I'm not complaining but...........

Saturday was pretty hard for me. I am having some physical problems (other than aches and pains) that I have to deal with that are leaving me a little depressed. I won't elaborate for the sake of the men! Also, my ankle had me hobbling the rest of the weekend. I took yesterday off and did the eliptical for 60 minutes today. Hopefully, I can give my ankle a little rest before the next long run.
We will be flying out to Denver Wed. and driving on to Boulder for the wedding on Saturday. Hopefully things will go okay. It is sometimes very hard for the blending of families when there has been a divorce even after this long.
Hope everyone has a great week and for those traveling a safe trip.
Jana

Dieting

Nuff said.

Jana

Terrible Tuesday, Wonderful Wednesday

Had a bad day yesterday and did not wog. I was grouchy, had a stomach ache, headache and ankle ache. I was just all around crummy!

Today IS a new day. I WILL do better. I WILL feel better. I WILL not be grouchy (unless Clark says one wrong word ;-)

Jana

Saturday was a great day. The weather was lovely and it was neat crossing the bridge over the reservoir. Donna and I did 2/2 intervals the whole way and it really felt pretty good. I had been having knee and ankle pain all week but they both felt okay yesterday while wogging. Strange, huh. My ankle is giving me some problems today. I am going to continue to do stretching exercises this week on Clark's Prostretch (little blue rocker thing) from Fleet Feet. Maybe that will help.

Donna warned me before we started that some of her family members had the flu and she wasn't feeling too well. She was afraid she would have to drop out. She hung in there all the way and never complained. You go, Donna. You are tough. We needed Cookie though with us to make us walk faster. She is the fastest walker in town - besides Vickie, of course.

Sheila, we missed you. Hope you will soon be with us beating the pavement!
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Clark is on call. He left at 6:30 this morning and he has not been home all day and it is nearly 9:00pm. I hate it when he has a hard call. He never complains about it though.

It was great talking to Matt yesterday. He is so much like Clark's son! We get a kick out of reading his blogs because they sound so much like Tripp! Tripp is a drummer in Nashville trying to make it big. Matt also went to high school with my daughter. Small world.

Have a good and careful week!

Jana

Fat lost, muscle gained!

Last night while wogging in Strawberry Patch Park at dusk sweating like a mule I kept thinking "I am regressing. Why is this so hard for me? Why am I so tired? I am not going to be able to keep this up if it doesn't get easier!" By the time I got home I realized why I am so tired - I have wogged 18 miles since Saturday! In my old life (four months ago) I would have maybe walked a couple of miles on Sunday if I felt energetic, then possibly gone to water aerobics another day if I got the urge. What I am doing now goes against everything I have ever done IN MY WHOLE LIFE and I am 51 years old! No wonder I am tired and sore!

I can tell you that when Mark or Robin or any of the veteran marathoners suggests something, it is very smart to do it. After the run Saturday, I got so busy with my family I did not take time to ice my legs and I have surely paid for it this week. It DOES make a difference. With me anyway.

I went to water aerobics this morning for XT. I think it helped with the soreness. I also got brave enough to weigh and have lost 4 pounds in four months! Not a world record but I am happy! As I have said in the past, those are pounds that I don't have to carry around on Saturday!!!

Wog on, fellow marathoners!

Honour your mother.................................................

Clark and I left Friday after work for Clarkco State Park for a family reunion. It was great seeing all my mom's family. She had nine brothers and sisters. Only four are left but over one hundred grandchildren, great granddchildren, nieces, nephews uncles and aunts came.

Saturday morning, Clark and I got up very early, dressed and we were wogging and biking by 6:30. I wogged my nine miles, 2/2 intervals, and he biked beside me, around me, in front of me and in back of me for at least 18 miles. My times was 1:57:33. Not bad I thought. It was very hard at times but the weather was pleasant, it was shady and there were plenty of campsite bathrooms available. The only problem were the hills. Has anyone seen the hills of Quitman, MS? I didn't know there were hills in MS except Vicksburg! The last couple of miles I got smart and walked up the hills and ran down the hills! I felt like I was being tortured the first couple of miles but after that it got much easier until the last couple of miles. I could not have done it by myself, I know. Clark kept me going and providing water for me. He even biked back to our cabin and got me a banana. I think I will keep him! He offered to bring me back to Jackson to run with you guys but it was a two hour drive and I knew with his help I could do it there.
After the run, we had a catered barbecue lunch and a full afternoon of storytelling and videos. It was a wonderful day. If your mom is still alive spend time with her. It was such joy seeing my mom laughing and having fun with her sisters and brother. They are all in their seventies and eighties but acted like a bunch of kids.

Sunday evening I walked in the park for 30 minutes and this morning I wogged for 43 minutes and walked the rest of the time until I got to 4.6 miles. Monday is still my hardest day. It takes a lot of self talk and encouragement for me to be able to train on Monday! My body rebels the whole time!

