Time's just flying by.....

Yeah! Another week closer to my 1st marathon!!!

Running

• Monday: Went for a brief run, basically to stretch out my calves after last weekend's long run. Ran 1.44 miles when I met up with my neighbors walking their dog. So, I stopped running and walked around the island with them. I chatted with the "govenor" about running; he's run many marathons and always has good stories about them.


• Wednesday: Another timed 2 mile run for karate. Since I have already made my "time" and won't be testing for my belt until November/December, I'm not going "all out" and risking injury with my timed runs. Instead, I'm going to help the candidates for the August cycle to get their times under 16 minutes. This night, I ran next to a young boy (I don't know his name yet). He's a cute red-head, probably around Ryan's age (11). He ran well, but after 1 mile, he was starting to slow down. I would "encourage" him (OK, I kinda yelled at him!) to pick up the pace. I kept on him because I know how "easy" it is to slow down or quit and how "hard" it is to keep going. But we both kept going and finished in 15:49.


• Thursday: This was the only "sore" spot for the week. Before starting my run, I went to turn on my Garmin and it was dead. Not again! I was so mad!! I charged it Monday after my run and saw the display reading "Battery Charging Complete". I disconnected it from the charger to make sure the charge wasn't getting "drawn down" from the contacts. This is like the 6th time this has happened in 4 months. I think there's definitely a problem with this product. Problem is, I can't start the process of getting it fixed because I'll most likely have to send it in and I'm only 5 weeks away from my marathon and really need it. So, I'll just have to make sure I keep the watch/timer on the charger every night. Anyways, getting back to my running. I ran the "alternate karate route", down 15th ave from the dojo to Pine Crest and back, 2 times, for a total run of 4 miles. I'm estimating the time to be around 36 minutes. Overall, it was a very nice run; but afterwards I felt some pain in my right heel.



• Sunday: 19-mile long run day!!! I had everything prepped and was out the door at 6am. Temperature was 75 degrees. Parked at the Sea Ranch Lakes Publix (grocery store) and ran south down the beach to the Southport Publix. I hit the 17th Street Causeway bridge at around mile 8 and then again on my return at mile 9.5. It's a pretty high bridge so that was my "hill" training! On my "northbound" return on A-1-A, a cyclist was hit by a car pulling out from a hotel. He was lying on the road, not moving but people were talking to him; he was wearing a helmet (thank goodness). It was sad. But, I had to continue running. My knee started hurting again; noticeably around mile 9 and got progressively worse. So much so that at miles 12 and 15, I stopped running at my "water break". That of course, only made it worse when I started running again. I had to stop running at 17.06 miles; my time was 3:12:47, for an 11:18/mi average pace.


• Later in the morning, I stopped by my local running store. I showed one of the "experts" where I was feeling pain in my knee; I was told (confirming my suspicion) that it was an IT band injury. He showed me a stretch to do but basically the "treatment" is to stop/cut back on running. Needless to say, my "age" is finally sinking in to my brain (and the rest of my body). As much as I want to think I am this late 20's/early 30's athlete that can just start running cold. The truth is that I am a 42-year old who now really has to stretch her calves, hamstrings, quads, and now IT band before she runs/does karate/etc. What a bummer......
• So, for the week, I ran a total of, drum roll please,.......25.5 miles, another record week!

Karate:

• This was an "average" karate week. Started with the 8:30pm class on Monday. On Wednesday after the timed run, I SWATTED the 7:45 class. Stef asked me to gear up and that's when I realized I left my gear bag at home. Ugh! This was not good. Wednesday night's class was a candidate check. I couldn't go home; I had to stay and take class. So, I went through the lost and found to find gear and luckily found a "full set". But, it really STUNK!!!! Class was ok; it was Bugo (not my favorite or one of my "strengths"). I was happy to "survive" class.
• Thursday: Normally, I only go to one "B" class a week; either Wednesday or Thursday. This week, to get in all my required classes, I had to got to class on both Wed & Thurs. I was not looking forward to 2 "B" classes; especially 2 days in a row. Thursday's class was ok. First, I brought my own, "less stinky" gear. Next, because I had taken class on Wednesday, I knew what to expect; I knew the drills that we would work on. At the end of class on both Wed & Thurs, everyone went to the "wall" and then certain people were called to spar. Both nights, I was not called in the initial "round". I was in the 2nd group. I know I'm not the best at sparring, but it's getting frustrating always being picked "last".
• Friday: BBC night......Tonight was MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) #4. I'm not a huge fan of MMA; especially the ground work (jui jitsu). But, it's required for black-belt, so I have to learn it. I partnered with Janine and actually had a pretty good class. We did the sleeper hold and take downs. The thing I most dislike about MMA is that it's not a class that works the cardio, compared to the normal, Friday "Happy Hour" class. Most times, I barely break a sweat. And tonight was no exception.
• This week there's no candidate class on Saturday morning. I think Ma'am is out-of-town. And, that's probably why the "candidate check" was on Wed. night. I'm kind of bummed because Saturday candidate classes are the best; they have tons of cardio, work the abs, hit the push-ups, practice katas, etc. Basically, after class and into the next day, you really feel that you have had a good work out.

Pharmacy.......

• My 1st week at the new job was GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's a smaller organization than my last employer. But, we are being "acquired" by a new company this coming week, which should result in new business. And, it sounds like the new business will be added in a "smarter" manner than at my previous employer.
• I spent much of the 1st week training in the different departments and getting a good idea of the work flow. While there are a number of "scheduled responsibilities", there seems to be ample time available to dedicate to special projects and continuous quality improvement. I know it's only been 1 week, but I really get the sense that there is a "team mentality" here. Yeah!!!
• I have 8 pharmacists that report to me, as well as the inventory supervisor. Much more reasonable than the 162 persons that I had reporting to me at my last job.........
  

Time is slowly ticking away till my marathon......5 more weeks. I can't get over the fact that it's almost May......Dear Lord, where did the time go. Speaking of going, it's my time to sign off till next weeks blog. Cioa!!!