In Search of My Body vol. 10 - taking it one paper towel at at time

[3DisneyKids]

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just watched The Birdcage OMG I love that movie

LOVE that movie!

Great job Karen!

I am having a weekend of Tobacco Road Marathon volunteering. 6-8PM on packet pickup today, 12-5PM on packet pickup tomorrow, then a water stop at mile 19 on Sunday.

Plus, 6-8 miles of my own at 8AM tomorrow. Off to bed for me!

Oh! Interesting! I have only worked 5ks...never anything longer, but I would really like to. Tell us all about it.

You're working packet pick up? Beware of Shenanigans!!

WORD!

Pitbull story...I went for a run yesterday--and no, I wasn't supposed to because of my knee, but come on, it was 64*!!! I couldn't pass that up! I did 8 on Thursday so set out to do 4 yesterday. At 3.5...almost home...out of nowhere comes this pitbull. Went straight for my ankle and I sort of "shooed" it away. Definitely did not kick it. But shooed it away with my foot. So it jumped up and bit me on the thigh! Freaking HURT! I have never been bitten while running before. Had a couple of close calls, but this was an attack. And honestly, I didn't know what to do. Like, I didn't want to hurt the dog, but um, it was hurting me. So I look at the house that is closest to me--having no clue if the dog belonged there or not and not seeing anyone outside--and just yelled, "Please come get your dog!" And my tone was definitely a bit panicked, for sure.

As it turns out, there WAS someone outside, just around to the side of the house where I couldn't see. She was there in a flash as soon as I yelled, but she was saying "Don't worry...he doesn't bite..." Tell that to the freaking teeth marks all over my leg! But as as soon as the dog heard her voice, he stopped biting me. She was nice and apologetic and all. But then she launched into a rant about how people don't give pitbulls a fair shake and so on. I was like, "Yeah, but your pitbull just attacked me!" And her response was, "No he didn't attack you, he was trying to play with you. He just loves to run."

So then I asked if the dog had its shots and those types of questions. And she had the audacity to ROLL HER EYES at me. "Of course he's up to date on his shots." Sorry, but he bit me in three places, broke the skin on one of those bites, it's a freaking VALID question. She was *trying* to be nice, but she was also trying to blow it off as no big deal. She never offered me ice or a band aid or anything, though. (As we were talking about the shots, she watched me take off one shoe, take off that sock and use my sock to put against the bite that was bleeding since there was blood trickling down my leg.)

Finally, I just said, "Well, I guess I better finish my run so that I can go put some antibiotic cream and a bandage on this..." thinking that might make her realize that this was REAL (though the sight of the blood should have done that). And just said, "Sorry about all of this" in a very casual way and went back to whatever outside chore she had been doing.

I got home and called animal patrol. Filed a complaint. Mean, I know. But she didn't take it seriously and that bothered me. When I left, she was still talking about how he was just trying to "play." And I told the officer that I wanted him to make her produce a copy of the vet records stating that the dog's shots were up to date. Apparently, this was a major pain in the a$$ for her as she didn't have copies, so she had to drive to the vet, get copies, drive the copies over to the PD, and pay a fine because while her dog DOES have all his shots, she DID NOT register him with the town. So, at least she is taking it a bit more seriously now.

I am mostly bummed that I now am afraid of that running route and it is my go-to standard route. Now I will have to run the other direction.

 

[HockeyKat]

GEEEBUS E!! OMG!!! The dog BIT you and she was trying to pass it off as nothing??? I think I might have bit her myself. Good for you for fighting it!

You're working packet pick up? Beware of Shenanigans!!

Haha!! This race doesn't have corrals. I think there are about 2500 for the half and 1500 for the full. (I just typed fool instead of full. Freudian slip?).


Packet pickup last night was fine, easy peasy and my friend and I were running O-Z very efficiently with another woman about our age who is also a runner. Lots of running stories swapped, plus the woman bought new shoes at the Expo so we were geeking about that.


