Shin Splints and other Running Woes

Ouch! I wish I could say my half marathon training was going great, but I've been having a lot of leg issues lately. My left shin has been bugging me with some painful shin splints and my left calf has had a funky pain in it. They actually hurt more when I'm just hanging out or when I'm walking or standing. After the first 10-20 minutes of my run it really doesn't bother me anymore, but afterward it is much worse. I've been using the first half of the RICE method (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation) and the rest, especially seems to be helping. Unfortunately, this much rest is NOT a part of my half marathon training program! I'm getting a little bit nervous that this is really going to mess with my ability to finish the LB half. I haven't run since Saturday, when I did a pretty good 5 mile run (56 min, my fastest 5 miler yet). I'm really going to try and work through this.

The other thing that makes training for this race difficult is my schedule (or lack thereof). I don't always know where I'm going to be, or when I'm going to be working a 14 hour day (or all night) or if I'll just have one short flight and a long layover. This has been making it pretty difficult to get into any kind of regular training schedule. I know I shouldn't complain too much about my schedule, since I really do have it pretty good, but certain things have just been grating on my nerves.

On a good note, I've worked my way up to 7 miles so far for my long run, and I've still got 2 months before the race.

This has been a venting post... I'll try and make my next post a happy one!

Mad Skillz

There's a reason I want to take a cake decorating class, and this is it:



I suppose it's alright for a first try, but I would love to be able to do even more. I guess I need to get to work on #13!

#10 Finish reading Atlas Shrugged

Wow. At 1200 pages I'm pretty sure this is the longest book I've ever read cover to cover and loved. This novel by Ayn Rand was first published in 1957, but it doesn't feel out of touch. It amazes me how relevant this book is today. I haven't written a book review in years, so I'll keep this short and sweet. Amazing book. Go read it.

Who is John Galt?

#s 48, 60, 65

#48 Get a good pedometer
#60 Get a Britta water filter and a good, sturdy water bottle to use instead of bottled water
#65 Get a AAA membership

Check, check and check. I figured none of these needs it's own blog entry. :) Let's just say I'm counting my steps, loving my new water bottle, and feeling much safer driving around Houston.

#14 Try my hand at rock climbing

I have tried rock climbing a couple of times in the past and really enjoyed it, but it has been several years. Last night I took a Climbing 101 class at Texas Rock Gym in Houston. There were seven of us in the class and I was the only one who had ever climbed before. It was a good refresher, and I'm really excited to keep going! I knew I was going to be sore this morning, but oh my goodness... ouch! Definitely a great workout :) I only climbed on the top rope walls 3 times, but I also spent a bit of time in the bouldering area. I have a couple friends who climb there sometimes, so I'll have to go with them soon and practice, practice, practice!

#80 Laugh until I cry

I didn't expect this one to happen without Jillian, but watching The Hangover in the movie theater last night, I definitely got teary from cracking up. The scene where the brother-in-law gives his speech about his wolf pack and then pulls out a knife and proceeds to cut open his hand to become blood brothers with the other guys was what did it... and watching Nathan rolling around in his seat laughing so hard helped :) If you haven't seen this movie, I highly suggest it... one of the best comedies I have seen in a while!

I'm sure there will be a few more times where I laugh til I cry, and I bet at least one will involve Jillie, but this first one was so great because it was unexpected.

#83 Watch the bats come out in Houston

On Monday night Nathan and I went over to the Waugh bridge at dusk to watch the bats come out. There are an estimated 250,000 Mexican Free-Tailed bats living under the bridge, and seeing them emerge was really cool! I was surprised at how fast they were, and although I knew about echolocation it was pretty amazing to see them flying really fast straight for a tree and dart around it at the last possible second. The only not so great part? The lovely smell of guano. Now that I've seen these bats I'd also like to head to Austin (pictured) and check out the 1.5 million bats emerging from the Congress bridge. I'm sure it would be quite a site to see!