Tuesday, September 21, 2010

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!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

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!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

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!