Ryan Shay: It's just so Sad.

How can a 28 yr old, extremely healthy man like Ryan Shay collapse 5.5 miles into the Olympic Trials and die? There will be an autopsy performed and I'm sure the world will know why soon enough. It's just Sad! No matter how much my hip hurts on Dec 8th, I'm going to complete that race and think of Ryan and how hard he worked on his Olympic dreams. It can happen to anyone, which is scary but that's why physicals and staying healthy are so extremely important. I'm sure he had the best doctors supporting him but only God knows right now why Ryan is gone. I pray for the family.

(Yeah, I don't just follow the NFL. I do follow track & field to some extent.) I'm a little disappointed that Meb didn't make it in this time but the winner of the Olympic trials is apparently having a GREAT year. Ryan Hall has set a new Olympic trials record of 2:09:02 on a fairly difficult course. Amazing!

So, after work yesterday (I get off at 4pm on fridays), I immediately got ready for 12+ miles. I started around 4:35-4:36 and when I stopped it was about 7pm. I ended up with 14.62 miles in 2:23:37. My hip was ok and I felt great during the first 8-10 miles. I started slowing down a lot after it got dark around 9.5 miles into the run. By mile 13, my hip was trying to tell me to stop but I was too far out and had to keep going until reaching East at 14.62. I felt like the last 1.5 miles were at a crawl. I got blinded by lights as I headed down the bike/walking path to East and at one point came to a complete stop. Before it got dark, I startled an older man as I was heading from Macon to Tara and he yelled at me, "Don't scare me like that!" He scared me by yelling at me! I was probably 20 feet behind him when I figured I had better jump over to the grass to get around him. (people are usually good about moving over when they see you come barreling down the paved path) Anyway, I had the sun in my eyes and my sunglasses on so I gave him a "look" and kept going. Weird!

I got REALLY tired of looping Tara but I knew I had to get the miles in and I wanted to hit Carla's pilates today, which I did. I did 45 mins of pilates and felt great afterwards. I then did 1 hr 5 mins on the elliptical, some light leg weights and some free weights on my arms. I was in the gym 2.5 hrs today! I jumped on the scales to see if I had gained any of that 3 lbs back. I think I gained 1/2 lb of it back but being slightly bloated didn't help either. If I had weighed before breakfast, I'm sure the 1/2 lb would not have been there. My weight fluctuates big time! After watching the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader try out tv show, I feel FAT! ha!

Tomorrow is the Carolina game and a rest day for me.
Mon: I'll probably go for 7 miles, stretching, and crunches
Tues: 8 miles and stretching
Wed: I have an appointment for an ionic foot bath at Dr. Florence's office with my friend, Christy. It's supposed to pull out impurities from the body. I can't wait to see what comes out in my water. I will cross train after the appointment.
Thurs: 5 miles and Grey's anatomy
Fri: Rest
Sat: Planning on the Huntsville 1/2 and planning to add at least 2 slow miles to it before I head home for 15.1 miles. I think running part of the marathon course will help me mentally....maybe? Michelle and I ran this race 2 years ago and both of us felt like the headwinds were going to sweep us away but it was by far NOT my worst half as anyone would know from recent posts. I remember telling Michelle that I felt like I had just been fighting someone when I finished that particular 1/2. She agreed. Headwinds will make you feel like you've been punching someone. :(