Check!

I did it. Sort of.

Originally my goal was to finish my half marathon in 2:10:00. Honestly, as my training went on (or didn’t go on at all, CaliforniavacationIholdyouresponsible), I was thinking I’d be happy if I finished the half in under 2:15:00.

2:11:28! Bam! I know that’s not that impressive to some people…in fact, the first person to finish the FULL marathon that was going on at the same time whizzed by me just before I hit the final stretch, but man, I was really happy with that time.

• Mile One:Holy mackerel there were lots of people! The last time I ran a race it was locally and 126 people participated. This race had 18,000 half and full marathoners. I felt stuck and slow, but it was probably good to start out this way. The first mile took about 10:35. I was way behind!
• Mile Two:Still pretty slow, still pretty crowded, but felt great. Finished mile two around 20:20 or so. Did I mention the sun wasn’t up yet?
• Mile Three:I don’t remember much from this mile, but I do know that when I hit the 3rd mile marker I came in at 29:40 and that I was now on track!
• Miles Four through Six:I felt really good. I came in every mile in a time that had me running faster than a 10:00 minute mile pace. The sun started to come up, and although it was cloudy and cool, that was nice. There were still people everywhere, but it was starting to break up.
• Miles Six through Nine:I still felt amazingly good, even though there were some hills and such. When someone said we half marathoners hit the half way mark, my watch read 1:03:something, I was doing really well. Something about running in a crowd, plus the adrenaline and the music and spectators really made a different compared to my training runs.
• Mile 10:I was getting pretty tired. I took a walk break (I had taken some short ones earlier, too). I thought I only had three miles to go, but I realized it was four, as I hadn’t reached ten yet. I was tired.
• Mile 11:I kept repeating, “I can run three miles in my sleep, I can run three miles in my sleep.”
• Mile 12:I kept repeating, “I can run two miles drunk, I can run two miles drunk.” Don’t ask. Also, there was a guy in front of me who was probably 70, and I figured I could at least try to stay up with him. Honestly, I was freaking tired. There were more damn hills and my legs did not want to move fast. I hit mile 12 at 11:59:and some change, and I knew making it under 2:10:00 probably wasn’t in the cards. And I was okay with that.
• The last 1.1:Ugh! I knew it was almost over, there were people yelling, telling us it was almost over, but I was slloooooowwwww! I didn’t stop, but I didn’t run fast. When I came around the corner and saw the finish line I was beaming like an idiot! I crossed the finish line when the clock said something more like 2:16 or 2:17, but I had a late start because there were so many people. On the website (and my own watch) my official time was the aforementioned 2:11:28. Wahoo!

Anthony actually took a pic of me just before I crossed the finish line, and a couple of pictures of me sweaty and medaled. However, the pictures are trapped on the little magical box that is his new camera, and though I’m normally pretty tech savvy, it’s not even six in the morning and I have no idea how to transfer the photos to the computer other than hoping that the magical box can read my mind. Which apparently it can’t. So those pictures will be coming soon!

What’s Next?

I am finding that goals in the land of fitness make it so much more fun! Which is why I need to have new goals in place to keep me motivated. I definitely plan to continue running, but shorter distances: I don’t see me racing in anything longer than a 10k, ever! (Although I feel pretty darn good today, considering).

My new goal consists of adding muscle and fitting into a pair of green pants that I own.

Muscle: From what I understand, we start losing our muscle mass when we hit 30, which I turned last November. My legs are strong, but I really, really could use some help with my upper body, and I don’t want to lose the strength I’ve gained running. My goal is to add some muscle mass and tone all over, mostly by adding regular strength training to my routine. I’m doing a 7 week plan, because that’s how long I have a gym membership for, and because I need to have deadlines to get myself motivated.

Green Pants: So I am not one to hold to clothes that don’t fit/are ugly/have holes in them/are orange, but I have this one pair of green pants that I love, love, love. I can put them on. I can zip them. I can’t leave the house in them, though. They fit, but not really, know what I mean? I’d like that to change. I hate weighing myself because it makes me stupid, and I’m not really the type to diet, but I am going to continue with cardio, add weight training, and work on late night eating in hopes of getting these pants to fit properly again. Hopefully in seven weeks, but I can be flexible.

Phew, it’s time for me to get going and go lift some upper body weights!

What motivates you to stay fit?

[Via http://recipesforcreativity.wordpress.com]

Running in the cold to fight a cold

Temperature: 0 degrees C

Distance run/type: 11.26 (group run) + 2.19 (run home) / LSD

Clothes: Lululemon running pants, Nike base layer, Addidas top layer, Addidas coat, Lululemon hat and gloves, Asics TrailRunners.

Feeling: Too hot. I had to take off my Addidas top layer and tie it around my waist. I ended up taking off my gloves halfway through the run and holding them in my hands. I felt like I could have probably lost another top layer as well.

Despite still feeling a little off this morning, I decided to go for my LSD run and hope for the best. I knew I’d feel guilty if I missed it, and the chances of making up a missed long run on my own decrease exponentially as the day goes on. Breakfast was a mix of Kashi Go Lean and Go Lean Crunch cereal (1 cup), with natural peanut butter (1 tsp) and chopped strawberries (1/4 cup) in vanilla rice milk (3/4 cup). As always, I washed breakfast down with a few cups of warm water and lemon.

We ended up running a really nice 11.26k around Toronto – winding through the Mount Pleasant cemetery, and around Casa Loma. Once again, I passed by many condos and townhomes that I will likely never be able to afford. One can dream, right? I was happy to note that I actually felt much better halfway through the run than I did earlier that morning. After we made it back to the store, I left the group and ran back to my apartment (2.19k). Once I got back, I had a banana, some vanilla green tea yogurt, and a few other things that I found in my cupboard to tide me over until brunch.

After brunch with a friend, I did some laundry, shopping, and spent some time with my cats who are now living at my parent’s house after I decided that it wasn’t fair to them to live with me in my teeny tiny bachelor apartment. I also watched The Blind Side. I’ve always been a fan of Sandra Bullock, but now I am half in love with her. I’m really glad she won that Oscar. It was well deserved.

