Sleep

In the last 44 hours, I’ve played two hockey games, bowled three games and went to my league banquet, worked 22 hours, had and in-house interview to transfer departments-will happen after our baby is born- slept for about 3.5 hours, and napped for 20 minutes.

Now I’m cranky. But I can never sleep right when I get home from hockey, so here I sit.

My legs have felt pretty good the last couple of days, with only some slight pain in my right knee while going down stairs (IT band?). What I really want to do is get done with hockey tomorrow, come home and grab the dogs and go run trails for about an hour.

My brother wanted a pair of running shoes, so yesterday I accompanied him to a running store. He found a pair he liked, and we made a plan to run a race together in three weeks. But, in the third period of our game tonight, he pulled his groin, and was barely able to walk to the truck after the game. Right now, I’ll say I’m still running it. It feels good to have a running goal.

I haven’t really seen my wife in two days, and I need rest.

Summer in March.

3 hours in between hockey games is the exact wrong amount of time to sit. I played well in the first game yesterday, and not so hot in the second. To top it off, the Gophers lost. Bad hockey day when it’s all said and done. Oh well.

Today my usual routine was off because of another U/S. Not really a bad thing. They’re actually quite fun, and I think our baby has his/her mom’s nose, and likes to have his/her feet by his/her forehead.

My hockey schedule is different this week, and that added to my not wanting to run. But it’s over 80*F in Minnesota in March, so I made myself get out the door. The same leg pain returned today that I had on Saturday, so I cut my run short. It seemed like every time I hit a corner where I could turn towards home, the pain increased. A few houses past that point, it would subside. Third times the charm, and I turned home. I’m going to run tomorrow though, and hope I feel better. (I feel like a schmuck saying this after reading a blog by a woman who ran a marathon this past weekend.)

The baby is healthy, and tomorrow is another opportunity.

Wild game.

I’ll be at the Wild/Coyotes game tonight. Upper level, first row, along the Wild’s defensive goal line in the first and third periods, on Manny’s or Backstrom’s glove side, Harding’s blocker side. So you could look for me if you knew which face to look for.

My A league game on Sunday was wild in its own right. We beat an undefeated team, and they didn’t like it. A fight broke out late in the game that our guy absolutely did not want any part of. He didn’t want to drop his stick, let alone his gloves. Fighting about a beer league hockey game is stupid, that’s the best word for it.
I played well, and appreciated hearing that from a bunch of my teammates. And a team that I’ve subbed for has asked me to fill in this weekend. Ego Boost, which my wife will tell you, I don’t need.

Yesterday's run was odd for me. I wanted to run at an uncomfortable pace (not sure of all the terms, is this a tempo run?). I figure if I’d like to get faster, I shouldn’t take it easy all the time. And my dogs would like me going their speed for once. But, my dog Gus (she’s a fawn uncropped Doberman) started limping about half a mile out, so both dogs came home. If one gets to come running without the other, the one at home goes crazy.

Around the 1.5 mile point, I started thinking about how far I wanted to go, and thought about three miles would be good. When I got to the block where I would take a right and head home, I went left. Going three just didn’t seem like it would cut it (or I was putting off grocery shopping), and I’m glad I kept going. Even if my right leg was sore today, instead of my usual left. My GPS said I went 3.86, but http://www.usatf.org/ and my car said 4.1. So if the GPS was off that much on the distance, I wonder if it was also off on time. I hope not. It felt like I accomplished something, quickly. Maybe my short days will now be closer to four, instead of two miles.

Last night, I had a dream where I asked my kid if s/he would like to play with dad, or go to school that day. S/He said go to school, which meant I’d have to go to work.
First dream I’ve had where I was a parent in the dream.

Under Armour

Quick note for those in the Twin Cities area.
Under Armour is %40 off at Sports World USA in Eden Prairie. It's off of 5 by Kowalski's. From 494, take 5 west, 2nd light go right, then first left, the store is in the middle of the strip mall.

(opening to Time by Pink Floyd)

I really wanted to run Friday after open hockey, but my better judgment prevailed. I figured that after almost three hours of hockey in just over 12 hours, my legs could use a break.

While resting Friday evening, I decided to try for seven miles Saturday morning. Most of my run today felt good. At any given moment, I couldn’t tell you how fast I’m going, but it seems to work out to the same 10 minute mile easy pace. On my easy days that is.

It was even a productive run with a stop at the local hockey shop to pick up some laces. Around the six mile mark, my shins began to hurt just below my knees. This may have been psychosomatic(sp?) considering I’d just read the Runner’s World review of my shoes. To me, the review says I’m too light for a stiff shoe, and I had it in my head already that I’d like a new pair. I haven’t spent any indulgence money since my upcoming parenthood was announced, but bonuses were just handed out at work. Tonight, my knees are still a bit sore, but got better after an icing.

After my run and an errand or two, our nephew spent the day with us on a spur of the moment call by his mother. He’s not quite two, and doesn’t talk yet, but you can still read his emotions. It was discovered that he likes our dogs better when his mom isn’t around, death metal can put a baby to sleep (he liked The Ocean), and my time will be given away freely to my kid when he/she arrives. I’ve known my time would be more in demand when that day comes, but having our nephew around put it very much into perspective for me. I can’t wait. Hence the title of this evenings post.

I still need to relace my skates for my game tomorrow, and doubt I’ll be getting new shoes any time soon.

What a Day.

