It'll take me a while to update my blog again. I'm not sure if I was hit by a hacker but yesterday my blog was down. I told Hubster about it and I think he restored everything.
Anyhow, I ran 4 miles yesterday on the trail outside of Gallup. It was kind of tough as I accelerated up hills.
This evening, I am due to run 5 miles. Hopefully I can put them all in as I have a costume party to go to and some green bean casserole to make. Ahhhh...busy, busy.
I didn't do much running this weekend. I used the excuse of: "Well, it IS my recovery week anyway. I ran 3 weeks and now taking a week easy." I skipped out on Friday's run to make up for dinner and a movie with some new friends. We watched The Prestige and ate some Applebee's afterward. I must say...it's nice to have a bankaccount that refills itself every two weeks because I don't have to order the cheapest thing on the menu anymore. This is one reason why it will be hard to go back to graduate school after working. :(
On Saturday, I ran about 3 miles and tried to be quick about it. I was invited by Miss Trish to her mom's house for a cookout in honor of her upcoming 21st birthday so I attempted to be on time. The food was good and we played a fun round of Pictionary afterwards. Her little brother and sister are both soooo adorable and friendly too. :) Thanks for inviting me again!
I spent the better part of my weekend cleaning up the apartment and working up a big sweat while doing so. I also did a lot of SHOPPING! hehe Well, not Mean Girls type of shopping...just some necessities needed around the house. I hate it because I can't make up my mind and I'm a stickler for having color coordination.
Hope you have a good week.
I'm off to the hotel to attend a training for my department. See ya.
Since I've been here working for the tribe and having moved to a new area knowing only a small number of people--I complained and lamented in the fact that I was lonely. Gallup, NM is not exactly the easiest place to go out and find new friends who are not into the bar scene/party scene.
So you would think that after many a solitary evening spent, I would rejoice at having been invited to dinner and a movie with some young attorneys and my good friend, S. Instead, what did I do?
I ran.
I wanted to hang out badly but in the deepest part of my heart, I wanted to run more. I took two days off for recovery and because things are getting hectic for me at work. I was about to take a third day off because I had a big headache after work and I had some lower abdominal pain going on. Plus, it rained the previous night and it was very chilly. I decided that I would spend the evening with some new friends.
That is...until I spent a couple minutes outside cleaning out my car and taking things back and forth from the car to the apartment or garbage. I had gotten used to the cold and pretty soon, it felt like the chill invigorated me. I began jogging back and forth from the car.
Though it was getting dark, I knew I could put in two miles--one at the least. I hurried inside and put on my running gear and headed out the door. Last night was the very first night I ran the neighborhoods of Gallup. Usually, I run the trails.
It felt like old times--like I was running an evening in Tempe along my old route in the residential area. I felt so good. I paid attention to my form and noticed that I was landing more on my heal than the forefoot. My shoes are so comfortable that it seemed like natural tendency to do so. Afterwards, I altered my form and began landing on my forefoot--and the calves were feeling it.
Also, living in Tempe and Phoenix I've grown accustomed to passing people on the street without recieving a warm hello or acknowledgement. So I was quite surprised (!!) when two people I passed on the street gave me a hearty hello. I was really taken aback! haha
Anyhow, I ran 2 miles tempo and I felt like I could take on the world.
Ok, my right heel is still kinda sore. There is some slight throbbing going on. I'm really bummed and hope that I am not developing plantar faciitis.
Last night I was talking with Hubster on the phone and asked him if he could buy me a pair of Born shoes for work so that my heel would be extra cushioned. I accompanied a friend on a shopping excursion this weekend and she's somewhat of a shoe fanatic. She told me that nurses and other people that stand on their feet for hours on end prefer to wear Born brand shoes.
I guess they are quasi top of the line. I wouldn't know much about shoes. All I know is that it's time to retire my Doc Marten boots for awhile. Christ, I've had them since I was a senior in high school. (Sentimental attachments). They still look good. (in my eyes).
I need to take better care of my feet because they're taking a beating they have never quite known before. They do a lot for me.
Anyhow, I'd appreciate some advice on how to heal my feet (fast). Are there certain things I should avoid doing to prevent it from worsening? What remedies should I be applying to help the healing along?