[Via http://fuelingforfitness.wordpress.com]

26.2 KMS!

Hooray!! So we ran the race on Sunday and it went really well. We did it in 2:54:22, which was fine by me as my goal was to do it under 3hrs. We did the first half in 1:24:40, so we slowed down  in the second half, but not too much.

The weather was perfect, the sun warmed us up in the morning and then it clouded over and kept it nice and cool for the full race. It was actually a really interesting experience. As this was my first real race, and there was about5,500 people participating, being with such a large group of people, all running was really interesting, and surprisingly quiet. We got finisher medals and long-sleeve t-shirts and race packs full of goodies which was nice.  There are photos up here but I doubt we will shell out and buy them…they are a little expensive.

So now what? Well, Phil and I both decided that the run wasn’t THAT hard, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we did another one in the future. I don’t know about a full marathon though…that would just be sooo long. Who knows though. Right now I am going to take a bit of a break from running and try and mix up the physical activity by getting a gym membership and maybe doing some classes.

[Via http://librarianwithoutglasses.wordpress.com]

Tex-Mex and the Treadmill.

I had a very busy today. It started with an early morning trip to my doctor’s office for blood work (fasting, and believe me when I say that no food is bad enough, but no coffee? Yeah, okay, just stay out of my way.). And it ended with a relaxing massage courtesy of my man Josh. In between, I tackled a lot of chores (including five loads of laundry), hit the gym to run intervals, and even managed to go out and have a lovely lunch with my friend, Jackie.

Tex-Mex is one of my biggest downfalls, and the grilled mahi mahi tacos were wonderful. As were the few chips I allowed myself, and the salsa. I didn’t, though, fall off the wagon enough to allow a prickly pear margarita into my meal. And it’s a very good thing. Because running intervals an hour after eating Tex-Mex is not something I would recommend. I wondered if the chips and salsa were going to make a reappearance more than a few times, and I’m positive a margarita would have been the deciding factor. I have made a habit of losing things on the treadmill this week – my nano, as reported in an earlier post, and, oddly enough, two navel rings. Losing my lunch would have been the icing on the cake – or rather, the Tex-Mex on the treadmill.

But I managed to hang on to everything today, and I had a nice little interval session indeed.

In the gym by myself:

Speed Intervals: 5 minute warm up @ 4 mph. Twenty minutes of intervals: 30 seconds @ 6.5, 7, 7.5, & 8 mph. with 60 second intervals @ 4 mph. Cooldown, 5 minutes @ 4 mph.

Polar Info: 30 minutes, 336 calories, 40 % fat, Max H/R 162; Avg H/R 139.

Total: 30 minutes, 2.4 miles.

[Via http://musclegirl.wordpress.com]

Run Tonight Was Hard...

Run tonight was hard… unbelievably hard… I barely kept the tears at bay. The frustration was evident. I am so terrified that if I have a break and not go back again on the weekend I will not go back at all.  Maybe I am emotional today I do not know… My mind would not switch off.  I was obsessing on my ability to do this, I was obsessing on the fact I am not doing a training session this weekend. Overall, I was obsessing on my life in general.  I started focusing on the fact my shoulders were up around my ears and that my breathing was all over the place.  I just could not seem to cut a break tonight. Nothing was working for me it was as if everything was against this run.

I am trying to tell myself I did not fail. Nevertheless, to tonight I only ran 1.99km. The elusive 1 km until I hit 1st target, seems so far away and I’m struggling. That negative voice was back “ha-ha I bet you can’t run up that hill” and I almost believe it, I almost just sat my arsed down on the pavement and hope for some damn miracle… but I ran up that freaking hill even though it felt like it was at a snail’s pace. I seem too survived tonight but saying to myself if I ran another 10 steps I would be okay, that mantra was repeated until finally I began to slowly believe it again.

It does not matter that at this moment every part of my body is throbbing, the positive is I ran.

I want to say thanks to Jodes and her constant support of me and this challenge…And for picking up the pieces tonight. She always listens and of course checks out my run maps after each attempt.  She reminds me constantly that she believes in me and has no doubt in my ability to achieve the goals I have set for myself. So apart from doing this for myself, I am going to say I am also doing this for my amazing supportive cheerleader. You Rock and no I’m still not telling you the song until I reach 3km!!

[Via http://emmacastagna.wordpress.com]

Food Blogger for a Day

After signing up for the MMRF Race for Research 5k, I sat myself down and had a little talk…with myself. Maybe I was just feeling guilty from the 2 1/2 bowls of low-fat frozen yogurt I had eaten, or maybe I just realized it was time. I’ve plateaued for awhile now and I’ve attempted the whole, “Woe is me, I don’t know why this is happening,” blah blah, somebody call the waaaaambulance routine. The truth is, I could do better. I’ve worked really hard and gotten really far, but I know what my weaknesses are, I know where I could push myself harder and I can do better. So I started today.

I think that taking pictures of everything I eat is really tedious, but therein lies one of its benefits: it makes me think about what I’m eating, when and why. I am going to try to document my daily eats as much as possible for as long as I can before I get sick of it. Above on the left are the two tea bags I started my day with: a combination of Puuka Cleanse and Trader Joe’s brand Jasmine Green. On the right, though it’s hard to tell in the picture, I actually wore a skirt and cowboy boots to work today, and thus rode my bike in a skirt and cowboy boots. Not gonna lie, I felt badass.

I bought this box of instant oatmeal because it was on sale. I’m a sucker for sales and it shows: this oatmeal is not gluten-free. My bad. I’m still going to eat it this week, but I probably won’t buy it again to be on the safe side. For breakfast today I had a packet of the maple nut flavor.

Along with my oatmeal I had a side of Rainbow Light Digestive Enzymes. This one in particular received really good reviews. I started taking them over the weekend, so hopefully soon I will notice a difference.

For lunch I had the last of the leftover eggplant parmesan rolls with swiss chard and mint that Zac made for dinner Sunday night. This recipe is amazing and refreshing. Zac and I even agree that we like it better than tradition breaded and fried eggplant parmesan. I heated my leftovers and put it in the bowl with a couple of mixed salad greens. I was physically sad when I had finished eating.

