Roxymama's 5k to Marathon, Time to Collect Another Castle

[SarahDisney]

I hope the doctor can figure out what's wrong with your foot and get you started on the road to recovery!

 

[roxymama]

Thanks everyone! Appt made...It's for 5/31 which seems so far away right now. But I wasn't kidding about getting appts. being tough. One thing that is probably nicer about living in a smaller town.
So I may start looking for alternatives to keep my restless self moving at least a little bit until then. I'm thinking walking for sure unless it hurts. And maybe riding the stationary bike? All things at my disposal.
I'll probably stop by the Running Thread to ask people for ideas on what to do when side-tracked and stir-crazy.

My conundrum now is the timing of getting new shoes. Wait until I know what I have going on with my foot for sure after seeing the dr.? But then do I keep walking in my old shoes? Conundrum

 

[roxymama]

MAJOR UPDATE ALERT!

I bought this today...

Now my quinuoa will not go all over the house. My husband says it looks like an alien screaming. I will never un-see that.

Tonight I cook some General Tsao's chicken - the healthy version.

I will report back later this week after my test of biking instead of running. I am stir-crazy.

 

[roxymama]

This is my 5k-aversary! A year ago today I entered my first timed 5k and ran it instead of walking it. It was my first race medal and my first out of state race all wrapped into one. I was such a newbie I had no idea what to expect. And I finished a lot faster than I ever imagined that I would after being so scared of who knows what.
I almost did not run that race or even travel to Ohio to begin with when I found out that my mom had cancer the day before we left. And my whole family, literally everyone told me I had to go to do this for me since none of my mom's appts. were even until I got back. My life changed that weekend. And running 1000% gave me time to myself to deal with my feelings about my mom and to get away from them, off and on as I needed it. My mom was also rooting for me just as I've been rooting for her ever since then. She's almost to her last round of treatment before we pray she gets her all clear. The cancer from then she defeated already and then got hit up with a new kind and that's what she's about to defeat too.

Remembering things like that today helps me to stop feeling sorry for myself about resting my injury right now. Taking a month off from running in the grand scheme of things is not a big deal. Walking worked out awesome for me this weekend btw. No pain!! And I'm trying my hand at elliptical and bike on Tuesday (BACHELORETTE PREMIERE TONIGHT!!)

 

[roxymama]

I'm still having a lot of fun making my blue apron meals and I especially need to stick to cooking good food since I've fallen down the "I love fast food" hole a few times more than I'd like lately.
So here's some of what I've made lately.

Soy glazed meatballs on a bed of rice and Swiss chats with pickled radishes. The rice I slightly messed up but I LOVED the radishes. So fresh! Go figure?!


Coconut curry shrimp with rice noodles and greens and lime. This one was out of the park good. I was so happy to have a shrimp one finally! And the greens were, no joke, bigger than my head. Crazy how fast they cook down.

Pork roast with mashed potatoes and greens and carrots cooked with a touch of molasses. It's so funny how I used to make the pre-packaged microwave mashed potatoes and these are just "cut up a potatoe, cook it in boiling water, drain and mash". I can add some salt or butter but I don't have to. also I love cooked carrots!

This was my pizza fail. Lets it's say I didn't let the dough get to room temp enough. I was able to save the veggie toppings but the dough was a fail. It was supposed to be a Greek pizza with greens. Oops

I didn't cook this. This is what happens when I forget to pack my healthy lunches. And it gets busy at work. I pilfer the free lunchroom garbage. It was amazing but a good reminded to keep taking the time to pack the lunch!!!

Ok that's my update. Elliptical tonight! Any elliptical tips? I've never used them much.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I'm still having a lot of fun making my blue apron meals and I especially need to stick to cooking good food since I've fallen down the "I love fast food" hole a few times more than I'd like lately.
So here's some of what I've made lately.
View attachment 170986
Soy glazed meatballs on a bed of rice and Swiss chats with pickled radishes. The rice I slightly messed up but I LOVED the radishes. So fresh! Go figure?!

