Starting my training plan!

Posted on May 26, 2008 by H3Dakota

So I decided to work a training plan this time around, rather than just run whatever I felt like whenever I wanted.  I know that it was the treadmill that caused my injury, not the plan I was working, but I really think I’ll benefit from following a plan to build back up on my milage.  Yesterday was the first day on the plan, I had 4 scheduled.

I wanted to keep working on finishing the second Viktor sock so I can get moving on the new pattern, so I ended up knitting all day long.  I did my run last night after the sun went down, at 8:30pm.  That would have been fine, except dinner had been just a little too close to make it a comfortable run.  It ended up being a slightly unpleasant experience, but at least it was a learning one!

Had a Harry Potter marathon as I worked the sock.  It’s all good.  I like watching movies while I knit.  If only I could read as I knit, too.  That would be perfect!  I just haven’t reached that point yet, though.

I’m to the gusset now – just have that, the heel & a wee bit of leg/cuff left – I should get it finished today.  YAY!  I’m psyched about working on ‘Potions Master’.  Of course, I really need to get in mowing the lawn somewhere as well.  He he he

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Running & chew toys

Posted on May 21, 2008 by H3Dakota

Sweat dripping on my desk as I type this brief entry…  just returned from a slow 4 mile run.  Just couldn’t seem to pick up the pace this morning, probably because of taking a few days off from running.  Decided on this morning’s run to start on a basic marathon training plan.  Not that I have a marathon scheduled 18 weeks from now, mind you.  I just need to get back up to where I was a year ago for my own personal satisfaction.  I loved running long – and maybe someday, there is an ultra in my future?!  I seriously would love that, actually.  :D

So we have one working computer at home (being the quintessential geek, naturally I have another non-working one that I intend to rebuild when I have the time), the 3 of us tend to share it & my work laptop on off hours.  This weekend, I was hogging the home pc because of that fan fiction I’d posted about.  My oldest asked “Mom, where’s your laptop?”, to which I responded vaguely “oh, it’s around here somewhere” and didn’t give it any further thought.

Sunday afternoon.  My son comes in from the backyard, a look of trepidation on his face.  “Um, Mom?  I found your laptop.”  I turn to look at him…  there he stands, laptop bag in one hand, miscellenous items like paycheck stubs & my toothbrushing bag in the other.  Dirt, leaves & dead grass falling off the laptop bag.

In some perverse way, I actually would have really enjoyed Leonardo playing with that very heavy laptop bag.  I can see him now, gripping the handles in his mouth & flipping it up into the air.

Thank heaven I had zippered up the compartment where the laptop was – and I’m even more grateful that he didn’t bite down on that.  Imagine going to the boss & saying “Yeah, I need a new laptop because my dog ate the last one”..

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New pattern available! Whew!

Posted on May 20, 2008 by H3Dakota

This one took me awhile… it was a big fight, but oddly enough, not in the areas that I had expected. My biggest struggle was with color work, which I had not expected at all. I have a ways to go before I’m ready for that, I reckon. My son loves the sock, though, & can’t wait for the second one. That one is progressing much faster, of course, as I don’t have to keep ripping back on it. He he he

So, without much further ado, here we have Viktor!

Viktor Pattern

Viktor front

It’s been put up for sale on Ravelry.

Next up: I’ve already cast on for Potions Master. I have a pattern charted already, but it remains to be seen whether my ideas are going to work or not. :)

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FanFic killed my Saturday!

Posted on May 18, 2008 by H3Dakota

So I finally finished A Summer Like No Other on Friday. The only thing that I didn’t like as much was the storytelling from Draco’s POV. He’s never been one of my favorite characters, actually. Severus Snape is my favorite, of course, but definitely not little rich spoiled prat Draco. he he he I absolutely loved her first one, A Year Like No Other – it’s a Snape adopts Harry fanfic. Quite well done, but there are some very disturbing scenes, a warning for the squeamish.

Saturday morning I made the mistake of deciding to give another writer a go. I literally read the entire story all day & night, finishing at 2am this morning. I have intentionally avoided the various “ship” fanfic stories, as they just haven’t seemed all that appealing. But, I must say.. this one was quite good. Clearly written by a Rickman fan, there are nods to Col. Brandon (‘Sense & Sensibility’) in several places that I could have done without. There were a couple clichés in the story, but easily overlooked. This one is Where Your Treasure Is, if anyone is interested. It’s a SS/HG, but it is not of the “adults only” variety – and the romantic aspect of the relationship doesn’t actually go anywhere until she is out of school.