B-a-n-a-n-a. Times this by three and please excuse my chipping nail polish. I also had one apple, one tangelo, and one clementine as snacks throughout the day. That’s…a lot of fruit. I think my problem with only bringing fruit as snacks is that it doesn’t give me any protein/fat to satiate me. Instead of so much fruit, I might try to bring say an apple and a tablespoon of almond butter to eat, because fruit might be healthy, but that doesn’t mean it’s not made with lots of calories. (Over 500 in fact for all the fruit I ate today. Yikes! :\)

Above is said apple and the third banana I ate today, around 2:30 when I also had a hankering for an iced coffee with cream. I managed to get halfway through the day without coffee, but there is just something about the 3 o’clock hour that screams, “NAP TIME!” to me.

When I got home from work I was feeling really dehydrated. I had two tablespoons of almond butter and a pinch of shredded coconut (not pictured) before working out. It is another beautiful, warm night, so I did Day 3 of Week 3 of my C25k plan. Earlier I  figured out that I didn’t actually have enough weeks before the race to finish my plan as I was, so I created a workout plan for the next month so I can be sure to get all my runs in.

After I finished my run and showered, it was dinner time. I had mixed greens with an entire chopped green bell pepper, two carrots, a sprinkle of sesame seeds, and a tablespoon of Newman’s Own Light Balsamic Vinegar. I also had another enzyme tablet and some Tazo Passion iced tea that I made over the weekend. Sadly, this was all the calorie allowance I had left for dinner after eating all that fruit earlier. I’m going to plan better for tomorrow and in fact am boiling some eggs right now as I type.

G’night!

[Via http://waterbutterandwine.wordpress.com]

New Boot Camp Dates For April!

Check out the new ‘Early bird’ and the ‘Weekend Workout’ Boot Camps!

A.M Fitness Boot Camp is an outdoor group training program that offers outstanding fitness instructions with a large helping of motivation to keep you on track every step of the way!

Each session is filled with fun and energizing activities specifically put together to help you successfully achieve your fitness goals.

Choose from either the ‘Early Bird’ Boot Camp or the ‘Weekend Workout’ Boot Camp and secure your place for only £10.

NEW DATES! 

‘Early Bird’ begins Monday 12th April @ 6.30am

‘Weekend Workout’ begins Saturday 17th April @ 8.00am

‘Early Bird’ Boot camps are offered every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, three days a week for a block of 4 weeks, rain or shine! Each camp lasts 45 – 60 minutes and starts at 6.30am

‘Weekend Workout’ Boot camps are offered every Saturday and Sunday, two days a week for a block of 4 weeks, rain or shine! Each camp lasts 45 – 60 minutes and starts at 8.00am

Click Here for more info and prices!

[Via http://amfitness.co.uk]

Silver Comet 10k

Yesterday I ran in the Silver Comet 10k in Mabelton. On my way there, I got to drive through the Concord Covered Bridge, one of only 16 remaining covered bridges in the state of Georgia. Who knew??!!

I got there a half hour before the start; I had to park a little farther away, but it was fine. I got my number and my chip, and it took me some time to figure out how to attach it on my shoe. Hey, it was my first experience with a timing chip! I liked it a lot, especially since I didn’t cross the start line until nearly a minute after the gun. I trotted around the shopping center that was race HQ until it was time to line up. The organizers had us line up by mile times–I stood with the 10-minute milers. I think that was a great way to do it; I had a lot less bobbing and weaving at the beginning than I did at the 5k I ran in January.

The first mile was on the road, with the remainder of the race being on the Silver Comet Trail itself. The was a small “hill” (more like a mound!) in the first mile, the only hill of the course. I had never run on the Trail before, so I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t really happy with what I found once we got on the trail: flat as a board and non-scenic. Since I tend to run on hills a lot, I think the “hill” muscles in my legs are a lot stronger than my “flat” muscles, so it was hard to adjust to the flat terrain. I like trail running when it’s pretty, but this one was pretty blah. We passed through a few scenic bits, but mostly it felt like I was running through a tree-lined tunnel. Because of that, it was hard for me to stay mentally engaged in the race. I was dragging through the first half, and I passed the 3-mile mark somewhere in the 28:50’s. Then I realized that I could just finish with a sub-60:00 time as long as I didn’t slow down. I gave myself a little pep talk and decided to get my head in the game and do that shit. Rawr!!!!

I passed through the 5-mile mark in the high 47’s. I instantly got a huge, cheesin’ grin on my face, and I took off for the last 1.2 miles. It was such a great feeling! I crossed the mat and hit my watch, which read 58 something (I accidentally erased it and now I can’t remember what it was, haha). The results were posted online today; my official chip time was 58:31. Woot! I grabbed some water and walked over to line up for the shuttle buses. The buses was the one really annoying thing about the race; I had to wait a half hour to get a ride, and the line behind me was so long that I know a lot of people probably had to wait an hour. There were only two school buses running back and forth between the finish and the start; definitely not enough for the amount of runners. I was lucky enough to get on the first bus. I had to stand the whole way, but whatever. I was cold and starting to feel sick to my stomach; I just wanted to grab my t-shirt back at the start area and get the hell out of there! If I run this race next year, I will definitely try to coordinate it so I have a ride waiting for me at the finish. A lot of people smarter than me had friends or family pick them up.

Overall, I’m glad I did the race. It was very empowering to get that sub-60 time! However, I didn’t love the course or the wait for the bus at the end.

[Via http://thatpalegirl.wordpress.com]

Disney Princess Half Marathon Race Recap

I had a great time at the Princess Half Marathon, but the one thing that sucked was the wake up time.  I woke up at 3:15am!

Dad and I got dressed and stumbled over to the food court to get coffee.  I planned on having a banana and a Larabar but got a boxed breakfast at the All Star Sports resort.  This included a bagel, granola bar, banana and a bottle of water.  I ate the banana and started to munch on the bagel as we got in the line for the bus to take us to the race.

Caroline and I planned to ride the bus over together.  When I got in the bus line, there was only about 50 people in line.  By the time Caroline got there 5 minutes, the lobby was packed and her and her husband couldn’t find us.

Once we got to Epcot, Dad and I hung around for a bit;  it was chilly, about 45°.  Since I have been training in sub-freezing temperatures, this actually felt pretty nice! I left my camera with Dad, who isn’t a great photographer. Please excuse the blurry pictures!!

