Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Looking Like I Earned It

When we go to the Y to run, the machines only let you do an hour at a time, then you have to restart the stupid things. The other night I just restarted it after 4 miles so I didn't have to do it mid-mile. I ran down the hall (literally) to use the ladies room (hey, I'm 49, REMEMBER??) and then jumped back on the machine and restarted it. By then my face was red, my hair was dripping with sweat, my shirt was a bit soaked and I was looking a tad like I was dying. Just after that, someone jumped on an exercise machine close to me....probably looked at my machine and thought, "holy moley---this lady looks like she's going to pass out and she's only done three tenths of a mile!" Let's be honest here.....you ALWAYS sneak a peak at the console of everyone else's treadmill to see how fast and far they're going! Don't you? Well, call it vanity, but when I've already done a few miles and look like it, I want the machine to SAY SO!

In fact, I want the treadmill to say, "Hey....this lady over here is working her formerly enormous derrierre off and she's already run 4 miles this evening!!!" It should preface that announcement with one of those horrible long, obnoxious noises like on the 'emergency broadcast system'---just so everyone is paying attention. I hope, however, that it keeps the speed details of my runs to itself.

Monday, July 28, 2008

At Least Only Part of My Pain is Due to Stupidity

Ouch. I took Carrie to the waterslide/beach the other day. As usual, I was running around doing stuff at the last minute and left myself little time to get there to meet the other moms. There was just enough sunscreen left for my little red-head. I didn't want to keep everyone else waiting so I didn't stop for any more. Bad move. That was Friday. I'm still in agony.

Ouch. Ouch. Did my 8 miles last night. Okay, I really only did just over 7.5 because the gym at the Y closed 15 minutes before the Y actually does and I misjudged how long it was going to take me to do my run, including driving, in and out of the car, checking in, warm-up, etc. I'm not feeling guilty (too much, anyway) about that 1/2 mile deficit. My run went fairly well and I definitely could have handled the rest of the run. However, for the first time in my short running career, I am in real pain. I've got to do some more research to figure out exactly what it is but if feels like something with my hip adductors??? Whatever it is, it hurts. It's only on the right side, and I wasn't feeling it before when I was running, only when I was getting on my bike, or trying to sit with my right leg crossed over my left. Until yesterday. I messed with the speed a lot trying to squeeze my whole run in. I don't THINK that had anything to do with it but I'm such a newbie to all of this, I don't know.

By the way, we've been doing the last few runs on the treadmill because Jim is suffering from plantar fasciitis and thought the softer surface might help. (it has been, thankfully) I have been setting the treadmill to a 1.0 incline just to better simulate outdoor running.

Last night's run was tough, but a reminder that if we've come this far from where we were a few months ago, we CAN run a marathon! WooHOo! Go us!

Friday, July 25, 2008

A Little Running, A Little Love

I ran my 5 on the treadmill at the Y. I'm cranking it up just a little faster and trying to finish the last mile a minute faster than I usually run (which still isn't even remotely fast). I am still in shock that I can actually run 5 miles. Yeah!!!

And now, for your viewing pleasure.....

This is one of the coolest things I have seen out there. If it's not legitimate, quite honestly, I don't even want to know. If you're a pet owner, you will LOVE this.....

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

How Cool!

Last night I did my 3-mile run on a treadmill at the 'Y' again. It was kind of fun (amidst the boredom) to think back to when I was trying to get in shape a few years ago. I had no real plan, I just did the circuit training a few times a week, did cardio (walking) on the treadmill, and hoped for the best. It didn't last particularly long and I would go for months doing nothing, then be committed to it for 3 weeks at a time ---off and on forever. Nothing in my body really changed at all. I did notice a change in my cardio-vascular system but lost it whenever I dropped off the face of the fitness earth for a while. I remember getting to the point where I could actually run for 1 whole minute. Afterwards my face was beet red and I looked like I was going to keel over and have a heart attack. It was fun to muse on that while I was knocking out three miles fairly easily last night.

Having the goal of the Detroit marathon has really pushed me along and kept me focused.

Having someone(my dearest husband) do this with me has kept me from quitting.

Having a proven plan (Non-runner's Marathon Trainer) has kept me confident that even I can pull this off.

Having other bloggers around has been very encouraging and educational.

Thanks!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Pushing Onward, Pushing Up, and Pushing 50

Last night's run was SEVEN miles. I realize this is not a huge distance for most of you, but even six months ago, my perception was that running a single mile was almost as impossible as teaching my cat to do the cha-cha or teleporting myself to the moon.

