Things I realized today

Uncle Hal had 3.5 planned for me today. I decided to run around the lake. It's not really around the lake, but running on the sidewalk outside of the lake. Here are things I realized today:

1. Sometimes you can be prepared for the wrong thing.
2. I can run without an iPod.
3. My Garmin calculates calories burned without my chest strap.

1. I packed a bag for after my dentist appointment. The dentist is right by the vet, so my thought was, I'll get my tooth fixed and see if Ash is ready. If she is, I'll run at home, if she isn't, I'll run around the lake. She wasn't ready so the lake it was. I forgot about the hills. Basically, I started at the top of the hill and ran down, around and back up. I usually walk this every Saturday with the dogs. It didn't prepare me for running it. Luckily my gym was about 1/2 way around the route, so I was able to get some water and continue. I think that saved the run.

Your run was good, you say. How did you prepare for the wrong thing? One word, weather. Two days ago it was cold and rainy, today it was about 75 degrees. Seriously? I wouldn't have brought pants, black pants at that, if I thought it was going to be in the 70s. It's February! I guess that's Southern California for ya.

2. I brought lil' (Red) with me, but not my headphones. I only like one set of headphones and I switch them between the my shuffles. That bit me when I dug through my bad today and found my shuffle, with no headphones. Eh, I guess I had to try it sometime.

3. So I put the wrong chest strap in my bag. Guess I wasn't really that prepared. But my Garmin still read calories burned. I'm guess it calculated them just based on my personal information, I wonder what my heart rate really read. I felt like my level of effort was maxed out. My splits are below.

Mile 1: 10:33

Mile 2: 12:10

Mile 3: 11:54

Mile 3.5: 6:09

Mile 1 was pretty much all down hill. Mile 2 I thought I was going to die. Miles 3 and 3.5 I just wanted it to be over. I felt really good about it when it was.

4 miles on the Dreadmill

It sounds like the title to a bad country song...

Sunday was busy. Most of it was Yasmin made busy as I put off buying a shower gift until the last minute, then realized my Bed, Bath and Beyond was too small to have most of the stuff on the bride's list so then I put it off to the VERY last minute, meaning I stopped by a bigger BB&B on my way to the shower. Seriously I did. Where did my planning go?

Anyway, my day was supposed to be this:

6:30-7 am: wake up

7-7:30 am: get ready for meeting, drug cat, let dogs out

7:30-8:30 am: WI and stay for coolest leader ever's meeting

8:30-9 am: get ready to run

9-10 am: run, stretch

10-11 am: eat, shower, leave to get shower present

11-11:30 am: buy present

11:45 am: meet Becki in LB and go to shower in the Valley

11:45-1 pm: drive to Valley

1-3 pm: shower

Um, this didn't exactly happen. I skipped the run in the morning. It was raining and I stayed after the meeting to talk to the coolest leader ever. I stayed a bit too long. The more I thought about it, the more stressed I became, so I skipped it. I even skipped the shower, as I had taken one the night before and didn't do anything to make myself stinky...

I did, however, make a gym bag so I could stop by the gym after the shower and before I headed home.

Bed, Bath and Beyond was a nightmare. I only found 1 thing on her list and the other one I wanted they had to search the store for 15-20 minutes before they found it. They offer free gift wrap, but that was going to be another 15 minutes and I was already thinking I was going to be late picking up Becki, so I declined and went to World Market (Cost Plus) next door and bought a pretty bag, I already had tissue paper in my car.

I met up with Becki, got gas and some food, because all I had was a sample size luna bar when I thought I was going to run, and I never made myself breakfast. I tumped the banana and milk whilst driving to the valley. This is about a 1:45-2 hour trip, 1 way, from my house.

We arrive at the shower location 10 minutes early, which isn't bad as we were thinking with the weather and traffic on the 405, we'd be late. But don't worry, other people were. People were still showing up 30 minutes later. This kills me because I'm thinking, the shower should be 2 hours, I might be able to get home in time to run outside. I didn't.

We played games, the toliet paper dress being my personal favorite and really the only game needed. We opened presents. We ate. There was an actual red velvet cake there, I was not impressed at all. But the mini cupcakes and the chocolate cake pulled their weight in yumminess.

We didn't leave until a bit after 4. I didn't get to the gym and on the treadmill until 6pm. I stopped every mile to drink some water, as I didn't want to face plant on the treadmill and end up in the row of elipticals behind me. Running on a relatively full stomach isn't fun.

But I did it, and I was happier for it. I even remembered to stretch when I got home.

Jeremy and I rounded out the night by watching some Pac-10 basketball and Drowning Mona, which is one of the funniest movies ever. I mean, where did they get all those Yugos?

Back on Track... Sort of

Today I came home and tried to talk myself out of running.

It was 52 degrees outside and I don't like to be cold. I would run in a 65-70 degree bubble if I could. 80 if there was a nice breeze. I need to invent one of those bubbles. Maybe it could be out of that greenhouse material, but I'd need to be able to regulate it. Have I mentioned that I really don't like being overly hot either?

