I messed up my shoulder.

Guys, I'm getting old. 

I messed up my shoulder sleeping. 

SLEEPING! 

This situation reminds me of the time Paul hurt his back sneezing. The doctor told him lots of people hurt their backs sneezing, and from what I have read online, a lot of people mess up their shoulders from sleeping!

Friday night is when it happened. I woke up Saturday and my left shoulder felt jacked up. It didn't feel great on Sunday either and on Monday it actually felt the worst! (Don't worry, I didn't lift at all every since my shoulder started hurting and I don't plan on lifting until it feels 100% for several days. I'M NOT MESSING WITH THIS.)

I think the reason it continued to feel worse is because I didn't sleep on my back, I slept on my right side. But what I have noticed is that it actually hurts my left shoulder when I sleep on my right side too. So now I will be a back sleeper until everything sorts itself out.

I've been taking it easy by not lifting my arm up and being careful with things like washing my hair and putting on a seat belt. I may look into a special pillow for sleeping, but first I am going to research and try to prop my neck up with my normal pillows (that will alleviate pressure on my shoulders) for now.

Have you ever hurt something from sleeping wrong?

Squirrelly Tail Twail Wun Race Recap

When I woke up Sunday morning, I could hear the rain coming down. I checked out the weather for the rest of the morning. The real feel temperature would be around 48 with fog and rain. These were not the best conditions for a half marathon on the trails at Pinchot Park. I could only imagine how much mud there would be from all the rain over the past couple days.

I thought about bailing, but ultimately decided to suck it up and do the race. What else did I have planned for that day? Puzzles and CNN? I could do that when I got home...

It only takes me about 25 minutes to get to Pinchot. Packet pick up took 10 seconds, the bathroom line took six minutes, and the race only started about three minutes late. Not bad!

I saw Ana and Roger before the race started. We chatted a bit and I wished her luck. We were both just running "for fun". (HAHAHA!)

I lined up in the back of the front, if that makes sense. I have learned from my past couple trail races that if I line up too far in the back, I get stuck behind people and have to work very hard to pass them.

It turned out I lined up at the perfect spot because during the race only about 5 people passed me and I passed probably the same number. No one was up my butt and I wasn't up anyone else's butts. It was perfect. I could run my own pace without feeling pressure.

Guys, the trail conditions were INSANE. I am not exaggerating when I say 90% of the course was either:

1. Thick, deep mud.

2. Thick, deep mud with water in the middle of the mud pits.

3. A "stream" running down the middle of the trail.

4. A "stream" running across the trail- anywhere between ankle deep and knee deep.

Each one of those conditions were challenging in their own way. The worst was the mud. That took a lot out of me, trying to get through it. I walked up some of the hills, but other than that, it was just one foot in front of the other, plodding along.

You could say I broke in my new trail shoes...

I started out pretty fast (sub 9s) but the whole race I felt like I was pushing myself. Even when I was doing an 11-12 minute miles, it felt like a huge effort. My HR was in zone 5.2 which I know was too high. Should I be careful of that? 

It's funny how before the race I was so worried about getting my feet wet, and then before we even went 1 mile we were running through knee deep, freezing cold water. You can't get wetter than wet but you can get colder than cold. And that water was COLD.

I didn't listen to a single podcast during the race. I had to concentrate on the terrain the whole time. It was mentally exhausting. At one road crossing, I turned the wrong way and the crowd had to turn me around. "I can't think anymore!" I told then.

By mile 8 my legs were JELLY. It is so hard to run on technical terrain when your muscles are tired. I didn't fall, but I had a few close calls.

Around mile 10 there was a straight up stream crossing. The water was flowing and up to my shorts. There was a yellow rope to hold onto if needed. But where were the lifeguards? I held onto that rope! My mom would be pissed if I drowned at the Squirrely Tail Twail Wun! At this point it felt like more like a Tough Mudder than just an ordinary half marathon in a state park!

Since it was a trail race there weren't many spectators on the course. But there was a dude with his son at the top of a hill around mile 10.5. "Are you ready to be done?" he asked me. Dang! What I way to cheer someone on!

I was soooooo excited to see the finish! I finished 32nd with a time of 2:10. I was proud of my time and could not have run any faster that day!

I grabbed some coffee (they had Starbucks!) and waited at the finish with Roger to see Ana come through. I got very, very cold but it was worth it to see my friend finish. Ana is one of those people that looks good after running a 1/2 marathon.