View attachment 170987
Coconut curry shrimp with rice noodles and greens and lime. This one was out of the park good. I was so happy to have a shrimp one finally! And the greens were, no joke, bigger than my head. Crazy how fast they cook down.
View attachment 170988
Pork roast with mashed potatoes and greens and carrots cooked with a touch of molasses. It's so funny how I used to make the pre-packaged microwave mashed potatoes and these are just "cut up a potatoe, cook it in boiling water, drain and mash". I can add some salt or butter but I don't have to. also I love cooked carrots!
View attachment 170991
This was my pizza fail. Lets it's say I didn't let the dough get to room temp enough. I was able to save the veggie toppings but the dough was a fail. It was supposed to be a Greek pizza with greens. Oops
View attachment 170993
I didn't cook this. This is what happens when I forget to pack my healthy lunches. And it gets busy at work. I pilfer the free lunchroom garbage. It was amazing but a good reminded to keep taking the time to pack the lunch!!!

Ok that's my update. Elliptical tonight! Any elliptical tips? I've never used them much.

Saw the picture of the doughnut and was about to beg for the healthy recipe for that one. LOL! Lunchroom garbage.... oh how do I know about that one....

 

[roxymama]

Saw the picture of the doughnut and was about to beg for the healthy recipe for that one. LOL! Lunchroom garbage.... oh how do I know about that one....

I have been so so so good about avoiding it; where I used to give in EVERY TIME! But when I forget to bring food stuff like this happens. On the plus side, it was a Friday so at least I made it the whole week before caving.

Looking at the pictures, these meals look so huge, but in reality those are all served in my smaller salad sized bowls and the portions are fairly small. The pork for instance, each of those slices is maybe only 2 inches long. Which I see tons of complaints on the BA website about, but it's been the best thing for my family to be eating less. And they actually do fill me up (most of the time!)

 

[SarahDisney]

Well I just ate a donut hole, so ... you're not alone.

In terms of the elliptical ... I haven't used it in years, but I remember it being pretty easy to figure it out. Just take it slow and see what works for you.

 

[roxymama]

I finally have a journal entry that involves running again! Hallelujah!

Last night I was gearing up to go to my gym from a date with the bike or elliptical and as I was getting dressed in my workout gear I thought...it's still so sunny out. I said to my hubby "maybe I can do a real slow test-drive around the block since it's sunny out and then if it's a no-go I still go to the gym." My first clue that this time may be different was when I put on my shoes and laced them up my foot didn't feel weird. Last several times my foot felt not right at all in my shoe. It was a pleasant surprise but I still made a point to not get over-confident until I started moving.
I decided to do my un-scientific intervals of walking a few blocks and then running a block, walking a few blocks, then running a few blocks, etc etc. Did this for my mile loop around the neighborhood. Had my garmin on but really wan't looking at pace at all...just at the time it was taking me so I could decide if I wanted to do another loop. I popped my head inside my house when I could tell the kiddo had gone to bed (light in her room was off) and I said to hubby "my foot feels good!, do I do some more? it's getting a little dark...maybe I'll just do a little bit more"
You may see a trend that I ask my husband questions I already have the answer to in my head. I do this all the time. He's probably thinking "OMG, just go finish your run!"
So I did a 1/2 mile out in back instead of the loop because it really was starting to get dark and in my head I knew I didn't want to all of a sudden break my good foot-feelings.
I did not use any music for this run A) because I didn't want to go digging for my headphones and lose valuable sunlight and B) I wanted to pay attention to how my body felt and not get "lost in the music"

I did get to be creepy a little bit though We are replacing our bathroom window and the glass block/vent guy was at our house earlier to show us different choices. So on my run I was TOTALLY trying to look at all the bathroom windows of houses I was running past. Like a total creep. Ooops.

I will say that during the run I was a bit out of shape...not like completely...just enough that it reminded me I have to keep being active...but also I know how easily I can get back in shape from this point...it wasn't like I was dying out there or anything. It did take me 21:57 to complete my 1.5 miles and I think that has a lot to do with me just being waaaay overly cautious. And my walk sections were not what you would call a speed walk.

