Week 8: Training for the Flint Hill's 50

Easing back into this week.  Andrew got his JR animal car so we can run two cars this year in racing and get Andrew even more experience on the track.  I also got to run some which is super fun!

Monday:  Saw the chiropractor again.  I was suppose to see her last week and with my trip and the ice storm, we missed each other.  She said she could tell i was working hard with my exercises and gave me some variations to try.  Just those tiny variations kicked my butt!  She said she felt like I was ready to start some running 4 days a week and see how it went.  I still am having 0 pain while sitting or just going through life, which is awesome!  We did the gun again and it was wonderful on my IT bands and my hammy.  She did suggest I get some soft tissue work done, which I have booked to have done.  I am also getting my orthotics cast this week so I can start wearing my lift in my shoe again.  Overall, good progress and lots to pass onto my coach.  Again, I really wish I had one of those massage guns.  Wow, so painful but gets the job done so quickly and you feel amazing afterwards.

Tuesday:  Run day!!!!  Since i was at 50% of my normal mileage we got to do 4.5 glorious cold miles on the gravel.  My hammy felt fine till we hit the pavement.  It wasn't sore, it just didn't seem to appreciate the hardness of the pavement.  I also did my strength training and PT and boy did it kick my butt in such a good way.

Wednesday:  Since we want to get back to things slowly, coach decided to not have three days in a row of running.  Now that i have an elliptical, I can use it to break up the running days.  Coach had me doing 4 minutes easy and 1 minute hard.  Tony had moved the elliptical in front of the tv at the shop so I could watch while I worked out versus looking at my tiny cracked phone screen (thanks honey :).  I also did my PT exercises with the new variations.

Thursday:  Run? Massage. My chiro doesn't do any release or soft tissue work so to Trina's table I went.  Lots of painful massage today as we seemed to get to some areas that needed extra love.  I don't understand how i am still so messed up if I haven't been running really.  It really worries me that the shoes I am currently in (my hoka stinsons that I got from ebay) are really messed up and in turn messing me up even though the tread looked good.  Of course course my new shoes the altras are going to be SO different with the zero drop that I can't change to them till we sort out what is wrong with me.  URGH.  I did get cast for my new orthotics and I have sent video of me running, running pictures, and lots of pictures that my chiro took of just my feet standing in my normal position versus a forced straight position.  While every time I go to someone new, they get SO excited about fixing me, I am trying to stay positive, but I know nothing thus far has worked. I  still remember the words of my other massage therapist in my ears.  He was talking about all of the lengths I go to all of the time to keep running and how he would have given up a long time ago.  I will admit, sometimes that crosses my mind.  I have basically 2 months and a week to get ready for my next race and I feel like that might be a loosing battle at this point.  I guess the only saving grace is that it is a looped course so if I do the first loop and things aren't looking good, I can admit defeat and stop. 

Friday:  Snow run.  I needed to do 4.5 miles and we woke up to snow and a 2 hour delay.  Usually I would just hop on the mill and get it done but I am trying to stay off of that surface for now.  I waited till lunch time and headed out to slush, mud, and ice.  FUN STUFF.  I had to walk a lot more than normal or risk falling at times.  The snow plows had even bladed my country roads down to a thin layer of snow that acted like ice and the parts with deep snow seemed to be covering mud pits.  We got it done but it took a lot longer than my lunch hour.  Glad my hubby is my boss and that i took the shop phone with me.

the coffee shop in St. Mary's had books!

Saturday:  Rest day.   We decided to take a road trip and drive to a few small towns in KS and check them out.  We use to do that all the time pre andrew and we found lots of gems out there in some small towns.  We visited Onaga, Havensville, and ended in St. Marys.  We tried a new to us coffee shop and then had sandwiches at Sugar Creek, our favorite deli on Highway 24.  We ended up back at the shop doing some work and talking about the next few weeks in work.

Sunday:  6 miles.  I was hoping this run would go well and I would be pain free.  First of all it was still super muddy on my route and I decided to just embrace the muck and have 5 lbs on mud on my shoes.  This meant an immediate bath upon return with stella.  Unfortunately I had pain on and off during my run and post run.  I am super bummed and not ready to give up on running and or my race, but I am beginning to think it's hopeless.  I am starting to think this is going to take a long extended vacation from running and i need some running in my life.  I have read all sorts of things about hamstrings and how they take so long to heal and i am really, really worried.  We did go to another small town and have some pizza and beer, but I was just bummed. I even tried a walk later on and while i didn't hurt during my walk, I was super sore afterwards.  Part of me hopes that the pain is still from the intense massage, but I know that is probably not right.

