Terapin's Journal: 5 yrs running! Couch to Goofy, Fracture to Fab, Baby to Dopey. Comments welcome!

Over the course of the past week I've read your entire journal...what an amazing story you have to tell. I was in tears reading your Goofy report - so happy for you, especially given the conditions of this year's race. DH and I are definitely in for the full next year...on the fence about Goofy!
Thanks again for your story - so inspiring!
 
I have spent most of my free minutes today reading your journal. I am so impressed with what you have accomplished. Congratulations!
I have been hoping to jump start my running again by starting C25k again after a year of laziness and zero energy. I hope to work my way up to a HM in the next year. Thank you for being an inspiration!
 
Thanks you guys! I really appreciate the comments and kind words. :grouphug:

I didn't run much last week other than the 18k. Work was very busy and then the snow storm socked us in. It felt too hard to get out in the snow after missing some nights' sleep.

I got up and did 18k this Sunday again. It was hard though, a real slog right from the beginning. The roads were wet for 2/3 of it, and slushy icy messy for the other 1/3. So hard to really get a good grip on and just run. My quads were SCREAMING after the run, and my ankles and feet weren't that impressed with me either. Even my lateral back muscles hurt from slipping and sliding. I rolled out my quads focussing on the very sore right one. By MOnday it felt much better but the neglected left quad still hurt. Today I am better.

Wednesday: 4k tempo
Thursday: 8k steady
Saturday: I can't remember
Sunday: 20k.

I HAVE to get some cross training in. I just feel lazy. If I am not running that day I just feel like doing NOTHING. I have some personal stuff going on that I know is bringing my mood down. I will cross train this week I pledge!

Eating well for the most part. Eating superbly 80% of the time, and ok 20% of the time. I have eaten too much 80% cocoa extra dark chocolate this week. Trying to reign overall calories in. Weight is pretty much the same. I suck at losing weight. I just like to eat too much. And with feeling lazy and blah and the weather, well, I'm not winning that weight contest. LOL

Sometimes I think I should just be content where I am and stop fighting. Then I smarten up and know I need to lose some more weight to be healthier. I think that more activity will really help.
 
Thanks you guys! I really appreciate the comments and kind words. :grouphug:

I didn't run much last week other than the 18k. Work was very busy and then the snow storm socked us in. It felt too hard to get out in the snow after missing some nights' sleep.

I got up and did 18k this Sunday again. It was hard though, a real slog right from the beginning. The roads were wet for 2/3 of it, and slushy icy messy for the other 1/3. So hard to really get a good grip on and just run. My quads were SCREAMING after the run, and my ankles and feet weren't that impressed with me either. Even my lateral back muscles hurt from slipping and sliding. I rolled out my quads focussing on the very sore right one. By MOnday it felt much better but the neglected left quad still hurt. Today I am better.

Wednesday: 4k tempo
Thursday: 8k steady
Saturday: I can't remember
Sunday: 20k.

I HAVE to get some cross training in. I just feel lazy. If I am not running that day I just feel like doing NOTHING. I have some personal stuff going on that I know is bringing my mood down. I will cross train this week I pledge!

Eating well for the most part. Eating superbly 80% of the time, and ok 20% of the time. I have eaten too much 80% cocoa extra dark chocolate this week. Trying to reign overall calories in. Weight is pretty much the same. I suck at losing weight. I just like to eat too much. And with feeling lazy and blah and the weather, well, I'm not winning that weight contest. LOL

Sometimes I think I should just be content where I am and stop fighting. Then I smarten up and know I need to lose some more weight to be healthier. I think that more activity will really help.

Hang in there - you are an athlete and doing such an amazing job with your running and now motivating others with your leading of the new runners group. I understand how the weather and other issues can get you in a funk, but you'll bounce back. Hopefully the weather will brighten up in your area and that long run on Sunday will give you a fresh start :goodvibes
 


Thanks for the help with motivation!

