4/29/10

Today's run: 3 miles

Week to date: 12 miles

Month to date: 37 miles.

Nothing really special to report. Just the longest three miles of my life.

4/28/10

Today's run: 5 miles

Week to date: 9 miles

Month to date: 34 miles

I woke up this morning not feeling the greatest. I'll spare the details, but I was and am still not quite 100%. I knew I had no choice and I had to run today, the key was just going to be to listen to my body when I was out there and go from there.

It took until about noon to even get that far. But, I did get out the door, promising myself that I would at least make it 3. I had my iPod cranked and damnit, I was going to get through this. I got out there, and I actually felt pretty good. I mean, my issue that was making me worry about this run was a non-issue. However, I still wasn't sure if I was going to commit to the whole 5.

The moment of truth came--the turn around point for 3 miles. And, about 30 seconds before I hit that point, my iPod stepped in to help me make the decision. Yes, I am that girl who has her college fight song on her iPod, and it started playing at that moment. How can you wuss out when you have your fight song playing? The answer is "you can't." So, full 5 it was. And, it was good. Slow, quite slow actually, but I did it again! I was, however, very overdressed. It was about 55 degrees, despite what weather.com told me, and long pants and a 3/4 sleeve shirt was too much. Oh well. Live and learn.

:)

4/27/10

Today's run: 4 miles

Week to date: 4 miles

Month to date: 29 miles

Well, last week ended up being a fail in the running department. Between party planning, hangovers, and forgetful packing, I wound up not running again after Monday. Yesterday I didn't get home until almost 10, so no run then either.

However, I am officially off long-term subbing, so I didn't have work today. Boo in the financial department, but yay in the running department! It was gorgeous but cold, and I did a pretty nice 4 miles. :)

I may regret it later, but I'm going to try to pack in the miles in this 3 day span here. Friday I'm going downstate right from school, so I don't know if a run is in the cards there, and with my sister's graduation I'm not sure where running will fit in the whole weekend.

OK, off to eat. Have fun kids!

Penciled in...

Well, I have my first two races of the year written on my calendar, thus making them in the "I AM doing these, so things will be worked around these days, and I'm sending in payment when I get my next check!" category.

These are:

-The aforementioned Hope Starts Here challenge 5K here in Marquette on May 8.

-The "Run Your Bass Off" 10 K in Crystal Falls, MI on July 11. This one was added because 1) the name cracks me up, 2)it's on a weekend where there's nothing going on at the park, 3) I most likely won't make it home for Cherry Festival so this fills in a bit of that void for me, and 4) I think at that point I'll be more than ready for a 10K.

I was toying with the idea of running another 5K here this weekend, but I decided against it, due to financial constraints, the desire to do another 5 miler Saturday, and my roommate's cocktail party bridal shower the night before. So, yeah. No 5K for me this weekend. Instead, hopefully another good 5 miler, then the boy is taking me for a 2 mile loop in Houghton on Sunday. Ohhh boy...

No run today. I wussed out of the cold in favor of an hour of WiiFit and my nice, warm apartment (oh, and the beans I was soaking/starting to cook, too).

That's all. Have fun, kids!

4/19/10

Today's run: 4 miles

Week to date: 6 miles

Month to date: 25 miles

I needed a change of pace today. I had to go to Biolife to get blood drawn (I had to get re-tested for my quarterly protein test), and I figured I could just run from there, since they're right on the lakeshore trail. So, I ran to and then around Presque Isle. It was gorgeous. A great change of pace. I should have brought my camera and taken a few pics, because it was so great. :D If I ever need a reason to remind myself why I stayed here after graduation, I just need to go to Presque. I live somewhere very, very beautiful. :)

However, I don't know if 4 miles was the best idea. After about 2, my knees started acting up again. Nothing so bad that I couldn't finish, and I can walk without limping. It's just a minor discomfort that I do not want to see become a major discomfort. So, tonight is ice (and an a treat--I'm craving a sweet, and I've been doing very well with eating lately so I believe I've earned it!) Tomorrow, day off and more ice. Wednesday will be something short and easy.

Now, do I want to go get a cupcake somewhere, or should I eat the turnover I have here...? :D

4/18/10

Today's run: 2 miles

Week to date: 2 miles

Month to date: 21 miles

So, remember yesterday's mildly pain-free, pretty great long run? Well, today's run was, well... yeah. The boy is here visiting, and he and I ran together again. Yeah. About a half mile in, my knee began hurting. I toughed it out, and we finished in a fast-for-me 17:59. Yeah, that was cool, but here's the aftermath:

Oh, hello, bag of frozen peas. (And, once again, pardon the pit of an apartment. I REALLY need to get to cleaning.) Yay, ice.

But, hey--17:59. Technically sub-9, or damn close. Awesome. And, I wish I would have snapped a picture of us before we went out: he was in a Michigan Tech sweatshirt, and I was in an NMU sweatshirt. Classic us.

OK, shower and food, go. Have fun, kids!

4/17/10

Today's run: 5 miles

Week to date: 12 miles

Month to date: 19 miles

Yesterday, the run didn't happen. The carpool didn't leave and I didn't get home early enough to be able to run, shower, and get to work at the arena on time. Sad times.

