What a fantastic Saturday with Dave! We slept in and it was so wonderful. I fixed pancakes and Dave fixed the coffee. We took our time getting up and moving.
Around noon, we headed to the track for 6 x 800. I have been so happy to have Dave join me. (I have been forcing him- it is not voluntary on his part). My workouts are easier when he is there with me. He joined me for the first 2 repeats, and then sat out for the next 3 and took some video of me so we could look at my form. (more on that below). I knew the last 800 would be hard for me to keep the same pace, so I asked Dave to join me again. He was awesome. When I hit the head wind on one side of the track, he noticed I was really laboring and slowing. He jumped in front of me and encouraged me to move it and I finished right where I was supposed to finish. Thank you Dave!
I cannot quite figure out how to upload my video with all of the bells and whistles. I want to put it in slow motion so I can really take a good look at my form, but I haven't been able to figure it out yet. Here is a still shot of me from behind. It is hard to tell in this picture, but what we noticed is I really need some hip abductor/ER strengthening as I tend to have a lot of internal rotation. My hips do not drop a lot, though, so that was good. My upper body is also extremely asymetrical and arm swing and shoulder position varies a great deal from right to left. Without slow motion, I can't really figure out what is going on so I will have to keep playing with the video.
Here is some video I was able to get uploaded from the side. It was weird to see myself run, and I was surprised at how slow I looked when I was doing the repeats. I think over the years I have done a lot of plodding, so seeing myself run has encouraged me to try to pick it up a little bit more next time I am out there and really try to get stronger.
So after a nice day together, Dave and I went to a super fancy dinner. It was our Christmas gift to each other- just spending time together. We even told the waiter to take his time with all of the food. We are usually in-and-out of restaurants, but we forced ourselves to really relax. We went through all courses- cocktails, bread, appetizer, wine, sorbet, main course, after dinner drink, dessert. We talked and talked and talked. We were surprised to find that even after 12 years together, we still could learn new things about each other we didn't know.
When we got home, I wanted a family portrait. We never quite got one, but here are a few of the outtakes.
The dogs aren't interested...
Rooney wants some kisses...
Dave finally gave up and said he didn't want to take anymore pictures.
The end of the night....tired mommy and tired babies :)
I finally put this gem in a frame. I guess the bitterness of our playoff loss has softened. I love our team- Who Dat!
I finally- 2 years later- did something with my Ironman pictures. For 4$, I found this frame- something cheap but creative. So, now I can hang this up right next to the trainer for some motivation.
The dogs LOVE Wednesdays. I am home for most of the day and don't leave for work until later. They helped me on all of my projects.
And I also had my first 13 mile run since March 2009! Yea!!!! It is getting easier and easier. My joints and muscles are starting to catch up to my lungs, and I was surprised and happy to see a good pace + a lower HR today for my run. I really feel that some good things are going to happen with my run this year. ( I just knocked on wood).