Bummed.  Hoping to get some answers from my chiropractor tomorrow. I guess we added running back too soon?  I am tired of this,  just want to run. I am strength training my butt off, doing all of my PT x 2 a day, and getting all of the things done including chiro and massage and nothing is really working 100%.  It will be a few weeks till my orthotics are ready so that won't be available to me yet. I am SO tempted to try my new shoes because why not???    Hope you have a great week and I am going to try to quit freaking out about this and move on. 

Wamego Wrestling Invitational

This is going to be short and sweet and to the point.  We moved andrew down to 73 by having him eat better and run lots in play of course.  He had only been .8-1 lb over so it wasn't very hard.  We had hoped that this would help him be with kids of more of his level.  Unfortunately that is not how it played out but I am happy that he ended the season of tournaments on a decent note.  Not a win, but lots of good things happened that i think will bolster his confidence.  We plan on continuing to practice and we are not totally saying the Rock Creek tournament is out of the picture but more than likely Wamego is our last for this wrestling season.

Here is his first match.  I was working the tournament since it is our home tournament, so I didn't get to get close till the last match.  He actually tried to bridge but didn't get up on his head enough and bridged himself into a pin.  Whoops.

Second match I missed because I was in the concession stand.  This kid rang his bell for sure.  He was not too happy about it and was pretty down post match.  I think he didn't give up and tried and that is all that counts for me.  He was outmatched skill wise for sure.

Last match was his best.  Kid was more on his skill level.  Yes, he made some mistakes that led to the kid getting some reversal points but he finally got some points to end the year on.

I am sure most parents would NOT be happy with their kid after the year we have had but I see little improvements every match that tell me he is listening, he is absorbing, he is trying.  Is wrestling his sport?  Maybe not, but I LOVE how hard he works in practice and I LOVE the conditioning he gets.  

I was going to base whether or not we stayed with this sport on this year but it's hard because I feel like this is really the first year he is really getting the whole concept.  I think we will try one more year and see if he can get a little bit more aggressive and confident.  Next year he will be the older part of 8 U and I think it is worth trying one more year.  

It has a been a tough season for him but I think we are finally seeing a somewhat coachable kid in practice.  My goal for this sport is longevity and no burn out so I am hoping we can accomplish this.  Onward and upward!  Till racing season :)

Week 7: Training for Flint Hill's 50

This is again not a typical week.  Still working towards no pain in the hammy and taking an unexpected trip to Tennessee.  It is what it is and I know it will be fine in the long run.

Monday:  Elliptical/ab strength.  I woke up to a text from my mom that said call me.  Since my mom isn't usually up at that time of the morning, I figured it wasn't good news.  My grandma, my stepdad's mom had passed away. She had battled Alzheimer with my step grand dad and then she herself succumbed and had just been moved to a nursing home.  My step dad and uncle had round the clock sitters to take care of her for years in the home, but the money to pay those sitters had run out and it was time for her to move to a nursing home where she would have round the clock medical care.  I am really glad she went peacefully and is now reunited with my step granddad Walter and step granddaddy Gabo.  This meant that I needed to travel ASAP to Tennessee to get to the funeral.

My Grandma Bettye and Grandfather Gabo

Tuesday:  Travel day.  I qued up a new podcast, filled my tahoe and drove till I had to stop for more gas.  I made good time and stayed  sane thanks to the new podcast The Man in the Window.  I highly recommend giving it a listen as it really nicely wraps up the Golden State Killer case.  My cold that I have been battling really seemed to flare up and I constantly had to roll the window down to get fresh air to try and keep my nose from stopping all the way up.  By the time I got to my house in TN, I was exhausted and honestly could have gone to bed then so no exercises got done at all.

Peppermint mocha goodness!