Jim and I are still running together, but using a little different methods. I'm not sure if it's because of my age and hormones, but I just get so roasting hot when I run, I almost can't take it. I am plenty hydrated, but I think I just don't sweat enough. Anyway, I find it most beneficial to do the Jeff Galloway method, where I insert a bit of walking. Jim keeps an incredibly steady pace and does zero walking. We finish our run at the same time. We're both pretty slow, but our goal for the marathon is to finish. Period. I have to overcome the feeling that I'm somehow cheating or shortcutting 'real' fitness/running when I interject some walking. Then I remember that I'm not doing this to impress anyone or get some kind of runner's credential card.....I'm just getting in shape and doing it the way that will help me stick with the program and finish the distance.

Today is a recovery day so we're going to start some weights & core exercises. We've also decided to do what many of you have done ----- commit to this ridiculous 100 push-up challenge. Running, mountain bikes, push-ups? Wow! I guess my routine has changed a bit.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Treadmill, AGAIN!

Why do I feel like a wimp when I do my runs on a treadmill? Unlike a lot of you, I kind of like the treadmill at the distances I'm doing now. Maybe it's because I don't have a Garmin or reasonable facsimile. I like knowing my pace, exact distance, time, etc. I like knowing exactly where I stand (uh, that would be figuratively, not literally---I can usually figure out my location!!!)

Thursday nights are just one of those times when all of our sons(aka babysitters) are either working or going somewhere so the treadmill at the YMCA just works. Carrie can go to kid's club and play in the gym and we can get in a decent run. Tonight was beastly outside...both hot AND humid....so the Y was a good option on all counts.

My four-miler went very well. I'm looking forward to SEVEN this Sunday but nervous as well. It just hit me today that in about 6 weeks, Jim and I are planning on running a Labor Day 30K. AAAAAAaaaaaahhhhhhh! We're actually planning on walking the last few miles simply because we won't be up to 18 miles in our training yet and we don't want to overdo it. (yeah....that's right...we're old wimps and proud of it!!) By the way....this race will go through one of the State Recreation Areas which will be loaded with deerflies. Have any of you found any effective repellants for those stupid things? They tend not to go for me but they LOVE my dearest husband.

Enough for tonight. I'm going to go eat a plateful of fresh mango, blueberries, raspberries, and peaches. Jealous? You should be. They're awesome!

Happy running!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Out of Town

I took a trip to Atlanta for a trade show this past weekend. I ran the night before I left on a treadmill (no big brothers home to watch Carrie) and had a really good 4-mile run. I was traveling much of the day on Friday so I didn't get that 3-miler in. Saturday and Sunday were spent on my feet from about 7:00 am to 9:00 in the evening walking every floor in AmericasMart in Atlanta. Somehow I did manage to get in 3 miles on Sunday on top of all that walking. I would have liked to run 6 but time was limited.

During my trip there were a few random things I learned....... here goes:

1) Don't drink an entire venti iced tea just prior to boarding a crowded jet.
2) Don't board a train in a town you've never been to before, hoping to figure out what bus to get on, just minutes before the transit system shuts down for the evening.
3) Don't wear new sandals to an event which will require you to be walking for 12+ hours per day up and down stairs, escalators, and the airport.
4) I learned that running shoes can be perfectly chic with a business skirt and blouse while trying to avoid learning lesson 3 again.
5) Having only five minutes left before they shut down the manager's reception at the hotel is not a reasonable excuse for shoveling in massive quantities of chips, salsa, goldfish, and grapefruit juice just 10 minutes or so before you planned to run 3 miles.
6) I learned that there is actually a company that makes paper & gifts from elephant poop. I can see it now. "Honey, I'm so glad you thought twice about getting me a garmin and went for the animal feces instead!"
7) I also learned the bright side of being inside a building all day that has no decent cell phone signal. Yeah! I didn't get even one call asking what was for dinner, what kind of food was in the house, etc.....all those earth-shaking things you MUST know immediately! My sons (all four of which will be in college in the fall) have called me while I am in the dentist's chair, at the doctor's office, running, working out at the Y, etc....all to inquire about food and it's ETP (estimated time of preparation). This begs the question.....How does one get on the Dean's list and still be mentally unable to assess the types and quantities of food present in the pantry and refrigerator. Mind you, each one of these creatures has spent considerable time working in restaurant kitchens.
8) I found that all of the following foods can be consumed in under 20 minutes: Chocolate-covered dried apricot, chocolate-covered blueberries, dried strawberries, meatballs, pickled hot green cherry tomatoes, tapenade, garlic stuffed olives, flax crackers with some berry I've never heard of before, cheddar mini biscuits, several different quantities of chocolate nut barks, 4 different varieties of tea, walnut cheddar, pecan pie, peach almond amaretto pie filling, various jams and jellies on various crackers and pretzels, countless chocolate pieces, pickled okra, another spicy pickled green cherry tomato, and my personal best bite in the show.....cinnamon peanut butter (I wanted to take the whole jar). I'm certain I've probably left a few things out.
9) I discovered that overeating in the last few minutes of show attendance combined with an acute lack of sleep can cloud your judgement and cause you to need to learn lesson 1 again. (this is especially inconvenient if the lady on the aisle seat has been at the airport for 23 hours prior to take off. Once she falls asleep, you and your bladder are just plain going to have to live with it, because that heap of humanity isn't going anywhere.