I was able to meet up with Caroline and Andrea before the race.  We then trekked to the Start. Yes, trekked! It was about a 20 minute walk! I’m glad I had ladies to talk to and complain with!

Once we got there, we split off to go to our respected corrals.  Me to A and them to E.  I was so close to the Start!!!!

Blurry BB Pic of Start!

[[SIDE NOTE]] The corral placement was wacky!  I was placed in corral A, even through I am not that fast and have never run a half.    Leslie, who re-PRed at 1:51, was in Corral E.  And she signed up early! I heard of no one in B or C.  To top it off, there were walkers even in Corral A!  This was my only real complaint about the race that can be fixed.

After a quick bathroom break, I lined up in the corral, had a Vanilla Gu and chatted with some of the ladies around me. Then a little after 6am, the fairy godmother came out to wish us well! And with a fireworks start, we were off!

Dad's blurry pic of fireworks at Start!

Mile 1-3

Even though I was in the first corral, I still spent the first half mile weaving through walkers and slow runners.  I paced behind a woman in a coral shirt for almost 3 miles and felt great! Even though this part was on the highways, it went by quick! At the first water station, I grabbed Powerade, expecting blue and tasted GROSS lime. UGH!  There was an awesome pirate ship in the middle of the highway, no picture of course!

It was also pretty neat to run through the Magic Kingdom gates, which I don’t have a picture of again….

Mile 3-6

5K split: 30:19

By Mile 4 and the Ticket Center, I saw my dad! He, however, did not see me.  He had taken the monorail  to the ticketing center and was looking for a place to stand.  Some nice man had to chase him down as I was not about to run backwards! There was awesome Japanese drummers, who I wished could follow me. They were keeping a great beat!

Happy to have chased down Dad!!

I then entered Magic Kingdom, still keeping a great pace! In fact I sped up!  We ran up Main Street…

Blurry BB pic Kind of groovy though~

through Tomorrowland and then through the castle! I loved they had trumpeters right on top of the castle entrance!

Got this taken at the castle. May buy it!

Right after we exited Magic Kingdom by Frontier Land, one of the runners next to me said ‘Here comes the boring part’ .  I think that really stuck in my head the rest of the race.

Mile 6 -8

10k Split: 1:00:13

I saw my dad again  at the Floridan.  He saw me and was ready this time!

I always look this pained while running

Up until this point, I felt amazing.  I had held about a 9:30 pace, walking through the walk stops and taking a few pit stops to take pictures!  Once Dad and I parted ways, I realized there was a looonnng stretch of highway and not much to look forward too.  This really played with my head.  It was also starting to get warm out…

Mile 8 – 10

At about mile 8, I took a 3 minute walking break just after mile 8 to eat some Cliff Shot Blocks.  Looking back, this was a bad idea.  I should have just ate one every 10 minutes.  The first 7 miles are a blur in my head, they went so fast!  But on the open road, I start to plan mind games…

Hit the Pirate Ship again. This time there were actual pirates there! I high fived a Captain Jack Sparrow, who looked a lot like Johnny Depp!

15k Split: 1:31:53

Approaching Mile 10, I saw that we were going to have to run up an on-ramp…

This is how I felt inside....

Mile 10 -12

Since I train on a lot of hills, the actual on-ramp was not that bad.  However, the idea of the on-ramp was mentally killer.  I was mentally dead after the ramp.  I looking in to the  sun, with no sunglasses, my stomach was souring and I still had 3 miles to go… I did not want to panic or totally break down, so I  started 10 minutes running and 1 minute walking. During walking, I would take some deep yoga breaths that  helped significantly.

There was another ramp between mile 11 and 12 and I was not looking forward to it.  As I turned the corner though, I saw the Epcot globe. It put some pep back into my step!

Right before mile 12, I was running downhill and had a shooting pain in the ball of my foot.  My shoes were not tied tight enough towards the toe and  I now have blisters on the underside of my toes.  I seriously considered taking off my shoes and carrying the timing chip across the finish line!

Mile 12- 13.1

Mile 12 was right before Epcot.  I knew I was almost finished so I sped up a bit! The out and back in Epcot was painful and I was trying to push through…

Luckily Meghann was cheering at Mile 13. She had a great sign (‘Run, Blogger, Run’) and it really gave me that last push!  Thanks for the picture, Meghann!

I was able to really push through the last .1! Here’s on of me right after I crossed the finish:

If you look from a distance, I look like I am smiling!

On of the Finish Line when I finished, I am on the right.  Why couldn’t the other photographer get one of me with my arms up??  Instead I got painful face above!

Finished!  My Official Times:

It was great to be done and I was so happy!  The princess crown medal was placed around my neck and my hair glittered!  After I grabbed water and Powerade, I stepped to the side to get out of my now very painful shoes and call my dad.  Then things went downhill fast….

While on the phone with Dad, my stomach started to  cramp .  I was barely able to walk over to meet my dad or drink/eat anything. A trip to the port-a-potties didn’t help.  I sat in the middle of the parking lot for about 20 minutes while my dad went to find my uncle, who got stuck  in traffic and got there after I finished

I think this was a combination of the Gu I ate before the start and the lime Powerade plus the heat and effort that made me so ill.  It did ruin the accomplishment I just had.

Once I was feeling a bit better, Dad, Uncle and I  hopped on a bus back to All-Star Sports to shower and get breakfast.  We ate at the Bordwalk’s Kouzzina by Cat Cora and I had a delicious stacked breakfast.

The rest of the day was spent napping and getting more frozen yogurt at Menchies!

And there was a trip to downtown Disney….

Love Stich! He spited too!

The other day, I posted about the Post Race Blues.  As I was thinking about it last night, it is not really ‘blues’ as much as regret.  Because I got sick, I don’t have ANY post race photos.  I also didn’t hang around to see how people finished or get a finishers tee.  And when I see others race recaps with happy finishers photos, I get a little jealous! I think I am almost over it though

Overall, it was a great race and I learned a lot!  I will definitely be signing up again! Hopefully next year my sister will race with me!

A Big Thanks to My Dad!!! Not only did he come  with me, but he ran around Disney at a ridiculous hour! As he put it, it felt like the Amazing Race!!