Wednesday:  My coach had elliptical 4:1 on the day, but we also had discussed a run so I headed out after some morning exercises for a quick 3 miler.  Of course my parents live in a very hilly pavement bound area but it is what it is.  I forgot how humid it can be even in the winter here, YIKES!  96% humidity meant I was sweating like a whore in church immediately.  My hammy was a little sore at first, but then quieted down and then just felt a little tight.  I did my strength post running including banded good mornings, sit ups, foot flexion exercises, and some bridge kick outs.  We also headed over to Humboldt again for some fun frufru coffee.

My cousin had this picture on FB of Grandma Bettye and I just loved it!

Thursday:  Funeral day.  We had penciled this in as a rest day since I would be doing family stuff and funeral stuff all day.  The funeral was pretty small, my grandma was after all 90 years old and had outlived most of her friends.  Later on we hung out with one of my step dad's Vietnam war army buddies and had a great time just talking. 

Hub City Brewery

Friday: Run.  I decided to try one more run and did 4 miles on the concrete jungle of Jackson. I met another runner who works for my cousin and she is going to show me some routes when I come back in March.  She has done Chicago so I think we will get along just fine:)  We also went to Hub City Brewery to play some cornhole and try some new beers.  Some days I wish we could just move back to Jackson as I had yet another really fun and relaxing, although sad visit with my mom.

Saturday: Drive back.  I honestly didn't know if I would be able to get home.  Kansas had yet another ice storm Friday and it was moving down I-70.  There were also storms and rain for me to drive in plus howling winds in Kansas.  I decided to try and drive and just see how far I could get so I didn't miss Andrew's last tournament.  I made it back with two stops (why does it only take me one stop going down but two for gas coming back?

Sunday: Wrestling.  So three rest days this week but my hammy needs it. We had our home tournament all day and I volunteered in several positions.  Andrew ended on a good note with his last match being hard fought. 

Not the week I wanted, but the week I got.  I am so far off of schedule right now, but I am trying not to panic.  I can,  I will, just may not be totally trained the way I want.  I am proud of myself for doing 2-3 strength trainings this week and looking forward to being back on schedule so I can hit it hard.  Also getting some orthotics made for my leg length issues, so excited about that as well AND I should be able to get my shoes this week to start using those. 

Week 6 :Training for the Flint Hill's 50

I kind of knew this was coming but post getting in with my chiropractor, all running is shut down to try and heal this hammy.  I knew that probably was the correct thing to do a while back, but I am a runner and I am stubborn. I have run through most if not all of my injuries in the past, and it has worked out okay for me, so if it isn't broke, don't fix it right?  WRONG.  Let's dive into the week and see how it went.

Monday:  Rest day and see the chiro day.  So many things to unpack.  Number 1, I really need to get the lift back in my shoe.  A while back I had my legs measured and one was significantly longer than the other.  No problem, fix it with a lift.  Except my lift had to go IN my shoe not just an orthotic that can be removed.  Let's see, I go through shoes every 3-4 months and they cost about 160 bucks a pair.  The lift is about 70 dollars plus the cost to cut up your shoe and insert.  Now add in the fact that the guy that i trusted to do surgery on my expensive running shoes retired.  Yep, I took the cheaper option and didn't use the lift for over a year. Now remember, I didn't get injured last year at all, so who knows.  Anyway, got to get that lift back in.  Sigh.  Number 2, diastasis  recti.  Apparently I have it and while it isn't horrible, my new to me chiro feels like we have to work to resolve that.  Then you have the whole issue of the hammy or number 3.  When I do all of the tests to see what this is, nothing hurts. When I do the exercises to see if I have nerve issues, I light up.  Weird.  She did find some sore spots up in my gluteal area that were in fact my angry hammy and my IT bands were tight (isn't that life), but nothing glaringly horrible.  Plus, I don't really have pain when I run, mainly when I am stationary.  So hammy is not in sprain or strain mode, but could get that way if I don't dial it back.  Plus, WTH with the nerve thing?   So i was adjusted all over and massaged with one of those massage guns and then given some rehab exercises that I worked on in office with her attentive eye to be continued on my own time.  Then I asked about running. I knew the answer was probably no, but I had to ask. I had some pretty tough and fun work outs planned for this week, plus back to back 12 milers and of course the weather has been PERFECT this week for running.  Go figure right?  Her answer was if you were my daughter i would tell you NO.  Okay,  I shall listen then.

back to school day for the kiddo FINALLY!