I couldn't wait to get in my warm car, but when I tried to back out of the parking lot, my car was stuck in the mud! Three dudes had to help push.

I refueled with a foot long flatbread from subway. And kitty cuddles!

The backs of my heels were a little tingly when I got home... I think they were still feeling the cold!

Insane!!!! 

What are the worst trail conditions you ever ran in?

Weekend Wrap Up!

 

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a great weekend.

Mine was wet and muddy!

There was also sushi and cats.

TGIF!!!! My day started with a lifting session. Chrissy hijacked my towel, but I love morning time with my little buddy!

Work was actually uneventful! Yay!

When I got home, I went to town on my puppy puzzle. This took me a long time to finish because I didn't have a lot of time to puzzle during the week.

That evening we watched the Big Brother DOUBLE EVICTION! I'm going to miss Celebrity Big Brother!

The morning was full of my favorite morning activities.. cats, coffee, puzzles, podcasts, and CNN. I did a fun birdhouse puzzle in no time. It was only 500 pieces. 

While I did the puzzle, I listened to a True Crime Garage podcast called The Murdered Joggers. Paul asked me if it scared me. I said no because I'm not a jogger.

Later on in the afternoon, I met Kristen on the AT at 850 in Marysville and ran with her to Duncannon. She did 28 miles that day and I was joining her for just the last little bit.

I wasn't about to complain when I was only running 7.5 miles and my friend was doing nearly 30, but I got pretty cold and hungry after the rain started. Kristen led the way and powered up all the hills and navigated through lots of rocks. She is training for a 100 miler and she will crush it.

It was very eerie on the top of the mountain. You know the sound of rain in the woods? Then picture lots of fog. We were up there all alone and didn't see a single soul...

... until we were coming down the mountain and were about 1/2 mile from the parking lot. I saw a figure up ahead. "There's someone up ahead!" I told Kristen. She knows my fear of being murdered and doesn't share the same fear. "They're walking away from us and they have an umbrella," she told me. I calmed down.

When we got to the parking lot, there was my dad standing with an umbrella! It was him! He and my mom were picking me up to take me back to my car and he decided to walk up the trail a bit.

It was fun to see my parents that day and it was really nice of them to take me all the way back to my car!

Oh, on our run, Kristen told me I reminded her of Unikitty from the Lego Movie. I had never heard of Unikitty before, but she explained to me that Unikitty is always sunshine and rainbows, except when she gets mad, it's like a flip switches and she is ENRAGED. Hmmmm, I can sort of see that! Of course had to Youtube Unikitty when I got home and was laughing so hard!

That night, Paul and I met Randy and Michael for sushi at Shogun. I ate so much!

It was great to catch up with Randy and Michael. I hadn't seen them in a very long time.

After dinner, Paul and I popped into Kohl's. Paul never buys himself things, so I urged him to buy this really awesome pair of sneakers he found. "I buy myself stuff all the time, you work hard and deserve new shoes!" I told him.

When I woke up, I could hear the rain pouring down. I was supposed to run the Squirrely Tail Twail Wun 1/2 marathon at Pinchot Park that morning but was now having second thoughts. Did I really want to run for several hours in the rain?

After coffee, I decided to put my game face on and embrace the weather! Actually, the weather didn't end up being bad. It was high 40s with drizzle. It was the condition of the trail that was terrible. 90% of the course was either deep, thick mud or basically a stream of running water. There were more than a dozen spots where you ended up running through water nearly up to your knees. There was also one legit creek crossing where the water was up to my shorts. There was a rope to hold onto, and hold onto it I did. My mom would be so pissed if I drowned at the Squirrely Tail Twail Wun.

I'll do a full report tomorrow, but here is me and Ana after the race!

I was useless the rest of the day! Hungry, cold, tired, achy. There was lots of laying around, stretching, and eating going on. I also continued working on a puzzle because... well, that's what I do!

I'm finishing up this post before we watch the Celebrity Big Brother Finale, but that's what we're planning on doing tonight. I hope it's a great episode with a satisfying winner! Go Ross!

Tell me something fun you did this weekend!

Celebrity Big Brother (Episodes 8-10)

I'M two episodes BEHIND!!!!! I will catch up, I promise!!!!

Hey all! If you missed my first two Celebrity Big Brother updates, check out here and here. In this post, you will find recaps for episodes 8-10. Enjoy!