Long weekend coming up! So I think my plan is to BUY NEW SHOES FINALLY YAY! and then add a little more distance on Saturday or Sunday and increase the running portion in between my walking portion. My husband runs a local 5k on Memorial Day so my daughter and I will get some walking in as we help cheer him on. I have my dr. appt on Tues morning and I'm going to keep it. Even if my foot feels great right now I'd like to at least know what she thinks the issue is and how I can prevent it or treat it. 6/5 is the local zoo fun run/walk. I still plan on doing it smartly, especially if these happy foot feelings continue. So we shall just see how I feel as it gets closer. It's a flat easy course and looking at the times from last year, even if I walked the whole thing slowly I still would not be in last place since it shares a finish line with the 10k No one will even know I'm a slow 5ker...they all will think I'm a fast 10ker hahaha.
But let's be honest...no one cares what time I finish in. My foot cares though, so I'm not going to be stupid.

My new crazy pink tropical leggings came in and I LOVE THEM. But my kiddo was playing games on my phone before her bath-time so I did not take a pic yet. Stay tuned for that.

One last thing. I posted in the runner's thread about this briefly, but I'm real excited about it so I'm posting it again here. In July I have my first challenge weekend. It just happens to be in-town and not in disney. It's a 5k then 10k (the 10k course same day as a half but I wisely did not sign up for that...not ready yet.) So when the Rock N Roll people emailed us with hotel rates my hubby asked if I was still interested. YES! There were two choices, the Palmer House (which is super pretty and fancy and nice) and the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place which is also nice and attached to the convention center where the expo is held. The McCormick was cheaper but farther away from the races. He read that there is a shuttle to take you to the start line. So we ended up going with the Hyatt. Easy access to the expo too sounds pretty great...means I can go shopping right? Our good friends made reservations for us to all eat at Duck Duck Goat which is a cool new trendy Chinese Restaraunt for dinner the night after my 5k but before my 10k the next morning. So I will enjoy it but not be too too adventurous. Trading chicken and veggies for duck and goat!
So I guess if I can't run at Wine N Dine this year...I'll just do my make-shift Chicago version of it, right? Now I just need my foot to stay happy.

 

[SarahDisney]

Yay running!! I'm glad your foot is feeling better!

Also ... I feel like all races weekends should be mini-Wine & Dine weekends. I'm considering doing a 5K on Sunday (it's going to be a game-day decision), and one of the factors I'm taking into consideration is the free ice cream after the race.

 

[roxymama]

and one of the factors I'm taking into consideration is the free ice cream after the race.

That's almost better than a medal! So did you decide to do the 5k?

I just did a 2.04 run at 22:51 just now. 11:05ish. Ran the whole time and the first part was much slower. Much much slower. Took me some time to feel back into a rythym for sure. Garmin was on low battery, doh. So about 1.4 miles in it had the dreaded black low battery box, ran the rest on feel but noticed at the end it still had life in it and I was able to get my data while sweating in my porch before it died.
Thoughts: no foot pain! That 11:05 felt like kind of hard. But not totally terrible. If we would call my a normal easy run a "piece of cake" this was more like a burnt brownie. Tough but I miss running so I powered through it and in the end enjoyed it. Also my morning mint chocolate cliff bar is not a brownie...it wants to be...but it is not!

I wore shorts and a tank!!!! Who am I?

Also God bless the shady areas on the street.

Excited to go to my running store at 11am today, literally the minute they open. Got a backyard BBQ to attend after but want me shoes!!! Eeeeeee!!!!!

Happy Memorial Day everyone.

 

[SarahDisney]

That's almost better than a medal! So did you decide to do the 5k?

Nope. I was up at 5:30 this morning (I just didn't sleep well last night) and the race didn't start until 9:15, and I didn't want to wait that long to go running. So I went for my previously planned 10 mile run ... and really wanted ice cream when I got home. But of course, the race had just started and they weren't starting the ice cream for another hour (which makes zero sense after a 5K, because many people will finish significantly faster than an hour, but okay), so I couldn't even go and get any (the race is organized by the synagogue I've been going to since before I was born, so I'm pretty sure that if I showed up and asked for ice cream without having run the race, they'd still let me have some ... although they'd probably ask me why I didn't run the race).

