Day 205: Wed Mar 5th - Frosty with a touch of Frozen

Day Two Hundred-five: Frosty with a touch of Frozen

A bit colder this morning than I had anticipated, but still beautiful out. 
Unfortunately my heel is giving me grief again. This time it's not directly my Achilles tendon, but more so the boney part of the heel itself. I've had this plague me before, but it was in my late teens years ago. I think the day to day running stress is aggravating my heel.  Frustrating, since the heel is quite   
an unforgiving place to have an injury.The bone area of my heel is swollen, but not a blister from rubbing, more like a growing bone spur. Each footfall is a reminder.  The pain can be quite intense, at least during the first mile or so. Then it seems to lessen a bit and I am able to ignore and enjoy the rest of my run.  I use ice, yoga and stretching to lessen the pain and lengthen my Achilles and calf... but so far it isn't doing much. Any suggestions?  'Not running' cannot be one of them however.  At least not yet. :/

Day 160, 161, 162 and 163 Ups and Downs - life in 4 days...

Day 160, 161, 162 & 163

Ups and Downs - life in 4 days....

 

Well... once again I proved how challenging it is for me to write the blog while at home. My laggy laptop didn't help.  It was an up and down 4 days, challenged further by a bit of a bad stomach bug :(

Running was also up and down.  Some up days and some down days, but ran them all the same.  

On a positive note :)

Sunday was particularly beautiful. The river was completely frozen. Jax had fun running around the shallow ice areas, playing and jumping around like a child on too much sugar. We crunched around on the ice contemplating life and why area dog owners refuse to pick up their poo.  ggrrrrrrr

Monday through this morning the inversion was pretty yuck. Luckily I run early enough it doesn't seem as bad. However later in the day it is downright terrible. Good news! a mini wind storm is supposed to come by and clear some of it out tomorrow.

beauty vs. the beast of inversion

Day 116: Fri Dec 6th - 11 Commandments

Day One Hundred-sixteen:   

 

 

11 Commandments (for Celeste) 

Running on Ice and Frozen Mornings



 

 



1.   Thou shalt not take thy Lords name in vain or use obscene profanity (OUT LOUD) when you venture outside in 7 degree weather. Especially in front of your neighbors. 

2.  Thou shall tie thy shoes:  Please make sure your shoes are tied well and not just pulled on and loose.  Oh and for Christ's sake... wear warm running socks and not those flimsy things that are cute, fluorescent with St. Patricks Day designs. Unless you like endless frozen toes.

3.  Thou shalt not leave your scarf at home...... again. This, my dear Celeste, is helpful to bind around your face / neck as needed. You may want to invest in a ski mask to help your face from freezing off. Scratch that. You run the risk of looking like a feeling criminal.So just use the scarf and continue wearing your hat. Don't worry, the numbness on your face will wear off.

4.  Thou shalt not fall, slip or trip. Stay on the crunchy road, but not the large chunks of plowed snow boulders on the side of the road  - with their jagged peaks and deep crevices - unless you'd like a good ankle sprain. Stay on parts of the road that were previously flattened  by trucks with good treads and that are now frozen stiff. This will provide decent traction and is much less slippery than the slushy, salty areas and it sounds pretty cool to run on.


5.  Thou shalt not trust shiny blacktop roads. STAY CLEAR! 
The devil put them there. 
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6. Thou shall run on Sunday (and everyday) regardless of cold.  This is your church I giveth to you.


7. Thou shalt not envision a mishap to befall those who drive past you as fast as possible, spraying you with fine particles of ice and snow, despite the fact that you are hugging the edge of the street to give them plenty of clearance.  Bastards!


8. Thou shalt not accidently pitch yourself off the trail head cliff by going too fast or slipping. -------------->
BE CAREFUL!
                                                 I'm not ready for you here.



9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors warm house as you shiver running by.  Ignore the smell of the fireplace and the warm glow of lights. Damned be to those who cook bacon the moment you are passing by, that is just cruel.


10. Thou shalt not shower in HOT water while you are defrosting.
It will sting.

11. Thou shalt not complain when you get up and do it all again tomorrow. It was your idea. Dummy.