I'm back on the team!

Okay, so I didn't score two goals tonight, but my one goal was well worth it. Not only was it a pretty shot, but it put us ahead in a very close game. We held the lead to the finish. I'm happy, because they were a very good team. Maybe an undefeated season really is well within our reach.

The low-down.

I went running on Monday.

I didn't go running on Tuesday.

I went running on Wednesday.

I played soccer on Thursday.

What will the rest of the week bring?

I'm off the team.

I didn't get my two goal quota tonight, so I've been kicked off the team. That's the only reason they signed me. Maybe I'll go play in a league in Europe or something.

Okay, so soccer tonight was a lot of fun. As it has been this whole league. I love my team and I feel we're meshing better than the first game. We've won all four of our games so far and I'm thinking we might just be the champions at the end of this all. But anything can happen, we'll just have to see how it all plays out.

I just have to say that I'm in love with playing. It feels good to be out there again. I'm actually scoring goals--even if it is just one, not two. It's always like this after a long absence, though. I'm out there playing with some spit 'n fire, just so happy to be chasing a ball. I'm sure I'll gradually get worse if I keep playing for a while. Or maybe not. That just seems to be the trend sometimes. I'm happy for now at least.

Neglect.

Let's be honest, I've been neglecting my Kenyan within. But I really do go running sometimes, I promise.

Actually, I've just been so busy lately with work and everything. . . But this week I actually went out both Monday and Tuesday night, and I didn't have time tonight because of Nata's bridal shower or I would've gone. Tomorrow I play soccer. (I'm on an indoor league again, it's like coming home.) I think I've refound my joy for running as a release. Sometimes you need it to keep your sanity. I've really been working a lot.

So if I'm ever around a computer I'll have to keep this weblog updated. That's the other part of the problem. . .

My week so far. . .

I went running on Monday and Tuesday, but not yesterday. By the time I got home from work I was too tired and hungry and Marcus came over to make dinner anyway. Hopefully I can go sometime today, but I have a wedding reception tonight (Eternal Wasatch Back Relay love!!!) so we'll see if I can squeeze one in.

On Monday I went on 1100 East to 1300 South and then busted up the hill to 1300 East. It's a pretty tough hill there at the end but I was proud of myself because I didn't stop at any point. It's a short run, but a good one.

Tuesday I just went on 1100 East to 1300 South and back. I had some time constraints because we were headed down to Pleasent Grove for Melissa Carroll's bridal shower. I just needed a quick one anyway to get the legs moving a little bit.

Just a little guy

I went running yesterday. It was just a little guy because it had to be quick so I could shower and get ready to go down to Provo for Armchair Cowboy. Besides, I feel like I may be getting a little sick. I just want to take it easy.

For a short run I felt I busted it out fairly quickly. It was good to get out there and at least get the legs moving a little bit.

11th East to 13th South

Back on the road

So I've only gone running a handful of times since the marathon. This past week, it seems, that I've kind of come to that place where I want to be out there again. I think I really needed a few weeks off.

I've been twice this week. Tuesday and Wednesday. Only about three miles each. Even though they didn't feel like the best runs, I knew I had to get out there anyway. And my body is appreciative of that. I need to get out there for myself. For my own sanity.

Maybe right now I should just focus on running for the pure joy of running. No training. No qualifying. No pacing. Just running.

So hopefully I'll hit the road again tomorrow. With this beautiful running weather how could I not?

St George

It's funny to compare my two St George Marathon experiences.

Last year I found out about a week before the race that I would be able to run. I had not been training at all, though I was in pretty good shape overall. I started out very slowly and must have gotten into a good pace because I finished at around 4:20. This was my first and only race where I felt really good at the finish line--I felt as though I could keep going right on to Vegas! Hey, why stop there? Why not keep running right to the coast?

*Sigh*

This year was different. I had been training. Or doing my best to train, at any rate. I was trying to work through chronic injuries. I had visions of qualifying for Boston. But I guess it wasn't the right time for me, and my body knew that. The week of the marathon I got sick. It was hard to hydrate adequately. I had also been living in Lubbock, TX for the past month, and as many of you know there are no hills in the high plains of West Texas.

In Paulo Coelho's book, The Alchemist, he writes "When you want something the whole universe conspires for you to achieve it." I believe that. But as I said before this just wasn't the right time. For starters, I was expecting and counting on pace groups during the race. I panicked at the starting line when I realized they really weren't having any that year (they had them the year before because that's how I gauged my progress since my watch died at mile 1) and I had no real back-up plan. I started out too fast. I burned myself out in my already weakened condition. The race was hard both mentally and physically.

The two races are such polar opposites. This year I came in at 4:17 chip time, which is practically what I ran it in the year before. But I felt totally different. My legs hurt, my feet ached, but I was surprisingly not as disappointed as I thought I might be. Will I run St George next year? I guess we'll have to see. Maybe I'll throw my name in the lottery and see if I get in. I am, however, refocusing on my goal of the fifty states club. I can't keep running the same two Utah marathons year after year! I'm thinking of Yakima River Canyon next April in Washington state. . .