I promise to actually post about running next time!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Cross-Training

Seeing that we are now supposedly real athletes, we decided we needed something to do on our non-running days. It couldn't just be something inexpensive like doing push-ups. No. We decided to go out and get mountain bikes. This is definitely the year of "WHAT COULD I POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN THINKING?"

Actually, this gives us something to do with our 6-year-old and our older 'kids' (I'm sure they'll be hoping we'll pony up for bikes for them{{eye roll}}. We've got some great trails about 15 minutes away in almost any direction. My daughter is absolutely aghast that I purchased a 'boys bike'. I'm just aghast that my helmet is so geeky looking. And I'm still trying to figure out how you put a derriere the size of Texas on a bike seat that's smaller than Rhode Island.

Last Week's Training Report

The first week of training went pretty well. I am still running Galloway style, which I need to stop feeling guilty about. I keep my walk breaks short and it does help me to keep going.

Our first 'long run' (not actually very long at this point) was a bit of a disaster. We had a perfect dirt road run mapped out, Dave (son#4) was home to watch Carrie, it was decent weather and we headed out the door. We parked the van and started running. About a half mile into it, we couldn't take it anymore and high-tailed it back to the car. It wasn't the feet or the shins or the lungs................it was the blasted deer flies. There must have been 10 of them zinging around Jim's head.

We were determined not to bag out on our first long run so we put our behinds back in the van, drove a couple miles back into town and ran some more sans deer flies. We didn't go the whole five miles but we did okay. The little break in momentum had a big effect on my not-so-mentally-tough self.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

The Seventh Random Thing - My Dirty Little Secret

After bragging about my spaghetti sauce, I thought it appropriate to list another Fun Fact about myself that is actually very embarrassing for me. Ready? Here goes............ I am quite possibly the most disorganized slob in the entire world. There. Now you know. Don't ever drop by my house without notice, I won't let you in because the house looks like Katrina just blew through. I'm not sure why I'm like this. I'm not a pack rat. I'm not lazy. I guess I'm just not very efficient. I'm getting somewhat better. Maybe after the marathon, I'll apply myself to becoming an organized, efficient, domestic diva whose doors are always open. It might just be possible. A year ago I never would have dreamed that it was possible for me to run for 4 miles, but I did that yesterday and I'm running FIVE tomorrow. There might be hope for me yet.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Six Random Things

I have been tagged by Amy, Alien on the Run, and Ama,

1. Jim and I have five kids, the last of which was born when I was 42(my only girl). The first four kids (all boys) were all born within five and a half years. They were all homeschooled through 7th grade. All four of them will be in college (all different years & schools) in the fall($$$$--just shoot me).


2. I am a closet Jeopardy contestant wanna-be. I would apply, but I'd get on the show and that night the questions would all be about the movies or opera, both of which I care for very little (okay, I HATE them both)


3. I am a bit obsessive about doing the NY Times Sunday crossword puzzle each week. I usually keep them around until I'm able to solve them....even if I have to put them away for a while and look at them with fresh eyes a few weeks later.


4. I don't own and never will own a credit card and I will never again take out a car loan. Been there, done that, paid a LOooooNG time for the T-shirt! (sometime I will post pictures of the paid-for-hence-stress-free vehicles [I use that term loosely] that we drive as well as the well-rested look on my face that comes from being debt-free [except for our mortgage.]



5. I make the BEST spaghetti sauce. Don't even question it. Italians have got nothing on me. I'm not even the least bit modest about it either. Don't even get me started about my apple pie :-) No, really, DON'T!



6. If you came and stole my TV, I would probably send you a thank-you note. I watch a few HGTV shows and Jeopardy occasionally, but would spend all of about 37 seconds mourning the loss should it turn up missing or broken. (Oh, wait a minute....I need that thing for my Wii Fit!)

We're running out of bloggy runners to tag at this point so I will only be tagging a few: Alissa at Balancing Act (she has a great running blog), ShopJogBlog, (the only other blogger I know of that's planning on doing the Detroit Marathon), and the ladies over at We Run Like Girls (because I think they could all use an 'atta girl' at this point in their training from some other runners).

Here are the rules:

link to the person who tagged you.
post the rules on your blog.
write six random things about yourself.
tag six people at the end of your post.
let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog
let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Training Schedule, Week 1

Here's the plan:

Tuesday: 3 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Friday: 3 miles
Sunday: 5 miles

I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. {{{{white knuckle fear}}}}

Looks like the run days this week will be the cooler days this week. I plan on running with wet hair anyway just because I always get so roasting while I'm running.