Tuesday:  Strength + rehab exercises.  Since I can't run I figured I would hit my strength training with gusto.  Funny how i have more energy to devote to these things when I am not running.  The new strength work out takes longer, but is trying to get me safely back to lifting again as I had really pushed to get back to the gym and back to weights.  This work out included squats and reverse lunges, lots of plank variations, some hip work and some glute work.  While it looks simple on paper, it kicked my ass.  Who would have thought I wouldn't even be able to do 10 push ups on my knees or 10 tricep dips in a row????  Guess it has been a while since I lifted and am poorly out of shape!

Wednesday:  I put in a FB plea to see if anyone had an elliptical.  I have a gym membership, but with the crowds right now, I would have to go at 9 pm to get on an elliptical.  I knew someone had one sitting around not being use and low and behold, i found someone!!!!!  FB can be a wonderful, mysterious thing!  A mom who had had her kids at the same preschool as Andrew had one sitting in her garage gathering dust.  When we went out to get it, it was a NORDIC TRACK!  SCORE!  She didn't even want any money for it as they were moving and she just wanted it gone.   My coach gave me some fun work outs to do walking on the treadmill and on the elliptical so I was stoked to try it out.  While my feet did go numb by the end of the 30 minute work out, I did feel like I got quite the work out in heart rate wise.

Thursday:  Coach had loaded in another fun work out on the treadmill plus, i had strength training plus PT to do.  I had decided to leave out the squats and the reverse lunges to try and not aggravate anything.  I made sure my chiro was okay with my work outs and my incline walking and she okayed everything, so off I went.  Is it bad that I am not really loosing my mind not running yet?  Let's just say that this work out had me holding on to the rails of my treadmill and huffing and puffing!

Friday: Fartleks on the elliptical plus PT exercises.  I found a new documentary to watch (Cheer) although I am still not totally through all of the seasons of the Great British Baking show.  Qued it up and started my elliptical fartleks of 4 minute easy one minute hard.  The time flew by and I was soaked with sweat by the end.

Saturday:  Tournament day.  Kind of glad I didn't have a run because we had a significant ice storm move in Friday afternoon/Friday night.  There is no way I would have wanted to do 12 miles on the mill.  We woke up kind of thinking we wouldn't go to the tournament (and andrew NOT wanting to go) but we heard back from other parents that the roads were miraculously fine.  We hustled to shower and pack and get going (thank goodness i leave the wrestling bag packed other than snacks).  We made it to warm ups five minutes late but made it.  I wrote a blog about how the day went here. It wasn't a horrible day but it wasn't the greatest but we had fun and hung out with our favorite people.  Post tourny I did my incline walk again and did my PT exercises.  I love that incline walk, simple but OH so hard!

Sunday:   Long walk day.  Coach gave me the option of doing a "long run" day by doing a 30 minute walk, 30 minute elliptical, and 30 minute walk.  Things were a bit tricky since we had MORE ice making it hard to walk outside.  I quickly did 30 minutes on the mill, grabbed my stuff, slip slid to the shop to hop on the elliptical, slip slid back to the house to get 30 more minutes on the mill.  With the help of the show Cheer on Netflix.  I felt good with what I got done and honestly didn't miss doing back to back long runs this weekend at all. 

Is it weird to say that I really didn't miss running this week?  The weather plus the pain I was feeling and then the absence of pain made me know I was making the right decision.  Who knows what next week will hold.  Stay tuned!

Little Apple Tournament 2020

coach drea reminding him how to get up off of the bottom

We attended this tournament, The Little Apple Grapple last year and had some successes.  Andrew got his first pin and we were very pleased with his try.  After last week, we had no clue how he would do.  We had ice the night before an even though we went to weigh ins, we figured we wouldn't be heading out in the morning due to snow and ice.  We got up at 6 am and were told the roads were fine, so we hurriedly got showers and headed out.  Except Andrew did NOT want to go.  He kept talking about getting hurt last time and how scared he was.  We finally convinced him to go and try and see how he felt.  I am SO glad we did.  While we didn't get any wins/pins today, we did see him listen to his coaches and try some things.  Still not the aggression we had hoped for but I see little tiny glimpses of it.

