Uninspired
I'm running slower, gaining weight, breaking out, stressing out and in an overall bad way. Furthermore, I haven't even THOUGHT about my poor little blog in weeks :( usually, even when I'm really bad I can at least still post on the weekend. Ashleigh FAIL. October was such a sad month for my little blog project, and to the loyal few of you who follow me, I sincerely apologize.
So, in short, here's what has happened in the past 2 weeks:
*I ran 20 miles
*I went to California and drank a lot of wine and had a lot of fun, but didn't run much.
*Last weekend, I ran my longest race before the marathon - 30K (which is 18.8 miles) in 2:50
*I have been running minimally during the week, letting myself believe that by running ridiculously far distances on the weekend makes up for it. Turns out, it doesn't.
*I ran 14 miles 2 days ago, and I have a 1/2 marathon coming up next Sunday. That's my last race before December 12.
So, that's what I've been doing (and not doing). Billy will be home in a matter of weeks, and now I'm all stressed about that because I gotta look good, you know? So, with renewed vigor and enthusiasm, I will be running like it was my job (even though I already have a job...and grad school...and 2 dogs...and a house to keep up...and friends...and...and...and...)
I suppose I really don't have anything to say, other than that. I'll try to conjure up some witty blog banter for you as the week goes on to try to get back into the swing of things, but for now, I'm off to the gym for some treadmill action because it is no less than one million degrees outside. Fact.
P.S. - Any love you could send my way would be greatly appreciated! I have a motivation deficit.
P.P.S. - Starbucks red cup season started today! Love yourself and go get you one of them triple grande non-fat gingerbread lattes!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
The Valiant Return of The Weekly Weigh-In, How Running 20 Miles was EASY(?!?!?!), And How 6" Makes All The Difference ;)
The Latest & Greatest
I know I've been a little M.I.A lately, but hang on to your butts, friends! I'm about to make up for it now with so much blogging goodness, you're not even going to hardly know what to do with yourselves ;P
First of all, my dear DadE was here last week for an extended weekend. It was GLORIOUS! Sometimes, a gal still needs her dad to swoop in and take care of her. My dad is the best because he loves champagne as much as I do (maybe it runs in the family?) He's also very handy for: walking dogs, killing cockroaches, doing dishes, buying lunch, and just generally being awesome! This picture pretty much sums up the 5 days he was here:
Man, did we have a good time! Although, naturally, with DadE around, there was much food and wine and happiness and not so much putting one foot in front of the other for long, long times. Oh well. I'm not even mad about it.
It wasn't all fun and games, though. We went to WORK! Let me explain: my lanai is unquestionably my favorite room in the house, even though it's not even a room. It's always perfect out there. There's twinkle lights, and ocean breezes and happiness. However, there's a damn fence around the whole thing that is just a little too high. When Billy and I first moved in, we went to every single store on this rock that might sell patio furniture, trying to find a table & chairs that would be tall enough to see over the fence so we could perch up there and see the ocean. We got the tallest one we could find and it's the perfect height...if you like looking at a white fence :/ There are so many stupid things like that in this house. I know it had to be designed by a man, what with the lack of common sense and everything.
Anyway, you ladies out there already know this to be true, but:
An Extra 6" Makes All the Difference
Dad listened to my lament about the stupid too tall fence and I could almost see the cogs in his head turning. Friday I came home from work, and he said "We're going to Home Depot" and so we did!
By Saturday afternoon, this is what was going on (along with some imbibing for some reason...)
Voila! The happiest place on earth just got 6" happier! Now, when I sit out there I can see the ocean and not just hear it. It's glorious. Plus, we didn't just make a platform, we made a memory. Cheesey? Yes. True? Also yes. We had such a stupid fun time! Now, for those of you haven't come out to visit me yet, you have another reason. You simply MUST see the new and improved lanai ;)
20 Easy Miles
I couldn't make this up! I ran 20 miles yesterday morning which is as far as I will have to run until Marathon Day shows up 2 months and 1 day from today. I was very, VERY nervous beforehand, which is probably what made it so good. My dear Teresa even called me the night before and, like a good coach, asked me "Have you been hydrating? What did you have for dinner? Did you clip your toenails? Are you sure?" I have good friends! So, not only did I prepare BEFORE the run, but I was well-stocked with margarita flavored Cliff Shot Bloks, those energy jelly beans, and H2O in my hip runner's fanny pack. At 10 miles I didn't know it was possible to feel so good at 10 miles. Remember back here when 10 miles almost killed me? Here I am, 4 months later and I doubled that and felt better at the end! AMAZING what a body can do. I must be doing something right in this whole training process. There's always ups and downs, of course, but when it all comes together like it did yesterday, it makes it soooo worth it!
Total time ran clocked in at 3:28:08. Have you ever been to a concert or something and had to be on your feet for 3 1/2 hours? Being on your feet for that long does something funny to your body, but that's why you need to do it BEFORE marathon day. There was nothing completely fast about that time, I believe it's over a 10 minute mile pace but I'm not concerned for a couple of reasons: 1)I felt so stinking good at the end, and that only means that if I could have run faster if I needed to and 2) I didn't need to because it's called Long, Slow Distance for that very reason. The purpose is just to do it! And I did it. And I feel so self-righteous and proud of myself - I can't help it! Go me ;)
The Weigh-In
Holding strong at 133.0. The stupid scale hasn't budged in 3 weeks. I'm sure not running last weekend and eating with wild abandon and drinking bottles and bottles of wine with dad probably evened out all the running I did this week. Bah humbug. I have a month and some change before hubs comes home, and I would love to lose 3 more lbs. Just 3 more stupid pounds. We'll see how it goes, because this coming weekend, there's going to be another hitch in training regime:
MARGARITAVILLE!!!
On Thursday, I'm flying into San Francisco to meet up with my MuM, my Auntie H, Kelly, Kari, and a plethora of other fabulous women for a weekend of wine tasting, giggling, and of course, a JIMMY BUFFETT concert!!! The plane ticket and conert ticket was a gift from my MuM for my birthday all the way back in May, so I've been looking forward to this for 5 months!
I really love my family, in case you all out there haven't noticed yet. I love that I can have my dad out here and he doesn't stress me out and we can build platforms for my lanai and drink wine. And I love how I'm just as excited about Estrogenfest: Part Deux with my MuM as I was for the orginal Estrogenfest with my best lady friends. Like I said, it must run in the family ;)
Have a lovely week, all of you! Till we meet again...xoxoxoxo
PS - I almost forgot! THANK YOU, Christopher Columbus for getting lost, ending up on this continent, and being a jerk about it so that nearly 600 years later, I can have a day off. I'll make sure to have a glass today for you, my exploring friend!
I know I've been a little M.I.A lately, but hang on to your butts, friends! I'm about to make up for it now with so much blogging goodness, you're not even going to hardly know what to do with yourselves ;P
First of all, my dear DadE was here last week for an extended weekend. It was GLORIOUS! Sometimes, a gal still needs her dad to swoop in and take care of her. My dad is the best because he loves champagne as much as I do (maybe it runs in the family?) He's also very handy for: walking dogs, killing cockroaches, doing dishes, buying lunch, and just generally being awesome! This picture pretty much sums up the 5 days he was here:
Man, did we have a good time! Although, naturally, with DadE around, there was much food and wine and happiness and not so much putting one foot in front of the other for long, long times. Oh well. I'm not even mad about it.
It wasn't all fun and games, though. We went to WORK! Let me explain: my lanai is unquestionably my favorite room in the house, even though it's not even a room. It's always perfect out there. There's twinkle lights, and ocean breezes and happiness. However, there's a damn fence around the whole thing that is just a little too high. When Billy and I first moved in, we went to every single store on this rock that might sell patio furniture, trying to find a table & chairs that would be tall enough to see over the fence so we could perch up there and see the ocean. We got the tallest one we could find and it's the perfect height...if you like looking at a white fence :/ There are so many stupid things like that in this house. I know it had to be designed by a man, what with the lack of common sense and everything.
Anyway, you ladies out there already know this to be true, but:
An Extra 6" Makes All the Difference
Dad listened to my lament about the stupid too tall fence and I could almost see the cogs in his head turning. Friday I came home from work, and he said "We're going to Home Depot" and so we did!
By Saturday afternoon, this is what was going on (along with some imbibing for some reason...)
Voila! The happiest place on earth just got 6" happier! Now, when I sit out there I can see the ocean and not just hear it. It's glorious. Plus, we didn't just make a platform, we made a memory. Cheesey? Yes. True? Also yes. We had such a stupid fun time! Now, for those of you haven't come out to visit me yet, you have another reason. You simply MUST see the new and improved lanai ;)
20 Easy Miles
I couldn't make this up! I ran 20 miles yesterday morning which is as far as I will have to run until Marathon Day shows up 2 months and 1 day from today. I was very, VERY nervous beforehand, which is probably what made it so good. My dear Teresa even called me the night before and, like a good coach, asked me "Have you been hydrating? What did you have for dinner? Did you clip your toenails? Are you sure?" I have good friends! So, not only did I prepare BEFORE the run, but I was well-stocked with margarita flavored Cliff Shot Bloks, those energy jelly beans, and H2O in my hip runner's fanny pack. At 10 miles I didn't know it was possible to feel so good at 10 miles. Remember back here when 10 miles almost killed me? Here I am, 4 months later and I doubled that and felt better at the end! AMAZING what a body can do. I must be doing something right in this whole training process. There's always ups and downs, of course, but when it all comes together like it did yesterday, it makes it soooo worth it!
Total time ran clocked in at 3:28:08. Have you ever been to a concert or something and had to be on your feet for 3 1/2 hours? Being on your feet for that long does something funny to your body, but that's why you need to do it BEFORE marathon day. There was nothing completely fast about that time, I believe it's over a 10 minute mile pace but I'm not concerned for a couple of reasons: 1)I felt so stinking good at the end, and that only means that if I could have run faster if I needed to and 2) I didn't need to because it's called Long, Slow Distance for that very reason. The purpose is just to do it! And I did it. And I feel so self-righteous and proud of myself - I can't help it! Go me ;)
The Weigh-In
Holding strong at 133.0. The stupid scale hasn't budged in 3 weeks. I'm sure not running last weekend and eating with wild abandon and drinking bottles and bottles of wine with dad probably evened out all the running I did this week. Bah humbug. I have a month and some change before hubs comes home, and I would love to lose 3 more lbs. Just 3 more stupid pounds. We'll see how it goes, because this coming weekend, there's going to be another hitch in training regime:
MARGARITAVILLE!!!
On Thursday, I'm flying into San Francisco to meet up with my MuM, my Auntie H, Kelly, Kari, and a plethora of other fabulous women for a weekend of wine tasting, giggling, and of course, a JIMMY BUFFETT concert!!! The plane ticket and conert ticket was a gift from my MuM for my birthday all the way back in May, so I've been looking forward to this for 5 months!
I really love my family, in case you all out there haven't noticed yet. I love that I can have my dad out here and he doesn't stress me out and we can build platforms for my lanai and drink wine. And I love how I'm just as excited about Estrogenfest: Part Deux with my MuM as I was for the orginal Estrogenfest with my best lady friends. Like I said, it must run in the family ;)
Have a lovely week, all of you! Till we meet again...xoxoxoxo
PS - I almost forgot! THANK YOU, Christopher Columbus for getting lost, ending up on this continent, and being a jerk about it so that nearly 600 years later, I can have a day off. I'll make sure to have a glass today for you, my exploring friend!
Friday, October 8, 2010
God Is Good!
Dear Jesus,
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for:
*Two legs
*A set of lungs
*The ability to run, run, run
*My Billy Haas
*My amazing family
*Sunshine
*The ocean
*My great job
*Money in the bank
*The beasts
*Coffee
*Wine
*Twinkle lights
*The roof over my head
*Cognitive ability to think things and write them down
*My wonderful little blog following
*My beautiful lady friends
*The water feature in my backyard
*Sunrises
*Moonrises
*Geckos
*Angels
*Friday afternoons
*Long weekends
*Margaritaville vacations
*Napa Valley
*Flowers
*Mountains
*Laughs
*BBQs
*This beautiful little life of mine
Amen.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for:
*Two legs
*A set of lungs
*The ability to run, run, run
*My Billy Haas
*My amazing family
*Sunshine
*The ocean
*My great job
*Money in the bank
*The beasts
*Coffee
*Wine
*Twinkle lights
*The roof over my head
*Cognitive ability to think things and write them down
*My wonderful little blog following
*My beautiful lady friends
*The water feature in my backyard
*Sunrises
*Moonrises
*Geckos
*Angels
*Friday afternoons
*Long weekends
*Margaritaville vacations
*Napa Valley
*Flowers
*Mountains
*Laughs
*BBQs
*This beautiful little life of mine
Amen.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Brando Is Really Dumb
THAT DARN DOG!!! ***Shakes Fist***
I think I'm going to start a new blog. I'm going to call it "What Brando Chewed Today" Today it was my running headphones AND my checkbook. He pilfered both out of my purse while I was unsuspectingly sitting on the lanai, drinking some wine, and reading for grad school. This is getting silly.
I think I'm going to start a new blog. I'm going to call it "What Brando Chewed Today" Today it was my running headphones AND my checkbook. He pilfered both out of my purse while I was unsuspectingly sitting on the lanai, drinking some wine, and reading for grad school. This is getting silly.
Pain & Misery On The Road
Welcome To Monday
I hate Mondays as much as I love Fridays - and you all know by now how much I LOVE Fridays. So you can imagine how much I HATE Mondays. I didn't weigh myself yesterday so I couldn't write my weekly weigh-in. I'm not all that concerned about it. I have a feeling I did not make any progress, so best to live in denial than to confirm that I gained weight instead of lost anything. But, let's get on with things. I have to tell you about the crap-tastic race I was in on Saturday. Ugh. Just thinking about it makes me cringe. Here we go, anyway...
25K of Hell
Alright, so 25K is a little more than 15 miles. I know by now that I am physically and mentally capable of running 15 miles. So what went wrong? I think there were three major elements I had working against me. They are:
1) Last weekend, you may recall, I ran 16 glorious miles on Sunday. Saturday, as well know, is only 6 days after Sunday. That's a problem. It takes your body a while to recover from a really long run like that. That's why I generally run long, then taper down the next 2 weekends, then bump it back up again. Make sense? It's also common knowledge that tapering is crucial to racing success. For a month leading up to marathon day, I will great decrease my mileage. I'll run 20 miles somewhere about 4-5 weeks out, and then the miles will drop off until the BIG day. Clearly, there was no tapering for my 25K if I ran 16 miles only 6 days before. Lesosn learned.
