Frogs Croaking, Birds Chirping, Streams Trickling

Today I headed out for my one mile run to see how my foot would handle it. My foot did great and the run felt wonderful. It was great to get that heart pumping again.

In Gunnison there are ditches everywhere. These ditches carry water from the rivers to the ranchers hay fields for irrigation. (The Island where our Red House is located is created in part by these large ditches. In the City of Gunnison there are much smaller ditches (maybe 1 foot across and 1 foot deep versus 4 to 5 feet wide and 4 to 5 feet deep) running in your front or back yards parallel to the street. When the City turns the ditches on you can water your lawn from this water for free.

The reason I am telling you about our ditches is that this is time of year when they turn them on and some of them are flowing. The run I went on today is a trail that is only a few blocks from my house and I have never run it this time of the year. I had water flowing on both sides of the trail and I could hear the frogs croaking, birds chirping and the stream trickling. The sun was out it was warm and wonderful. I could not have asked for a better run.

Wanted: Good Long Run - No Pain

I can't run, can't mountain bike, can't even walk the dogs. I am going stir crazy! It is Spring and getting beautiful outside - I just want to get out and enjoy it.

I tried taking the dogs for a walk this morning and after about 10 minutes my foot started getting sore and I had another 10 minute walk to get home. I am telling myself to take things easy for a few more days but I just want to run. As I drive around town I see people running all over and get jealous. Then I hear a favorite running song of mine on the radio and I just want to run.

The doctor told me to wait a week before I tried anything so on Wednesday I am going to go for a one mile run and see how it feels. Of course I will let you know. Until then I will go sit on my bum - oh yeah and do some physical therapy. Tomorrow I am going to do my normal weight workout.

Mikayla is Turning 4

Mikayla will be 4 on May 7th and Joe and I have only talked a little bit about what we should get her for her birthday.

When she turned two we got her this:She hardly rides it and says she has trouble peddling it.

When she turned 3 her grandparents got her this:

Which loves and she goes on all of the time. Even in the winter when she needs snow pants, boots, hat and mittens on. Her and Joe spend a lot of time jumping the evenings away.

We have considered getting her this for her 4th birthday:

But I really don't think she is ready for her first bike yet. She tried to ride a friend's bike a few weeks ago and did not like the peddling part and quickly gave up.

We are considering this:

At preschool they have scotters and she loves riding them around the playground.

We are considering this:

As I was looking for the bike trailer above for Mikayla I found this for Lily:

I would love to have the bike setup with Mikayla on the back and Lily in the front.

Finally as I was cruising around around Amazon.com I found some Arts and Crafts for Mikayla. She loves coloring, stamps, drawing, making necklaces - any kind of art project that I bring home she is all over. I found this:

Also, I love Melissa and Doug products. They are high quality for a great price. I found this stamp set.

Or this puzzle. We have an undersea puzzle like this and love it.I do have to decided very quickly what I am going to get for her birthday because it is next Thursday! Oh boy - what am I going to do.

Books Books Books

When Mikayla was a baby I read to her every night before bed. I would often read her to sleep at night when she was Lily's current age, 15 months.

I never really got into reading to Lily. I have tried but instead of sitting there and listening she would grab the book, turn the page, get fussy, etc... But lately that has all changed. I bring out a book to read to her and she starts to laugh because she gets so excited! Also, in the past when I get her up from a nap or in the morning she wants to cuddle, now she looks for her books for me to read. She won't me read for long but I am excited that she now looks for the books and she wants to read them.

Not Healthy

Who this this girl looks sexy? Everyone who thinks so raise your hand up high!

I was browsing the Internet the other day and came across this article with this picture. I was so disgusted. Not only does she look like her average daily calorie intake is oh about 100 calories a day but she looks like a perfect actress for a WW2 movie about the Jews in a concentration camp and to believe that she is Miss Australia. She needs to check into a health clinic and put on about 20 plus pounds! This is not the type of role model I want my daughter to see.

Morton's Neuroma

Yesterday I decided to go ahead and have an MRI to see if I have a stress fracture in my foot. It is just not getting better. This week even riding my bike bothered me a lot more than it did last week. Today I met with the doctor to see what was going on with me foot.

Well, it is not a Stress Fracture it is a neuroma. Take a look at the link. Basically it is the swelling or enlarging of the never that runs between the toes along the ligament that connect all of the toes or bones. (Does that make sense?).