So Viktor fits quite well, so I am binding off today, then adding the black to the heel flap. I tried doing the colorwork as I went, but I just haven’t got the skills necessary yet for it, I’m afraid. So it’s duplicate stitch for me! Hopefully it will not take too long & I can get the pattern written up & maybe even posted today. :D

Wanted to run yesterday, but my ankle/shin was a bit twingy, dammit. I’m not too sure about trying it today – will have to see how the day progresses. I’m quite tired, actually, having gotten to be at 3am and had the dogs waking me every hour from 4 on. Finally gave up on sleep at 8:30. *sigh*

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Wildfires & running

Posted on May 15, 2008 by H3Dakota

So headed out in hopes of making another 5 miles this morning.  The temperature was perfect, just a wee bit on the cool side.  As I headed out, I had goosebumps, which is an excellent way to start off a run!

Unfortunately, the cooler temps were the result of a healthy wind blowing across the state…  and those winds brought the heavy smell of the wildfires along with them.  It just got to be too much, breathing in that smoky smell through the run.  I ended up with only 4 & a miserable 4 they were.

But hey, as someone pointed out to me earlier this week – it is still faster than the person sitting at home on the couch, yes?!

So I was pondering biographies, writing about one’s own life.  If I were to write my biography, it would really boil down to this:  I was born.  I played.  I laughed.  I cried.  I loved.  I grew.  I learned.  I will die.  It isn’t so much what we DO in this life, but what we have learned and it is the footprints that we leave in other lives that matter.

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Oh NO! I am out of coffee

Posted on May 14, 2008 by H3Dakota

Last night I was SO damn tired…  after the last 2 weeks of work (working 80+ hours last week and something close to that the week before), I am not surprised in the least that I am this tired.  Went to bed at 8pm last night.  Woke up to realize that I have no coffee left in the house.  Oh, the HORROR!

My 5 mile run yesterday went fantastic – much better than Saturday’s 5 miles.  YES!  Today my legs feel great – and it was all I could do to stop myself from grabbing the running gear & heading out the door.  I’m not quite ready for daily runs yet, I’m thinking.  Mentally, yes…  but physically, no.  Must impose will over the urge/need/fever to run.  he he he

Still waiting to catch my youngest to have him try on the Viktor sock, so it’s just sitting there waiting.  Got a tiny bit more done on the new one, but not much.  I’m almost done with the toes & it will be time soon to be giving the pattern a go.  I must remember to thread some waste yarn into a row in case I need to rip back over & over, as I did with Viktor.

Off to get ready for work, think I’ll hit a coffee shop on the way in…  get a cuppa & relax with my knitting for a bit before dealing with a near all day meeting at work (UGH!).

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Running, Viktor & the new Potions Master pattern

Posted on May 13, 2008 by H3Dakota

Heading out the door for another 5 miler this morning, wish me luck!. The weather feels perfect for it, from the breeze wafting in through the window. My legs were actually sore from Saturday’s 5 miler, mostly because I did some sprints. My calves were sore up until today and I refuse to push my legs too hard. I will NOT bring back that damn tendinitis that puts me on the bench for so long!! I am determined!

Poo, that means no treadmill for me – so my runs will have to be around this time (5am) every day, including weekends, before too long. Florida summers are very unpleasant when one attempts a 20 mile run. That was what had me running so much on the treadmill last summer, actually.

Keeping my Viktor sock pattern short, really more of an anklet. The socks will be for my son, and they both really want no show socks for the most part. This one goes up a little higher than they usually like, but I wanted to have more patterning shown for the pictures that will go into the pattern. I am about done with the cuff, but need him to try on the sock before I bind off – hopefully, will be able to get him to do that for me this afternoon. Provided it fits well, tonight will be all about doing my first duplicate stitch to get the Bulgarian Quidditch team logo onto the heel! Woo Hoo!

I’ve also cast on for the next pattern – I just could not resist any longer. “Potions Master” has been calling to me incessantly. At one point, I’d thought to do this one in a series with Severus – complete with the white cuff & buttons. But I decided to give it a go with a Slytherin self-striping yarn for a different look. I might even knit up another in black & add the buttons/cuff… but will have to see how the first one turns out & how I’m doing time-wise.