Of course, it was also the hottest morning ever ... didn't there used to be a season called spring? My weather seems to have gone from late winter to mid-summer in about a week. Are you having the same crazy weather?

Yay for running 2 miles pain-free! Slow is definitely better than not running at all. Enjoy your new shoes!!!

 

[DopeyBadger]

That's almost better than a medal! So did you decide to do the 5k?

I just did a 2.04 run at 22:51 just now. 11:05ish. Ran the whole time and the first part was much slower. Much much slower. Took me some time to feel back into a rythym for sure. Garmin was on low battery, doh. So about 1.4 miles in it had the dreaded black low battery box, ran the rest on feel but noticed at the end it still had life in it and I was able to get my data while sweating in my porch before it died.
Thoughts: no foot pain! That 11:05 felt like kind of hard. But not totally terrible. If we would call my a normal easy run a "piece of cake" this was more like a burnt brownie. Tough but I miss running so I powered through it and in the end enjoyed it. Also my morning mint chocolate cliff bar is not a brownie...it wants to be...but it is not!

I wore shorts and a tank!!!! Who am I?

Also God bless the shady areas on the street.

Excited to go to my running store at 11am today, literally the minute they open. Got a backyard BBQ to attend after but want me shoes!!! Eeeeeee!!!!!

Happy Memorial Day everyone.

Glad to see things are on an upswing! I love the "burnt brownie". LOL!

 

[roxymama]

Well my kid decided a nap was in order and we celebrate all nap requests...she's aging out of them or at least fighting them more. So shoes on hold til later today hopefully. Still excited and still no post run pain.
I'd send you virtual ice cream , Sarah...if that was a thing?

 

[roxymama]

I am so overdue in posting here on my journal because of A) we are re-modeling our main hallway bathroom and I've been obsessed with HGTV, Houzz, and all websites that show paint samples and scrutinizing the subtleties between light-gray, light blue-gray, light-purple-gray, light-white-gray-with-blue-but-kinda-purple, light-well-you-get-the-point and B) New Shoe Obsessing! and C) my kid loves the park when it is nice out so we are outside constantly instead of inside with my phone/laptop, etc. Which is a great thing.

So I have new shoes! These puppies to be exact...

I had been researching Brooks 8's because my current pair were Brook's 7s and I almost bought the 8's online about 25 times but finally found time to go to our local running store to try them on. I did not realize until I was in the car (seriously) that these are Brooks 9's...which do not come until for another few weeks apparently. So I guess I'm on the cutting edge of fashion here, right?
But to rewind a bit. The sales guy said I was neutral with no pronation and an 8.5. So basically exactly what I expected. He took a look at my worn out shoes and watched me walk and run and told me that I am a mid-foot striker (not heel and not too far forward, though when I sped up I do strike mid fore-foot)...he said that was good. So I guess yay for me??? I did not wear out the soles of my shoes in any odd manner...but I had pretty much flattened the inside. There were three pairs that I liked when I tried them on. A mizuno pair that were comfy at first but then I couldn't get past the feeling in the toe-box being not quite right. A Nike Air Zoom 8 that I really really really liked because of how light they felt. And the Brooks 9 (that I thought were 8's) that felt a lot like my current Brooks...sturdy...not the lightest shoes ever but a ton of support, felt like my foot fit it nicely. At one point I was running around outside in one Nike and one Brooks which must have looked strange people just trying to walk to the restaraunt next door. I was torn. As the guy was asking which I liked better I had just the slightest odd feeling on the outside of my nike that maybe my foot was a tiny bit not fitting them perfect and so I said I'd rather stick with what I know (it was probably a phantom feeling.) I had a little bit of regret on the way home because of how light the nikes felt. So I over-researched them on my phone. There's hardly anything out about the Brooks Ghost 9 because I really think I got them very early. But it says they are a neutral light stability shoe made for everyday training (sounds about right) and the Nike Air Zooms sounds like they are made more for being a little faster and races and maybe aren't as focused on cushioning. So maybe I will just keep my eye on the Nikes to see if they go on crazy sale at any point for my next rotate in pair for tempo run days when I'm eventually in my 15k/10 mile+ training later this year. Anyone have thoughts on having two different types of shoe...is this a good or bad thing?
These are the Nikes that I'm wondering if I need (this is the color I tried on but I'm not a slave to color)

I ran a tempo run last night in my new shoes to see where I'm at...tempo being "feel like what tempo used to feel like...not tempo to a specific pace" and it came in at 10:18pace. A bit far off from super healthy-roxy's tempo pace but better than completely out of shape pace. It was HARD though.