I was going to do my 4 tonight but I'm going to skip today again. Recovery is key, here.
Thanks, Phil...for offering your help. :)
*whimper....*
P.S. My running shoes are still quite new. I've been running in them for almost 3 months now. They are well cushioned. I don't think it's the shoes.
In total, I did approximately 9.8 miles yesterday. I did my 2 miles at lunch which was my first lunchtime run ever. It actually gave me a good feeling knowing that I was out gettin my exercise while most other tribal employees were stuffing their faces.
Right after work, I changed into my running clothes in my office. I'm glad that I received a long sleeved wicking shirt at the race over the weekend because it's getting nippy here. I anticipated that it would be chilly so I wore my new race shirt for the long run. It's big on me (I should have asked for a Medium) so I had to make sloppy alterations of stuffing the loose parts of the sleeve into my running bra straps. How is that for ingenuity? haha
I was doing well until I got to mile 3-4 where I came across an intersection. At one corner, there is a house and those people don't chain up their dogs. I began to hear barking over my music and so I looked around and started walking. I repeatedly had to loudly SHHHH the dogs to keep them at bay but one of them got brave. I stopped dead in my tracks and he slowly inched towards me. Finally, I resorted to picking up a rock and throwing it in his direction. Only then did he turn around. DUMB DOG!
I'm going to make a complaint to Animal Control about their unchained dogs. They need a warning at least because there are kids that sometimes walk alongside that house by the road. They could get hurt.
That incident played with me mentally as I've had bad experiences with loose dogs so the last couple miles were a struggle. They were also taxing physically.
I was only supposed to go 7 miles but I went for almost 8. I don't have a Garmin so I go by time. I figure I'm doing 11 min miles so I keep track of miles that way.
I can totally feel the toll of the run today. My heels are sore from all the pounding. My quads feel like I've done a thousand lunges. However, I'm taking this as a sign of getting stronger. What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger.
I was hoping to have PR'd at the 5k this weekend in ALBQ but alas, it was not to be. *sniff* It's quite alright as I haven't exactly been training for speed. I could list a bazillion excuses as to why things didn't go as planned but I'll leave what I think really mattered in my 5k demise. (Ok, I'll stop being dramatic.)
totally forgot about lining up late and thus, I was slowed down by the slower runners at the start
this frustrated me and I ended up speeding up too early
speed running during the first mile caught up with me a half mile later and I didn't do so well on the second mile
dumb kids zipping in and out in front of me. Oh well, kids will be kids and I'm just glad they're out there running too.
forgot the coveted mp3 player and had no My Chemical Romance to rev me up for the final stretch
didn't get much time to stretch in the beginning
I also have a new appreciation for hills. This particular course was all flat and I now realize that even though going up hills slow me down, I end up runing faster downhill and makes for faster time.
Also, this was my first time going all out at 5,000+ ft elevation and boy was I winded at the end. I sprinted to the finish line with horrible gasping and my stomach was hating me all the way because I SO wanted to throw up!
I came in at 29:36 which is a 9:32 pace. At least it's another sub-30 minute 5k. I would have been very disappointed if I went over.
What can I say, "Defeat and Disappointment only makes one work harder."
To answer Ann's question, my next race will be in November for the New Times 10k on Mill Ave in Tempe. I definitely need to beat last year's time which I think is "in the bag".
As for today, I will be doing 2 miles at lunch and 7 miles after work. I didn't get to do my long run again yesterday as I was feeling extremely beat.
However, yay for new long-sleeved wicking shirt from the 5k!
Yesterday evening was a good evening to run. The temps were nice but got a bit nippy near the finish because of the sweat that formed on my t-shirt. I parked "Sally", my car, at the Sports Complex and began my run there.
I looped around the Fairgrounds before taking to the pedestrian sidewalk alongside the main road. Approximately 22 minutes into the run, I stopped briefly to stretch out the hams, the quads, and the inner thighs. Stretching always gets me back into good form and spirits when I'm doing a long run and it seems like it'll be forever before I reach the finishing point.
The most awesomest part of my run??