2) Lack of fuel. I didn't run with my runner's fanny pack, and the only calories I took in before the run came from half a breakfast bar. That just simply is not enough gas in the tank to keep me going. Somewhere around mile 11 (I had already been miserable for 7 miles by this point) my stomach started cramping and I began getting nauseous. I should have eaten more, and I should have had my hip runner's fanny pack loaded with goodies to keep me fueled. Again, lesson learned. Never EVER again.
3)
I don't think I really need to explain this. It hurt. Badly.
I haven't even looked up my official time or results yet. I know it's going to depress me, so why bother? It's like stepping on the scale. If I know I'm not going to like what I see, then why look? It's a self-preservation thing.
Not All Crappy
I made it up to myself yesterday, though. I bought a new pair of running shoes and these lovely blue pumps! The running shoes were $99. The pretty blue shoes? $9. On super DUPER clearance. I LOVE it when people don't like pretty things and so they go on super sale for me to swoop up. Pretty, huh?
Brando Strikes Again
Billy's dog is such an idiot! He not only chews shoes, expensive underwear & running sunglasses, but his tastes encompass the less refined as well. I can't watch him all the time!!! Billy's favorite thing to say when I lament DumDum destroying something new is, "Well, why did you let him do it?" WHAT? I didn't LET him do anything. He just does these things. This morning, it was while I was in the shower. Evidenly he's developed a taste for BodyGlide and razors. Smart? Not so much. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Gwen would NEVER do such a thing!
Take a look:
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Just like my race on Saturday. Just like Mondays. *Sigh*
These, however, are not stupid. On Saturday afternoon a VERY large flower arrangement showed up on my doorstep courtesy of my deployed hubs. Just because he loves me. Pretty sweet, eh? Someday, somehow, I will be a florist. So...instead of leaving the beautiful flowers as they were, I broke them up into 4 small arrangements. That way 4 rooms can be filled with yellow sunshine instead of just one :) There you go, there's your happiness for Monday.
I hate Mondays as much as I love Fridays - and you all know by now how much I LOVE Fridays. So you can imagine how much I HATE Mondays. I didn't weigh myself yesterday so I couldn't write my weekly weigh-in. I'm not all that concerned about it. I have a feeling I did not make any progress, so best to live in denial than to confirm that I gained weight instead of lost anything. But, let's get on with things. I have to tell you about the crap-tastic race I was in on Saturday. Ugh. Just thinking about it makes me cringe. Here we go, anyway...
25K of Hell
Alright, so 25K is a little more than 15 miles. I know by now that I am physically and mentally capable of running 15 miles. So what went wrong? I think there were three major elements I had working against me. They are:
1) Last weekend, you may recall, I ran 16 glorious miles on Sunday. Saturday, as well know, is only 6 days after Sunday. That's a problem. It takes your body a while to recover from a really long run like that. That's why I generally run long, then taper down the next 2 weekends, then bump it back up again. Make sense? It's also common knowledge that tapering is crucial to racing success. For a month leading up to marathon day, I will great decrease my mileage. I'll run 20 miles somewhere about 4-5 weeks out, and then the miles will drop off until the BIG day. Clearly, there was no tapering for my 25K if I ran 16 miles only 6 days before. Lesosn learned.
2) Lack of fuel. I didn't run with my runner's fanny pack, and the only calories I took in before the run came from half a breakfast bar. That just simply is not enough gas in the tank to keep me going. Somewhere around mile 11 (I had already been miserable for 7 miles by this point) my stomach started cramping and I began getting nauseous. I should have eaten more, and I should have had my hip runner's fanny pack loaded with goodies to keep me fueled. Again, lesson learned. Never EVER again.
3)
I don't think I really need to explain this. It hurt. Badly.
I haven't even looked up my official time or results yet. I know it's going to depress me, so why bother? It's like stepping on the scale. If I know I'm not going to like what I see, then why look? It's a self-preservation thing.
Not All Crappy
I made it up to myself yesterday, though. I bought a new pair of running shoes and these lovely blue pumps! The running shoes were $99. The pretty blue shoes? $9. On super DUPER clearance. I LOVE it when people don't like pretty things and so they go on super sale for me to swoop up. Pretty, huh?
Brando Strikes Again
Billy's dog is such an idiot! He not only chews shoes, expensive underwear & running sunglasses, but his tastes encompass the less refined as well. I can't watch him all the time!!! Billy's favorite thing to say when I lament DumDum destroying something new is, "Well, why did you let him do it?" WHAT? I didn't LET him do anything. He just does these things. This morning, it was while I was in the shower. Evidenly he's developed a taste for BodyGlide and razors. Smart? Not so much. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Gwen would NEVER do such a thing!
Take a look:
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Just like my race on Saturday. Just like Mondays. *Sigh*
These, however, are not stupid. On Saturday afternoon a VERY large flower arrangement showed up on my doorstep courtesy of my deployed hubs. Just because he loves me. Pretty sweet, eh? Someday, somehow, I will be a florist. So...instead of leaving the beautiful flowers as they were, I broke them up into 4 small arrangements. That way 4 rooms can be filled with yellow sunshine instead of just one :) There you go, there's your happiness for Monday.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Drink Up
It's Friday!
Friday is BY FAR the best day of the week. Some people disagree, because on Fridays you still have to wake up and go to work. Therefore, these crazies argue that would make Saturday or Sunday the winner of the "Best Day of the Week" award. Those people are WRONG. You know why? Because there's a feeling that you get when you leave work on Friday afternoon that is unmatchable. The weight of the world is lifted off your shoulders and you know, in that moment, that you are as far as possible from Monday morning and going back and doing it all again. And I don't even hate my job! I have a pretty sweet job, actually. But, work is work. And when I'm at work, I'm not sleeping, running, surfing, reading, painting, playing with puppies, writing cards, or drinking champagne. Ok, ok, ok...that's only mostly true. Those of you who know me really well know that I actually DO do some of those things on the list at work. Whatever. I'm getting off track. The point is, it's FRIDAY. Glorious Friday! And I think we should have a little drink to that...
Drinks For Runners
Yes, kids. Chocolate milk. Who doesn't love chocolate milk? No one, that's who. Not only is it a tasty treat, but it is also one of the best post-workout recovery beverages out there. Don't believe me? Go here. They explain it better than I do. Basically, it's got just the right amount of sugar and is packed with protein to make your muscles happy.
Good ol' H20. I'm telling you. If there is ONE thing that can make or break a run, it's how much of this you have floating around in your cells. I drink a lot of water. Sometimes, however, I get tired of it. But evidently, this is a problem for lots of other people (maybe you?) because there's a solution!
My MuM started sending me these amazing little packets of happiness when I was in the desert. They really make drinking water so much...tastier. They even have come out with ones that are suppodly specifically for "working out" but I don't really buy it. It's all just sugar in water, but for 5 calories, I'll take it! Water is exciting again.
Now, I never drink Gatorade or any of those sports drinks unless it's the cup I grab as I'm running by the aid station at a race. They're great for some people, but I just am not a fan. Who needs gatorade when I have water? And chocolate milk? If that's your thing, more power to ya. But it's not mine, so they don't get a picture.
But...
Oh yes. That's what I'm talking about. Have you ever had a cold beer after a hot run? SO good. I learned this one from ol' Dad. If Dad does it, it must be right. He's not just drinking it because it tastes good, though. I've actually heard from other sources that a light beer is not one of the worst things to put in your body after a run. It's got calories and carbs - it's good for what ails you. Plus, it makes your taste buds AND your achey muscles smile ;)
And lastly, we have your reward for running so hard/fast/far/at all:
Tips to enjoying Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc (Happiness in a bottle. How Friday afternoons would taste if you could bottle it):
1) Get back from run, drink water like a good athlete should. Eat a banana or drink your chocolate milk. Do what you do.
2) Pull your friend Kim out of the fridge and put on the counter
3) Feel giddy with anticipation...but WAIT
4) Go take a shower because you smell bad because you just got done running.
5) Don't take longer than 20 minutes getting clean, because Kim is still on the counter waiting for you! Our friend likes to be nice and chilled, just not "just out of the fridge" cold.
6) Open. Pour. Sip. Enjoy. Repeat.
Happy Friday!
Friday is BY FAR the best day of the week. Some people disagree, because on Fridays you still have to wake up and go to work. Therefore, these crazies argue that would make Saturday or Sunday the winner of the "Best Day of the Week" award. Those people are WRONG. You know why? Because there's a feeling that you get when you leave work on Friday afternoon that is unmatchable. The weight of the world is lifted off your shoulders and you know, in that moment, that you are as far as possible from Monday morning and going back and doing it all again. And I don't even hate my job! I have a pretty sweet job, actually. But, work is work. And when I'm at work, I'm not sleeping, running, surfing, reading, painting, playing with puppies, writing cards, or drinking champagne. Ok, ok, ok...that's only mostly true. Those of you who know me really well know that I actually DO do some of those things on the list at work. Whatever. I'm getting off track. The point is, it's FRIDAY. Glorious Friday! And I think we should have a little drink to that...
Drinks For Runners
Yes, kids. Chocolate milk. Who doesn't love chocolate milk? No one, that's who. Not only is it a tasty treat, but it is also one of the best post-workout recovery beverages out there. Don't believe me? Go here. They explain it better than I do. Basically, it's got just the right amount of sugar and is packed with protein to make your muscles happy.
Good ol' H20. I'm telling you. If there is ONE thing that can make or break a run, it's how much of this you have floating around in your cells. I drink a lot of water. Sometimes, however, I get tired of it. But evidently, this is a problem for lots of other people (maybe you?) because there's a solution!
My MuM started sending me these amazing little packets of happiness when I was in the desert. They really make drinking water so much...tastier. They even have come out with ones that are suppodly specifically for "working out" but I don't really buy it. It's all just sugar in water, but for 5 calories, I'll take it! Water is exciting again.
Now, I never drink Gatorade or any of those sports drinks unless it's the cup I grab as I'm running by the aid station at a race. They're great for some people, but I just am not a fan. Who needs gatorade when I have water? And chocolate milk? If that's your thing, more power to ya. But it's not mine, so they don't get a picture.
But...
Oh yes. That's what I'm talking about. Have you ever had a cold beer after a hot run? SO good. I learned this one from ol' Dad. If Dad does it, it must be right. He's not just drinking it because it tastes good, though. I've actually heard from other sources that a light beer is not one of the worst things to put in your body after a run. It's got calories and carbs - it's good for what ails you. Plus, it makes your taste buds AND your achey muscles smile ;)
And lastly, we have your reward for running so hard/fast/far/at all:
Tips to enjoying Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc (Happiness in a bottle. How Friday afternoons would taste if you could bottle it):
1) Get back from run, drink water like a good athlete should. Eat a banana or drink your chocolate milk. Do what you do.
2) Pull your friend Kim out of the fridge and put on the counter
3) Feel giddy with anticipation...but WAIT
4) Go take a shower because you smell bad because you just got done running.
5) Don't take longer than 20 minutes getting clean, because Kim is still on the counter waiting for you! Our friend likes to be nice and chilled, just not "just out of the fridge" cold.
6) Open. Pour. Sip. Enjoy. Repeat.
Happy Friday!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Triumph, Success, Kick-Ass or: How I Ran 16 Miles. And the Weekly Weigh-In
Greetings!
Want to see something pathetic? Check this out:
Guilt
Well, here is your midweek blog post because I feel guilty at shirking my blogging responsibilities last week. That said, I don't really feel like I have much to write about here in the middle of the week. I caught you up on Sunday, didn't run on Monday, and I was on the track yesterday. Since I have alread posted et nausium about the importance of rest and taking days off, as well as my stupid track workouts, I don't really want to bore you with more of that again. I was elated to see the latest Runner's World show up in my mailbox last night, but I haven't had time to flip through it yet since all I ever do is read for school. I was going to bring it to work today to read on my down time, but I left it on the counter - boo!! :( So, I can't look through that for inspiration.
So...
What's a girl to do?
Do you know what that is? That was my attempt at writing a blog on Wednesday. I like how I stopped and asked a rhetorical question (which was really dircted at myself) and I couldn't think of an answer, so I just stopped. And then it got really fun, because I didn't run the rest of the week until today. Awesome, huh? I know what you out there are thinking. You're thinking "My! For someone who's training for a marathon, she sure takes a lot of weeks off. I wonder how that works?" Yeah. Me too. I need to go ahead and try NOT to do that again. I need to keep my mileage up. However, this week I really don't think I lost much because...
I Made 16 Miles My B*tch
Remember when I ran 15 miles a few weeks ago? Well, this wasn't ANYTHING like that. That sucked. It hurt. And remember how I had all those little lessons for you? Well, I listened to myself! I heeded my own advice. Now, this should give you warm fuzzies for 2 reasons, loyal blog readers: 1) you know I'm not out here feeding you crap. Some of the stuff I ramble about is legit and 2) you know I'm not lying for your benefit about how amazing my run was today because you know that if it sucked, I would have said so. No need for me to fluff myself up and make it sound like this is easy for me. Because it sure is not.
What do I think my keys to running success were today? Well, I made sure I hydrated yesterday copiously. I also pigged out at a 4 year old's birthday party yesterday (read: loads of pasta from Buca di Beppo, cookies, chips and salsa, and ice cream cake. Carb HEAVEN). I also made sure my toenails were clipped, BodyGlide was slathered in all the appropriate places, I was wearing my microfiber socks, and I had my favorite running snack option. God also helped out by providing a nice little cooling shower right around the 8 mile turn around. Glorious. Oh yeah, and Mr. Springstein happened to come on my iPod just as I was on my last half mile singing "Born to Run" That's amazing!
Did it still hurt? Yes. Was I still super excited when it was over? Definitely. But did I want to kill myself and die afterwards? No. Do I feel like I could have run another mile or 4? Probably if I had too. So, what I'm trying to say is: I'm getting there. I just have to keep myself from thinking about the 10 miles that come after the first 16 on December 12...
A Souvenir
Here's one fun little thing that did happen today that has never happened before:
I don't know if you can see that or not, but there's a nice red ring of ouch right where my sports bra top was sitting. Now, it's not particularly painful, just a mild annoyance really. Still, not something I want to deal with on marathon day. I think it's probably because my sports bras are all the cotton Champion numbers that were issued to me at good ol' Navy bootcamp 4 years ago. Seriously. And, being that they're cotton, and it was raining pretty good there for a minute, I bet I can blame the combination for my nice little battle wound. Luckily, this is easily fixed. I will go out and buy a sports bra that's NOT cotton. MuM told me her favorite these days is her Under Armor one, so maybe I'll give that a whirl. And then I'll tell you all about it. All the guys screamed "YESSSS!!!! I love to hear about sports bras!"
