JESSICA SIMPSON MAY BE SMARTER THAN WE THINK

You are all probably thinking "Trailmomma has lost her marbles! Now she's talking about Jessica Simpson!?" Well, there is a reason. Stay with me ...

Thursday, Pigeon and I did hill repeats on Pennsylvania Avenue. I woke up Friday morning feeling pretty darn good. The legs were not sore at all and I decided to rest from any running to let all my muscles recover.

I got ready for work and being that it was a Friday and my work is a lot more casual than usual I decided to change things up a bit. My work attire is not fancy by any means, I do have it fairly lucky in that department, however on Fridays, we're allowed to wear jeans. Gotta love Fridays!

So I threw on a pair of jeans and then I threw on a pair of shoes I bought a while ago that I absolutely love but rarely wear. I am not a "heels" kind of person (unless it is winter then I wear boots since most pants manufacturers think everyone is 5ft 10 inches tall these days). But these shoes were "cute" "summery" and I really wanted to wear them.

Exhibit A: The Shoes

Cute right? 

I love these shoes and they are rather comfortable despite the 4.5 inch wedge. So threw on these babies and I headed to work. Throughout the course of my day, I don't normally do a whole lot of walking (my office is rather small) however, I did meet Vans at lunch time to view a home which required a lot of walking. 

I had read an article once quoting Jessica Simpson as saying (I am paraphrasing here): She loves to wear heels a lot because it works her legs. I think I even read that Audrina Patridge vacuums her home in heels to get an extra "workout" in for her legs. Now, I don't necessarily believe everything I read about every celebrity, but after wearing those shoes for about 5 hours yesterday and then going for a 16 mile run today . . .  I believe it!

This morning I met Pigeon at Cavitt for a 16 mile trail run. This is the farthest I have gone I think since the Western States Training Run back in May. The day was gorgeous and I was feeling pretty good when I arrived so I had high hopes for today's run.

Last night, we transitioned the Peanut into her big girl bed. Despite going to bed a lot later than usual (our fault, not hers) and waking maybe once or twice for a few moments, she did very well! We're so proud. However, that did mean my night of sleep was not exactly quality and I think I yawned four times in the middle of talking to Pigeon after I arrived this morning (in one sentence). 

We set off towards the trail and were immediately passed by some mountain bikers "Ah, it's going to be one of those days" as the trail was full of mountain bikers, Folsom Lake Trail Runners, a SacFit group and quite a few horses.  The pace felt good. We ran most of the dirt road behind Cavitt, something I love to do but unfortunately the last time we ran here, I just couldn't manage it. 

About 3 miles in, I was running too close to Pigeon listening to her talk about work and what is going on currently for her when a giant batch of roots (that I have run over 100 times mind you) jumped out and tripped me! I didn't go down, in fact Pigeon never even heard the four letter explicative that came flying from my mouth. I had rolled my ankle, hard. The same ankle that had been giving me troubles last year. Shoot! I had to tell her to stop so I could assess what the damage was and how to deal. The pain was bad but not terrible, definitely ligament like but not excruciating. I decided to keep going knowing later I might pay for it but from that point on, my ankle would continue to be weak. 

The overlook came so quickly today. The first 5 miles just seemed to fly by without much trouble (minus the ankle incident). We stopped to take in the view (isn't it pretty?) and have some water. Last weekend, Pigeon and I figured out the "lazy mans way" of drinking water from your hydration pack. I actually discovered this by accident last weekend but determined it quite useful!

If you wear a hydration vest and you bed over with the valve in your mouth, the pressure from your back shoots the water into the tube and then into your mouth! No need to try and suck the water out. This is especially helpful if you're sucking wind after a hard run! 

So off we went with me leading and dodging every single green branch or twig that was sticking out on the trail. It is becoming quite overgrown in sections which makes me extremely nervous about poison oak. I did do my pre-run oak treatment but I am never convinced and still panic. 

Out of no where, we hit the 8 mile marker! Our turn around spot. This was the easiest 8 miles I have run in a long time. I was feeling great, Pigeon said she was feeling pretty good too (despite an obvious limp from her left side, ahem, Pigeon!). 

Funny. Our turn-around view looks very similar to our 5 mile overlook view. There were boats and jet skis out on Folsom Lake today. It was just a beautiful day all around.

I am trying to get better at the self-portrait shots. Squinty eyes? Um, roger that. 

That's actually a really great photo of Pigeon. She'll always smile no matter what which is why running with her is so much fun. 

After stopping for a few minutes and then starting again, my legs felt TIRED. Oh boy. Amazing how 8 on the way "in" feels so great yet 8 on the way "out" can seem daunting. Still, we motored on. Pigeon took the lead and practice adding some speed to her inclines and decents where I, on the other hand, was just enjoying the trail, the day and how I felt. I have no need for speed these days. 

We hit the overlook again and Pigeon stopped to take some Gu . . . I stopped to take some pictures.

That's Pigeon taking a Gu and me being cheesy (geez squint much trailmomma?) 

On our way back, we ran into friends, other trail runners and quite a few horses (and quite a bit of horse evidence, if you know what I mean).

Make way for the horses!

When you see a horse on the trail, the horse always has the right of way. Luckily, we didn't see any turkeys on this run! Yeah! Maybe mother nature thought I had my fill last Thursday huh?

We finished the last mile and a half running with a woman who approached us. Her name was Carrie (I believe) and she was amazingly nice (and fit). She had run AR50 as well but was rehabing a knee and hip injury. She was visibly strong and extremely nice. All three of us chatted the entire last mile and a half which of course made it fly by which is even nicer! 

Once at the car I had to use some Technu because unfortunately, I think I ran through quite a bit of oak today. However, I only had enough to do one leg! Ack! Time for more Technu! In case you are wondering, I chose to "save" the right leg and left the leg to fend for itself. 

Overall, a great run today. My calves were screaming at me when we finished which I think was partly due to my wonderful shoes on Friday and also Thursday's hills. I normally don't feel the affects of our runs until later in the evening or the next day but today, now that I am home, I am definitely feeling some tiredness and some achey feelings in the ankle region. 

Vans and the Peanut were enjoying their Saturday morning fun. The Peanut woke up at 7:00 am which is normal for her on a weekend. True to all the rumors we've heard, she woke up and stayed in her bed as if a magical shield was preventing her from leaving. She can climb in easily but she has not quite grasped the new found freedom having a big girl bed brings. I know, it's only a matter of time.

This is some home video of the Peanut seeing her big girl bed for the very first time.