I Just Wanted To Be Athletic - And Now, I Am! (comments welcome)

[corinnak]

I have a fear of starting something publicly and failing to follow through. Therefore, of course, I am not starting this at the beginning of my journey. I feel like at the beginning, I kind of have to tiptoe around myself so I don't scare myself off with too much enthusiasm or something. I am sounding a little jumpy and I'm not even through the first paragraph! Let me start with where I am right now. Where I've been may or may not be ultimately important.

Right now, I am a recent graduate of the Couch to 5K program. Since February (maybe March - talk about inauspicious beginnings - I don't even remember!) I have gone from being largely sedentary to being able to run 3.1 miles. I have lost almost 20 pounds - I seem to be at a plateau but I am so close to that 20 that I can almost taste it. I've been doing Weight Watchers online since the beginning of April when I decided that running would be easier if I weren't carrying around weight equivalent to that of my 2nd grader with me at all times. I have also been incorporating ideas from the Beck Diet Solution, but as Dr. Beck would say, I have some sabotaging thoughts about some of it.

Currently, I am at loose ends a bit. I ran my first 5K on May 13th and it was great, but I took a little time to rest and am now trying to decide what I should be doing next. Now that the C25K program is finished. I am trying things. Group cycling, weights, different running workouts including podfitness.com.

Events motivate me. I have another 3 mile fun run that I want to do on the 4th of July, I would like to run the Tower of Terror 13K and have booked a room but haven't registered. :scared1: And my big, long-term goal has been that I would like to run the Disney half marathon. Right now it is looking like 2009.

I still have about 40 pounds to go and I'm trying to decide if it is more important to "Stay the Course" or "Shake Things Up" to get through this little plateau. And then, often I think that I'm not even going to worry about the weight - just keep on eating appropriate amounts of food for healthy weight loss and focus on becoming atheletic. It is hard, but I am trying to take the focus off my weight a little and focus more on becoming a stronger, faster, more energetic person. That helps a little with the discouragement.

OK - I am crummy with introductions. I am keeping this journal primarily as a place where I can reflect on my athletic pursuits so maybe I won't fill up my myspace blog with that stuff so much. On with the show!

[C_leen]

Hi Corinna-

I have only been on WISH for 6 weeks & it has made a big difference for me to hold myself accountable. I hope your journal helps you work out how you want to motivate yourself over time. I think our motivations change as we meet goals and reassess. You've met some big goals, and soon you'll settle on how you want to pursue being an athlete. Perhaps a meeting with a personal trainer or a dietician can help you tweak what great things you are doing to spark the weight loss again. You've worked very hard & you've earned a bit of a splurge!

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[corinnak]

Thanks for the welcome and encoragement Colleen! I have considered getting a trainer - I used to have a trainer after my first child was born - I'm at a different gym now, and they have this form to fill out to get a meeting with a trainer and I just get hung up on that. It is such a small, silly thing to hold me back, isn't it? I even have the paper (this is the 3rd time I have picked up one of those!). :rolleyes:

Today's Newsflash:
Today was a funny day because the scale is still a little up from the lowest I have seen it recently, but I measured my waist and it is down an inch from the last time I measured. I need to get a run in today, but have houseguests coming tomorrow and have a zillion other things going on this afternoon. It will have to be an evening run - that is all there is for it!

[corinnak]

Sooo the good news is that the scale budged this morning. Bringing my total loss to 20.6lbs. Yah! Now if only it will keep moving in that direction.

The bad news - we had the carpets cleaned yesterday and I did not get a run in. I am not sure I will manage today either. We have houseguests tonight. I am, however doing the frantic run-around to get things ready. Not the same, though. Not the same. I'd better get back to that.

[westcliffemom]

Don't be afraid of registering for the TOT. Having just completed my first events @ WDW, I would say go for it! You've already did a 5K, and you know how fun that was, doing an event at Disney is even more fun! Go for it, you won't regret it!

[corinnak]

One thing I didn't mention: I have been taking Kung Fu with my 8 year old son since the fall. We are lucky to be able to attend class together and today was our most recent belt test. DS has moved up to second degree yellow belt and I have moved up to GREEN! The adults apparently have a faster track, though I am not sure why - they pick this stuff up so much faster than I do!

I think I will go ahead and register for that 13K - thanks for the encouragement, Stacey! I really appreciate it. I was surprised by how fun the 5K was - and Disney knows how to throw a party, that is for sure!

[kimwim8]

Hey fellow C25K grad!! :goodvibes I'm so glad you started a journal! :thumbsup2 The support and encouragement you'll receive will help you push through the rough days...and you'll "run" here to post about the good days! :laughing:

Congrats on deciding to register for the TOT 13K. That's exciting! :yay: Do you live in Florida or within driving distance? I wish I lived closer. The airfare is really what sets me over the edge with being able to afford the races at WDW. I am also shooting for the 1/2 in 2009. Let's do it together!!! :thumbsup2

Keep on keepin' on, girl. You're doing great and you'll find your niche. Even though I'm guessing your niche is a little bit of everything and that you're a closet-athlete. :rotfl:

[corinnak]

Thanks for the note, Kim! It's always good to hear from you. I am not coordinated enough to be a closet athelete, but I am making a good effort!
I do not live in Florida - I'm in Minnesota. It's a haul, but there are some decent fares to be had. Not Southwest's famous "dings" but workable.

Speaking of which, I just did it - I registered for the 13K. I did not run tonight, but I did register and bought a plane ticket for October. I am all set for that thing - oh, except for the small matter of training up to that distance. But it looks like we have to finish in 2.5 hours which is something like an 18 minute mile? Is that right? I would LOVE to be able to run the whole thing, though. I guess if I can go from nothing to running 3.1 miles in about 2 months, I can go from running 3.1 miles to running 8.1 miles in.....5 months. Yup. I can do that. Uh huh. Yip yip yip. Uh huh.

I am devolving into quoting muppet aliens. Time for bed, dude.

[kimwim8]

I just did it - I registered for the 13K.

:woohoo: :banana: :cool1: :yay: :dance3:

AWESOME!!! I'm so happy for you!!!

[corinnak]

Oh, and Kim? I am totally up for doing the 1/2 in 2009 together. Training, anyhow - you seem to be turning into a Speedy McRabbit these days! I not sure I could keep up, but it will be fun to try!

[corinnak]

Oh, and I forgot yesterday to give myself one of these:

:wishtwenty

getting there! :snail:

DH this morning tells me that he is down 8.6 pounds, too!

[kimwim8]

Hey girlie. I'm sorry I totally didn't say

CONGRATS on getting over the 20 pound mark! That's a great, great thing!!! :thumbsup2 Keep up the awesome work!

As for the 1/2 in '09....let's do it! :woohoo: I've gotten faster on my 2 mile runs, yes....but I can guarantee that I won't be anywhere close to speedy doing 13 miles. :laughing: I was actually thinking I'll do it as a run/walk thing so that I can maybe enjoy some park time a few days after! ;)

Have a wonderful weekend!

[corinnak]

Thanks for the big pink CONGRATS, Kim! I am going to a wedding this weekend - I hope I don't end up back on the other side of that 20 lb speedbump!

Yeah, you have a point about enjoying park time after, I suppose. :rolleyes: I don't actually have any concept of what running 13 miles is going to do to my body. I would love to be able to run the whole thing, but it seems like it is such a fun event, you are missing out if you don't sort of take it easy and enjoy the characters and the crowd and everything. We will have to see how it goes. It would be fun to try to start together at least!

[kimwim8]

It would be fun to try to start together at least!


DEFINITELY! :thumbsup2 I absolutely want to soak in all of the "magic" going on around me during that race. I'm not out to beat any time, just hopefully not get swept! :laughing:

I hope you had a great weekend and had fun at the wedding!:banana:

[corinnak]

Yes, Kim, let us strive together to avoid the sweepers. We have a year and a half - we can do it!

Well, I went and posted about the wedding on the C25K graduates thread. Very silly of me, I guess. Over here, though I will post that while the food was challenging at times - airport, wedding, graduation, airport - I managed pretty well and didn't pig out at all. Well, there was that post-graduation "lunch" of chees-its and cashews. I was about starving and that was the best I could do, nutritionally. At least it wasn't sugary, right? And I am back on pretty good track today.

I got a run in tonight. The podfitness lady is trying to kick my butt into shape. There were 6 sprints at 6mph, which is as fast as I've gone. I ran, walked, jogged 4.25 miles, so that was pretty good!

I was thinking, as I was running along earlier that the beauty part of being more conditioned, more athletic is that I am not interested in sitting on the sidelines anymore. It happened at the wedding when I decided I'd rather dance the night away than sit there and watch. I think it is likely to happen again this summer when I go to cub scout camp with my older DS. When I took him to a day camp in the winter - it was a COLD windy day - I didn't run around a whole lot, though it would have been my best chance for staying warm. I can anticipate getting much more in the middle of the soccer-like games and tag games that they play this summer. Cause my brain is moving to a place where I'd rather run around than stand around. Very cool.

[kimwim8]

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

AWESOME run, girl!!! :thumbsup2

Also, congrats on the transformation you're going through. What a wonderful feeling, huh?

I gotta check out podfitness! It sounds really cool, and might just help me to love my treadmill. :rolleyes1

[corinnak]

I gotta check out podfitness! It sounds really cool, and might just help me to love my treadmill. :rolleyes1

That run actually FELT pretty good too!

It is a great feeling - I never would have believed it would happen!

Podfitness is pretty neat - and it does seem to fend off the drudgery of the treadmill a bit. They give you 10 workouts free before they charge your credit card, which, of course, they have to have before they give you your free workouts, though you can cancel at any time. But still, it is a nice way to try it out. I am still not through my free ones. What really baffles me is that the trainer says "OK Corinna, now let's get started." And he pronounces my name CORRECTLY. So many people don't. I don't know how they do that. And my name is not that common. Do they have the trainer say all the 50,000 names in the baby name books? It is a technological marvel!

[kimwim8]

That is SO cool!! Are they all meant for the treadmill, or do they have one for non-treadmill runs too? I guess maybe I"ll look around the site before I sign up. :goodvibes

You're really doing great and are my running inspiration right now. :thumbsup2 So, thanks girl! :hug:

[corinnak]

That is SO cool!! Are they all meant for the treadmill, or do they have one for non-treadmill runs too? I guess maybe I"ll look around the site before I sign up. :goodvibes

You're really doing great and are my running inspiration right now. :thumbsup2 So, thanks girl! :hug:

Kim, There are preferences where you can state what equipment you have access too. I assume if you don't select that you have access to a treadmill, they would give you a non-treadmill workout. They don't really let you see the nuts and bolts until you give them your info, unfortunately, and also unfortunately, I think the nuts and bolts is some of where they need some more work. It is not entirely clear how to mix a session the first time you try it, for example. I totally messed up my first one because I didn't know what I was doing. I am managing better now, thankfully! I am not sure how long I will want to stay with the service there, but it seems like a good thing at the moment anyhow.

That is so nice of you to say I am your running inspiration right now. I think we are inspiration to each other at various times on that C25K thread. I have been so glad to have become friends with you and Kat too! :grouphug:

[corinnak]

So tonight I did another podfitness treadmill workout. I end up feeling like they are a weird blend of tougher than I've been doing and easier than I have been doing. I guess that is intervals for you, but it is a vastly different experience from the slow and steady covering of the distance.

I learned today that I have a definite travel companion for the TOT race - my friend and running mentor Austin is registered now and has plane tickets. :cheer2: We are both RnRC fans, so hopefully we will finish with plenty of time to ride that a few times! Well, he will, I'm sure.

I am back to the place of doubting my ability to meet a certain distance within a certain amount of time. I'm trying my best to reassure my doubting self and take note of evidence that my body really is capable of doing this.

For instance, tonight's workout had me working hard, but I realize that four months ago, I wouldn't have lasted through the first 15 minutes. Tonight I finished it and added another 7 minutes of running cause it didn't seem like quite enough. THAT is progress.

I was doing crunches after the run and looked at my tummy - I am still not looking terribly model-like, nor even terribly athletic. However, there has been a radical change in my body and that is just not able to be denied. I am about to go down another pants size - I was snug in my 18's when I started. Now, the 16's are getting loose and I can zip some of the 14's. Yeah, I have clothes in every size at my disposal. Oh, actually, they only really go down to 14 in general. I might have a couple of smaller dresses, though.

It helps me, when I think of how far I have to go, to think of how far I have come already.

[kimwim8]

Hey Corinna! Congrats on having a definite TOT partner!! That's gonna be SO much fun!!! I want a trip report when you get back!!! :rolleyes1 :laughing:

Also, you really HAVE changed a lot in a short time, just from what I've read. :thumbsup2 Your mindset has changed and your body is changing (congrats also on dropping another size! :yay: That's AWESOME!!)

Have a WONDERFUL weekend! :hug:

[corinnak]

I just did a "long" run, I think. Well, I tried to. I ran 30 minutes, a little more than 2 miles at 2% elevation and 4.3mph which is pretty good for me! Then I walked about half a mile and ran another mile and a half a little slower, a little less elevation for a total of 4 miles, if you count that walk break in there. Then I walked a little further to cool down and all together totaled almost 5 miles. I always have mixed feelings when I take a walk-break. On the one hand, I know there is no shame in it and if it helps leapfrog me ahead to a longer distance, that's good. In fact, I RAN 3.5 miles today, which is up from my longest run anyhow, so any way you look at it, I bettered myself (bested myself?) today. So I just have to get another 3 miles piled on (and hopfully with more running than walking) by October 27. :teeth:

I had had thoughts of running outside, but ended up not doing that. I forgot about a little thing called pollen. Apparently my "allergic time" is here early this year. I am usually sniffly, sneezy and itchy the last two weeks of June. Well, that is OK. The treadmill is boring, but does the job.

I think I will crosstrain on Monday. This "Dance to Fitness" tape keeps catching my eye. Then I'll run again on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday with the "long run" on Saturday and podfitness on T, TH.

Hot diggety, I have a plan!

Oh,Kim, I will definitely provide a trip/race report for you. :)

[kimwim8]

Hot diggety, I have a plan!

Oh,Kim, I will definitely provide a trip/race report for you. :)

Great plan, Corinna - and AWESOME run today! :thumbsup2 Don't ever feel bad about walking during your runs. I've met some marathoners on here that run/walk every run they do, short or long. During my long runs, I just about always walked a portion of it. There's absolutely no shame in it. You're out there, moving, burning calories, expending energy and ROCKIN' IT! :woohoo: Keep up the GREAT work!

And I really look forward to the trip/race report! :thumbsup2

[corinnak]

There's absolutely no shame in it. You're out there, moving, burning calories, expending energy and ROCKIN' IT! :woohoo: Keep up the GREAT work!



Thank you Kim! :hug: I will try to think of it that way. I think I got this "run straight through" stigma from the C25K a little bit. I think I am happier increasing not by adding minutes on to the end, but instead by taking a little walking breather at the end of my longest distance and then doing another leg after that. I didn't really like the Galloway method when I tried it - I felt like I kept getting interrupted before I was able to get into a groove. I guess that different things work for different people. OH, the other hard thing about walking breaks is that it is hard to know the difference between needing to take one and just feeling lazy about running. It always seems like it would be easier to slow down, and I have to talk myself into keeping on going to a certain point even if I am not out of breath or anything! I can't believe how much of it is truly about "mental toughness."

[corinnak]

It was another podfitness day. Not much in the hills department today, though. Lots of 6mph intervals. They aren't such a big deal anymore. Amazing. It turned out to be over 3 miles by the time I finished, too, which was nice. What was not so nice was that as I was starting the cool-down, my kids started getting mad at each other and I ended up sending my older child upstairs just to get them away from each other. I don't love summer vacation. I finished up with a sad 3 year old, which is not the most relaxing way to end a run. Or a run/walk.

I thought I was having a crummy WW day - eating too much waiting for dinner and all that. I put it all into the tracker, though, and it wasn't so bad as all that. I used 2 of the 5 activity points I had earned on the run, but that's it. Actually, not bad at all.

My weight was down a little this morning. I am getting quite close to the next daily food allowance cut. I am looking forward to being under 175, but am not looking forward to deleting two points from my day.

The pollen is a problem. I am taking claritin for that. Taking an antifungal for my longstanding, uh, fungal issue. Taking vitamins and the chondro-relief joint supplement which seems to have helped my knees a lot. I am turning into an old person, what with all these pills. :sad2:

[corinnak]

After every run, I feel a vague sense of dissatisfaction, a keen awareness of where I need to improve still. So much. And yet, I also have a very definite feeling of achievement.

Tonight, I ran the first mile of my run at 5mph on my treadmill. I ran the whole mile at that pace which used to be my sprint. I really did. I took a little walk break and then ran the next mile at 4.3mph. Which is still fast for me, actually. Another little walking break and then the last 5 minutes at 5mph again. With the walking breaks, it doesn't actually even out to being much faster than if I just slowly plodded through the whole thing, but it is kind of fun to mix it up, even so. My legs actually feel worse than they have recently, which means....I don't know what. They don't ache or suffer, really. Just a little tired feeling. And the sweat tonight was.....well.....copious. Which, along with making me feel kind of moist and icky, also makes me proud. I am sweating copiously from vigorous exercise! It's very exciting. And a little gross.

[kimwim8]

Hey girl. Hope all is going well for ya! Those last few runs were AWESOME!!

Keep on sweating, Corinna! You ROCK!! :woohoo:

[corinnak]

Oh, I sweated this weekend. Lots of sweat. I accompanied my son to cub scout camp from Friday night to Sunday afternoon and it was hot, humid, buggy and exhausting. Yesterday, my feet felt as though I had spent about 3 days at Disney World but had somehow ended up covered in bug bites with a sore back. Oh, and the food was not as good, but I still ended up probably eating too much mediocre cafeteria food.

We spent the nights in a two-person canvas tent on a platform. There were little rickety cots with thin mattresses on top which were fine, but much better when I got the mosquito netting set up. Thank goodness for that mosquito netting. It wasn't so bad inside the tent, but the netting made it actually nice with no buzzing in the ears or anything.

I didn't do a formal run, but did have to dash back from the pool to the campsite twice. Once to get goggles for the swim test, the second time to get swimsuits for a swimming session I had failed to anticipate happening before a break. It wasn't too far, but it was hot and humid so I didn't have either the speed or the endurance I would have liked. There was LOTS of walking at this large beautiful scout camp, though.

We had a good time and there were many firsts for my boy this weekend. First pony ride. First time paddling a canoe. First time sleeping in a tent, even! We got home yesterday all exhausted and bug-bitten despite liberal use of the bug repellent, and at bedtime, I got a BIG, BIG hug. I asked him if he was trying to say that he loved me or thank you and he said both. Then he said "I had a GREAT time." He is not usually so dramatic in his positive response to things, so I think that in spite of the challenges and the need to "toughen up" a little, or maybe because of those things, the whole long, hot, buggy weekend was completely worth it.

I am planning to run tomorrow. And I have less than a week until we leave on our next adventure. :scared1: Seriously. We're going to Michigan next. Leaving on Saturday. I can't quite wrap my brain around how much packing I have to do. I haven't even done the laundry from this weekend yet. It is good to be home, however briefly. :laundy:

[corinnak]

Oh, I forgot that there was one especially silly story from the weekend.

It was Saturday night, time for the small, community camp fires and DS was looking around for kindling for the fire. All of a sudden, I hear him exclaim "D@#n sticks don't work!" And I storm over to him and say "You can't talk like that at camp!" and he says "What??" And I say very quietly, "You said
"Damn sticks don't work!" And he says "No I didn't." But I had heard him! He said "I said DAMP sticks don't work." Doh! Of course. They don't. I said "Next time, say MOIST sticks don't work or WET sticks don't work!" :rotfl:

[kimwim8]

Hey Corinna! That story is TOO funny. :laughing: I would have thought the same thing with the damp sticks. :rotfl:

How awesome that you got to share that time with your DS. That's something he'll always remember. :hug: I'll bet you got in some serious miles over the weekend.

How did your run go today? :confused3

[corinnak]

It was an amazing weekend in a lot of ways and I am thinking we are both going to remember that trip as the years go by. It has been rare for he and I to have so much time on our own together since his brother was born. Also, it is good to be a mom at scout camp. It is the only place I have experienced there being a line for the men's restroom and one other person in the women's.

My run yesterday - I am glad you asked because I spent the whole day not doing it, got home late from visiting dear friends we won't see for a while, and then I got your message when I got home at about 9pm. I thought - well, I had been planning to run, but now I really HAVE to run!

So I decided to do what I considered to be the best of the podcast workouts that I have gotten so far - treadmill workout #3 which has a bunch of 6mph stints and in between, it has hills. Yes, and this is my favorite, which I am sure says something. It went pretty well. I still have a sore spot in my upper back from when I fell and landed on my caboose and felt the shock-wave travel right up my spine. I have seen the chiropractor once since this, but apparently once was not enough to correct this trauma. It didn't really impact my run too much, but the crunches afterwards did not actually happen because of it.

I talked to Austin about the little bit of running I did over the weekend and he told me about how the heat and humidity ruin everyone's speed and endurance, so I don't feel SO bad about not being able to comfortably run from the pool to the tent those times. Last night's run was really good in that the 6mph minutes actually felt pretty good - not a struggle to keep up at all, and the hills to walk weren't bad either. I actually bumped the speed up to 6.6 mph during one of the intervals and was able to do that for the rest of the interval as well, which was really cool.

I weighed myself yesterday, too. I was down another 1.4lbs in spite of all that cub scout food last weekend. When we got home on Sunday after the 45 hours we had spent at scout camp, my feet felt like they do after about 3 days at Disney. That is how much walking there was and how busy we were while we were there. I kind of wished I had worn my Garmin, but I don't think it would have had enough charge to track the whole weekend.

So with the new 1.4 lbs, that is a total loss of 23.8! Next week, should bring a daily points reduction, if I lose again, but I can hardly wait to get to that arbitrary 25 pound mark! My passport picture, taken in March, is becoming an increasingnly bad photo ID for me, I must say.

[C_leen]

Hi Corinna!

Way to go on your steady weight loss & forcing the run into your day! Sometimes you just have to make it happen!

I saw you are heading to MI. Hope you have a great time! Get a few runs in and hopefully a nice walk in some singing sand.

Colleen

[corinnak]

Thanks Colleen!

Forcing a run into the day is just about what it takes sometiems, isn't it? It feels good to make it happen even when it is not the easiest thing.

I plan to get a bunch of running in while I am in Michigan and have a 5K race or two I hope to do there as well. Hopefully the weather will co-operate. My kids are SO looking forward to the beach. I'm afraid I don't know about the singing sand, though - what is that about?

[kimwim8]

GREAT job on the loss......AND for getting that run in!!!:thumbsup2

You are just such an inspiration to me, girl. :hug:

[C_leen]

Some of the beaches have sand that 'squeaks' when you walk on it. It is a pretty rare thing for sand to 'sing'. Don't forget walking & running in sand is a great work out!

Have fun!

[corinnak]

Colleen,
That is so interesting about the sand - what part of the state is that in? We are up north near Petoskey and I have never heard the singing sand thing before.

I don't think I can actually run on the beach, but I will do my best to get some running done one way or another. :)

Generally, my run today was pretty good. I ran 3 miles, starting out at 4.5 treadmill MPH and eventually getting as slow as 4.0 treadmill MPH. I don't know how long it took because I was trying out the heart rate program on the treadmill and it didn't start counting off the minutes....ever. And the monitor seemed to be having trouble. It seemed right for a while, but then it said my heart rate was 56, which was just wrong. Eh - whatever. My slow speed now is what my fastest running speed used to be, so that is pretty nice. :)

[C_leen]

HI Corinna-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singing_sand

Have fun!

[corinnak]

Hi Colleen!

Now that is interesting about the singing sand - I had no idea! Really, we are going to be well north of the two places named on that website in Michigan, but I would love to see that someday! Sounds like very specific conditions are required.

I'll do my best to have fun - I really will! Oh, and I am bringing the computer, so I will still be around. :)

[corinnak]

Ah, Michigan. We arrived on Saturday and I just got the modem set up today - the cable variety. What a hassle. I will not get into it, but there were two calls to tech support before it was all working properly.

I didn't run on Saturday - the hubub of departure day was too much for me to have crammed in a little jog even, so it was a sad thing, but that is the way it goes sometimes. I did not run on Sunday either because between doing the grocery shopping and getting all unpacked and set up, and the kids, it just wasn't going to happen.

Today was another story, though. Today, the kids had their camp program in the morning, even the 4 year old, so once I finally got him all squared away and involved - it took a while, and I'm not the mom to just leave a distressed kid or sneak away, so I sat in the circle for a little while and left just as they were starting the ABC's and everything was fine. I got going on my run at about 10am, and it was the first outdoor run since the 5K. The sidewalks around here are all concrete, though, and so I ended up running on the road mostly. It worked out OK. There wasn't a ton of traffic and there are good little grassy/packed dirt shoulders on the road I mostly ran on. So the upshot is: 3.1miles in 38:15, which is about as good as I ran in the 5K last month. It was a warm morning and there was no race-boost, so I am really happy with that time. Then I walked a little longer to "cool down" but then to get back to my house, I climed 90 steps. We are on a bluff, and it was either that or up a hill on the road. The steps are hard, but the nice thing is that last year that walk up the hill did leave me huffing and puffing a little. This year, walking up the hill, I am not even breathing hard at all. Oh, I love the bonuses.