Getting high-fives from the spiders and their web threads along the bridge rails. How is this so? Well, I forgot to mention that I was running into the sunset and so the light illuminated the threads of spider webs latched onto railing by the sidewalk bridges. They waved and bobbed with the gentle breeze--totally making them look like extended palms from a cheering crowd along side a race route.
It was just really invigorating because I felt like I had a small support section cheering me on by the bridges. It was just the coolest thing ever.
I ran uphill into St. Micheals which is not an easy thing to do because to do so means running uphill for 10-15 minutes. I turned around by St Micheals Chapter House and ran back down the hill into Window Rock. Eventually I looped once more around the Fairgrounds and then ran back to my car for a total of *dun dun DUN*
6.4 miles in 1:06:00 at a 10:18 pace
I made good time despite the long uphill running. Super awesome. I had extra incentive to run fast because I was due to meet a friend for a 7:30 dinner in Gallup.
I missed watching Grey's Anatomy but good thing they do an encore on Friday evenings. Evenso, I wouldn't have missed my 6-miler for the world.
So I ran another 5k yesterday evening. Like I mentioned before, it was sponsored by the Navajo Special Diabetes Project (I can't believe they don't have a website cuz it's like a big thing on the rez!) and therefore it was non-competitive. They weren't timing any runners and I can see now, why I didn't get a time at my last 5k in Tuba City. The objective was just to get people out there moving--either running or walking. They even had country line dancing going on inside the gym. lol
Luckily, I had my watch on to record my time or at least my approximate time. They didn't do the best job in the world of marking the course or designating where the finish line was so I had to approximate.
I was also busy trying to get boxes of water bottles out of my car for my co-worker to hand out to runners when they came back in on behalf of our program. The run was just about to start when my co-worker piped up that he needed at least one more box of bottles. So I had to dash back to my car and I noticed that the runners had taken off and I was late by at least a minute or more.
It was a psychological battle for me knowing that I was in last place as a runner and even though I knew it was because I started off late--it still made me frustrated. However, I began passing people during the final mile when the hills started getting to most. I'm very proud that I can deliver even on hills now and they don't pose much of a challenge anymore. :) It also feels awesome when I can pass runners faster than me on these hills.
Therefore, I was overjoyed to see that I ran a sub-30min 5k with all the inclines on the race course. I was shooting for a 30:30 but shot that down by a minute. I stopped once to retie my shoe so I may have even run the whole thing in about 29:15 or so which is so close to my 5kPR. I totally kicked tail on this one and knowing that it was more challenging than the course on which I set my PR is major kudos!
Now just imagine what my time would be if I were to race at Phoenix elevation! Ooooh the possibilities!
I have another 5k coming up in Albuquerque this weekend. I originally wanted to do the half-marathon but I'm not ready for it. The time it took to adjust to the elevation here really threw me off schedule but hey, I'm still running and keeping up those miles!
As for this evening, I have 6 miles planned.
Does anyone know of any half-marathons in the 4 Corners area (AZ,NM, CO, UT) that will be taking place in late November? I'll be ready by then! I'll have another PR to blast.
Everytime I plan to leave the office right at 5 pm, I never leave until 30 min or 45 min afterwards. I wonder, if ever, when will I be on time? Indians always have this joke about being on "Indian time" when one is chronically late. I think it's lame actually. It used to get me irritated when I was apart of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society in college and the meetings would never start on time because the e-board members would jokingly claim, "Indian time!"
About the run, I was going to run this giant 8 mile loop but upon parking my car up the hill at a local motel I practically tore my car interior apart looking for my fuel belt. (I later found it on the bed in my apartment! hrumph!) So I had to improvise and run a 4 mile loop nearby the St. Micheals School and Mission. It was quite serene because it has this countryside landscape.
I used to run this loop two two years ago when I was a fish and wildlife intern. Then I was barely getting back into running and the hills used to kill me! I was ecstatic when I could run up them with little difficulty! :) Great job legs!
Afterwards, I ran a mile uphill back to my car. Trouble started a-brewin' in my stomach and it wasn't pleasant at all. I swear I was going to have a huge accident in my "intimates". I can't even remember what I had to eat the other day but it was starting up something fierce in my stomach.
Blah, so then I had to drive all the way down to the grocery store to use the public bathroom. After the storm was quelled in my gullet, I went back to my car to drink some Gatorade and take another GU gel. They have this new flavor, Lemon Lime, and it's gross! It took guts for me to swallow it.