It is very common in women because most women wear high heel and narrow shoes. That does not apply to me. I have a couple of pairs of shoes with maybe a 2 inch heal but only one pair is narrow. My shoes of choice are very comfortable, roomy and flat. It is the running that caused it. The doctor I saw this time is Gloria Beim. She wrote The Female Athlete's Body Book, she has been the team doctor for the US Cycling Team as well as the US Olympic Team. (She knows her stuff!)

Dr. Beims says I have two, one is where it is on the picture and a smaller one is developing on the other side of the same bone towards the outside of my foot. She knows I really want to run a marathon and get active as quick as possible so she is treating me aggressively. She gave me a cortisone shot today and I see the physical therapist tomorrow. She said to stop doing anything at that hurts (but I can still ride my bike to work since it is .75 of a mile each way). Dr. Beim said in about 1 week to try running a short distance and see how it feels. If it hurts, stop if it feels good then the next day try to go a little further.

Dr. Beim also said that I might need 2 or 3 shorts of the cortisone and the worse case scenario would be surgery to remove the nerve all together. For now I think I will hit the pool instead of the road and the trail - at least for the next week.

Red House

We have decided to move back into the red house. The house we are currently renting is under contract and closing on May 14th. The renters who were under a lease option decided they need a bigger house (I thought 4 bedrooms and 2000 square feet would be enough!) but they also have a house in Colorado Springs that has not sold as well. The renters are moving out at the end of April so it is perfect timing for everything.

I really have enjoyed many things about our rental, forced heat with a programmable thermostat, great windows, 3 houses down from preschool, fairly new, less than one mile to work, 1/2 mile to the grocery store and rec center.

But there are MANY things that I love and do miss about the red house, privacy, large/HUGE yard, river, large kitchen, personality, beautiful yard. I cringe every time the girls go outside in our current back yard to play. It is dirt and just awful. I can't wait until they are running around the beautiful lawn that Joe has spent many hours getting perfect and playing in their sandbox. I will have to keep a VERY close eye on Lily because she is an explorer - Lily will be outside before I can count to 2.

My biggest reason for not wanting to move back into the red house is how expensive the mortgage is. It has been great financially. I did tell Joe that he is going to have to work hard at either selling houses this summer or finding a part time job. I am already cleaning his office on the weekends and doing some of their books part time. I am also not looking forward to winter in that house because it is colder and since it is bigger that means it takes a lot more time to clean.

I really can't wait to grow my summer garden in a spot just a few feet away from this picture. Lettuce, carrots, garlic, onions and potatoes.

Wonderful Weekend

This weekend was great. Saturday we had friends over for dinner and they have a little boy a few months younger than Mikyla. The two 3 year olds played and Joe and I got to hang out with good food and adults!

On Sunday we decided to head over to the Salida Hot Springs Pool. We have a number of hot springs within 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours from us and Salida is my favorite with kids. It is inside (which really helps with kids when it is super cold or snowing outside) and the pool starts at 0 inches. This way Mikayla and Lily can sit and play in the super shallow section and we don't have to hold any kids. Lily was great on the drive over (which for her is huge - she is not a car baby), swimming in the pool, out at lunch and then on the way home she slept for about 45 minutes. Overall it was a great weekend.

Stress Fracture - Maybe

I have been noticing some pain in my left foot around my toes while running. Not enough pain to stop but just to take notice of it. When I did my 8 mile run two weeks ago at the end my toes were sore like I had been running downhill for miles and were pushed against the front of my shoe (this is the first time I had noticed this type of pain and I have been wearing these shoes for a month or two so I know that my shoes fit). Then on Sunday I felt some pain again while running but not much. When I hit mile 9 of my 10 mile run the tip of my middle toe really hurt and I would feel it as I put my foot down. So for the last mile I was careful how I want landing my foot but still running. On Monday of this week I decided to go to the doctor to have him check it out. He took an X-ray to see if there was a stress fracture and nothing showed up but he did say that even though it is not showing up does not mean that it is not there. He said to reduce my miles and if I am running and it hurts to stop and if it does not start getting better then to call him back. The doctor did not want to do an MRI because that is a lot of money and I don't want to spend it if I don't have to.

So now I am stuck in a spot. My foot still feels the same as it did on Monday, it is not getting worse in pain, nor is it getting any better. It hurts and is sore most of the day, walking normally does not bother it, but it does get sore from standing on my feet for a long time. I did not run on Monday or Tuesday. On Wednesday I went out on a slow and easy trail run. I did 1.3 miles and I felt my foot but it was not painful. Today I did 2 miles and I ran faster and I felt it more and it is more sore now than before my run but not so bad that I need to stop. Tomorrow instead of doing 4 or 5 miles I am going to go for a 3 mile run and see how that feels. I wish either my foot would stop hurting or at least feel better or just get worse so I know what is wrong.