The Weigh-In
Holding steady at 133.0. I'm not bummed, because after I made it over the 135 hump last week, I pretty much ate whatever I wanted for 2 days (cheesey fries, pie, you name it) and then did not run it off over the week. So there you go. Holding steady, and I'm ok with that...for now. I just past the "Billy's Been Gone 4 Months" mark so that means I still/only (depending on how I'm feeling) have 2 months to lose 3 lbs and keep it off. Hopefully I'll see some progress next week.
More Excuses, In Conclusion
So, I know this blog has been lacking lately. I'm really going to try to start blogging more frequently (at least twice a week instead of the once a week that I've been stickin with lately). For those of you that don't know, I started grad school 2 weeks ago, which means that I made my life a LOT harder than it already was. You might not believe it, but it's hard holding down the fort without the hubs, even without kids scurrying about. So add to my household duties that I had already 3-hour night classes twice a week, and all the hours of reading that goes along with them, and I feel like I'm being spread pretty thin. In my life, 2 things cannot come soon enough:
1) Billy coming home.
2) This marathon to be over.
*Sigh* Someday. Someday.
Want to see something pathetic? Check this out:
Guilt
Well, here is your midweek blog post because I feel guilty at shirking my blogging responsibilities last week. That said, I don't really feel like I have much to write about here in the middle of the week. I caught you up on Sunday, didn't run on Monday, and I was on the track yesterday. Since I have alread posted et nausium about the importance of rest and taking days off, as well as my stupid track workouts, I don't really want to bore you with more of that again. I was elated to see the latest Runner's World show up in my mailbox last night, but I haven't had time to flip through it yet since all I ever do is read for school. I was going to bring it to work today to read on my down time, but I left it on the counter - boo!! :( So, I can't look through that for inspiration.
So...
What's a girl to do?
Do you know what that is? That was my attempt at writing a blog on Wednesday. I like how I stopped and asked a rhetorical question (which was really dircted at myself) and I couldn't think of an answer, so I just stopped. And then it got really fun, because I didn't run the rest of the week until today. Awesome, huh? I know what you out there are thinking. You're thinking "My! For someone who's training for a marathon, she sure takes a lot of weeks off. I wonder how that works?" Yeah. Me too. I need to go ahead and try NOT to do that again. I need to keep my mileage up. However, this week I really don't think I lost much because...
I Made 16 Miles My B*tch
Remember when I ran 15 miles a few weeks ago? Well, this wasn't ANYTHING like that. That sucked. It hurt. And remember how I had all those little lessons for you? Well, I listened to myself! I heeded my own advice. Now, this should give you warm fuzzies for 2 reasons, loyal blog readers: 1) you know I'm not out here feeding you crap. Some of the stuff I ramble about is legit and 2) you know I'm not lying for your benefit about how amazing my run was today because you know that if it sucked, I would have said so. No need for me to fluff myself up and make it sound like this is easy for me. Because it sure is not.
What do I think my keys to running success were today? Well, I made sure I hydrated yesterday copiously. I also pigged out at a 4 year old's birthday party yesterday (read: loads of pasta from Buca di Beppo, cookies, chips and salsa, and ice cream cake. Carb HEAVEN). I also made sure my toenails were clipped, BodyGlide was slathered in all the appropriate places, I was wearing my microfiber socks, and I had my favorite running snack option. God also helped out by providing a nice little cooling shower right around the 8 mile turn around. Glorious. Oh yeah, and Mr. Springstein happened to come on my iPod just as I was on my last half mile singing "Born to Run" That's amazing!
Did it still hurt? Yes. Was I still super excited when it was over? Definitely. But did I want to kill myself and die afterwards? No. Do I feel like I could have run another mile or 4? Probably if I had too. So, what I'm trying to say is: I'm getting there. I just have to keep myself from thinking about the 10 miles that come after the first 16 on December 12...
A Souvenir
Here's one fun little thing that did happen today that has never happened before:
I don't know if you can see that or not, but there's a nice red ring of ouch right where my sports bra top was sitting. Now, it's not particularly painful, just a mild annoyance really. Still, not something I want to deal with on marathon day. I think it's probably because my sports bras are all the cotton Champion numbers that were issued to me at good ol' Navy bootcamp 4 years ago. Seriously. And, being that they're cotton, and it was raining pretty good there for a minute, I bet I can blame the combination for my nice little battle wound. Luckily, this is easily fixed. I will go out and buy a sports bra that's NOT cotton. MuM told me her favorite these days is her Under Armor one, so maybe I'll give that a whirl. And then I'll tell you all about it. All the guys screamed "YESSSS!!!! I love to hear about sports bras!"
The Weigh-In
Holding steady at 133.0. I'm not bummed, because after I made it over the 135 hump last week, I pretty much ate whatever I wanted for 2 days (cheesey fries, pie, you name it) and then did not run it off over the week. So there you go. Holding steady, and I'm ok with that...for now. I just past the "Billy's Been Gone 4 Months" mark so that means I still/only (depending on how I'm feeling) have 2 months to lose 3 lbs and keep it off. Hopefully I'll see some progress next week.
More Excuses, In Conclusion
So, I know this blog has been lacking lately. I'm really going to try to start blogging more frequently (at least twice a week instead of the once a week that I've been stickin with lately). For those of you that don't know, I started grad school 2 weeks ago, which means that I made my life a LOT harder than it already was. You might not believe it, but it's hard holding down the fort without the hubs, even without kids scurrying about. So add to my household duties that I had already 3-hour night classes twice a week, and all the hours of reading that goes along with them, and I feel like I'm being spread pretty thin. In my life, 2 things cannot come soon enough:
1) Billy coming home.
2) This marathon to be over.
*Sigh* Someday. Someday.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
The Weekly Weigh-In, Some Lessons, and My A**hole Dog
Excuses
Greetings to you! First of all, I'd like to apololgize for being such a slacker this week when it comes to the blog. In my defense, grad school started this week, and I've been in just a general state of high-anxiety. I feel like there's about a million things going on in my life right now and I just get busier by the day! GAH! I sure wish I was married so I had someone to help me take care of things...Oh wait! I AM! Well, I sure wish Billy was around to help me take care of things. Although, with football season starting it's hard to tell how great his contribution to the greater good of the Haas House really would be. Probably not much. If you read this Billy, I KID! I kid because I love ;) xoxo
The Weigh-In
Anyway, on to the nitty gritty. I didn't weigh myself last week and was a little hesitant to step on the scale today, but I'm so glad I did! 133.0!! Go me! 3 more lbs and all I have to do is maintain and I have several nasty runs coming my way in the next 2 months (20 miles, anyone?) so I like to think that it won't be that hard. But this whole weight loss thing has already proven to be more challenging than I had anticipated, so we'll just see how it goes. One day at a time and all that.
So, Grami Jane...how close to 130 are you? Have I gained any ground or have you already beat me?
This means that all in all, since May 17th, I've lost 12 lbs. Not a world record or anything, but if I start to think about how much 12 lbs of steak would be if I bought it at the grocery store, I start to feel pretty self-righteous. Not only that, but I had 3 random people tell me last week on different occasions how much skinnier I looked. Again, go me. Flattery does my little fickle girl heart good ;)
A Sad Sunglasses Story
Remember when Brando ate my beautiful pink shoes? If not, you can read about it here. Well, the little jerk is at it again. This time, he ate my running sunglasses! Who does that?! That couldn't even have been good! Stupid, stupid mutt. I would once again like to reiterate that my beautiful little dog, Gwen, would never eat an expenisive accessory. You know why? Because she's a LADY! And she understands! Brando clearly has no concept of this or respect for a lady's personal belongings. Are you ready for this? Behold:
That's all that's left! Can you even tell that those were once a pair of polarized sunglasses that made me run faster (true story)? I'm so bummed. Dear MuM, please send me some new glasses, please :(
Lessons From The Road
Maybe I've been getting too sure of my abilities lately because I've been making some rookie mistakes. Today I ran a 10 mile easy day and what was supposed to be no problem ended up being rather unenjoyable by about mile 7. The reason? Hydration. Yesterday I didn't drink nearly enough water. And every time I went to the fridge and said "Hmm...Miller Lite or Aquafina?" Miller Lite won. I knew I was going on a long run today, but I figured it didn't matter. What was 10 miles anymore, anyway? I labored by way through 15! I ran 12 1/2 at an 8 minute pace! I can do 10 under any circumstances no problem. Wrong, Ash. Very wrong. It's hot in Hawaii in September, even at 7 a.m. and it's stupid to think that hydration can fall by the wayside. Learn from me, kids. HYDRATE! Over-hydrate, even! It's the difference between a good run and a bad run, trust me.
Now, one screw up wouldn't be so bad. But let's go back to last Thursday. 8 miles on my lunch break, starting at 1 p.m. and ending by running up Halawa Heights. I'm not even going to bother explaining this road. My friends and followers in Hawaii know what I'm talking about. It's a nasty, nasty hill. Once again, I knew I wasn't properly hydrated. Furthermore, I hadn't done laundry in ages, so I was out of clean microfiber socks. Remember those blisters I used to get? Haven't had an issue since I switched socks. But on Thursday, I just went ahead and grabbed a pair of my old cotton socks and said "what the heck. How much difference can it really make?" A lot, apparently. By mile 2 my feet were burning up. It was SO hot inside my shoes! And by mile 5 I was in a lot of toe pain. I now have the monstrous blister on my right big toe to prove it. I'll spare you another picture of my nasty runner's feet, but just believe me that it's there. And it's painful.
In Conclusion...
Overall, successful running week despite my setbacks. Next week the mileage on my LSD runs gets cranked back up again and you can bet your butt that I will be properly hydrated and prepared! I will try to be more dutiful with my blogging this week, but if you don't hear from me again until next weekend, please know that I am still running, I do still love you, the blog is still high-priority, I just am still adjusting to having to be more frugal with my time management. Until next time...
Greetings to you! First of all, I'd like to apololgize for being such a slacker this week when it comes to the blog. In my defense, grad school started this week, and I've been in just a general state of high-anxiety. I feel like there's about a million things going on in my life right now and I just get busier by the day! GAH! I sure wish I was married so I had someone to help me take care of things...Oh wait! I AM! Well, I sure wish Billy was around to help me take care of things. Although, with football season starting it's hard to tell how great his contribution to the greater good of the Haas House really would be. Probably not much. If you read this Billy, I KID! I kid because I love ;) xoxo
The Weigh-In
Anyway, on to the nitty gritty. I didn't weigh myself last week and was a little hesitant to step on the scale today, but I'm so glad I did! 133.0!! Go me! 3 more lbs and all I have to do is maintain and I have several nasty runs coming my way in the next 2 months (20 miles, anyone?) so I like to think that it won't be that hard. But this whole weight loss thing has already proven to be more challenging than I had anticipated, so we'll just see how it goes. One day at a time and all that.
So, Grami Jane...how close to 130 are you? Have I gained any ground or have you already beat me?
This means that all in all, since May 17th, I've lost 12 lbs. Not a world record or anything, but if I start to think about how much 12 lbs of steak would be if I bought it at the grocery store, I start to feel pretty self-righteous. Not only that, but I had 3 random people tell me last week on different occasions how much skinnier I looked. Again, go me. Flattery does my little fickle girl heart good ;)
A Sad Sunglasses Story
Remember when Brando ate my beautiful pink shoes? If not, you can read about it here. Well, the little jerk is at it again. This time, he ate my running sunglasses! Who does that?! That couldn't even have been good! Stupid, stupid mutt. I would once again like to reiterate that my beautiful little dog, Gwen, would never eat an expenisive accessory. You know why? Because she's a LADY! And she understands! Brando clearly has no concept of this or respect for a lady's personal belongings. Are you ready for this? Behold:
That's all that's left! Can you even tell that those were once a pair of polarized sunglasses that made me run faster (true story)? I'm so bummed. Dear MuM, please send me some new glasses, please :(
Lessons From The Road
Maybe I've been getting too sure of my abilities lately because I've been making some rookie mistakes. Today I ran a 10 mile easy day and what was supposed to be no problem ended up being rather unenjoyable by about mile 7. The reason? Hydration. Yesterday I didn't drink nearly enough water. And every time I went to the fridge and said "Hmm...Miller Lite or Aquafina?" Miller Lite won. I knew I was going on a long run today, but I figured it didn't matter. What was 10 miles anymore, anyway? I labored by way through 15! I ran 12 1/2 at an 8 minute pace! I can do 10 under any circumstances no problem. Wrong, Ash. Very wrong. It's hot in Hawaii in September, even at 7 a.m. and it's stupid to think that hydration can fall by the wayside. Learn from me, kids. HYDRATE! Over-hydrate, even! It's the difference between a good run and a bad run, trust me.
Now, one screw up wouldn't be so bad. But let's go back to last Thursday. 8 miles on my lunch break, starting at 1 p.m. and ending by running up Halawa Heights. I'm not even going to bother explaining this road. My friends and followers in Hawaii know what I'm talking about. It's a nasty, nasty hill. Once again, I knew I wasn't properly hydrated. Furthermore, I hadn't done laundry in ages, so I was out of clean microfiber socks. Remember those blisters I used to get? Haven't had an issue since I switched socks. But on Thursday, I just went ahead and grabbed a pair of my old cotton socks and said "what the heck. How much difference can it really make?" A lot, apparently. By mile 2 my feet were burning up. It was SO hot inside my shoes! And by mile 5 I was in a lot of toe pain. I now have the monstrous blister on my right big toe to prove it. I'll spare you another picture of my nasty runner's feet, but just believe me that it's there. And it's painful.
In Conclusion...
Overall, successful running week despite my setbacks. Next week the mileage on my LSD runs gets cranked back up again and you can bet your butt that I will be properly hydrated and prepared! I will try to be more dutiful with my blogging this week, but if you don't hear from me again until next weekend, please know that I am still running, I do still love you, the blog is still high-priority, I just am still adjusting to having to be more frugal with my time management. Until next time...
Monday, September 6, 2010
The Weekly...Something
Happy Labor Day!
