Ice Packing

Went for my 6 mile run on Saturday, and the weather could not have been more beautiful! I got some killer stitches in my side about halfway through, and had to stop to stretch it out for 30 seconds, but that gave me a good chance to take some pics of the run! This time I ran down to the beach, and then along the Pacific coast all the way to the zoo (and honestly contemplated going in)...and it was gorgeous!

And of course a super sexy picture of me in pain from the stitches:

This is my personal vow NEVER to eat pancakes right before a run ever again. Though Nolan does make the most tempting pancakes around (can I get a witness?!).

After another 3 miles today, and 4 on Thursday, my knees are in need of some serious icing...so I finally followed my trainer's advice and bought an ice pack to really help me out. So far so good! After no ice last night, I fell asleep to hot, throbbing and swollen ankles and especially knees. Pain-ful. Today, so far at least the knees are better! Mom, here's my shout-out saying THANK YOU for the running gear you bought me. That jacket and belt are my new staples. I have now trained myself never to run without water (which is probably healthier for me in the long run), and I cannot run without that belt to stick stuff in.

My little piece(s) of advice for folks training:

1. Drink lots of water

2. STRETCH and warm up. I CANNOT emphasize the difference this makes.

3. Buy some good shoes. Seriously. It was like night and day when I bought good ones.

So far: I have stuck to my no (non-brewed) coffee diet, and haven't even noticed it. I think because it is a hard goal I have now. I do well with firm goals.

This weekend has been super relaxing, and it was wonderful to spend lots of quality time with Noemma yesterday (I know you're reading this!), and really reconnect. I miss that girl! Plus I love going to the Saturday night church service, which we got to do. Then today Nolan and I took the motorcycle to Safeway (what a nightmare lugging those groceries back!), we went for a short run to UCSF (I never thought I'd say 3 miles was short!), and then hosted a Super Bowl party (Go Saints!) and had small group at our house. I must have consumed thousands of calories in dips, chips, sodas, etc. Hopefully I won't have a chance to eat like that again for a very long time...maybe next Super Bowl! So much for running off calories. Sigh.