My euphoria came really quick today, before the end of mile 1. I should have known something was up. It was sapped from me around 1.5 miles. I convinced myself to get to 2 miles then decide then if I wanted to stop. Once I got to 2, I convinced myself I only have 10 more tenths of a mile left, then 9, then 8. I forgot to look from 8-3. I was happy I finished. I've got a 4 miler on Sunday. I think my training is getting on track.

I did stop for 2-3 seconds a couple of times. I'm not sure what was up with my lungs. I didn't feel like they were filling up. I may need to do a peak flow test at the doctor, since I don't have my meter anymore, and see if there is something up with my asthma.

Here are my splits. Do you notice anything about them?

Mile 1: 10:39

Mile 2: 11:11

Mile 3: 11:07

I'm too excited to wait for your guess. They're all under 11:30, under 11:15 even! So I know it's an average of the mile and there were times I was over 11:15 and maybe 11:30, but that isn't what the average says. I checked my HR and I was still around 174. So my level of effort didn't increase too much, if at all, to get that time. In fact, when I look at my Garmin HR graph, it's the most level I've seen it.

I'm pretty proud of myself.

2 miles down

10 more to go... Well I'm just going to forget the 3 I was supposed to run yesterday, so I only have 7 more to go.

My splits are holding steady at 11:15 for mile 1 and 11:45 for mile 2. I'm keeping an 11:30 min/mile average, which is great, for now. Once I get my mileage up to somewhere around 18-20 miles a week, I'll start some speed training. That's my plan for now. Let me know if any of you think differently.

I thought a lot more in this run than I have in runs the past few weeks. It was windy and as I was running into it I was thinkings, right-left-right-left, until I stopped having to think about it and could start trying to sing whatever song that was playing on Lil' (Red). I then thought about that Flo Jo commercial (I think it was Flo Jo) when she let us in her head whilst she was running the hurdles. You know what she thought about?

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 jump, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 jump, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 jump... Maybe that was just for the commerical, but it's nice to know that Olympic athletes and I have something in common.

Grr... Argh

I had 3 miles on my schedule today. I didn't make it.

I thought I had a meeting with some peeps at 5:30 today. I, however, didn't send a confirmation e-mail with a time and my peeps were busy. By the time I realized this, I had already worked late and I wasn't going to make it home in time to run outside. The gym held no appeal. I could feel my IT band. So I did nothing.

I think the weekend full of driving irrated my IT band. 3 hours up to Stockton, 6 hours total in the car on Saturday. 2 hours of Driving on Sunday and 6 hours of car riding on Monday. I don't think it liked the position I put it in.

I have 2 on tap for tomorrow. If I feel good enough after the scheduled 2 I might go the extra mile, literally.

I think I'm really paranoid about getting hurt again. I may be overly worried, but that's me.

And So It Begins

As mentioned in my last entry, I've started my marathon training. Well, my 1/2 marathon training to be totally honest. Monday was 3 miles, Wednesday was 2 miles and today was 3 miles OUTSIDE!!!

You heard it peeps, I actually ran outside in what feels like forever, but was probably only 3 - 5 days. It was also the coldest day in the last 3-5 days. Could I run outside when it was a nice pleasant 75 degrees? No, only when it was 53 degrees. However, it wasn't raining or snowing and there was no ice to be seen outside of my freezer. I won't complain anymore.

I figure I can extend my training to a full near the end of the year, if I really want to. It also depends on whether or not I get into the full Nike Womens' Marathon. Oh and whether or not I actually get off my duff and plan a trip to Australia. Just a couple small details.

Ash is keeping me company right now. She can roam around the house for a limited amount of time. DH wasn't feeling great today, so he's already in bed. The dogs put themselves to bed and Cookie, the other cat, is hiding in the bedroom to avoid the sick cat. So here I am, trying to keep a cat from jumping on the furniture, which is almost an impossible task unless the cat has a whole body sock of bandages on her. I guess I have luck on my side.

Reverse Brick, sort of

So I'm thinking about doing a triathlon. I did see signs for a local duathlon on my way into work this morning. But neither of those things were what spurred me on to do 3.44 miles on the treadmill and another 7.78 miles on the stationary bike.

Now before you get all impressed, or start yelling that I cheat, I know the miles that the machines display are not really accurate. I didn't really care about where I ended up, I just wanted to make my 8.5 miles for this 250 miles in Feb challenge. I know all I'm going to get is a stupid t-shirt or water bottle, but hey it's junk for free...

I know I wasn't running or biking outside, and that I really have no form and probably use more energy than I need swimming, but my little jaunt at the gym made me think that I might actually be able to do a Sprint.

The only concern I have would be training for a Tri whilst training for a marathon. I mean, I'm no Ironman, nor would I want to be, I can put up with biking and swiming short distances, but running is where I'm at right now, so would the Tri training help or hurt my marathon training?
Would marathon training hurt my Tri performance?

Of course I haven't really started any marathon training, but I'm going to. Really I am.
Maybe this weekend.
Well, Monday for sure.

