Mandy's meanderings!

Ok, running in Florida is miserable.  After walking around DisneyWorld for 5 days, my shins, calves, and bum were so tight I couldn't even stretch very well, so I ran on our down day so I could stretch more.  It felt like I was going to die.  Between the humidity and the heat it was much worse than I anticipated.  I did it though-go me!  I'm ready to get back into the swing of things now that we're back.  I'm guessing I walked at least 15 miles at the parks.  

Something was WAY wrong with my belly today.  At first I thought it was just a little sore, but it kept hurting to run, and then even to walk, so I cut the exercise short today.  Instead I did a whole lot of stretching.  Hopefully that will get everything happy again and we'll try again tomorrow.

Whatever was wrong yesterday must have been a bug-thankfully a very small one!  I decided to give running another try this morning and it felt MUCH better!  I did a lot of massaging with the foam roller yesterday and it's definitely working out some kinks in my back and hips.  My feet still ache a little when I walk at the end of the run, so I'm trying to stretch my calves better and wear better shoes throughout the day.

 Did .25 mile warm-up, jogged 2 miles at 6.0, walked .25 miles, jogged 1 mile at 6.1, then did a .5 mile cool down.   Total time was 41:56.  I'll probably be switching to more walking than running over the next couple of months.  Although as long as my belly does hurt, I'll probably keep jogging as long as I can.

Today started rough, but ended pretty well.  My stomach was hurting again, but I think it's that I'm running too close to eating breakfast.  I'll have to fix that one way or another.  In the end, I  kept going and it felt good by the end.  Did .25 mile warm-up, jogged 3 miles-varying the speed every .5 mile, then did a .4 mile cool down.   Total time was 39:29.

This has been the weirdest week for running.  Today was one of those days that my body couldn't decide what it wanted to do.  For the first 1.5 miles, it varied from walking to jogging to taking a break to calves hurting to stomach hurting in different degrees.  After that I jogged 1.5 miles and it felt great, although I did go slower than usual to be safe.  Then I did a slower cool down than usual.  I think my legs haven't recovered from all the walking in flip flops in Florida yet, so tomorrow will be a day of rest for my legs.  I'll try again on Saturday, or maybe even wait until Monday.  Total time was 38:25.

I'm glad I took Friday and Saturday off of running.  I think it helped my feet and calves recover a little bit.  My block today was all mental.  Did .25 mile warm-up, jogged 1.5 miles with some water breaks, walked .25 miles, jogged 1.25 miles, then did a .50 mile cool down.  Total time was 42:12.

I'm starting to feel a shift in my body.  My feet just don't want to feel good anymore.  I'm wondering if it's more the shoe than me though.  And I think I see a chiropractor visit in my near future-things are still out of whack from Florida.  Did a .25 mile warm-up, jogged 1.5 miles (with a pb after .75), walked .25 miles, jogged 1 mile, then did a .5 mile cool down.  Total time was 37:23.

Definitely feeling a change in my body-it doesn't like running anymore.  I'll probably be sticking to walking from now on.  Today was doing whatever I felt like for a little bit for the entire time.

Squeezed in a little bit of a run today-and actually jogged most of it!  My stomach is going through some serious growing pains lately-I swear this little girl is trying to double in size every couple of days.  All I ever think about anymore is what I'm going to eat next.  It felt good to get some exercise in though.

Did .25 mile warm-up, jogged 2.25 miles with a couple of potty breaks, then did a .50 mile cool down.  Total time was 32:03.

It seems like my best runs are the days that getting started is the hardest.  I've been so tired lately that it feels twice as hard to get going with exercise.  Today I figured I would do a little bit of walking and that was it.  Once I got going, I found myself wanting to go faster and further.  It's interesting-jogging seems to hurt/bother me a lot less than walking does.

Did a .40 mile warm-up at 4.5 mph, jogged 2.6 miles at 5.8 to 5.9 mph (with a break to stretch out my calves), then did a .5 mile cool down a little slower than usual.  Total time was 38:12.  I really hope I can keep forcing myself to do something. I know it's helping me to get the stretching in.

I've been banished from running-25% by me, 75% by Adam.  Yesterday my legs and stomach were not nice to me and I started to spot just enough to call it spotting.  When Adam heard about it, he told me that he forbids me from running anymore.  The way my feet and calves have been feeling I didn't argue too much.  

Now I'm trying to figure out a way to keep some form of exercise in-I'm thinking something like water aerobics or stationary bike or something like that.  I might try walking once a week, but my feet just don't like me after a good run.  They felt like they were at least three times their normal size, but didn't really look swollen.  It's all very weird, but not worth doing anything that will hurt our itty bitty.  So we'll see what I get in over the next three months.

The final nail in my coffin today-a visit to the chiropractor.  He was able to squeeze me in this morning, and it felt sooooooo FABULOUS!  One of the best adjustments I've had I think.  On the down side, when we talked about my jogging he said that he definitely agreed with Adam and one step further and told me I shouldn't play volleyball anymore either.  With only one game and a tournament left, that bites the big one!  Apparently I've strained a muscle in my lower back, which explains my very uncomfortable last 5 days or so.  I think I might have to find solace in a 20 below chocolate shake from the coffee shop next to our house......