The Rule of Twos

Today I went out with the noble intention of running 10 miles at a steady pace and throwing some strides in. It worked, I got my strides in, but the return trip was a good minute per mile slower on the average than going out. Partially because it's downhill on the way out, but mostly because my legs are fatigued and I was bonking, running on nothing but oatmeal and a banana at 11:30 am was not a good idea.

The lessons will be repeated until they are learned, right?

All the way back I was trying to push my fatigued legs to turn over, and by 8 miles I had to keep reminding myself of the Rule of Twos. After I pushed myself through my final strides, my recovery was so slow I thought I was going to end up walking. I really wanted to.

The Rule of Twos? As in, I can deal with anything for 2 miles. Or I can deal with anything for 2 hours, 200 meters, 2 days, whatever it is.

If you stick with something for two weeks, that's usually enough to establish a routine, and you can push through the fatigue of starting out again. I'm experiencing the discomfort of losing the speed aspect of my fitness. I feel like everything else is intact. This is the first of two weeks that I'll need to make myself stick carefully to my plan to establish a training pattern again that includes regular hills and speedwork. My legs are screaming now, but after two weeks it will be easier.

Tomorrow I'm planning to run 15 miles with Doug on the bike path. I have been procrastinating on doing anything longer than 2 hours, but now that the weather is nicer, I have to take advantage of it.

I am off this week, it was supposed to be my vacation, but I've had the endless parade of repairmen and I've been spending my time furnishing and painting the outside of the cave. Here's how it looks as of today:

I got a storage ottoman so I can stuff all the junk in there. I don't work well in a cluttered space. I've been trying to figure out a few things to put on the walls. I want them mostly bare, but they needed something. So finally, after 18 years, I hung my Ph.D. diploma on the wall. I dug it out of the cheap frame where it was hiding in the corner, dusted it off, and put it in a nice frame with a mat.

Cave-worthy.

Dam! Y2K Redux?

Here it is the second day of January and we are finding that the old year roared out with some interesting twists.

This morning Dennis and I went for a run together- which is a rare event anyway, but we met Connie, Tom, and Doug up at Maxwell Open Space parking lot and did a 10 mile run on the hills and over the dams at Horsetooth. I warmed up a little on the flats before we started so I got more than 10.

This is the best hill workout around, and there was almost no traffic today. Climbing up and down Dixon Dam, Soldier Canyon Dam, and Dam Hill was enough to get my legs screaming, after the 5K yesterday. I'll feel the effects of the last two days tomorrow for sure. It was 19 degrees when we started, but it warmed up nicely and there was almost no wind, which is unusual for this time of year.

Speaking of wind, the other day, December 30th, when we had the 75 mph gusts, a huge tree limb fell down and part of it broke off and impaled the roof of the woman cave. It's a good thing my neighbor told me about it yesterday or we wouldn't have known. That's a new roof, so it is still under warranty. I'll have to call on the roof tomorrow, before it snows again.

All we could see was this innocent looking branch. But it tore a fist sized hole through the roof, all the way through the boards under the shingles. There's no interior damage, fortunately, but we need to get it fixed before the next snow.

Then on December 31st, some time during the night, the hot tub died. Just croaked. No warning, nothing. I opened the lid on the morning of the 1st and there was nothing on the display. The water was cold. We tried the breakers, nothing. Dennis pulled the guts out. Nothing he could figure out. So I'll have to call the repairman again. He's like an old buddy now. This is going to be the third repair visit in the past year and a half. Might be time for a new hot tub. I hope not. We'll see what the bill looks like this time.

I'm starting to think that maybe Y2K arrived 12 years late and attacked our hot tub. Or maybe there's a hot tub virus going around. Anybody else have this problem? Or maybe it's the Mayan calendar, which predicted the end of the world for hot tubs in 2012.

The woman cave has further evolved to have a desk. I also picked up some simple bookshelves for $17 at what might be the last remaining K-Mart. And I've picked out the colors for the outside. It's almost warm enough in the afternoons to paint this week- supposed to be in the 60s, maybe even close to 70. We have crazy weather here, so we'll see. I'll have the repairmen out this week so I can pass the time by painting.