It was already getting pretty dark so I drove to the shoddy gym and hoped that no one was running on the one working treadmill. As I walked up the steps to the cardio room, I could hear a familiar whooring of the belt and I prepped myself for disappointment. Luckily, the gal was using the loud treadmill and not my favorite one.
I hopped on and ran my heart out until I reached 3 miles.
So there you have it...8 miles. Even if I had to take a large break in between at 5 miles, I still ran. But I am freaking about the possibility of my stomach acting up during the marathon. I don't think I can hold my "storm" for very long. Arghh....
I wasn't able to run my 8 miles yesterday hence I am making them up today after work. I had a nice lunch by myself today at the local pizza place. I ate there a couple times years ago with some colleagues and remembered that they had decent spaghetti. I figured that I needed to carb up early so to Party Pizza, I went.
I had a nice little garden salad, two breadsticks, spaghetti with meatballs, and a Dr. Pepper. My lunch companion was Lance Armstrong--on the cover of my latest issue of Runner's World, that is. hehe Right afterwards, I went to the grocery store to buy some bananas so I wouldn't have to make a trip there on my afternoon break. While there, I passed the floral section and was reminded that it was National Boss's Day by the tiny, jubilant balloons.
I ended up buying a card and some donuts on my paltry budget for the head honcho. Talk about a suck-up, huh? Hey! Anything to make a good impression while I'm on my probationary period! haha
The fiance' and I had our two year anniversary over the weekend. We spent it hanging out in Flagstaff and walking around downtown. It was nice. We even went vehicle browsing since we're in the market for a Honda Ridgeline. It was a fun weekend. I feel great knowing that I'm about to marry the funniest man alive.
I have to prepare mentally for my 8-miler. I am a lioness, I am a gazelle.
I was disappointed yesterday after work because I could not tie up my project in time to run the 5k I had scheduled for myself. I didn't even get to run, period! Afterwards, I had a two-hour drive back to my house in Kayenta. And to top of the string of bad luck, I didn't even make it back in time to watch Grey's Anatomy!
Come on! Can't a gal get a break here!
Today, my co-workers and I set up a booth in Tuba City for the Western Navajo Agency Fair. It was my first time really engaging with the public about recycling. The public knew more about recycling than I had first given them credit for but I was still some help in telling them about some of the lesser known recyclables such as inkjet cartridges and used motor oil.
About 90-95% of the people I came across knew of relatives who did their own oil changes and dumped their used oil on the ground! I was appalled! Flagstaff and Page are both towns that are an hour away from Tuba City and it is where the nearest auto parts stores are that will accept used motor oil and batteries.
Sadly, we don't have the facilities yet to collect such hazardous waste so until then, all we can do is refer people to the bordertowns.
I was very happy at the receptiveness of the people towards recycling. They promised me that they would start separating recyclables from their trash and use the tote bags we gave them when they go shopping at the store.
It's a tremendous feeling to be helping out in that small way. :)
Anyhow, I ran a 5k earlier this evening that was sponsored by the Special Diabetes Project. Navajo people have an alarmingly high rate of developing diabetes but thankfully this taskforce is doing a good job of bombarding people through radio, billboards, and special events such as the 5k to spread the word about working towards a healthier and more active lifestyle.
The first mile of the 5k was tough. It was all hills! It was also my first time trying to keep a fast pace at this elevation. Thank heavens much of mile 2 was all downhill so I was able to recover and keep a consistant pace for the final mile.
During the final leg, I saw an old chum from ASU who was among the 5k coordinators. It was a nice surprise. HIm and his wife rooted me along and it made me feel so good that I picked up the pace a bit.
The sad thing was that I wasn't able to see how well I did because the race coordinators were not jotting down times for runners other than the first 4 males and females. I was bummed but it's alright. I ran for fun and at least I got a cool t-shirt and a water bottle out of the whole deal.
This weekend, I have 8 miles to run but I'll wait until Sunday. Tomorrow my handsome fiance and I are headed to the fair to watch the parade, wander around the fairgrounds, browse the booths, and ride some rides. Last year, we were among the only young people who joined our elders in our traditional song-and-dance which is a social thing. Maybe we'll do that again.