Greetings loyal blog followers! I hope you are all enjoying your long weekend. I know I am. I love long weekends. I wish every weekend was a long weekend. I think I would be more productive in the 4 work days I had available to me than I am in the 5 that I have now. Don't you think? You do, admit it. I went to a high school (Custer High School, in Custer, SD to be exact) and they always had 3 day weekends. No lie. We went to school for extra hours Mon-Thurs and had Fri, Sat & Sun off. Brilliant! *Sigh* If real life were like that...well, then, we'd have summers & spring break off too. Oh well. As Billy always says, "that's life." I'll take my long weekends when I can get 'em and be happy! So, without further ado, let me tell you what I've been up to with my days off ;)
The Race
I ran a race yesterday! It was the 2nd in the Readiness Series that I signed up for in order to prepare myself for the marathon in December. Now, to properly set the stage for what went down at 6 a.m. on Sunday morning (I think I've mentioned before that being a runner means sacrificing slumber somtimes - even on magical long weekends) I have to tell you what went down on Saturday evening.
Saturday evening I decided that I needed to start pounding water. And eat a bowl of pasta. Check and check. I set my alarm for 4 a.m. and turned the lights out at 8:37. I patted myself on the back as I was drifting off for being so good the night before a race. And then I woke up every 1 1/2 hour to pee. I'm not lying. I was up peeing all stinking night. When my alarm went off, I swore under my breath and started arguing with myself over whether or not I really needed to run this race. Funnily enough, this blog pulled me out of bed. What was I going to do? Write about what a lazy quitter I am? NO! Get out of bed, Ash, and quit yer bitchin.
So I did. And Sunday morning, at 6 a.m. I took off running, but I still wasn't happy about it. I told myself that this race didn't count because I was tired and unprepared and didn't care. "Whatever" I thought, "I'll just finish it." Good mantra, as it turns out! When I passed by the 2 mile mark, my watch said 15:56. That's dead on 8 min/mile pace (which is what in my happy, shiney dream land I'll run for the entire marathon in December). Yay me, I thought. And then I passed the 3 mile mark at 24 minutes, and the 4 mile mark at 32 minutes and the 5 mile mark at 40 minutes...you get the picture. Naturally, this is all +/- some seconds but the point is this: I crossed the finish line according my my watch at 1:40:15. The race was 20K, which is roughly 12.5 miles. If you do the math, that's exactly an 8 minute mile pace.
It wasn't all sunshine and roses, though. Barbies passed me. A little old asian lady who looked to be about 90 passed me. I had to stop after mile 6 and use the most unpleasant resting facility I've ever enocuntered. BUT...I ran 12.5 8 minute miles!!! I don't care who passed me! All I cared about was making sure I hit the next mile marker in 8 minutes. It was such a great feeling to be able to pace myself like that.
The Results
If you don't believe me, you can check my official race results here. I finished 162 out of 598 and was 10th in my age group (out of 65). My official time was 1:41:29, but that is slightly inaccurate since everyone's time started when the gun went off, not when we crossed the starting line. Does the make sense? I didn't start my watch until I crossed the starting line and stopped it when I crossed the finish line. Anyway, I could not be happier with my results. Regardless of how I placed, I'm very happy with how I ran.
The Weekly Weigh-In
...Has been suspended this week. I didn't weigh myself yesterday because it really wasn't on my mind at 4 a.m. And I didn't do it today becasue, well, I just didn't think about it. So, I'll save my ego and the heartache for a week and face my arch nemesis (the scale) next Sunday and get back on track.
For now, I'm off. I have a beer to drink, puppies to play with and a Labor Day to enjoy. Thank you again for all of the lovely comments and support. You are seriously the best.
Greetings loyal blog followers! I hope you are all enjoying your long weekend. I know I am. I love long weekends. I wish every weekend was a long weekend. I think I would be more productive in the 4 work days I had available to me than I am in the 5 that I have now. Don't you think? You do, admit it. I went to a high school (Custer High School, in Custer, SD to be exact) and they always had 3 day weekends. No lie. We went to school for extra hours Mon-Thurs and had Fri, Sat & Sun off. Brilliant! *Sigh* If real life were like that...well, then, we'd have summers & spring break off too. Oh well. As Billy always says, "that's life." I'll take my long weekends when I can get 'em and be happy! So, without further ado, let me tell you what I've been up to with my days off ;)
The Race
I ran a race yesterday! It was the 2nd in the Readiness Series that I signed up for in order to prepare myself for the marathon in December. Now, to properly set the stage for what went down at 6 a.m. on Sunday morning (I think I've mentioned before that being a runner means sacrificing slumber somtimes - even on magical long weekends) I have to tell you what went down on Saturday evening.
Saturday evening I decided that I needed to start pounding water. And eat a bowl of pasta. Check and check. I set my alarm for 4 a.m. and turned the lights out at 8:37. I patted myself on the back as I was drifting off for being so good the night before a race. And then I woke up every 1 1/2 hour to pee. I'm not lying. I was up peeing all stinking night. When my alarm went off, I swore under my breath and started arguing with myself over whether or not I really needed to run this race. Funnily enough, this blog pulled me out of bed. What was I going to do? Write about what a lazy quitter I am? NO! Get out of bed, Ash, and quit yer bitchin.
So I did. And Sunday morning, at 6 a.m. I took off running, but I still wasn't happy about it. I told myself that this race didn't count because I was tired and unprepared and didn't care. "Whatever" I thought, "I'll just finish it." Good mantra, as it turns out! When I passed by the 2 mile mark, my watch said 15:56. That's dead on 8 min/mile pace (which is what in my happy, shiney dream land I'll run for the entire marathon in December). Yay me, I thought. And then I passed the 3 mile mark at 24 minutes, and the 4 mile mark at 32 minutes and the 5 mile mark at 40 minutes...you get the picture. Naturally, this is all +/- some seconds but the point is this: I crossed the finish line according my my watch at 1:40:15. The race was 20K, which is roughly 12.5 miles. If you do the math, that's exactly an 8 minute mile pace.
It wasn't all sunshine and roses, though. Barbies passed me. A little old asian lady who looked to be about 90 passed me. I had to stop after mile 6 and use the most unpleasant resting facility I've ever enocuntered. BUT...I ran 12.5 8 minute miles!!! I don't care who passed me! All I cared about was making sure I hit the next mile marker in 8 minutes. It was such a great feeling to be able to pace myself like that.
The Results
If you don't believe me, you can check my official race results here. I finished 162 out of 598 and was 10th in my age group (out of 65). My official time was 1:41:29, but that is slightly inaccurate since everyone's time started when the gun went off, not when we crossed the starting line. Does the make sense? I didn't start my watch until I crossed the starting line and stopped it when I crossed the finish line. Anyway, I could not be happier with my results. Regardless of how I placed, I'm very happy with how I ran.
The Weekly Weigh-In
...Has been suspended this week. I didn't weigh myself yesterday because it really wasn't on my mind at 4 a.m. And I didn't do it today becasue, well, I just didn't think about it. So, I'll save my ego and the heartache for a week and face my arch nemesis (the scale) next Sunday and get back on track.
For now, I'm off. I have a beer to drink, puppies to play with and a Labor Day to enjoy. Thank you again for all of the lovely comments and support. You are seriously the best.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The Sedentary Life
This Runner's Confession
I'm sitting here right now on my lanai (that's what we call a patio on the rock for you mainlanders) listening to NoShoesRadio.com, drinking my 2nd glass of pink champagne and enjoying the twilight (the natural event, not the book - although I will admit that I enjoy that too. Don't judge.) I just finished my 250 calorie Lean Cuisine microwaveable deliciousness and flipping through the J.Crew catalog that came in the mail today. I am, in a word, content.
I ran on the track earlier today. I had a good little workout, but nothing especially noteworthy. I'll throw up the numbers later. And while I was sitting here, I got to thinking: If I had to pick a word to describe how I feel when I'm running, what would it be? Certainly not "content". And that led me to come to the conclusion that I am a naturally very lazy person (there was a longer stream of thought in there, but that's the end result). If I knew that I could lose weight by watching Mad Men on DVD and eating bacon, I would pick that over Lean Cuisines and running any day. Is that bad? I feel like as a "runner" I should be one of those people who are like "Oh, I have to run every day. Otherwise I go crazy!" but I don't think I am.
I remember when I finished my one and only collegiate season of cross-country. That crazy (and, in my opinion, stupid) coach had us running 70-75 miles a week to train for our weekly 5K race! You can do the math - that's over 10 miles every day for a 3.17 mile race. Stupid. Anyway, the first Monday after our last race weekend I remember thinking "Thank the Lord!!! I don't have to run today! I'm not going to!" And I didn't for 6 months. 6 MONTHS!!! I was just soooo done with it. I almost feel like that's how I'm going to feel after this marathon. Although I hope not. It would be a shame to throw all this training completely away.
ANYway, what I'm trying to confess is this: if my parents weren't runners, and if my mom had bought my ballet pointe shoes instead of Nikes and told me to go run around the block, and if I wasn't kind of good at it (thanks, genetics!), and if I was about 4 inches taller and naturally about 15 lbs lighter, then would I be a runner? I'm going to have to say no. I would eat cheesey bacon fries every day for lunch, drink a bottle of champagne every night (did I mention I'm on glass 3 now?) and enjoy being sedentary.
Is that bad? I'm just being honest. Always full disclosure on the blog.
But...
The flip side of all that is this: my parents are runners & I did grow up with running, Mom did NOT buy me ballet shoes (MuM - I love you and I'm joking -kind of- xo), I am kind of good at putting one foot in front of the other, I'm NOT taller or thinner. So...what's a girl to do? Spin class? Aerobics? Swimming? Vomit, vomit, vomit. I can't see myself doing any of that.
I guess that's why I run. Plus, running always feels GREAT after it's over ;)
Tuesday Track Day
Nothing special today, but it wasn't bad. My body is still recovering from Saturday's long run. I can definitely feel it. I told myself I'd do a one mile warm-up & cool-down and 4x800 and that's what I did. Here are my 800s:
1 - 3:29
2 - 3:28
3 - 3:26
4 - 3:22
Like I said, nothing major, but I did manage to make each one faster than the previous and that says something, right? Anyway, it's the first time I've run since the 15er and so I'll take anything my body is willing to give.
Now that you all know my secret and how lazy I am, I hope you all still love me! I love you, my loyalblog followers. I really am SO glad I started this blog. Since I am naturally disposed to sitting around, your comments and encouragement are super motivating. Thank all of you! Until the next time...xo
I'm sitting here right now on my lanai (that's what we call a patio on the rock for you mainlanders) listening to NoShoesRadio.com, drinking my 2nd glass of pink champagne and enjoying the twilight (the natural event, not the book - although I will admit that I enjoy that too. Don't judge.) I just finished my 250 calorie Lean Cuisine microwaveable deliciousness and flipping through the J.Crew catalog that came in the mail today. I am, in a word, content.
I ran on the track earlier today. I had a good little workout, but nothing especially noteworthy. I'll throw up the numbers later. And while I was sitting here, I got to thinking: If I had to pick a word to describe how I feel when I'm running, what would it be? Certainly not "content". And that led me to come to the conclusion that I am a naturally very lazy person (there was a longer stream of thought in there, but that's the end result). If I knew that I could lose weight by watching Mad Men on DVD and eating bacon, I would pick that over Lean Cuisines and running any day. Is that bad? I feel like as a "runner" I should be one of those people who are like "Oh, I have to run every day. Otherwise I go crazy!" but I don't think I am.
I remember when I finished my one and only collegiate season of cross-country. That crazy (and, in my opinion, stupid) coach had us running 70-75 miles a week to train for our weekly 5K race! You can do the math - that's over 10 miles every day for a 3.17 mile race. Stupid. Anyway, the first Monday after our last race weekend I remember thinking "Thank the Lord!!! I don't have to run today! I'm not going to!" And I didn't for 6 months. 6 MONTHS!!! I was just soooo done with it. I almost feel like that's how I'm going to feel after this marathon. Although I hope not. It would be a shame to throw all this training completely away.
ANYway, what I'm trying to confess is this: if my parents weren't runners, and if my mom had bought my ballet pointe shoes instead of Nikes and told me to go run around the block, and if I wasn't kind of good at it (thanks, genetics!), and if I was about 4 inches taller and naturally about 15 lbs lighter, then would I be a runner? I'm going to have to say no. I would eat cheesey bacon fries every day for lunch, drink a bottle of champagne every night (did I mention I'm on glass 3 now?) and enjoy being sedentary.
Is that bad? I'm just being honest. Always full disclosure on the blog.
But...
The flip side of all that is this: my parents are runners & I did grow up with running, Mom did NOT buy me ballet shoes (MuM - I love you and I'm joking -kind of- xo), I am kind of good at putting one foot in front of the other, I'm NOT taller or thinner. So...what's a girl to do? Spin class? Aerobics? Swimming? Vomit, vomit, vomit. I can't see myself doing any of that.
I guess that's why I run. Plus, running always feels GREAT after it's over ;)
Tuesday Track Day
Nothing special today, but it wasn't bad. My body is still recovering from Saturday's long run. I can definitely feel it. I told myself I'd do a one mile warm-up & cool-down and 4x800 and that's what I did. Here are my 800s:
1 - 3:29
2 - 3:28
3 - 3:26
4 - 3:22
Like I said, nothing major, but I did manage to make each one faster than the previous and that says something, right? Anyway, it's the first time I've run since the 15er and so I'll take anything my body is willing to give.
Now that you all know my secret and how lazy I am, I hope you all still love me! I love you, my loyalblog followers. I really am SO glad I started this blog. Since I am naturally disposed to sitting around, your comments and encouragement are super motivating. Thank all of you! Until the next time...xo
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Learn From Me - NEVER Run 15 Miles
Running 15 Miles...
...Sucks. It hurts. There's not a whole lot of good things I can say about my experience yesterday. I guess the one good thing is that when it's done, you can go around all day and say "I just ran 15 miles. What did you do?" and that gives me a smug sense of accomplishment. Oh, and it also burns a lot of calories, and that helps with the f*$&ing scale (which, today being Sunday, we will surely address in a minute). But, I can also say that I learned a lot during 15 miles. There's not a lot to do besides think when you're pluggin along for 2+ hours. Here's some of what I now know:
Lessons From The Road
First Lesson: I don't care how skinny you think you're getting, Ash - your thighs will never not touch. Therefore, you must apply BodyGlide, vaseline, or some other chub rub deterrent. Otherwise, this will happen:
If you can't tell, that the chafing on the inside of my left thigh (the inside of my right thigh looks quite similar). It wasn't quite an issue until around mile 11 and then it started getting to me. Chub rub was just one of the many ailments I was dealing with for the last 4 miles of my run. Please, read on. And please, please DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!!! Chub rub can be avoided. Worst case scenario, compression shorts cure what ails the chubby.