So I think I will do an easy run tonight just to break my shoes in even more and stick with my old LR pace of 11:15. And then I have my 5k on Sunday which I really have no idea how that will go. My thoughts are I will try my best to race on feel and see what happens. I don't see a need to hold back since it's 3.1 miles and I understand "not holding back" will still be a speed likely slower than normal. It will be in the 60's but humid so that will affect things too.
@DopeyBadger Do you mind if after my Sunday race I dump a bunch of my race stats at you and my thoughts on what to do between now and my race challenge weekend based on this current fitness? Whatever it ends up being? I'll make you a Coach of the Year award of something

 

[DopeyBadger]

I am so overdue in posting here on my journal because of A) we are re-modeling our main hallway bathroom and I've been obsessed with HGTV, Houzz, and all websites that show paint samples and scrutinizing the subtleties between light-gray, light blue-gray, light-purple-gray, light-white-gray-with-blue-but-kinda-purple, light-well-you-get-the-point and B) New Shoe Obsessing! and C) my kid loves the park when it is nice out so we are outside constantly instead of inside with my phone/laptop, etc. Which is a great thing.

So I have new shoes! These puppies to be exact...

I had been researching Brooks 8's because my current pair were Brook's 7s and I almost bought the 8's online about 25 times but finally found time to go to our local running store to try them on. I did not realize until I was in the car (seriously) that these are Brooks 9's...which do not come until for another few weeks apparently. So I guess I'm on the cutting edge of fashion here, right?
But to rewind a bit. The sales guy said I was neutral with no pronation and an 8.5. So basically exactly what I expected. He took a look at my worn out shoes and watched me walk and run and told me that I am a mid-foot striker (not heel and not too far forward, though when I sped up I do strike mid fore-foot)...he said that was good. So I guess yay for me??? I did not wear out the soles of my shoes in any odd manner...but I had pretty much flattened the inside. There were three pairs that I liked when I tried them on. A mizuno pair that were comfy at first but then I couldn't get past the feeling in the toe-box being not quite right. A Nike Air Zoom 8 that I really really really liked because of how light they felt. And the Brooks 9 (that I thought were 8's) that felt a lot like my current Brooks...sturdy...not the lightest shoes ever but a ton of support, felt like my foot fit it nicely. At one point I was running around outside in one Nike and one Brooks which must have looked strange people just trying to walk to the restaraunt next door. I was torn. As the guy was asking which I liked better I had just the slightest odd feeling on the outside of my nike that maybe my foot was a tiny bit not fitting them perfect and so I said I'd rather stick with what I know (it was probably a phantom feeling.) I had a little bit of regret on the way home because of how light the nikes felt. So I over-researched them on my phone. There's hardly anything out about the Brooks Ghost 9 because I really think I got them very early. But it says they are a neutral light stability shoe made for everyday training (sounds about right) and the Nike Air Zooms sounds like they are made more for being a little faster and races and maybe aren't as focused on cushioning. So maybe I will just keep my eye on the Nikes to see if they go on crazy sale at any point for my next rotate in pair for tempo run days when I'm eventually in my 15k/10 mile+ training later this year. Anyone have thoughts on having two different types of shoe...is this a good or bad thing?
These are the Nikes that I'm wondering if I need (this is the color I tried on but I'm not a slave to color)

I ran a tempo run last night in my new shoes to see where I'm at...tempo being "feel like what tempo used to feel like...not tempo to a specific pace" and it came in at 10:18pace. A bit far off from super healthy-roxy's tempo pace but better than completely out of shape pace. It was HARD though.