6 miles this morning went well. The modified winter portion of my running group meets most Saturdays, so we met up with them and most of us did 6, some 10, then we all had breakfast/lunch at Panera. Fun.


Packet pickup today? Not so fun. I wound up being more of a chaperone than a volunteer, and when the other adult came back I bailed, after about 30 min. I asked the volunteer coordinator if she needed me and she said it was fine to go. I am NOT into Mopey Teen Magazine. My only consolation is that my 6-mile-run stench offended the "Teen Barbie" next to me!


Today is laundry laundry laundry, and then tomorrow it's the water stop from 7:30-1ish. I am at mile 19.


Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

 

[Ronda93]

NOW I am on vacation! 20 miles in the books. Average pace 12:22 or so. I don't know where the other six will come from. Legs were really heavy in the last three miles. I can't think of a better place to taper than WDW.

DGF checked me in with Southwest this morning. Last little laundry items. Visit some friends this afternoon. Then ONE MORE SLEEP!

Kat - fool/full. I see the resemblance.

E - Stinks to lose a route! That's not play, that's aggression. Good for you.

Meg - excited to hear the weather is good. Looking forward to your stories.

Lisa, Kelly, Jo, Karen, Liz, Amiee, Nancy, Paula, Amy hope your having great weekends!

Ronda

 

[3DisneyKids]

WAY TO GO RONDA! Amazing!

 

[AKASnowWhite]

then tomorrow it's the water stop from 7:30-1ish. I am at mile 19.

Did you hear the guy at mile 7-ish water station who was calling "margaritas! Frozen margaritas over here" He was great! No matter how boring your station is, remember how much it is appreciated. Have fun with it!!

NOW I am on vacation! 20 miles in the books. Average pace 12:22 or so. I don't know where the other six will come from. Legs were really heavy in the last three miles. I can't think of a better place to taper than WDW.

NICE!!!! 20 mile training run. Yeah, I did that before. Once. Enjoy your vacation. You have so earned it my friend!

Erika - I agree with Ronda. That is *so* not playing. Hopefully this lady will take this incident seriously, because that is NOT cool. At all. She should be ashamed.


As for me. I'm not yet panicking, but I have a TON of work to do still. I did, however, pass a project to my MIL. Thank God for that woman. She is amazing that one.

 

[goofyfan-12]

Ronda - I am not worthy... 20 miles? Simply awesome. You will find those last six miles. I know it. Enjoy the vacation.

Hi everyone. I must apologize for my absence. It has been a truly horrible week at work and I am in a pretty dark spot at the moment, but I am starting to see the faintest, little glimmer of hope way off in the future so keep your fingers and toes crossed for me.

On the plus side, I have not used food to get me through the stress and the scale proved that. I was down 3.6 pounds for the past two weeks. Whoo to the hoo!

I am reading and following all of what you are writing. I promise.

 

[adsrtw]

Hey everybody!

I'm taking a much needed break from life - midterm on Monday and my text book won't open online on top of 50-60 hour work weeks. I'm 2 weeks on the bandwagon with a weekly allowance of adult beverages (that's working out great!). I'm getting in a long walk weekly (5 miles for now) and a few one mile breaks here and there.

I hope everybody is doing ok!

 

[cantwaitvaca09]

Pitbull story...I went for a run yesterday--and no, I wasn't supposed to because of my knee, but come on, it was 64*!!! I couldn't pass that up! I did 8 on Thursday so set out to do 4 yesterday. At 3.5...almost home...out of nowhere comes this pitbull. Went straight for my ankle and I sort of "shooed" it away. Definitely did not kick it. But shooed it away with my foot. So it jumped up and bit me on the thigh! Freaking HURT! I have never been bitten while running before. Had a couple of close calls, but this was an attack. And honestly, I didn't know what to do. Like, I didn't want to hurt the dog, but um, it was hurting me. So I look at the house that is closest to me--having no clue if the dog belonged there or not and not seeing anyone outside--and just yelled, "Please come get your dog!" And my tone was definitely a bit panicked, for sure.