Long runs

I ran my six miles this morning. I feel tight. I wonder how my whole body will be feeling in a week, when I'm racing 26.2 miles. I also rolled my left ankle today. Again for no reason. But I think I have resilliant ankles. I roll them and they are fine.

6 miles; the usual Texas long run route

Last day with my Tech team

I played disc for the last time with the kids in Lubbock. I'm really going to miss them; it has been a lot of fun. After it was too dark to play and we were all getting ready to leave Kyle (one of my favorites -- the one with the dreds) was like, "I just want to thank Anna for playing with us..." Bla bla bla. I thought that was sweet, and then I expressed my thanks for them letting me play with them. Then Kyle was like, "we should give her one of our Lubbock discs!" Everyone thought that was a good idea, but Joy was like, "well, someone would have to pay for it." Then Tony (the guy who's in charge of this whole operation) gave me his Lubbock disc. It's used and says "Tony" and "Lubbock" faintly on the back, but it will be a good reminder of my days of frisbee here on the high plains.

My hamstring is bugging me a little bit, but not too bad. We'll see how it holds up tomorrow on my last long run before the marathon. (Only six miles.)

2.5 hrs; Texas Tech

My week as of yet.

Monday I took as a rest day since I did a whole heckuvalot of running this past weekend.

I did go running on Tuesday. Three miles. It was the usual aches and pains until on the way back I, for no good reason at all, completely tanked my right ankle. It just folded right over. It kind hurt, so I walked it off a bit, then I started to slowly run home again. It didn't swell or anything, so I didn't ice it. For some reason I have a hard time icing my ailments. It's like a mental thing or something. I just don't want to for some reason.

Today I started on my run way too late. I was only planning on doing a couple miles anyway because I wanted to see how the ankle would hold up. By the time I ran over to 19th Street it was too dark so I just turned around and came home. Maybe it was only a mile. Who knows. I tried to stretch out really well when I got home to make up for the lack of mileage.

At least I get to play frisbee tomorrow. It's my last night with the Texas Tech kids. The last frisbee of sabbatical. I'm going to miss them all.

Texas Sectionals in Austin

It was fun. It was hot. And there was a lot of running involved.

So I took a little road trip to Austin, Texas this past weekend to play a lot of frisbee. Seven games in two days. Only one female sub. I'm amazed at how our women held up. We're hardcore. It's funny, though, because the only people complaining of being tired were the guys! And they had at least ten subs!

We went into the tournament seeded fourth out of eight teams. We held seed and finished fourth as well.

On Saturday we won our first game and lost the next three. On Sunday we won our first two games and lost the last one. I don't think my legs had anymore in them for a fourth game on Sunday, so it was just as well.

I think the heat really affected me. It was just SO hot and humid! Both days I was just dying by the second game. Like spent. Finished. Wanting to pass out. By the next game I would feel better, though. I don't know what it was about that second game, but it was a killer. Maybe because the first game wasn't too terribly hot because it was still pretty early, but as the day wore on my body just needed to adjust. Who knows. It was crazy, though.

I played a lot better on Sunday than I did on Saturday. I made some stupid errors the first day. But I wasn't afraid to lay out, which was pretty cool. The grass was a lot nicer than most grass I've played on recently. Especially in the morning when it was still dewey. I had some good D's, some good throws, some good cuts. It was a lot of fun, I must say. I'm glad I went.

Oh, and Austin is a pretty cool place.

Texas Sectionals; 7 games; 4th place; Austin, TX

last practice before sectionals

Last night we had our last practice before sectionals. It was a good practice. We went over some stuff--zone defense. We scrimmaged. I think it went well. I got a hand block, which are rare for me so it was exciting. I almost had a really good lay-out catch, which would have been cool. My legs didn't really bother me too much. I hope we do well in the tournament this weekend. We're going into it in fourth place, out of eight teams. Right there in the middle of the pack; just where I like to be. I hear the weather in Austin is supposed to be hot--mid 90's--and humid. It will be important to stay hydrated. I'll let y'all know how everything plays out.

~2.5 hrs; Texas Tech

big sky, big clouds, big sunset

I guess I set the alarm last night without really knowing it. My sister said she heard it go off twice this morning until it shut off. I do remember waking up, seeing that it was around 6:30 am and thinking it was too early and too dark to go running. So I went back to sleep, totally unaware that the alarm had ever gone off.

Later that day I regretted not getting out there earlier. It's always just so bloody hot. And it had rained quite a bit today which made the air more humid.

[Quick anecdote about Lubbock, Texas: It is so flat here that when it rains the water has nowhere to drain. The streets become big puddles, like the whole place is drowning. Just think of cars synchronize swimming and that's pretty much what it is like here. It's quite a sight.]

I got out there a little after 7'ish. At first it was surprisingly cool'ish, later it became unbearably hot. My legs were still pretty tight--especially my tendon by my left ankle, and my right hamstring. I iced tonight. I pushed the last stretch pretty hard, which I felt good about.