Next lesson: DRINK LOTS OF WATER! Seriously. I know it sounds like common sense, but this mistake can happen even to seasoned veterans of the sport (yes, that would be me. I am seasoned veteran at 26. Don't argue.) Even if you think you've hydrated enough, you probably haven't. I knew before I took off Saturday morning that I hadn't drank enough water the day before. Hydrating the day before is key. If you think you can wake up the morning of a run, pound a liter of water and think it's going to do much for you, think again. I knew I was ill prepared, and yet I set out anyway. It could have been worse, I suppose. I had my hip runner's fanny pack which holds about a bottle of water total and that probably saved me. But my supply was exhausted by mile 13 & by the last mile all I could think of was water (well, and my chub rub and my bloody toe). I think I actually started speeding up just because I wanted some dang water so bad. HYDRATE people!!! It will be one less thing for you to worry about.
Next Lesson: TAKE CARE OF YOUR FEET!!! I've said it before, and I'll say it again: you can't run without feet. So take care of them! Who would have thunk that a simple toenail trim before my outing could have saved me so much heartache? By the time I made it home and kicked off my shoes, I had one blood-soaked sock. The reason? The toenail on my little toe cut into the side of my 2nd-to-littlest toe. Ouch. Did I feel it while I was running? Oh yes. Around the last mile and a half I would say is when it really started sucking. Easily avoidable. Take care of your feet.
Next Lesson: Now, this is more personal. I learned that I hate those little GU Energy packs. Nasty, horrid stuff. I packed two gel packs in my little fanny pack, and at mile 5 ripped open my first one. Lemon Sublime, if you were curious. I was so excited for some energy, and all I could think of was that this crap was the consistency of snot and didn't taste much better.
Will everyone hate GU? Probably not. I'm sure lots of people swear by the stuff. But I learned that it does not work for me. Better to find out now than during the marathon, eh?
Next Lesson:
Now, these are the business. They're the anti-GU. My dear friend Tiffany sent them to me in a care package. I just happened to grab them in addition to the GU before I headed out the door and I am SO glad I did. This is my go-to energy source from now on when I head out on my long runs. Clif Bars were always my favorite, so it comes as no surprise that they would make these delicous little bite-sized bits of happiness that tast just like Gushers. Will everyone like them? Probably not. My long-run running buddy, Rob from work, says he hates chewing while he's running. The dude also likes GU. People are different. Find what works for you. I'm glad I found what works for me.
Final Lesson: 15 miles sucks. It hurts. It makes you crabby and question whether you can finish 26.2. But remember that time when you ran 10 miles and felt the same way? Now 10 miles is easy. None of the ailments that accosted me yesterday crept up until after mile 11 or 12. There will be a day when 15 miles is easy. I hope. After all, I have to train my body to run those 15 miles, plus another 11.2. I still have (or only have, depending on my mood) 3 1/2 months to make it happen. 3 1/2 months ago I know that I physically could not have run 15 miles. Go me. I'm getting better (even if it doesn't always feel like it)
The Weigh-In
Let's just get this out there:
135.8
Even with running 15 miles in one day, I still managed only to lose .4 lbs this week. I shan't complain, though. Any loss is good. At least I didn't gain anything. I've had guests in my house for 2 weeks and that means that the pizza and ice cream consumption has usurped the salad intake. Oh well. You only get one life and all that. I can't diet all the time. Next week will be the week. I can feel it ;)
In Other News
My friend Haylie just started a blog on the perils of healthy eating, so I'm going to tell you all to go check it out here.
And it got me thinking about my amazing friends who are also bloggers and wondering why on earth I've never mentioned them before. So here's another couple:
Ingrid writes about being a lady - and a fit, B.A. one at that. She was the only real, true, good lady friend I managed to get out of the navy. Read her blog here.
Stacey is wicked smart, a mommy with one little lady popped out and one on the way, and she cooks! And she loves God! And she blogs about it here.
There are quite a few more, but these are the ones that pertain particulary to diet, fitness, health, and well-being - and that's what I (try) to keep this little blog focused on.
I have smart lady friends in my life. I'm very blessed to know them. Go read their blogs. NOW.
...Sucks. It hurts. There's not a whole lot of good things I can say about my experience yesterday. I guess the one good thing is that when it's done, you can go around all day and say "I just ran 15 miles. What did you do?" and that gives me a smug sense of accomplishment. Oh, and it also burns a lot of calories, and that helps with the f*$&ing scale (which, today being Sunday, we will surely address in a minute). But, I can also say that I learned a lot during 15 miles. There's not a lot to do besides think when you're pluggin along for 2+ hours. Here's some of what I now know:
Lessons From The Road
First Lesson: I don't care how skinny you think you're getting, Ash - your thighs will never not touch. Therefore, you must apply BodyGlide, vaseline, or some other chub rub deterrent. Otherwise, this will happen:
If you can't tell, that the chafing on the inside of my left thigh (the inside of my right thigh looks quite similar). It wasn't quite an issue until around mile 11 and then it started getting to me. Chub rub was just one of the many ailments I was dealing with for the last 4 miles of my run. Please, read on. And please, please DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!!! Chub rub can be avoided. Worst case scenario, compression shorts cure what ails the chubby.
Next lesson: DRINK LOTS OF WATER! Seriously. I know it sounds like common sense, but this mistake can happen even to seasoned veterans of the sport (yes, that would be me. I am seasoned veteran at 26. Don't argue.) Even if you think you've hydrated enough, you probably haven't. I knew before I took off Saturday morning that I hadn't drank enough water the day before. Hydrating the day before is key. If you think you can wake up the morning of a run, pound a liter of water and think it's going to do much for you, think again. I knew I was ill prepared, and yet I set out anyway. It could have been worse, I suppose. I had my hip runner's fanny pack which holds about a bottle of water total and that probably saved me. But my supply was exhausted by mile 13 & by the last mile all I could think of was water (well, and my chub rub and my bloody toe). I think I actually started speeding up just because I wanted some dang water so bad. HYDRATE people!!! It will be one less thing for you to worry about.
Next Lesson: TAKE CARE OF YOUR FEET!!! I've said it before, and I'll say it again: you can't run without feet. So take care of them! Who would have thunk that a simple toenail trim before my outing could have saved me so much heartache? By the time I made it home and kicked off my shoes, I had one blood-soaked sock. The reason? The toenail on my little toe cut into the side of my 2nd-to-littlest toe. Ouch. Did I feel it while I was running? Oh yes. Around the last mile and a half I would say is when it really started sucking. Easily avoidable. Take care of your feet.
Next Lesson: Now, this is more personal. I learned that I hate those little GU Energy packs. Nasty, horrid stuff. I packed two gel packs in my little fanny pack, and at mile 5 ripped open my first one. Lemon Sublime, if you were curious. I was so excited for some energy, and all I could think of was that this crap was the consistency of snot and didn't taste much better.
Will everyone hate GU? Probably not. I'm sure lots of people swear by the stuff. But I learned that it does not work for me. Better to find out now than during the marathon, eh?
Next Lesson:
Now, these are the business. They're the anti-GU. My dear friend Tiffany sent them to me in a care package. I just happened to grab them in addition to the GU before I headed out the door and I am SO glad I did. This is my go-to energy source from now on when I head out on my long runs. Clif Bars were always my favorite, so it comes as no surprise that they would make these delicous little bite-sized bits of happiness that tast just like Gushers. Will everyone like them? Probably not. My long-run running buddy, Rob from work, says he hates chewing while he's running. The dude also likes GU. People are different. Find what works for you. I'm glad I found what works for me.
Final Lesson: 15 miles sucks. It hurts. It makes you crabby and question whether you can finish 26.2. But remember that time when you ran 10 miles and felt the same way? Now 10 miles is easy. None of the ailments that accosted me yesterday crept up until after mile 11 or 12. There will be a day when 15 miles is easy. I hope. After all, I have to train my body to run those 15 miles, plus another 11.2. I still have (or only have, depending on my mood) 3 1/2 months to make it happen. 3 1/2 months ago I know that I physically could not have run 15 miles. Go me. I'm getting better (even if it doesn't always feel like it)
The Weigh-In
Let's just get this out there:
135.8
Even with running 15 miles in one day, I still managed only to lose .4 lbs this week. I shan't complain, though. Any loss is good. At least I didn't gain anything. I've had guests in my house for 2 weeks and that means that the pizza and ice cream consumption has usurped the salad intake. Oh well. You only get one life and all that. I can't diet all the time. Next week will be the week. I can feel it ;)
In Other News
My friend Haylie just started a blog on the perils of healthy eating, so I'm going to tell you all to go check it out here.
And it got me thinking about my amazing friends who are also bloggers and wondering why on earth I've never mentioned them before. So here's another couple:
Ingrid writes about being a lady - and a fit, B.A. one at that. She was the only real, true, good lady friend I managed to get out of the navy. Read her blog here.
Stacey is wicked smart, a mommy with one little lady popped out and one on the way, and she cooks! And she loves God! And she blogs about it here.
There are quite a few more, but these are the ones that pertain particulary to diet, fitness, health, and well-being - and that's what I (try) to keep this little blog focused on.
I have smart lady friends in my life. I'm very blessed to know them. Go read their blogs. NOW.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Sometimes, It Just Clicks
Holy Smokes!
So yesterday, being Tuesday, was arguably my most dreaded workout of the week - Track Day. It very nearly didn't happen. I still consider myself to be in a running funk. The funk gets shaken up a little here and there when I get to do fun things like race, but for the most part I feel firmly plateau-ed. Walled. Lethargic. Un-motivated. So, when faced with the decsion to run really fast around the track yesterday or not, the decision seemed clear.
I grudgingly put on my running garb anyway, and walked (meandered, really) down to the track. After my 1 mile warm up, I was still undecided as to what exactly I was doing down there. I could cop out and do 4 short little 400s like last week, I could run some mile repeats, or I could try to knock out some 800s like I haven't done in what feels like ages. I stretched out, started my timer and took off. I didn't feel like I was moving particularly fast at all. I felt relaxed. And I hadn't really even decided what my workout would be until I hit the 400 mark and realized that I was right on track for sub-3:30 minute 800 (this is always the goal. I wrote about it here a while back). So, I figured "Why not?" If I felt like stopping, I would. By that time I had already done more than I thought I would.
And then the amazing happened! Behold, my track workout:
Warm-Up: 1 mile @7:44
800s
1 - 3:25
2 - 3:22
3 - 3:19
4 - 3:24
5 - 3:26
6 - 3:22
Cool Down: 1 mile @ 8:06
Go me. I don't know if any of these numbers I throw up here every once in a while make any sense to any of the rest of the world, but they make momma happy. Honestly, up until the last two repeats I didn't even really feel like I was giving it my all - and that says something since I hate running repeats on the track and it is never easy.
But, What Does It All Mean?
That I'm out of my running funk? That I'll be magically faster at my next race? That I can take today off? (oops...that already happened. My bad) Probably not. What it means is that for the first time in weeks I feel happy with myself after a run. It means that I did something I honestly didn't think I was capable of doing. Which leads me to question other things that I didn't think I could do - shoot, maybe running this thing in 3:30 is possible. Ok, maybe that's a little ambitious, but you get the picture.
And speaking of pictures, I feel bad when I write a lot about nothing particularly interesting and don't throw in some pictures for you. So I'll leave you with this:
That's Yours Truly Circa 2001. If you didn't know me then (or any time between the ages of 13-20), here's a glimpse. Blue hair. I LOVED it. I would still LOVE it. As soon as I'm retired or am independently wealthy, the blue hair will come back. Believe it.
So yesterday, being Tuesday, was arguably my most dreaded workout of the week - Track Day. It very nearly didn't happen. I still consider myself to be in a running funk. The funk gets shaken up a little here and there when I get to do fun things like race, but for the most part I feel firmly plateau-ed. Walled. Lethargic. Un-motivated. So, when faced with the decsion to run really fast around the track yesterday or not, the decision seemed clear.
I grudgingly put on my running garb anyway, and walked (meandered, really) down to the track. After my 1 mile warm up, I was still undecided as to what exactly I was doing down there. I could cop out and do 4 short little 400s like last week, I could run some mile repeats, or I could try to knock out some 800s like I haven't done in what feels like ages. I stretched out, started my timer and took off. I didn't feel like I was moving particularly fast at all. I felt relaxed. And I hadn't really even decided what my workout would be until I hit the 400 mark and realized that I was right on track for sub-3:30 minute 800 (this is always the goal. I wrote about it here a while back). So, I figured "Why not?" If I felt like stopping, I would. By that time I had already done more than I thought I would.
And then the amazing happened! Behold, my track workout:
Warm-Up: 1 mile @7:44
800s
1 - 3:25
2 - 3:22
3 - 3:19
4 - 3:24
5 - 3:26
6 - 3:22
Cool Down: 1 mile @ 8:06
Go me. I don't know if any of these numbers I throw up here every once in a while make any sense to any of the rest of the world, but they make momma happy. Honestly, up until the last two repeats I didn't even really feel like I was giving it my all - and that says something since I hate running repeats on the track and it is never easy.
But, What Does It All Mean?
That I'm out of my running funk? That I'll be magically faster at my next race? That I can take today off? (oops...that already happened. My bad) Probably not. What it means is that for the first time in weeks I feel happy with myself after a run. It means that I did something I honestly didn't think I was capable of doing. Which leads me to question other things that I didn't think I could do - shoot, maybe running this thing in 3:30 is possible. Ok, maybe that's a little ambitious, but you get the picture.
And speaking of pictures, I feel bad when I write a lot about nothing particularly interesting and don't throw in some pictures for you. So I'll leave you with this:
That's Yours Truly Circa 2001. If you didn't know me then (or any time between the ages of 13-20), here's a glimpse. Blue hair. I LOVED it. I would still LOVE it. As soon as I'm retired or am independently wealthy, the blue hair will come back. Believe it.
Monday, August 23, 2010
The Weekly Weigh-In
Therapy
I think I need some...of the massage persuasion. Maybe some mental/emotional/psychological wouldn't hurt either, but what I mostly need is a good massage. I don't know if the poor lumbar support of the cheap office chairs that I sit in every day are finally taking a toll, or if it's from my ever increasing mileage, but my back is KILLING me.