SO I am officially off my schedule. Things are so different here, though there will have to be a new schedule. It will work out, I'm sure.

Oh, and like an idiot, I put sunblock on my face, but seem to have neglected my arms. So I am working on my farmer tan, I guess. Not that I tan. Burn and freckle. I will do better next time in that department.

[corinnak]

Yesterday, I ran my fastest 5K time ever - 36:15 is pretty darned improved in my mind. It wasn't even a race - just a regular old run. I walked about .4 miles and then ran the rest of the distance to 4 miles. The weather was pretty good, though today is better - 60 degrees out and I'm not out there running - crazy! Hopefully tomorrow will be the same, though I have a car appointment in the middle of the morning. I'll have to make it a quick run, I guess.

In other news, I now have a scale here and it is just like the one at home, or at least mostly, so I figure they probably agree, right? Anyhow, according to this new scale, I lost a pound last week. Nothing to complain about, especially with the stress of travel and a few meals out and dessert last night. I ordered a sandwich (and it is a grilled one, but has veggies) without the chips and so he brings it out and there are FRIES. Ugh! Well, I didn't make him take away the fries, I just toughed it out and didn't eat them. I had been planning on a rare dessert and it would be stupid to have both and almost as stupid to have the fries and then not have the dessert. All in all, I think I did OK

I guess there are some who would say you shouldn't have the dessert, but I say this. I very rarely have the dessert when we go out - sometimes a little dish of ice cream -and I weigh the stuff so as not to overserve the 1/2 cup serving, which is a lot smaller than you'd think - but here's the thing. If you don't have the dessert SOMETIMES, that is deprivation and deprivation in the long term leads to demoralization which leads to giving up and/or quitting.

Even so, I need to be careful. I need to be careful not to lose my focus on becoming more athletic, being a better runner and staying healthy long term. One small ice cream sundae isn't going to ruin that, but if I let everything slide while I am traveling, I am going to lose track of my goals quickly. Which is why I have a scale here now. And a food scale. And a pantry full of the foods I need. I get a little boost every time I climb to the top of the bluff and don't have to pause or even slow down to catch my breath. Similarly with the 91 stairs to the top of the bluff on the other side - They seem to be harder than walking up the steep road, but I walked right up them this morning without even getting winded. That never happened last year, and I am impressed with myself for getting to this place where I can do these things without taxing my body at all. My body is not surprised to be asked to do hard stuff!

Someone asked me yesterday how far I had run and I said "It was just three miles." Not meaning that I usually run 10, but I am aware that 3 miles is not that far in terms of distance running. I also realized I am no longer daunted by that distance, neither physically or mentally. I mean, I am pleased to be able to do that distance, but it doesn't beat me up to do it anymore. It's not a remarkable thing for me to run 3 miles! :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[kimwim8]

Ok, girl. You did it. You made me cry. :sad1:

I am SO freakin proud of you!!!! :woohoo: I've had that revelation before (the "only 3 miles") and it's such a wonderful feeling. You are a NEW person and a healthier person than you were this time last year. And setting such a great example for your children. :goodvibes

AWESOME job getting out there for those speedy runs! :banana: You've inspired me to get my getting-bigger-by-the-day rump out there for a run this weekend. :thumbsup2

Keep it up, girl. And I'd love to see some pics of where you are. Sounds beautiful!

[corinnak]

Oh, come on Kim - don't cry! It's just a little running. :) I do appreciate your support and emotion on my behalf, though.

Today, I pulled a "Kim" I have to say! I had an appointment for the car at 10:30 and dropped the kids off at 9am, so I only had time for a quick little 2 miler. I did almost as well as you - 23 minutes for the 2 miles, and I ended with running up the hill to my cottage - not fast, but not walking! I said to myself "Hills make me strong. Hills make me strong" and encouraged myself to just make it to the flowers. :rotfl: It worked. Mind games.

So I ran on the road along the harbor - very pretty, and I will take pictures for you, Kim! I got passed by another runner. He must have been doing about a 6 minute mile, he was going so fast. Whew! Maybe someday.

The scale says I have lost 24.8lbs to date. I can't believe I missed 25 by THAT much! :eek: Well, next time. Provided I don't "vacation" too much.

Which reminds me too, that at the point where you are staying someplace for a month, it really ceases to be "vacationing" and starts being just "living." I think that Barbara Coloroso said something to that effect to a couple of kids who were on their way out to visit their dad via airplane and they said they were going to visit him and she asked how long they would be there and they said a month and she said "Well, that's not a 'visit,' that is a 'live.'" And they were so excited to be going to live with their dad for a month. Anyhow, that was a tangent.

I had a s'more last night. I figured it out and it was a 4 pointer. Not too terrible, I guess.

[kimwim8]

Today, I pulled a "Kim" I have to say! I had an appointment for the car at 10:30 and dropped the kids off at 9am, so I only had time for a quick little 2 miler.

Corinna - that is EXACTLY what I needed!! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: I love it!!! And yes, you're a little speedy thing, aren't ya? ;)

Congrats on the loss so far!! You are SO close to 25 pounds!!! It's almost time for some more pics of you!! Your clothes must just be falling off. :eek: :laughing:

I'm jealous of your time away for such a long period of time. ENJOY!!!

[kimwim8]

Hey girl. Don't forget to update your journal for us loyal followers! :goodvibes

[C_leen]

Hi Corinna!

Hope you are enjoying the different spots to run and making it fun for yourself.

:cool1:

[corinnak]

Oh - my brain is on vacation. I posted a race report to the Runner's UNITE thread, but I'm going to have to just crosspost it here, I think. I will add an additional journal-specific post afterwards, so stay tuned! :thumbsup2

So it is a little late, but here is the report on my latest running escapades.

The race was a 3 mile fun run on the 4th of July. I had gotten my incredible brother in law to watch all 5 kids (my 2 and his 3) and I dropped them off at 7:30. The race was to begin at 8:15. Then I discovered that my Garmin had not charged in the night as I expected it to - falsley plugged in, it seems. I quickly borrowed my son's watch and figured out how to make it be a stopwatch. Not the easiest watch to figure out for some reason, but better than nothing.

It was a cool morning but pretty humid. I made several stops at the harbormaster's bathrooms, thrilled not to be facing a porta-potty wait each time I returned. I am not sure if it was nerves or what, but I was in there at least twice before the race got started.

So then the 10 mile runners came through and we cheered them on from the sides of the street. Their start had been in a different location 15 minutes earlier. The last runner before the police car bringing up the rear got the biggest cheer of all! Once they were past, it was time for us to line up for the 3 mile. Of course, I positioned myself toward the backity-back. I am never sure where to go and I figure it is better to be passing than be passed. Of course this is only my second race, so "never" is a bit of an exaggeration. I couldn't actually tell where the actual start of the race even was. There was a lady with a bullhorn, so I started my borrowed watch as soon as I passed where I thought she had been standing. Vague, yes?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/DSCF0240.jpg

Not much else to report. It was an out and back with a water stop at the turn-around and it was mostly on "Beach Drive" where I am very accustomed to running at this point. I guess I will just post the pictures.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/DSCF0243.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/DSCF0234.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/DSCF0228.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/DSCF0230.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/DSCF0227.jpg

And yes, this is where I get to run every run this month. :cloud9:

There was this woman about my mom's age running a little ahead of me as we neared the final stretch. She was keeping a pace just a little faster than mine, but I kept expecting that I might be able to pass her before the finish. I don't think I ever did, though.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/DSCF0245.jpg

And then finally the finish. It feels so good to see that.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/DSCF0247.jpg


They had water and bagels and oranges at the end, but all I had was some water because I had my invisalign thingies in, but it was a nice, fun time overall. OH, and about 10 minutes after I finished, along came the first of the 10 mile runners. He had done the whole 10 miles in something like 52 minutes. Wow. We all clapped and cheered and he broke into a smile. Then a little while after that, I saw the sweetest thing. There was a woman running, working really hard to get to the finish line. She had more extra weight on her than I did when I started and she was really pushing herself. I cheered her on, and then suddenly, a little boy, maybe 4 years old runs out and grabs her hand and she says "Oh! Hi Sweetie!" And he holds her hand and runs with her the rest of the way to the finish line. I about teared up right there, it was so inspiring and sweet all at once.

Overall, a good second race experience. Very casual, very nice. I had expected I could finish in 33 minutes and hoped to finish in 32 minutes. It turned out that I was able to finish, by my watch anyhow, in 31:51, which was very cool to me, especially since I had been without the Garmin and any indication of what my pace actually was! So there we have it - the lovely report on my second race along with the best of the scenery of my daily runs!

Today's run was really cool too - I decided to run into town and then as far as the gate for the point, which is about 1.75 miles, it turns out. So then I thought maybe there was a cross street that would bring me back into town from there without my doing a U-turn. I was running on this little back road, so pretty with occasional glimpses of the lake when I realized that I had run over 2 miles, was in fact more than 2 miles away from home and the road was not providing an easy way back. So I finally turned around a little reluctantly. It is so weird, but I ran 4.25 miles today in 54 minutes (nice and easy i.e. slow pace) and it was not even a huge trial. I feel like a running machine, like I get into this groove, this mode, and I am just going along, no need to stop. I feel like I could go on and on. I am not resenting the distance I need to get to. I am not resenting the time I need to get to. I'm mostly not even thinking about them. I did resent the humidity a little this morning, but even that was not a huge issue. It just made me slower is all. I am really enjoying this running on the roads too much, I think. Am I ever going to be satisfied to go back to the treadmill? How did this happen? :eek:

[corinnak]

So the July running is going well for me. And the eating has been a lot harder. We are "vacationing" with relatives and there is a LOT of eating out. Still, I have managed to get down a little more such that I was able to change my signature to include the :wish25

I am not sure, at this rate how long it will take me to get to the 30, but that one is GOLD and how cool would it be to have that? Very cool.

I am also getting worried about the cruise coming up in August. There will be food and no little town to easily run through. We are going to be leaping from port to port and doing excursions and stuff - I know there is a gym there, but I am not sure I am going to be able to countenance spending upwards of an hour on the treadmill when I have been so SPOILED by running through the scenic resort towns of Northern Michigan. Sigh.

On the plus side, at the moment, I am starting to really feel like 8 miles isn't THAT much more to build to for the 13K in October. Maybe it really is and I have no idea, but I feel like I have passed through some glass ceiling and now I got to 4.25 miles yesterday and felt like I could keep on going if I wanted to. I'm trying hard not to get carried away, though. My next "race" is going to be July 21 - close on the heels, I know, but it is close by and sounds fun and like maybe a slightly more serious run than the first two I have tried. It is called the Bear River Crawl and it is a 5K. I love having a race to keep me striving, though truly, here, it has been a breeze getting 3 runs in each week! I am considering if I should bump it up to 4, but that only leaves me with one non-running morning when DS4 is busy in camp, and those mornings are so good for errands and relaxation, I am not sure I want to go there.:laughing:

[kimwim8]

Hey girl. I'm following you around today. :rotfl2:

I KNOW that you will do awesome at the TOT race in October. You are slowly building yourselp up to longer distances, which is the safest way to do this running thing. Keep it up girl, and you'll be GOLDen! :thumbsup2

You're doing fabulous with the weight loss too. Especially with being away from home. I would have lost all control. You are a driven woman! :drive:

[corinnak]

Thanks for stalking me, Kim! :rolleyes1

I only worry that I am not building slowly enough. Like last week I suddenly ran 11 miles rather than the usual 9 miles per week I had been doing. I have heard that 10% increase thing and realized I had increased by more than that and felt very cavalier indeed! I think I am going to stay at 11 this week. Which means 3 today. Though there is also a good bit of walking that I am doing here, and yesterday I joined DH for his 30 minute exercise walk. I am not supposed to count walking mileage in that increase, am I? My plantar fascia probably thinks so. :sad2:

The food IS really hard - I feel like I have lost a lot of control on the food front, but I am mostly trying not to eat just WAY too much of all this vacation food. I sent away half a plate of cheese ravioli in cream sauce with fried zucchini and half a piece of decadent chocolate cake last night. That is a VICTORY as far as I am concerned. There was no menu - that was the vegetarian option for the evening. Ironically, the meat eaters all got sides of normal vegetables. :rolleyes: I am also eating very normal, healthy WW things at least two meals out of the day.

So far I don't seem to be packing anything back on, at least. I am watching that closely, for sure though. We didn't have a scale here before, and I had one sent from Amazon before we even left home. That's been a big help. It both keeps me from getting too comfortable AND it keeps me from beating myself up about some of this indulgant situation. I wonder if there is a scale on the Disney Magic.......

[kimwim8]

Alright. I'm officially jealous. You're living the high life for a month away from home, and then in less than a month you're doing a Disney Cruise?? :confused3 :headache: grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

You know I'm happy for you. And I'll live vicariously through your pictures and the trip report you're obviously gonna write, right? :rolleyes1

And yes, sending back ANY amount of food is a VICTORY! :thumbsup2 Keep up the great work, lady. :woohoo:

[corinnak]

Yes, we are living embarassingly high on the hog this summer. Really, Michigan is about filial duty for me, primarily. It is beautiful here and I am having a nice time, but I think I am mostly here as a chaperone for the kids who LOVE to see their cousins.

Next month will be my first ever cruise, first ever stamp on my first ever passport. First ever time anywhere besides U.S. and Canada! I was a Latin major, among other things, in college and mostly I did it because I was so fascinated by all the Italian history and literature. I am kind of sad we won't be going into Rome on the one "Rome" day - however we will be doing an excursion to see Etruscan sites, and the Etruscans are really, super fascinating to me. Rome in August would be a long, crazy, hot day with the boys, and the excursion we really wanted was cancelled. :sad2: I know. Cry me a river, right?

Of course I will take photos and report back. Not sure if it will be in the form of a full-scale live report or an after-the-fact sort of thing. I usually do better with the LIVE stuff, I have to confess.

[kimwim8]

Of course I will take photos and report back. Not sure if it will be in the form of a full-scale live report or an after-the-fact sort of thing. I usually do better with the LIVE stuff, I have to confess.


I'll take whatever you give, my dear. :upsidedow

[corinnak]

It's been a rough week here. A LOT of eating out. We have a bunch of ice cream in the house - the slow churned kind, but still. I am not staying on the straight and narrow. I did somehow manage to lose 1.2 lbs since I last weighed in, whenever that was, but I am not sure how that happened. I have been stress-eating again, on "vacation" if you can believe it, and I really want to cut that out a little more.

Yesterday, we went out to eat twice. Yikes. I had a kind of oily vegetable omlette for "brunch" and left most of the hash browns. I considered the caprese panini, cause it sounded so good, but decided that that I would be safer with the vegetable-no-cheese omlette. But I was forgetting that they make these things so oily. Then for dinner, it was a grilled vegetable sandwich. The only vegetarian option, but I ordered it without chips again and only used a little of the sauce. I had decided to walk into town for this dinner, which is about 2 miles each way pushing a stroller.

Anyhow, I'm doing not-that-bad, but not necessarily that great either. I am muddling along.

The running continues on well, and is probably my saving grace on this trip. I am going out again this morning pretty soon. Also, I have a 5K on Saturday, so I am only going to run twice during the week. Not sure how far, but last week I did 12 miles, so I guess I should try to average 4.5 miles the other two days?

Here is a message from DS3:

ijbgfsadd3ccvbn mm,klkkjhbggghhhtyghhgougo8ggigfcchbbnkunniiuhbnjm jjjhggbnnjmllkkmjmnjjjmmjnmjnmjkjjjnjnjnmjnknnnnoi uinujojmlmm;n7ub;opnunbi6nn6bn7bnugnuu7bnbunubnunb jinbnnbbnytjhnnbhhnvhnybkntnhybnbnjyjbyinjyibnoy6j hnbiuytiuyi7nn8nuhjjnbmb9uojm u jujjnbnnnnnnnnibjubjm6moj6uj9877bbbm0jm776ub66vnbu vn5b cb5ucvb bbvhvnb nvnvbvntvnmvnhjgkkggmhhhhyngnhhhhhhn966n

He insisted on typing.

[kimwim8]

Hey Corinna - I know it's tough. Well, I can only imagine how tough it is being away from home for a month and trying to stick with a healthy lifestyle plan. :hug: You're doing GREAT!! With all the running and walking and moving around you're doing, you're allowed more calories and NEED more calories even to lose weight. You're aware of what's going on and you're making smart choices. :thumbsup2

You're running is nothing short of amazing!! Keep up the great work, girl! :goodvibes

And your DS is quite the typer!! :)

[corinnak]

So I ran 5 miles in a little over 61 minutes this morning, which means 4 on Wednesday, I guess. My dad says that if I can do 5 miles 3 times a week, I could be running that 10 mile race I was talking about. I feel tired just thinking about it, but really, I guess it's not that unrealistic. My knees aren't thrilled by the idea, I must admit. And I was thinking I would more likely build one longer run than have 3 hearty runs each week, but time alone will tell what crazy thing I am going to do next. The main thing, both on an individual run and in the long term is just to KEEP GOING.

Thanks Kim. The problem is that I am not always making smart choices. I am trying most of the time to do so, though, and that is probably the thing that is saving me. That and the increased activity, I suppose. You are right, of course, that I do need more calories with the increased activity. I should still probably be logging them. I got out of the habit during the time of the broken computer and haven't quite gotten back into it, I'm afraid. It is a dangerous path I am treading at the moment, but I guess I can always do better tomorrow. I ate in 3 meals today and that helps sooooo much. I need to make more soup, though. Sometimes I think that soup is my secret weapon. Black Bean Soup. Lentil Soup. Vegetable Soup. I am sure there are others, but those are the weapony-ones that I can make. :stir:

Here is a silly bit of weight watcher's trivia. According to my online activity calculator, anything between 54 and 61 minutes = 8 activity points. If I had run another 30 seconds for a total of 62 minutes, that would have been 9 points. I guess there have to be lines of demarkation somewhere, and given that I didn't even count my food today, I shouldn't care that much, but still - I was SO close! I think they say I am supposed to work up to earning 28 points in a week. Though they also include a lot of kind of lightweight stuff as ways you can earn those activity points.

OK - I just added today's food from memory as well as I could and unless I am forgetting something pretty significant, I did pretty well. I could have had more fruits and vegetables, but used my daily allowance plus half my activity points, which is exactly what I would have done had I been consciously doing it instead of mindlessly doing it.:eek: That's pretty amazing!

[astroth]

Ooops - posted as DH accidentally! Can't seem to delete the post!

[corinnak4]

Ack. Posting as my husband and for some reason the computer doesn't remember my password for my usual account. What a disaster of logging in tonight has been. Anyhow, reposting again with something closer to the appropriate account. :rolleyes: I'm evidently not doing well.


My time here in Michigan is almost done. We fly home tomorrow, and we are in the midst of packing and closing up. I should be working on that right now.

I have fallen off the turnip truck a bit in the past few weeks. I got out of the habit of logging my food when my computer broke down and never got back into it again. VERY unhelpful behavior. I've gained back a little, it seems. Why is it so easy to do that? It's the ice cream. That's the problem, I think.

Every time there is a change in routine, there is danger. I felt that when we came out here, and I am feeling that now that we are returning home, briefly, before the cruise.

I have kept up the running pretty well. I didn't get to run in my race on Saturday due to DH's travel difficulties and the plans of my relatives. I had missed Friday's run and didn't run Saturday, and didn't run Sunday morning. I finally got my run on Sunday afternoon and decided to stop after 3 miles because I planned to run again the next day, Monday, as well.

Monday and Wednesday were my plans. I was hoping to do 6 miles today, but I ended up doing 5 on Monday, making for 8 miles in less than 24 hours, and then today was hot and kind of yucky for running by the time I got out there. When I got back, it was 82, and sunny. I had ended up deciding to take a couple of walk-breaks so as not to overheat. It's amazing how much that can help. I ended up doing 5 miles in an hour and 2 minutes, which is more than I intended to do once I got going, but less than I had wanted to do in the beginning. It was not an especially enjoyable run, so I am glad I did as much as I did.

Not sure how the transition is going to go to running outdoors at home or if I will do more on the treadmill since I will have one. It's a WEEK anyhow, and then off to Barcelona and the unknown of the cruise.

There are some things I am just LOVING about the state of fitness I am in right now. I still have more than 30 pounds I'd like to be lighter, but right now there are some things to celebrate.

I LOVE:

...that when we go for a walk with the kids and the little ones get too far ahead on their bikes and aren't hearing or aren't listening when we tell them to stop and wait, I can quickly run ahead and catch up to them and not even be out of breath when I catch them.

...that I am not getting winded on my runs and when I stop at the end, I am not huffing and puffing.

....that I now have a slow, comfortable pace that I feel I can maintain indefintely and that I can run faster for a bit and recover at a jog rather than a walk. At least when it is not sweltering!

...that I can run for an hour and that 5 miles seems to be the new 3 miles!
__________________

[corinnak]

So we are home. I ran on Sunday. It was HOT and HILLY. I still managed 6 miles, but I didn't have my water bottle - left it in Michigan - and ended up walking a good bit of it. I managed to find a drinking fountain about halfway through and felt MUCH better after that. Still, 6 miles!

Yesterday, I ran on the treadmill. It is SO much mentally harder than running outside. There are no visuals to haul yourself along with. There is no visual distraction either - my husband's second cousin once removed (and I know this is a tenuous relationship, but she is a lovely woman) was talking about how if you close your eyes when you listen to music, it sounds so much MORE. I think it's the same way with running but in reverse. The visual input takes away some of the sensation of wanting to stop. On the treadmill, all I've got is the iPod. And it's just barely enough. Anyhow, I did the podfitness workout which helps with the monotony as well, and then ran another 25 minutes after that for a total of 4 miles.

I did have an overall net loss during my time in Michigan, but due to a little backslide at the end there, it's not as much as I would have hoped for. I am wary going into the cruise trip. I really don't want to come back with a huge backslide. I know that is what cruises DO - there is rich food at every meal and there are 6 meals a day, right? But I am feeling a little more mentally grounded than I did at the end of the Michigan time. I have to keep my mind in the right place. I need to go over that Beck Diet Solution again to get my mental game as good as it can be while we are there.

Also, I am not sure how I am going to manage the running during our time in Barcelona and our time on the ship. Though there is, of course, a fitness center on the ship. But then that is a treadmill again, and not the most engaging. I guess time alone will tell, but I am going to go into it prepared to work out every other day, just like home. That is my thought, anyhow.

[kimwim8]

Hey Corinna! :hug: How exciting that you're going cruising in 3 days!!! :woohoo: ENJOY your trip. You've come SO far and you're allowed to enjoy it. Hit that treadmill when you can and do lots of walking around the ship. I just can't wait to hear all about it!!

I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. I think the whole month of August is gonna be like that. I'll try my best to be better with the support for my running buddy! :hug:

Take care and keep on goin. I need your "drive" to rub off on me. :rolleyes1

[corinnak]

Hi Kim!

I fully intend to enjoy it, but I don't want to undo all my hard work either, or even much of it. I am already struggling to reverse the trend that started those last couple of weeks in Michigan. I get in trouble if I start to give myself liscense to splurge. I think that some people gain as much as a pound a day on a cruise. :scared: Dude, I don't want to gain back 10 pounds! On the other hand, I think you probably have to work at it to put on that much, so a little reality check and balance is what is called for. And who knows - maybe I will have some motion sickness, rendering me unwilling to eat much. OK - that is just deranged, to wish for motion sickness.

As for your drive :drive: (I never get to use that one!), you know that the only thing that keeps me going sometimes is a looming "race" on the horizon, right? Seems to me that my drive always goes way down if I don't have somewhere I am actually trying to get to - not in a geographical place, but you know what I mean, right? Well, that and the structure of the c25k followed by the structure of the days I was by necessity able to run in Michigan due to the kids club. On the other hand, I give you a lot of leeway right now due to heat and fatigue. Cause goodness knows, running in the heat is thankless, unpleasant and perhaps dangerous, and running in the wee hours of the morning is not a whole lot more appealing.

Well, that was a lot of advice running off at the mouth, but it's my journal, so what the heck, right? Hang in there, Kim - the only constant in the universe is change, right? Which seems SO true to me right now!

[AmyBeth68]

Hi Corinna :wave:

I just read through your journal this evening and I have to say that I am sooo impressed with the gains you have made in running and fitness! You must be so proud of yourself :). I love your attitude heading into that cruise. I am also getting ready to spend a fair amount of time at WDW and on the 4 day cruise. I'm very worried about my training getting sidetracked but I am sure that if we stick to our plan...and stay disciplined about the workouts....the vacations won't sidetrack our training and nutrition that much ;). I know that getting those runs in may be a bit of a challenge..but it sure tests our will and ability to be flexible with our training. Character building right ;).

Are you still cycling? I noticed in the first post that you mentioned group cycling? I have started biking this summer and have found it to be really helpful with my running :).

Have a wonderful time on your cruise! Be sure to keep us posted on your training while you're away :).

And congratulations on the strides you have made thus far (pun intended lol). Six miles is a great accomplishment, especially considering the weather this time of year! :goodvibes

[corinnak]

Hi AmyBeth! :wave:
I am glad you stopped by. I'm sure you're right that it is all character building.