[Via http://katemotivate.wordpress.com]

Goals: An end and a beginning

I have never been what you might call a goal setter.  I distinctly remember a conversation with my parents, way back in the day when I was floundering around a collegiate career, wherein my father insisted that I needed to learn to set goals; that I must focus on something and complete it.  I’m not what you might have known as a “finisher.”  I quit playing baseball because I couldn’t hit (more than likely because I needed glasses, which we wouldn’t find out for another couple of years) and I quit taking ballet and tap lessons and I don’t really know the reason behind that particular setback.  I quit being a good student when it became more difficult and I actually had to work at it.  I quit piano lessons in the 10th grade because I felt like I wasn’t being taught what I wanted to learn and I quit taking organ lessons when the church hired a director because it didn’t feel necessary.  I quit college a couple or three times, but did finally manage to make it through.  I’m apparently very good at quitting.

Back at the start of the year, I blogged about a number of things, one of which was my goal to run my first marathon this year.  Then came SNOWMAGEDDON, the return of the SNOWPOCALYPSE.  It seemed as if every day that I was scheduled for a run, there was snow in the forecast, or it had just snowed, or snow was actually falling.  In addition to this climatological deterrence, the treadmill that I counted on for getting me through the cold and snowy days developed a couple of holes, a crease, and a small tear in the belt causing it to slip while I ran.  Having been on the crappy end of a couple of broken ankles, I thought it best to put it out to pasture.  And, as if all that were not enough, I seemed to maintain a constant sinus disturbance from mid-November straight on through ’til about 3 weeks ago.  All of these things led me to the exceedingly frustrating decision not to run on April 24 in the Nashville Country Music Marathon.   And, it hurt.  It really hurt to make that decision because I wanted it to work.  I wanted to cross that finish line and get my medal and say that I put in the time and effort necessary to run a marathon.  I wanted people to see me as someone who could finish; someone who could be counted on.  But, as has been the case many, many times before, I’ve settled for something less than I could accomplish with what seem like flimsy excuses.  It also did not help that the financial burden of attending this marathon was not something I expected either.  It was not a king’s ransom, but I could not have scraped the entry fee and hotel room out of the couch cushions.  Plus, what seems the worst part of this is that after having made the decision, my body just decided that it would take advantage.  I’ve run maybe 2 or 3 times since making the decision.  I eat constantly, and not things that are good for my body.  I had even given up soda during marathon training and now I drink them faster than I ever did before.  It’s as if my body knows I gave up and is determined to take full advantage making it that much harder for me.

Now, with all the free time that I have now that I’m not training for a marathon, I’ve decided to go back to school.  This shocks me just as much as it does you.  With the countless words that I’ve written about how agonizing it was to finish my bachelor’s degree in the first place, the thought of graduate school should make me faint dead away.  However, I find myself craving a new educational opportunity.  Maybe it’s the new job, or maybe it’s just a replacement goal, but I’m at the very least committing myself to finding out more.  Fortunately, with this goal, there is very little downside.  I’m in a position where I’m able to attend school for the price of textbooks.  It’s a master’s degree in a field that I’m very interested and excited about.  So, short of the “entry fee” (the GRE exam cost, which is half the price the marathon event would’ve cost), I can only go up from here.  Maybe, just maybe my father was on to something with this whole goal-setting notion.  We shall see.

See you in the funny papers!

[Via http://slugger.wordpress.com]

It runs in the family

I must have inspired my eighteen year old son in some way because on Monday he asked if I wanted to go out for a run with him. Now, I was still recovering from the small matter of 55 miles on Saturday, but I didn’t want to miss a rare chance to go out running with him, so we went out for a slowish 3 miles. He was talking about maybe doing a marathon next year and I said I would help him train if he didn’t mind being seen in my company.

Tonight I came in after a short run at a slowish pace which was all I wanted since I’m still in recovery mode, and I got a phone call about 20 past 7.

G: “Hi, it’s me. I just thought I would let you know where I was so you wouldn’t worry”.
Ma (now worried, he’s never bothered before) : “So where are you then?”
G (sounding a bit breathless): “Near Ratho, I’ve just run here and I’m on my way back”.
Ma (thinking my hearing isn’t what it used to be): “Did you say Ratho? It’s about 6 miles … and it’s dark”
G : “I’ve got a head torch, I think I’ll be about an hour before I get home”
Ma : “You’re running back from Ratho … in the dark … when you’ve never run that far before. What on earth were you thinking, that’s just crazy!”
(then relenting a bit … he is my favourite son … actually he’s my only son)
“Do you want one of us to come and meet you?”
G : “No, it’s OK, I’ll be OK …it would be nice if you did though”.

So Bill and I changed back into running gear (we had only just changed out of it), grabbed headtorches, phones and a spare thermal top and headed out along the canal towards Ratho. Now the last time I was on the towpath in the dark was Saturday night, and I hadn’t really planned to repeat the experience quite so soon; nor had I planned a second run tonight but I felt partly responsible. After all half his genes come from me (the rest are Bill’s but that was never going to endow him with much sense either).

We finally saw him just coming under the Calder Road Bridge, in a sleeveless vest, barely a glimmer shining from his headtorch, completely knackered, no food, water or bus fare and proclaiming he hadn’t meant to go as far as Ratho. I had a job finding a big enough Compeed to cover the blister on his foot and he fell asleep almost as soon as he’d swallowed the last bite of dinner.

He says he’ll never do that again … but then we’ve all said that before; I think he has the makings of an ultra runner

[Via http://karinsmiles.wordpress.com]

Bad News/Good News

So they posted the results for the Arnold Sectional WOD that Dan and I did on Friday and as it turns out I didn’t even place. I shouldn’t be surprised. I’m terrible at burpees. At least I finished the WOD and did the dead lifts unbroken. I am still a little sore from it, so I’m honestly glad I didn’t go harder. Oh well; it’s not like I have a shot at Regionals anyway, and even if I did, I am not an elite Crossfitter; I am barely even an intermediate Crossfitter.

