Groovin'... on a Sunday afternoon

My checking account took quite the hit this weekend!  I bought three pairs of running shoes yesterday!  I will post a separate entry about them.

Did any of you see Hood to Coast on January 11?  Future hubs and I saw it and loved it, and have added the relay to our list of lifetime must-do races.  We can't wait for the movie to come out on DVD!  If you missed out, they are doing an encore screening at several theaters across the country on February 10.

Every once in a while, I double-book myself, and that is what happened with the Good Form Running Clinic.  Mark and I are taking a marriage prep course (yes, we are taking another one!) through the church we actually attend for the next five Thursdays.  So, I won't be able to attend GFR until the second Thursday in March.  However, one of the new pairs of shoes I picked up should help me develop good running form right away.  Stay tuned for the shoe-themed blog entry!

I do have a few non-running resolutions for 2011: spend more time with my family and friends, curb my sweets intake and drop a couple pounds, and prepare for my September wedding (that's not really a resolution... I need to prepare well!).  Another resolution I have is to pray more, and so far this has been going well.  I bought this book early in the year using a Barnes & Noble giftcard I received for Christmas, thinking that it would help me.  Common Prayer contains readings for morning, midday and evening prayers, suggestions for Bible verses to read, and a songbook containing hymns and songs from various faith traditions.  Growing up Catholic, I was surrounded constantly by liturgy, and as I got older, I found it boring and monotonous.  The thing I like about Common Prayer is that it is a fresh take on not only the traditional Book of Common Prayer, but the liturgy that so many faith communities adhere to.  I also like that this book is interdenominational: prayers, traditions and perspectives from several Christian denominations are included in the book.  I believe that this book has helped me be more centered in God throughout each day, helped my mood, and allows me to consistently pray for my friends, family and co-workers through the discipline of praying every day.

During my lunch break on Friday, I had an appointment with my chiropractor.  Everything was fine... until she called me by the wrong name.  She called me Michelle instead of Richelle.  Now, I don't have anything against the name Michelle (it is a lovely name!), and people often mispronounce my name or call me by the wrong one (e.g. Rachel, Rochelle, Michelle, Rachelle) after meeting me for the first time.  My last name is even worse!  I'm trying to give my chiropractor the benefit of the doubt (it seemed like a busy Friday for her), but I get really irked when people who have known me for a long time still get my name wrong.  I've been seeing this chiropractor for almost a year now.  Is she just not paying attention?  Perhaps I should find a different chiropractor.

I don't watch TV often.  I watched TV way too much as a kid and I don't like many of the shows on network or cable TV now anyway.  Mark and I did become addicted to Lost, and were able to watch all of the shows via DVD and Hulu before the series finale last year.  I discovered a new show called Off the Map that I really like.  It's like Grey's Anatomy in the Amazon.  Do any of you watch it?  If so, what do you think of it?

I'm thinking about doing my first giveaway soon.  I will either do some jewelry that I've made, or an entry into the Minneapolis Marathon, Half-Marathon or 5K.  Let me know what you'd like the first giveaway to be!

Saturday's Six

1.  I've been away from bloggy-land for a few days because I've been spending a lot of my free time hanging out with friends.  Wednesday night, I hit up the Lions Tap with my college friend Jon.  Thursday evening called for pizza and wine with Janice and Claire.  Friday night, future hubs and I met our friends Scott and Erika at the recently relocated Psycho Suzi's Motor Lounge (love the new location!) in Minneapolis.  And today, I ate lunch and shopped with Emily, another good college friend and former roommate.  I'm looking forward to dinner tomorrow night with Kim and Katie.

Seriously... one of the best cures for the winter blues is hanging out with good friends.

2.  Future hubs and I looked at a condo and a house Friday evening before meeting up with Scott and Erika.  We both currently rent (I rent the upstairs of a house and he rents a room in a townhouse) and are looking for a place to live (and buy!) once we get married.  These first two showings were very educational for us: we've refined what we're looking for in a residence.  If you have any advice for us, please comment on this blog post.

3.  Upon recommendation from Dr. Maria, I tried running again Monday and Wednesday and was able to complete 15 minutes of it both days.  I doubt I'll get in a run this weekend (hopefully a walk at MOA tomorrow before the crowds get too hectic), but I'm looking forward to running again Monday and Wednesday.  I really believe that the ART treatments are helping me.  Dr. Maria and I had a good conversation about running form and minimalist running on Wednesday, which leads me to...

4.  The Good Form Running Clinic I was planning to attend this coming Thursday was canceled, but has been rescheduled for Feb. 10.  I'm disappointed that I'll have to wait longer to attend the clinic, but you know what they say... Good things come to those who wait!

5.  I've been checking out several websites about running form.  Good Form Running and Newton Running have been informative so far.  Any other recommendations?

6.  I sold my first piece of jewelry on Etsy!!!!!  I've posted a few more items for sale, but I think my jewelry will be more inviting to customers if I post better pictures of what I'm selling.  Plus, I need to post more jewelry.  That will be a project for tomorrow.

How is your weekend going?

Don't stop believing!

As promised, here is the one picture on my camera from my company's holiday party:

Joe is our company's maintenance specialist.  I do his scheduling and billing.  He is one of my favorite co-workers.

Upon recommendation from my friend David, I made an appointment for active release technique therapy at Eagle Trace Wellness Center.  David, who commutes by bike everywhere (yes, even during the typical cold Minnesota winter!) was in a bike accident last summer and damaged his shoulder.  After a few sessions of ART, his shoulder was as good as new.  So, on Friday morning, I saw Dr. Maria.  She applied pressure at several points along my quad and adductor muscles while simultaneously stretching out my right leg.  Wow... she definitely found some tight muscles!  My knee felt much better after the ART treatment.  I had ultrasound therapy and cold level laser therapy applied to my right knee area and that also seemed to help.  I have two ART treatments this coming week and will probably have two more next week.  I am hopeful that this will get me running soon!

