until I get past tomorrow.

Today's stats:
Bike:
Time: 30 minutes
Distance: 7.48 miles

Run:
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 32:25
Pace: 10:48 minute/mile

Who else shares my birthday?

I just Googled to see which famous people share my birthday. Interesting mix.

Just a few other August 4th babies:

*The Queen Mother
*Jeff Gordon
*Roger Clemens (this guy's a sleeze)
*Barack Obama (pretty timely, huh?)
*Billy Bob Thornton
*Daniel Dae Kim (from LOST -- love that show!)
*Kurt Busch (another NASCAR driver -- I only appreciate this now that Tim is part of a weekly NASCAR fantasy driving pool)

My entire physiology class sang happy birthday to me this morning. It marked the first (and probably) only time I will go to school on my birthday. I remember feeling sad as a child in school because my classmates with birthdays during the school year had special celebrations on their birthday in class, while we summer babies were lumped together to celebrate our birthdays on the last day of school. Today kinda made up for that. :-)

Tim and I are going out tonight. Not sure if I'll get a workout in afterward. If not, see everyone tomorrow!

*Coming back to add*
Tim and I did Day 1 of Week 4 of the One Hundred Push Up Challenge. That was it, though.
Total push ups: 73

Turning the corner (I hope)

This evening I had a FANTASTIC run! I thought I would be tired, as I spent the afternoon taking the kids to the grandparents' (I am kid-free right now -- woo hoo!!) and studied with Kristen for a couple hours (of course we ended up chatting about stuff other than physiology -- it's nice having a girlfriend again). But when I came home, I decided that this evening would be a perfect time for a run, as it was cloudy, breezy and chilly.

And it WAS perfect. I was only planning on running three miles, but I did four instead. And it was the fastest four miles I have run since April 24 (and tonight I ran it about a minute faster). Everything just fell into place and I felt so good. Finally!

I think we have figured out why I have been having so many issues lately. There was some mold on the wall in our bedroom behind the garbage can (not the toxic black mold, thank goodness). I am HIGHLY allergic to mold, as I found out via allergy tests years ago. The mold was on my side of the bed. Not good. I was having all the symptoms of an allergy to this mold. We have since removed the mold and set up a dehumidifier in our bedroom to prevent the mold from returning. I have (finally) started feeling better since removing the mold, so I am thinking that was the main culprit.

OK, off for now. Tomorrow I will try to work out after school before we go out to dinner for my birthday. This is my last night as a 32-year-old!

Today's stats:
Run:
Distance: four miles
Time: 42:56
Pace: 10:44 minute/mile

Sleep - 1, running - 0

Yeah, I bailed on the idea of doing the Wildwood Run this morning. I woke up with a horrid sinus headache and the thought of running just didn't sound appealing. Plus, the race was SMALL (I looked at the Web site this afternoon and there were only 37 runners total) and I like to run in larger crowds so I blend in. So I hit the snooze button and the rest is history.

That's OK though, because I think I have found another run I want to do next weekend instead. It's a 5.6-miler on the trails through the redwoods. And it's FREE! It sounds like a good one to light a fire under my ass again in regards to running. I'm not sure how many people will show up, but since it's in the redwoods, I don't really have to worry about people watching me like I do when road racing.

I went to a baby shower this afternoon and then Kara and I spent some mother-daughter time in Eureka. Meanwhile, Tim took Matty out to lunch, the park and then for ice cream. We all had a busy day!

I hope to run tomorrow morning sometime, then take the kids to the grandparents', where they'll spend a few days. This is perfect timing, since my birthday is Monday and now Tim and I can go out to dinner or something. Plus, it will give me time to study for my final exam, set for Wednesday (I got 97 out of 100 on the lab test we had this past week). I am almost done with summer school and one step closer to being able to apply to the nursing program!! Yay!

Oh, and I sent an email to the Garmin company the other day about how mine was refusing to charge. They told me how to reset it, and it worked. So I think I'll have my old buddy back for tomorrow's run!

Today's stats:
Elliptical:
Time: 30 minutes

Followed by 150 jump rope jumps (not sure how else to phrase this)