There has been this nagging pinch in the lower-left region of my back a couple of inches up from my derriere. It has gradually spread, and now my whole lower back is always just kind of achey. If I want to be honest with myself, I'm sure I would come to the conclusion that stretching more regularly (or at all, for that matter) would probably solve a lot of my problems. But, like I've mentioned before, stretching hurts. I'm not particularly flexible, and probably never will be. Sorry, Billy. But, the thing is now I'm dealing with a conundrum: it hurts when I stretch, and it hurts when I don't stretch. I want to just drop the $$$ and have someone fix this for me. I find that is the best way to solve most of my problems. If anyone has an suggestions for a good massage place on this rock, I'm now taking suggestions.
The Weigh-In
No progress in either direction. I am holding strong this week at 136.2. I'd like to think that, even though the numbers are telling me the same thing, my fat-to-muscle ratio is decreasing. Or increasing...wait - I'm having trouble figuring out the math there, but you know what I mean. Less fat, more muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat, and therefore I could actually look better as my weight goes up. Make sense? Yeah, I know. It sounds good. But there is something so psychologically damning about those stupid little numbers on that stupid scale. Does anyone else out there know what I'm talking about? It doesn't matter if I can go out and run 15 miles - I'm still a failure if I don't lose weight. That's how it feels, anyway.
Maybe I really do need some brain theraby to go with my massage thereapy...
I think I need some...of the massage persuasion. Maybe some mental/emotional/psychological wouldn't hurt either, but what I mostly need is a good massage. I don't know if the poor lumbar support of the cheap office chairs that I sit in every day are finally taking a toll, or if it's from my ever increasing mileage, but my back is KILLING me.
There has been this nagging pinch in the lower-left region of my back a couple of inches up from my derriere. It has gradually spread, and now my whole lower back is always just kind of achey. If I want to be honest with myself, I'm sure I would come to the conclusion that stretching more regularly (or at all, for that matter) would probably solve a lot of my problems. But, like I've mentioned before, stretching hurts. I'm not particularly flexible, and probably never will be. Sorry, Billy. But, the thing is now I'm dealing with a conundrum: it hurts when I stretch, and it hurts when I don't stretch. I want to just drop the $$$ and have someone fix this for me. I find that is the best way to solve most of my problems. If anyone has an suggestions for a good massage place on this rock, I'm now taking suggestions.
The Weigh-In
No progress in either direction. I am holding strong this week at 136.2. I'd like to think that, even though the numbers are telling me the same thing, my fat-to-muscle ratio is decreasing. Or increasing...wait - I'm having trouble figuring out the math there, but you know what I mean. Less fat, more muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat, and therefore I could actually look better as my weight goes up. Make sense? Yeah, I know. It sounds good. But there is something so psychologically damning about those stupid little numbers on that stupid scale. Does anyone else out there know what I'm talking about? It doesn't matter if I can go out and run 15 miles - I'm still a failure if I don't lose weight. That's how it feels, anyway.
Maybe I really do need some brain theraby to go with my massage thereapy...
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Weekly Weigh-In (Intentionally Late)
Hump Day
Yes, I realize it's Tuesday. And I realize that I (almost) always post a weekly recap and my weigh-in on sunday. And I realize that Wednesday is most traditionally deemed Hump Day. Hear me out though: 3 months ago today, Billy left on deployment and Operation: Sexy Bitch began. So, 3 months into a 6 month deployment = Hump Day on Tuesday (as in "over the hump" for those of you not in the know...it's all downhill from here, theoretically). As for why this was not composed on Sunday, there are a number of reasons. Firstly, I was up at 4 a.m. for my first race of the marathon readiness series. Stepping on the scale was not in my groggy mind. Secondly, by the time I finally made it home and thought about said weigh-in, I decided that the scale wouldn't tell me what I wanted to hear (show me what I wanted to see. Whatever.) Thirdly, I thought it would apt to weigh in on Hump Day to see how far I've come in 3 months. So there.
The Weigh-In
136.2
Exactly 1 lb down from last week. This is good. Any time the scale numbers get lower, Ashleigh does the happy dance. However, as I mentioned last week, I really wanted to be 135 by now. 10 lbs in 3 months didn't seem like an unattainable goal. It's one thing to set unrealistic goals and fail; it's another thing to set attainable goals and come this close to making it and not quite getting there. It sucks, and it was the story of my life the past 3 days both on the scale and during my first race. Oh, and for the record: my official "goal weight" is 130. So I have 3 more months to lose 6.2 lbs. Again, should seem relatively easy but we'll see. If I end up being 131.2 I'll be pissed...I think.
The Race
Again, this close and didn't hit my goal of finishing 15K in 1:15 or less. My watch clocked me at 1:17:38 and my official time was 1:18:16. Soooooo close. I felt mostly strong and good throughout. At the end, I was passing people instead of being passed, so that's cool. But about 10 seconds/mile faster would have made me happier. GAH!
You can see my official results here and here. I finished 203 out of 784 overall. I finihsed 11 out of 63 in my age group. Again, I think about those numbers and am like "man, I should have been in the top 10 of my age group" and "if I just would have kicked it in a little bit earlier at the end, I would have been in the top 200 overall"
Still, I was faster than more people than I was slower than. And just look at all those boys I beat ;)
On A Side Note...
I discovered during this race that I LOVE passing those barbie runners almost as much as boys. Sometimes this is more enjoyable, in fact. You know what I'm talking about - those broads who prance around in their booty hugging shorts and their spaghetti strap jog bra with their bleached hair ponytailed above their matching pink visor (these ladies almost always seem to wear pink). I'm a running judger, I tell you. It's a problem. I'm working on it. Still...it gives me great personal gratification to blast past those gals. I'm sure they could be very nice people if I ever had a conversation with one of them, but probably not.
In Conclusion
Pray for me and my track workout this afternoon. I'm not looking forward to it :/ That's all I have for now. I'll let you know how it goes.
Yes, I realize it's Tuesday. And I realize that I (almost) always post a weekly recap and my weigh-in on sunday. And I realize that Wednesday is most traditionally deemed Hump Day. Hear me out though: 3 months ago today, Billy left on deployment and Operation: Sexy Bitch began. So, 3 months into a 6 month deployment = Hump Day on Tuesday (as in "over the hump" for those of you not in the know...it's all downhill from here, theoretically). As for why this was not composed on Sunday, there are a number of reasons. Firstly, I was up at 4 a.m. for my first race of the marathon readiness series. Stepping on the scale was not in my groggy mind. Secondly, by the time I finally made it home and thought about said weigh-in, I decided that the scale wouldn't tell me what I wanted to hear (show me what I wanted to see. Whatever.) Thirdly, I thought it would apt to weigh in on Hump Day to see how far I've come in 3 months. So there.
The Weigh-In
136.2
Exactly 1 lb down from last week. This is good. Any time the scale numbers get lower, Ashleigh does the happy dance. However, as I mentioned last week, I really wanted to be 135 by now. 10 lbs in 3 months didn't seem like an unattainable goal. It's one thing to set unrealistic goals and fail; it's another thing to set attainable goals and come this close to making it and not quite getting there. It sucks, and it was the story of my life the past 3 days both on the scale and during my first race. Oh, and for the record: my official "goal weight" is 130. So I have 3 more months to lose 6.2 lbs. Again, should seem relatively easy but we'll see. If I end up being 131.2 I'll be pissed...I think.
The Race
Again, this close and didn't hit my goal of finishing 15K in 1:15 or less. My watch clocked me at 1:17:38 and my official time was 1:18:16. Soooooo close. I felt mostly strong and good throughout. At the end, I was passing people instead of being passed, so that's cool. But about 10 seconds/mile faster would have made me happier. GAH!
You can see my official results here and here. I finished 203 out of 784 overall. I finihsed 11 out of 63 in my age group. Again, I think about those numbers and am like "man, I should have been in the top 10 of my age group" and "if I just would have kicked it in a little bit earlier at the end, I would have been in the top 200 overall"
Still, I was faster than more people than I was slower than. And just look at all those boys I beat ;)
On A Side Note...
I discovered during this race that I LOVE passing those barbie runners almost as much as boys. Sometimes this is more enjoyable, in fact. You know what I'm talking about - those broads who prance around in their booty hugging shorts and their spaghetti strap jog bra with their bleached hair ponytailed above their matching pink visor (these ladies almost always seem to wear pink). I'm a running judger, I tell you. It's a problem. I'm working on it. Still...it gives me great personal gratification to blast past those gals. I'm sure they could be very nice people if I ever had a conversation with one of them, but probably not.
In Conclusion
Pray for me and my track workout this afternoon. I'm not looking forward to it :/ That's all I have for now. I'll let you know how it goes.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
The Most Super of Women
My darling mother is celebrating 50 beautiful years of life today. She'll never admit it, but it's a big deal to her. If anyone asks, she'll say it's just another day - but don't believe her. It's important and it is NOT just another day. It should be a national holiday! My dear MuM has had the most amazing life and it's worth celebrating!
I wish more than anything that I could be in Utah for the festivities today but, sadly, one of the downfalls of living on a tropical island in the middle of the pacific is the logistics and the expense of getting back to civilization regularly. Rest assured, though, we will make up for lost time when I see her in Margaritaville in October. I will also buy a bottle of champagne and drink it in her honor. I may even let her other bebe girl - diddle bebe Gwen - have a glass as well ;)
In the meantime, I will celebrate with this little tribute blog. Happy Birthday, MuM!!! Here's to you!
50 Amazing MuM TidBits
1. Few folks out there have class anymore, but my MuM does.
2. No one ever cooks better than MuM.
3. MuM always knows what to do.
4. MuM gives the best advice - on anything and everything. From removing puppy stains on the floor to what to wear on an interview.
5. She has impeccable taste.
6. She ages oh so gracefully.
7. You know how some girls out there pray that they don't become their mother when they grow up? I pray that I do.
8. She loves like you wouldn't believe.
9. She is SOOOOOO B.A.!! See 10, 11, & 12...
10. She has run 5 - 5!!!!!!! - marathons!
11. Her fastest marathon she ran in 3:20ish. That's around a 7:37 pace. That's incredible, people. Like, beyond amazing.
12. MuM won a sit up contest when I was still just a little girl. She did 750. She would have kept going, but the skin on her lower back had rubbed off. BA!
13. When I mellow out someday, I will be exactly like my MuM ;)
14. She's pretty.
15. She's strong.
16. Her love for Jesus is inspiring.
17. She glows. Inside and out.
18. She loves literature & People Magazine just about equally, I think. Love it.
19. She's a very good letter writer.
20. In fact, she's a good writer PERIOD!
21. When I start grad school this fall, I will still email my essays and papers to my English Major mother who will make them perfect. Guarunteed A.
22. She's FUN!!
23. She has taught me more than I could ever list, but here's a few anyway:
24. She taught me that sometimes (shoot - most times!) the best Friday night is one spent on the couch with a book and our dear friend Kim Crawford.
25. She taught me how to appropriately use apostrophe's (j/k!)
26. She taught me that there are things I will never be able to do, and that's OK.
27. She also taught me to do whatever I am doing well.
28. She taught me that there's magic in a bottle of Chanel No. 5.
29. She taught me about perseverance.
30. She taught me about patience.
31. My MuM can turn bad days into good days.
32. To this day MuM is still my favorite shopping buddy.
33. She's also my favorite running buddy.
34. MuM is SO smart! She is a VERY intelligent woman.
35. MuM is the only person on the planet that I know who can smile with the corners of her mouth pointed down. It's true. You have to see it to know what I'm talking about.
36. My MuM is one tough cookie.
37. My MuM is a very generous and giving person.
38. When she sets her mind to something, she's the most determined person that I know.
39. MuM has the most amazing gift of hospitality. It really can't be described - you're going to have to go to Utah and visit her to experience it.
40. MuM knows things. And she doesn't believe in quantum physics when it comes to matters of the heart.
41. My MuM is very selfless.
42. It doesn't matter if I made a finger painting, wrote a poem, or was taking my knocks on the soccer field - MuM has always been my biggest fan (OK, she's tied for first with DadE)
43. MuM's style is always dead on. She is so classic, but with her own edge. I love it.
44. MuM looks hotter turning 25 this time around than the last time she turned 25. Like I said - she's aged so wonderfully.
45. I LOVE that all her vices are my vices (no coincidence, I'm sure): wine, bubbly, margaritas, black coffee, and a great bargain on shoes ;)
46. MuM is full of forgiveness, which is awesome, because I never ended up in jail or anything, but I gave her my fair share of grief and 'tude over the years.
47. She is my inspiration in running and life.
48. Every single decade of my MuM's life is worth celebrating! I shall be drinking bubbly tonight in honor of you, MuM!
49. There has never been a single day, minute, or second in my life that I have not felt loved my mom.
50. Everything I am, or can be, I owe to my angel mother.
Happy Amazing 50th Birthday MuM!
Love,
xoxoxo
your very, very grateful daughter
Fitness, Fatigue, & The Inner Workings of Ash's Mind
A Day In the Life
This is what a normal human has inside their skull:
This is what Ash has inside her skull:
No lie. The hamsters. The GoshDarn Hamsters. They spin and they spin and they spin and they never get anywhere. And for some reason, the wheels that they run on inside my head are never properly oiled so they make the most annoying, incessant squeaking. You can hear them now too, can't you? It's ridiculous.
Yesterday on my pititful (but FAST!) 4 mile run, the hamsters were running much better than I was. They were on a roll. The thoughts were flying around at about a million miles per hour. I couldn't make the damn hamsters take a water break. They get going when I get stressed out. Usually it's about Billy, but sometimes it's about other things like work/grad school/what we're going to do with our lives/where we're moving next/etc.etc.etc. You may notice that a lot of those things are COMPLETELY out of my control. That's when the hamsters kick it into high gear. If I can just think in circles enough, somehow all my worrying will pay off and whatever it is that is causing the worry will be resolved. Funnily enough, running the hamsters to death in my noggin have never yet solved any of my problems.
