Wild and Crazy

Yesterday was one rowdy day. It all started with the midnight movie, The Dark Knight. It was a really good movie, and very entertaining. There were some good twists, and plenty of action. There weren't too many weirdos, but there were 2 guys who were dressed up in very elaborate Batman and Joker costumes.

Here is a picture- sorry the angle isn't very good because I was taking it from the upper balcony, but you get the idea. I was able to get in a short nap before the movie, and I drank some caffeine, so I stayed awake through the whole thing (this is rare for me, because even if I'm not at a midnight show, I tend to fall asleep during movies). Since I was so awake, we decided to swing by the Hubs' office to get my car, instead of waiting til later, when he went to work. By the time we got home, it was about 3:30, and almost 4:00 when I went to bed. It's been a long time since I was up that late. In fact, it was probably the last time I went to a midnight showing, which was Lord of the Rings 3.

Somehow I was wide awake just before 10:00 a.m. so I got up and ate breakfast. I opened the front door to check the temp, and it was already flaming hot! I checked online, and it was 90 degrees!! Sooo... I did not run. I considered doing either the elliptical, or a DVD, but then I thought about how much cleaning I wanted to get done, and factored in time to get ready before the rodeo, and my peace of mind won out. I skipped a workout in favor of scrubbing my bathroom (what was I thinking- it sucked!). But now everything is sparkling white again, so it does feel good. Plus, we're too cheap to pay for parking, so we had to walk about a mile from the car to the rodeo.

We went out for Mexican food beforehand, and my sister and her husband went with us. He's a total country boy, and they've actually been talking about building a house up by his parents (way out in the boonies), because his dad gave him some land. So that makes 2 of my siblings that are planning to move away. Luckily, my sister won't be leaving for at least a year. Anyway, the rodeo was a lot of fun. It's a pretty big event, and it actually goes for about a week. It's for the Days of '47 (which is the big Pioneer Day celebration that we have here in Utah- our annual state holiday on July 24). We went to the same rodeo last year, and this year it seemed better (well other than last year there was a guy who got hurt riding a bull and the paramedics had to take him out- he was okay, though). This year they had the same dopey clown act, but they also had some entertainer guy come out with a huge truck and trailer, doing tricks on his horse. Then 2 buffalo came truckin' out- how awesome is that!? My mom is fascinated with buffalo, and she would have been in heaven. Here is a little video clip that I took (hope this works- it's my first experience with posting a video). Sorry for the amateur camera skills.

So that was my fun and exciting Friday. I set my alarm to get up at 6:30 this morning, so I could get out and attempt a run. I didn't want to overdo it, and I didn't know how my knee would be, so I decided on my regular 4-mile loop. I did my 5-min warm-up, then started off. It was a little rough at first, but after a bit, my body got back into the groove. Around mile 1 I had a bit of pain in my right arch, and I felt myself slowing down a little, but it went away. I tried to be extra careful on my "downhill dash" (from about 1.65 to 2 miles) so as not to aggravate my knee, but I was cruisin' at around 8:30 for that stretch. Then for the next mile I was between a 9:00 and 9:15 pace. Crazy! However, at mile 3 my right knee started to hurt a bit. So I slowed down and was prepared to take a walk break. Unfortunately by 3.2 miles, it was hurting pretty bad, so I walked. After a minute or so I tried to run, but it was a no-go. But I was getting close to the last stretch where it's all uphill anyway, so I just walked as fast as I could the rest of the way. On the bright side, it was still a great hamstring and glute workout up the hill, and I finished the 4.08 miles in 42:30, about a 10:24 pace. It was so nice and cool this morning (around 65), so I would have loved to do a longer run, but this knee thing has to be treated with caution.

Sorry for the detailed post on that, but it has been over a week since I've run, and I got a little carried away. Regarding the knee thing, I did come across some good information yesterday (thanks to a link from Birthday Girl MizFit). Jen over at Survival of the Fittest had a post about her friend Sara, with a link to an interview back in march. It talks about optimal strength ratios for knee health- she had me at "knee health". So I checked it out, and it was all about how most people have stronger quads than hamstrings, and how it can lead to knee injuries. What I gleaned from it is that I need to strengthen my hamstrings (and glutes) to better balance and support my knees. I also need to stretch my hip flexors to avoid low-back pain. So that is my new quest: to strengthen my oft-ignored hamstrings, and to be more diligent with strength-training in general. And remember, you need to equally work opposite muscle groups (biceps-triceps, chest-back, quads-hamstrings, etc.)

Oh, and I almost forgot- I'm down .6 lbs this week. Not much, but I'll take it. Plus, I've been tracking my measurements and there is progress there also. My waist is down over an inch (not that this is a problem area, but it's the first place to get smaller- that and the chest). My hips/butt and my thighs are down about .5 inch. My calves are still about the same size, but they are much more toned, and the ankle (or cankle) area is a little slimmer (unfortunately I didn't take that measurement, but maybe I should start).