As it turns out, there WAS someone outside, just around to the side of the house where I couldn't see. She was there in a flash as soon as I yelled, but she was saying "Don't worry...he doesn't bite..." Tell that to the freaking teeth marks all over my leg! But as as soon as the dog heard her voice, he stopped biting me. She was nice and apologetic and all. But then she launched into a rant about how people don't give pitbulls a fair shake and so on. I was like, "Yeah, but your pitbull just attacked me!" And her response was, "No he didn't attack you, he was trying to play with you. He just loves to run."

So then I asked if the dog had its shots and those types of questions. And she had the audacity to ROLL HER EYES at me. "Of course he's up to date on his shots." Sorry, but he bit me in three places, broke the skin on one of those bites, it's a freaking VALID question. She was *trying* to be nice, but she was also trying to blow it off as no big deal. She never offered me ice or a band aid or anything, though. (As we were talking about the shots, she watched me take off one shoe, take off that sock and use my sock to put against the bite that was bleeding since there was blood trickling down my leg.)

Finally, I just said, "Well, I guess I better finish my run so that I can go put some antibiotic cream and a bandage on this..." thinking that might make her realize that this was REAL (though the sight of the blood should have done that). And just said, "Sorry about all of this" in a very casual way and went back to whatever outside chore she had been doing.

I got home and called animal patrol. Filed a complaint. Mean, I know. But she didn't take it seriously and that bothered me. When I left, she was still talking about how he was just trying to "play." And I told the officer that I wanted him to make her produce a copy of the vet records stating that the dog's shots were up to date. Apparently, this was a major pain in the a$$ for her as she didn't have copies, so she had to drive to the vet, get copies, drive the copies over to the PD, and pay a fine because while her dog DOES have all his shots, she DID NOT register him with the town. So, at least she is taking it a bit more seriously now.

I am mostly bummed that I now am afraid of that running route and it is my go-to standard route. Now I will have to run the other direction.

E, I have a large Rott, and Rotts and Pits are on the "list" here in IL, you have to have them mirco chipped and registered with the PD. When shoping for house insurance they ask you if you have a Rott or Pit, your insurance would be higher. If my dog ever did that to someone, I would be mortified. I would offer whatever records or medical care that was needed and I am sure I would get a large fine as well as arrested. They way she acted was WRONG.

YAY RONDA!!! I can only dream of that many miles.
how are you feeling today? Enjoy your vacation.

EE, good luck on the midterm

Paula, hope you see that ray of light soon

Happy Sunday to everyone

My hips are in some pain after yesterday's HILL run, the hills on the course yesterday make the "ramp" look flat.
My eating still sucks and my time yesterday for the 6 miles sucked but I do enjoy run/walking. I just wish it was OK to be so slow. The run club is much faster than me.

Goal this week,
Jillian x 4
Run x 3
To eat well all week.
NO POP, Oh yes I know I gave that up for lent, but I am not doing so well with that.

 

[3DisneyKids]

Hey--first time online all day.

It has been a busy day. Kelly had a state sectional meet and she did well, though is disappointed. She took silver All Around, which you would think would make her happy. But she was in first by a MILE and then got hurt on bars. She cried and everything. DURING the meet. In front of the judges. That is a big deal for her...she never falls apart publicly. But I was so proud of her for getting back up and finishing the routine. Of course, it meant no more gold medal. So she is having a hard night.

That is one of the hardest things about her sport...so much of it is just based on how you do at that one particular moment. She is FAR better than the girl who won the gold, but the bottom line is that the other girl didn't fall today. In fact, Kelly took first in 3 of the 4 events. And even with the fall, she took second on bars. But it was by a big enough margin that the other girl got gold all around.

The good news is that this was only the semi-finals. The State Championship meet is a whole month away still, and she is determined to be the State Champion. And she has a good shot to do it.

In other news...the knee is still swollen, but I go to see the orthopedist this week, so I should have some answers soon.