I Am Not A Number

But 138.9 is and I like it.

As you may or may not have guessed, weigh in was today. I knew I was going to lose 2-3 lbs. Last week I went to a meeting after I ran in the rain. I didn't really think that my clothes could absorb that much water, but I was very, very wrong. So I gained weight, almost Biggest Loser style.

6.2 lbs lost in a week, we'll take away my fake gain and set it at 3.2 lbs lost. No, not lost, 3.2 lbs gotten rid of, kicked to the curb, sent packing. "Lost" may make you think that it needs to be found, it does not.

I can tell you, with very much certainty, that I have NEVER seen anything in the 130s on the monster box, for as long as I've been watching.

So I know I'm not a number. I know it's all about how I feel and how my clothes fit, being confortable with my body, yada yada yada. But I'll tell ya, 138.9, we'll round up and call it 139, looks a hell of a lot better than 180 did.

Going Commando

I did it. After much internal debate I ran 2 miles on Saturday, sans panties. I didn't jiggle as much as I thought I would, or maybe I just didn't feel it. My cooch survived in tact. I may have just entered a new phase of my training.

Here are my splits:

Mile 1: 11:07

Mile2: 11:58

So it's about an 11:30 average pace. Pretty nifty I think.

I didn't eat enough at breakfast though, a little oatmeal and some blueberries and then went on a 3 mile walk with the dogs. I drank 24 oz of water and ate an apple. The day was so nice I went for a 2 mile run before lunch. I wanted to make 3, but my lack of fuel stopped me.

I wasn't really hungry at breakfast and forced myself to eat the amount of food that I did. I rewarded myself with a Lemon Pepper Tuna sandwich from Togos, which is probably a California chain and that's really sad for the rest of the country as Togos is supah yummy.

WI was today. It was great and I think it deserves its own post.

250 miles in February

My gym introduced a challenge for this month, 250 cardio miles in the month of February. I signed up and I'm already behind.

Let's do the math, 250 miles/29 days ~8.5 miles a day.

hmm... I only run ~3 miles, how to get all those miles done? Enter the bike. I used a stationary bike yesterday and "rode" 13.5 miles.

Let's add that to the 3.5 miles I ran/walked (trying to find the food and the shuttles) on Sunday, the 1.7 miles walked on Saturday, the 1.6 miles I ran on Friday after my session with my Trainer and 0 miles done today.

We have a grand total of 20.3 miles. I should be at 42.5 miles. Hmm... I think I will be getting most of my miles in on the weekend with a run, walk the dogs, bike combo.

The good news? Apparently there are prizes. The bad news? The fire dept works out at my gym (no they've never been there while I've been working out) and some of them are in the challenge.

I don't really think I'm going to win, but it's a commitment that will keep me going to the gym.



PS: my hooha hurts from the bike.

Surf City 5K - 33:54

Yup, you read it right, 33:54 and it was raining.

At 7:15 am in Huntington Beach, CA it was 51 degrees with a wind speed of 3 and light, but constant, rain. It wasn't pouring, but it was definately not misting. I was soaked through at the end of the run.

All in all it turned out well. I set a PR, in the rain. That makes me happy.

Let's do a whole run down of the day:

I woke up about 5:45, I wanted to be at the parking lot, waiting for the shuttle, by 6:30.

I left the house about 6:15, later than I wanted, without my FRS (I like the diet orange powder mix) and my luna bar, which I forgot on the counter in my kitchen. My gas light was on, so I had to stop for gas. I ended up getting to the parking lot ~6:55 AM.

The shuttle was really a school bus, yes a big orange/yellow bus. She didn't really know where she was going and actually did a U-Turn, yes we flipped a bitch in a full length school bus on a residential street, and headed down to Main Street.

We got there around 7:16, after the race was supposed to start, but there were 3 Waves and we arrived 2 minutes before the last wave was going to start.

I passed up all the pace signs and settled myself at the back of the pack. And we were off.

I was cold and wet, but I kept going, telling myself I couldn't walk until the last mile. I saw a group of ROTC or maybe enlisted military, running, ~ 1.8 miles in, chanting their song, so I kept running.

Once I hit mile 2, I was set, only a mile left, only .75 miles, only .5, only .3 - oh wait, really .4, I forget that last pesky .1.

Then I was done. I avoided the first chip cutter and went to the second, then I was off on a quest for food. I hadn't had anything all day, except a cup of water during the race. It took me awhile to figure out where to go. I was wandering around the Expo tent for about 30 minutes before I realized that I had to go outside and around to the backside of the tent.

I grabbed an energy bar sample and a smoothie, both quite good, and I was off on a quest to find the shuttle back to the parking lot.

I boarded the school bus and exited at the civic center. It was here that I stepped in more puddles than were on the race course on the way to my car.

I was done, soaking the driver's seat, I didn't think about bringing a towel, or even a trash bag, and I went home.

Now I've had a hot shower and 2 cups of tea and I'm feeling warm. I've set up a space heater to dry my shoes and orthotics.

I'm off to get ready for a Super Bowl party. It's a good week so far.