I did a very good OHS today, 5×5 at 65-75-80-85-90. Days I do 90×5 are good days. I got great depth with no wobble. I then went on to a mediocre front squat of:

45×5 (warm up)
95×5 (warm up)
115×3
125×3
135×3
135×3
135×3

I finished up with a re-attempt at my mile run and PR’d(!), taking 32 seconds off of my time and making the Level II benchmark (see, I told you I was intermediate) of 7:00. So that’s a win in any case.

[Via http://coughingsparks.wordpress.com]

Exercisangles - The first cut is the deepest

Baby I know…

There’s a concept floating around the blog world right now about how a little bit can go a long way. In particular, I was reading a recent post on Shedding It & Getting It where Rachel talked about how “just a bit can get you fit.” I totally believe in that concept, because I experience it on a regular basis. If you’ve read my blog you’ll know that Consistency and I haven’t become friends yet, but I do go through cycles of routine behaviour…until I fall off the wagon.

After about 2 months of not running, I finally got out there the other night and the runner’s high I got really motivated me to get out there again soon. I went out on Thursday night on a whim. I was feeling restless and wanted to clear my head. I hear about runners who say running helps them clear their heads and gives them time to think. Well, I’m not at that point yet. All I can think about is not giving in to my gasping breath and pounding heart and pushing myself to run one more minute before taking a walking break. But I like the idea of being a zen runner. (I do my clear headed thinking in the pool.) In any case, I managed to get myself out the door, which is usually 3/4 of the battle for me.

Once out there, I struggled through a run/walk workout (the cold night air was quite a shock to my system) and when I got home and gmapped my route, I found I’d done 5k! It took me 40 mins to do it, not the best time, but I figure I’ve got over 2 months before the Toronto Women’s Run 5K race May 30 to improve it.

The main thing was that the route I chose was doable and I never would have guessed it was 5k. Struggling through that first jog was exactly what I needed to spur me on. This week I’m planning on following the 8 week training plan from the race website. For the first time, I feel like I can actually do it.

And to use the analogy of the first cut being the deepest, getting through the challenge of that first run motivated me to go to the gym for the first time since December. I had actually planned to use the pool since I was going to be missing my usual swim, but the school gym’s pool was closed when I got there, so I decided to do a strength workout instead. I haven’t done one of those since I hurt my back, but it’s feeling almost normal so I went for it.

I ended up doing a total body workout:
-Squats with a weighted bar on a bosu (3 sets of 12-15)
-Lunges with biceps curls (1 set of 20 on each leg with 10 lb. weights)
-Ab curls on a stability ball (1 set of 25)
-Ab pull-up and push up on stability ball (2 sets of 15)
-Glute exercises – kick back, fire hydrant, wrap around tree (20 of each on each leg)
-Leg lifts on a stability ball for outer thigh (60 on each leg)
-Biceps curls (3 sets of 6 with 10 lbs.)
-Chest press (2 sets of 12 with 10 lbs.)
-12 lb. medicine ball biceps curl, shoulder press, triceps extension (2 sets of 20)
-20 push ups (10 elbows wide for chest, 10 elbows back for triceps)
-Stability ball inner thigh squeeze with triceps push back (2 sets of 10 with 10 lbs.)
-Standing dumbbell row (12 wide elbows, 12 elbows close to body)

I think those were all the exercises I did. I was only planning on doing 30 mins, but once I started, I ended up doing a full hour and got a lot done. It’s been so long since I’ve done weights, I’ve forgotten that sore muscle feeling. Nowadays, I only experience slight soreness, but after that workout, I’m feeling the pain. Particularly in my arms and chest. It really hurts to straighten my arms!!

So, although that first cut is the deepest, I’m glad I got it over with, because I know the more I go the less pain I’ll feel. And the sense of accomplishment is sooo worth it! I can’t wait to go back

[Via http://rubysangles.wordpress.com]

ONE STEP CLOSER

Make that 3.1 miles closer!

Today, I ran my first 5K since 2002. Back before I had kids, when Jorge and I were free-spirited, go-to-the-movies-on-a-Tuesday, sleep until noon, type of people, I ran. I ran about 20 miles a week – roughly 3-4 miles 5x a week. I loved it. I was in great shape — the best shape of my life.

I remember that first race so well. It was a memorial race for a firefighter who had died while in rescue on 9/11. The information on the website said, “Registration begins at 7:45am; race at 9:30am”. Even though I had pre-registered, I showed up at 7:30am. I showed up even before the race organizers did. Jorge and his brother, Pedro, were up with me and ended up sitting on a sidewalk for nearly 3 hours on that morning. I did end up finishing, and somewhere in a print (yes, people, this is pre-digital camera) is a picture of me finishing at 32:00. I was so proud – I had stayed at a 10-minute mile and felt strong!

Nearly 8 years later, and well over 50 lbs later, I finished my next 5K. Learning from lessons of my past, I showed up at 9:00am for the 9:30am start time. In tow, my two little girls and the well-wishing support of my hubby (who was stuck at home with our sick baby). I felt nervous. I just wanted to finish. And, it’d certainly love if I could finish in a respectable time. For me, that respectable time was “any time before the race officials packed up and left.”

When I embarked on the Marathon B4 Mastectomy, I blogged about how I wasn’t going to run this for anyone but myself. But, last night, I decided to run this in honor of Becky Matthew. Becky is Richard’s wife. And, while our prayers for Richard’s strength have been offered over the past 1 1/2 years, I can’t take my mind off of Becky this week. In the last few years, Becky has become the mother of a child with cancer and the wife of a man with cancer. All this in addition to the usual pressure we all feel as women, moms, providers, care takers, professionals, and the multiple other roles we play in our lives. She has struggled to make decisions to save her child’s sight, and just last week came to peace with the decision to call hospice for her husband. This week, Becky has had to make decisions about Richard’s funeral arrangements, how to emotionally box up his belongings, and sitting with the quiet in her home. While there are beautiful moments of Richard’s passing, the peace he now has, stories his relatives have of “knowing” Richard had passed and such, a new journey is beginning for Becky. She’ll use different strengths now.

And, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Becky and Richard also have a daughter. While  I never could admit this prior to having my own daughters and son, there is a difference. I’m finding myself engaging in some tough conversations with my older daughter about her body, self-esteem, confidence, school, hair, friends — you know, the usual. Even without these conversations, I know for sure that Becky has given her daughter one of the most precious gifts; her daughter has seen her mother be strong, tender, vulnerable, kind, accepting, and faithful.