So, this is what was going 'round&round in my mind yesterday as I was going round&round the track on Camp Smith:
You absolutely must must MUST weigh no more than 135 when you weigh in on Sunday. That's the "Billy's been gone 3 months mark" and if you can't lose 10 lbs in 3 months then you are a sad, sad excuse for a woman. And another thing, what the heck is this business going on with you right now? So, you ran 13 miles on Sunday so you think you can slack off all week? No way, sister. You now officially have less than 4 months til this marathon and your mileage this week is pathetic! PA-THE-TIC!! Plus, you skipped your track workout!!! You're never going to run faster than 3:45 if you keep skipping track workouts. Also, you need to run your 15K faster than 1:15 this weekend. If you don't, you are slow and will still be pathetic. Run more! Oh, what's that you say? You're hungry and fatigued because your stupid 250 cal lean cuisine lunch isn't hacking it? Well, you should have eaten more. You know this. But you can't eat more, because you HAVE to be 135 by this weekend. But if you don't have energy you can't run and burn more calories....did I mention that you're walking now? Stop walking! Run, dummy! You are now officially in a running funk. Uh-oh. This isn't good. But you're only in a funk if you think you are, so stop thinking you are. But you really ARE, so you can't stop thinking it because it's true.
Do you see how this can get exhausting?! Every night when you say your prayers thank the good Lord that he gave you a normal brain and not some hamster running on a wheel between your ears. When the dumb hamsters get going, it's hard to get them to stop. I lamented to my mother. She said my body is still recovery from Sunday. I called shenanigans because I needed my two hardest workouts this week to be yesterday (epic fail) and today (remains to be seen) so that I can taper down Friday & Saturday before my race on Sunday but if I can't even run the 6 miles I wanted to yesterday how on earth am I going to run 9.something on Sunday?! And what do you plan on eating for dinner tonight? It better not be pasta again, you need some lean protein in your life. Did you take your vitamins this morning...? GAH!!!! and it started all over again.
Fit
And yet, despite my funk, the hamsters, my body rejecting the idea of any physical activity EVER again...I had an epiphany a few days ago. I don't remember what I was doing, but the thought popped into my head (right in between the hamster wheels) that I finally feel fit. Now, I don't know the exact definition of "fitness" or what it means to be physically fit. I'm pretty sure it's just one of those things that you either are, or you aren't and either way, you know it. Maybe it came from running 13 miles. Maybe it came from feeling thinner. I don't know. But I do know that for the first time in a long, long time, I feel like I am "fit". Whatever that means. Small victories.
This is what a normal human has inside their skull:
This is what Ash has inside her skull:
No lie. The hamsters. The GoshDarn Hamsters. They spin and they spin and they spin and they never get anywhere. And for some reason, the wheels that they run on inside my head are never properly oiled so they make the most annoying, incessant squeaking. You can hear them now too, can't you? It's ridiculous.
Yesterday on my pititful (but FAST!) 4 mile run, the hamsters were running much better than I was. They were on a roll. The thoughts were flying around at about a million miles per hour. I couldn't make the damn hamsters take a water break. They get going when I get stressed out. Usually it's about Billy, but sometimes it's about other things like work/grad school/what we're going to do with our lives/where we're moving next/etc.etc.etc. You may notice that a lot of those things are COMPLETELY out of my control. That's when the hamsters kick it into high gear. If I can just think in circles enough, somehow all my worrying will pay off and whatever it is that is causing the worry will be resolved. Funnily enough, running the hamsters to death in my noggin have never yet solved any of my problems.
So, this is what was going 'round&round in my mind yesterday as I was going round&round the track on Camp Smith:
You absolutely must must MUST weigh no more than 135 when you weigh in on Sunday. That's the "Billy's been gone 3 months mark" and if you can't lose 10 lbs in 3 months then you are a sad, sad excuse for a woman. And another thing, what the heck is this business going on with you right now? So, you ran 13 miles on Sunday so you think you can slack off all week? No way, sister. You now officially have less than 4 months til this marathon and your mileage this week is pathetic! PA-THE-TIC!! Plus, you skipped your track workout!!! You're never going to run faster than 3:45 if you keep skipping track workouts. Also, you need to run your 15K faster than 1:15 this weekend. If you don't, you are slow and will still be pathetic. Run more! Oh, what's that you say? You're hungry and fatigued because your stupid 250 cal lean cuisine lunch isn't hacking it? Well, you should have eaten more. You know this. But you can't eat more, because you HAVE to be 135 by this weekend. But if you don't have energy you can't run and burn more calories....did I mention that you're walking now? Stop walking! Run, dummy! You are now officially in a running funk. Uh-oh. This isn't good. But you're only in a funk if you think you are, so stop thinking you are. But you really ARE, so you can't stop thinking it because it's true.
Do you see how this can get exhausting?! Every night when you say your prayers thank the good Lord that he gave you a normal brain and not some hamster running on a wheel between your ears. When the dumb hamsters get going, it's hard to get them to stop. I lamented to my mother. She said my body is still recovery from Sunday. I called shenanigans because I needed my two hardest workouts this week to be yesterday (epic fail) and today (remains to be seen) so that I can taper down Friday & Saturday before my race on Sunday but if I can't even run the 6 miles I wanted to yesterday how on earth am I going to run 9.something on Sunday?! And what do you plan on eating for dinner tonight? It better not be pasta again, you need some lean protein in your life. Did you take your vitamins this morning...? GAH!!!! and it started all over again.
Fit
And yet, despite my funk, the hamsters, my body rejecting the idea of any physical activity EVER again...I had an epiphany a few days ago. I don't remember what I was doing, but the thought popped into my head (right in between the hamster wheels) that I finally feel fit. Now, I don't know the exact definition of "fitness" or what it means to be physically fit. I'm pretty sure it's just one of those things that you either are, or you aren't and either way, you know it. Maybe it came from running 13 miles. Maybe it came from feeling thinner. I don't know. But I do know that for the first time in a long, long time, I feel like I am "fit". Whatever that means. Small victories.
Monday, August 9, 2010
The Weekly Weigh-In
Easy Come, Easy Go (Sort Of)
Greetings and happy monday evening to you, beautiful blog-followers! I apologize for being a day tardy with my weekly weigh-in from last week. Please trust that it was for a good cause that will be revealed later ;) At any rate, I usually try to bury this part of the post somewhere in the middle so that it will hopefully be skimmed over and no one will really pay attention to how much weight I'm losing. Or gaining. Or losing. Or gaining...you get the picture. So, without further ado, here it is front and center:
137.2
If you recall, that's almost exactly where I was before Estrogenfest 2010 kicked off. So, I put on 2.5 lbs in 10 days and took it off in just about the same amount of time. Not too bad, eh? I'm back at it, Grami is still closer to the coveted 135 mark than I am, but I'm closing the gap, and I still have no regrets about the calories consumed and the pounds gained during that glorious time. Check out some of the physical activity that did get accomplished while the ladies were here:
Estrogenfest 2010
Holly & I danced around the house. Drunk dancing counts as exercise, right?
We hiked up to Maunawili Falls in the mud....
We jumped off the falls (thats Katie on the left and me on the right)
And of course, we surfed! (Now THAT is a workout!)
And here's a little tip for all of you out there: if you're ever going to have an Estrogenfest of your own, or go on vacation, or are just hanging out, I HIGHLY recommend making sure you have a professional photographer in the group. Tiffany was ours. She is absolutely fabulous and very good at what she does. Go check out her website here to see more of her gorgeous work (all the above photos were taken by the lovely Tif). The memories she captured are priceless! We were all so glad she was here to document the adventures for us.
13.1
On a completely different note, let's talk about 13.1 miles. That's a half marathon, and it's also how far I ran yesterday. It was a real learning experience for sure. I honestly felt worse after I was done running. How strange, right? But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start with this:
That's the loot I bought in preparation for this endeavor. Basically, what you're looking at is my hip new runner's fanny pack, various gels and energy jelly beans, new socks, and an anti-chub rub stick.
I may highlight each of these products later, but for now I just don't feel like it and this post is already getting lengthy ;) The reason for all of this fanfare is because I knew that, eventually, I'd have to start taking in water and calories durning my longer runs. My first 1/2 seemed like a good time to start. So I had my little belt filled with water and a packet of Jelly Bellies (with caffeine!) and my new (microfiber!) socks and my feet and thighs had a thick layer of "BodyGlide" glopped on 'em. (Funny inside joke: whenever I look at my stick of "BodyGlide", all I can think of is AstroGlide and a certain HILARIOUS Christmas gift in Billy's stocking for his first Christmas at the Eppens house. Thanks, Dad!) And I made it through 13.1 miles with about the amount of pain that I anticipated.
More Than An Afterthought
The BIG trouble came later. I felt absolutely nauseated, pukey, and gross. Evidently, this is not uncommon amongst us runners. There's a lot of physiology involved: something about peptide and supressed acylated ghrelin. Basically, I was most likely under-nourished for my trek. I guess my pre-run banana and packet of beans was not enough while running that far. Good to know.
But, several positive notes: NO BLISTERS!!!!! Hazzah! Evidently, the key is to avoid cotton socks. Too many fibers cause fricktion. Get synthetic socks. Go figure. The "BodyGlide" (snicker snicker) helped too, I'm sure. I finished 1/2 a marathon with no chafing on my feet or anywhere else. Brilliant. But mostly, I know that I was mentally and physically prepared for this run, and that made it a good one. I'm proud of that run.
But...
When I was finished the only thing I could think was "Holy CRAP!!! I'm going to have go TWICE that far?!" Lord help me, I'm going to need it...
Want one last EstroFest pic just for funsies before I sign off for the evening? Me too! Enjoy! See if you can tell which one is me ;)
Greetings and happy monday evening to you, beautiful blog-followers! I apologize for being a day tardy with my weekly weigh-in from last week. Please trust that it was for a good cause that will be revealed later ;) At any rate, I usually try to bury this part of the post somewhere in the middle so that it will hopefully be skimmed over and no one will really pay attention to how much weight I'm losing. Or gaining. Or losing. Or gaining...you get the picture. So, without further ado, here it is front and center:
137.2
If you recall, that's almost exactly where I was before Estrogenfest 2010 kicked off. So, I put on 2.5 lbs in 10 days and took it off in just about the same amount of time. Not too bad, eh? I'm back at it, Grami is still closer to the coveted 135 mark than I am, but I'm closing the gap, and I still have no regrets about the calories consumed and the pounds gained during that glorious time. Check out some of the physical activity that did get accomplished while the ladies were here:
Estrogenfest 2010
Holly & I danced around the house. Drunk dancing counts as exercise, right?
We hiked up to Maunawili Falls in the mud....
We jumped off the falls (thats Katie on the left and me on the right)
And of course, we surfed! (Now THAT is a workout!)
And here's a little tip for all of you out there: if you're ever going to have an Estrogenfest of your own, or go on vacation, or are just hanging out, I HIGHLY recommend making sure you have a professional photographer in the group. Tiffany was ours. She is absolutely fabulous and very good at what she does. Go check out her website here to see more of her gorgeous work (all the above photos were taken by the lovely Tif). The memories she captured are priceless! We were all so glad she was here to document the adventures for us.
13.1
On a completely different note, let's talk about 13.1 miles. That's a half marathon, and it's also how far I ran yesterday. It was a real learning experience for sure. I honestly felt worse after I was done running. How strange, right? But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start with this:
That's the loot I bought in preparation for this endeavor. Basically, what you're looking at is my hip new runner's fanny pack, various gels and energy jelly beans, new socks, and an anti-chub rub stick.
I may highlight each of these products later, but for now I just don't feel like it and this post is already getting lengthy ;) The reason for all of this fanfare is because I knew that, eventually, I'd have to start taking in water and calories durning my longer runs. My first 1/2 seemed like a good time to start. So I had my little belt filled with water and a packet of Jelly Bellies (with caffeine!) and my new (microfiber!) socks and my feet and thighs had a thick layer of "BodyGlide" glopped on 'em. (Funny inside joke: whenever I look at my stick of "BodyGlide", all I can think of is AstroGlide and a certain HILARIOUS Christmas gift in Billy's stocking for his first Christmas at the Eppens house. Thanks, Dad!) And I made it through 13.1 miles with about the amount of pain that I anticipated.
More Than An Afterthought
The BIG trouble came later. I felt absolutely nauseated, pukey, and gross. Evidently, this is not uncommon amongst us runners. There's a lot of physiology involved: something about peptide and supressed acylated ghrelin. Basically, I was most likely under-nourished for my trek. I guess my pre-run banana and packet of beans was not enough while running that far. Good to know.
But, several positive notes: NO BLISTERS!!!!! Hazzah! Evidently, the key is to avoid cotton socks. Too many fibers cause fricktion. Get synthetic socks. Go figure. The "BodyGlide" (snicker snicker) helped too, I'm sure. I finished 1/2 a marathon with no chafing on my feet or anywhere else. Brilliant. But mostly, I know that I was mentally and physically prepared for this run, and that made it a good one. I'm proud of that run.
But...
When I was finished the only thing I could think was "Holy CRAP!!! I'm going to have go TWICE that far?!" Lord help me, I'm going to need it...
Want one last EstroFest pic just for funsies before I sign off for the evening? Me too! Enjoy! See if you can tell which one is me ;)
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
It Can Always Be Worse
Greetings to you all!
Well, let me tell you something right off the bat: if taking one week off the track greatly improves my performance for the next week, then 2 weeks off the track makes me want to puke and die when I finally get back out there.
I should have known better, but I had hope that after giving my body a lot of rest over the last 2 weeks that I could strut right out onto the track and pick up where I left off - better than where I left off! But no such luck. 8x800 quickly deteriorated to 4x800. At least they were all 3:30. Oh well. I ran a 1 mile warm-up and two mile cool-down, so I still got 5 miles in and 2 of them were 7 minute miles, so I'm still happy with that. I know I still have endurance because of my ability to go out and run into the double digits without to much trouble. Now, it's just a matter of getting faster and stronger again.
Note to all of you: recovery is good! 2 week breaks are bad!
Learn from my mistakes, kids! It was painful, but there's always next week. I'll try to do 6x800 next week and then go up to 8x800 every other week until this whole race is over.
The Race
Speaking of the race, I checked out the Honolulu Marathon website yesterday for the first time in a long time and found all sorts of new fun things. You can check it out here. My favorite part is that ominous clock counting down in the upper right hand corner. My second favorite part is when you click on course map. SWEEEET! I cannot WAIT to run up Diamond Head during the 25th mile of a marathon. FRICKIN' AWESOME!!! (that was sarcasm, in case any of you didn't pick up on that).
In further my preparation for this adventure, I just registered for the Honolulu Marathon Readiness Series. It's series of 5 races leading up to the marathon to help you gauge how well you're coming along, I guess. The first one is August 15, and is a 15K. That's 9.32 miles. I'm getting ridiculously excited to race. I can't wait to see how I stack up against the rest of the people in my age group, and how fast I can run over a longer distance when I have a goal and I'm not just plodding along to rack up miles. Competing, even if it's all in good fun, makes training seem less like....training. It gives you a sense of accomplishment and makes it feel like you're actually getting results.