And I am kicking a$$ on the wagon. Doing really well...and TRACKING! (For those new, I hate, hate, hate tracking even though I know how important it is.) But with the new APP for my phone...it seems to be making all the difference!

Kelly and Nancy--come up for air when you can!

Ronda--woo hoo! You are on your way! How are feeling after the 20-miler? Any recovery needed?

Lisa! Get internet access back already!

 

[HockeyKat]

E - sorry about Kelly. Hope she is okay.

Worried about your knee. You are resting, right? Like really resting, no impact.


My weekend was busy busy. Packet pickup Friday night was fine/fun, but Saturday I only made it 30 min of my 5 hours. I just can't handle the teen set!! I was the "adult" at the entire marathon table for those 30 min and I wanted to spork my eye out. When the other "adult" came back, I asked the head of the volunteers if she really needed me and was grateful as heck when she said no!

Working the water stop was really fun. The 6:30AM wakeup wasn't so much fun, but my pace group leader and her husband were running the stop. Music and a big PA system and a tent, plus it was almost all folks from my running club. We were at mile 19, right at the full marathon turnaround, and had 4 tables - one on each side of the course.

This marathon had a total of about 1000 runners, and was run almost entirely on a rails-to-trails gravel path. Flat flat flat. We saw only about 20 people between a 6 hour finish and the last place person (6:55).


Between this race and the one I course-monitored last November (6 hour marathon course limit, and very few finishers between 5 and 6 hours), I am really struck with something that E brought up a year ago. I am never going to sign up for a race again without checking the results from last year, as I never ever want to be that lone straggler at the back. I took for granted with the Princess and Chicago RnR how many back-of-the-packers there really are in those races, and how much of a difference it would make to me to have that kind of company/support.

 

[3DisneyKids]

Kat--sorry of my strategy scared you off from doing certain races. It is just my brand of crazy. Distance running is a big mental game, as we all know. And I know myself...if I am standing at the starting line and before the race even begins I know I am going to be way way in the back...I just can't handle it. And yes, I know (and truly believe!) that the real victory is getting to the starting line. But again, it is about knowing myself. And why set myself up for failure, right? I need to feel comfortable with a race.

 

[HockeyKat]

Kat--sorry of my strategy scared you off from doing certain races. It is just my brand of crazy. Distance running is a big mental game, as we all know. And I know myself...if I am standing at the starting line and before the race even begins I know I am going to be way way in the back...I just can't handle it. And yes, I know (and truly believe!) that the real victory is getting to the starting line. But again, it is about knowing myself. And why set myself up for failure, right? I need to feel comfortable with a race.

I think you misunderstood me. I didn't have much race experience, so didn't really understand it when you brought it up last year, but now I do. It isn't so much scared off as, ah-ha!!

My brand of crazy is a little bit different. It isn't so much being back of the pack time-wise, as I don't really care about that so much (a little, but not enough to prevent me from doing a race). It's more about how many others that would be back there with me.

Those last 20 stragglers I saw yesterday were as fast/faster than I would be, but I think that mentally it would be such a struggle for me to be essentially alone.

Like, I would do a half marathon where last year's results had me in the last 20 runners, if there was a full marathon that ended with the same course. Even though I would be passed by tons of marathoners, there would still be *people* around.

 

[AKASnowWhite]

just keep swimming. just keep swimming

and don't forget to breath.

I'm an endurance athlete.

hakuna matata.

did I mention breath?

 

[3DisneyKids]

Morning!

Sorry I have only been popping in and talking about my own life. Just a lot going on right now. Nothing bad...just a lot to digest. Mostly with Kelly. We always said that we wouldn't be *those* parents. You know, the ones that push their kids and delusions of playing in the pros and all of that. But here we are thinking about those things. Kelly is being recruited big time by the national gymnastics training centers. And I always said, no way, not a chance in Hell. I want my kids to have normal lives. And I am NOT shipping them off somewhere (most of the full time gyms are year round, live-in, and private tutors come to the gym for education to so schoolwork around training times). And Jeff and I both have always rolled our eyes at that. Yes, it is what it takes to become an elite athlete. But we just think the price is too high to pay...especially when there are no guarantees that your kid is even going to succeed at that level.

