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

[born2bird]

Hello!

I read through your entire thread and wanted to congratulate you on your amazing progress. You truly are inspiring and I am so impressed by your determination. I know you will meet your Goofy goal in January. How can you not with all the hardwork you are putting in now? I will be doing the 1/2 marathon in Disney too with the goal of finishing and not dropping dead. I will be cheering for all of the full marathoners from the sidelines on Sunday. I am a novice runner and have only done 5Ks thus far. My first was in February--2 days post a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis--and I felt like a rockstar crossing the finish line. I am ramping up my training for the 1/2 marathon and am learning a lot reading your posts. Thank you for sharing your journey and all of the great running information.


Kim

 

[Terapin]

I just finished your whole journal and you are an inspiration! Can't wait to read more Carolynn! You rock!

Hello!

I read through your entire thread and wanted to congratulate you on your amazing progress. You truly are inspiring and I am so impressed by your determination. I know you will meet your Goofy goal in January. How can you not with all the hardwork you are putting in now? I will be doing the 1/2 marathon in Disney too with the goal of finishing and not dropping dead. I will be cheering for all of the full marathoners from the sidelines on Sunday. I am a novice runner and have only done 5Ks thus far. My first was in February--2 days post a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis--and I felt like a rockstar crossing the finish line. I am ramping up my training for the 1/2 marathon and am learning a lot reading your posts. Thank you for sharing your journey and all of the great running information.


Kim

Thanks gals! I appreciate the support, I really do.

Was happy with the rest day, and now I am feeling ready for the week! Today is a 4k tempo run and I need to do some core and upper body.

Tomorrow is 6 hills = 5k to and from the hill, and 6 reps of the 500m hill, up and down for a total of 11k. It is the hardest workout, man. 6 repeats is killer. Last two weeks I walked most of the 2.5k back to the Running Room store and I was FINE with that. LOL

Thursday is 6k of steady run.

Saturday is the Mud Hero 6k obstacle course mud run with a bunch of gals. Yay!

Sunday is 16k (gulp...) but I am scared because I won't be back in town to run it with my group. That is such a long run to do solo. How will I stay motivated?!?

 

[Terapin]

Good morning!

Had a great weekend! Didn't run Thursday as we decided to go camping/glamping a day early and the day was filled with packing, and then driving. I was proud of myself getting the kids all packed up myself, all the food, and then driving the RV 90 minutes away all by myself. It is a huge motorhome (41') and I had to back it out of our parking spot, and then get it parked and set up in our camping spot. All with three nattering kids chatting and fighting the whole time, as kids do!

Ran Friday instead, part trail and part road run. Wasn't my best run ever... I was able to preview some of the course for the mud run the next day. Got all excited. My sister joined me and we had a nice late campfire with us, and another friend and her family.

Saturday, we were excited to do the Mud Hero! It was a 6k obstacle/trail run/mud run. This is our before pic:

The race was a blast! So fun. We were all challenged physically, and it was a good workout. Didn't run all the running parts as it was a bit hilly and we were staying together and trying to have fun. We finished in a glacial 1:20:00.

I found the hoist-yourself-up-over-the-wall parts the toughest. I know that I need to improve my upper body strength now. Any of the scaling or climbing or slithering parts where I had to use both upper and lower were fine and I felt good and strong and capable, but the hoisting yourself up to chest level were hard for me. In one section there were three in a row and I did the first, and totally wrenched my left quad which was the pivot point as I brought myself up and over. It was a pretty bad pain. I skipped the other 2 and felt guilty about it, but I was super afraid that I had actually injured myself quite badly. It took about 10 minutes to settled down, and the next day I was quite sore. I think I made the right decision. After all, it wasn't as if there were zombies chasing me or anything! It wasn't against the rules to skip an obstacle, and I did the other 16 obstacles no problem.

I will post muddy pics when I get them from a friend. I didn't carry anything at all with me, so her DH took pics. I was muddy to my chin! We all vowed to do it again next year. We had named ourselves the Mother Muckers (sorry to anyone offended! (my 5 year old made me insert those!)