Marathon Sports in Minneapolis is hosting a Good Form Running Clinic on Thursday.  I definitely am a heel-striker when I run and I suspect that has been a contributing factor to the running injuries I've sustained over the past few years.  I am seriously considering attending this clinic.  I think it will help me be a more efficient and less injury-prone runner.  I've watched a few of the GFR videos online and have even been paying more attention to how I walk.  Have any of you attended a GFR clinic (or something similar)?  Has it helped you?  What kind of stride or running gait do you have?  Has changing it helped you?

This weekend, future hubs and I attended a marriage preparation course.  We're getting married in the Catholic Church, so a prep course is required.  Overall, we found the course helpful (and very Catholic, of course!) and now have plenty of things to discuss and figure out.  I also discovered that there are more forms of Natural Family Planning (NFP) other than the "rhythm method."  Mark and I are not planning on having any children, so if we use NFP we'd use it to prevent pregnancy.

I've been having a lot of fun listening to Journey and Foreigner today.  Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong decade. :)

Have a great week, everybody!

Setback

Due to car problems with future hubs' Ford Taurus (all issues are fixed, but it took almost an entire day), we were unable to go out for sushi like we wanted to on Thursday night.  We did, however, see a late showing of The King's Speech.  Great movie--we highly recommend it!  Friday night, we went out for sushi (Tiger Sushi at Mall of America--yum!) and I gave Mark his birthday gifts: a 750 ml bottle of Crown Royal Black and this book.

Saturday was a day for running errands.  I found the shoes I will wear with my wedding dress, and also scored some great deals at The Limited and Bath & Body Works.

Then, I went for a run.  I ran longer than I thought I was going to and now my knee is hurting again (same spot as before).  I should have stopped running while I was still feeling great, and now I have to take at least a week off, possibly more.  There are days when I wish I wasn't so addicted to running.  I wish I could get the same endorphin kick from spinning, strength training or yoga, but I don't.  I hope I will learn to baby my knee much better this time around.

I'm glad my first race isn't until March.

My company's holiday party was on Saturday night and it was a lot of fun.  I only have one picture from it.  I'll post it soon.

Mark and I took today and tomorrow off from work to work on wedding stuff.  We have the tux situation all figured out now.  We're planning to make our own invites and ceremony programs, so we browsed the printers at Best Buy to see what was available.  We'll do a little more research before purchasing one.

Mark's actual birthday was yesterday.  He's 28 years old.

Hope you're having a great week so far!

So...

I have an announcement to make...

Today and Monday were the first two days I've been able to run since Thanksgiving with no knee pain.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Granted, each day I only ran 15 minutes, but combined with 30 minutes of spinning and a 15-minute walk, I got a decent workout.

As you can tell, I'm incredibly excited.  I hope that the ability to run now will help me combat seasonal depression, and that it will be a precursor to a great running season this year.

Here's my weekly workout schedule:
Monday: Strength-training during lunch break, cardio (spinning, walking, running) after work
Tuesday: Yoga during lunch break
Wednesday: Strength-training during lunch break, cardio after work
Thursday: Yoga during lunch break
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: Traditionally, this is my long run day.  I'll be doing a lot of walking on this day as I train for the We Walk! Marathon in May.  I'll also try to fit in some swimming here.
Sunday: Rest day (I may add circuit training with Melissa to this day for a few weeks to get my butt in gear)

Future hubs and I are going out for sushi and a movie tomorrow night.  His birthday is on Sunday, but this is the night we will celebrate his birthday just the two of us.  We're going to see The King's Speech.  I'm also hoping to see Black Swan and The Fighter before the Oscars.  Anyone else have any movie recommendations?

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a great New Year's Eve and that you've enjoyed the first two days of 2011.

I worked an 11-hour day with no lunch break on NYE.  Upon my return home, I rewarded myself with a delicious meal of Thai-style chicken and veggies and some Chateau St. Croix Ice (dessert) wine.  I was in bed by 10:00, I think.

Future hubs proposed to me at midnight on New Year's last year.  No other NYE will top that!

I spent a good chunk of my New Year's Day volunteering for Team Ortho's Polar Dash.  I froze my butt off, but I worked with some great volunteers at the info tent.  After the shuttle fiasco at the Monster Dash in October, I'm so glad that everyone running the race seemed to have a great time.  I'm definitely looking forward to the Get Lucky 7K in March.

Future hubs (who volunteered on the set-up crew and as a race photographer) and I spent the rest of New Year's Day enjoying the delicious batch of chili he made and watching episodes of The Big Bang Theory.

I'm still having my ups and downs with winter blues, and I received prayer from a member of the prayer team at church today.  She even sensed that God was telling her how much he liked me.  God loves every one of us, but he also likes us and delights in our company.  I think if I remembered that more, then I wouldn't struggle with faith so much.  I think that realization might cause more people to believe in God, too.

This evening, I went over to the Midtown YWCA to do circuit training with my friend, Melissa.  She is studying to be a personal trainer, and I agreed to be her guinea pig while she is on winter break.  Holy cow... I got my ass kicked, but in a good way.  She's going to be an awesome personal trainer.

I signed up for the Run for the Bling of It challenge today, mostly because I thought it would help motivate me to reach my running goals for 2011.  Plus, 12 races will be enough for me this year (I'm glad four of them will not cost me a cent!).  Right now, my first race isn't until March, but I plan on signing up for one of the Lifetime Fitness Indoor Triathlons in February.  I should make up for any race deficit this summer, particularly in August with both the Ragnar Relay and Minneapolis Duathlon.

Here's to 2011!