This is the first match of the day.  We talked about getting low and changing levels.  Yes, that is very basic stuff, but honestly this had NOT clicked with him till today.  He even realized the reason why the kid got him was because he stood up.  I call this progress even though he got pinned.  Again, not sour grapes, but his shoulder was NOT down, so I think he would have gone longer with this kid, but whatever.  He tried hard, that is all we ask my non aggressive child to do.  

I will say with the bigger tournament and lots of scratches  I am sure due to weather, that I felt like he was really well matched in his bracket.  He was bumped down into a bracket that was 73-76 with most of the kids being 75ish pounds.  The skill level seemed much better matched up today than last week.  

Our tiny goal for this match was continue to change levels, but also to have a successful sprawl.  His sprawl in practice is great and was great last year, but it has gotten not so great in matches this year.  

Goals met again.  Proud of him for showing a tiny bit of aggression.  Last match the goal was to go all three rounds. I knew this kid was good.  I had watched him wrestle previously and most of his opponents went down in 30 seconds or less.  Our goal for his match was outlast.  I think if he wouldn't have tripped on his own feet, he would have gone longer.  Oh well, lesson learned, don't cross over on your feet, shuffle.  

Again,  I love that even though he looses, he knows why.  He instantly gives suggestions on how he could do better next time and every time he improves, even if it is a tiny detail.  This is a huge step for him to even know what he did wrong and figure out ways to fix it.  Yes, the aggression is still lacking but he didn't let the second kid push him around.  I feel like things are clicking in his brain, even if he isn't winning.  

Things we need to work on:  

Confidence on the take down

Continuing to listen to coaches (did a better job this week, no stalling)

Being aggressive (sigh)

We have one more tournament we are entered in and then we will re evaluate.  There is one more tournament that is local in February and we do plan on continuing practice till they kick the level 1s out for the year.   I don't want to burn him out, but I also like the improvement however small I am seeing.  

Rossville Tournament

Okay so this is going to be long, and I am going to obsess about a few things, so feel free to skip this post if you want to :).  I like doing these so we can look back at where we came from and where we are headed.  Plus, I am one of those moms who likes to obsess about doing the right thing for my kiddo, so perfect storm :)

As many of you know or maybe you don't, Andrew has been wrestling for four years now.  I really don't count the first two for sure as he was too young and really had trouble focusing and learning.  The last two have been much better with this one seemingly to be going a little better than the last.  When we peak into the wrestling room he seems to be listening, following directions, and participating.  I am sure there are still moments of him acting like a crazy kiddo that we just don't see and that is still okay.  

So this is the year he moved up to 8U which is 7, 8, and even some 9 year olds. I knew this jump would be tough for him as most (not all) of the beginners would have sorted themselves out and most of the 8U kids would be serious kids.  Most, but not all of course.  I feel like Andrew is still very much a beginner, but since he has been doing tournaments for four years now, we rated him as average.

Anyway, I honestly had thought about not even entering him in any tournaments this year and just letting him practice, but then it was pointed out to me that there is so much learning during real live wrestling that it really is good to enter them in some tournaments.  We did Rossville last year and really liked the school, the set up, and the tournament, so we thought what the heck.  He had been practicing well and seemed to be ready.

His first match is below.  This kid was a good head taller than Andrew with a decent, not great record.  I felt like Andrew tried hard, defended as he could, and never gave up.  There was one time when the kid had him pinned and the ref was ready to slap the mat and then Andrew sprang back to life and kept fighting.  He came off of the mat super happy and so were we!  We just ask for hard work and try, winning is just a bonus that comes from hard work

I knew from track wrestling that his second match was a kiddo that had never wrestled.  His record was 0-0. I had hope that he and Andrew could have a good match.  While the match wasn't horrible, I saw many opportunities for Andrew to capitalize and strike back instead of just hold on his elbows.  He wasn't really listening to his coaches, it was like he was in survival mode and he was very evenly matched, so no need to be .  He does not have any aggression and even when you think he is mad, he just doesn't do what you think he would.  We were all kind of disappointed he didn't really try as hard as we know he could.  

The next match was not so good.  The kiddo was like 19-20 and a SOLID wrestler.  He sized Andrew up and then took him down quickly.  I do think it hurt and I do think it scared him how hard he hit so the tears were genuine.  