I picked a wild color for the front door, but a slightly more subdued tone for the siding. The trim will be white. I think it will look oh so cool. Can't wait!

First Day of Spring, First Race!

Since I couldn't be in Arizona, I decided I might as well support the local race, the Runners Roost 5K. It was fun to see so many runners I hardly ever see anymore!

New Years Eve Dennis & I celebrated with some champagne and the Buffaloes in the Woman Cave. It's evolving, we bought some furniture and I'll start working out there this week!

We celebrated New Years in the Greenland Time Zone (4 hours earlier than here) went to bed early and woke up late. We can't stay up that late, and the race wasn't until 10. That's my kind of race. Dennis was going down to Denver to see his mom and pick up the desk for the woman cave.

I needed a good warmup before the race, it's always scary going into something fast when you have slow legs. I've been doing strides, so that helps. I did a few miles and strides before the race, running by myself on the back streets of the course where I didn't see any other runners. I always feel sort of ridiculous doing strides, being as slow as I've become. It must look like a track and field movie in slow motion, starring a short-legged runner with bad form.

I ran 23:05. I was hoping I could make it under 25, so this was good. I didn't feel like puking so I didn't make the extra push to get under 23, I probably could have put the hurt on if I'd started when I saw the finish line, but I was uncomfortable enough. First mile, 7:06. A bit fast, faster than I thought I'd run, but surprisingly not too uncomfortable by the end of it. Two miles, 14:13. Wow, even splits. Third mile, 22:22. I slowed down. Then after I finished I found out the second mile marker was off. So my last two miles were probably more like 7:30 ish.

There's nothing like running your first 5K in a gazillion years to give you a reality check. I've got work to do. It's the first day of spring, tomorrow I'm going for a run up at Horsetooth with some friends, and I'm ready for action.

Happy New Year! I'm off to help Dennis set up the desk in the Woman Cave with the Buffaloes.

Ten Thoughts for the New Year

What a crazy couple of weeks to wind up my year! Life is unpredictable, it keeps you on your toes. I thought I'd share these ten thoughts as I move from 2011 to 2012.

1. Instead of being in Arizona as I'd hoped, I am still in Fort Collins. I am missing Across the Years. The real reason is in # 2 below. But I am also glad to be here, I rarely get to spend New Years with Dennis, and also, the drive would have been too much anyway right now, I'm still foggy in the afternoons from my thyroid not being quite right. I am starting to feel better in general though. I hope to attend the race next year as a participant, and run a new PR.

2. Part of the hazard of working in management is that that occasionally you get a wingnut- someone who is off their rocker completely, or has enough screws loose that the wheels come off at the slightest provocation. Dennis experienced this last week at work, in the process of a disciplinary action against one of his employees. Without giving away too many details of what happened, let's just say that we've felt somewhat like we're in a witness protection program this week. Fortunately our employer takes these situations very seriously and did everything possible to ensure he was safe, and not only that, they extended it to me. That's why I stayed home, I figured if I went away all I'd do is worry.

3. Writing- I've been doing a lot of it. Between guest blogposts, blogging for ONS, the Coloradoan column, and a few other writing projects, not to mention my own blogs, I've been doing a lot of typing at the computer. It's great, I love it. Blogging is such a great way to interact with readers. I spend a lot of time answering comments and e-mails as a result. It's been challenging, and I'm having fun. I'm looking forward to what 2012 brings. I just wrote this post today, check out giraffy's blog. She's a runner, but so much more. She's an amazing mom, who counts her blessings every day.

4. Another one of my favorite bloggers, Patricia Singleton, wrote a post about healing as a gift to ourselves. Her blog is about healing from childhood trauma and sexual abuse, but it applies to so many other things, too. All of us have experiences in our lives that require healing. I think this is a fantastic article.

5. Eradicating apathy- It's an election year, and a leap year. We all have an extra day in which to do good things. Make it count. Be an informed voter and exercise your right to vote. Healthcare reform, greed, and whether the government can work for the people, are three issues front and center this coming year. If it affects you or anyone else you know, get going. Don't sit there and let things happen. Speak up. If you're spending a lot of time texting or talking on your cell phone, use your electonic gadgets to spread the word about what's important to you. Mobilize other people to action, and follow through.