I haven't done any cycling since that one class. I considered it several times, but I din't have a bike in Michigan, so it would have taken some doing to have gotten a bike ride in there. I also have been away from the YMCA, so no group cycling in a longish while either. I would like to go back and give it another try though. It does seem like it would be a nice change from the running sometimes.

Thanks for the kudos. I am proud of how far I have come, and so often I don't actually dwell on that because I am so busy looking to the next thing. When I stop and think about it, it kind of astounds me, though.

Good luck with your trip and your continued training. I am sure we will find ways to at least not lose much ground while out of our normal routine. I'll be sure to report back.

[kimwim8]

OK, if we were together, I'd give you a hug. For now, I'll settle for this. :hug: You are my voice of reason. I don't know what's been up with me lately. I am generally a very positive person and I don't like myself when I'm anything but positive. Maybe once I have my surgical gyn procedure done I'll be back in "balance". One can only hope, right? :rolleyes:

I have TONS of faith in you, girl. You'll ROCK that cruise and maintain the balance. Have a splurge now and then but also get those workouts in. :thumbsup2

Thanks again, my friend.

[corinnak]

Yikes - I can't even believe I forgot to give you GYN leeway, too. I am sure you will be more energetic and all around positive once you are through that. We all have that negative self talk thing, I think. When it gets too loud for your own positivity to drown out, that's what friends are for. I know cause I've got a friend like that too. :hug:

As for me, I got out and ran fairly early this morning. It wasn't so scaldingly hot, but I am reconfirming that this city is made up completely of hills. I did 3 miles (all I had time for) and was either running uphill or downhill pretty much the whole time. "Hills make me strong. Hills make me strong."

I also got some new running duds today from Target Boutique. Well, really just Target. They were getting low on running skirts - only had about 4 and only in black. I love those things but the XL ones I got before are kind of baggy in the shorts part. I know - :charac2: But if the short legs ride up and my legs chafe, what is the point? I got a couple more sleeveless shirts too - cause that makes a surprising difference. All too soon, though I am going to be needing long pants and long sleeves. Hard to imagine when it is so steamy!

I keep saying that running is my prozac and I can't actually skip taking it. That would be foolish, right? Yeah, I don't think I ever mentioned that when I started C25K I was scrabbling my way out of a years-long depression, did I? Of course I had to do it without drugs for some reason I still can't fully explain. I also didn't want anyone to know about it with very few exceptions. I heard so many times that regular exercise can be as effective as meds in many cases of depression, but had a hard time getting 5 days a week of treadmill walking. I am so grateful to have found a variation that actually seems to work for me and motivate me to keep going. So you see, I MUST get my workouts in on this trip - no other option, really.

OK - back to work!

[C_leen]

Hi Corinna-

I think you are doing very well working in your running and going into your next trips knowing there are going to be some risky & fabulous eating temptations. You know what to do, and basically you just have to make good choices most of the time and share your plate when you choose something decadent.

I'm not very current on cruises, but perhaps one option would be running in the adult pool? Perhaps they have one of those weighted jackets you could sign out or rent. I haven't tried this, but I read about it in some running magazine I picked up. They recommended doing speed intervals in the water to offset the boredom factor that you aren't really going anywhere. At least on a cruise there'd probably be some great people watching... Anyway, the ships are SO huge, I suppose the track wouldn't be too onerous going round and round? I mean, even running in circles, looking out to sea?

Barbara Kingsolver has a new book out about food and maybe while you laze around you could read this to help you focus on making good choices. One of my green friends claimed the book was 'life changing.' I can't say but the review on NPR was positive as well.

Have a lovely running weekend. I am going to wake DH up to get us to Michigan for a family wedding. My running gear is packed!

Colleen
Who Landed in MO instead of MI

[corinnak]

Hi Colleen,
I so appreciate your confidence in my abilities to contend with this cruise. I am thinking that my main goals food-wise are to

1. Make the best choices I can given the limitations of the situation - I am further constrained by being a vegetarian in some ways. There is always a vegetarian option, but there is rarely any choice about what I am going to have, then. However, I think a good tactic for plated dinners will be to eat half or ask for a half portion, and by no means let them bring more than one entree apiece!!!!

2. Avoid too much in-between-meals-eating. There is food available all the time on a cruise, it seems. Gotta stick to Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with fruit as the main snacking option, right? I mean, ice cream every day only leads to bad things for me.

3. Get as many fruits and vegetables as I can. I went to a dinner show recently and the vegetarian option was cheese ravioli in a cream sauce with fried zucchini on top. :scared1: The people who got chicken and beef all had green beans and potatoes and maybe carrots? Why were the vegetarians the only ones with no vegetables? I don't know. Oh, and I have this theory: I think the minute you deep fry something, it ceases to count as a vegetable. :upsidedow

What a great idea about running in the pool - I will find out if that is a possibility, for sure. I had a bad track-running experience earlier this year - it was a smaller track but the one on the cruise is going to be I believe 7 laps for a mile? Still too much turning the same direction for my creaky knees, I'm afraid. I am also going to look into group fitness classes onboard. The main thing is not to lose the cardio conditioning. It is the first to go, evidently.

I'll see if I can find that Barbara Kingsolver book before I go - she is so good. Though if it is a hardcover, it may have to wait. I think DH is going to bring Harry Potter along with us, so I'm trying to stick with the paperbacks so we don't overload our luggage. :laughing:

Have a great time at the wedding - and good for you for bringing your running clothes. It is a great feeling to get the runs in even when the usual schedule is shaken up a little. Are you going to visit those singing sands?

And I saw on the other thread that it is your last C25K run this weekend too! I am SO excited for you and can't wait for you to join us full time on the graduates thread! We'll have to get a virtual cake for you or something. Or maybe flowers. :)

I am actually having a non-running weekend myself. Hopefully I won't get TOO cranky!

[kimwim8]

I keep saying that running is my prozac and I can't actually skip taking it. That would be foolish, right? Yeah, I don't think I ever mentioned that when I started C25K I was scrabbling my way out of a years-long depression, did I? Of course I had to do it without drugs for some reason I still can't fully explain. I also didn't want anyone to know about it with very few exceptions. I heard so many times that regular exercise can be as effective as meds in many cases of depression, but had a hard time getting 5 days a week of treadmill walking. I am so grateful to have found a variation that actually seems to work for me and motivate me to keep going. So you see, I MUST get my workouts in on this trip - no other option, really.


You WILL get those workouts in, I have complete faith in you. It sounds like you're right on top of how you're feeling and have control over it. Congrats to you for taking charge and using exercise as your way of maintaining your balance. :hug:

I can't wait to hear all about your trip!!!

Oh, and I really don't need GYN leeway, but I'll take it if you're giving it. :upsidedow I've been thinking maybe it's just because I'm getting older and my personality is changing into more of a "I don't care what other people think" personality? I hope not. I want to be a positive person as much as possible.

(sorry to hijack your journal, Corinna - how did this become about me? :confused3 :laughing: )

And lastly, congrats on your XL's getting too big. That's AWESOME!!! :woohoo: I'm not looking forward to the cold runs, but I'll take a "cool" run any time now. :rotfl:

[kimwim8]

yoooooooooooooooooooo hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

popcorn::

[corinnak]

Yes, yes. I know. I am a most neglectful journaler....most of it goes into the Runners UNITE thread, I guess.

Anyhow, my quest to be athletic is paying off. One of my friends on Facebook has that dreadful "compare your friends" application and she judged me to be more athletic than some other of her randomly selected friends. So that's some progress, because a year ago, I don't think I could have been judged more athletic than anyone who wasn't confined to bed.

I didn't gain more than maybe a pound on the two weeks in Europe. That is the upshot there. I think I have gained a pound since getting back, as well. I am still hovering right around 25 pounds lost, and it has been months. I keep wanting to get myself into gear, and I keep not really doing so, therefore, I don't actually write here. I think that my brain has gotten out of the right place over the summer. It could happen to anyone, I'm sure! The travel, the transitions, the constantly shifting routines, the stress. None of it makes a difficult thing any easier.

[kimwim8]

Don't you go getting down on yourself girlie. You've worked TOO hard to give up now. You have had a CRAZY summer. Now that it's cooling off again and school is starting - get back into it.

That September mileage challenge is calling you.....

(You know I love ya. I hope you're doing well. :hug: )

[corinnak]

Thanks for the credit, Kim! I got out twice this weekend to run with my dad - we were visiting over the weekend and he and I are hoping to run a race in September. Did I mention that? Anyhow, I guess I need to get my signature in order.....

And of course you're right - now that school is starting up, I can find a new groove. That is my plan!

[corinnak]

Well, I went to the personal trainer today for the fitness assessment. I suppose most of the details would be more appropriately posted to my "journal" but some of it is kind of funny. My hip to waist ratio is a laugable 1. It is seriousl 1. The way she measured it anyhow. Which seemed weird because my waist, she measured 2" below my belly button, which strikes me more as, uh, hips. And my hips, she measured lower, like on my thighs. Straight up and down, though. She is a nice lady, but when she was dividing the same number into the same number on the calculator, I told her "Uh, it's one, isn't it?"

There were other actual tests. I didn't do that well on the step test, which was the only cardio. Got a below average cause after 3 minutes of going up and down this stair step, my heart rate was higher than it should have optimally been, I guess. :scared1: The test I did the best on was the crunches test. Which shows that there are abs under that flab around my middle, anyhow. She actually stopped me doing that when I got to the "Excellent" range.

She was horrified by how tight the backs of my legs were, though. She surmises that it's due to a slight scoliosis and all this gosh darned hill running. I guess that makes sense.

She seemed to be the nicest trainer I had ever worked with, though. Just genuinely nice and concerned and encoraging.

Also, we got kittens:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/IMG_5792.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/IMG_5795.jpg

[kimwim8]

oh, Corinna...I wanna see the kittens!! The pic didn't come through. :guilty:

Congrats on seeing a trainer...and one you actually LIKE! :thumbsup2 You go, super ab girl! :goodvibes I bet my heartrate isn't where it should be either. :rolleyes:

How awesome that you are planning on running a 5k with your dad! :love:

You are totally ROCKIN' the mileage challenge! :woohoo:

[corinnak]

Well, I put in the wrong piece of razzafrazzin' code. It works now. Sorry Kim!

I feel I am not actually rockin the challenge at the moment. I haven't run since last Thursday - muscle pull in my leg and all. But maybe I can walk on the TM a little tonight....:idea:

The 5K with my dad is a no-go. He can't come up that weekend. I think we have already made other plans, too. He suggested a 4 mile trail run, but it is Marathon weekend and I am volunteering!!! I think I need some more !!!!! I requested blanket distribution at the finish line. THAT should cure me of ever running a marathon, right?

I'm running (ha, ha - running - I sit on a stool and push some buttons) the light board for a new play in the city this month, too - it has been great and groovy fun, but it has complicated the schedule a bit!

[kimwim8]

Well, I put in the wrong piece of razzafrazzin' code. It works now. Sorry Kim!

I feel I am not actually rockin the challenge at the moment. I haven't run since last Thursday - muscle pull in my leg and all. But maybe I can walk on the TM a little tonight....:idea:

The 5K with my dad is a no-go. He can't come up that weekend. I think we have already made other plans, too. He suggested a 4 mile trail run, but it is Marathon weekend and I am volunteering!!! I think I need some more !!!!! I requested blanket distribution at the finish line. THAT should cure me of ever running a marathon, right?

I'm running (ha, ha - running - I sit on a stool and push some buttons) the light board for a new play in the city this month, too - it has been great and groovy fun, but it has complicated the schedule a bit!

First..... awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! Those kitties are just too cute. :love:

Second, you and your dad will run one someday. That's great that you can get out there and do that kind of thing with your dad. I'm still hoping my sister will run the 5k with me the end of the month.

Third, rest up that pulled muscle. No need in rushing back out there if it's not completely healed. Take your time, and start out slow (no jumping out there for a 6.5 miler or anything :rolleyes: ) :laughing:

You are one busy lady, I tell ya. :faint:

[corinnak]

So today I met with Becky, my new trainer. She sure knows a thing or two. She had me doing these brutal squats (she is really trying to strengthen my quads, I guess - cause my hamstrings are soooo tight and she thinks its an imbalance from the running, but mostly from the HILL running.) and she stretches me out mercilessly, too. Which you don't usually say about stretching! Then there were things for my back and arms, and some pilates stuff for my squishy middle, but the squats were probably the worst of it.

Anyhow, she seems to have things in mind, but I am certainly going to be feeling this tomorrow!

The kittens are tussling together right now. I can't stand how cute they are!

No runs this week so far. :(

[kimwim8]

No runs this week so far. :(

You and me both, sister. :guilty: My lunchtime gym buddy isn't gonna be at work tomorrow, so I'll probably go out for a walk. That is, if I can get away from my desk. :headache: (sorry, that's all about me, isn't it?) I have that 5K next weekend.....gotta get some good runs in before that.

Anyway, I'm completely jealous of you & your trainer. I would love love love to have that kind of gym to go to, with real trainers. I need help with what to do, that's for sure. :thumbsup2 Keep up the great work, girl. And good luck moving around tomorrow (I'm betting you're gonna be all kinds of sore - 'cause I sure would be!) :goodvibes

[corinnak]

Oh gosh! Don't be jealous - it's just the YMCA. She had me doing these walking squats and lunges with an 18lb bar across my shoulders for the length of the racquetball court. Ouch. I do really appreciate having someone pointing out issues with my form (of which there are many) though.

OK, well here is a solemn pact. Tomorrow, regardless and no excuses, you get out during lunch if you possibly can, and I swear I will at least log a couple of TM miles in the morning, OK? If I have to WALK it, I will.

My legs are feeling OK for the moment, but there is a little issue with going down the stairs. It was worse with BodyPump, though!!

I did pretty well tracking my food today AND I made a nice black bean soup tonight, in spite of being completely out of canned tomatoes, usually a major component of my black bean soup. It was like a completely different soup! I kind of love that about soup. So fun to free-form. Well, maybe not fun. So Possible to free-form.

OK - see you out there tomorrow, Kim, right???

[kimwim8]

OK - see you out there tomorrow, Kim, right???

Oh shucks, I didn't see this til NOW! :rolleyes: I did take a lunch break, but I didn't walk. It was 90 degrees, and I didn't want to be stinky girl after lunch. BUT, I did go to the running store and order a new pair of sneakers!!! New sneakers is always great incentive for gettin' out there! :woohoo:

I'm sure you did your TM this morning, like the good girl that you are! I am going to do an On Demand workout and some ab work. (yes, somehow your journal has become about me, my dear :snooty: )

(oh, and I'm STILL jealous of the gym)

[corinnak]

90 degrees - yuck. I am sure your co-workers appreciate your lack of stinkiness. Anyhow, I did hit the treadmill, even though I suspected you hadn't seen my pact. Well, a one-sided pact is still a pact. I was on for an hour and did 3.5 miles. Walking a bunch and running some. Both because my legs are achy and because I put on the heartrate monitor and was trying to keep that within more reasonable bounds. I don't usually pay attention to HR and slow down when I feel like I HAVE to etc. But that fitness test where I climbed up and down the step for 3 minutes and had a heart rate in the "below average" range made me think maybe I'm working too hard? It is either that or I am not working hard enough. I need to ask the trainer about that tomorrow. I will not generally go twice a week, but this week, apparently she wanted to hit me hard, and next week, we are meeting once for a full gym orientation (free with the Y membership) and once for my usual whuppin'. If you could feel my legs today, Kim, you would NOT be jealous. I'm not sure that an hour on the TM, even an easier sort of hour, was the right thing to do to them.

I am excited about your new sneakers - that is so cool. I still haven't worn out my first pair of shoes - they are missing in that still-lost bag. What color did you get? Cause that's the MOST important thing, right?

It's OK with me if my "journal" becomes all (or even somewhat) about you. I'm not too proprietary about it! How is that on-demand workout? I don't think we get that here, but it sounds very cool.

[corinnak]

Oh, one more thing. I had to get some new jeans today. I have a couple pairs of 18's that I can still wear with a belt, but they are kind of baggy, then there was this 16 that fit pretty much the best, but it started developing holes around the back pockets. I can still wear them with a LONG shirt, but I have never had jeans that went in that particular spot first.

Went to Kohl's before picking up the kids and tried on a 16 and a 14. Neither fit quite perfectly - the 16 is comfortable and non-binding, but maybe a little loose, especially in the legs and everywhere but the waist, which I hate because I feel like the extra bulk they add to my legs makes me look BIG all over. The 14 fits really well.....everwhere but the waist. Darn my thick waist! So I bought them both. Maybe not the best decision. It's frustrating - I don't know if they will shrink in the wash or stretch with wearing and I feel like I am RIGHT in between those two sizes. Neither of which is the size I would really like to be.

I would have liked to have gotten the 14 and figured that I would certainly lose enough in the next couple weeks that they would fit well, but even if I do lose another 5 pounds, the fact is, I never know where it is going to come from. I was bemoaning this quietly to myself this morning as I was shaving in the shower. My legs, it seems, have just the smallest amount of extra "padding." And you can really see the muscles in my calves. My middle, though. Sigh. Blobby is the only word for it. I sometimes feel like the fat is never going to move from that spot.

Well, the good thing is that I caught myself from the backslide I was in and am not getting blobbier through there, not heading back towards the 18's which I still can wear. :rolleyes: I wish I could pull them out at the waist with one hand and have lots of extra waistband, though. That would be nice.

Here endeth the depressing pants-buying entry. :laundy:

[kimwim8]

Hey girl. No On Demand either. MAN, I stink. :headache: (not literally)

GREAT job on the TM. Yeah, maybe you should've given your legs a rest. You're such a slave driver, I tell ya. :laughing:

I'll try to find a pic of the sneakers and post them for ya. I ordered the same exact kind & color b/c I didn't want to "try" any others out. These ones worked and felt really well and I got a year out of them. If you looked at my current pair, you wouldn't think they are "old" but the salesman agreed that they wear out in other ways than appearance. I can definitely feel the pounding of the pavement lately. :headache:

GREAT job getting into the 14's (whether they are snug or not). YOU GOT IN THEM!! :woohoo: You're really doing great. Give me a shove in that direction, will ya?

[corinnak]

Kim, you have a point about the 14's. They zipped nicely, it's just that darned muffin top effect, the hanging over the waist band that I object to. But it is amazingly cool that I can zip them, no problem, you are right.

There is always tomorrow, right? I'm not counting you out yet, but I know how tough it can be to squeeze in those workouts. I spent an alarming amount of time on my 3.5 miles today. We are getting towards the end of the month, though - only 30 days in September, you know. Can you maybe do some mall walking or something, what with the heat and all? Hopefully, it will cool off again for you soon. I'll cross my fingers.

When do they expect your new shoes to arrive? There is something definitely about new shoes. They give you that extra little spring!

Are you watching the new Biggest Loser? I had never watched that before, BUT, now it's in syndication, so a person can watch old ones if a person is feeling particularly like she needs a jump start (I'm talking about myself here) cause they say things like they have no other choice - they can do these tough workouts or nothing will change. Or they can do these tough workouts or they can go back to being the way they were. Or they don't ever want to go back, which reminds me that I don't either and that while I might not be totally miserable with where I am now, I have to remember that there is something better on the horizon, there is something worse not far behind me.

I was made completely aware again of just how close that state of deep dissatisfaction really is when I gained back a few pounds at the end of the summer. My old habits were back in full force, and I was gaining, and it was going to my middle. My pants were starting not to fit again, and I finally had to recommit because I do NOT want to go the other direction in the pants department. So far, so good on the re-recomittment. It is so much harder when you are more pleased with your success than you are displeased with the spot you're at. So I've been working on getting dissatsified again. This is what I have come up with:

My "step test" is an illustration of just how NOT all over the cardio health I actually am and how much better I could be. Below Average is better than Poor, but not enough better for me. I want to be at least "Average." :angel:

I have a muffin top over the waistband of the 14's. Even my old worn-out 16's have this issue if I put on a belt. I want that to go away.

My chin and neck are not so large as they were, BUT, I still have a little double chin that could stand to go.

The back of my arms are too much. If only they looked as good as the backs of my legs!

So this is not all about "athletic" and it is not about hating on myself, but I am trying to find that healthy level of dissatisfaction that can help keep me working for improvement.

Do you have any to add, Kim? Please - go ahead and use my journal as a forum for any healthy dissatisfaction or impending dissatisfaction. I think at this point it is just you and me here, and if anyone is reading along, I am SURE they won't mind a little bonus kimwim healthy dissatisfaction. :laughing:

[kimwim8]

Do you have any to add, Kim? Please - go ahead and use my journal as a forum for any healthy dissatisfaction or impending dissatisfaction. I think at this point it is just you and me here, and if anyone is reading along, I am SURE they won't mind a little bonus kimwim healthy dissatisfaction. :laughing:

You are just the best. :hug:

What am I dissatisfied with?

1. My lack of energy when it comes to working out. *** is wrong with me?? I am fully aware of how much it boosts my energy and mood and ego. So why wouldn't I be racing out the door to run or racing down to the gym at lunch?

2. My 4's don't fit. I know, boo hoo on me, right? But I struggled SO HARD and was SO GOOD and those darn 4's fit wonderfully. Like, not snug, just pull 'em up and zip 'em and head out the door. I just bought a bunch of 6's and even (gasp) an 8. Just so I can have some comfy pants when I want them. I have ONE pair of 4 jeans that fit (but fit better after wearing them twice :rolleyes: ) - anyway...wouldn't that be enough to get my butt moving, and to stop eating crap? :confused3

3. I can't get my wedding rings off. My fingers aren't huge or puffy, but after I had lost the 30 pounds, I had my rings resized smaller. They don't hurt me now, but they can't come off either. (well, not without some grease or soap or butter :headache: )

OK, I don't know, Corinna. I feel like a loser now. Like, totally vain and b*tchy. Thank God for you. You understand me, right? :confused3

And I understand you and why you wrote yours. :hug: We're gonna do this, girl. We're gonna be the women we want to be.

Yup, we've watched Biggest Loser since the first episode. That show is just incredible. And I've gotten lots of good food/snack ideas from them too. :thumbsup2

I should be getting a call Tues or Wed for my shoes. :woohoo:

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n313/kimwim8/pearlizumishine.jpg

Hang in there, girl. I don't care if it IS just me & you. We got this thang.

[corinnak]

OK - moving upward from the dissatisfaction stage: time for some goals, some desires. some vision for the future.

I have been disappointed to see the number on the scale go back up a little this week. And then I got out the tape measure and was surprised to see a smaller number on there than I've seen so far. Weird, right? So the thing that I am now really wanting to do is to make those 14's fit comfortably by the end of the month. I can see myself wearing those 14's (which have much less extra around the legs than the 16's and therefore lend an overall slimmer appearance, I think - well beyond that muffin-top. I can see myself wearing those 14's on the plane, on the magical express, to the packet pickup. It's a small dream, but for goodness sake, I can button those pants. How far can it really be for them to be comfortable? I will hold this thought in my head to help me pass up those things I need to pass up. I will hold this thought in my head as I strengthen my "resistance muscle" as Dr. Beck says.

Is this sounding overly familiar? Like I've been saying this stuff for....oh....3 or 4 months now without actually losing anything around the middle? It's a struggle, goodness knows. I'm still muddling. But at least I haven't fully given up.

[corinnak]

Yesterday, I covered 6.6 miles. Some walking. Lots of hills. It was kind of warmish, and not the most lovely run ever. I felt like I was dragging, and then towards the end, I think I was actually "hitting the wall." Of course it may have been a psychosomatic wall, as I had read somewhere that the average person goes through all their glycogen in about 90 minutes. I was wiped out when I got home, that is for sure. But the cool thing was that I did a round trip to and from DH's shop.

My plantar fascia is grumpy today, though it is not TOO bad.

The other thing yesterday was that there was a carnival type thing at the school and I was the caramel apple lady. That is kind of hot work! And then later on, DS and I went to our Kung Fu class and not just one but two. This fall we are starting the weapons and sparring class, so that was a long evening. It wasn't too strenuous and I am not feeling bad today, but zowie - a lot of activity for one day. I may need to re-think running on Thursdays.

The Pants Challenge is helping me so far. I like having a definite, concrete, achievable goal. A reason to stop eating in the evening. My weight had been up again. Now it is down again. It's nice to have a prize to have my eye on. :magnify:

[kimwim8]

Hey girl. I LOVE the pants challenge idea!! For me, I'm gonna call it my SHORTS challenge. I need to fit comfortably in all of my shorts too, since I'll be in WDW in 4.5 short weeks. :woohoo: I'm with ya, lady. Maybe we can find a cute little smilie to put in our siggie with the pants challenge??

Yeah, running on Thursdays might be too much if you're in a class too. Don't wanna wear yourself too thin, you know? :confused3 Spread it out, lady.

You are such a busy woman. I'm constantly amazed at all you do. Great job with increasing your mileage challenge. I know you can do it. No doubt in my mind!! :cheer2:

Have a wonderful weekend, Corinna.

[corinnak]

How about this?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/Pantschallenge-1.jpg

Sorry I couldn't figure out a cool way to make it the pants/shorts challenge. Maybe I should try a little harder....

[corinnak]

Nope - I think this is better.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/bluepants3.jpg

[corinnak]

Kim, I can make a shorts one for you too, if you really want.

[kimwim8]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!! Thanks, girl!

