Rate: First week back for realsies

 (Mount Lemmon, Tucson AZ)

It's good to be training for something again, even if what I am training for is to be able to run for more than 30 minutes without knee pain-- that's something!

Monday: Ran 20 minutes and felt pretty good. I have to run really slow, I mean I think someone could walk faster than me if they wanted to. But it was worth it because I didn't have any knee pain until the last five minutes. My lungs felt good, my muscles felt good and me knee felt like it was improving. I stretched before and after, iced after and the pain went away almost immediately, which is exactly what my PT wants to happen. Which means I'm free to run two more times this week! Yippee.

Tuesday: Decided that since I'm virtually broke, I should become a commuter. So I packed my backpack with high heels, makeup and an extra shirt and hit the road at about 2:00 PM. I was heading for Tempe, about a 13 mile ride, which should be easy, in order to meet the ladies for our weekly girl's night. It has cooled down quite a bit here... but it's not THAT cool. In fact, it was 95. When you're so accustomed to triple digit temperatures, you start to think that 95 sounds refreshing. Also, Phoenix is far from bike-friendly, so I ended up hauling it as fast as I could to keep up with traffic on very busy streets in order to avoid getting hit or at least in order to get honked at less. So to summarize, I was pedaling as fast as I could, in jeans and a tank top (as in, NOT a kit) and in 95 degree weather. Brilliant. Well 5 margaritas later... I took the light rail home. But I still most definitely consider that a decent work out for the day.

Wednesday: Drove to Tucson, messed with camera. Will make up for the lost day over the weekend. Oh and for those who were curious, it's a Minolta Maxxum 5 SLR. It's kind of old, but I'm so excited. I'm going through a photography book and teaching myself all there is to know. Should be splendid. Also received notice of an interview today!

Thursday:* Ran 20 minutes. Tucson is a bit hilly, so that put some extra strain on my knees, but it was pretty much the same as Monday. Now I must do some strength training. Splendid. Killer abs here I come.

Friday:* I know it's not Friday yet. But I am absolutely positive (ok unless there's an earthquake or I have an asthma attack or something) that Mr. Wonderful and I are going for a ride tomorrow morning. Should be about 30 miles with a few small hills. He suggested we do Mount Lemmon.... ya right.

So far, so good! 

 *The above days are a bit switched around from my initial schedule. This is only because I usually need a week to get in the swing of things. I am doing all the workouts on the schedule, I just mixed up the days a little.

Run: Rehab

My PT says I MUST start at 20 minutes every other day, and move up very slowly from there. So this is my somewhat pathetic climb back to being a distance runner. I've only schedule about a month out, because I have to see how the pain goes. I'm also training for a short bike tour with Mr. Wonderful.

The schedule includes riding, running, stretching (which means 30 minutes of intense stretching) and my PT exercises, which include the foam roller (oh the torture) and many other strengthening tricks she taught me. My rides are usually about 30 miles with a few hills, but I have left the exact mileage blank so that I can fill it in as I improve and whatnot.

It's going to be torture to train this slow... but it'll be worth it if I can run again!

Rest: Confession and some optimism

Hello friends. Thanks for waiting for me as I sorted things out. So here it goes

To sum it up: I guess I'll admit it... I'm unemployed. The company I was working for, well, the stopped paying me. Why? The investor pulled out. It's supposed to be a temporary thing, but who wants to work for a company that pays you erratically? Either way, in the meantime I'm a bit SOL. And I've been pouting RELENTLESSLY. But it's a new day and it's time for a bit of optimism.
 

Optimistic point #1: I'm a writer. I am doing quite a bit of freelance writing and editing, and it's pretty cool to call myself a working writer.

Optimistic point #2: Self-improvement. I am going to try to look at this as an opportunity. I now have the time (and no money) to pursue many interests. I have the time to perfect my technical skills so that I will be a more invaluable employee. I have the time to run, ride and push my body to a physical condition I've never had the time to reach. I have time to read and learn and teach myself the things I have been wanting to learn but never had the time to pursue. I have the time too better myself. And that's an amazing opportunity.

In all my spare time, I am teaching myself all the Adobe Creative Suite programs, trying to get on a rehabilitation running plan, training to do a bike tour with Mr. Wonderful, learning photography, reading a ton about everything and perfecting my writing/editing/grammar skills... just to name a few. I'm also applying for a long lists of jobs... obviously. 

And below is the camera that my mother is letting me borrow! It's a little old and not digital, but I could care less. It will be fun to learn photography in it's pure form :)

I'm also reading this, and loving it.

And I applied to be a shoe tester for Brook Running. Everyone cross your fingers that they pick me for free shoes!

Annnnnnnnnnd, I went to a race this weekend! Well, I didn't really race.. I just ran the 2K with my Aunt. But it was a great time-- very casual-- and it was fun to see how these events work. It definitly motivated me to start racing once I'm off the injury list.

(more pics to come)

Talk to ya'll tomorrow!
Toodles!

Rest: I miss running

 (photo courtesy of Melissa Young)

I miss running.
I miss having a stable job.
I miss Mr. Wonderful.

Oh, to be human.  I have not been blogging this week in order to spare you my sob-fest (you know how honest I can get).  So sit tight, the oh-so-cheery BlondeBullet will be back shortly. Your patience is greatly appreciated :)