It was important for me to have my girls there. My son, I doubt he’ll ever remember this period in my life, our life, his life. But, my girls, I wanted them to see me. As I was heading to the start line, my younger daughter insisted that she was going to run with me. My older daughter had to hold her back.

I had plenty of time on my run to think. Over the 3.1 miles, I thought about the start of my mastectomy journey. When I had trouble breathing, I thought about Becky and what she must be doing right now. When I took the time to look at the houses, the trees, and to say “hello” to the people getting their morning newspapers off of their driveways, I thought of Richard. When I had to walk on the many uphills, I thought of myself and the significance of this journey. And, when I attempted to sprint in the home stretch, I thought of my girls. I thought of whether or not they would have to embark on their own mastectomy journey in the future. And, I wanted them to see that I was strong.

I ran with my friend, Chuck, for the first mile, and as he quickly pulled away I found myself alone. Runner after runner passed me. I was tempted to turn on my iPhone and listen to music, but instead, I wanted to listen to my body. I didn’t want to be distracted by Kanye or Diddy. Didn’t want to get lost in the dance beats of Missy Elliot or Beyonce. I didn’t want to sing along with the cast of Glee. I wanted to hear my footsteps, feel both my breath and my breathlessness, and listen to the silence of aloneness.  The benefit of being at the back of the pack meant no one could hear me say aloud, “One step closer. One step closer.” But, what was I one-step-closer to?

As my body was about to give up, I turned the corner and saw the finish line. I could hear the cheering of the small gathering of people along the end of the route. After all, I was nearly the last one to cross, and the supporters had all gone inside with their loved ones. Though my breathing was already shallow, I knew I needed to end strong. I ran with whatever strength I had left, and crossed the finish line at approximately 38 minutes — a full 2 minutes faster than I planned. As I ran into the ribbon area, a woman turned to me and said, “You’ve got someone following you.” Before I could turn around, I felt tiny little hands grab my pant leg. The familiar little hands were my younger daughter.  She’s mini-me. We look alike. We sound alike. We have the same long toes, light skin, and bossy attitudes. While the odds are 50/50, I pray that we do not have the cancer gene in common.

“You did it, Mommy! You did it!” said my younger daughter.

“I sure did, Jada. Now, watch out. I think I’m gonna puke.”

“That’s okay, Mommy. But, first can I have your iPhone? I want to play a game.”

My older daughter must have seen my “what did you just say??” look on my face. She’s terrifically keen in social situations. “Good job, Mommy. That was pretty cool,” in an effort to return some self-esteem back to me.

“Thanks, Jo. Do you think you can join me next time?”

While I’m looking forward to Jo joining me in a run, we already have begun a long journey together. I already know that I passed the VHL gene to her. And, when she’s 21, we’ll find out whether or not she  has inherited the BRCA gene from me, too. She’s been through a lot, more than I can ever imagine.

I’m really thankful that I’m one step closer to decreasing my risk of cancer. There have been a lot of milestones along the way — losing weight, running regularly, getting over this never ending sinus cold, weaning my son from breast feeding, and now this 5K. I’m about 4 months away from my mastectomy. In just a few weeks, I’ll be having my mammogram — the first medical test in preparation for the surgery. It’s here. It’s real. It’s going to happen.

Each day is one step closer to my surgery; one step closer to a reduced risk of cancer.

Peace, love, and baby steps,

Liza

[Via http://marathonb4mastectomy.wordpress.com]

Issue two of re:new

We’ve submitted copy for issue three of our final magazine project and will start designing it next Wednesday (hopefully). First we have to make it through issue two’s post mortem today…  the joy of having your work pulled to pieces in front of 30 people…

[Via http://ribbonandrope.wordpress.com]

Explanation; Mishmashery

Lemme clarify how I feel about legal writing.

Legal writing as a common noun is just fine.  Minus the pressure, I enjoy the moments when I feel like my law review note is coming together.  I also enjoy writing summaries for The Judge and his clerks.  Here’s what’s not fine (and Rachael, I am sorry because I know you’ve heard me vent about this incessantly):  my school’s legal writing program.

My beefs with the program could go on for a post that no one would read, but what rankles me is that it’s not always graded on actual writing skill.  In every section I’ve been in thus far (we have three semesters when I think one would suffice), the grade is based on whether we know a secret and magical checklist.  Every assignment I get has been returned with comments that I write very well and that I didn’t find the secret checklist points THAT WE AREN’T TAUGHT.  It is frustrating (yet also pretty humorous) to be a law review editor and know that your worst grade in law school is in legal writing.

Wow, did I make anyone run away?  Here’s how I feel about the class (third and final semester, thank God!) in a couple of pictures:

I'm the green shirt in the background.

Why so sad, Croatian folk dancer?

I'm such a whiner!

OK, that’s actually from a recent bar crawl (my college girlfriends and I made shirts and did this for the hell of it).  Some random guy spilled a shot on me.  That’s worse than legal writing, I guess.

Trick picture:

My pretty sister pets a cat.

Hi, Randy!

Mishmash time — what have I been up to?

*Judge stuff — he is taking me to “Take a Law Student to Lunch Day,” which is cool considering the woman I had to go with last year was rather unpleasant.

*7 mile run today; rest yesterday; 10 the day before; 6 the day before that

*I’m having some medical issues.  Think good thoughts for me if you can spare ‘em.  They aren’t serious, but they are affecting my daily life.  But I promise I’m not complaining — I’m just being pro-active.  NOTHING is like what my mom went through as a cancer survivor.  I’m very blessed that these minor things are all I have to contend with right now.

*I’ve had some great conversations with first year law students recently.  It’s really a privilege to get to interact with so many neat people at my school.

*I have enjoyed a lot of laughs.  That’s worthy of a bullet point.

*I’m eating teriyaki-themed things — teriyaki sweet potatoes, squash, oatmeal (yep).  GOOD.

*My sister and I have been contemplating a Passover-themed photo shoot for her cats.  Don’t ask.

*I’m spending a lot of time with Elton John.  That’s what I’m about to do now — listen to “This Train Don’t Stop Here Anymore” and head to bed.  ‘Night!