Did ok on this week's runs. Still no cross training. But I swear I will incorporate some. Managed to run 13k Sunday, 5k Wednesday, and 3.5k today. Not much mileage but I am tapering for my HM next weekend. I have gotten my longer runs in but missed many of the shorter mid-week runs. I am worried that I will tank the HM. Will still show up and do it, but I worry my time will suck.

I have decided to re-love running by pulling back my distances and give myself a chance to enjoy shorter, more frequent runs. Since training for Goofy and then right into this HM training, I realized that running hasn't been fun since about last summer. Doing the HM October, November, then Goofy, and then this HM 8 weeks after Goofy has meant I've had lots of long runs over the months and just pushed myself to go up in the mileage, only allowing it to drop for tapering and a week of post-race recovery. Pair that with winter running and it has just lots its joy right now. I'm going to work on that.

My plan is to get back to a workout every day, with one rest day. Running 3-4 times a week, from 4-10k. Back to easier distances. Then work up to my next half at the beginning of June, and hopefully for a PR.

Anyhow, that is the plan.
 
I did a great run on Sunday: 6.4k. Ran it well, and it was pretty fun again!

Today is another 6k I think, and then a short run Friday, before laying off for Sunday's race.

Today I will do some strength training, core and balance work.

My weight was up last week, to 218 one horrible day (it didn't stay there but wow I hated seeing that number). It was a good wake-up call to get back on track and ratchet down the eating, and ramp up the exercise. I'm down to 215 with careful tracking on My Fitness Pal. I'm still shocked how fast I gained weight. This time in January I was sitting around 211. I managed to put on 5-6 pounds in 3 weeks! That is awful! How is that even possible without gorging or bingeing which I did *not* do?

In any case, I am back on track and want to see that 206 again. Eating really well, very balanced, not too low fat, not too low carb, with lots of protein. Everyday I am seeing the scale move down incrementally (like 0.2 pounds). I'm also trying to drink more water.

Anyhow, starting to think about the race more seriously. I am on-call until 11pm the night before so Friday I will lay out my race gear. Weather is forecasted to be -5 and overcast, but no snow or rain so that is ok. That is 23F.

Hope you all have a great day!
 
I am proud to report that I have completed half marathon number 4!

This race was the Chilly Half Marathon in Burlington, Ontario. The weather was nice: some sun, little wind, the roads were dry, and the temp was sitting around -6c. The course was two out and backs in two different directions, forming a loop. It stayed along Lakeshore Drive on Lake Ontario, with mansions sheltering us from the wind of the shore. It was a good sized race: about 3000 participants in the half. Not too big, but not too small.

I was running with a couple of friends from the Running Room, and nearly all of our clinic was there. SO fantastic to have so many people for support and encouragement, and friendship!

My running partner C and I decided to do 8:3 intervals as that had worked so well in training. 'I' joined us, but H stuck to her 10:1s. I was running really well, and wanted to get a sub 2:45 finish. My running portions were consistently 7:15 (11:30mm) until kilometer 17. My walking portions were at 10:00/km (16mm). I would have been close to 2:45, and really close to a PR (1:47:56) I worked through a few issues, and was down to the last 4 intervals when my left ankle started to hurt.

At 40 and overweight I often experience discomfort or pain when I run but I can usually walk it out or carry on and expect it to disappear within the kilometer. I push through pain and carry-on.

Not this time. It hurt so significantly when I ran. Walking was strangely ok. My legs started to cramp as well - like super bad. Like full-on complete muscle spasms in my calves, quads AND hamstrings. I can run through that, but not the ankle pain.

So I walked the last 3k after repeatedly trying to get started running over the 17th kilometer but unable to do so due to the pain being immediate.

I finished at 2:58:10. Not thrilled with that, but I will take the finish!