6. On nursing as a profession- I was replying in a private e-mail to some one who had commented on a blogpost I worte on nursing. After I replied to her, she wrote back to me and thanked me, then mentioned that she'd never heard such honesty from someone in a position of power and authority. Wow. I'm not in a position of power OR authority, I'm just a blogger. I don't even get paid to write. It took my breath away.

Blogging is such a powerful medium. And perceptions are powerful, too. Makes me a little fearful, that when I talk about nursing, I have to be careful what I say. But I have some serious opinions about the nursing profession. And it's funny, when I verbalize them, I rarely get disagreement from nurses who work on the front lines, in direct patient care. I love what I do, and I'm lucky to have landed where I am, because my employer is like a gem. I have never worked in a place where I've been treated so well in so many ways.

But so many nurses all over the U.S. still work under conditions that are little more than paid slavery. Where are the professional nursing organizations on healthcare reform? Why are they not advocating for themselves? We need to jump in, get involved at this juncture, to ensure that as we reform healthcare, nursing is reformed, too, so we receive the compensation and working conditions fit for a professional who is expected to operate under a heavy workload, stressful work, huge responsibility, and a high level of skill and knowledge.

7. Running- oh yeah, isn't that the purpose of this blog? I'm getting there. I reached 50 miles in a week, once. I'm doing strides. I'm trying to get enough sleep. January 1st is the first day of spring. No more excuses after that.

8. The girls got a new hedgehog and a frisbee for Christmas. Iris plays with both of them, Isabelle waits for Iris to grab the toy, then she chases Iris around.

I got some booties to keep my feet warm in the woman cave, too. Not pictured: Spongebob fleece pants and yellow spongebob t-shirt. I'll model those later.

9. The woman cave is done. Just a few little touch-ups, now it's time for furniture- a desk, chair, and storage for art supplies.

10. The conditions in our neighborhood are treacherous again. Every year, the ice dam happens, and the entire sidewalk and most of the street become a huge skating rink. The bigger streets and bike paths are clear, but getting out of my neighborhood is taking your life in your hands. Now we have 50 degree weather and it's melting everything. I hope it lasts long enough to see the retreat of the ice shelf. They should have science class field trips to our neighborhood, it could be a mini-model of Antarctica and global warming.

This is what I have to negotiate with the Buffaloes just to turn off of our street.

Skating rink in the first 0.1 miles of my run every day.

The ice dam at the end of the street.

Readers, thank you for coming to Journey to Badwater, I hope you'll keep reading, and thank you for putting up with my many tangents over the past 5 months since I've taken this long break from doing any serious running adventures. I suspect that some of the topics above are a few that I'll ramble to, in between training and racing. But I'm committed, January 1st, first day of spring, it's back to the business of running. Happy New Year, and Happy Journeys!

Solstice

I'm really glad the axis of the earth has shifted tonight. I know it will lead to some better stuff soon. The past week has been really crazy, full of unexpected twists and drama that I really don't want to deal with. I don't have the energy or patience for it. But how boring life would be if it didn't freak you out every once in a while, and keep you on your toes.

The least of it was that I re-sprained my ankle last week. After 5 months of diligent rehab, I was out for an easy run, 4 blocks from home, stepped off the curb and landed just the right way to give it a good twist. I said a few choice words, and I was okay enough to run home. I iced, said a few more choice words, and then Isabelle reminded me by bending her ears that she does not like four letter words to be said in her presence.

Sorry, Sister Bella. Doesn't she resemble the Flying Nun with those ears and her habit?

The ankle hurt for two days, I'm taking a few days off now and it no longer hurts. The other stuff is a bunch of random crazy $**# that I won't go into, and will pass. It's not even a full moon, so I don't know what happened. My tolerance for people's crap is pretty low anyway, but it's below zero now, even though I feel like I'm just barely starting to feel a little better with my energy.

