Running in the cold, ugh!

I would like to say that I’ve been too busy to write because I’ve been out running. Unfortunately, that is not the truth. Sadly, I’ve been battling a sinus infection, a chest cold, snow, ice and below freezing temperatures.

Many, many years ago, I left behind the cold, snowy, freezing winters of central New York to move to the warmer, friendlier climate of Southern California. Southern California is a great place to run. The only excuse I ever had was avoiding the rain, but I love running in the rain. After California, I moved to Texas. The heat was great; it was okay to run as long as I was out before the sun was too far up.

Currently, I’m living in Switzerland. Guess what? It snows here, it freezes, it gets icy and it stays cold. It’s not fun to run in. Even if I get all bundled up, I still worry about slipping on the ice. (Did I mention that we live in the Swiss Alps? I live in the hills.) My oh so awesome sister gave me a pair of yaktrax to help my shoes with traction, but they are not that comfortable.

Okay, enough whining. What to do about it? A friend challenged me to run 60 miles in the next 8 weeks. So, I’ve accepted the challenge. I actually ran a couple of miles yesterday. Yay! At least there was no ice, and it was above 32 Fahrenheit. Great day for a run!

Knee injury

Wow, what a couple of weeks. I felt so good right after the Lausanne 10k, getting my personal best and running such a great race! Monday came crashing down, though. I’d been fighting a cold the previous week and it caught up with me. Coughing, sore throat, serious sinus congestion, ugh. Took me all week to recuperate and I was unable to run. It was nice staying home, though! I crocheted, worked on the kitchen, and washed gazillion loads of laundry. It ended up being a productive week.

I was ready to go Monday; I ran some with my friend JM. The cold was still hanging on and we ran VERY, very slowly. Which is fine, I ran! However, the rest of the week my running has been put on hold. I have an injury. There is no great story behind it, but I’ll share it anyway.

This past weekend, I broke two of my favorite champagne glasses. They were so beautiful. Heart shaped, heavy at the base, thinning out to the top. We’ve had them since before we got married, 17 years ago; used them at our wedding for a toast; they’ve moved from California to Texas to Switzerland and survived all those moves. Until the day I decide to wash them! Oh well, c’est la vie. I cleaned up the bits and pieces and threw them in the trash, and didn’t give them a second thought.

Monday afternoon, 3:25 pm, right before pick up, I was taking the trash to the car so that I could drop it off at the huge bins that we take our trash to. Since the bag was a bit heavy, I decided to help it move along with my foot. Not a good idea when there is broken glass in a plastic trash bag. Zing! The glass had broken through the bag, ripped my pants and gave me a great slice below the knee. Dang! I looked at it, and never having a cut like this before decided that I’d better have it checked out. Three stitches later, I’m home.

That’s the story. No running for a few days. That’s how it goes.

Have a great weekend!

Lausanne Marathon

Hello, everyone! Happy Monday.

Sunday was a great day. Halloween, Girl Scouts and the Lausanne Marathon. It was a cloudy day, not chilly, no rain; perfect day for a run along the beautiful Lake Geneva. The race had several categories and I chose the 10k portion. It starts in Lausanne, turns around in Lutry and finishes in Ouchy (in front of the Olympic museum.) There were several spectators and loads of runners. It is great to see so many people out running, walking, nordic walking. There are also a couple of long, steady hills, ugh. I finished with a personal best,though, 1:06 for a 10k! Pretty good, I think.

A couple of friends ran the whole marathon (good job!) What an accomplishment that is. Two friends ran the 1/2 marathon and several friends ran the 10k. No matter what the distance, just getting out there to compete in any distance of race is what is important. You are exercising and doing something good for the body, and you've accomplished something so many people only dream about. Be proud. I know I am!

Running and Physics

I haven’t written in so long, and there really is no excuse. I haven’t been too busy, or sick, just plain lazy. These last two weeks have been interesting, to say the least.

My foot has acted up with some serious pain when I hit mile seven on my long runs. Thus, I gave up the goal of running the ½ portion of the Lausanne Marathon. (www.lausanne-marathon.ch). I am going to be running the ¼ portion of said marathon; this is 10k or 6.2 miles. (Actually, it may be a bit longer than 6.2 miles, but not much.) My last 10k was this past Sunday, in the horrible, freezing rain. I ran a little slower than usual, and I am going to blame my soaking sweat pants. Sweats are not good for running in the rain; they stay wet, cold and heavy. This Sunday promises to be the same, so a good friend of mine offered to loan me a pair of her running tights. I just hope they’re warm enough; I’m a wimp when it comes to cold weather running!

On a lighter note, I enjoyed spending some time with my oldest, #1. We were waiting for #4 to finish with Netball and had a few moments to talk. Well, actually she had started ranting and raving when I picked her up from school. By the time we got to the lower school, she was done ranting and raving and moved on to discuss her favorite subjects in school. (She takes many classes at her school.) Turns out, she loves English, History and Physics. (Physics?!) She has to write an essay about how World War II began; she has a lot of information in her brain. I couldn’t begin to tell you all the things she knows about the events leading up to WWII, I was duly impressed. She is one smart cookie. And physics wow. For her, it is fun because she figures out things about the world around her. According to #1, Star Wars uses a lot of physics.

What a conversation!

getting out there & sewing

Last week, I ran twice. Actually, I ran once and walked once. This week I am aiming for some type of exercise every day.

Here's my excuse: the hubby is out of town. When he's out of town I don't sleep very well, so I am too tired! Sounds good to me.

