Garbage Day!

We had our first sand volleyball game last night! Our team, Sofa King Lazy, won 2 of 3 games. The cold temps wouldn't have been so bad if we weren't playing in bare feet. My toes may never be the same. We stayed afterwards to chat- mostly about softball, which starts Thursday. Yessss!

I've run a few times since the 10K, and my foot has been pretty good. I can still feel some soreness, but it's definitely not painful. I shortened up my stride quite a bit, which seems to be helping. Unfortunately it's making me really slow! Oh well. I can't have it all, right?

I coach up in Mahtomedi this afternoon, then have to fly down to Burnsville for my own games at 6&7.

No training, kinda injured, it's snowing, let's run a 10K!

Meg and Donna and I ran the Get-in-Gear 10K in Minneapolis on Saturday morning. We lost Donna before it even started, but Meg and I ran together all 6.2 miles. It was really cold waiting for the start, and the horizontal hail was a little crazy, but once we got going it wasn't too terrible. My foot was sore but not unbearable, and it didn't hurt at work all weekend. My new thinking is that I wasn't running enough and it was starting to atrophy. (Maybe?) Donna finished in 1hr 2minutes and Meg and I finished in 1hr 4minutes, although our chip times were a little better than that.
My favorite part of doing these runs is getting the t-shirt and eating the snacks afterwards. This time we got bananas, yogurt, salted nut rolls, juice, milk, ice cream. Mmm.

Happy birthday to Nana, 92 years young today!

Softball!

Lots of softball today! Sibley lost to Simley 6-2. It was a pretty lackluster performance by our sophomores. I'm not really sure why- it was 70 degrees, sunny, not too much wind, and they had a TON of licorice before the game. Hmm.

Afterwards I scooted down to Burnsville to play in the season opener for O&S. We lost the first and won the second. I played first base both games which was quite a change for me. At least I'm on the right side of the infield! I think I'll get moved over to second eventually, but I don't care either way. It's just so great being outside playing ball!

The good news is that my foot didn't bother me at all today. I'm icing it now with some old broccoli just to be sure.

I got really nervous today looking at my schedule. EVERYTHING is starting in the next 2 weeks. Volleyball on Tuesdays, women's softball Wednesdays, coed softball Thursdays, plus coaching and working at the hospital. Egad.

I just got a message on my cell from Lucy: "No more rhymes now, I mean it! Anybody want a peanut?" Awesome.

Who got kicked off American Idol tonight? I can't find it online anywhere!

Gimpy

My right foot has really been bothering me lately. I talked to some docs at work about it, and after convincing me that my foot would need to be amputated and I would be forced to re-register for the marathon in the wheelchair division, they told me to go to Run-n-Fun to see what they could do for me. No one seems to think it's a stress fracture, which would mean 6+ weeks of no running. An x-ray could confirm, but I can't quite get to that point. I bought some insoles that I'll try out (and got 20% off because I'm a coach!), and I've been trying to avoid running for the past week. Lots of RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation). I have my first softball game tonight and a 10K on Saturday, so I'll see how this all goes.

Speaking of icing, I haven't really been able to make ice fast enough so I've been using a lot of old frozen veggies. It's been a good way to clean out my freezer, that's for sure. Right now I've got corn on the foot that probably should have been eaten in 2005.

This run is for the birds!

I ran 13.5 miles in 2 hours and 15 minutes. Not a cloud in the sky, bright sun, and about 40 degrees with a slight breeze from the southwest. I believe it's supposed to get up to 55 degrees today, but I work at 3 and had to run earlier. I parked at Phalen, ran the Gateway Trail, then back around Phalen. I was really tired around the 8 mile mark, but was able to push through.
I forgot how much I hate to run long runs by myself. I mean, I had my iPod, but I still got bored. Speaking of iPods, I listened to the entire Across the Universe soundtrack as well as all of Lily Allen's Alright, Still album. Good stuff.

So as far as birds go, it started when a huge black crow nearly took my head off right in the first 10 minutes. Then I saw an egret or heron (what's the difference?) and a red cardinal along the Gateway. And then back on Phalen I saw a bunch of ducks playing in the water and a cute little yellow bird with some black marks on it. (Dad, what is that one?) I was super tired when I was that little yellow one which was when I decided that this run was for the birds.

I'm off to work now, which means I miss our girls' second game, vs North St. Paul. We still haven't practiced outside yet, which means it might get ugly.

Peanut....peanut butter! And jelly!

I ran out of peanut and jelly today. At the same time! That NEVER happens to me! It's like running out of shampoo and conditioner at the same time. It made me very happy.

I went on date #2 with Ian Saturday night. We saw The Alps at the Omnimax Theater in the Science Museum, then went for a drink and apps at a brewery in St Paul afterwards.
Unfortunately later that night I was sick as a dog: nausea, very (I repeat, very) icky tummy, back pain, etc. I tossed and turned for hours, and by 3:45 am I decided that since I wasn't ever going to sleep again, I should call in sick to work, which I did. I must have dozed off at some point because I woke up around noon to the sound of my phone ringing. Meg wanted to run. I was a little groggy and my stomach still wasn't quite right, but I headed over to Gronauland. Meg and I ran Phalen and a *little* more. The breeze was chilly, but it was about mid-40s and sunny, I think.
Anyway, I'm not sure why I got sick last night. It may have been the nachos. Or just really bad cramps. Meg thinks I'm in love, but I really think it was the beer. I think my body was actually rejecting the glass of beer I drank. How am I going to remember to stick to hard liquor?

All the weather at once!

Rain, snow, hail, clouds, winds, lightning, thunder: all the weather at once. No surprise our game was cancelled today, but we did have a pretty fun practice in the gym. I brought out the "crazy ball" which is a small rubber thing that looks like many bouncy balls melted together. I roll it on the ground and it bounces in random directions and the girls chase after it with screams of delight. It's actually pretty funny to watch, and they run a lot without even knowing it.

I just got back from a delightful first date with Ian, a guy I met on Match.com. (And, Carol Daly, he pronounces it "Eee-an", not "In" or "Eye-an".) We went to dinner at the Liffey in St Paul. He is pretty tall and although he is mostly bald, he did not have a combover (like the last guy). He has chipmunk cheeks and dimples and seems like a genuinely happy person. He does some type of graphic designing and lives in a condo in St Paul. I had the seared walleye (so delicious!) and he had Shepard's pie and a which he finished off so it must have been decent. It was 10:30pm before we knew it (3 hours longer than bad teeth and combover dude) and I hope there will be a second date! (Is that enough specifics for y'all???) :)