Plus, it's really, really fun to beat the boys ;)
*A quick note - This was all actually written and meant to be posted yesterday (which was Wednesday) but my stupid computer spazzed out and the last auto save was about half way through. So this morning, I had recreate it as best I could. Not that you really needed to know all this. Just for your info ;)
Well, let me tell you something right off the bat: if taking one week off the track greatly improves my performance for the next week, then 2 weeks off the track makes me want to puke and die when I finally get back out there.
I should have known better, but I had hope that after giving my body a lot of rest over the last 2 weeks that I could strut right out onto the track and pick up where I left off - better than where I left off! But no such luck. 8x800 quickly deteriorated to 4x800. At least they were all 3:30. Oh well. I ran a 1 mile warm-up and two mile cool-down, so I still got 5 miles in and 2 of them were 7 minute miles, so I'm still happy with that. I know I still have endurance because of my ability to go out and run into the double digits without to much trouble. Now, it's just a matter of getting faster and stronger again.
Note to all of you: recovery is good! 2 week breaks are bad!
Learn from my mistakes, kids! It was painful, but there's always next week. I'll try to do 6x800 next week and then go up to 8x800 every other week until this whole race is over.
The Race
Speaking of the race, I checked out the Honolulu Marathon website yesterday for the first time in a long time and found all sorts of new fun things. You can check it out here. My favorite part is that ominous clock counting down in the upper right hand corner. My second favorite part is when you click on course map. SWEEEET! I cannot WAIT to run up Diamond Head during the 25th mile of a marathon. FRICKIN' AWESOME!!! (that was sarcasm, in case any of you didn't pick up on that).
In further my preparation for this adventure, I just registered for the Honolulu Marathon Readiness Series. It's series of 5 races leading up to the marathon to help you gauge how well you're coming along, I guess. The first one is August 15, and is a 15K. That's 9.32 miles. I'm getting ridiculously excited to race. I can't wait to see how I stack up against the rest of the people in my age group, and how fast I can run over a longer distance when I have a goal and I'm not just plodding along to rack up miles. Competing, even if it's all in good fun, makes training seem less like....training. It gives you a sense of accomplishment and makes it feel like you're actually getting results.
Plus, it's really, really fun to beat the boys ;)
*A quick note - This was all actually written and meant to be posted yesterday (which was Wednesday) but my stupid computer spazzed out and the last auto save was about half way through. So this morning, I had recreate it as best I could. Not that you really needed to know all this. Just for your info ;)
Sunday, August 1, 2010
The Valiant Return of Yours Truly & The Weekly Weigh-In
A Disclaimer
Remember 7th grade English class when, on the first day, the teacher told you to pull out a piece of lined paper and pen and just start writing? It didn't matter what it was about; just write whatever popped into your head. This "stream of consciousness" exercise wasn't meant to churn out anything of great 7th grade literary significance, it was just to get your pen moving. I guess some great writers do this all the time. Whatever. I thought A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man was the most overrated piece of crap ever. I don't think I made it past page 10. But I digress. What I'm trying to say is, when I had to do this exercise, it usually went something like "um...I really think it's been a long day, I can't wait to go to soccer practice tonight, I like my new shoes..." And my point is that you can expect this blog entry to be very much like that. It's been so long that I've written on here, and there's SO much I want to write about, and I have no idea how I'm going to structer it all. Expect lots of rambling, run-on sentences and thoughts that might be good on their own, but are no way related to each other.
Whew. With that out of the way, let the rambling begin! I have my hookah, a very forgettable bottle of sauvignon blanc and a lot to get out there.
The Weekly Weigh-In
Welp, I skipped last week because I knew I wouldn't like what the little jerk-face scale would tell me. When I mustered up the courage this morning, I found it wasn't as bad as I thought. 140.0. I thought it would be much higher. That means that during the 10 day extravaganza that was Estrogenfest 2010, I only gained back 2.5 lbs. Now, I know that a month ago the scale told me 140 and I was freaking out because my initial weigh-in was 145 and that meant that I'd only lost 5 lbs in however many weeks and blah blah blah. I have a different perspective about 140 now. It's not that I'm happy with it - I'll be back on the proverbial horse tomorrow. I've got a running agenda to get back into, a freezer full of Lean Cuisines, and a competition to win (more on that in a bit).
But, here's why I'm ok with gaining 2.5 lbs in 10 days: Every single calorie consumed - and that means every mai tai, potato chip, bacon-wrapped, cream chesse filled jalepeno popper, glass of wine, cocktail, starch, carb, and sugar - was taken in with love and joy. It's one thing to have a 3rd glass of wine on a Tuesday night because I'm feeling sorry for myself or to eat french fries for dinner because cooking for one has gotten too depressing. It's another thing to be with a group of lovely ladies eating good food and drinking good wine and not running the next day because it's more important to get home, pick them up, and do it all again. In short, those 2.5 lbs were in every single way worth it.
Friendly Familial Competition
Right before The Ladies came swooping in, my lovely Grami Jane sent me a message on Facebook suggesting that, since 135 was our mutual ideal weight, we go ahead and see who can't get there first. At the time, I had whittled myself down to 137.5 and she confessed to be hanging out at 139. I haven't spoken with her since we discussed the terms of our little rivalry, but I think it's safe to say that I better get on the ball if I want to win.
Honestly, though, look at that lovely lady -
That's Grami in between her 2 favorite granddaughters at Little Brother's wedding in June. Isn't she perfect just the way she is?
*Side Note - this is about where the unmemorable wine just became too blagh for me to handle and I've switched to Malibu & Diet. Holly bought me a bottle that we were supposed to dip into while she was here in loving memory of our days in London. Unfortunately, we ran out of time while she was here. Fortunately, it's helping the "stream of consiousness" rambling that this entry is characterized by. Go Rum!
Running
Oh, right! THAT'S what this blog is all about. So, I guess I'll ramble about running a bit. Except that it's hard to do that when I haven't been running. Hardly at all. Here's how it's been on hiatus: I've run 10 miles every Sunday, hiked to Maunawili Falls once, and done the surfing thing every weekend. I'm really, REALLY hoping that this is one of those situations where I hit it this week and my body is like "YEAH!!! Go Ash! Thanks for the nice little break, I'm ready to do whatever you want me to!" Hey, it could happen right? Either I'm going to be amazing, or I'm going to hate the next week or two while my body gets back into it. I can say, however, that 10 miles anymore does NOT suck like it once did. In fact, I might almost be able to say that running 10 miles is no biggie (even hungover! ha!) And shoot, I still have 4 months and 12 days until this Marathon goes down, so I'm still waaaay ahead of the power curve. Now, there will come a day very soon when that whole "I have TONS of time" fallback will no longer work. But for now I can honestly say that I'm not worried about being unprepared come race day.
While we're on the topic, here's my tentative schedule for the week:
Monday - XTrain. Beautiful Tif brought me a copy of "Ab Ripper" one of those P90X things or something. My goal is to do that tomorrow morning before work to get back on the track to hard core, and then do some pansy cardio at the gym (pansy cardio includes stationary bikes, elipticals, stair steppers, and the like) in the afternoon.
Tuesday - Dun Dun DUUUUN! Dreaded Tuesday Track Day. 8x800, all faster than 3:30 with a 2 min. recovery, sandwiched by a mile warm up and cool down. Can she do it after 3 weeks off the track? Stay tuned...
Wednesday - Whatever comes my way. 6-8 easy miles most likely.
Thursday - Hill day. If there is a measure of fitness gained/lost it's this day. We'll see how it goes.
Friday - This used to be a complete rest day, but since Saturday a.m. surfing has usurped Saturday a.m. running, I need to fill Friday with some time of running so I don't have too many rest days. Maybe a nice little yog with the dogs after work and before my Friday night date with Don Draper and wine? ;) Any suggestions would be good.
Saturday - My new favorite reason to wake up at 5 a.m. on Saturday. Makes me wonder how I survived with my surfboard in storage in Utah for so long. Also makes me wonder if maybe Sally the Surfboard doesn't need a friend....hmmmm ;)
Sunday - 13.1 miles next week. I'm doing half. Go me. But I hear the first half of a marathon is the easy half...
Ok, well. I guess that's just enough rambling. The rum is telling me stop writing and go paint or something. I shall leave you with this, lovely blog followers. It's the official theme song of Estrogenfest 2010 and evidently has no music video but no matter. It's a darn catchy tune and conveniently comes on the radio out here once every 20 minutes.
(I also LOVE how this broad has thighs that make mine look skinny. You go girl. Own it)
Remember 7th grade English class when, on the first day, the teacher told you to pull out a piece of lined paper and pen and just start writing? It didn't matter what it was about; just write whatever popped into your head. This "stream of consciousness" exercise wasn't meant to churn out anything of great 7th grade literary significance, it was just to get your pen moving. I guess some great writers do this all the time. Whatever. I thought A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man was the most overrated piece of crap ever. I don't think I made it past page 10. But I digress. What I'm trying to say is, when I had to do this exercise, it usually went something like "um...I really think it's been a long day, I can't wait to go to soccer practice tonight, I like my new shoes..." And my point is that you can expect this blog entry to be very much like that. It's been so long that I've written on here, and there's SO much I want to write about, and I have no idea how I'm going to structer it all. Expect lots of rambling, run-on sentences and thoughts that might be good on their own, but are no way related to each other.
Whew. With that out of the way, let the rambling begin! I have my hookah, a very forgettable bottle of sauvignon blanc and a lot to get out there.
The Weekly Weigh-In
Welp, I skipped last week because I knew I wouldn't like what the little jerk-face scale would tell me. When I mustered up the courage this morning, I found it wasn't as bad as I thought. 140.0. I thought it would be much higher. That means that during the 10 day extravaganza that was Estrogenfest 2010, I only gained back 2.5 lbs. Now, I know that a month ago the scale told me 140 and I was freaking out because my initial weigh-in was 145 and that meant that I'd only lost 5 lbs in however many weeks and blah blah blah. I have a different perspective about 140 now. It's not that I'm happy with it - I'll be back on the proverbial horse tomorrow. I've got a running agenda to get back into, a freezer full of Lean Cuisines, and a competition to win (more on that in a bit).
But, here's why I'm ok with gaining 2.5 lbs in 10 days: Every single calorie consumed - and that means every mai tai, potato chip, bacon-wrapped, cream chesse filled jalepeno popper, glass of wine, cocktail, starch, carb, and sugar - was taken in with love and joy. It's one thing to have a 3rd glass of wine on a Tuesday night because I'm feeling sorry for myself or to eat french fries for dinner because cooking for one has gotten too depressing. It's another thing to be with a group of lovely ladies eating good food and drinking good wine and not running the next day because it's more important to get home, pick them up, and do it all again. In short, those 2.5 lbs were in every single way worth it.
Friendly Familial Competition
Right before The Ladies came swooping in, my lovely Grami Jane sent me a message on Facebook suggesting that, since 135 was our mutual ideal weight, we go ahead and see who can't get there first. At the time, I had whittled myself down to 137.5 and she confessed to be hanging out at 139. I haven't spoken with her since we discussed the terms of our little rivalry, but I think it's safe to say that I better get on the ball if I want to win.
Honestly, though, look at that lovely lady -
That's Grami in between her 2 favorite granddaughters at Little Brother's wedding in June. Isn't she perfect just the way she is?
*Side Note - this is about where the unmemorable wine just became too blagh for me to handle and I've switched to Malibu & Diet. Holly bought me a bottle that we were supposed to dip into while she was here in loving memory of our days in London. Unfortunately, we ran out of time while she was here. Fortunately, it's helping the "stream of consiousness" rambling that this entry is characterized by. Go Rum!
Running
Oh, right! THAT'S what this blog is all about. So, I guess I'll ramble about running a bit. Except that it's hard to do that when I haven't been running. Hardly at all. Here's how it's been on hiatus: I've run 10 miles every Sunday, hiked to Maunawili Falls once, and done the surfing thing every weekend. I'm really, REALLY hoping that this is one of those situations where I hit it this week and my body is like "YEAH!!! Go Ash! Thanks for the nice little break, I'm ready to do whatever you want me to!" Hey, it could happen right? Either I'm going to be amazing, or I'm going to hate the next week or two while my body gets back into it. I can say, however, that 10 miles anymore does NOT suck like it once did. In fact, I might almost be able to say that running 10 miles is no biggie (even hungover! ha!) And shoot, I still have 4 months and 12 days until this Marathon goes down, so I'm still waaaay ahead of the power curve. Now, there will come a day very soon when that whole "I have TONS of time" fallback will no longer work. But for now I can honestly say that I'm not worried about being unprepared come race day.
While we're on the topic, here's my tentative schedule for the week:
Monday - XTrain. Beautiful Tif brought me a copy of "Ab Ripper" one of those P90X things or something. My goal is to do that tomorrow morning before work to get back on the track to hard core, and then do some pansy cardio at the gym (pansy cardio includes stationary bikes, elipticals, stair steppers, and the like) in the afternoon.
Tuesday - Dun Dun DUUUUN! Dreaded Tuesday Track Day. 8x800, all faster than 3:30 with a 2 min. recovery, sandwiched by a mile warm up and cool down. Can she do it after 3 weeks off the track? Stay tuned...
Wednesday - Whatever comes my way. 6-8 easy miles most likely.
Thursday - Hill day. If there is a measure of fitness gained/lost it's this day. We'll see how it goes.
Friday - This used to be a complete rest day, but since Saturday a.m. surfing has usurped Saturday a.m. running, I need to fill Friday with some time of running so I don't have too many rest days. Maybe a nice little yog with the dogs after work and before my Friday night date with Don Draper and wine? ;) Any suggestions would be good.
Saturday - My new favorite reason to wake up at 5 a.m. on Saturday. Makes me wonder how I survived with my surfboard in storage in Utah for so long. Also makes me wonder if maybe Sally the Surfboard doesn't need a friend....hmmmm ;)
Sunday - 13.1 miles next week. I'm doing half. Go me. But I hear the first half of a marathon is the easy half...
Ok, well. I guess that's just enough rambling. The rum is telling me stop writing and go paint or something. I shall leave you with this, lovely blog followers. It's the official theme song of Estrogenfest 2010 and evidently has no music video but no matter. It's a darn catchy tune and conveniently comes on the radio out here once every 20 minutes.
(I also LOVE how this broad has thighs that make mine look skinny. You go girl. Own it)
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