We're home

We are home from our vacation.

We had a wonderful time. I really liked Austin and wished we would have been able to spend more time there than we did.

The kids had a blast with their other set of grandparents.

Yesterday was a long one. We drove home from Auburn, which took about 6 1/2 hours. Then I spent another 4 1/2 hours in class. I was dog tired after all of that. But of course I stayed up late and then got up early this morning, so I am dog tired again.

But I did manage a run today. The weather is feeling more like winter here than fall. It was cold, cloudy and rainy today. It really reminded me of how the weather was when I started running last November. Today's run was at 6 p.m., so I barely had enough daylight to finish by. Last November, I ran past houses adorned with Christmas lights and decorations. Tonight, I ran past houses adorned with orange and purple Halloween lights and decorations. Kinda cool. I do love this time of year, even if I am much slower in my running. And the cold does seem to slow me down a little.

Oh, and I will leave you guys with a pic from our vacation. Tim and I tailgated with his sister, her husband John and some of their friends before the UT vs. Nebraska game (UT won 28-25) and had to take the obligatory "hook 'em" photo. And we're wearing matching shirts. Awwww.....



Today's stats:
Run:
Distance: 2.3 miles
Time: 25:29
Pace: 11:05 minute/mile

I'm in Austin!

And yes, Randy, I mean Austin, TX. ;-)

We're visiting my sister-in-law Becky and her husband John. So far we've had a great time. Today we're prepping for the UT vs. Nebraska game. Tim and I are excited! We''re going to experience the joys of tailgating before the game. :-)

Becky and I did a run this morning. We ran around her neighborhood, which is beautiful. Lots of big houses, big shade trees and nice people.

Today's stats:
Run:
Distance: two miles
Time: around 24 minutes

Are they sure it's October?

It sure doesn't feel like it's almost November here. We're still in Auburn, visiting my parents, and it's quite warm today. Probably about 30 degrees warmer than at home. Of course, it has been feeling more like winter there than fall, but still. So I plodded around the neighborhood on my run today, thanking goodness that I brought my fuel belt and water.

I warmed up for my run by doing some time on the elliptical. I kinda like that thing.

We're leaving tomorrow for Austin. I am hoping the stars will align and I'll be able to run in the morning before we leave.

Today's stats:
Elliptical:
Time: 20 minutes

Run:
Distance: two miles
Time: 22:25
Pace: 11:12 minute/mile

I didn't ace the second bio test...

...but it totally doesn't matter. I still got an A+.

That's because the majority of the students "bombed," as my biology teacher said in an email to me this morning.

Her response came after I sent her an email questioning the score that it showed on my account through the college. That's where all of our grades are posted. Since I am on vacation, I looked it up last night to find that out of 100 points, I scored 102.5. My first reaction: what the hell??? How can I score more points than are possible when I KNOW I messed up on at least one question?

Hence, the email to teacher Jen. I thought for sure it was a typo. But no, I really did score 2.5 points more than the total possible. That's because she gave everyone 10 additional points after seeing how badly most of the students did. Pity points.

I was one of the few who actually earned an A before the points were added; I had 92.5 points. That was fine with me, but obviously 102.5 is even better. That means my A+ margin is getting even bigger, as I have not missed any points so far and have additional points accumulated through extra credit and now this test.

How crazy is this? I never thought in a million years I would do so well in this class. And I am a little surprised so many people did so incredibly bad on this last test. Goes to show that studying really works!! :-)

Oh, and I did work out this morning on my dad's elliptical machine. We're at the parents' abode until we leave for Austin on Thursday. I am hoping to run tomorrow.

Today's stats:
Elliptical machine:
Time: 30 minutes

Heading out

We're getting ready to head out on vacation now. But I did get up early to ride the bike for a bit. I tried to get up at 6:30, but it was so dark out and raining, so I rolled over and reset the alarm for 7.


Bye for now!

Today's stats:
Stationary bike:
Time: 30 minutes
Distance: 7.85 miles

"Don't slack off."

See the title of this post? That's what my horoscope read today. Just three words. Almost motivated me to work out this morning. Almost.

Instead, I went back to the doctor for the third time in five weeks. I am now on a third round of antibiotics, the third different kind in that timeframe. The doctor also referred me for a CT scan of my sinuses to see if I have any polyps hiding out there. He said that could explain why I'm not getting better. But I have to wait until Halloween to get it done, since I'll be on vacation starting tomorrow.

I will try to work out and blog while on vacation, but if I'm not around much you know why. First stop: Auburn, CA! Then Tim and I will fly to Austin, TX for a few days to visit his sister Becky and her hubby John. I am excited!! I just hope my head doesn't explode on the plane ride. LOL!

Good luck to my buddies with races coming up!!! Happy running!

Just scrape them out already

I am living in sinus hell.

Today, my sinuses acted up again. I was stuffy all day and my head hurt until I took some medicine. I just want to take a spoon and scrape those darn sinuses clean. OK, that sentence reminds me of scraping out a pumpkin for Halloween. How festive. But having sinus issues is getting really, really old.

The stuffiness and pressure sort of affected my workout today. I did a short Brick workout in my den, since it was storming here today. So I rode the bike for 20 minutes and got on the treadmill for a two-mile run. Well, about a mile into it I started getting a little dizzy and had to stop for a minute. I managed to finish and felt better after I cooled down.

I am thinking I might call the doctor again tomorrow to see what to do next, since we're leaving for vacation on Saturday. I don't want to be sick the whole time! :-(

Today's stats:
Stationary bike:
Time: 20 minutes
Distance: 5.25 miles

Run (treadmill):
Distance: two miles
Time: not sure, but it was around 23 minutes