I am RICEing the ankle. I think today that it is soft tissue. Today it is worse with rest. I think it is ligament between my foot and lower leg near the tibia. I can barely flex my foot and doing so causes intense bruise-y pain. I went downstairs for a coffee this morning and really landed hard on each step: no pain! So weight-bearing is no problem. No bruising or swelling. I have called the sports med place I go to so hopefully I can get seen and have it diagnosed.

Here are some pics! The first one is me with my friend H who trained so well and completed her first half this day! The second is me after the finished. My tights are up on the side that I injured because the med tent put ice on it for me after the race. The third is the so-so medal. Disney has spoiled me for medals. I like the ribbon on this one, but the medal itself is blah. The awards medals were really nice but I'm not currently capable of that!

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Good morning!

I got an appt for Friday for my ankle. Still no pain on weight bearing but lots to the touch of the specific area, and when I dorsiflex my left foot. I think it is soft tissue of some sort? Slightly swollen, no bruising.

Trying to figure out what to do with myself. I shouldn't run until I figure out what is going on, but I want to run. I suppose I should do some cross training today and some weights (got one session in last week!).

Other than this, I am doing well. Still some muscle pain and stiffness in my quads from Sunday.
 
This is what sucks about being a runner. You can't run when in pain, but it pains you to not run. DW and I were just talking about this the other day. Don't get down (which is easy to say, hard to do when you can't run). Just give it the rest and recovery that is needed. Hopefully you'll get good news from the doc and be good to go soon enough.
 
Good morning!

I actually cancelled the appointment as my ankle feels 100% better. I think it was just an irritated bit of fascia or tendon or something. Going for my first run since Sunday today: just an easy 5.

I am super pleased that my weight is really coming down. I am sitting at 210! I am seriously committed to being in the 100 club for my birthday in May. Honestly, what I am doing is just eating less. Really watching my portions, not being afraid of being hungry sometimes, and really watching what I eat in restaurants. I have lunch with friends at least once per week, often twice, as my schedule allows. I don't socialize a lot in the evening, so I see my friends mostly during the day as many of them are self-employed or work irregular hours.

I am doing some cross training but not enough. My work load has been crazy but should be significantly better this next month.

And tomorrow it should be 10c out! Yay for sun and spring. Maybe a bike ride would be a good idea.
 
You've done such a great job! I'm stuck at a plateau about 30lbs from my goal and it is frustrating! I'm just doing the trial and error approach. I'm focusing on short runs, speeding up and losing weight this spring and summer now that Princess is behind me too. Good luck to you too!
 
Good morning!

Thanks for the comment SuperHappyFunTimes! I am living on the plateau - I guess that makes it a flat line, huh?

Weight still at 210. Back to running. Building up the fun factor again. My plan is to run every other day with cross-training in between.

I ran 4k on Sunday, and yesterday I did leg/butt/ankle/foot strengthening. My ankles and feet really hurt my last HM and so I know I need to work on them.

Today is another 4k.

I signed up for the local Running Room Triathlon clinic and signed up for my first triathlon in July! It is just the sprint distance, and no medal :-(

Added two more races to my schedule of a 15k run and a HM, bringing the total to 17 for 2013. I wouldn't mind another 5k to work on speed.

This is my race schedule:

Jan-
WDW HM (done)
WDW Full (done)

Mar-
Chilly HM (done)

Apr-
Harry's 8k (done)
Diamond 10k (done)

May-
Sporting 10k

June-
Niagara HM
Colour Me Rad 5k
Hunstville HM Relay

July-
Spring Triathlon

Aug-
Midsummer's 15k
Mud Hero 6k
DL 10k

Sep-
DL HM
Army HM

Oct-
Scotiabank Half Marathon
Niagara Falls International Marathon (eek!)

All in preparation for:
DOPEY!!!!!!!

Yep. Doing it. Sigh.

So much training ahead of me. Weight loss will only make that easier. Have been doing My Fitness Pal for calorie reality check. Since I haven't been running a lot I'm not seeing huge change, but it will come.

Anyway, wish me luck. I will need it. And a lot of miles under my feet.
 