I was sore the next day (yesterday), especially in my abs and triceps. I had to go back on call at 11am so we got up early and packed up and raced back into town. I had to go straight to the hospital for a labouring gal and then another client paged in labour. I was at the hospital until 8pm, and then got paged by another client suffering a tragic late miscarriage. Needless to say, I didn't get my long run in.

Have some work to do this morning then planning to go out and do my 16k. So worried about my mental space running that long without my group. Eek.

That's my update. Weight is up a few pounds for reasons I don't understand (around 212-214 again), but I will work on it this week and keep trucking.

Have a great day!

 

[Terapin]

More pics:

 

[Terapin]

 

[Terapin]

 

[Terapin]

Good evening!

Feeling good over here. Managed 22miles/35.5k this week. Yay!

Yesterday I went for my long slow run of 16k. EXCEPT that it started to rain. I though, ok, no problem. I don't mind a little rain. Then it really came down and I thought, I only have 6.5k left to go and I am on the way home. THEN it started to thunder and lightning overhead, and at that moment DH called and offered to pick me up. I ran the last .5k to make it 10k and gratefully climbed into the (dry) truck.

However, I was disappointed to not run the last 6k. I felt really good - like I could go on forever. I felt so strong and it was easy. Oh well.

Tonight I pushed myself and was happy to celebrate a negative split half of my 5k tempo run and I BEAT THE 35 MINUTE 5k mark!!!! My time was 34:57. I was so happy. I'm sure that for some fast runners that is so slow buy for me that was awesome and I am proud.

Weight is coming down a bit. Just seeing 211-212 these days. Want to see that 210 again, or below. It will come.

Anyway - happy with my tempo run tonight. I guess the hills are paying off. TOmorrow is 7k of hills with 5k warmup.

 

[Terapin]

Good morning!

Unfortunately I have missed two scheduled runs due to work. Going to make up one tonight. I missed Wednesday hills and my Thursday steady run. I will do the steady one tonight. 7k I believe. Tomorrow is another steady run and Sunday is 16k LSD.

Work has been crazy! I got called Wednesday morning and have basically been going since. I did sleep last night which was great! I had three clients birth within 20 hours, and had a full clinic day yesterday which saw me up at 6am and not home until 9pm last night. On 4 hours sleep and a very long day I just couldn't run. However I am well slept and eager to go tonight and all weekend.

My next race is a 5k in Yorkville, which is a boutique area of Toronto where there are fancy restaurants, high-end stores, and frequent celebrity sightings. The Toronto International Film Festival is also starting up around the same time, so it looks like fun and quite different from what I have done before. I am doing it with one of my dear client friends - she also did the Energizer Night Race with mr way back last September,ber. The medal looks amazing, and the Tshirt comes in a designer gym bag. I kinda signed up for the swag and the medal - LOL. The timing is nice because it is a year from my first 5k and I know I will do much better than the 48 minutes my first 5k took. Nice for a photo of the difference in me. It is Sept 9.

Then I am doing the Toronto Zoo Oasis 10k on Sept 14. I'm trying tonget my sister to sign up for this so she can get a better corral placement for the WDW half in January.

Then it is the Tower of Terror race 16k Sept 28!

Weight is sitting (ugh) at 212. Haven't been working on it too much this week other than to make smart food choices as I can. Not too much sugar, a little carbolicious this week, but good protein and fruits and veggies. My body doesn't not shed fat easily. Even with good kilometers on my feet and a busy lifestyle with good eating I struggle to shed weight. Oh well, gotta work with what you have! My body is pretty amazing in other ways so I gotta be grateful. Looking at some of the race photos I feel a little subconscious, especially of belly fat. I know I am working on it and have come far but I am judgmental of my own body. I hope to one day better appreciate the esthetics of my own body and face. I'm lucky to have a partner who thinks I am sexy and one of the best looking people around (ain't love grand?).

Well, my coffee is almost done and I have to get ready for another day of clinic and hose visits.