I am sure they have worked on defense against this move but maybe not.  He came off of the mat sobbing and holding his shoulder.  We told him it was okay and he said he wanted to be done and not wrestle anymore.  Well, he had one more match and a kid that I had not looked up previously, but had seen wrestle earlier.  Yikes is all I can say.

I feel like the kid was being nice by letting Andrew stay up as along as he did.  I feel like he could have taken Andrew down immediately.  I am proud of andrew for going out there and at least not running away or crying.  I know he was still hurting from the last match for sure.  I am also glad he got these last two guys after he got the guys he went three rounds with.  I hope this doesn't erode his confidence even more.  Sigh..  This child.  

Afterwards we ended on a good note and had ice cream on the way home.  Both boys went 0-4 but there were good parts to every match.  

Okay here comes the obsession /whiny part for me and you:)  If you want to stop reading now that is fine.  

I really don't know what to do.  Do we stop wrestling since he can't seem to find his aggression or do we just keep plugging along and risk him hating it because he always looses?  We watched his confidence start out high last year with some wins and then slowly erode the further we went along.  Do we just practice with no tournaments?  How do we get live wrestling practice without tournaments?  How much do you push a 7 year old?  I just don't know.  Everyone that i talk to has a had a kid like this or knows of a kid like this that finally got it, but I am not sure if he ever will "get" aggression, it's just not in his nature.  We have three tournaments planned and I think unless things change, we will stop post that.  He still loves going to practice and loves being with his teammates, so who knows.  Plus I like to focus on the positives even if they are tiny, but what if that is giving him a pass on not doing well overall?  Why do I feel like I am always one step away from completely screwing up my kiddo????  Okay I will stop with the obsessing now and just say that I hope that the next tournament finds him having a little bit more success. 

 Successes in my eyes this time:

Went  three full rounds with two of the kids

Defended against the half in two of the matches

Was about to get pinned and fought out of it instead of giving up

Was hurt and scared in third match but went back out and did another match with a tough opponent

Things we need to work on:

Aggression

Listening to coaches instructions

Believing in your self and your skill set

Remember the name of basic moves and remembering defense against these moves (remembered defense of half but forgot other things)

Things I need to work on:)

Keeping my mouth shut so he can hear coaches

Perspective.  He is 7.  Most of my friends who also have 7 year olds have very aggressive competitive children.  He is not them. I can't loose sight of that fact that his wins or his improvements may be tiny.  

Week 5: Training for the Flint Hill's 50

Week 5 already?  WOW!  16 more weeks to go!  Plus, another middle of the week holiday to totally screw up my training plan and my mind.  Let's do this!

Monday:  Rest day.   Needed this for sure.  My hammy was a bit sore from the mill still and I needed some resting of it to try and get the inflammation down.  Plus, I made a BIG decision.  I had been debating about my fall race and after talking to one of my BRFs this weekend, we decided to make that race the Hawk 50 miler. I still haven't taken the 100K off of the plate, but it isn't as likely to happen this year.

Tuesday:  New Year's Eve and 7 miles.  This run felt super hard and I am hoping it was just the wind on the way back.  My heart rate showed that it was a struggle for sure.  I felt like I was panting and struggling the whole time.  WTH???  Post run, i took some pictures of Stella and I and went to get into the house and the dang door was locked.

me trying not to freeze to death

Of course hubby was at work, Andrew was with MIL across town, and my phone died post calling the hubby to tell him Stella and i were locked out. I figure that Boom's jumping up at the door probably moved the knob for the dead bolt and thus locked me out. I sat outside in the cold for over an hour waiting on my hubby to come home and finally got so cold that I broke into my BRF's house to warm up.  Don't worry she has an electronic key pad and I know the code, so it was a clean break in LOL!  Finally got my phone charged up enough to call the hubby again, who had called my phone and in not getting an answer decided I was at someone's house warm and fine and just not answering my phone (again WTH?).  When I finally got home I took like an hour long shower and drank a HUGE cup of hot coffee.

Post clean up we had some family time including some wonderful finger foods from our friends at Smokin Willies (local BBQ joint).  We played some Mario Monopoly and watched some Great British Baking show, but none of us made it to midnight.