Episode Eight

~ Short Recap ~

The episode picked up with the house guests on the wall fighting to win HOH. Metta, Ross, and Mark fell first, which meant they would be on slop for 48 hours. After everyone but James and Omarosa dropped, Omarosa promised not to nominate or backdoor James. James dropped, giving Omarosa HOH. Brandi confessed to her alliance (Marissa, Ross, and Ariadna) that she gave Shannon a sympathy vote. That did not make her alliance happy. As HOH, Omarosa got to work getting Metta, Mark and James on her side. She nominated Ross and Brandi to break up the Ross/Marissa/Brandi/Ariadna Finale Four.

~ Random Thoughts ~

• Omarosa walking into the nomination ceremony as if she was queen of the world was hilarious.

~ Like/Dislike/Neutral ~

Like: Everyone.
Dislike: None.
Neutral: None.

Episode Nine

~ Short Recap ~

Even though Mark and James had originally planned to team up with Omarosa, they changed their minds and made a Final Four with Ross and Marissa. So now Ross and Marissa are in a Final Four with those two guys and a Final Four with Ariadna and Brandi. Ariadna was able to suss out that Omarosa had tried to get Mark and James on her side. The live veto comp played out and Ross won. America awarded him the VIP veto. He took himself off the block and Omarosa put Metta up as a replacement nominee. The house voted Metta out because he wanted to go home.

\

~ Random Thoughts ~

• Ross's green kerchief... hahaha!

• Ariadna is so smart and I want her to win the game.

• That veto comp had bad camera angles! I really thought Omarosa had won! Too bad they didn't have a wide shot, it would have been more exciting.

• This was such a bummer of and episode. I wanted something exciting to happen but it didn't. It's no fun when people are asking to be voted out.

~ Like/Dislike/Neutral ~

Like: Everyone.

Dislike: None.

Neutral: None.

~ Julie's Outfit ~

C.

It was just kind of boring.

EXCEPT FOR THIS RING, WHICH WAS AWESOME!

Episode Ten

~ Short Recap ~

The house guests competed for HOH and James threw it to Mark. Ross and Marissa still have a Final Four with James and Mark ad well as Ariadna and Brandi. Ross pushed Mark to put up Omarosa, but he ended up nominated Brandi and Ariadna. James and Mark do not like Brandi so she is their target.

~ Random Thoughts ~

• One of my favorite things about Big Brother is the music and sound effects. The editors can make little moments so funny. Like the motivational music they played as Ross tried to crawl across the red carpet in the HOH comp...

~ Like/Dislike/Neutral ~

Like: Everyone.

Dislike: None.

Neutral: None.

Tell me your thoughts on Celebrity Big Brother so far! 

Weekly Workouts!

I ran 37 miles this week! No "long" runs, but a couple 8-9 milers helped up my mileage.

Saturday- 8 neighborhood miles. It was sunny and warmish. I never thought I'd make it 8 miles because as soon as I hit the streets, I felt so heavy and my whole body felt creaky. After a mile, I stopped to stretch, then I felt better. Look what I saw laying in the middle of the road!

I passed a guy taking down his Christmas decorations. "Not yet!" I pleaded with him as I ran by. He laughed.

Sunday- 9 miles in my hometown of Millersburg. On a whim, I decided to drive up to Millersburg and run there. My plan was to do 8 miles but a ventured pretty far out of town and ended up with 9. This was a hilly run and I really pushed the pace because I didn't want to be late for lunch with my mom. Millersburg is beautiful!

Monday- Lifting back @ home. I felt strong during this workout but I was getting waves of nausea. No clue why. It sucked. I really thought I was going to puke, poop my pants, or both.

Tuesday- 6 morning miles in SHORTS. Later on that day, it got up to 70 degrees! All the snow is melted.

Wednesday- 8 miles in shorts! Pennsylvania weather is so crazy in February and March. This past weekend we had a snow storm and now I'm running in shorts during the week! I had so many good podcasts to listen to, which is basically why I ran a little longer than normal. I run so I can listen to podcasts. Makes total sense.

Thursday- 6 morning miles. SHORTS AGAIN!!!! When I was stretching, I took this picture of Jelly.

Friday- Lifting chest @ home. I was watching the CNN town hall discussion about gun violence and bawling as I did my planks. It's hard to plank and cry. Chrissy hijacked my towel at one point...

When was the last time you ran OUTSIDE in shorts?