[corinnak]

So the question is, should we post a The Pants Challenge thread on the main board? Something along the lines of: Pick a pair of pants you want to fit into and a reasonable deadline and make it happen? Or should it be our own private challenge? Seems like with a clippie and all, it might be fun to have a few more squeezing into their jean along with us. :)

[corinnak]

OH - and I am SO glad that you LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It is fun to make up stuff like this! :cutie:

[corinnak]

I feel like I am getting my brain around to the right place again. I have written up a new list of Advantages - my old one included things like a nice wardrobe for Europe, which has absolutely no power over me now - go figure. Number one on the list is my pants fitting without overhang for TOT. Also new:
I will pass the fitness tests.
I will enjoy trying on clothes more.
I will choose clothes based on wheather or not I love them, not on whether or not they show off my fat.

I am also thinking of adding one about feeling great in a swimsuit. There is a little room at the bottom of the card. :)

I managed to track my food yesterday and stayed within points, which is a huge victory for me. I am going to need to do some working out today. Tomorrow I am donating blood, so I am going to have to move my run to a different day. Can't move the Kung Fu classes, but I will have to take it easy.

I am excited about this new resistance band workout I found in Prevention. I always look at their workouts and never actually do them. But this time, I have the band already AND I am going to plan to do the workout twice a week to complement my training with Becky.

So that's where things stand for now. I am building momentum.

[Caitsmama]

Corinna -- you have come a long way girl!! Wow! Reading a journal like yours is so inspiring to me as a newbie! LOL

Keep it up.. When are you leaving for the ToT?

[corinnak]

Stacy,
Thanks for the comments - I have felt like I've been standing still so long and trying not to backslide that I forget a little that I have come a long way, even since I started this journal.

The TOT race is the night of the 27th. I am traveling on the 26th and will come home on the 28th - just a short little trip, but hopefully lots of exhausting fun! I'm just hoping the weather won't be too warm.

[kimwim8]

I feel like I am getting my brain around to the right place again.

I am building momentum.

WOOOOOOOO HOOOOO!! :woohoo: That's so great, girl! I'm proud of you. I know what it's like to be complacent. Even though we were (both) running, we let some other things slide. It's HARD to be 100% eating well and working out well all the time. As long as we catch each other and don't fall into the downward spiral....we'll be good! :thumbsup2

You, my friend, are my inspiration this time around. YOU are kickin' butt and getting me moving right along with you. I can't tell you how much I needed that! :hug:

[corinnak]

Kim, when you are right, you are right. It is hard to be 100% in 100% of things. All of it is better than where I was a year ago, though, and that is something. I am wearing a coat today that last year was SO much more snug. I've got tons of room in here this year. We've got to keep out of that downward spiral. I don't know about you, but I've made the mistake of giving in to the downward spiral too many times in the past. I also don't know about kicking butt - we will see after the next weapons and sparring class on Thursday!

[corinnak]

Kim, you have been saying it all along, but I finally believe myself that I am going to be able to pull off the 13K, possibly without too much pain and suffering.....cause I just did 12K and on the gol-durned treadmill, no less. Yay!

[kimwim8]

I just love it when I'm right. ('cause it isn't very often ;) ) :goodvibes

Way to completely ROCK that run!! I can't believe you ran that long on the TM! Outside running the 13k is gonna be NUTHIN!!

Great job, girlie. :thumbsup2

[Caitsmama]

Wow!! 12k on a TM! Very impressive!! LOL You go!!!

[corinnak]

Thanks, Kim and Stacy!

Now I wouldn't go leaping to the 13K being "nuthin'" but it does seem entirely feasable at this point. I haven't even done this one yet and I'm starting (as you know, Stacy) to fixate a little on the Minnie Marathon. I'm working my way up a little at a time! It was less than a year ago that running a mile sounded fairly impossible to me. I don't think I could have done it without my DIS buddies!

[Caitsmama]

Corinna --- if you successfully complete the 13k, then you can definately do the Minnie!!!!! You know i am gonna keep talkin you into it! LOL However, i think i have decided to just stick with the 5k minnie. I think 15k for me would be a lil of a stretch..

[corinnak]

Hi again, Stacy!

The minnie is definitely doable for me at this point - the only question is logistics and is it too silly of me to keep picking out these far away races?

As for your decision, I, of course, support you in whatever you choose to do, but I have to point out that the Minnie is 8 months away, and do you know what I was doing 8 months ago? As close as I can figure without dredging through the C25K thread and consulting a calendar, I was doing one of the first weeks of c25k! I have had a few minor issues and injuries and setbacks, but if the Minnie were on the 27th instead of the ToT, I'm pretty sure I'd make it through!

However, I think you should choose the race that sounds most fun and appealing to you, whether that be the 5K or the 15K.

OH, and just so this isn't entirely the Minnie Peer Pressure thread.....

I did do that band workout today. It wasn't as hard as working out with Becky by any means, but it's definitely workable. Except this one hilarious move which is a push-up with this resistance band draped across your shoulders for extra, well, resistance, I guess. Fact is, I don't need any additional difficulty with the pushups at this point, but even if I did, I had a devil of a time getting the band to NOT roll up off my shoulders and get my hair all wound around it. Yowch. Seriously. I put my hair in a ponytail after that, but decided I could just do uncomplicated push ups instead.

I did NOT donate blood today. I tried, but my hemoglobin was borderline marginal and she offered to retest it, but I said that was OK. I'd just donate another time (AFTER THE RACE, people). I am relieved, but I feel a little guilty for feeling relieved. I have been realizing that I probably want all my RBC's firing over the next few weeks for the final push of training.

I am loving The Pants Challenge - I try the pants of frequently as it seems to be beneficial at this point in terms of keeping my eye on the prize. It's like the Beck Diet Solution where she wants you to read your advantage card every day, except it's really even more tangible. And you know what? Even in just the past less than a week, those pants are doing remarkably better on me. Still a little farther to go, but it is great to see a little payoff already.

[corinnak]

Oh, and Stacy - I think we have overlapping trips. I'm going to be at SSR over Thanksgiving week this year. :goodvibes

[Caitsmama]

Oh cool!! Yes, we are leaving on the 17th, and going til the 25th. Staying at the POLY (first time!) :) So, lucky you --going in Oct and Nov!! whooooo!! LOL That's awesome!

I know what you mean about the far away part.. my dh thinks i am crazy.. seriously.

Good for you doing that band w/o! I need to get working on something else -- i might sign up and do a yoga class starting in Nov. with my MIL, but i want soo badly to tone up my arms..
I can just picture you getting it caught around your hair.. that totally must have hurt!! LOL

[corinnak]

It hurt but it was also hilarious. Even more hilarious - I did it TWICE before I decided that was going to continue to happen!:rotfl:

Oooh - the Poly! Very cool. I have never stayed there, but it looks like fun.

I am very lucky to get to go two months in a row, though there will be no park for me in October, except MGM after hours! Just a quick down and back for the race, really.

[kimwim8]

Darnit....I'm just gonna miss Stacy. :headache: I leave the world on the 14th.

One of these days...I'll be able to meet up with some of you guys there! Or maybe you guys can come to the beautiful Jersey shore sometime! ;)

Sorry Corrina, I didn't mean to hijack your thread. :laughing:

That is too funny (sorry ;) ) about the bands. I totally would have kept doing it and wondering what I was doing wrong. :sad2:

You're doing SO well with your workouts AND the pants challenge...You're gonna blow right on by those pants you're shooting for and into a smaller size. :woohoo:

Oh, and I didn't mean to belittle the importance/challenge of the ToT for you. :guilty: I know it's not gonna be a walk in the park, but I just know you're gonna do well. You're a smart runner and know how to read your body and your surroundings. And you've been training well for a while now. Keep it up, girl. :yay:

[corinnak]

Kim - take over any time you like. It is evident to me that we need to do a little more coordinating ahead of time. Ahem!

I would love to overshoot the pants challenge and, oh darn, have to buy size 12 jeans. One step at a time, though. First things first. :)

I didn't think you were belittling the ToT race, I just can't allow myself to get cocky or complacent. I am feeling confident and good and like I now know how to keep the right things stretched out so I don't pull a hamstring again, but 8.1 miles (or whatever the fraction is on this one) is a LONG way to go on foot. I can see myself doing it and having a great time, though! I appreciate your unrelenting faith in me!

[corinnak]

Things are getting intense, guys. Just a few more runs before the "race." I am going to do 8 miles on Thursday, and I am actually going to drive somewhere to run - how screwy is that? I want to run somewhere flatter, though, and I have it all picked out, I think. Just so it will be more like running in Florida. Cause this hills every other second deal is just not the same thing. Hills are good, but if I am slowing to a walk every 6 minutes because there is another hill I'm going up, I don't have any idea how I am going to do on the non-hill course, you know?

On the bad side, I feel a little like I might have a cold coming on. I didn't even run in the rain today. Considered it, but ended up inside on the treadmill again. I hope it doesn't turn into anything....so that could throw a monkey wrench into the plans.

[Caitsmama]

Corina - OJ, OJ, OJ!!! Drink up!!! LOL Probably best that you didn't run in the rain, just in case. ;) Good luck on your 8miler - i know what you mean about driving somewhere, lol.. my neighborhood is all hills - actually, i was just having this conversation with my sis last night.. there is a track near my shop - but that's like a 10 min drive.. :rotfl: I don't want to run outside til i can get a decent time, b/c right now, on the C25K plan, i am checking my watch all the time.. when it's time to run/walk.
Too many hills/potholes now to be trying to do that - LOL

[corinnak]

Well, it was raining yesterday too, though by the time I got out there, it had mostly let up. It was actually not bad weather. A little windy at times - why is running into the wind so hard? If only I were more aerodynamic. :laughing: Anyhow, I ended up doing OK - 8.1 miles in 99 minutes and on fairly flat terrain. Probably a fair indicator of how I am likely to do in Florida next week, unless I end up making a couple of port-a-potty stops. Still, that is averaging 12.22 minutes/mile. Which is actually a slightly faster rate than the one at which I ran my first 5K, which didn't include a couple of stops to try to stretch out a slightly crabby hip or pauses to wait for the traffic light to change.

Even so, I am a little concerned that by the time I finish the 13K, all of the 6.5Kers will be back and a bunch of the 13Kers as well, and the lines for the rides will be HUGE. I guess it will be what it will be, and it will probably be fun regardless, right? I do have to question how much I am going to want to ride rides after the race. It seemed like my heart rate got going again pretty easily the whole rest of the day....

[kimwim8]

I am SO darn excited for you girl. :banana: Look at how far you've come in such a short time. Who the hell cares if other people pass you - no matter what distance they are running. Look at YOU!!! :woohoo: I am your number one fan (without the stalker-ness that comes with that :laughing: ). No matter what happens at the ToT, I'm beyond ecstatic for you. :goodvibes

Just remember to breathe and ENJOY it. Don't stress about the lines that will be there when you're done. Savor the moment.

Thank you so much for your support and help with what I'm going through right now. You're keeping my head above water. (no pressure :laughing: ) Oh, and I've been scoping out different places I could run (when I run again) too. I kind of like to drive a little. Makes it seem like I've put out even MORE effort than just walking out the door. Sometimes I need that extra pat on the back.

[Caitsmama]

Corinna -- you are kicking butt girl!! Don't you worry about who is ahead of you for the ToT! As kim said, just enjoy the moment.. you will be running probably one of the coolest races that WDW has!! :)

Oh, go on the ToT ride for me though ok?? Since it's just me and dd (6) going next month, i doubt i will make it on that ride.. dd is NOT a fan.. LOL (she tried it last year, and said she will NEVER EVER do it again!! ) LOL

[corinnak]

Awww. You guys are the best. :grouphug: You know me - I'll be happy to finish. And I definitely plan to ride ToT at least once and RnR, well, at least once also. It's Austin's favorite, so he has said he will ride ToT once and RnR as many times as he can. :rotfl: For some reason, the Great Movie ride doesn't hold the same appeal.

Kim - I hope I didn't sound too bossy on your journal. I don't mean to be. :hug: And of course you are right - a year ago, if you had told me I'd be running 8 miles, I would never have believed it was possible. I know what you mean about scoping out places to run - I am now always noticing what kinds of sidewalks there are and how hilly a place is.

Stacy - I will think of you on the ToT ride. I have only been on it once, and was nervous, but ended up lauging my head off, it was so silly. My 4 year old is desperate to go on the ToT. My 8 year old is not interested. :laughing:

[kimwim8]

letting the ol' journal slip a little, my friend?

I had to stop by and wish you.....


HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!


:banana: :dance3: :woohoo: :rockband: :dancer: party: :jumping1: :rainbow: :Pinkbounc :dogdance:

[corinnak]

Yeah, you caught me, Kim. I'm letting the old journal slide. It's just more fun over on the Runners UNITE thread, I'm afraid. I know, I should MAKE it more fun over here. And in that spirit, here is a marginal photo of me in the Polynesian gift shop. What girl doesn't need a pink sparkly pirate cowboy hat?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/IMG_1062.jpg

[Caitsmama]

ohhhhhh.. the poly gift shop!!! I can't wait!!! 11 days from tomorrow!!! :) Can ya tell i am a lil' excited?! LOL Never been to the poly before!
Is it your bday too? Happy Birthday!!

[corinnak]

It was my birthday yesterday. Not a big one or anything, but it was nice.

Yes, the Poly has several fantastic gift shops. I'm going to PM you a link to my photos from the Poly, OK?

[Caitsmama]

YES Please!!!! Thanks!!
And again,
HAPPY BDAY!!!! November bdays are the bestest! ;)

[corinnak]

Stacy - what date is your birthday? I never quite got the exact date from your thread somehow. Is it today?

[Caitsmama]

Nope, it's this friday.. the big 3-0!! I am very excited! Although, i won't really get to spend it with my family, i am leaving after work on friday to head to Cape Cod to do a weekend Craft Show, It's a big show, and i can use the extra $$.. But, my mom and sis will be with me.. so it's not all that bad! And we always stop for Lobster on Sunday on the way home from the show! LOL

[Caitsmama]

corinna, great pics btw!!!

[kimwim8]

You know...just because I'm not staying at the Poly doesn't mean I wouldn't LOVE to see the pics. :rolleyes1

(you know I love ya. ;) )

[corinnak]

Kim, my facebook friend,:hug: you don't need me to send you a link to those pics - they are in an album on my facebook page. I will send you a link if you want, though.

[corinnak]

Stacy,
I'm glad you enjoyed the pics - I wish I had taken MORE.

Sounds like a good plan for your birthday, even if it does involve work.

[corinnak]

So on the way out of the Y after my weekly butt-kicking, I picked up the seemingly quarterly newsletter from this branch. I open it up and there is a YMCA Staff Spotlight on my trainer. So I was reading along and it's very interesting about how she's attending college for her degree in Exercise and Sports Science, which is above and beyond her trainer certifications. And then I get to the fourth paragraph. She writes:

"A client of mine who has been training for long distance road races told me recently that she noticed a distinct improvement in her performance as well as lessened muscle and joint pain. Her chiropractor and massage therapist have noticed a change in her muscles and skin tone as well."

Well, I'm not sure about the skin tone, but darned if she and I didn't have that exact conversation last week. She doesn't mention any other specific clients and I am pretty sure it's me she's been referring to - I've been singled out! And furthermore, I'm "training for long distance road races!!!" Guys, I've arrived. I'm becoming athletic.

You know what else has become awesome? My kicks in Kung Fu are so much higher than they used to be. I am not sure if it is because I have gotten my hamstrings stretched out, but it is really great for me. I am seeing a little muscle definition in my arms.

When I started with Becky almost 2 months ago, she had me do a pushup test. I did 15 girl push ups, and the last 2 were terrible. Last night, I did 35 girl pushups, and they were all good!

Yes sirree, bob, I'm getting there.

[corinnak]

OK, back over here for info on my training for that 5K in December. I maybe haven't mentioned that. I'm planning on a Jingle Bell 5K on December 15, and I would LIKE to be able to run it in under 30 minutes. Though I would settle for 31, I suppose. :laughing: So I have jumped into the middle of the Bronze 5K training plan in The Complete Book of Running for Women by Claire Kowalchik.

Today, I did my first "Pace" run. It was 4 miles long and a lot like going back to do part of C25K but FASTER. I did 4- 2.5 minute runs at 6mph (race pace, in theory) and 1-5 minute stretch at 6mph. Sounds a lot like...what, week 3? week 4? I guess it makes sense - cause what do I need to do but get that 10 minute/mile pace we were always coveting back then. It always seemed so unattainable, and in some ways it still does, but I am going to strive, nevertheless.

I watched that NOVA about the regular people training for the Boston Marathon, and was inspired rather than horrified, as my friend Sara thought I should be. Yes, one woman got stress fractures, but she got them at the very start of training - seeminly, she was very prone to them.

Anyhow, running along on my dreaded treadmill, I was thinking about running the 10 mile race this summer, then the 1/2 marathon in January, 2009. And then I thought, well, maybe I should plow ahead from there and run the Twin Cities marathon in the fall of 2009. Which is a crazy thought, I know. Someone please tell me that I should run at least 3-5 years before attempting a full marathon, ok? Another great thing about that show, I think I now understand VO2 Max.

I also realized, running this pace run, that I really am a penguin. I love the running itself, I love being able to breathe comfortably when I run. I am not built for speed, but I kind of like the long haul as long as I don't go anything resembling fast. However, there is part of me that still continues to wish that my comfortable run were a little speedier. So I will do pace runs and I will do strides, I will do long runs and so called "recovery runs" and I will hope to see some increased performance next month.

I went out and bought winter running clothes on Tuesday. I am not confident that I have the right stuff, but I am going to try it out on my next short run. Hopefully tomorrow.

[AmyBeth68]

Hi Corinna...was just thinking about you after your post in Kim's journal totally cracked me up! ;)

Sounds like you are following a really solid plan. I have no doubt that you'll totally smash the 30 minute mark! Just don't get discouraged...the speed comes.

As for training for a marathon...you have the discipline...you can definitely do it...there is no reason you shouldn't go for it. And besides you are giving yourself plenty of time to train which is a big key to success!

Good luck and let us know how training is coming along. :)

[corinnak]

Awww. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Amy. I appreciate it.

My training is at a bit of a halt at the moment. I've been having aches and pains in my knees and back, but more to the point, I keep having the occasional heart palpitation while exercising. I had one on Sunday towards the end of the 6 miler. It's usually a fairly brief thing and it goes away when I slow down. Doesn't happen every run, but if I've worked pretty hard, it seems like it happens mostly when I am running on a flat part after doing a bunch of hills. Only once per run. Weird, right? I guess I didn't mention that before, but it does make me a little nervous. I've got a Dr's appointment for after the holiday, but am not sure I should be doing the hardcore workouts until after I see him and/or have whatever tests he may want me to have.

I don't want to be an idiot or hurt myself. But I am kind of feeling the lack of a run....and am seeing that November goal growing increasingly unrealistic. If I don't manage to make the 30 minute mark in December, I know I will be able to do it next year.

[corinnak]

So 50 miles for November is just out of the question. Between about two weeks from the Solo-Parenting Thanksgiving Disney Trip in which there was no one with whom I could leave my kids while going out for a run and the week before that in which I was having, if I'm recalling correctly, knee and leg issues from sprinting in those marginal gym shoes.....I've re-evaluated.

I ran 4 miles today (plus warm up and cool down) and I really think I can squeeze in another 6 miles before the month is out. So I am revising my 50 mile goal to 30 miles. Cause it's actually possible.

I went to the eye doctor today. My eyes are just the same badness as ever. Which = not too bad. Or even "People get surgery to make their eyes like yours." Which is not the same as perfect vision. I have mono-vision, which means one eye is nearsighted, the other eye is maybe a little farsighted and together, somehow, I come out 20/20 and won't need bi-focals for a long while. I recently had a hard time with the Pirates of the Caribbean VR ride at Disney Quest, and can't do those 3D movies without glasses, but otherwise, I am pretty much fine. TMI - fortunately, it's just boring TMI, not awkward and uncomfortable TMI.

SO I have been wanting some sunglasses for running for some time now, and tried to get some at the mall, but there wasn't much assistance and the ones I tried weren't comfortable, so I just bought a $20 pair and called it good. But it really wasn't so good. So I asked at the eye clinic and they were happy to show me what they had. I ended up getting a pair of Maui Jim sunglasses with the unappealing name of Hurricane. I had thought I prefered a different model, but wasn't sure how they'd work with my classy running visor. So I went home and GOT my running visor. Hilarious. And put my hair up for running and put on the visor and tried on the sunglasses. The ones I was afraid might slip around didn't move and were super comfy. The ones I thought were better, maybe, sloshed all over my face and didn't work so great with the visor. You just never know. Anyhow, I am excited. They are super lightweight and really reduce glare. So what did I do after this? I came home for a run. On the treadmill. Silly. Except that it was around 20 degrees out. So maybe not TOO silly.

No weird chest sensation today, so that was good. A little coughing. Not sure if I was pushing too hard at first or what, but I had planned to do 2-3 miles, and ended up doing 4, cause the first 2-3 are the hardest. I swear they are. I don't feel like I lost TOO much training with my 2 weeks of and 1 week on the DDP. Maybe a bit of aerobic conditioning. It will come back.

And because I love you all with affection unspeakable (Just like Frederick loved the Pirates of Penzance), I am going to share with you the photo of the super special vegetarian VIP platter that chef TJ of Boma presented me with after I had already eaten a whole bunch of food and thought I was about done.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/IMG_5842_2.jpg

It was INCREDIBLE. And had I known that he was bringing something, I would have saved more room. I usually manage just fine at Boma and didn't expect anything, even when the server sent out a chef to talk to me because all I wanted to know was which soup was vegetarian. Anyhow, I was pretty full, but I felt I had to eat some of this and it was amazing. Those are mushrooms on the skewers, cabbage, green beans (which I already ate most of before thinking to take a picture) and the yummiest tofu ever.

On the other side of the table, you can see the desserts selected by my son who was "pretty full. I might want a LITTLE dessert."

[kimwim8]

Hey girl. Man, I guess I've been visiting you so much on the C25K thread that I don't stop by here. :headache: Sorry, Charlie. Won't let it happen again.

Where's that trip report? You know you gotta do one!!!! :surfweb:

Glad to hear you didn't have the heart palps on your last run. Keep an eye on yourself, lady.

[corinnak]

Well, I'm back from the doctor, and the verdict is that I seem to be a vampire. The machine wasn't working and all they could get was a flatline. I am getting referred for some sort of imaging thing and they'll do the EKG thing then, they say. My doctor said I wasn't describing anything too terrible and I can continue to exert myself for the time being, as I haven't passed out.....yet. :)

I know, I sound all cavalier about it. I haven't had any actual dizziness, just FYI.

Kim, I really HAVE to do a trip report? Are you sure? Is that a rule somewhere? Can I just post it here?

Tonight is Kung Fu. Last class before the next belt test. Yikes. This time next week, I could be a blue belt! :eek: Planning to run on the TM either this afternoon after pickup or tonight after KF. Not the most optimal, but I had to go to the doctor earlier! I am feeling a little less athletic than I was....gotta get that focus back a little.

Oh, and Kim, don't worry about it. I forget to write over here in favor of the C25K thread, too. :laughing:

[kimwim8]

Kim, I really HAVE to do a trip report? Are you sure? Is that a rule somewhere? Can I just post it here?

Nah, you don't HAVE TO, but you know I want to see pics!!! :goodvibes

Have a good weekend, girl. Stay away from any mirrors...:maleficen (sorry, closest smilie to a vampire :laughing: )




you know I couldn't let that one slip by....:rolleyes1

[corinnak]

OK - once this "Friend Thanksgiving" is out of the way, I'll make an effort.

It is good to have the 30 miles for November done. Of course, there is no way to know how far I walked at WDW, but as I was only counting running, it is a fairly moot point. I just have to remind myself that it's not like I was totally sedentary for that time I wasn't running.

I feel all thick around the middle after my week on the dining plan, though, and I'm still off-task in the food department. Does it seem like I am constantly having to refocus on that?

[kimwim8]

and I'm still off-task in the food department. Does it seem like I am constantly having to refocus on that?

same here, sister.:rolleyes:

[corinnak]

Well, at least I'm not the only one. Not refocusing very well here today. And the "Friend Thanksgiving" was postponed till next week due to weather concerns as well as my 4 year old throwing up in bed this morning at 5am. And being kind of feverish and tired all day. Friends don't bring friends stomach flu - that's our rule and we are sticking to it. So next week. But I made the mushroom gravy and cranberry sauce already, so I went ahead and made the huge Cheddar Vegetable Pot Pie as well. I'll make another one next week, but by then, it won't be special because we'll have had leftovers of it for a week. :sad2:

I shoveled some snow today - didn't get winded. I did get cold fingers. I also got to try out some of my winter running gear, but not the gloves - I was wearing man-gloves with grips, but that's not the point. My hat wasn't covering my ears as well as I would like, so that is something to bear in mind. The leggings and pants I had on seemed to really stop the wind pretty well, though, and in general, I managed to stay just the right temperature as I worked, so that bodes well for outdoor running in the cold weather. Which I need to do a few times before this race on the 15th. :scared1:

I need to get the photos from the other camera loaded into the computer, then I will do my best to recount the Crazy Ringworm Solo Parenting Trip of Thanksgiving 2008 for you, Kim. Maybe I should leave out the ringworm part from the title....

