3 miles today. All three were glorious! Ahh, nothing better than breathing in the cool, fall air. Yeah, I got a terrible side ache after the first mile and my HR was at 80% of max while running 8:00 miles… so it isn’t as effortless as it was a few weeks ago. But I don’t care. I’m running, and it’s glorious!

80% or 170 bpm is my “upper limit” for aerobic training right now (and especially after 2 weeks off, I expect it to be higher than usual). Typically the range is 70-80% of max.

Then my typical 25 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, and a bunch of stretching. *Love this routine*

My legs feel a little better, but I can tell that my right hip is very elevated. That’s saying something since I always struggle with that side and it’s usually elevated. Plus, that sore spot on the top of my hip is still there. I’ll either go into see Jim this week or may consider some PT to see if I can better/permanently “fix” that side with strength work/flexibility/chiro/etc. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s a glute/hamstring strength issue.

I get to LIFT for an hour today. Yippee! I don’t know if I’ve ever looked forward to a lifting session before, but I’ve found myself just craving getting back in the gym!! Pretty sure I’ll hit up the Anytime Fitness in town for that. It’s been too long since I was there!

I’m going to pretend like I look like this at the gym.

Blood work tests so far have come back negative – no mono, no lymes, no celiacs (as conclusive as you can get without the full colonoscopy with biopsy). Is that a good thing or bad thing? I have the name of two great sports doctors at Mayo, but I’m not sure if I’ll make the trek there. Although I’d like to think there is something “wrong”, causing my legs to feel the way they do, I really think it’s just severe over-training.

I’m still going to go in to get tested for allergies, since I am STILL stuffy. I woke up at 4:30 this morning because I was congested, sneezing, and just couldn’t breathe normally. Ug. Go away. This is going on 6+ weeks! I’ve never had allergy symptoms before… wonder if then during the fall “racing season” I’d have to take something? Allergy sufferers, comment here on experiences and what you do?

In other non-running happenings:

The fireplaces!

I scheduled a fireplace fix this Monday. The upstairs fireplace  has never worked (we’ve lived here 3+ years) and the downstairs fireplace recently stopped lighting. I probably would have just lived with the 2 non-working fireplaces, but Nate suggested calling someone.

YEAH! Heat!

Bret, the repair man from Better Air (Dundas, MN) was just awesome. I think he spent 3.5 hours at our place?!? He was meticulous in cleaning both fireplaces, and now both WORK! It’s wonderful!!! Plus, he didn’t charge us much at all. Thank you!! I think it’d because we discussed dogs, marathoning, and what he is champion of:

Hammerschlagen.

 

Who came up with this drinking game, anyway?

He was kind enough to also look at why there seems to be so much cold air streaming in from the fireplaces. Unfortunately,  it looks like the builders didn’t put much (any?) insulation in behind the fireplace before it was installed. Booo…. so now I guess we’ll live with higher energy bills (the repair guy said it would be a mess to pull out both fireplaces and re-insulate…). I am bummed about this… mostly because I don’t want to be an energy-suck. And I’d also like our energy bill to be lower every month – that would be nice.

Speaking Engagement!

I’m scheduled to speak to a local 6th/7th/8th grade private school this Friday about setting goals, nutrition, and what it means to be a professional athlete. I can set whatever topic I’d like, so need to think of the best angle for that audience.

The teacher I’ve been communicating with warned me that this age group needs “shock value”. HMMMM. Does my bloody foot post-ZYY count? Or what do 6th/7th/8th graders regard as “cool”? Topic ideas? Any help here would be MUCH appreciated. 🙂

Alright, enough from me for now! Happy Tuesday!
~Nichole