Crown and cinnamon coke is amazing!

Andrew, Stella and I made it to the New York New Year's celebration and watched the ball drop via YouTube.  We all headed to bed and then were woken up at Kansas midnight by fire works.  I swear Boom town part 2.0 happened, but the dogs didn't' seem to care and couldn't rouse my kiddo to watch.

Wednesday:  HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Coach had given me a wild card to do whatever I wanted.  I decided to steal Robin and go do the river trails and hope they were dry enough to run on.  As we approached the trail head we saw lots and lots of standing water and decided to hit up Tuttle Creek/Rocky Ford instead.  Most of their trails are paved or mulched, so a lot less muddy.  What we kind of forgot about was First Day Hike, which we thought we could avoid, but ran smack in the middle of on the narrow trail.  OH well, they kids were all super nice and most of the dogs on the hike were friendly.  We even saw another aussie :)  We ended up getting a little over 4 miles with lots and lots of stops to see the eagles.

Thursday:  Coach wanted between 5-6 miles of hills.  Well, since it is a week day and I can't get out to Konza during the week, Robin and I opted for the hilliest route in town, which means the 6th street hills the track and cross country teams run on.  Plus, we decided to try and get back to our early morning runs since Andrew had wrestling post work and I needed to actually work.  Well, slept like crap, but got up and got going and got our run done.  Robin concocted the craziest hilliest route and the dogs pulled like crazy and we ended up with over 5 miles.  My hammy was pretty quiet, but my left knee is now hurting (probably compensation), so iced and stretched when we got home.

Friday:  Rest day.  Day before the tourny.  Flat Andrew on point.  Had thought about trying to get my run done today, but when the alarm went off at 4 am I just went back to bed.

Saturday:   Tournament day plus shorter long run.  I will do a separate post about the tourny because I videoed all of his matches and I have a lot to say.  It wasn't a bad day overall, but it wasn't a good day either.  The jump to 8 U is a tough one and while I had hoped he would do better as he has been practicing better, scared and cautious Andrew was in full force and he did not wrestle up to his potential I feel.  Anyway, will keep that to another post.  We ended the day with friends at the local ice cream parlor having ice cream and fun.

We got home at a decent hour, so lucky for me my running partner Robin was up for an hour and 20 minute run and I needed some Robin Therapy :)  Saw a beautiful sunset and got lots of things to think about.  Robin had very competitive very good kids who ran track and played just about every sport, so she has really good insight on helping me with my kiddo.  I am so blessed to have her in my life.

Sunday:  18 miles.  Let me back up.  Post running on Saturday, I started feeling not so great.  Dull headache, achy throat, and super fatigue were my symptoms. I just chalked it up to being up super early and being in a high intensity situation the entire day.  Plus, my food that day consisted of a piece of pizza, a kit kat bar, and then a hot fudge sundae. I decided to fix a big salad with some hard boiled eggs for protein and drink some Nuun.  I should have taken some advil before i went to bed but I didn't, and at 11:30 pm I was wide awake with a horrible migraine.  I tried everything to get it to calm down, but nothing was working, not even a dark room, cold compress, ice packs, advil, and finally puking.  I started to kind of panic because usually when I get to the point of puking and puke,  I feel much better. I finally sat in the recliner and wrapped up in a blanket and got some sleep, but not much.   Woke up at 7 am with another headache, but luckily this one responded quickly with sleep and advil.  Slept a few more hours but still woke up not feeling great.  I decided to give it till the afternoon and see how I felt with my coaches blessing of course.  Well, still was not feeling very good so instead of pushing through and doing the 18, went on a nice family hike to look at Eagles at the Rocky Ford fishing area.  Yeah, I could have made myself get through it, but I think whatever I had would have lingered even longer had I not given myself a little bit of a down day.

Glad to get through the holidays and be on the other side.  Excited to get back to some sort of routine and really excited for my upcoming work outs.  I will miss having little man at the shop with me, but I am glad to get him back on some sort of routine as well.  We have had tons of fun and really haven't done much "learning" in a while so it's time.  I am sure his teacher will understand our reading/math logs are a little um, incomplete but I feel like when I was a kid I didn't really do any studying or catching up on breaks.  Have a great week y'all!!!!!