[kimwim8]

I need to get the photos from the other camera loaded into the computer, then I will do my best to recount the Crazy Ringworm Solo Parenting Trip of Thanksgiving 2008 for you, Kim. Maybe I should leave out the ringworm part from the title....

Don't you dare leave a thing out!!! :goodvibes

Glad to hear your winter running gear will hold up! I just know you'll be fine at that race.

Oh, and how the heck am I supposed to be "good" when I have 3 parties to go to this week??? :guilty: grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. One of which is my own bday, and it's just WRONG to not party-hardy on your bday. :banana:

ETA - are you willing to share the cheddar veggie pot pie recipe, my friend??

[corinnak]

Wow, that's a lot of parties, Kim. I don't even have that excuse, but I've gained a couple pounds back (and I can feel where they are) so I am going to re-journal today. So far, so good. Just do the best that you can, and have a happy birthday. :hug:

I would be glad to share the Cheddar Vegetable Pot Pie recipe, but then I'd also have to share the Mushroom Gravy and Cranberry Port Relish recipes, too. None of it is very diet-friendly. It's holiday food. I guess the pie is fine if you don't eat much of the crust. :rolleyes1 Do you really want it?

I keep planning to start the report, but then get called away by something else. For instance, yesterday, I went to the dentist. Turns out I need a root canal on one of my molars. So I called to schedule that and the doctor I was referred to wasn't covered by our insurance. And then it turns out that there is only one endodontist in our area who IS covered by our insurance, which isn't any sort of obscure insurance or anything, so it's weird. And I called them today (their office closes at 2pm) and she had an appointment for tomorrow or after the 1st of the year. So I have a root canal tomorrow.

My DS is home from preschool today. Our cat is getting neutered and we are blowing off preschool. He wants to write something:


lsvjfhguregfuwegywetdytxgw6xegxe6x7g2316exf1e5i13x cdxf135cd216cx5

Make of that what you will. We had snow yesterday. I got out and shoveled last night. Super thrilling. So there is more than a foot out there now, I think. I saw a guy out running on the street this morning and was very impressed. We have a LOT today, though. I really should run at least a little. Maybe tonight. But tonight....

After school, my older son has his first OT appointment - sensory issues - and then later, we have our kung fu belt tests, for which I feel fairly unprepared. I mean, I didn't miss any classes, I just always feel like I don't know the forms as well as I should or as well as the kids around me do. So I'm a little nervous about that. There is always the potential for great embarrassment at a belt test. But if all goes well, by the end of the day, my son will have his green belt and I will have a blue belt. Wish me luck....if you're out there.

[Caitsmama]

Corinna -- wow! Sounds like you have your hands full..and over a foot of snow -- ugh, sooooo not looking forward to that white stuff.. LOL
Good luck to you and your son tonight for your belt tests, i will be thinking of ya!

[kimwim8]

Good luck to you and your DS tonight! :wizard:

Sounds like you have lots going on, girl. Hang in there, and good luck with the root canal too. :headache:

And if you DO decide to go out running in the snow - PLEASE be careful!! That sounds dangerous to me - not knowing what's under the snow & how slippery it could be. :guilty:

[corinnak]

Thanks Kim and Stacy! I am going to do my best to hang in there.

I'm not planning on heading out to run in this. I agree, it seems iffy. I almost bonked my head on the house last night when my boot slipped a little. I went inside and put on my Yaktrax and didn't have any more trouble. I am thinking it might be smart to put those on my shoes if I were going out to run in these conditions, but really....I'm not going out there.

[corinnak]

It's late, but I wanted to let you know that both of us passed our tests. We had the same belt for about an hour after DS got his green and before I tested for my blue. It was OK. I didn't knock it out of the park, nor did I forget what I was doing in the middle.:laughing: So look out - I'm a blue belt in Kung Fu, and I can do a really laughable scissors kick!

[kimwim8]

WOO HOO!! :woohoo: Congrats, girl!! (and the same to your DS!) I know how exciting it was to watch my DS do his karate tests when he was doing karate. :goodvibes

[corinnak]

All right, I've run twice this week and did resistance bands once. That's kind of back on track. Last week was crazy, but the root canal wasn't as bad as you'd think it would be. Just extra hassle, more than anything.

For some reason, my back has been giving me extra trouble this week as well. It just figures, doesn't it?

So I switched out the little race clippies in my signature. I think I was the only one with a TOT left in my signature. I was partial to it, what can I say. ;) But on to the Minnie. I am considering, tonight, whether I should sign up for both the 5K and 15K and do the Minnie version of the Goofy. It would be fun to have the chance to possibly run with Stacy. But on the other hand, I don't want to be completely out of hand or over-reach. Especially with all the park touring we are having in mind - trying to squeeze the Thanksgiving trip ito 3 days for DH who missed out.

I am working a little bit on flexibility as well lately. One of the black belts and I (I'm usually the only adult in the class) are working toward being able to put our feet behind our heads - do you guys know that wacky stretch? The kids can do it, but we've got a ways to go. In the last class, I said to Mike, "Give me two more sessions and I'll be able to do it. I think this essentially translates to getting my foot behind my head by the end of spring. So, I've got 6 months. If I stretch every day or every other day between now and then, I figure it could possibly happen. Or else I'll break something. :rotfl:

And now it is apparent just how much of a NUT I really am. :crazy: I am 34 years old, mother of two. What possible need to I have to be able to stretch that way? And why run 10 miles or even 9? Somehow, actually, 9-10 miles seems less silly than this foot behind my head business. I promise I will stretch carefully, won't push it. Will not stretch to the point of discomfort etc. etc.

[corinnak]

We knew the weather was predicted to be cold for Saturday morning. My dad had been planning on making the 4-5 hour drive from South Dakota to run with me at the Jingle Bell Run, but when they started predicting single digits and possibly windy conditions, he finally reconsidered and cancelled his plans to join us. It was disappointing, but ultimately the right decision, I think.

I had not adequately prepared for this race, I'm afraid. With the crazy schedules, snowy weather, additional appointments this month and solo-parent travel to Florida over Thanksgiving, I hadn't run as much as I had planned to, and I hadn't run outside at all in over a month. I had winter gear, I just hadn't gotten out there to test it with running. I wore it to shovel snow one time, and that was it.

I had new shoes with Gore-tek. I had new smartwool socks ($14!!) I had a windblock fleece jacket. I talked to Austin and my dad a few times about what I should wear. It was the best I could manage, somehow. The new stuff worried me a good deal.

Saturday morning, I got up early and put on the more insulated, non drawstring pants (the drawstring ones seemed not warm enough) and the winter running pants I had gotten the day before at the running store for 30% off. I had washed them, though. I put on the wool socks and two long sleeved shirts under my windblock fleece jacket. I got my fleece running gloves and the running mittens to wear over them as well and my blue hat. I rearranged my playlist in my iPod Shuffle so that all my BEST songs were in the front. I put my Garmin on over my jacket with some difficulty. There is a longer band for winter use, but I had a hard time finding the tool you need to change it.

Finally, I was ready to go. My husband and older son were ready to go (they were planning to walk the 2K) and my younger son was....still fast asleep. We finally managed to get him up and brought some breakfast along for him to eat in the car. We were getting going a lot later than I had hoped to. You never know how much trouble there will be parking or how long registration will take or lines for bathrooms even. So I was nervous as we headed out. And of course, on the route that we took, there is a railroad crossing. And of course, there was a train. But it wasn't crossing - it was already across the road, but it wasn't far enough to allow the arms to go back up again. So we sat there for a few minutes. Some people turned around and left. Some people drove around the arms. DH said "Well, I'm not driving around the arms. There's a cop right behind us." The cop drove up on the shoulder and I don't know if he radioed someone, but in a minute, the train started moving again, far enough that we could all proceed.

Well, we finally got there, and had plenty of time to get the kids into their snow gear, get checked in at registration, put jingle bells on our shoes, visit the facilities and decide that two shirts and a jacket was one shirt too many. There was a brass...quartet or quintet playing Christmas Carols I also met up with Austin and then Amy, and her husband Dean arrived as well. Amy goes to nursing school with Austin's wife. At the registration table, they stamped our hands for t-shirt pick up afterward. Except DH who was to distracted to check in, evidently. The stamps were snowmen, but the red ink ran so badly that it looked like a big spider-shaped rash. Eventually, this guy:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/PC150047.jpg
got up to tell us about the program our registration fees were benefitting, some of the safety considerations (run on the left hand side of the road) and that we would sing Jingle Bells to start the run. He said two choruses and then when we got to "Dashing through the snow," we'd all start running. Then we all headed outside in a big clump. The horse-drawn wagon was part of the 2K - it collected people as it drove the course. My family ended up mostly riding on it, though my older son trotted along beside it a good part of the run, or so I was told after the fact.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/PC150048.jpg

Waiting for the race to start:

Austin took this one, though he said he couldn't push the button with his gloves on. Evidently he managed, though. DH and DS are behind me.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/PC150050.jpg

DH took this one. Austin and Amy are behind me, not that you could recognize them with all the gear on. Amy is wearing the black balaclava and hat. Austin's mitten is right behind her.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/PC150051.jpg

So we sang the chorus of Jingle bells, and I thought we were singing Jingle Bells, jingle all the way a second time as he said, but people started into Dashing through the snow, and I was caught a little off guard, but started running and started the Garmin. Amy had said she was probably going to run 10 or 11 minute miles, which is on the faster side of what I usually do, but I thought maybe I could keep up with her. Well, she went out fast - like 8 minute miles? And I was trying to catch her, which was, I decided, a very bad plan, as my lungs were kind of surprised by the temperature and I ended up feeling like I was overexerting too soon in the race. I slowed down. I got passed by Santa. I tried to catch my breath. I readjusted my hat and remembered that I had my headphone in one ear and I just needed to turn the music on. "Love in an Elevator." I ran some more. I pulled off into a sidewalk to adjust the tongue of my shoe which was bunched and bugging me. Gotta fix that. And started up again and thought that I was in big trouble. It was right around zero degrees according to the car. It wasn't windy, but it was quite cold. I kept going. Then there was the first marker. I was kind of expecting it to be marked in miles - all the other runs I have done were marked in miles. This one was kilometers. I realized there was a long way to go.

My sunglasses kept fogging up, probably due to my gaiter and continued breathing. I felt like there was a thin coat of ice on my nose and cheeks and decided I needed to pull that gaiter down or I would continue to form a thicker coat of ice on my skin.

It was a pretty run through a small town. The snow was lovely at times and I thought about taking a picture from time to time, but had mittens on and didn't end up getting the camera out of my pocket. It is NICE to have pockets - a benefit to running in the winter, I guess. I just kept going at my more comfortable pace. At the beginning of the second mile, I felt fairly comfortable - my feet were warm, my legs were warm. I was a little sweaty inside my jacket. I was carrying my sunglasses due to the fogging and freezing. Eventually, I put them inside my jacket. Eventually also, I unzipped my jacket halfway to allow more venting, but I didn't want to freeze. A man passed me and said that I looked "steamy" which was probably about right. I had frost on the outside of my fleece jacket. I could feel it on my eyelashes.

In the last mile, I wanted to walk, but kept talking myself out of it. The music helped. In my lowest moment, Sexyback came on, and I can always run to that. Thank you, Justin Timberlake! And then it was the final stretch! I picked up the pace as much as I could and lumbered on toward the finish line - and there were Austin and Dean and Amy, cheering and waving. Amy commented on my lashes and Dean took a picture of me right after finishing.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/JBRunCori.jpg

Then I stumbled away to keep that secondary pump going - don't want to pass out, after all. I got back and they were ready to go in. I took another couple minutes and went inside as well. It was a big party in there, with delicious cinnamon rolls, cookies, scones, hot apple cider and bottled water. It was the best post-race food ever! DH and the kids were already inside, living it up. :santa: We also collected our t-shirts, even DH, without his hand stamped. Apparently it is a pretty casual organizational element. :)

So I ran the whole thing in 33:35. It was slower than I had hoped for - I had hoped for 32, but not a lot slower. It was still a PR, and Austin consoled me by saying that the cold weather slows you down, too. :rolleyes1 Thanks, Austin. It was a kind of a fun event, but not as much fun as events in more, uh, temperate temperatures, somehow.

My shoe decision worked out well - I had no blisters and my feet stayed warm the whole time. Austin said his feet were cold, although he had run the course 8 minutes faster than I had. He's asking Santa for Smartwool socks, evidently.

The only issue I had was that I ended up with a chafe from something in one of the pairs of pants on my left hand side. I don't know if it was a section of elastic that was laying wrong or a tag or what, but I'm going to investigate that before I run in the winter gear again.

Oh, and of course, later in the day, the temperature got up to 20 - that would have been so much less miserable. Oh well. It was my second 5K, and I bettered my previous time by almost 5 minutes. I have to be happy about that!

[AmyBeth68]

:worship: MAJOR kudos to you for getting out there and running in those temps. You are one tough girl!!! :thumbsup2 And your pace was excellent...under the circumstances you should be sooo proud of yourself. That was excellent and it was a PR for you. PR = PR = PR!! :cool1:

BTW...the picture of you after you finished with your snowy eyelashes is really a beautiful shot! LOVE IT!! :goodvibes

Great job Corinna!

[kimwim8]

First, I gotta say -

YOU'RE CRAZY!!!

You win the "ultimate runner lady" prize!! I can't believe you ran in ZERO degrees!! With an icy face and icicle eyelashes!! crazy. crazy. crazy.

Secondly, I gotta say -

:woohoo: YOU TOTALLY ROCKED IT!!:woohoo:

Congrats on your PR! That's an AWESOME time, even in the sunny weather. :goodvibes You were definitely prepared, as far as winter gear goes!

I hope you treated yourself to the cinammon rolls and warm beverages. ;)

[corinnak]

Thanks Amy! Thanks Kim!

I don't know that I TOTALLY rocked it, but I will allow that I at least PARTIALLY rocked it. :laughing: I think I felt kind of left in the dust - probably started too far to the front, too, which contributed to the slight (very slight) disappointment that I hadn't gotten that 32 minute goal - I ran that 3 mile in a little over 32 minutes and felt like I had worked so hard and it had been months and I probably ran this slower than I ran that one. Next time, though.

You bet, I treated myself to cinnamon rolls. I actually didn't really want the hot cider, strangely enough. I drank a bunch of water, though. I think I was the only one running with a water belt. I never drank any of it during the run, but it was what I really wanted as soon as I stopped, so I was glad I had it.

Thanks to both of you for reading and commenting. I appreciate the support a great deal!

[kimwim8]

I don't know that I TOTALLY rocked it, but I will allow that I at least PARTIALLY rocked it. :laughing:


I know you had a goal in mind, but my dear - you DEFINITELY rocked it in my book. :cool1:

[kimwim8]

MERRY CHRISTMAS, Corinna!! :santa:

I hope you and your family have a wonderful day! :hug:

[corinnak]

Thanks you Kim - Christmas is always a relief when it finally arrives! We got about 6 inches of snow, too. Which was beautiful, but more to shovel, of course.

So I'm back, after what seems like too long. And I really haven't managed to stop the one step back after my two steps forward. YET. But I think I am ready to try again. Yesterday, I got up and hit the treadmill first thing while the kids were still asleep. Of course, first I had problems with a dead iPod shuffle (again - I had left it on standby after the Jingle Bell Run) and so ended up throwing the playlist into the full-sized iPod, which is fine, it turns out, with the longer cord on the new headphones I bought when I replaced the ones that spontaneously broke.

Then I managed to run a whole .7 miles before my youngest woke up, calling for me. Sigh. So I went and reassured him and got him set up with his brother and a video game (yeah, breakfast can wait!) and went back and at least wanted to finish that first mile. But then I ended up thinking I should throw in another quarter mile, just so I did something more than a mile. And then it had been 7 minutes and 30 seconds, so I decided to just go ahead and finish the 10. So I'm doing it again - talking myself into running longer. And that ended up being another .7 miles. Hilarious. And then I had to get off the TM because I had an appointment that I needed to shower for and scramble to. It was better than nothing, I guess.

Then yesterday we went sledding. It was fun and crazy because we went over to the really BIG hill and ended up having lots of mishaps. My little guy kept ending up with snow in his face. My 9 year old was in heaven, though, and seeing the dads sledding on the little tiny sleds was worth the price of admission right there, not that we paid anything....but it was worth the long haul over to the big hill anyhow.

So good times. I am starting to think about next year's races. I need to get a 10 mile training program. I am thinking I should just do that for the Minnie and then repeat the last part of it again for the Paul Revere 10 miler. Cause I did the 3 miler last year and won't it be impressive if I go back and do the 10? I don't know, but I"m already using that as my "visualizing" race, so I think I'd better plan for it. Crazy to use that instead of the Minnie, I know! I'm not yet registered for either. I'd better get on that, for the Minnie anyhow. The other is such a small race, I doubt they are registering yet. And also I need to register for Kung Fu classes as well, if I ever hope to get that second degree Blue Belt!:scared1:

[kimwim8]

Hey girl! Great job getting on the TM, even if it was an interrupted run. You crack me up with the competitive voice inside your head...and the fact that the short distances just aren't good enough. :)

Sounds like you have a good plan already for '08 races. :thumbsup2 I'm enjoying living vicariously through you right now.

That sledding adventure sounds like the sledding trips I used to take as a kid. We don't have anywhere around here that we're allowed to sled anymore. :guilty:

Have a great week, lady. :goodvibes

[corinnak]

You know, the lack of notification messages has really thrown me for a loop. More than it probably should! Thanks for being there, Kim.

I hit the treadmill this morning, and I am still feeling....rusty? heavy? off my game? Yeah, all of those to some degree. So I walked the first mile, catching up on Biggest loser. I tried to kill my iPod shuffle this morning - it had a little clinch with the safety magnet thing on the treadmil and wouldn't turn on. I don't know if that was it or if I'd stupidly left it on again. But regardless, I grabbed the BIG iPod again...and couldn't make it play. Then I ran a while, walked a little, ran some more. Pulled the "kitten" off the window screen (he's a maniac). Ran some more. Walked some more. Finished the old Biggest Loser episode. Kae was eliminated, poor cute Kae. She was probably my favorite. She was just too good for her own good, though. Well, ultimately, that's not true, but in the sense of the game. Tangent.

So I am going back to recording miles walked and run in my signature. It's more encouraging with the bigger numbers and simpler to keep track. I am a proud back of the middle of the pack runner (well, if there weren't so many people joyfully walking these races, I'm sure I'd be a true back!) and whatever makes it more enjoyable, that's what I'm going to do!

I miss the road. Well, sidewalk. There's a lot of snow and ice and wind out there, so I'm staying in. I miss being out, though.

OH, and weirdness. My right foot keeps...not really cramping up, but getting that sleeping, cramping feeling like my toes often would get back in the days I'd do the eliptical. I think it happens when I don't switch it around enough on the treadmill. Or it may be my new replacement summer shoes (since I had taken to walking everywhere in my old runners) though they are the same shoe, so I don't get it. :confused3

[corinnak]

Oh, and the sledding - I don't think I mentioned, we went out to a friend of a friend's farm and they had this hill - who even knew there were hills like this in Minnesota?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/PC280072.jpg

This was about halfway up!

[kimwim8]

You're too freakin funny. If I had to stop that many times, I wouldn't have started back up! Good for you for putting the miles in, girl. :thumbsup2

And that hill....OMG that looks SO fun! The only part that scares me is the tree field at the bottom! :eek:

[corinnak]

Somehow, no one even got more than halfway to the trees. It really flattened out at the bottom or something. I think they are actually farther away than they look in the photo, too.

I gotta get the miles. I don't have the speed, I gotta get the distance! :laughing:

[kimwim8]

speed schmeed. You're doing AWESOME!! :woohoo:

[corinnak]

Oh, Kim. I don't feel so awesome. I'm muddling along, really. I'm glad it looks good, though.

Today is my second day in a row recording food again. I threw down the gauntlet yesterday....at my husband...and said I thought I needed to commit to journaling every day for a week. Of course, ultimately, I need to journal far longer than that, but a week sounds manageable. So he said "I should really get back to that, too." And I said "You should or you choose to?" And today he was logging things into Sparkpeople. The first step is the hardest. Except for the first step after a break - THAT is really the hardest. Unless you count the first step back after your fifth time restarting. Well, actually, it's maybe not as hard, but the novelty just isn't there. Sigh. :rotfl:

[kimwim8]

You just don't LOOK awesome (which you DO look awesome, btw ;) ) but you ARE awesome. In so many ways for me, friend. :hug:

I'm right there with you on the food journaling. I'm on day 3 and it just sucks, doesn't it? :confused3 There's no better way to say it. But.....WE CAN DO IT!! We WILL do it!! Then we can enjoy skinny-ness! :dance3:

Have a wonderful weekend, girl.

[corinnak]

I am still just muddling along, trying to get back to regular food logging/points counting. I am going to do some treadmill tomorrow, I think. It's warm out and I see people out running, but there is ice out there and it is thin, invisible and slick in places, so I am just too nervous with the weather being kind of melty and kind of freezy.

I keep thinking about how this is just a two steps forward, one step back process for me right now, and I am NOT going back another step. BEcause if you keep going two forward, one back, the progress is slow, but definitely forward-moving. I also today thought about how many times the average smoker tries to quit before they are ultimately successful. And I don't know that statistic, but I know it's a lot. So while being fat is not about a physical addiction like with nicotine, I think both involve a huge, hopefully permanent lifestyle change that's not necessarily that easy to achieve the first time out. Or the second, or third, even, or ever, but it is possible.

I got an email from my trainer today reminding me of my sessions that are ready to go, I just need to schedule them. It is a little embarrassing to go back, having gained back some fat and lost some fitness, but the only way to put things right is to return to the things that were working, or find new things that will work. So tomorrow, I will also call and schedule a couple of sessions with Becky, cause I need them.

[corinnak]

So I used the treadmill again today. I don't feel like I can say "I ran" though I did, but I did walk a lot today, too. It shouldn't be getting harder, should it? That doesn't seem right.

I had another music setback today - my cat, Phineas Nigellus Black-lips chewed through the wires on my headphones which I had left in the cupholder of the treadmill. Evidently, that is a BAD place to leave them. One of the kitties had previously mostly chewed through the safety string on the TM as well. Crazy. So no music, which never helps.

[corinnak]

Well, the running is coming back OK. I have finally found peace with the treadmill again. I ran 5 on Sunday and 4 yesterday (with fasty sprinty things, a quarter mile on, a quarter mile off), and 2 speedy miles today, and it was all pretty good. In spite of my ice cream making injury from Monday:

A year ago, at the cub scout winter day camp event, I bought an ice cream maker shaped like a ball. We had never used it, so when we were heading down to our friends' house on MLK day, I thought I'd bring it along. And it came in perfectly handy when we needed a distraction from the power struggle du jour. So I said, "We could make some ice cream." But we didn't have rock salt, only table salt. And the debate was: would it make any difference?" And The Google seemed to indicate that it wouldn't make much of a difference. So we used every scrap of ice in the house - you fill one part of the ball shaped ice cream maker with ice and salt, and this surrounds the ice cream chamber that you fill with milk and sugar and vanilla. (OK, it sounds like an unhealthy, inappropriate tangent, but stick with me a little longer) And the four kids and I rolled the ice cream ball around on the carpet for about 10 minutes. It was going so well, but then my friend's daughter got excited and picked up the ball and tried to TOSS it to me, which is just not a safe plan. The thing weighs probably 7 pounds and it's HARD. Smash - hit me right in the shin. My friend says "Do you think maybe you should put some ice on it?" and I said "Dude - there is NO ICE!" :rotfl: Anyhow, the ice cream turned out pretty good, and the kids mostly had a great time making it. But I am still feeling that bruisey shin when I run.

So it seems like my fast speed is getting marginally faster and my slow speed is getting marginally faster, but I'm frustrated by the subzero weather and the fact that I am pretty much stuck with running inside for the moment anyhow, mostly because the treadmill is a thing unto itself and I wonder how I'm doing outside. Not important, right now, though. I have to Just Keep Running.

I've been trying to plot out a training plan for the Minnie 15K, and am coming to the conclusion that for the plans in this book, I have way too much time. I could maybe make up one of those custom workouts on Runner's World, though. That might be a good thing.

Also, I am thinking (As you know, KIM) that I am going to do the 5K and the 15K over the Minnie weekend. Double medals, double fun. I have been planning to train for the Minnie as though it were a half marathon, which might be a crazy plan. I'm going to keep pondering.

[kimwim8]

Your mileage already for January is AWESOME, girl! :worship: Sorry about the ice cream shin injury. That's one for the books. :laughing: (sorry, I'm sure it hurts)

I didn't realize I had been gone so long from your journal, but I gotta say - I just loved your "quitting smoking" analogy. It's SO true. We really don't need to be so hard on ourselves when we do take a step backwards. As long as we have each other to get ourselves moving forward again. :hug:

I'm bummed that I can't be there to cheer you on for the 15K :cheer2: , but I'll take what I can get, and hopefully that is to be able to run the 5K with you! :woohoo: (you'll be bringing your camera, right??:rolleyes1 - I think mine is too big to run with :headache: )

Well, all in all, keep up the wonderful work, girl. You are a constant inspiration to me and a great friend. :goodvibes

[corinnak]

No, go ahead and laugh at my injury. It's not so bad, really. If I can run on it and it doesn't get worse, that's hardly an injury at all, though it hurt like the dickens when it happened.