Well, there is an elite training center just half an hour from our house. And they called yesterday and they are interested in Kelly. So this changes things now. She'd still be living at home, so that is the first (and most) major thing. And she is young enough that we could still insist that she stay in her regular public school and just train after school. However, the assumption would be that eventually she would be there all day...for school (tutoring) and training. Of course, the driving there and back twice a day would be brutal...both in terms of gas and time. I bet we could car pool some of the time, at least, but still...

Do we put this much pressure on our kid? She says she WANTS to do it. I mean, she is obsessed by gymnastics and she is good at it. Given her choice, she would do it all day, every day. Or at least that is what her 8 year old little brain says. But can she really know that she wants that lifestyle?

Sorry--these are just the big theoretical life questions going through my brain and why I am preoccupied at the moment.

In thread-worthy news...I am still on the wagon on going strong! Winning! (Sorry, Riley is loving all of Charlie Sheenisms! )

 

[AKASnowWhite]

ummm...yeah. Can you just see us with Olympic level Shenannigans? yeah. I'd better start training now....

 

[3DisneyKids]

No kidding!

I have a meeting with her current coaching staff to see what they think about all of this. Of course, they will be biased as they want to keep Kelly on their team. But two of the coaches definitely have Kelly's best interest at heart and will tell me if they think moving her to a more competitive gym is the way to go.

It's snowing here. Lovely.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I can't believe you have snow! It's 76 here, I just assumed it had warmed up everywhere! Don't kill me now.

Ok, pain question again! So this pain I was having in my left thigh has returned. It's not the knee, but above it, *almost* mid-way up my leg, but not quite, on the outside. I was off running for 2 1/2 weeks and it had gone away but it's back now. I ran 2.12 outside today and then had to stop. BUT, I went to the gym with Dallas and decided to get on the TM and do another mile or so and do it slow and focus on my form. It seems that when I focus on landing more on the inner area of my foot (almost like forced underpronating?) then the pain subsides and even went away for the most part? It feels un-natural though, so I'm not sure it I'm really overpronating so much that it's causing strain or what? I'm so frustrated that my body can't keep up with my mind! GAH! Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[3DisneyKids]

I can't believe you have snow! It's 76 here, I just assumed it had warmed up everywhere! Don't kill me now.

Um. Yeah. That's asking a lot. Sleep with one eye open tonight...

 

[3DisneyKids]

I can't believe you have snow! It's 76 here, I just assumed it had warmed up everywhere! Don't kill me now.

Ok, pain question again! So this pain I was having in my left thigh has returned. It's not the knee, but above it, *almost* mid-way up my leg, but not quite, on the outside. I was off running for 2 1/2 weeks and it had gone away but it's back now. I ran 2.12 outside today and then had to stop. BUT, I went to the gym with Dallas and decided to get on the TM and do another mile or so and do it slow and focus on my form. It seems that when I focus on landing more on the inner area of my foot (almost like forced underpronating?) then the pain subsides and even went away for the most part? It feels un-natural though, so I'm not sure it I'm really overpronating so much that it's causing strain or what? I'm so frustrated that my body can't keep up with my mind! GAH! Any ideas or suggestions?

If you are "forcing" your foot to rotate inward in order to avoid pain, you are in the wrong shoes. Sounds to me like you are in a stability shoe and don't need to be. That's off the top of my head.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Um. Yeah. That's asking a lot. Sleep with one eye open tonight...

If you are "forcing" your foot to rotate inward in order to avoid pain, you are in the wrong shoes. Sounds to me like you are in a stability shoe and don't need to be. That's off the top of my head.

That's the thing...I'm not in a stability shoe! I'm wearing Asics Cumulus, which are some of the most cushioned shoes I could find. Maybe I'm a severe overpronater??? Or maybe my damn thighs are just too fat.