This site has pictures of a Navajo traditional song and dance.
I'm still at work. After 5 pm, which is quickly beginning not to be abnormal for me. :(
Just quickly wanted to note that I ran 4.25 miles the other day when I was back home. It seemed to take longer than usual.
And I saw my baby niece too! She came back from the hospital and she is just the most gorgeous little thing I have ever seen. My sister and I almost have the same voice so she kind of perks up when I talk to her. It's cool!
Her name is Adezdiin, which is Navajo for "shining" or "brilliance". I'll double check because I think I may just be touching the tip of the iceberg in terms of meaning.
I was scheduled for a 4 mile run today but work has me working overtime. I'll have to make it up tomorrow. I have my first recycling presentation tomorrow so I hope it all goes well.
By the way, my sister had her baby yesterday. I became an auntie for the first time to a joyous baby girl.
We're still trying to come up with a name for her.
4 min break to stretch out, down 2nd GU pack and drink water
Mile 5.5: 10:25 Mile 6.5 and 7: 14:46 ------------ Total Mileage: 7 miles Average Pace: 10:07 (minus the break)
I had a good workout this morning. As stated in the last entry, I was crazy for admitting that I actually missed treaddie running. So I ran my whole 7 miles on the treadmill so I could keep an eye on my pace. I was trying to average a 10:20 pace and so I'm happy with running under that pace at 10:07.
I have noticed that my legs are not quite as strong as they used to be. I can't describe how I can tell but I can tell. I'll have to get really serious about joining up a gym in Gallup and having a personal trainer to show me the ropes about developing some strength with weights.
It doesn't take a genius to say that running at high elevation has made my running down here in the Valley considerably more easier. I did not feel short of breath or tired on the entire 7 miles. Usually, when I get to my last couple of miles, I'll slow down quite a bit by at least 30 seconds.
Didn't happen this time!
I whooped ass. I wanted to take this time to give a shout out to Denise, aka Firefly. Her blog has really inspired me. When I first read her blog during the summer she was running 12 min/miles or so and now she is running sub 10 min/miles! That improvement has made me more dedicated to my running and I know that eventually I'll get down to sub 10 min/miles as well. Awesome job, Firefly.
This coming week I am running two 5ks back to back. There is one on Thursday in Twin Lakes, NM that is being sponsored by the Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Project and it's FREE! The next day, I will be running another 5k at the Western Agency Navajo Nation fair in Tuba City, AZ. That will be quite a busy day because my program is setting up a booth for Elders Day that day.
Our Navajo Nation is broken down into 5 agencies: Eastern (where my fiance' is from), Western, Central, Northern, and Fort Defiance. My hometown of Kayenta is in the Western Agency so going to the Tuba City Fair, which is a little over an hour away from Kayenta, has been a tradition for me since I was a kid. I ALWAYS go every year. I love to indulge in steamed corn mutton stew and frybread, buy jewelery from vendors, watch the parade, and hang out at the carnival to ride some rides.
I also have my first presentation on recycling at a conference in Kayenta on Wednesday. I'm a bit nervous but will try to kick butt.
But I'll tell ya, I'm still stoked that I ran 7 miles today! It's been almost 2 months since I last ran that distance! -----
In other news, I finally got to watch the Oprah segment where she and her bf went on a road trip and visited the Navajo Nation. It was horrible and I was angered by how the segment was edited. It had overtones of "Woe is me," all over and it pissed me off. They just made life on the rez seem really deplorable and it's not that bad at all.
I love where I come from. I know that we deal with poverty, alcoholism, domestic violence, etc everyday in different Navajo households but we still have a rich culture and have what I think is the highest percentage of fluent speakers among different American Indian tribes. I forgot who it was (oprah or gayle) that wondered why we just couldn't move away and get away from the situation.
What was neglected to mention was that our Holy People, our deities, had placed us on a specific portion of land that are protected by 4 sacred mountains. These mountains designate our boundaries so that we'll always know where we are at. Therefore, this land is sacred to us and so many important events have happened here that we could never dream of leaving it.
Our stories and our Navajo religion connects us to the land, our Mother Earth. As a people, this earth is who defines us.