I'm glad you approve of my mileage - I felt so draggy at the start of the month, it really is a testament to just plodding away. And adding in the warm up and cool down walking, too. That probably adds up to an extra 5 miles or something!

Hey, don't worry about the 15K - I am just excited that you will be there that weekend and we'll (hopefully) have the 5K to enjoy together!!! I will absolutely bring my camera! And water bottle. And visor.

You're a great friend, too, Kim, and very inspiring. You've had so much to contend with this year and you are still hanging in there, excited to get going again. Tenacious!

[Caitsmama]

Hey there girl!! How are you!! I've missed chatting with ya! Can't wait til May!

[postesf]

Hi Corinna. Thanks for stopping by my journal! I see you are doing the 15K and the 1/2 marathon. I am thinking about the 1/2, but wanted to finish the 15K first. It seems it's filling up fast so I don't know if I'll be able to wait that long...

Did you ever workout your training plan for the Minnie? Someone suggested to me I just work on my base and then 8-10 weeks before hand start increasing my mileage. I think this is what I'm going to do. I've only done the 5K this past January so just having a "base of 3 miles" for my LR on the weekend will be challenging. Then 8 weeks out I'll follow Hal Higdon's plan. Hope you find something that works for you! Keep us posted. I'd love to see how others are prepping...

Hope you have a good day!
Stacie

[corinnak]

Hi Stacy! I've missed chatting with you, too! May is going to be a super-fun blast! Either that or humid and gross, but I am going to assume the best! I am not yet registered for the 5K but am thinking that if that's the only chance to see Kim, I'd better plan to do it instead of just cheering.

Hello Stacie! Thank you for stopping by MY journal! For what little it is worth, I think you should boldly register for the half. There is no better way to make your dreams come true than to commit to making them happen. Of course, you can probably wait a little longer before deciding - I think the first rush of Goofy registrants and a larger group than ever probably accelerated the fill-rate for the half at least a little. Maybe it will sit around the halfway mark for a while now. :confused3

As for my training plan, I am still waffling a bit. It seems like there is a lot of variation in the plans i am looking at - and they are all half-marathon plans because there are relatively few 15K plans out there. Some are 3 days of running, some are 5, with two short runs. I don't know how to evaluate what would be the best, even.

I just kind of haphazardly trained for the 13K last fall, and that turned out pretty good, so I'm not sure it's worth all the agonizing! Base building followed by mileage increase is a good plan. My long run at this point is down to 5 miles, but I was up to 8 at one point. Every time I'd increase, I'd think, wow, that's about all I've got. But then the next week, I magically had a little bit more. I guess that's the way endurance works, but it never failed to impress me, because I am still that NEW! :laughing:

[corinnak]

Today is quite a day. First of all, it was -10 this morning. Brrr.

I have a hair appointment this evening and OT for one of my boys this afternoon, SOOOO, this morning, I did the first half of the Pilates for Dummies DVD - yeah, just the first half. It was good, but I was kind of itching to do the Yoga one and had limited time. I did all 12 poses on the yoga DVD and forgot how GOOD yoga makes me feel. I used to take a Sunday afternoon Yoga class at the YMCA, but it's been a long time.

Then this afternoon, after preschool pick up, I ran 3.55 miles, and it was those pace intervals that are always such a joy. I did OK. 4 quarter mile intervals at 6mph with 2 1/2 jog breaks in between. The first two felt great, the last two felt not as great, but I got 'em done. I am remembering my dream to run a sub-30 minute 5K, and while it's starting to be a recurring theme, I think I need to reign in the food to help with that. Yeah, still struggling, but at least i haven't given up entirely!

I also got put on a challenge team today - hopefully it will be a lot of fun and added encouragement to get the mileage in. I am starting to think I look like a rube with my cute little mileage at the bottom of my signature. I like keeping track, but I don't want to look like a dweeb with all the cool kids. I am going to try keeping track in an actual paper journal. I haven't decided if I'll just take it down in February or what. I know. Fascinating.

[corinnak]

Well, I did another 2+ miles last night. And fell half a mile short of 45 miles for the month. Talk me down, but something lately has my brain thinking "Yeah, some people run 45 miles in a week." :sad2: It's no way to think, I know. I do think it was pretty good for a month that I started out feeling fat and lazy. I'm still feeling kind of fat, but a bit less lazy. I kind of feel like I have my running back in a groove now, Which is a great place to be for the start of February.

I'm still after that goal of a sub-30 5K, and it sounds like it's a common goal on my "challenge" team as well. I need to get some local 5K's on the schedule. At least one in the spring and maybe a couple in the fall. When I'll be training for the half!!!!

The bad news, before I ran yesterday, I felt a cold coming on, and I have to report that it is here. By the training plan I think I'm going to follow for a while here, I'm supposed to run another 2 miles today. The only think I don't like about it is that it has me running 5 days a week, and that's a lot of sweaty sports bras. :laughing: I can probably sub in some cross training for the shortie 2 mile runs, as well, though, so I'm going to say that 5 days a week is a GOOD number of times to be doing aerobic activities. If I can work it in. The thing is, if it is in a training schedule, I do tend to work it in. If it's just "I should do 5 days a week" it doesn't happen.

On with the morning!

[corinnak]

I almost forgot - I was reading along last night and found a quote I wanted to put right into my journal. So here it is. A Penguin Moment, brought to you by Downy.

From "The Penguin Brigade Training Log"

Three Steps forward, two steps back.

I thought that I would continue to get better and better. I thought my progress would be linear. For a while, it worked that way, although considering where I started, that shouldn't be a surprise. For several months I got faster with nearly every run. Then the progress suddenly stopped. Long term improvement is a constant cycle of getting faster, hitting a plateau, slipping backwards, regrouping and then getting faster again.

For some reason, I just found this to be very reassuring and appropriate last night and wanted to share (but DH was working on my computer at the time. :rolleyes1 ).

[kimwim8]

I'm still after that goal of a sub-30 5K, and it sounds like it's a common goal on my "challenge" team as well. I need to get some local 5K's on the schedule. At least one in the spring and maybe a couple in the fall. When I'll be training for the half!!!!


Um.....you're not planning on trying for a sub-30 5k in May are ya? :confused3 If so, just try to wait around at the finish line for me, k? :rolleyes1


I hope your cold doesn't last too long or get too bad.

And 44.5 miles in a month is INCREDIBLE!!! :woohoo: Compare that to yourself last year. Don't you ever discount yourself for doing that many miles. Stop trying to compare yourself to uber-atlhetes who train for uber-events. You are ROCKIN' your running, girl. :worship:

[corinnak]

Kim, I can always count on you to talk me down. I do feel like it would be better if I were an über athlete, but of course, you're right that compared to last year's January total (whatever it was, walking, zero for running!) I AM doing really well.

And no, I'm not trying for anything in the 5K during Minnie weekend - that one is just for fun. I don't want to even push myself at all, given the 15K the following day. Just a nice, easy run or run/walk or walk. Whatever you want to do. :) Unless you aren't there for some reason, and in that case, I probably still won't do a sub-30 that day.

My cold is feeling OK as the day goes on. I am probably going to do that 2 mile run this afternoon, even.

In unrelated news, My kitten is now in heat. We had to put off getting her spayed because of the whole ringworm thing - we expect to get our final negative test very soon. So she's just going around looking for a MAN-cat. And not finding any here. Fortunately, we got her brother neutered a little while ago, so there is no cat-hanky-panky here! She's going in on Monday for her spay, but it is going to be a noisy couple of days around here. :laughing:

[corinnak]

Update - the cat is now spayed. And I am kind of wiped out exhausted. I'm following that 5-10K training plan as a ramp-up to the half- marathon plan, and that along with some ice skating over the weekend is kind of wiping me out. I ran yesterday's miles today. I am taking tomorrow off and running tomorrow's pace run on Thursday. Followed by Kung Fu and subsequent weapons and sparring class. I am actually leaving out one of the 2 mile runs this week, which I think is probably good. Ice skating is fun, but it has left my shins feeling kind of strained.

I am loving the poses on the Yoga for Dummies DVD, although I am already getting kind of sick of "Sarah," the woman leading the program at an incredibly slow pace. She just talks, talks, talks. I just want to move on to setting up the pose already! Maybe I need to try the intermediate work-out. I don't think I'm all that intermediate, BUT it's supposed to be shorter, which probably means leaving out all the explanations. I am going to try to do the pilates for dummies tomorrow - and get through it too.

I think I might be getting there on the "athletic," though!

[corinnak]

Today was the "pace run" of the week and it went pretty well. I did 4 stints of 1/4 mile at 6.1 or 6.2 treadmill MPH, and jogged the little recoveries at 4mph. It was a little tough, but doable. There is a little chart in the back of my women's running book, though that offers pace per mile suggestions for various race times. According to this, to get my sub 30 minute 5K, I should be doing these pace workouts at 9:23 pace (translates to, oh, 6.5) and I am just not sure when that is going to be possible. I guess it is something to work up to.

And then the other day, I talked to my mom on the phone and told her I'd registered for the half - I had been thinking of asking her to come along, but she talked herself right out of that invitation with comments like "You aren't really built like a runner - you're not all lean and mean." And then went on to ask if I still walked with my toes pointing out like my dad's side of the family and how that would be bad for being a runner. And I pointed out that it hadn't actually prevented my father from completing several FULL marathons. :rolleyes: And then she said something about how I wasn't going to WIN and I was just like, forget it. Moving on. No, the odds of my coming in first are virtually nonexistant, BUT the odds of my finishing and with a time I can be proud of because it reflects my hard work, those are very good! I told her to stop trying to talk me out of my dreams.

Kung Fu starts up again tonight -for real this time. Not sure how much longer I'm going to be able to keep on with that. If they ever want me to do a cartwheel for a belt test, I'm pretty much done for! :laughing:

[postesf]

Hi Corinna! Glad you like the Dummies DVD. Have you tried the Pilates one or only the Yoga for Dummies DVD. I have the Pilates one and it's pretty descent.

Sorry about the "downer" talk w/ your mom. That's not very encouraging. Just try to let it go. You will do great and have respectable time that you will be so proud of! You are training very hard that will show!!!

Keep up the good work!!!
Stacie

[corinnak]

:hug: Thanks for the note, Stacie! I truly, truly appreciate it. I am just going to let go of my mom's negativity - she, unfortunately, does it without even realizing it, I think, cause that negative inner-dialogue is so insidious, and starts to seem like normalcy or pragmatism or something. Fact is, I AM a runner and I haven't signed up for any races I haven't been able to finish yet, so it was pretty easy to dismiss her comments. At least initially. I do note that I felt a need to write them down here, though. ;)

I do have both the pilates and the yoga. I did about half of the pilates one and then decided I really felt like yoga - and they both seem to be quite good. The yoga one is a little......super......slow.....where she just talks and explains a lot. Which is great for the beginner, but after the third time through, it's like - could we not have a condensed version of this? I tried the intermediate level and it was better, but not just the same 12 poses in a more efficient manner. Oh well. I need to do the pilates workout all the way through and not get lured away by the call of downward facing dog!

Thanks again for stopping by! I was thinking about your team's name today - it's a pretty cool one. Cause when we line up for those races, I guess we really are all "warriors" of a kind, aren't we? Not fighting each other, obviously, but warriors nevertheless. :thumbsup2

[kimwim8]

Hey Corinna! :hug: Don't let anyone bring you down, girl. Athletes come in all shapes and sizes! You just ROCK everything you put your mind to! :woohoo: We here all know how awesome you are, and how awesome you are doing with your goals. 'nuff said. :goodvibes

Tempo works sounds cool! That's pretty scary to know that you'd have to run that fast though for a whole 5k! I know when I'd run on the TM I'd be around a 5 for my "fast parts". :laughing:

Keep it up, girly. I don't know how you do it, but you're doing great! :thumbsup2

[corinnak]

Thanks, Kim - it was a bit of a surprise because I haven't contended with a lot of doubt from others regarding my running abilities. I'm spoiled by all kinds of support.

I'm not sure this book has its terminology lined up with the rest of the world. Austin and I talked about it briefly this afternoon (he and I are conspiring for hopefully a St. Patrick's Day 5K) and he seems to think what I was doing was an Interval workout. Not sure what the differences are between Pace, Interval, Tempo, Strides etc. etc. Soooo mysterious! I'm with you - when the plan says to run those intervals "at your 5K pace" it is hard to imagine keeping up that pace for the whole run. Austin assures me that interval training is an area where rapid improvement tends to occur, though, so I will reserve my judgement on my abilities. I can tell you now, though, that running for 1/4 mile at 6.2 (on the TM) leaves me feeling pushed and breathing hard, and not at a level I could maintain for....well, 29 minutes and 59 seconds. :)

I don't know how I do it, either - but things are feeling better now than they did at the beginning of the month, so I'm going to take that and...you know, run with it. :teeth:

[postesf]

Hi Corinna...How ya doing???

[kimwim8]

Yeah, C.....where are ya??? You're not pullin' a Forrest Gump are ya? :confused3

[corinnak]

Life IS like a box of chocolates.

I've been out of town - sorry guys. I don't like to broadcast it too much. I was in Naples, Florida over the long weekend and spent most of last week, you know, packing everything. So it was a slow training week and a fast everything else week. :laundy:

Things are OK here. I just registered myself and my kids for an event next month - I'll be doing that 5K and the kids will be running the kids races. I think I've roped a couple of friends into signing up as well - the race has a $2 discount per entrant if you register as part of a team, so me and four others are now to be known as Team TED Hose. Because my friend, Austin's wife, Sara is in Nursing school and had to get her CNA certification and one of the things you might have to do on the exam is put TED hose on someone. And well, it was such a simple thing, she'd been kind of praying she'd get to do TED hose for the exam. But then.....she did. And it almost caused her to fail the whole thing because the person was wearing a sock "for sanitation purposes" and evidently, TED hose are a lot harder to put on over a sock, and she got messed up and had to start all over. :rolleyes1 It is not a story with a great punch line, but when coming up with a name for a team, for some reason, that is what I came up with. The other people on the team so far are a woman that Sara goes to nursing school with and her husband. It's unique anyhow. And I feel as though I have actually arrived. *I* the captain of a Team! How Athletic is that?? :cloud9:

I have a sniffly, coughing kid tonight. My mother brought us this germ last week on her random stopover trip on the way home from Las Vegas. Her flight home was cancelled while she was here on layover, so I picked her up and we kept her overnight. While I was supposed to be packing for Florida. Sheesh. Nice to see her, but the timing kind of was tough.

So I got us packed and up and out on Thursday night and I got to run in Florida TWICE over the weekend. The first run got shoved back later and later in the afternoon on Friday and I ended up running after dark which makes me nervous even in a place that doesn't have alligators and snakes. Not that I saw any....but you know what I mean. The sidewalks were all asphalt on that run, but we were staying in a high rise hotel and it was amazing, looking out, just how large an area I had run around. Nothing even kind of scary happened, either, I just didn't like it.

Then on Sunday, I got up and out before breakfast - we were meeting the relatives for breakfast at 9, so I figured I needed to be heading out by 7. And I did, and it was humid, but not too hot, and I had a very nice, though not very speedy 6 mile run. First I ran on the boardwalk thingy out to the beach - gorgeous. And on the way back, I saw footprints on the walkway in the dew, you know? And there were raccoon footprints, too. They had climbed up to check out the garbage cans. And then there was a big fur smear - I think they were wrestling or rolling around - who knows. And I ran out toward town and in the opposite direction from the previous run, found a nice asphalt sidewalk and took that out as far as I thought I needed to before turning back to finish my run at 6 miles. My math is not bad, but it's worse when I'm running, I think. I ended up walking a little more than I meant to in order to get back to the hotel. I thought about running with my camera, but decided, ultimately, not to. I had my water belt and phone and a little energy bar (which I melted some of the chocolate on by holding it in my hand for a while) and the camera seemed like one thing too many that morning. So sad. But it was lovely.

I wanted to run my 2 on Monday, but packing precluded it and we came home to the COLD. And I didn't get onto the treadmill, I fell asleep in exhaustion.

So I am going to do that brutal Wednesday interval/pace run tomorrow. Very exciting. And yet, not.

And now, Dear Stacie and Dear Kim, you are all caught up on what's been going on around here. I think I might have left out the trip to the doctor's office for my DS last week, too. In the ever continuing ringworm saga. Nevermind. My refill trials aren't all that exciting.

[kimwim8]

Have I told you lately how much you ROCK, C? :confused3 :worship: You are 'da bomb dog (as Randy would say). You certainly didn't owe us any explanation of where you were - I just wanted to make sure you were ok. :hug:

Great job on getting the runs in (and I'll forgive you for not taking pics :rolleyes1 ). Hope your DS is feeling better. :goodvibes

[corinnak]

Aw, Kim - it's so sweet of you to look out for me. I rock, huh? That's kind of neat. :) It was a real treat to get to run over the weekend - it was one of the things I had really been looking forward to about this trip, really, and I was so glad I'd packed and prepared for making those runs happen. It's definitely an added layer of packing and preparation and all, but I was really glad I'd gone to the extra trouble. :) I did take some photos on the trip - I'll look through and see if I can find a couple to put up for you. :flower3:

[postesf]

Yeah...What Kim said! :goodvibes Seriously...Great job getting your runs in while away from home. That can be a challenge!!! Sounds like it was very pretty and you had a good time!

And "Captain" Way to go! You have definately arrived! You are athletic! :goodvibes

Stacie

[corinnak]

Oh, Stacie, that's sweet of you to say. I think I am getting there, anyhow. :thumbsup2

So it has taken a few days, but here are some pics from the trip, for your edification, enjoyment or entertainment:

First, the highly expensive water in the room. Needless to say, this went absolutely untouched in favor of a big jug of $1.29 drinking water from Walgreens.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/P2180150.jpg

The view from our room on the 11th floor. you can see the mangroves closer in and the Gulf of Mexico in the distance. Apologies for my thumb at the top of the frame.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/P2180154.jpg

Here's the sign for one of the resort restaurants - why doesn't Disney have a burlesque themed restaurant? That's what I want to know! I didn't go into this one - the menu looked fairly dreadful, but Andrew tells me that in fact, the restaurant is decorated with illustrations of burlesque dancers! Oh, he didn't go in either - read about it in the resort materials, evidently. One of the most vaunted dishes is Strip Steak with Goose Fat Potatoes. :eek:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/P2180155.jpg

The local county park/beach - there are little trams (i.e. golf carts) that will take you the 1/2 mile to the beach if you want. Andrew and I discussed how it sounds like some sort of uptight double entendre..... And the boardwalk is made of recycled milk jugs and is super-fun to jog on early in the morning.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/P2180158.jpg

And the sign at the tram pick-up spot near the hotel - I didn't see any alligators in the wild this trip, but this sign makes me believe it was at least a possibility!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/P2180156.jpg

Here's my older son walking on the beach - this is further south of Clam Pass....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/P2170140.jpg

And me with my younger son at the end of that beach - I found a rock to sit on, but it was really tough getting up. And all those piles of seaweed - phew! Stinky! The sweet little guy had such a good time finding shells on the beach, though - he especially seemed to like pieces of shell rather than whole shells. His little hands were all full.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/P2170145.jpg

I guess that's about the extent of it from Naples. Kind of a weird collection of photos, now that I think about it. :rolleyes1

[corinnak]

So I think I am at my first Runnaversary. I can't be sure of the exact date. I could kick myself a little for not making a better note of exactly when it was I started running, but it was right around this time last year. I wish I had the date, but I'm pretty sure I just didn't want to jinx it by documenting it. My non-jinxing plan seems to have worked out OK, aside from not knowing exactly when to celebrate my first year of running. :rolleyes: Maybe I should just adopt Feb 25th as my Runniversary. What the heck. party:

Yesterday, I went out for the LSR of the week - 6 miles. I was supposed to do 5 last week and nudged it up to 6 because, well, there were supposed to be two weeks at 5 and one week at six, but I was in Florida, for goodness sake, so I took the extra mile. :) Six this week was not a problem, except for the somewhat treacherous conditions. There was re-frozen melted snow on the sidewalks a lot. There were some nice clear stretches as well, but there were plenty of patches of ice. Fortunately, I didn't fall. Knock on wood. I don't know that I will ever get the clothing right. When I left the house, I thought I was going to freeze, considered going back home for a warmer jacket and to trade in my fleece headband for an actual hat. But I kept going, like a fool, and in another couple of minutes was nice and toasty warm. Halfway through the run, I was taking off my mittens because my hands were even plenty warm. I don't know if I will ever get the clothing worked out such that I'm not steamy/sweaty around my core. I have not had a problem so far, but I would be in trouble, I think, if I ended up having to walk a long ways or stop altogether.

And this crazy training plan has, of all things, a 2 mile run the day after the long run. Which is the run that doesn't feel so good, I think. What I have usually had after a long run is a rest day. So my legs are a little surprised to be cranking out another 2. I am able to do it, though, and maybe there is some reasoning behind it, even. I just have to sit back and muse, on this, my theoretical runniversary, that my short runs are 2 miles long. I remember a year ago reading about the magic of completing that first 1 mile run. I remember reading with awe about people who went from walking a little to running for MILES.

My next 5K is coming up in a few weeks. It will be interesting to see what the weather is like. And what time I am able to manage. That sub 30 is on my mind, but I know that realistically, it may not happen right now. If I can do better than my last 5K in December, I will be happy. If I somehow don't manage to match that one, I have to confess, I won't be thrilled. I shouldn't get so hung up on the clock, I know. It *has* to go better than that one. The weather was way colder than optimal! My training had taken a huge hit during the months of November and December! I went out too fast! So you can see where I am building myself up to think this race could be better. And yet, I also have in mind that I maybe am just not going to be that fast yet. This has got to be the boringest train of thought ever. Moving on.

Back to my Runniversary. :dance3:



I feel a little tacky with all those race stickers in my signature. :rolleyes2

[corinnak]

Oh, and one more thing. Since it's MY Journal. I have been tracking this month's mileage on the Ohana mileage thread (page 2) and I was astounded to find that I have run OVER 50 miles this month. And I still have a couple of days left. I don't think I've ever run over 50 in a month before. Woo hoo, that's a lot of mileage. :faint: For me. :)

[kimwim8]

happy runniversary, happy runniversary, happy runniversary, haaaaaaaaaaaaaappy runniversary!! :cool1: Look at how far you've come in ONE year!! :thumbsup2

Loved the pictures from your trip. You look like you're REALLY shrinking, lady! ::yes:: Look at those skinny minnie legs!

Don't you ever feel weird about the race info you have in your siggie. You ARE a runner, and you're allowed to announce that in your siggie. :snooty: (just kidding)

And YOU GO GIRL with over 50 miles in this short month (and you're not even done yet)!!!!:hyper: You're incredible. I hope you know that. :goodvibes

[corinnak]

Thanks for the serenade, Kim! And thanks so much for being my #1 cheerleader. :cheer2: It means a lot, I hope you know THAT!

I am not actually shrinking.....that's an optical illusion. My legs are the slimmest part of my body, so it's great to have them front and center in a photo. :) I think my still considerable middle is largely blocked by my arms and still considerable bosom. :rotfl: And no, I can't take a compliment, but thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. It was a crazy little trip.

What a year it has been. Oh, and I don't feel weird about my race clippies exactly, just like it's kind of.....a jumbled lot. Not a sleek siggy at all. :laughing: (my other favorite smilie, relegated to the "more" page. :badpc:

I am so psyched about the mileage for the month. I remember having 50 as a goal a couple of times and just not quite ever making it. Well, so much for that! I'll be sure to post my monthly totals over here as well when the month is done. :)

[postesf]

Hi Corinna! Looks like you guys had a nice trip! $8 for water!!! Geez!

Congrats on your runniversary! Now I wish I knew the exact date I started my C25K running plan last year! It was somewhere around labor day--but that's all I know...

Thanks for the "shout out" on the 1/2 Marathon...85% full thread! I'm super excited...and nervous!

I wish I had skinny legs... I never wear shorts anymore...The thighs don't like them! :laughing:

50 miles is awesome! Way to go!!! Keep it up girl!!! :thumbsup2

Stacie

[corinnak]

Stacie - I don't know how thirsty I'd have to be to pay $8 for a bottle of water. That's worse than WDW prices! Of course, it is from Fiji. :rolleyes:

What is it with us and the unceremonious inception of running? You'd think we'd make a note or something!

I can NOT believe that the half marathon is already so full, can you? Try to relax - it is still a long way away. Are you nervous about the Minnie at all? I probably won't be until the night before. Or maybe morning of. I had never had a problem before, but got really nervous before the ToT 13K. Something about the hugely backed up traffic, I suppose. Fortunately, that seems to be a non-issue for marathon weekend.

I don't think I could strictly say that my legs are skinny, though I don't have a problem with them except for that they are currently pasty, pasty white. Anyhow, it's better to have POWERFUL legs than skinny legs, and I know we've both got those. :thumbsup2 Do you wear shorts for running? Body Glide is my friend. :blush: I have a friend who would say that was TMI.

[postesf]

I know...I was really hoping to hold off until after the Minnie to register for the 1/2, but it just didn't look like that was going to happen.

I am excited about the Minnie. We'll see how the training goes... My family is coming and we're doing the 5K too. (Matt, myself, my mom, dad and sister). So all the 15K in combination with them being there is going to be really fun.