Hope you have a great day!

 

[Terapin]

Well, I didn't do my run last night. I was sooooo tired. So I am going to extend my 5k scheduled run this morning and try to run back some of those lost kilometers. Work should ease up. Tomorrow is 16k.

Weight is up a bit - can't believe it is due to just 2 missed runs. I ate a lot of salty foods in the last few days and some pretty dense foods. Thought I was doing ok but apparently not. However, I am up to about 214 so it can't be just food - I didn't eat 6000 extra calories! I am mid-cycle, so maybe it is that, too. Anyways, will do my two long runs this weekend and re-weigh on Monday, and should see everything back down.

 

[Terapin]

Got in 8.5k in the heat and humidity of a mid-day run! Now for a bath, some Breaking Bad S5 and a back-to-school trip to Costco.

 

[Terapin]

UGH. Weight up to 216 this morning?!? I can't explain it. I'm bummed that I have apparently gained 6 pounds in a week... despite getting in about 40km of running and being very busy at work. Have no eaten much crap. Ate light yesterday and still up a pound over yesterday. Oh well. Long term view. Hopefully it's just water retention and nothing that a good long run, a coffee and a bran muffin, and time will cure - HA HA!

Dh is out running this morning. He is usually more of a gym guy, but he is doing the Happy Haunted 5K at the end of the month. I think I will sign up for the 5k in addition to the 10 miler I am already signed up for. I need to do the mileage that weekend anyhow... DH has run a 5k before, with a walk/run strategy, so he should be ok. He works pretty hard at running though so I told him to take it easy this morning getting back into it. It is a big burly guy and runs like a superhero (pounding into the ground, so much energy). I've got him watching his stride to be a bit more fleet-flooted and energy-saving. Proud of him for getting out there at 6:30.

I'm getting up and prepared for a 16k run with my class this morning. Weather looks potentially rainy - I hope I don't get rained out of this one!

Life is good!

 

[Terapin]

Got my 16k run in! YAHOO! It is the farthest I have ever run. I did it in 2:15:00. Was a sucky run though - I didn't ever feel like I had gotten into my groove. Got 'er done though, and can now join the 10mile+ club!

I am pretty stiff and sore today. Perhaps because I ran 8.5k the day before and then this run less than 24 hours later? Good training for Goofy - I cannot believe I signed up for Goofy!

Have been craving curried chicken, so that is what is for dinner. Yum.

I don't think I drank enough water though. Drank about 1.25 litres of water with some E-Load in it, 3 salt tablets, and a pack of PowerBar chews.

I came home feeling ok, but didn't visit the washroom much over the afternoon. I did shed 3.5# even with the water I drank!

 

[Terapin]

Guess it was a blip as weight is down to 213 this morning. Liking the downward trend. Will work on losing past my nadir of 210 last week.

Feeling good after my rest day yesterday. I have a pain on my foot that I have had before. I think it is from the new distance.

Getting so excited about the ToT race at the end of the month! Hard to believe that there are two more races in between! Happy to be going off with my DH for a nice weekend of our own. We leave very early Friday and return Sunday night. Looking forward to some couple time.

Today I need to do 5k and I should do some biking, too.

 

[Terapin]

Yay! Back down to 212 this morning.

Had a run of 4.5k last night. I cut it short as it was getting really late and I needed to get the kids in bed, my knee was aching, my foot was aching, but worst of all my back was absolutely seized up on one side from mid-back to neck. To the chiro I go this morning! I have been feeling one of my ribs out for a few weeks now causing pain after running (from tensing up perhaps?).

Feeling pretty good. Tonight is 8 hills scheduled: 5k warm up and cool down to and from the hills, and 8k of hill repeats. UGH. Missed last week's 7 hills due to work so really hoping to get there this week. I want to get it done! Next week is the last week of hills (9 hills) then we move on to fartleks.

Work should be less crazy as most of my mamas have birthed.

