I trotted with the turkeys

Hey everyone

Sorry I have been MIA since my last post. I've been working hard at my new part-time gig as a Mary Kay consultant (in addition to my full-time job and life). If you also recall, I was having some pretty awful pain in my shoulder. I finally felt well enough to participate in the local turkey trot. Three point one miles of fabulous, "omg, I'm going to eat so much pumpkin pie," guilt-reducing fun! I have never ran this particular 5k before and was happy to wake up to a temperature well above the -1 I faced at the start line of last year's 5k in a neighboring community. Trust me, 35-40 degrees in November feels almost balmy when you live in Minnesota. I think our lovely state should be classified as frozen tundra for six months out of the year but have yet to hear back on that petition. Not sure the geographers of the world will agree with my reasoning. Stay tuned.

The course was a bit slick in some places but otherwise clear. The snow we received the weekend before was well on its way out, thank goodness. Did I mention I am also a firm believer in a no snow before Christmas eve weather plan? Mother nature doesn't always work with me so well on this, but it's a new, developing relationship. Anyway, I was really excited to run my first 5k race in a long time and was really hoping to break the 30-minute mark, even with all the setbacks I'd been having. I felt really strong, really fast, and really good that morning. I actually stayed towards the front of the pack during line up, which never, ever happens. I usually stay in the back, even running slower than I know I can because I hate being passed. I'm still working on mitigating the negative effects watching 30 people pass you can have during a race.

We ran a nice 3.10 mile out and back course. Very peaceful and beautiful run. It's a route I run parts of quite often, or have, and I enjoyed being out there again, really looking at the town I've spent my whole life in. It's amazing how much I missed running, and running outside, even when it is a bit chilly. Thank goodness for the talented people at Under Armour who designed frosty tights. LOVE them. I truly felt free and happy during this run. I had no pain, no hindrances, no upsets, no breathing problems, no cramps, no anything. Just me, my sweet day-glo Kinvara 2's (by Saucony), and my UA frosty tights. No iPod as it's been "dead" for months now (I just haven't remembered to buy a new cord off of Amazon.com.It's on my to do list, I swear). I just ran. And I just ran my fastest 5k race to date. 30:17. To put that time in perspective, with the knowledge that I have seen people run this distance in half that time, my time at the first 5k race I ever ran in June of 2010 was 39:43. There you go, everyone, concrete, measurable results. Hard work does pay off. Don't let anyone ever tell you different.

My husband and his brother were waiting for me at the finish line, decked out in their hunting plaid. Ok, we don't wear plaid here for hunting but you get the reference. He's never missed any of my races. He's my biggest cheerleader. I was so happy to see them waiting for me. We enjoyed the rest of our day together with our son and our families. I did not deny myself any pie. I earned it. Next up, conquering the bike trainer dilemma. I needed one, yesterday. I have to train for a 56 mile bike ride. I haven't been working out as hard or as often as I should re: pain/scared to re-injure and new part-time/fun gig. But, no more excuses. Just buy the dang trainer already...

Keep on movin'

Tyson

Ouch! That hurts.

I woke up last Monday morning feeling less than stellar. My muscles under my right shoulder were tight, sore, and it took much more care to turn my head or move in general than normally required. I don't know what I did but I was able to find some relief after my massage therapist worked on me for one-half hour Monday afternoon. The pain and limited range of motion in my upper body resulted in two things:

1) I couldn't swim
2) I couldn't run

This definitely put a cramp in my 70.3 training. I realize the race is in July, a mere eight months away, but those of you who know me, know that taking it easy and taking time off to rest and heal drives me crazy. It's more work sitting still than running 10 miles or swimming two miles. Which reminds me, I picked up quite a few annoying habits at my office as a way to help release the pent up energy.

1) Leg bouncing
2) Foot tapping
3) Pen tapping
4) Increased conversation (which is okay in my office, but I felt like I talked WAY too much. Sorry to all my coworkers.)

Thankfully, my husband's exercise ball, which is much larger than mine as I am really short and he's not, came in handy and helped disperse some of this excess energy. It fit perfectly under my desk when not in use and I was able to sit on it at roughly the same height I do in my chair each day. It also allowed me to practice proper posture (that's a lot of p's in a row) and relieve some of the pressure and stiffness in my shoulder.

One additional massage session, ice, ice, and more ice, a little ibuprofen, lots of stretching finally paid off. I was able to swim slowly on Wednesday of last week. I finished 1000 yards with little irritation. I also ran a few miles this weekend finally with little irritation. I'm sort of back on track this week, but still am taking it much easier so as to avoid a relapse. I plan on visiting my chiropractor and having him work on me to help with some possible irritation that causing some pain to radiate down my arm. I've had issues with this pain in this particular part on my body but it's been quite some time that I've felt this out of whack ( to my chiropractor: I will be calling. Monday).

I did end up swimming 1000 yards this morning and ran a 5k after work today and plan to run the local Turkey Trot in the morning. I am much more diligent on stretching and maintaining proper posture through the day in all my activities. Hopefully, this was nothing serious. I'm not a fan of pain. Or a fan of doing nothing when I could be running or swimming.

Happy Trails and Happy Thanksgiving

Tyson

Back into it

Hey everyone. I've been blogging on Active.com for some time now, but due to some technical issues, ones I'm not nearly competent enough to understand, nor attempt to rectify, I am now blogging at this location. I'll include my link to past blogs on Active.com for those of you who want to read them. I'll give you a quick intro about me and why I'm blogging, sort of a get-to-know-you. Hopefully, the answers won't bore you and you'll come back for more!

(Awkward Family Photo, top of Pike's Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Name: Tyson

Age: 28 (technically, if you count from the year I was born. I am currently deep in research mode to determine if I may actually be much younger)

Occupation(s): Wife, Mother, full-time employee at a property management firm, runner, triathlete (currently training for a 70.3 triathlon), volunteer for my local Humane Society, and just recently, an Independent Beauty Consultant for Mary Kay (see shameless plug)

 

Education: B.S. International Business, Master's in Business Administration

Hobbies: running, biking, swimming, reading about running, biking, swimming, competing in races, triathlons, hunting, decorating ideas for my house, playing outside with the kid, motorcycles, dogs, writing, blogging, cooking, reading blogs

What is this blog about: I hope to share information on various topics I've come across that's helped me in my training along with information on products/gear I use and love, or would love to try! Also, many people ask me so often how I can do all that I do and still find time to train. I'm a busy mom, who works full time, and I know there are others out there that want to find something to save them some time during the day. I don't want this blog to appeal to only those that run, bike, or swim. Everyone is busy but I really believe that there is time to make a difference in how you look and feel if you really want, and time to do something just for you each day. Basically, it's a conglomeration of all things useful (I hope). 

So, thank you for reading my first blog and hopefully, you'll come back. 

Happy trails

RunTysonRun

*If you enjoyed this first blog, please become a follower!