I don't wear shorts. Most of my running has been since Sept, and I've just worn old cotton capris or my Nike Dry-fit pants. I've just bought a pair of Champion fitted capris that come just under my knee. So far, so good with them. Once I lose some more belly, I'd really try to try one of the "Skirt Sports" running skirts. I think they would be so cute. I'm just shaped so weird now, they don't look too flattering. It gets really hot here in the summers so I'd like to wear shorts...Maybe by next year! :rotfl:

I do kinda like that little bit of soreness after a run. It does make you feel like you have strong legs!!! :thumbsup2

Keep up those miles!!!

Have a great day!
Stacie

[corinnak]

Today was another one of those interval runs. 4 miles with intervals. So I asked Austin "Why is it that intervals are so not-fun?" And he says "Because they're WORK, that's why." Indeed. They are work. And I'm sure it's good to be pushing myself, cause as we all know, you don't get better if you don't push, you just stay where you are. I want to be able to tolerate harder exertion. I want to be able to go faster, at least a little. Most important, though, I want my heart to be über healthy, and I think intervals crank it up that extra notch. I don't know where the TM's heart rate monitor is - it always seems to chafe, but again with the body glide as my friend, I am thinking it might be OK.

So, the thing I realized today as I was logging my miles after the brutality of a 4 mile interval run, during which I actually stayed at the 6.2 pace during all 5 intervals, including the entirety of the half-mile interval :cool1:, the thing I realized is that I am not only busting through the 50 mile mark this month, I'm actually on track to exceed 60 miles, barring illness or injury Thursday or Friday. That boggles my mind!

Stacy, what could happen at the Minnie to prevent you from wanting to do the half? Weak powerade? Not enough port-a-potties? You have to walk some portion of the course? The WISHers are all crazed maniacs? :crazy: Actually, that one seems likely..... I know it seems like putting the cart before the horse to register for a second race before you've done the first one, but in your heart of hearts, you really want to do the half, right? Your pace has improved so much, it doesn't sound like you're in the sweep-zone at this point. You have ample time to prepare and besides, you DESERVE it! :hug: I'm sorry if that was an uncalled for bit of attempted bolstering. I'm SO glad you registered. The half is going to be an amazing experience. A year ago, could you have even dreamed of it?

I am getting REALLY excited about the Minnie. It's amazingly cool that your whole family will be along. I'll have DH and the kids and also my Father in Law may be spending a couple of days as well. Are all of you doing the 5K?

I like the skirts I have, although I have issues with the shorts riding up. At which point, why wouldn't I get the spankies? Maybe I need to try the skirt sports ones. Apparently there is no comparison. Plus, they seem to have POCKETS. That impresses me so much, I just can't tell you. I hear you on the belly - I may be deluding myself, but I feel like the skirts kind of hide the contours of my belly and hips better than other options I've tried. And I still went out looking like a stuffed sausage on Sunday - leggings and a pink form fitting light jacket/heavy shirt. I'm not really sure what it is, but it's not that flattering when zipped. :rolleyes:

Tomorrow is a Kim - maybe I'll even go outside for it. That might be kind of fun. :)

[AmyBeth68]

Hi Corinna...

WTG on the intervals. I'm playing around with speed work myself and curious what your intervals entail (pardon me if you posted this earlier...I'm being lazy and didn't research even though I do follow your journal LOL).

Anyway...Also super impressive that you're busting through the 60 mile mark this month!!! :goodvibes You have officially kicked my butt in February as I'm nowhere near those miles in running this month. I don't think I'm busting the 50 mile mark to be honest...so I have to say that is super impressive in the winter months :).

What is your current training plan like? Are you excited for the Minnie??? Do you have a goal...or is just to run your HP and enjoy the event?

[corinnak]

Hi Amy!
I don't think I posted much detail about speedwork - I didn't know anyone would be interested in details. :goodvibes

The training plan I'm following currently is from the book The Complete Book of Running for Women by Claire Kowalchick. The training plans are actually by someone else: Budd Coates, marathoner, coach, corporate fitness director for Rodale Press and advisor to Runner's World magazine. There are three levels for the two training schedules - the one I'm following right now is the 5K and 10K schedule, Bronze level (i.e. easiest) and includes 5 days a week of running, including a long run (working up from 3 to 8 miles), a pace run and at some point I am supposed to start something called "Strides" which are shorter runs with 20 seconds of fast running and 40 seconds of easy running 8x. The other two runs are shorter, 2 mile deals and speed isn't specified for those as far as I can tell.

There are instructions for the pace workouts over the 8 weeks of the program (plus two more weeks for race and recovery) and it starts with 1 mile easy, 4x400 meters (recover for 200m), 1/2 mile easy. The one I just did today was 1 mile easy, 2x400m (recover for 200m); 1x800m (recover for 400m); 2x400m (recover for 200m). Next week, there will be 2x800m and the week after that there will be 1x1,200 :scared1:

Now I didn't know what all that 2x400m meant, but fortunately for me, the book has a nice explanation of how to run "pace workouts" though I'm not sure, but I think these sound like intervals. I am so new, I'm not clear on all the differences. Maybe intervals are a variety of pace workout? Anyhow, I am still working my speed up little by little, but was proud to run all the intervals the whole way through at 6.2mph this week. Last week, I did some at 6.1 and the long one at 6. So there's some progress. It's not the most dramatic, and a lot of it was mental, I think, but progress.

It is not as fast as the pace per mile chart in the back indicates I need to be running these for my sub-30 5K, but a person can only do what a person can do and I am pushing my limits, so I'm just going to note that as a reference and keep on going. :)

And that is why I haven't typed much up about speed work. It looks a little like nonsense even to me!:laughing:

So when I finish this, in another month, I am going to start into the bronze (easy) 1/2 marathon training. That should put me in pretty good shape for the Minnie, I hope. Possibly over-prepared. Though I am thinking I'll run an actual half marathon the first weekend in June. I am getting excited about the minnie, though it still seems a lot of miles away. I haven't really formed a solid goal for the Minnie - it's a distance I have never run before, even, let alone raced. The closest was the 13K last October, so I suppose I'd like it if I performed a little better than I did on that one. I will probably just go for the happy pace and enjoy. What's the fun in gutting through a race at WDW when I don't even have a prior time to beat? :confused3 I want to go and get a medal and spend a little time being grateful that my happy pace keeps me well in advance of the sweepers, I guess.

How about you? Are you getting excited? Formulating goals? You've done the Minnie in previous years, right? If you're doing the Goofy challenge again, you'll be surpassing my mileage before long. :) The thing that astonishes me is that I don't feel like I've been beaten down by the mileage this month.....gosh, I hope I didn't miscalculate. I'm going to need to re-check that.:teacher:

OK. I'm heading to bed. I've got muscle to recover before tomorrow's big 2 mile run. :laughing: I think I am going to do that one at the HP, now that I think about it. If the plan doesn't specify, I get to pick my own pace, right?

[AmyBeth68]

Thanks for the info on your speed work Corinna! :) Sounds similar to what I'm doing...let's hope it works right LOL! I'm doing intervals every other week...throwing a hill repeats workout in every so often and a tempo run on the off speed interval week. Today is my speed day and I'm kind of not looking forward to it :rolleyes1 .

I think your mileage is incredible! You've done great this month. Running 5 times per week will definitely bump the miles:thumbsup2 . I'm only running 3 maybe 4 days a week...but that's what I did throughout Goofy training and it worked for me. Only now all the run days are shorter than for Goofy :laughing: . Thank god! I just have to incorporate a whole bunch of cross training...just too injury prone to run 5/week. I wish I could...but I just know my body. :sad2:

You're doing awesome and there is no doubt in my mind that you'll be well prepared for the Minnie (it's my first too!) and that you'll do fantastic in terms of endurance and pace. Continued luck with your training! :thumbsup2

[corinnak]

Amy,
I'm glad to hear that my speedwork doesn't sound way out there. I don't blame you for not looking forward to the speed run. It is easily my least anticipated run of the week. Cause it's hard work, I guess. I have never purposely done hill intervals - where you run up the same hill over and over, right? but whenever I go on a run outdoors, there are hills. Significant hills. Hills that intimidated me so much from running outside the first several months I was running, actually, so I am getting a good bit of hill work, even though it is very different from hill intervals.

I have been wondering about running 5 days a week, if maybe I shouldn't do some cross training on those days that call for 2 miles. So far, so good, but 5 days strikes me as a LOT.

I am so glad I signed up for the Minnie - it's really sad that it will be our first and last one, though. Do you think the Princess 1/2 marathon is going to happen? Would you do that one? I guess marketing wise, it could be a big winner. :confused3

Happy training to you too, Amy!

[corinnak]

I am now going to make an actual JOURNAL post. :)

Last night, I cooked up some awesome Dal. It's my absolute favorite kind of Indian food. Mmm. Lentils. I had never made it before, but I bought a bunch of lentils at the store on Tuesday which impelled me to find a recipe online and then get the rest of the ingredients and make the darn thing. Masoor Dal (http://www.indianfoodforever.com/daal/masoor-dal.html)

Last night Andrew and I came to the conclusion that it is time to let our very old, sick cat, Nicky go on to a better place. He's had a mastic tumor for several months, 17 years old, and has gotten to the point where he just seems like he's going downhill, feeling generally miserable and not enjoying the things he used to enjoy. So I made an appointment with the vet for after school - the kids want to go along. The vet asked if they had ever seen a pet euthanized. Well, no. But truly, they have lost more loved ones than anyone under 10 really expects to. Grandmothers, great grandmothers. Two other cats, just in the past year and a half. So we'll all go and give him a good farewell.:sad1:

My run this morning was short but good. I wore my new sugoi jacket and found it to be entirely adequate. I was as close to the right temperature as I think I have ever been on a winter run. It doesn't have the cool MP3 player pocket or cord loops, and I ended up with my shuffle clipped to my fleece headband. :rolleyes: I didn't pass another single pedestrian, though. I guess they were all at work. :guilty:

And now I should get to "work" as well. My morning off is over and my kid-schlepping must begin. First OT for one of them, then back home briefly, then pick them both up and take Nicky to the vet. Then ECFE and Kung Fu tonight. I'm going to a rehearsal tomorrow night and then tech week is next week for Godspell. That will add a whole new level of busy, I guess. Should be fun, though.

[Caitsmama]

Hey there girly!!!! I miss ya!

Sending (((Hugs))) to you for your cat.. i know how hard that is to have to do -- but it is better for the animal, so you have to think of it that way.

Sounds like you are doing good -- keep it up!! Can't wait til May! Gotta go check out the boards - i feel like i must be missing a thread about the minnie somewhere???

[corinnak]

Stacy! I've missed you too, though it sounds like you've been off on an adventure. :)

Thanks for the cat consolation hugs. We're really doing OK over here. I was just talking to my DH about how many times Nicky worried me - he was the only one of our cats we'd let go out anymore, and we have an invisible fence, but there have been so many times that I have worried about him. Because he was out all night or wasn't coming when I called. Heck, he even, we think, survived a minor car accident - came home with abrasions on his face and the skin and fur from the tip of his tail just GONE and the bone protruding. He's gotten into fights with other cats where we had to take him to the vet to get him patched up. But he was insane if he couldn't go out, so we had this compromise. Of all the ways he could have gone, I never would have predicted that he would be a cat we'd take to the vet because he was just too sick and frail to go on. Evidently, his motto was "Live fast, die old and exhausted." :)

There is just the one Minnie thread - it's not the most happening, though they are starting to talk about meets now anyway......you want I should post the link or have you found that one?

I have been doing pretty well with the training, but I'm thinking that 2 on Monday may have pushed me over the proverbial edge this week. I've got some tight leg muscles that I don't want to aggravate. So I'm resting tomorrow and I'll do the purple linament stuff and maybe some ice and see how it goes. Dig out the stretching book too, I think. I've got the long run on Sunday - hopefully the weather will cooperate. I am thinking of doing 7. Legs and weather permitting, of course. I think I'd better find something else to do on Mondays instead of slamming another 2 onto the end of the previous day's long run. Maybe a nice spinning class or something. It will, of course, cut into my rockin' mileage. Unless there's an odometer on the bike, I guess. And then it could really help my mileage. For the challenge, anyhow. I couldn't count that as running miles, obviously.

I'm going to paste February's mileage count for the team over here as well. So I don't lose it. :rolleyes: And so I can brag. I am all about the bragging.:dance3:

[corinnak]

Total Miles for the week of 2-2-08 = 15.45

Total Minutes for the week of 2-2-08 = 479

Week of 2-8-08

2/10 - Treadmill, 5.5 mi. 75 minutes
2/11 - Treadmill, 2.75 mi 45 min
2/14 - Snow Shoveling - 30 min
2/15 - Running - 3.5 mi. 38 min

Total Weekly Miles: 11.75
Total Weekly Minutes: 188 (3.13 hours)

Week of 12/16

2/17 Running/walking 6.7 miles 86 minutes
2/20 Treadmill 2.8 miles 40 minutes
2/21 Treadmill 4.75 miles 61 minutes,
Yoga, stretching, 15 minutes
Kung Fu, Weapons and Sparring classes (sat out the last half of W&S cause of a sore rib) 60 minutes
2/22 Treadmill 2.5 miles, 33 minutes
Resistance Bands, Yoga - 35 minutes

Total Weekly Miles: 16.75
Total Weely Minutes: 330

Week starting 2/23
2/24 - running/slowly avoiding ice 7 miles, 94 min.
stretching/yoga 10 min.
2/25 - treadmill 2.5 miles, 32 minutes
stretching/yoga 10 min
2/27 treadmill 4.76 miles, 63 minutes
2/28 run/crawl outside 2.25 miles 32 minutes
Kung Fu, Weapons & Sparring - 60 min.
2/29 treadmilly 3.65 miles, 51 min


Total Weekly Miles: 20.16
Total Weekly minutes: 362

Totals for February:
Miles: 64.1
Minutes: 1314 (21.9)

[corinnak]

Maybe I'll keep my mileage log over here this month. :)


Week beginning 3/1
3/2 Running 7.1 miles 98 min
3/5 3.51 miles 45 min

Weekly totals:
Miles: 10.61
Minutes 143

Week beginning 3/8
3/9 - Dog walk .75 mile, 18 min
3/10 Dog walk/jog 2.25 miles, 40 min
3/11 dog walk/jog - 5.2 miles 80 min
3/12 dog walk - 1 mile, 17 minutes; 3 miles, 62 min
3/13 walking dog - 2 miles, 34 min; jogging - 5.25 miles, 72 min; kung fu - 90 min
3/14 walk w/ dog 2 miles, 34 min

21.45 miles
447 min

Week beginning 3/15
3/16 - St. Patrick's Day Human Race - 3.1 Miles, 31:16, plus .5 miles, 11 minutes for the kids races - those probably don't count double....
3/20 Kung Fu - 60 min....including breaking "practice boards" yowsa.

Week beginning 3/21
3/22 3.6 miles, 42 minutes - jogged with Sister on the Las Vegas Strip
3/23 1.5 miles, 55 minutes, hiked and climbed around Red Rock Canyon
3/27 2.1 miles, 40 min - walking with the dog, new gentle leader is a lifesaver
3/28 2.09 miles, 48 min
3/30 3.9 miles, 69 min

March totals:
Miles:51.95
Minutes:946

April
4/2 2.5 miles, 40 min
4/3 3 miles, 36:26
4/6 6.1 miles, 1:22 min
4/7 3 miles, 53 min






Totals for March:
Miles: 32.06
Minutes 590

[corinnak]

So I posted this on the team thread as well, but thought.....my journal buddies aren't actually on the team thread. So x-posting. They called me "Hard core" over there because I ran 6 on Sunday last week and then did another 2 on Monday. In other news, Austin took a look at my training plan and said he takes issue with it because it builds and builds and doesn't have any recovery weeks. Something to think about, I guess. So without any further ado, that x-post:

I had a pretty nice 7 miler this morning. Except for the icy chill wind on the way up the BIG MAMA hill. Brrrr. I debated putting it off to tomorrow - I feel like I've been pushing too hard lately - but the weather is going to be a lot worse tomorrow, so I went ahead.

I love that you guys are calling me (of all people) "hardcore." Nobody would ever call me that IRL, I'm afraid. I do think that it may be that I'm the opposite of those tough guys with a hidden soft side. I might seem soft on the outside, but maybe, just maybe, I am kind of tough at the core.

So, in honor of running in the winter, I have complied :

Corinna's Top 10 Reasons to LOVE running in a Minnesota Winter.

10. People think you're hardcore even when you're soft around the middle.
9. Forced Ice Breaks (like a walk break, but randomly distributed through the course)
8. Wearing a jacket - it has POCKETS!
7. Using the jacket pockets to run to the gas station and pick up a surprise for the kids.
6. It's really difficult to get overheated.
5. No mud.
4. That gorgeous part with the frozen pond and snow-covered trees
3. Hoarfroast - rare but wonderful.
2. Rarely get thirsty on a run
1. That jacket I mentioned before - it covers up that soft around the middle bit!

[Caitsmama]

Corinna --- you go!!! Your doing awesome! But,i have one question - what exactly is HoarFroast ??? LOL

[corinnak]

Hi Stacy! Hoarfrost is very cool. I've only seen it once on a run this year, but it's incredibly pretty when it happens.
For the full explanation:
Hoarfrost (http://flickr-met.blogspot.com/2007/06/hoarfrost.html)

For just a picture:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/corinnak/2137749133_339564ec97.jpg

A lot like the stuff on my eyelashes at that 5K, really. :)

[AmyBeth68]

Love the post Corinna :). WTG on a solid 7 Miler!!!! You're still impressing me with your mileage girl!

[Caitsmama]

Ok, sooooo.. i guess i can admit that pic is pretty.. but i won't admit to that in public ---- i hate the cold. LOL

Thanks for the definition, i had never hear of that tech term before.. :)

[corinnak]

So, the way it's been going for the last week is this: Tech week, tech week, tech week, tech week, show, show show, new dog.

I've gotten some of my runs in and have been walking this new dog a good bit as well, but am off the schedule, truly.

It is harder to run with this new dog, though he loves it. His name is Skippy and he is a 9 month old black mix. And when I say run, really, it's an easy trot for him, and a jog for me. But it's harder with him cause I can't just swing my arms like normal - he is not the best on his leash yet, either. So today I went out by myself for a 5 and took him for another mile after. I'm kind of tired, I have to admit, between the show and the dog, but at least I don't have any trouble falling to sleep at night!

[Caitsmama]

Hey girl!! It's like having another kid huh?! I remember those puppy days.. ugh.. LOL ;) But, they are worth it.. :)
(just like kids.. HAAA.. ;) )

And good for you about doing 6 mi. yesterday!! i don't know that i will ever get to that .. LOL

[postesf]

HI Corinna!!! :wave:

[corinnak]

Hey girl!! It's like having another kid huh?! I remember those puppy days.. ugh.. LOL ;) But, they are worth it.. :)
(just like kids.. HAAA.. ;) )

And good for you about doing 6 mi. yesterday!! i don't know that i will ever get to that .. LOL

Stacy,
Puppy days is it - it is a lot like having a toddler again all of a sudden. I know that I am having a lot of the same thoughts I did when I had a baby or toddler - I can't go on like this forever - is it ever going to get better - what if he's like this FOREVER! Of course with kids, you know they are going to change. I don't have a lot of puppy experience, and this guy LOOKS like a dog, so I am trying to remind myself of this dog's virtues, things that another dog, an older, calmer, different dog wouldn't necessarily have. I felt like we kind of rushed into adopting him that day - the kids were in love and it sounded like someone else was also interested in him, but I regret not meeting some of the other dogs I had been looking at. He does have many fine qualities, but he's also a little crazy and scares the cats because he is so energetic.

What kind of dog/s do you have? We're hoping that with some training and a little more time, he's going to settle down to be a true gem, but I am also aware that I might just be kidding myself.

And as for you getting to 6 miles - well, if you want to, I'm sure you can! If you don't really want to, obviously there's no real need for it. I can run that far, but yesterday I walked a bunch of it. :)

Stacie! :yay: Thanks for the wave!

[Caitsmama]

Corinna, we have 2 labs --- one yellow, and one black. Probably like kids -- i should have stopped after the first.. LOL Although with kids i did!!! Haaaaaa... j/k.

Anyway, my first dog -- my yellow lab Summer,(90lbs) is overweight, lazy , and would be content to sleep all day.. (gee... they say after a while you start to resemble your dog..hmmmmm..) ;)
Then, we went and rescued this black lab mix (Petra, 75lbs) and MAN......... this dog is nuts. She is a few pieces of kibble short of a full dish --if you know what i mean...
She is full of spunk - usally she gets herself into all kinds of trouble, and drags my lazy yellow lab into it too! They are only about a year apart - but mine as well be decades!! LOL
And they both sleep with me at night. (Me and DH sleep in separate rooms -- and the dogs are with me..) ;)
But, as much as they drive me crazy.. i love 'em. :)

[corinnak]

Stacy - that is a lot of dog! I love the names. :) This morning as we were out walking, a neighbor was out and I managed to keep Skippy actually kind of calm (no other dogs out, which helps a LOT) and the guy asks me..."What kind of dog is that? Is that a chocolate lab?" Uh talk about a few pieces of kibble short of a bowl - this dog is definitely BLACK.:confused:

DH and I actually sleep in different rooms as well - I'm upstairs in proximity to the boys and the cats - he's downstairs, now with the dog, though Skippy is a content floor-sleeper, it seems.

We're really still just getting the hang of it, learning what we can redirect him to when he's going crazy - chew toys seem to help. Walks are great, though he's a little distractable, pulls the leash a bit still and is currently too crazy to jog with. Playing with toys seems to just get him wound up worse - hard to say if it's better to get that play energy out or worse to get it going, sometimes. Like I say, though, we're getting the hang of it little by little.

It has really thrown a wrench into the fitness schedule, though I am out and on my feet and that is the main thing, I suppose. I am still running a few days a week, at least. He and I need to work on the walking at this point, though, so that's the way it goes.

In other news, I think I fit in THE PANTS again, though I'm not entirely sure where they are. I am down 9 lbs from my re-gain, almost back to where I had been before the regain. Which is great, but I honestly don't know why it's happened, except strangely, I don't feel so much like eating. I don't know if it is the stress of the show, the stress of adoption, the near-constant smell of dog, the near constant companionship or some sort of virus or infection or what. I haven't been feeling the greatest, stomach-wise, I guess. I guess if it keeps on, I should go to the doctor and get checked out, but I kind of hate to complain "I've lost 10 pounds and I don't know why! Can't you fix it??" :laughing:

[corinnak]

In a fit of crossposting, here's the little report from the 5K I ran today.

Well, it's been a crazy day here. My race was OK. It was cool but not rainy or snowy - perfect weather, really. I forgot the camera and it seemed like we were always running late, but we met up with our friends, and I did the 5K along with my friend Sara. Well, when I say "along with" we were both on the course together, but I ditched her in about the first 10 seconds - some friend I am! She is a walker, so we had not anticipated staying together. I did holler and wave when we passed after the turn-around, though. And I walked back after I finished and did the last .2 mile together, though I didn't cross the finish twice. Then there were the kids races - my 9 year old was disappointed he wasn't registered for the 5K and ran BOTH of the youth races - the first was 1/4 mile and my 4 year old ran that as well, and I along with him. Then my 9 year old and his friend also both ran the 1/2 mile, which was twice around the 1/4 mile loop. After that, Sara's husband Austin (of Tower of Terror 13K fame) ran the 8K. And then we were all exhausted!

Here are my results, though:


Age 34
Bib Number
1489
Division
F3034
Overall Place
302 out of 671
Gender Place
136 out of 404
Division Place
26 out of 74
Finish Time
0:31:16
Mile Pace
10:04/mile
Kilometer Pace
6:15/km

I don't need a new BIG goal yet - I still need to shave another minute 16 from my finish time. I'm pretty pleased with how well I did, overall, though. I ran hard.

In other news, we are still muddling along with this puppy. He's a sweetie but we're worried that this is a frustrating situation for him to be living in. Because he's so boisterous, the cats are scared of him, and they run, and he wants to chase them. So we mostly need to keep him on the leash or in the kennel inside, though sometimes we lock up the cats and let him roam free. But frustrating. And we don't have another dog for him to play with either, so he's feeling, er, frisky. Tomorrow, we are going to take him to doggie daycare at the kennel we have been using for our cats - I know, kind of weird. Our old cat who recently died could not be left home with a pet sitter, so we found this place that boards cats as well as dogs. We want to get him accustomed to the place, and hopefully he will be able to enjoy some doggie fun as well. Please cross your fingers for us, if it doesn't mess up your typing too much!

[kimwim8]

Hey speedy! :goodvibes I know I've talked to you, but I had to post how proud I am of you!! Look how far you've come and how speedy you are!! I can only dream of completing a 5k that fast. :worship:

Wishing you lots of luck with the puppy. :wizard: He sounds like a handful right now. Hopefully he'll fall into shape and will be able to calmly co-exist with you and everyone else in the house. :upsidedow

Congrats on the weight loss. :thumbsup2 Whether you were trying or not...it's still nice - as long as you're able to still function.

[postesf]

HI Corinna! Great job on your race! Your time is awesome! I can only hope and wish for my time to be that good one day!