I'm gathering items for a raffle for my NF Dream Team run on October 14. So far have several gift certificates for restaurants and some handmade Christmas cards, and free golf rounds, so I am hoping my raffle does really well!

 

[Terapin]

Weight down to 211 - yay!

Got my hills in last night but stopped at 7.25 hills as I was DONE. All told was 12k, with about 8k in hill repeats. It took about 1:40:00, so about a 8:20/km or 13 mm. Was super humid.

Had a quick bath and FELL into bed - was so tired. Luckily I slept well as I was awoken at 0500 for a birth.

Tonight is an intro to speed work at the track. I was doing track work with my previous coach so that isn't new. Not sure if I am going or not. I should but I am still tired and not sure I want to do speedwork as my third-in-a-row run.

 

[Terapin]

I skipped my run on Thursday - running 5x a week is just too much most weeks with 3 kids, a very full-time job. I was just too tired. Like first trimester pregnancy tired. Except I'm definitely not pregnant.

I had a great run today. It was raining, but then there was a lull. I headed out and did great. I ran 12k in 1:34:00, so about 7:50/km! I did have to stop at a grocery store to use the bathroom 3k in but after that it went really well. The last 1.5k was a slog, but before that I was really enjoying the run. The fact that it was net downhill didn't hurt!

Tomorrow is my 5k race. I am hoping for 33:00 finish. That is my goal. We shall see. I don't know the course well, or how busy it will be, so

I also did upper body work today. Good day. Weight sitting at 211.

 

[Terapin]

Race update!

This morning I ran a 5k. It was a lot of fun, and I'm not that sore! Last year, almost to the date I ran my first 5k. I finished in 48 minutes. This time I finished in 33 minutes!!!! My chip time was 34:23 but it was 5.1k, so I calculated what my 5k time would be. I ran each km in 6:45/km which is my new personal best for a 5k, race or training! So happy! That is a 10:49 mile I think if my math is right! Super happy with that for this Miss Slow and Steady Legs!

Here are some pics:

This is my pretty medal, which is even prettier in person:

Feeling really good! Next race is the Zoo Oasis 10k in 13 days. Not sure about my time goal for that. I think 1:15:00. My last 10k I finished in 1:14-1:15 (discrepancy from watch to chip, but maybe my watch paused when I went pee?). I'd love to do a bit faster and prove that even though I am not working with my coach that I have still maintained my training, and even surpassed my speed from the spring. I am mostly working on distance right now so not sure. The Macmillan race calculator says based on today's 5k I should be able to do 7:00/km or 1:10:06 for a 10k. Oy vey!

Tomorrow is a blessed rest day. I have to recertify in NRP.

 

[Terapin]

For comparison, here is me one year ago at my first race:

 

[Terapin]

Got my race stats and am very happy to report that I was not in the bottom quartile of the race! I finished faster than 30% of women my age, and 29% of women in the race. Not that I am running AGAINST anyone other than myself, but it is a pleasant result to be moving up as a measure of my fitness. Pleased with that.

My first race, a year ago almost to the day (Sept 10, 2011) I was slower than 94.5% of women my age, and 94.5% of women overall in that race. I've moved up 25%! Love it.

I don't ever think I will be in the top 25%. My goal is to be firmly in the middle, earning respectable times. I don't want to invest the time to do better than that, honestly. I will always be a recreational runner: I just don't have the natural talent or correct built for speed running.

 

[Terapin]

Good morning!

Weight still sitting at 211.

Ran a lousy 4k run yesterday. Just couldn't get into the groove and I hate every second. I was supposed to do 5k but cut it short as I was anxious about time. I needed to get showered and head out for a very important hospital meeting.

Today I am scheduled to do 9k of hills + 5k warm up and cooldown. It is my last week of hills! Yay! I missed one week of hills and did 7k of hills last week so I may just do 8k to keep up the +1k/week. Besides, 8 sounds way better than 9! We finished in the dark last week so I may get going there sooner and try to start before everyone else gets there. I do my hills pretty slowly so I am usually the last person to finish and that never feels great...