I made it a point to run hills today, and to take walk breaks. Found four hills in my five mile run, they felt great, and walked for a minute twice. When I got home, I felt I could have kept going, and I’m pretty sure that is my body telling me a good thing. If I can only remember this feeling of accomplishment next time I think about pushing too hard.

Having a child on the way has caused me to become a cheap bastard, but I think I want another pair of shoes. The last week or so has been very warm and my shoes get soaked while running in slush and puddles. This made me realize that when I go to run Saturday, my shoes will probably still be wet from my Friday run. Today was dry enough that I got to run on semi-dry grass for a few blocks, the cushioning was wonderful.

I woke up in a good mood today, and it’s carried all the way through. I think tomorrow will be the same because we get to hear our kids heartbeat again, and that will never get old.

Satisfying Day

Yesterday I decided to go with a 5k race like run, and did it in 27:14. This is just over nine minutes slower than I recall my PR being from 11 years ago when I ran competitively. And I’m ok with that. Especially since I ran for speed for the first time, and I did it alone, on a course that may or may not have been an actual 5k.

I was worried last night that I may have pushed too hard, because my left knee started cramping up while I was watching the Gophers loose. But, when I got up today, no bubbles no troubles.

My “A” level hockey team played today, and we did pretty well. The other team found my weak spot early and got me for three high glove side before I snagged a couple that they thought they had on me. But we still won, and I don’t think I let in any weak goals. Then a team playing after us needed a goalie and I filled in, I like this perk of being a goalie. It just so happened that I ended up playing against a team that my half-brother plays on. Not knowing him that well, I didn’t get too cocky with him, but almost got a shut-out in the game. Let one in on a fourth rebound shot that I should have cleared after the initial shot, oh well.

So I guess this means that my run yesterday did just fine by my body’s standards. Not sore after two games, and looking forward to tomorrows run. And I have a full work day to figure out how long it will be.

Now I have a new PR to shoot for.

Training Plan

I think I need to find a training plan that fits my schedule. I played hockey on Thursday and Friday, both sessions were kind of boring, and my legs felt heavy again on Friday. So if I can find a training schedule that gives me 3 days off a week, I'm golden. But, this program I may find must have the ability to have my Saturday runs allow my Sunday off day, to be very conducive to a high level of hockey. And, I'd need Thursday, Friday, and Sunday to be off days. I'm sounding demanding.

This thought process is being brought on by the fact that I’m having trouble making up my mind about my run today. The thought of running a race like 5k is very mentally appealing, but so is the thought of another slow hour with the dogs, giving the wife an opportunity to have the house to herself. And I’m unsure which will leave me in worse shape for my 2:00 game tomorrow.

Would've preferred snow

About two weeks ago we got spoiled and the temps hit the upper 30’s, a rare treat for late February in Minnesota. Then last week we got about two feet of snow, and the temps went back to normal (mid teens). Now, we’re in the upper 20’s for highs and low teens at night. And this time of year the sun is at the right angle to melt everything, so long as the sun is shinning and the shadows aren’t there.

This means that within a few hundred feet of running on sidewalks, you will encounter the following: dry concrete, wet concrete, packed snow, ice, unshoveled snow (it stopped snowing five days ago), slush, snirt (snow and dirt mix), puddles, and puddles that look like ice.

I never saw the first deep puddle I hit. A car was waiving me through an intersection, so I jumped over the wall of snow separating the sidewalk from the street. I didn’t realize that this particular wall was not protruding into the street as much as I thought, and I landed right next to a sewer drain, ankle deep in water. I managed to miss most of the puddles the rest of my run. But this first incident happened about a mile into a five mile run, so the damage was done.

At least when you run in a snowstorm, you shoes aren’t ice when you get home.

Why I started

We are 22 weeks pregnant today. Which means that 18 weeks ago, I had a very good reason to want to quit smoking. So I did, and gained about 10 pounds in two weeks. We were at some friends house and they had a scale sitting on the floor in their dinning room. So I stepped on it and my number came to a stop, and my friend made a comment about this number being small, but it was the highest number I'd ever seen on a scale while I was standing on it.

So I started running parts of my walks with the dogs.

Today, the dogs and I had my wife join us on the beginning of our run. She did very well, even if she disagreed. The four of us did almost mile, then I did two more. Felt great. And I think I'm finding a rhythm that allows me to play hockey well enough for me. 3 miles is by no means a good long run for a Saturday, but I'm not getting OCD about it and hurting myself. It helps to reassure myself that I've only considered myself a runner for two months now.

Back to my point. Just before my post run shower today, I stepped on our scale. And the number was below the weight I've gained since I quit smoking. It was in fact, within the 5 pounds that I find ideal to fluctuate within. Hooray!

Boring Win

Last night we won 15-2. I fell asleep on the second goal, but made some quality saves in the first two periods. The third was very one sided though, and the other keeper kind of gave up.

Skated at my regular lunchbox open hockey today, and an extra goalie showed. I hate when I have to sit for any amount of time. But played well again, even made a Sportscenter top ten like save.

I feel like running today, it's warm out and still snowing ever so slightly. Wanting to get more miles in but not overdue anything. I hope if I run a very easy two or three tomorrow with my dogs, my legs will feel as good for my game on Sunday afternoon, in a much better league, as they did last night.

After I shoveled the driveway for my wife this morning, she was getting into her car, and I said "Love you guys." to her. I've talked to my unborn baby before, do it all the time actually. But this was the first time I recall saying I love you to my family as a whole.

Crazy that I'm about to have a family.