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Wah-hoo! First 5 miler this year

Posted on May 10, 2008 by H3Dakota

So I’m thrilled that I finally felt up to a 5 miler since recovering from a nasty case of tendinitis. I felt great through the run with no signs of pain – even running up/down hills and bridges! I will know more tomorrow, as the last time I ran more than 4, I was down for a month again because of a return of pain. I did take it easy this go round, of course. Ran 2.5 miles out to the beach, walked up then down the beach for a total of 1 mile… then ran the 2.5 miles back home.

It’s time to go back to the doctor for another full thyroid panel. I’ve steadily gained weight over the past couple of months, something I’d chalked up to not running like I had been. But in the past few days, I’ve come to realize that my hair is falling out again. *sigh* I really hate this up & down battle all the time with my thyroid, what a royal pain in the ass!!

Added up all the hours that I worked from last Friday to yesterday… it came to just over 80 hours. I know the week before wasn’t much less than that, too. Shit, no WONDER I have been so tired, emotional & short fused. I “took last night off” from working – I only worked 10 hours instead of 14 to 18. But as soon as I get done here & with the shower, it’s nose to the grindstone again for probably another 8 hours again today.

What I really want to be doing instead is charting for Viktor. I am still puzzling out how to get the design incorporated into the heel flap, of course. I just love the design – I *must* figure out how to do this!! It’s going to look fantastic when I get it done, I think. It’s going to require a little bit of embroidery to really get the details right, but that should just be a simple straight stitch. I’ve seen other sock patterns do something similar, so I’m confident it can be done!  So this sock is for my son, who is significantly larger than me, so bear with the sock not fitting here…  he he he

Viktor progress

Ever have a really great (sexy, romantic or just plain dirty) dream about someone you know rather well? It’s happened to me a couple times that I remember, both involving male friends. The first one completely horrified me when I woke, I was totally grossed out, to be perfectly frank. It was one of those dreams when you wake up and swear off of pizza for the rest of your life. One of those “OMFG, get me some Comet for my brain!” dreams. *shudder* That one was about someone that was a friend, but not anyone that I would ever be remotely attracted to in real life.

This time, I had a really great dream about another male friend. Except in this case, I actually AM attracted to him… well… definitely to his MIND anyway. It was an interesting dream and definitely not one that had me reaching for the Comet. Though I admit to my first thought being “oh dammit, WHY did I have to remember that?” when I had a flashback to the dream this morning. I’d have been better off simply forgetting about it altogether. It’s just so damn awkward the first time you see someone after having that happen!! Not that THEY know about your dream, of course, but you do!

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More of the same

Posted on May 8, 2008 by H3Dakota

So, my oldest became interested in the Percy Jackson series since both my youngest & myself told him it was a really good series to read.  Unfortunately, the youngest had loaned out his copy of ‘The Lightening Thief’ to a friend…  so we ran over to Barnes & Noble to pickup another copy (the other one is pretty beat up anyway).  $80 later, we came out…  one book for me (the latest Gena Showalter, an excellent writer), 3 books for the oldest and 6 for the youngest.  I had to drag him out of the store, which gave me endless pleasure, actually.  That is how it used to be – my kids dragging ME out because they had no interest in reading.  Thank You, Rick Riordan!!

Huge progress on Viktor – I need to take photos, I know.  I do have to rip back some, as I didn’t start the gusset work soon enough, so the heel flap would be far too short for what I need to do, dammit.  Ah well, this pattern is one that I’ve ripped back on more times than I can count!  In the end, it’s going to be worth it, I think.  I really do like how it looks so far, I’m very pleased with it.

Got in a slow 3 miles this morning.  Disappointing in that it was slow, but it was good to get 3 done.  One of these days, I’m going to avoid the computer in the morning & get myself out the door quicker so I can run longer!!  LOL

Heading off to rip that sock…  *sniffle, sniffle*

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Viktor, Percy Jackson & Pizza

Posted on May 7, 2008 by H3Dakota

So describes my planned evening! I am going to work more on the new pattern this evening – I am at the gusset! YAY! Soon to hit the heel, which is going to be a challenge.

The new Percy Jackson book came out today, The Battle of the Labyrinth – my son has SO been looking forward to it! I’ve already picked up a copy & he is reading it as I type. He finished the previous book just last night & handed it over to me to read. We are both really enjoying the series – I hope he continues the storyline for some time to come.

Tonight is pizza night. I am just too tired for anything else. All the work has taken a toll and caught up with me… :( I am even too exhausted to run – bone tired and queasy. Hope I’m not coming down with anything!

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