the Good and the Bad

First, the not so good.

1. I foolishly thought that because I only ran 6 miles on Sunday, it would be okay for me to do a crazy workout for my hips, hammies, quads, and butt. After all, strong runners need strong lower halves. Big mistake. I can't even bend, sit, or walk (let alone run) without wincing. Apparently I'm not as strong as I thought-- I plan on using this in training for my next half (yes, my NEXT half. I am determined to qualify for the National). I highly recommend the workout if you are NOT 12 days away from a race (ouch!). Here it is:

http://www.self.com/fitness/workouts/2010/10/lower-body-workout-slideshow#slide=1

2. My knee is a little achy (okay, more than a little. I actually hurts when I get up and I can feel it moving around) and I'm twelve days away from my half. I'm trying to keep it in perspective, though. I know I'll be okay. I'm going to rest, ice, and elevate as much as possible-- when I'm not running of course. But even when I'm running I'm going to take it easy. :)

3. My house is kind of a wreck and my mother-in-law is coming over tomorrow to spend the night. I'd prefer if she stayed blindfolded all night long. Okay, she can take the blindfold off, but only if we are in complete darkness. (But I am looking forward to seeing her, which goes in the good category...)

Now, the good.

1. 17 out of 29 kids in my Special Ed. Inclusion English class got A's on their vocab quizzes Friday. That's not including the B's and C's. I rewarded the A students with brownies today. One girl was so proud of herself; she typically struggles in English class, and today, she was positively glowing with pride. That's a good teaching moment.

2. While I was reading to Curious George to my son tonight, he told me I was doing it wrong. He then took the book from me and said he'd read to me. He read the rest of the book to me with a very serious little voice (and got most of the story right). He's three, and it was the best book anyone has ever read to me.

3. I'm super excited to have a running buddy. Erin and I did another run at the NCR trail this weekend and we did pretty well. We also saw a family of deer, with three little fawns. Almost everyone on the trail stopped to take in a little Mother Nature in all her beautiful glory.

You can see the little cuties in the middle of the frame...

4. Ah... fall. Runners, need I say more? (For those of you who aren't runners, fall means I can feel air entering my lungs while I run, instead of having the feeling of inhaling fire.)

5. I decided I need to do another half marathon. My goal is to qualify for the National Half. I know that's a piece of cake for most of the speedy runners, but I'm a back of the packer. I need to get my half time to 2 1/2 hours. I can qualify with a 5K time of 31 minutes, which I know I can do, but my fastest time this summer was 32 minutes. So I guess that's a good and a bad?

Here's to a happy and healthy running week!