So I think I will do an easy run tonight just to break my shoes in even more and stick with my old LR pace of 11:15. And then I have my 5k on Sunday which I really have no idea how that will go. My thoughts are I will try my best to race on feel and see what happens. I don't see a need to hold back since it's 3.1 miles and I understand "not holding back" will still be a speed likely slower than normal. It will be in the 60's but humid so that will affect things too.
@DopeyBadger Do you mind if after my Sunday race I dump a bunch of my race stats at you and my thoughts on what to do between now and my race challenge weekend based on this current fitness? Whatever it ends up being? I'll make you a Coach of the Year award of something

LOL! I'm in whenever you need me. No Coach of the Year award necessary. As for having different shoes, I can speak for myself and say yes I've got a lot of different shoes for different reasons.

Kinvara - Light racing shoe, 4mm drop, Speed work
Ride - Medium weight shoe, 8mm drop, Tempo work
Zealot - Light trainer shoe, 4mm drop, Long Run paces
Triumph ISO - Heavy, cushioned, daily trainer shoe, 8mm drop, Easy work

I feel that having many different shoes is a good thing because each will have a slightly different strike pattern (whether it be because of the drop or the tread) and thus will work slightly different muscle groups. It should overall make your muscles stronger and not so dependent on one type of shoe. Just my reasoning of course to continue stocking up on shoes...

 

[roxymama]

LOL! I'm in whenever you need me. No Coach of the Year award necessary. As for having different shoes, I can speak for myself and say yes I've got a lot of different shoes for different reasons.

Kinvara - Light racing shoe, 4mm drop, Speed work
Ride - Medium weight shoe, 8mm drop, Tempo work
Zealot - Light trainer shoe, 4mm drop, Long Run paces
Triumph ISO - Heavy, cushioned, daily trainer shoe, 8mm drop, Easy work

I feel that having many different shoes is a good thing because each will have a slightly different strike pattern (whether it be because of the drop or the tread) and thus will work slightly different muscle groups. It should overall make your muscles stronger and not so dependent on one type of shoe. Just my reasoning of course to continue stocking up on shoes...

So what I am hearing from this is that if I did decide to get a lighter shoe at some point in the near future...that it would be ok to use my Brooks - which are referred to on most reviews as a daily trainer and are a bit on the medium side for weight that I could probably get away with wearing them for my easy and long run days (which generally are probably not that loooong of runs and not that high of speeds compared to my elite marathon friends, haha) and then I could use a lighter shoe for speed work/tempo days and races? If you say yes than I will be able to justify it at some future point when I can stomach spending money again.

 

[CherieFran]

Anyone have thoughts on having two different types of shoe...is this a good or bad thing?

I like to rotate shoes as well in hopes that running slightly differently in each pair will reduce risk of injury. I generally run in something with less cushion for shorter runs and more cushion for longer runs. I'm a pretty bad heel striker which messes with my knees. If I can wear "less" shoe on shorter runs, I'm less likely to heel strike. It's also a fun excuse to buy more shoes!

Good luck with your 5K!

 

[DopeyBadger]

So what I am hearing from this is that if I did decide to get a lighter shoe at some point in the near future...that it would be ok to use my Brooks - which are referred to on most reviews as a daily trainer and are a bit on the medium side for weight that I could probably get away with wearing them for my easy and long run days (which generally are probably not that loooong of runs and not that high of speeds compared to my elite marathon friends, haha) and then I could use a lighter shoe for speed work/tempo days and races? If you say yes than I will be able to justify it at some future point when I can stomach spending money again.

Yep I'd say go ahead and buy a lighter pair when you're ready and see how they work for you. I know I can't run in my light shoe (kinvara) consistently during training because my legs take a beating. But I can race in them for a marathon. Just see how your legs react to them during the runs and after the runs (soreness).

 

[ZellyB]

Yay for getting back to running!!! The new shoes are awesome. I'm someone who always runs in the same shoe. I've tried out a couple of others, but they just never feel right to me.

All those meals look delicious (well, maybe not the pizza dough ) and very healthy!!