I can't relate w/ the puppy... We don't have any pets. I hope you guys get it worked out though. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! :goodvibes

Stacie

[LittleMissMickey]

Hi Corrina! I'm Ashley -- just started up with Team Ohana. I saw you were from Minnesota and did the Irish 5K (The St. Paul one, right?). I live in New Prague/Savage (I share my time between both) and did the Irish 10 mile in Minneapolis. Do you have any other races coming up? Just thought maybe I'd send you a hello and see if you would want to get together for a race or something sometime.

Congrats on your awesome time! My time was nothing fancy like your 31 min 5K! Wahoo!!:cool1: :worship:

[kimwim8]

Hey C! :goodvibes Sorry we couldn't connect today. I had someone trying to install new software on my pc. :headache:

Hope all is going well! :thumbsup2

[Caitsmama]

Hey girl!! GREAT time!! That is amazing to me -- you should be very very proud!
You'll definately be leaving me in the dust at the minnie! LOL

[corinnak]

Hey! I'm officially a slacker. An uncommunicative slacker. Between the trip to Vegas and the sick kids and the dog who gets way too excited when I jog, so I've been walking him and taking him to the dog park instead of running......and the 6 inches of snow we got yesterday, I've been not running so much. Walking more, but it's not the same. The Minnie is coming up so fast, I'm planning on at least hitting the treadmill tomorrow morning and getting back onto something like track to at least be able to finish the 5K and 15K and schlep around the parks a little.

Kim - thanks for the kudos. I am feeling better in the stomach department and have gained back just a little - so at least I don't seem to have some wasting illness. It sounds to me like your dream of completing a 5K that fast isn't too far off, judging from your recent time running into the wind and all. :) You may just leave me in the dust a little at the Minnie! Oh - and I hope the software eventually worked out - wasn't sure if I was being to pesky or timing was just bad. I've been in and out a lot the past few days, myself.

Stacie - Thanks for the thumbs-up on my time. I'm proud, even if it's not the sub-30 of my dreams. :cloud9:

Hi Ashley - welcome to my sporadic journal. :) I have been even more sporadic on the team page just lately. I need to update for March, come to think of it. Yes, I did the St. Paul race and had a pretty good time. Did you enjoy the 10 mile? I had considered that race as well. Incidentally, any time on a 10 mile is fancy in my book. I guess I am planning on doing the Race for the Cure, maybe with my dad (though if I had a dollar for the number of times my dad and I have planned to run a race together only to have it fall through, I could buy a bottle of water in Las Vegas. ;) I'm also thinking of the Burnsville Heart of the City...probably 5K, though they also have a half-marathon. That's June 8, I believe. Do you have any races in the works?

Hi Stacy! Fortunately, I don't expect the Minnie course to be all that dusty. Maybe we'll have a chance to hang out before or after if our paces aren't compatible.

OK - back to radio silence. :ssst:

[Caitsmama]

Hey girl!! Glad to "see you" back! :)
Sounds like that pup has you busy!! LOL

What hotel are you at for the Minnie?
I can't wait to see Epcot and the F&G Fest! I also emailed to try to get tix for the Disney Games concert that Sat. night, but i haven't heard back yet.. so i don't know whats up.. :(
My dd is going to the P&P party with my MIL at the MK the Friday night - i don't want to go, b/c i figure i shouldn't be out til midnight before my first run. LOL
As it gets closer, you'll have to let me know any concrete plans you have. :)

And did you say SNOOOOW???!! YIKES!!!!

[deekaypee]

I was just popping in to see if things are all right with you--not that I was worried about your (uncharacteristic) silence or anything. ;) I'm glad it's just a case, more or less, of LTO. Or should I say Puppy takes over.

It really sounds like you've been getting lots of good walking in, though! :thumbsup2 I'm absolutely confident that you'll be up and running in time for the Minnie & that you'll have a great time.

[LittleMissMickey]

Hey Corinna,
I have thought about Burnsville's race since that's where I grew up. I am always reluctant because we head to the cabin a lot during the summer and I never want to miss a good weekend up there, you know?? (my boyfriend's cabin, not mine, so I'm still getting used to this lifestyle!) What part of the city are you from? Maybe sometime we could meet up for a run/walk/race. I am hopefully coaching a group of middle school girls to finish their first 5ks this summer. I am thinking we'll do the Urban Wildlands race in August in Richfield. I am doing the New Prague Half in May -- Mother's Day weekend -- I think. They have a 5K, too, and I live about a block and a half from the start line, so my mom cooks up some good grub for when we get done. You could come join us! I would love to meet a fellow Dis-er!!

Anyway, glad to stop by your journal. I should really start one of my own...

Take care,
Ashley

[corinnak]

Stacy - we'll be at Old Key West for the Minnie Weekend - you're at one of the Port Orleans resorts, aren't you? Or am I misremembering again? We considered the P&P party on Friday night, but came to the same conclusion as you - it's probably not worth it to stay up that late and buy extra tickets when we'll have AP's. If I had a big pirate or princess fan, I might have made it a priority. I'm sure your daughter will have a great time.

We have park days and some restaurants picked out, but darned if I can remember what is when at this point. I should find it and we could PM plans again, I suppose? If I know us, the only thing we'll have that matches up is the 5K. ;)

Oh man, that pup has me busy. The days we do best are the days when I can spend an hour or more taking him to the dog park or if he can go to doggie day care. A long walk doesn't do it for him - he seems to need a certain amount of time to tear around with other dogs. My 4 year old keeps lobbying for a second dog, and I don't say it wouldn't be great in some ways, but I just don't think I can go there right now.

And yes, I did say snow, but it's almost all melted again. :)

DKP - thanks for stopping by and for being concerned. It really has been a huge dose of PTO & LTO just lately. Sorry I've been so quiet. I'll get my numbers together and post them soon, at the very least. Like you say, it's not like I've been completely inactive - and walking uses....either entirely different muscles or the same muscles in entirely different ways. I did run the past two days and discovered I haven't lost THAT much. I need to do a longer run this weekend and see where I stand. I may end up walking some of the minnie, but I don't think it will be a question of finishing or being swept, anyhow.

Ashley - you totally should start your own journal - I never thought I would, and in fact have not been the best about keeping it up, but I have grown to really appreciate the support and the log of the journey. I'm in the south suburbs as well - it would be fun to do a race sometime. I think heart of the city is Saturday morning, so depending on how far it is to the cabin, you might still be able to go up for most of the weekend. We aren't cabin people, but they do seem to be very popular around here!

I have considered New Prague before, but unfortunately if it's the 11th, I'm already committed to RFTC at MOA. I have heard good things about that course. Thanks for the invite - I appreciate it, even if I can't take you up on it. :)

Urban Wildlands - that sounds like a neat race. That's so great that you're coaching kids for it. I'll have to check that one out!

[Caitsmama]

Hey girl! Well, we were staying at POR, but we just switched the other day to the Grand Floridian! :)

And as for plans, to tell ya the truth, my only concrete plans are this:
Friday -- head over to WWOS to pick up the packet (probably later in the day, after some pool time)
Sat. -- the 5k (duh), then back to the pool, and probably to Epcot later in the evening to see the F&G stuff.
Sunday -- yup, more pool time and then over to MK at night (since i believe they are open til 2am with EMH right??)
Monday -- alas, MORE pool time, and MABYE a quick early am trip over to MK for some shopping or stroll down main street.. (only for like 2 hrs) - we will probably have to be on the ME bus by like 5pm, our flight leaves MCO at 9pm.

I will have to check park hours again, as what happened last time when i *thought* i had them right.. and they changed.. LOL
But, that's my plan.
I don't plan on hitting parks during the day -- as fighting crowds in almost 90 degree heat is NOT my idea of fun, i would rather be by the pool with my pina colada. ;)
And i will do Epcot and MK at night.. that's it for parks, as we go back in November.. and it's cooler then. This trip to me is more about the R&R.
But,i am excited to see the topiarys and such at the F&G fest!

I am curious to what the health expo thing is too at the WWOS, but i guess we will find out when we go pick up our packets.

[corinnak]

So I ran today again. I also ran last Wednesday and Thursday, though they were "Kim" and "Kim +" but today I managed something over 6 - not sure how much over because I evidently stopped the timer at 3.44 miles. Sheesh. I started it again and ended at right around 6 miles, but was it 6.25? 6.5? 6.75? I have no earthly clue. Though I've run the same route before, so I should be able to figure it out, doncha think? :rolleyes:

Stacy - wow, the GF! That is my 9 year old's dream. Someday - maybe even in January, we'll stay there. Do they have a hot tub? That is my only question. Cause you'd think the Poly would, but it doesn't Like maybe inside the volcano, even! I don't actually remember what our park plans were, except Animal Kingdom at least part of the day on Saturday. I'm with you - touring in 90 degree weather is not actually compatible with the health and safety of my husband and kids. We're staying DVC on points and I don't think it's pool-hopping blackout time - maybe we could legitimately pool hop to GF sometime if the weather is too gross for touring most of the day.

Ashley - so New Prague is on Saturday...I should maybe take this to the Ohana thread....but I might be getting talked into it. My way faster running friend is maybe going to do the half. I'm thinking maybe the 5K for me. It's going to be a busy month of "racing" I guess. As many as it seems I am doing, I am not going to be able to go "all out" on any of them. Which is actually fine with me as I don't really enjoy "all out" running.

[Caitsmama]

hey there! Yes, they do have a hot tub.. i believe a couple.

Just give me a yell if you wan't to stop over -- if your son doesn't mind a 7 yr old girl bothering him.. LOL ;)
They also have a slide in the pool similar to the Poly one, where you go thru the rock.

I still have your cell phone number in my phone.. if you need my number again, lmk, and i'll pm you. :) I also definately plan on walking over to the poly one a.m. for some Tonga toast!!!! YUM!!

[kimwim8]

I don't know. I might've run 6.25. Maybe 6.75. Maybe 10. Not sure.....



;)



You're crazy, girl! And back with a vengence!!!! :thumbsup2 Great job on that run! I really want to get to that point in the near future. Maybe some of your mad running skills will rub off on me in May. :rolleyes1

Speaking of May.....anyone going to the Cali Grill Sat night? :confused3 I'm pretty bummed that I won't get to see anyone except for before and during the race. But I'm grateful that I can even RUN in Disney, so I guess I'll leave it alone. :)

[corinnak]

I don't know. I might've run 6.25. Maybe 6.75. Maybe 10. Not sure.....


:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

You crack me up. :rotfl: It wasn't 10 - I can tell you that with certainty. Mostly because I don't feel even a bit sore today, not even in my grumpy feet.


You are at a place where you could build to 10K without too much drama. It wouldn't even take as long as you think. Here's all you do - if you run 3 times a week, take the run when you have more time - your weekend run usually, and go ahead and go 1/2 mile longer each week. So 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6......at least that's the way I did it last summer. I guess I might not have been that methodical. I think I did some dumb thing like making all my runs longer - not actually necessary, it turns out. But you didn't come here for advice or peer pressure.....or maybe you did. ;)

I don't remember what our plan was for Saturday night, but I don't think it was Cali Grill. Crystal Palace, maybe? Boma? I honestly don't remember. My kids might be impressed with Cali Grill, eh? I think I should probably put a couple more years on my younger one before we go there, actually, come to think of it.

We will have a good time before, during and after the race. Darn these weekend trips - never enough time for everything you want to do. Looking back, I can't believe I was going to pass on the 5K and never get a red dress medal. What was I thinking? :squirrel: Check it out - a squirrel smiley. Not exactly relevant, but interesting, for sure.

[kimwim8]

Me funny? Nah, I leave that up to you, squirrely. ;)

This will probably be my one and only time at Cali Grill until my kids are grownups. :laughing: I don't think DH will ever go to WDW without the kids, so I'm taking advantage of a "Universal trip" and sneaking in a nice Disney meal. :rolleyes1

I love the mileage plan. I'll definitely do that. The "long-ish" run will definitely be my weekend run. I'm already pushing it by running 3.5 on my lunch breaks. :ssst: I'll always accept your input, my friend. :hug:

[AmyBeth68]

Hi Corinna,

Just checked out your journal and wanted to pop in and say great job with the training! Sounds like you are wayyyy back on track :). Are you running both the 5K and the 15K..any chance you're going to the WiSH meet? Would be great to say "hi" IRL! :goodvibes Happy training!!!

[deekaypee]

So...what are you doing with the pup over the Minnie weekend? He's going to feel sooooo neglected, especially after getting used to all that activity you've been giving him. It sounds like he'll need a companion to keep him busy while you're gone. And really, is one puppy enough? :rotfl:

I love how you describe increasing your miles...you just kind of did it. Kind of like your upcoming trip--you've got the ressies but don't really remember what/when they are. All very relaxing & organic. What a great mindset! I just know you're going to love the Minnie!

[corinnak]

Well, I did a modified version of "speed work" this afternoon. I didn't have as much time as I would have liked because it was the hop-a-thon at my son's school. They are raising money for humanitarian aid for children in vietnam and I went along to support....ended up getting drafted to the team when my son's partner flipped out and couldn't finish. So, lots of fun, but cut my long run short by over a mile and one of the 800m's too. What I did do, I ran faster than before and even bumped the speed up to 7 for the last .05m. Crazy stuff. You do what you can and say it's better than nothing.


Kim - at some point, I don't remember when, bumping up by a whole mile on the long run started to become completely doable as well. The 1/2 mile a week plan is the slow but virtually painless way. :)



AmyBeth - thanks for the note - I don't think I'd say I'm wayyy back on track, but at least nominally back on track. ;) I am doing both races, yes. God willing and the water don't rise. I hope to do the meet, but my unawareness of other plans makes it harder to commit. :-) I need to call and cancel someone off the Princess Breakfast, so I'm going to ask for a review of my reservations when I do that. I wrote it all down at the time, but am not quite sure where that was. Very pathetic!

Debra - it is nice of you to be so concerned for Skippy that you would volunteer another ususpecting dog into our household. :) The pup isn't actually likely to spend even one minute missing us as we are planning to board him at the daycare place where they have doggie slumber parties instead of cages. We have taken him there a few times for day care to get him nice and exhausted - which makes a big difference to his level of crazy puppy energy, and he has buddies there and everything. I know what you're saying about another dog maybe making things easier, but CASH is not going to go for that, and frankly, I don't think I can take any more changes or additions at the moment either. Maybe once we have things better in hand.

I'm not sure my mindset is so much relaxing and organic as it is disorganized and lazy, but.....nevermind. :hug: Thanks for putting a positive spin on it.

[corinnak]

So, I am officially starting to feel like that when I've been called "hardcore" in the past, that was actually right.

I decided that in order to prepare for the upcoming Minnie weekend in which I will experience the joy of the Go Red for Women 5K with Kim and then the next day experience the full distance of the Minnie Marathon 15K, I should start doing these back-to back type training weekends. Not a lot of time left, I know. And I kind of lost a couple weeks of training, but that is in the past. This weekend I started with a 2 mile run with the dog on Saturday afternoon. And then we walked the rest of the way home, which was another mile. Just worked out that way. No big deal.

Then today was my 7 1/2 mile run. I went alone:

Mile 1: I was thinking how much I could feel that I had run yesterday.

Mile 2: My iPod shuffle ran out of battery (my own fault) and there was that massive hill.

Mile 3: running into the icy wind and thoughts that I never should have planned to run a 5K just before a longer race.

Mile 4: yes, I missed about 1/2 mile last week with the garmin. I took note at 3.44 miles (I remember messing with my jacket there last week and must have bumped the button) and checked again at the spot where I restarted the timer. Just about exactly .5 miles.

Mile 5 : run fast to get away from the weird guy in the hoodie sweatshirt walking on the other side of the street, to which side I need to cross at the next intersection. Run fast some more to get further ahead in case he turns. Yes, I am too paranoid.

Mile 6 : I might actually finish this, more uphill, though, and my feet are griping. Passed by a jogger with a cute Labradoodle going the other way, though. And then they turned around and passed me going the same way.

Mile 7 : Slowing down, but going to get through it. The last mile was actually running out to a spot where Skippy had left something yesterday that I didn't have a clean-up bag for, so I ran to that spot with a bag and no dog today, and then headed for home.

The last half mile was pretty slow jogging, but I did it. Whew. And now I am officially exhausted. There's still .2 miles to get home, so a nice, easy walk.

I'm pretty tired, but I got through it. I kept thinking that this week would be the worst because my body was not expecting the back-to-back today. Next week, my body will be expecting it. I really hope that's true.

[Caitsmama]

Corinna -- GREAT JOB GIRL!!!!!!!! I am so impressed.. I still can't even run the whole 3 miles yet (even though i am constantly cutting down my time..) So, i can't even imagine doing 7!!

Do you have any pics of yourself that you can post or link me to --- so i know who to look for in May? LOL I feel like i have been talking to all you guys forever, but have no clue what to look for -- i mean, i see kim's avie, so i know kinda what she looks like, and amy and scott.. but there are a few of you that i really want to meet, and don't want to just walk right by! LOL

[deekaypee]

The dying of the iPod, the wind, the hills, and the back-to-back runs. Yeah, the Goofy is calling your name.

Oh, and...

*cough, cough* Hardcore.*cough, cough* \

Who was it who said that?

[corinnak]

Debra, you are cracking me up. I'm sorry - I can't hear the Goofy calling my name over the sound of the wind.....

Here's the part on Schprockets where I whine just a little.

My foot hurts today.

It's fine if I am sitting around like a lazy bum, but if I'm up and standing or walking, not the best. It hurt yesterday too, and I think it's getting better, but this is NOT what I was hoping for. I was OK until I took the dog for a long walk yesterday. There's something alongside the outer part of my arch on my right foot. This isn't that ol' PF coming back - different spot. I do think it's just a little 'itis of something, though.

So for the momet, ice, rest, advil, massage, ice rest. :rolleyes1

[kimwim8]

Rest and heal, my friend. Rest and heal. :hug:

That was definitely a hardcore run, and I appreciate you taking us on a bit of the journey. I am feeling a little bad that I might have talked you into doing the 5k with me. :rolleyes1 Hopefully you won't hold a grudge or hate me forever. :lovestruc

[corinnak]

Not at all, Kim. I'm doing the 5K, and I was lured in by the fact that you were running it, but I don't recall any arm twisting, pressure or even persuasive convincing, so do not feel bad!

I'm also a little concered about my shoes - I think they may have contributed to the trouble somewhat, cause I wore them on the long run and was OK, but then when I changed into them for my fast-walk with the dog, I remember thinking maybe I shouldn't have changed shoes, but then I was out the door and they were OK, but then it turns out no. So, new shoes? Maybe.

Fortunately, I have a easy day today and can ice periodically through the day. I have to confess, I have been squeezing in these runs and have neglected some of the stretching I know I need to do, so I'm going to see if I can get my legs and low-back stretched out too. :thumbsup2

[postesf]

HI Corinna! WOW!!! Look at your Ms Hardcore! Back to back runs. I think I'm going to do a back to back this weekened. 3/7 :scared1: I'm definately going to take it easy on the 3 w/ more walking!

You are doing great!!! Keep it up girl!

Stacie

[corinnak]

Stacie,
I can't keep it up - my foot hurts. :sad1: I am hoping to be healed up enough to run this weekend, but maybe that's just crazy.

It's not that bad, but it felt fine this morning and hurts more as I walk around. Which says to me "Rest, lady!"

So I mostly am. And icing. And generally trying to settle down the area. I feel like it's small improvements, but said to DH that if we were in Disney now, I'd seriously be thinking of renting a wheelchair or scooter, just to avoid making things worse. Not that I can't walk, just I feel like I shouldn't right at the moment, you know?

I keep thinking I should go to the Y and ride a stationary bike. Or pump up the tires on my regular bike. Cause I need to keep up the cardio, but take the load off my foot. :idea: Takes more work than just the usual, though.

[kimwim8]

Just take a rest day, for crying out loud lady!! :mad:

(I'm not really mad, just trying to get my point across ;) )

[deekaypee]

Stacie,
I can't keep it up - my foot hurts. :sad1: I am hoping to be healed up enough to run this weekend, but maybe that's just crazy.

It's not that bad, but it felt fine this morning and hurts more as I walk around. Which says to me "Rest, lady!"

So I mostly am. And icing. And generally trying to settle down the area. I feel like it's small improvements, but said to DH that if we were in Disney now, I'd seriously be thinking of renting a wheelchair or scooter, just to avoid making things worse. Not that I can't walk, just I feel like I shouldn't right at the moment, you know?

I keep thinking I should go to the Y and ride a stationary bike. Or pump up the tires on my regular bike. Cause I need to keep up the cardio, but take the load off my foot. :idea: Takes more work than just the usual, though.

Please, please, PLEASE rest Corrina. I don't want to see you injure yourself so that you have to take an extended time off (let alone be in pain). I know the advice is easier to give and/or hear than to follow, but please read your comments. It sounds so serious, and I'm worried about you. :hug:

[corinnak]

Guys, this is my second rest day in a row. I'm taking a rest already!! :laughing:

I really think it's going to be OK in another day. I'm not running or walking any distance right at the moment. I can't avoid all walking and standing, but am freqently icing, I have a massage tomorrow, so my Nancy may well find some other muscle or two that are contributing.

I am nipping this in the bud - I promise. The degree of it at this point is more niggling and annoying rather than debilitating and severe. I don't want to make anything worse, so I even made DH walk the dog this morning. It's good for him, too. :)

[LittleMissMickey]

Hey Corinna! Sorry to hear that your foot decided to protest and/or strike! I hate that they can think for themselves sometimes. I like to think of this body as more of a dictatorship, but the limbs don't always listen.

Anyway... It sounds like you've been busy! I loved reading where you commented on being paranoid. I am SO that girl. I am constantly evaluating the situation and giving people the shifty eye.

Hopefully you are feeling well for your upcoming trip, and your super-busy month of May! Good luck with the massage!!! (Sounds nice!)

Let me know what you decide with the New Prague 5K. Do you ever go to the free training runs at Running Room in Burnsville? I've thought about it just because then I wouldn't be running alone, except I fear showing up alone. If you ever want to try it out, I'd love to accompany you. They have groups that meet the needs of different mile amounts and pace groups. Let me know if you are interested!

Take care and recover!
Ashley

[AmyBeth68]

Wow Corinna, I'm having foot pain myself. I just took a few days off too...and it KILLS me so I know you're probably going crazy too ;). Here's a :hug: of solidarity sister!

So what do you think? Are you trying new shoes? That's where I'm heading with this. Got my sports massage today and she didn't find any reason for the pain. SOOO frustrating with the Minnie and two races looming :(.

Here's some PD that your foot heals up super quickly!!!!

Edited to add: Sounds like we have pain in the same location C. I'm banking on the shoes being the problem even though I don't think mine have that many miles on them :(. Here's hoping we figure this out SOON!

[corinnak]

Ashley - I registered for the NP 5K - I have a friend who is doing the 1/2, but it's just too much for me to take on this year. I have also considered the running room group runs as well as the runs at....oh, that store in Apple Valley...Runner's Gate. But also haven't gotten it together to go. The times don't work out or the distance is wrong, or something. I'd be glad to look at it again with an eye towards meeting up.

Amybeth, I can't help but feel like different shoes are in order. The ones I have are causing a callous on one of my big toes, so that's not good, but I have to think that getting something different may be beneficial on many levels, just to be able to have different shoes for the back to back runs, even.

I am definitely getting somewhere. I'm a big believer in this trigger point stuff, that there can be little muscle knots one place that refer pain to another place. The place I am feeling these little knots is actually on the outside of my heel, right behid that ankle joint bump. I push there and yowsa, but then if I can get it to release a bit, it eases up the bottom of my foot, which actually feels pretty good right now.

Thanks for the commiseration and the :hug: Sorry you are having trouble, too. Here's to getting this settled down before the big races. :drinking1 Now, off I go to rest, rest, rest. :snail:

[LittleMissMickey]

I've never been to Runner's Gate. I have considered doing the training programs at Running Room, but the times and days are wrong for me. I have a friend who does them and she just gives me the stuff.

As for new shoes, there is a coupon each month in the Running Room eMag -- just go to their website. It's good for 20% off your purchase -- I think I'm heading over there to get some knickers or something.

I get blisters sometimes if I run in the same pair of shoes two days in a row. You might want to invest in a 2nd pair. You are supposed to give them some "rest" to dry out and do whatever else they do (stink??).

Chin up,
Ashley

[corinnak]

Hi Ashley,
I do have two pairs, but they are similar styles and the same brand - one is gore-tek for cold and wet and wind, and the other is breathable summer. I've been switching between them lately, but I think I could stand to have something built just a little bit different in the mix as well. Something with just a midge more room for my big ol' toe. :rolleyes: I have a gift certificate for Runner's Gate - the place is run by someone my husband tangentially knows. It was actually from Christmas - I don't get down to shopping in that area very often, I guess. I think their groups are on different days from RR, for what it's worth.

So.......I'm doing better but definitely still in rest-recovery mode. The massage today seems to have helped. More ice, more rest. I'm not going to Kung Fu tonight, mostly because my older son fell asleep rather than go to class - he's really exhausted, apparently. It's probably just as well if I stay off my feet and do an extra session or two of ice instead of scissors-tornado kicks and the like. Right now, I'm icing and biofreezing. :cold: :cool: I'm feeling like my training is going down the tubes, but I am protective of my foot, so I just have to settle down about the training, I guess.