[Via http://eggplantexecutrix.wordpress.com]

Half Marathon Training - Day 42

Last night turned out NOT to be a run night. Oops and dangit. Around midnight, when I realized that I still had all of my Finance homework to do and the coffee wasn’t taking effect, I succumbed to the fact that it would not be a run night. But that’s okay. Because I’m going to do it tonight instead!

The Caspian Cafe was really good. If you live in Colorado Springs, save up and go there just once. They have a belly dancer Fri and Sat! I didn’t find out until after I got there that I was actually paying for it lol. But the food was great and I got to spend time with my twin, Alicia, so that was fun. We split a mussels appetizer (TO DIE FOR!) and the Chilean Sea Bass “Special”. The sea bass had a lightly flaky crust, and it was topped with 3 shrimp coated in a chili powder that was spicier than actual chili powder, but not too spicy. I liked it. Oh and it was served with a sweet sauce. It was just awesome. I want more! While the entire thing was amazing, we neglected to ask what the PRICE of this marvelous “special” was… $30 btw. And everything else on the menu was like $15-20. Didn’t see that one coming. Oops and dangit once again! Thank goodness we split it because our check with gratuity was $56.  Oh, but the bathroom was cute. Well, the doors on the stalls were. I know, I know, I’m strange! Get over it.

So since today is a RUN day…… Today’s run: 1.8 miles

 Dinner tonight: Artichoke and Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breast. It’s okay to be jealous Not sure what I want to pair with it. I’m thinking asparagus and a caramelized onion and olive bruschetta.

Oooh. I found the recipe I’m thinking of. I think I’ll serve this alongside our dinner. Mmmm.
Caramelized Onion Toasts courtesy of Tyler Florence. I have tried this toast before- it’s not pretty to look at but it’s amazing and so flavorful.

[Via http://chileanmermaid.wordpress.com]

holding the line

“One morning in Boston, it was snowing so hard that I didn’t think anybody would be going training, but I went down to the track anyway. Billy Smith was there, though. He opened the door and said: ‘the road to Mexico is out there’”.  -David Hemery – who won the 400 meter hurdles at Mexico City in 1968

I’ve always loved this piece! Can’t you just visualize it? I sure can…

Today, Tuesday, was group run day at the office. If you saw my last post, you will notice that 8 people joined me last week. Major Success! Well, when I looked at the weather report a few days ago, I saw that Tuesday would be the worst day; cold w/ snow flurries. In Atlanta. More snow. WOW. And it’s gonna be high 60’s by the weekend. Naturally, I thought it was gonna be interesting to see if anyone showed up to run. Even myself. I had good runs over weekend, but the weather forecast surely wasn’t making it easy to stay motivated to go outside after a long work day. But, I held the line. Inside, I feel like I have a responsibility to ‘hold the line’ of the group; to not miss a day, to not have any excuse to not be there. Usually, every Friday and Monday, I send an email about the run (as a reminder). I did the same thing this week so they would know I would be there, regardless of weather. By noon today, it was apparent that no one was joining me. Of course when I realized I would be going solo, I had thoughts of letting myself off the hook for the day or even just go run on treadmill. It was 37 degrees and snow flurries still coming.

I had been in the office all day and went out for coffee around 2pm. The little jaunt to Starbucks was actually refreshing since I had felt so cooped up all day. Decision Made. The run outside is on. Holding the line. Whether anyone was there with me or not. It’s perfectly understandable that people would opt out…for weather reasons or for whatever they’ve got going on. No problem. I will be there. I will be there again, next Tuesday at 5:15pm.

‘Cause for me…the road to LA MARATHON (and beyond) is out there!

TRAIN HARD. TRAIN SMART. BE BRAVE!

[Via http://afuntanilla.wordpress.com]

Small goals = big confidence

The trails along Town Lake are a great place to start running in Austin.
photo by: Donnie Hogan

I am not a running expert. I don’t have a decorated race resume and I don’t consider myself or my daily habits to be models of what a prototypical runner should be. I’m just a regular guy.

That being said, I have come across several strategies to running that have helped me hate it less and boost my confidence level after every run.

Today I want to suggest setting small goals.

Running is not the easiest hobby to pick up. Too many people make a conscious effort to get in shape by running, but try to do too much too quickly, burning out themselves and their bodies. Rather than spontaneously attempting to train for a marathon by running randomly until your legs fall off, start slow. Time yourself and set modest goals for each run.

Start with one mile, 2-3 times a week. Very quickly, you’ll see your finish times decrease as your build up strength and stamina. Then you can increase your runs to two miles, three miles, etc. Town lake in Austin is a great place to start because there are mileage markers to help you track your progress (bottom right).

Take advantage of the mileage markers around Town Lake to monitor your progress.

For example, my fiance and I decided to run together in this year’s Capital 10K (discussed by Hannah in a previous post). In order to train, we started slow, running from Auditorium Shores to the Lamar Bridge and back, about 1.56 miles. Then we increase our run to the Mopac bridge and back, about 4.55 miles and yesterday for the first time ran from I-35 to Mopac and back, about 7.12 miles.

The point is you don’t have to be a phenomenal athlete to participate in runs like the Capital 10K. Start slow. Set modest goals. Gain confidence when you meet your goals and gradually increase the bar you set for each run.

If you do this, I promise running will become more gratifying and you’ll begin to hate it less while gaining confidence with each run.

[Via http://activelyaustin.wordpress.com]

Monday Run

The Monday run is always the most difficult even though it’s an easy 30 mins. I think my legs just feel a bit tired after the sunday long run.

It’s been a beautiful day today – lots of sunshine and spring is coming through

To the stats:
Distance – 5.86km
Time – 31.38
Pace – 5:23 min/km
Calories – 422

My non-running days need some thinking about now. Currently I’m doing a bit of walking but not much else. I have a singlespeed Charge Plug bike that I adore. I punctured it a couple of weeks ago and have been a complete lazy arse and haven’t fixed it. This weekend I promise! I have missed cycling so much and I think it would be ideal cross-training. The feeling of freedom that comes with riding a bike can’t be matched – not even by running.

[Via http://nonameexists.wordpress.com]