For all of us that walk and run Strawberry Patch Park - if you don't have a Garmin you may not know that all the way around is not quite a mile. I walked around the loop five times and it was around 4.6 miles. Kinda disappointing because I thought my time was pretty good until I found this out!

Have a good week training and remember what Mark said about not overdoing it. We all want to get to Chicago TOGETHER and leave NO ONE behind! We can do it if we want it badly enough and train correctly! Sometimes it pays not to be a maverick! Even though he was kind and didn't say it, most of us are not spring chickens if you know what I mean!! :-)

This and that..........................

Clark and I went to Suzanne's (Goin the distance Suz) open house at GI Associates last night. The appetizers were delicious and we were able to see a lot of old friends and coworkers. I heard lots of stories about Clark when he was in medical school and just starting out. It was hard to recognize Suzanne in dressy clothes without her running shorts. She was looking very stylish and important and very CEO like! We enjoyed it very much Suzanne. Thank you for the invitation!

Afterward, we ate at Nagoya and then walked at Strawberry Park. Clark walked with me because it was dark. I talked him into it because it was a short (30 min.) day and he seemed to do okay. Someone had left a young duck at the park (we figured it to be an Easter duck that got too big). That duck was following everyone around and crying. Shame on those people for leaving that little duck to die. He can't take care of himself because he has not learned to get his own food and is not acclimated to the wild. Mean humans.

My exhusbands melanoma is a Stage 2. He will actually have it removed next week by a surgeon. We had a slight communication problem (go figure - we are ex's) and I thought it was to be removed yesterday. Hopefully that is not too bad.

Several of us want to have a get to know each other party. We could all bring our tastiest healthy dishes for pot luck. We will try to get the clubhouse at Lake Caroline one evening this spring or summer. If anyone has any other suggestions, lets hear them!
Gotta run..........HA
Jana

Extending Our Limits................................

My fortune cookie today at lunch said: "One extends one's limits only by exceeding them." I think that is what we all did yesterday! It was a great feeling going across that finish line - and we liked it so well we did it twice!

I was glad Clark was around on his bike when Christy fell. After assessing her injury he was able to call the race officials and have a golf cart sent to her right away. It is nice to see him riding around watching over us all. He has been invaluable to us, with the accident in Clinton and then yesterday. When Nancy had to go to the ER, he was able to call ahead, talk to the ER doctor and get her in right away (instead of waiting forever in the ER waiting room). The thing I appreciate most is that, even though he is unable to run, he still chooses to go with me every Saturday when he could be doing a lot of other things. He loves our group and enjoys being with all of us. He must always be giving of himself to be happy.

I had sad news today. One of my favorite patients died of cancer. She died Wed. but I just read it in the paper today. Also, my daughter called tonight and said her dad has a melanoma on his foot. He will have it removed Tuesday and we will find out then if it has spread. Please say a prayer for him.

On a lighter note: We saw Spiderman 3 today. It was great. I highly recommend it. Great special effects. We biked afterwards and got my XT in. I was amazed at how strong my legs are getting.

Hope everyone has a great week. We will be at a family reunion Saturday so will be absent from the run. Stay safe!

Determination.................................

For those of you who live in Madison and get the Madison County Herald, Clark's dad and stepmom are on the front page of the Food Section. Miriam is a fantastic cook so you should try her recipes.

When I weighed yesterday I had lost 2.5 pounds. I am very happy because I consider those pounds that I will never have to lose again or carry for 8 miles Saturday! It has taken me a long, hard time to get them off and they ain't coming back!!!

Today at Strawberry Patch Park I saw an old man walking on the path with a walker. He could not make it very far but he was really trying and sweating. He had determination that could not be denied. Kinda makes you want to fall on your knees doesn't it?

Chocolate Melting Cake........Yum Yum.......................

Last night's wog was tough and hot but easier than Monday. It took me about 50 minutes to go 4 miles - but, the third mile took only 11 minutes! Check that out! Don't know how I managed that! I didn't stop for water during that mile and kinda had my rhythym going. Maybe there is hope for me yet!
The best part was getting out of cooking supper! Clark had it almost cooked when I got home and of course I had to ice in the tub for awhile, just enough time for him to finish. Thanks, Clark!
We ate at Ichiban Monday night. We decided that would be a good place for a MM meeting or lunch after a run. There were a lot of good healthy choices (a lot of bad ones also). That was our first time there and it was really good. Roomy, too.
On my way to get the oil changed in my car and then to Fitness Lady for XT. I may weigh today and see how much damage I did on the cruise. That chocolate melting cake I ate three nights in a row may have hurt me but it was worth it!! I counterbalanced it during the day with fat free frozen yogurt. That's logical, huh?
Jana