I made it through two days earlier this week without a nap. Although I did nap for 2 hours yesterday and 3 1/2 hours today. Probably why I'm awake at this hour blogging about solstice, I was up late enough to witness it. I have felt slightly better while running, until the ankle incident. I think it was because I can't stay awake most days past mid-afternoon, and I was running much later in the day than I normally do.

I also managed to almost rear-end someone in traffic the other day too. I was just not there. My mind was off somewhere else. It was close. Between locking myself out of the house and the car within a week's time, almost colliding with another car, missing my turn while driving that same day, twisting my ankle, and feeling really irritable, I know that I'm not back to myself. I'm in full RPB status. I don't do tired well.

Even though it looks like this tonight, January 1st is the first day of spring, did you know that?

In my world, it is.

Mostly I am tired of feeling tired and I'd rather be doing this than anything else right now. Soon, I will.

WO-MAN. CAVE.

It's a nice day, sunny and 40s. I was toast after work yesterday. We went out to Tortilla Marissa's for margaritas last night, I could barely keep my eyes open after one, then we went home and got some good sleep.

This morning I ran just short of 10 miles at 8:30 pace. I felt good. Started out with Dennis and Frank at Cathy Fromme Prairie and took the bike path. The boys turned around at the new bridge at Harmony road for their halfway point. In just 2 1/2 miles, with a little digging, I believe Frank now has the bug to do a 100 miler for his four years-off 40th birthday. Kids these days.

I ran home on the Spring Creek Trail. Since then Dennis and I have been working on the woman cave all day, with Iris and Isabelle's supervision. We're putting the laminate floor in. It looks amazing. Next step: trim and baseboards.

Iris was supervising Dennis's lunch, too.

Every woman is going to want her own cave after this. I foresee two possible scenarios: Dennis might be able to retire building woman caves, or go into hiding in an undisclosed location from the horde of angry husbands who will be after him.

Curing Cranky

I'm off today and I need something to cheer me up. I have been in a horribly cranky mood. It takes a while to start feeling better when I am going through the adjustment period, waiting for my thyroid medication to start working for me. It could take 6 to 8 weeks before I feel better. The good news is the thyroid ultrasound showed nothing but a shrunken, not very functional-appearing thyroid, and the nodule in question shrunk too, which is great news. Now all I have to do is wait for the increased dosage to kick in. Patience!

So far this week I have locked myself out of the house, locked myself out of the car, burned oatmeal on the stove, and bit the inside of my lower lip while eating soup.

Running is a little better, I didn't feel like falling asleep yet on any of my runs this week. But then, they've all been in the morning. I woke up before work yesterday at 4 am so I went for a 5 mile run. That made me feel oh so energetic by the end of my shift. But if I don't run then, I won't run at all.

I do well in the mornings, I feel pretty sharp and my enrgy feels normal. Around 11 am I start to fade, and afternoons are hell. I get annoyed with myself because I feel so sluggish. It's almost like my brain hurts when I ask it to do anything. Multitasking is difficult, and I get irritated with my own inability to function. My coordination and focus goes out the window. If I could stuff all my daily activities into the first 4 hours of the day it would be great. I'm in zombie land after noon, until bedtime, unless I take a long nap.

So my plan today is to paint the walls inside the woman cave. It's brainless, and at least I will feel like I'm doing something productive. I will also go out and run this morning, try to get my entire workout done before noon. The weather has been warmer, the ice sheets in the neighborhood are shrinking and the footing has improved. Today I'm planning no more than 10 miles with some fartlek. But first, a run with the girls, or I'll be in trouble.

The woman cave is looking better all the time. After I paint the walls we'll put the laminate floor in, and soon I'll be able to move in. I need to start looking for some furniture that will help me keep it open and uncluttered.

I am so envious of my running buddy Paul. He is running two races in Florida this spring, LOST and the Keys 100. I got an e-mail from him the other day and I want to tag along! But I can't. I'm saving my money and it would be silly for me to go run long ultras this spring when I'm not even doing 20 mile runs in training yet. I'm hoping to hit 15 on my long run this weekend. I'm going up to Horsetooth to get some hills in.

I need to get out to the woman cave, stat. I'm in a race with my brain!