In my presentation, I try to stress this to my audience and especially the younger generation in hopes that it will inspire them to protect and care for our environment and practice recycling.
I could go on and on about what I didn't like about the Oprah segment. I can't believe that such an influential woman, especially being a part of the minority, would portray our people using stereotypes. The pow-wow and the hoop dancers are not apart of our culture though some people have adopted the activities and engage in them for fun, competition, or because of a spiritual reason. Yet, I've heard that Oprah producers insisted that it be performed for them. Ugh. It's really discouraging.
And the truth is that most elders would rather live without the conveniences of running water, technology, and electricity because they say that they don't need it. I think it makes them feel like it detracts from having a closer relationship with the environment. /end un-related running rant.
FYI: I did an hour and three minutes of running like I said I would. It was a glorious run albeit there were some tough steady climbing inclines--the kind that last for 6-8 minutes!
It took at least a good 15 minutes to get comfortable with the idea that I was running right alongside traffic. I don't like the idea of people gawking at me when I run. It's different when I am running a race. Anyhow, sure enough, I started getting a couple honks after the initial 15 minutes.
I kinda liked them, contrary to what I said before about unwanted attention. It's not like I had my butt hanging out of tiny daisy duke running shorts and a tight, skimpy tank top on. No siree, I had on a pair of sweats, my short sleeved Arizona State shirt, and a white running cap. Therefore, I took all the honks as expressions of encouragement and vehicular "ALL RIGHT!"s. Who knows, for all I know, they could have just been honking because they're SunDevils fans! :P
The only part I didn't enjoy was having to make tiny detours around canine roadkill. Poor dogs. There were two of them and my heart felt sad as I passed them because they were handsome mutts.
I felt pretty badass running the whole thing. Sure does make one proud when they follow up on what they set out to do!
BTW, I'm in Tempe for the weekend right now. I have a 7-miler scheduled for this morning. I'm anxious to see how the running experience will differ here for me being that I've spent a good month at 7,000 ft of elevation.
Dare I say, I miss the treadmill. I may do my whole 7 on there.
So I only have 2 hours to go until I get off work. I'm about to take my 15 minute break so I'll run to the store to chomp down on two bananas and give it time to circulate.
I'm really exciting about putting in an hour of pure running--maybe even 6 miles at the most. I'm not planning on running the trail this evening. I'm headed up to St. Micheal's which is about 2 or 3 miles from where I work. St Michael's opens up into Window Rock and when you follow the main road, it's actually a roll down a steady climbing hill.
I plan on running down the hill into WR and maybe into Tse Bonito or up to the Navajo Nation Council Chambers...then I will turn around. I've never run alongside the main roads here. I hope that I don't get any hollering or cat calls. I seriously HATE such attention. It's as bad as making me feel like I'm running completely naked.
Wish me luck!
Oh yeah, it rained really hard here this morning. I'm hoping that it doesn't rain while I run. It'll put a damper on my spirit.
I went running on the trail again yesterday(the pictures from the previous post). I'm now following the marathon plan on the Runner's World website..."Your Ultimate Marathon Training Plan." So I ran my 4 miles and then some.
I took off from the starting point early so I wouldn't have to worry about skinwalkers this time. hehe Mile 1 was pretty relaxing but as I tried to keep pace on my 2nd mile I felt so weak! I couldn't shake the weak feeling the entire way except for one moment when my adrenaline spiked from a jackrabbit who scared me.
During the last couple of legs, I sincerely felt like my limbs were made out of aluminum because it was such a chore to push on. Here were my measley times.
I think I'm not fueling up properly. I feel like I don't have much time in the afternoon to run around and try to make a peanut butter-jelly sandwich or run to the store to get something besides a banana. It's like I'm too busy to do anything and I'm hating it!
Today I had a rest day but tomorrow I'm scheduled for an hour run. I'm going to make it my priority tonight to prepare my sandwiches ahead of time.
Carmen is a 25-year-old gal from the Navajo Nation. By day, I am an environmental specialist. By evening I am a runner. I thought that running a 10k and a half-marathon was a challenge but now I have my sights set to conquer the big beast--the full marathon. This is my space to jot down triumphs and follies along my journey as I train for my first marathon in January 2007.