3 miles; Iola southward to Milwaukee

swill

When I got to practice tonight I really wasn't in the mood to be there. I didn't really want to deal with the whole Don situation. And it seems it is always windy here in Lubbock, which means a lot more zone defense. Sometimes I really don't like playing zone. Especially if I have to play the cup. Too much running! And I never got to handle all day. Which was probably for the best because all my throws were swilly. Today just wasn't a great day for disc.

As far as running goes, I was just tired. I felt sleepy, as it were. My legs didn't feel like they could hold up to all the running and sprinting. Maybe I wasn't getting enough oxygen or something. It just wasn't fun. But my hamstring didn't really bother me, which is always a good thing. Oh, I did completely tank my ankle once. It hurt. But after a few minutes it really wasn't bothering me. That could have been bad news.

~3 hrs; Texas Tech

Always a head wind, never a tail wind.

Today was my highest mileage run before the marathon. I can't believe we're to that point already. Now I'm into taper.

My biggest fear about St George is that I didn't have enough time to gradually get my mileage up. Sure, I ran eighteen miles today, but my longest run previous to that was only somewhere around fourteen. I hope my legs are really ready to pound 26.2 miles. I'm counting on the adrenaline of race day and gravity to carry me through.

The first few miles of my run today I was experiencing what happened on Tuesday. My calf/tendon area on my left leg must be really tight and it causes my foot to go kind of numb. I made an effort to keep stretching it out, and it soon wasn't bothering me at all. What did bother me was my right hamstring and I just felt kind of tight.

My calves were really tight and sore immediately after the run. They were the first things I iced, though, so I hope I can keep that under control. I'm pretty tight overall, but not too bad. I'm going to make some effort to keep icing tonight and tomorrow. My left ankle kind of hurts as well. I love my aging body!

18 miles; Iola southward... Milwaukee to 4th...

practice

Practice was good yesterday. My hamstring held up reasonably well. I tried to warm up better and keep it stretched as much as possible. I missed a few catches, which always sucks. But I do remember getting a few really good D's. There was some good running involved as well.

~2.5 hrs; Texas Tech

frisbee and running

Monday night I played frisbee. I didn't really warm up and when I started playing my hamstring was bugging me a little bit. Not a whole lot, but it was still noticeable and I didn't want to aggravate it further. So I left before practice was officially over. I had gotten a pretty good workout in nonetheless.

Yesterday I went running with Robert. He said it was about three miles, but I think it was closer to four. The weirdest thing happened. My left leg started hurting (to the left side of my calf) and then my whole left foot went completely numb. It was very odd. It was like I was running with a brick attached to the bottom of my leg. I didn't like it one bit. I'm not running today because I just feel like I should take a day off and rest my body. I was going to throw a disc around with this Don guy tonight, but that's a whole other story. . .

Ten miles

I went running this morning. I could only do ten miles. My legs were hurting. They are so tight and sore and I can only imagine it's from the half marathon and frisbee on Thursday. Hopefully this shorter run will help build up those darn muscles. Because, afterall, it is in those lower mileage weeks that your body becomes stronger.

My calves are still tight along with my hip flexors and hamstring. But what's new?

10 miles; Iola... Milwaukee... 4th Street... 11th Street...

the disc in texas

I had so much fun playing frisbee tonight! I was a little worried as I was walking toward the field--I only saw a bunch of guys doing a drill. This surely wasn't pick-up, I thought to myself. I asked the guy that was sitting on the bleacher if he was playing and if it was pick-up or not. He was like, no it's practice. Oh. Practice. Then I told him how Tony had told me to come tonight. The guy was like, oh well then you can talk to him after their done with the drill. Finally Tony comes over and we introduce ourselves. He told me I could scrimmage with them after the next drill. So I put on my cleats and threw with the other guy until it was time to scrimmage.

This is what I love about ultimate frisbee: everyone is so nice. It doesn't matter where you are, what team you're on, or if you're a beginner, everyone is nice and willing to help out. Well, I guess unless you're in some big-time tournament or something. Which brings me to my next point...

They want me to come play in the sectionals tournament in Austin in a few weeks with them! They really need women and since I'm pretty good they're willing to practically pay everything for me to go. It's kind of exciting. So I'm seriously thinking about it. I might as well play in a tournament while I'm here, right? Right! And then I get to see another part of Texas. I think it could be a really good time.

There was only one other girl who showed up. So I pretty much played savage the whole time. My legs held up even with all the intense running. I did start to slow and get kind of lazy at the end but that was after like two hours of endless playing. The thing that bugged me the most was my feet! I don't know if it was the socks or what--they're relatively new--but my feet felt like they were totally getting blisters. They're still a little tender on the balls of my feet. It was weird, that usually doesn't happen. Next time I'll put BodyGlide on them for sure!

Anyway, playing disc makes me happy and I'm glad I found some people to play with while on Sabbatical.

~2 hours; Texas Tech ultimate