4 Year Olds

You gotta love a 4 year old. Joe asked me to go into Mikayla’s room to see something and he wanted to see the expression on my face when I saw it. I walked in there and they had pulled of the nest out of the Easter Baskets and spread it around. I asked did Mikayla do this herself or did she have help. Joe was giving me the "no I did not help" and Mikayla quickly spoke up and said Dad helped! You gotta love how honest a 4 year old is.

10 Miles

I did a 10 mile run today and it went great. With my long runs I tend to push myself too much, such as trying to keep my pace at 10 minutes per mile for as long as possible or doing a lot on hills (like last weekend). Today I did a true long run where I kept the pace easy. I did a very flat run (yes in Colorado we do have very flat spots!) I did one quick mile around the neighborhood with both dogs and then I dropped off Teo at home. Teo is only good for 1/2 or 1 mile. Then Skyler and I set out for the other 9 miles. I kept the pace easy the whole time and in general I was running from 10:30 to 10:45 per mile. My overall pace was 10:50. When I got home I could have done another mile or so which is what you want to feel at the end of a long run. I am so happy I did this and next weekend I am going for 11 miles. I really want to do the 15.5 mile race in May and I think I will be ready for it.

Running and No Back Pain

I am so glad that so far I am running with NO back pain! I did 8 miles yesterday and felt great. My hips, IT bands and legs were tight at the end but I stretched out and felt great all evening and today. Today I did one fast mile (9:21 pace - fast for me) and then I biked for 2 miles and still felt great. I hope the back pain in behind me and I am going to keep stretching.

My feet are still bothering me - some days more than others - some mornings more than others. I have been keeping a tennis ball at my desk and work and I will roll that around twice a day and that feels so good and really helps get out any tightness I was feeling in my feet. 25K in May - Here I come!!

8 Miles - Feeling Great

Today I headed out for an 8 mile run. It was great and I felt strong the whole time. My average pace wwas 11 minutes and 25 seconds. This is a little bit slower than what I was running on my long runs about 2 months ago but this time I had some big hills. Since I did an out and back I had a 1 mile climb each way. The first time I climb the hill I was fresh and feeling great so it went much faster than on the way back. I also tried a little bit of trail running but this really slowed me down due to the trail being way to wet and muddy and in one part so steep I had to walk up it!

I had a great time and loved it. I even enjoyed getting snowed on at the end!

Snow

I love living in the Rocky Mountains and I really love being so close trails, hiking, mountain biking, skiing and so much more. But there are a few things I don't enjoy about the mountains.

On April 1st it snowed 4 inches, on April 2nd it was a beautiful day and all of the snow dried up and went away. On April 3rd it snowed 5 inches but then it got warm and it is quickly going away. In fact on the 3rd I went for a run in the nicest weather in a long time in a short sleeve shirt.

I want beautiful Spring days with no more snow! I am ready for everything to dry up so I can go trail running. At this point I would rather have rain than snow because snow means winter is still here.

What is the weather like where you are?

I'm Still Here

I am having trouble finding the time to blog lately. I spend my day on the computer at work and when I get home the last thing I want to do is get on the computer some more. I do miss blogging but even now I am at a loss as to what to write about. I also really want to get caught up on everyone’s blogs but I just haven’t. I'm sorry.

I have been running. I did 6 miles the other day and I also decided to try the hill behind the local collage. I wanted to see how dry it was. Well – let’s just say that it needs to dry out some more! I had to give Skylar a bath because she was so muddy afterwards and I had mud up to my knees! It is time to start making sure I am getting in 4 runs a week.

Another thing I noticed today was the my diet does affect my running. I had a breakfast burrito and then some jelly beans and then some chips. At lunch today I was going to head out for a 5 mile run. I did 2 miles and I was not into it. I hit a wall. So I walked did my lunges and squats and then I ran another mile back to work – at this point I was finally feeling better. No more junk food before a run anymore!

This weekend Joe went back to New Jersey to visit his family. I am going to see if I can get a friend to watch the girls for a couple of hours on Sunday so I can go for a long run. There is a local race that is a 25K Trail Run (15.5 miles). It is on May 23rd at Hartman Rocks. It will be close as it if I am ready for it or not but for now I am keeping it in the back of my mind.