On to a different topic. Sewing. I've been watching reruns of Project Runway and that has inspired me to get my sewing machine out and get to work. I've got a skirt now that just needs a hook and eye and I'm finishing up a quilting project that I started a LONG time ago. These will be done today. I will then start on a dress with a Butterick pattern (5319). I bought the pattern at a little fabric store in Vevey, very expensive. Hopefully, the dress will be gorgeous. The material is a very pretty grey, and if it doesn't fit me, my 15 year old has volunteered to wear it!

Enjoy your week!

foiled plans

So, short and sweet! My plans for a run were foiled today, by a sweet munchkin of mine. I was set to go, geared up, shoes on, ready to drop children at school and run along the beautiful lake Geneva. As I am putting my contacts in, I hear this horrible cough coming from the floor below me. Drat! Hoping it was an older child, I called downstairs, "Who was that?" A sweet little voice hacked back, "It was me." The youngest. I can't leave her home alone, bummer. Perfect day for a run, but precious time to spend with her while she recuperates.

Since we couldn't go anywhere exciting today, (other than the grocery store) I worked on the office and got rid of so much junk. Nice trip to the big garbage cans around the corner and my house is already feeling lighter. I feel lighter getting rid of junk that hasn't been used since we moved here.

I guess I owe the little munchkin a thanks!

That's all!

Morton's Neuroma

First thought on my mind today; I really want to write more. I love writing and just putting my thoughts out there. Since I only have a few followers, I am not on display for the whole world to see. Just a few people who are friends or family (and the family has to be nice ;). With this thought in mind, my goal is to write or post three times this week. I am going to borrow a few ideas from some blogs that I follow. Stay tuned!

Second thought is my running (of course!) As I’ve stated before, “I LOVE to run!” It is such a calming and fun time. Unfortunately, I haven’t run for the past week and a half, this has been awful! (I did manage to purge a few rooms in my house, so there was a side benefit.) I have been battling a foot issue: Morton’s Neuroma. If you don’t know what this is, you can check out this link: http://www.podiatrychannel.com/mortonneuroma/index.shtml (I hope I can post this!) This issue really interferes with my running, I’m okay for about 3 miles and then my foot starts to hurt. So, being the tech-savvy woman that I am, I researched it on the internet. There is so much information on this condition and lots of ideas on how to help deal with this. One great suggestion, that another runner decided to try because he was at his wit’s end, was to take the inserts out of the shoes. I did and it was great! I managed 4.27 miles with no pain! I have to adjust my gait a bit so I don’t land as hard, but I have no pain in my foot! WHOO HOO!! I hope the 7 miler that I run this week proves just as painless.

Third (and last) thought, is the Buffalo Stampede at Warren AFB in Cheyenne, WY, in August. What a great race!! 60 Fahrenheit, cloud cover, 6160 feet elevation, flat roads with a few hills, and antelope on the course. It helps that I love Wyoming, and the volunteers were the nicest people I’ve ever met. Even better, my foot never, ever hurt. Not even after the race. Thank you!

Okay, signing off! Enjoy your time and get out there!

Running on Vacation

For the past week, other than recovering from jetlag, I have been debating on what to write about. My brain has been going non-stop since we arrived home from the USA. A lot happened during my visit, other than drinking too much with my wonderful family and friends. (My liver will need a few weeks to recover!) I’ve thought about friendship and what a gift that is, family and how wonderful and crazy that can be. I’ve thought about life in the US versus life here in Switzerland, and finally I thought about the one thing that clears my head of all this: running. Running helps me think, and it clears my head of all the noise and chatter that goes on.

I managed quite a few runs while on my trip. My first day in Denver, I managed to go running with my Sis on this beautiful trail where there were elk grazing! Getting up at 4:45 while on vacation stinks, but this was worth it, I got to see this amazing sunrise over Denver and then to see elk grazing on the trail. No other run during my trip beat that. In Montana, I ran with one of my favorite nieces along a two lane highway near Absarokee. The run ended with coffee in Fishtail, Montana. An old rancher remarked to us, “Wouldn’t it have been better to run downhill instead of up?!” At which point I told my niece, “I knew that was all uphill! Dang!!” She laughed and the next day we started on the other side of Fishtail, towards Hannah, Montana, and ran downhill to Fishtail. However, the point where we were left at started at the top of a hill, heading downhill only to discover there was some serious hill climbing to do before any descent was made. Two more beautiful morning runs, surrounded by prairies that led to the mountains of Red Lodge, Montana, with two amazing sunrises and the best coffee ever. If you are ever in Fishtail, Montana, get yourself to Potter’s. You will be happy that you did.

Okay, school run time, will share more later!

Vacation

Love, love, love summer vacation! This year, we get to go to the good ol' USA! Whoo hoo! I have two races planned, one with my super fast niece and one with my good friend. With my niece, I'll be running the Buffalo Stampede at the Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming and with my good friend, I'll be running a 5k in Denton, Texas.

During this vacation, I am thinking there will be a lot of hiking going on as well. My sis in Denver has quite a few planned. She's an avid mountain climber, she has climbed a few of Colorado's 14,000 foot peaks. Needless to say, I am very proud of her. I hope she remembers that we are lame, sea level couch potatoes with just a few hikes under our belt.

Montana is also on the list, we'll visit the hubby's side of the family there. They like to hike as well, and I love hiking in Montana. It is so peaceful and there are so few people on the trails. Hiking when there are few people is a wonderful time for reflection and for chatting with my kids. (Talking with the kids also keeps them from complaining about hiking!)

Well, that's all for my first post! See you on the trails!