Hey Terapin! Just wanted to say Good Luck :thumbsup2on the Dopey next year! I know you will do awesome! I am over on myfitnesspal, too if you want to add me as a friend. I believe my name is irishtwinz. I need to get my rear in gear. I have been so lazy since the marathon. Me and the hubs have our first baby free vacation scheduled for February of next year. It's a Disney Cruise! Hooray! I am hoping to lose to under 200 by then::yes::. Have a nice day!
 
Hi Irish!

We are going on cruise in Feb too! Which date did you guys pick? We are going on the Wonder Feb24 right after princess!

Thanks for posting! I have to figure out how to friend people on MFP.

Are you running these days?
 
We are going on the Wonder February 26th out of Miami. I am super excited about it:banana:. I haven't really run with a purpose recently. I need to work up to running more. Do you have any suggestions for working up to 1 mile. I want to start there. If everything went perfectly....I'd like to run the Castaway Cay 5k in about 40 minutes. I am not planning any races between now and then except maybe a local half in November.
 
And I also saw that the princess was the previous weekend.....but I don't think I will be able to convince the hubs to leave that many days early. I don't know if I could leave my babies that long either:worried:. But I guess anything is possible.:idea:
 
Good morning!

Ran the Harry's Spring Run off 8k on Saturday. Was a cold and sunny morning, more like November than April. The trees weren't even in bud - we are weeks behind.

The route was a few loops of High Park, which is very picturesque but hilly. The last 500m was all steep hill! I was happy with my time, though wish I could have run better on a few of the hills. Cardiovascularly this run was hard. I finished the 8k in 1:01:11.

Got some cross-training in yesterday and a 4+k run on the treadmill. My arms are nice and sore from the weight machines.
 
Girl you are just Dopey! I can't believe you're doing it this year. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised. I already knew you were Goofy and Dopey isn't that far of a stretch from Goofy. You are awesome Carolyn and such an inspiration!
 
Girl you are just Dopey! I can't believe you're doing it this year. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised. I already knew you were Goofy and Dopey isn't that far of a stretch from Goofy. You are awesome Carolyn and such an inspiration!

Thanks B! I am super excited. My running partner Craig is doing this race too, so I am super stoked to have someone to do the long runs with. Our pace is pretty well matched so that is nice.

I think I am heading down solo for this weekend. Kind of excited to have friends who will be running also, but space to do what I like, and have the room nice and quiet.

I have a summer of training ahead of me. I just couldn't pass this up - but dreading the marathon day. Thanks for posting.
 
2013 Race #4

Last Saturday was a great race in High Park in Toronto: Harry's Spring Run Off. High Park is a great park and the trail through is twisty, turn-y, and had lots of hills, including a killer 600m very vertical hill to the finish! That was hard and frankly I hiked it rather than ran.

The course had us going around the park pathways a couple of times and was never boring. It was an 8k, which is a great distance. I finished in 1:01:12. I had hoped for a sub-hour finish but the hills slowed me down and I haven't been running anything beyond 8k since my half in March. I was proud that I finished in front of my running partners both, both of whom have been pretty high mileage lately. It made me feel good that despite cutting the mileage I was still on track and could build it back up without much difficulty. However, I was overdressed and killed by my own heat. If I had dressed better I would have run a wee bit faster. It was cold and windy at the start so I made the mistake of dressing for standing around, rather than running. I need to start looking at the temperature and make a decision in my head what I should wear for races rather than how my body feels. I also ate a full bagel with cheese and a large coffee. It was too much by half. I felt quite nauseous for the first half of the race.

My next race is on the 21st, a 10k.

Yesterday I did a great 9k run. Finished very strong and really gave it my all. Finished right at 8:00min/k which was good. I luxuriated in the tub for about 90 minutes afterward. I love when those runs go well. It really does happen sometimes!

Here is a pic from last Saturday.



(The new Photobucket is still a challenge for me in picking up the links, ugh)
 

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