Today, I made up for it. I KNEW today was going to be my long run for the week, but I was thinking 4 miles. However, I got motivated. I saw that my friends over at Team Baby Dinosaurhad just completed a 5 mile run (and congrats, you two! That's awesome!) And, I thought, "Well, Lindsey Ann, if they can, don't you think you can, too?" Of course I can!

Part two of the motivation came today. I saw the weather--cold, gloomy, windy as heck, generally gross. I KNEW I needed to run, but the motivation was SEVERELY lacking. So, I texted Coach Mom and Running Club Pres Little Sister with the following:

"It's cold and windy and gross outside and I don't wanna run. Tell me something motivating so I don't slack, please."

About 45 minutes later, Little Sister and a good chunk of her running club friends called me. Lots of "just go do it", "just get outside and do something", "you'll always regret the times you don't run, but you'll never regret the times you do", and "Go, Fifi, go! Go, Fifi, go!" (Old nickname, don't ask). Awesome. So awesome!

I needed one more boost, though. And, since it was cold, I knew just the thing:

All Star toque! :D Look at me, all fired up!

So, I set out. I took it SLOW. I wasn't worrying about time, I was just shooting to finish this. It was windy. It was cold. But I just didn't care. It was actually quite fun. And, at no point did I think, "whoa, I'm not going to be able to finish this." I was in a bit of pain--my knees started to bug me around mile 3, but nothing bad where I couldn't keep going.

And, I did it! No post-run photos, because I called my sister as soon as I cooled down (she had some, ahem, "recipe" questions for me.)

OK, I need some food, and goodness gracious do I need a shower! Have fun, kids!

4/15/10

Today's run: 2 miles (19:34)

Week to date: 7 miles

Month to date: 14 miles

(Heh, that's neat--half of my miles for this month have just been in this week.)

Happy Tax Day! Though, I've had mine filed, returned, and spent for about 2 months now. Eh, oh well.

So, today was DEFINITELY spring. Hell, it almost felt like Marquette summer. Warm, muggy, puddles from a recent rain. (There are even baby leaf buds on the trees! That's UNHEARD of for this time of year up here!) It slowed me down a bit from yesterday, but oh well. Considering I wasn't even going to run today because I had a plasma donation scheduled, I'll still take it. (I donate plasma twice a week for some extra money. It's an easy process, and not too hard on your body if you take care of yourself properly. But, today was a stressful day, and I did not feel like sitting in a chair hooked up to a needle for an hour, and I do not like running after I do that because I'm a little dehydrated, so I opted out of my appointment and burned off some stress instead.

My outfit was kind of ridiculous. I am an NMU grad and a Wildcat through and through, but I was covered in another logo today:

(Pardon the messy apartment). Yup, I was covered in Grand Valley gear (courtesy of my younger sister.) I'm sporting the GVRC '10 t-shirt and a pair of GVSU track shorts. I really do like both the items (the shorts are freaking awesome), I just felt funny. And, heck, at least it's not Michigan Tech stuff!

Tomorrow might be an off day. It will all depend on what time I get home from school, because I have to work at the arena. Any time before 3:45, I could probably sneak in another quick 2. We shall see.

Wii Fit time!

4/14/10

Today's run: 2 miles

Week to date: 5 miles

Month to date: 12 miles

OK, first--I finally figured out that the strange, reddish USB mystery device that came with my little pink Sony Cybershot is actually a memory stick/card reader! Having lost the cords for my camera literally 2 months after I got the camera (summer '08), I am so psyched about this. And now, I can add pictures to this bad boy blog! :D

Today's run was meh. A pretty generic 2 miles, 18:45. I'm happy to be back sub-10min miles again, but the slow but steady is still frustrating.

Another slow but steady complaint: I am NOT doing this purely to lose weight, but I do have a short term goal weight I'd like to achieve. That, too, is taking fooorrreeevvveeerrr to achieve. I'm down 2 from where I started about a month ago, and I'm halfway to the short term of 4 pounds. Long term, 8 total. I'm hoping it doesn't take me another month to lose these next 2 pounds. In fact, I'm hoping it's 2 weeks. But, again, this is NOT my main focus. It's a side journey. Overall, a healthy lifestyle is what I'm REALLY shooting for here. Being ready to run a half marathon sometime in the near-ish future is what my real goal is.

And, you know what? Despite the random 5 inches of snow we got late last week, I think spring might really be here this time! Today is just downright beautiful. :)

OK, time to make something for dinner. This whole healthy eating this is a fun challenge. I'm loving it!

4/12/10

Today's run: 3 miles

Week to date: 3 miles

Month to date: 10 miles

Last Friday, I went to Wal*Mart in Houghton with my boyfriend, Brandon. While he wandered off to find something he needed back in Electronics, I took care of a bit of shopping of my own. I was actually looking to find a pair of inexpensive sunglasses to replace the pair I thought I lost (I since found them, for the record). Well, my sunglasses mission failed, but I did look over and see where they had a watch/waterbottle combination for $5. I thought that was pretty sweet, since I needed both.

Well, today I tried out my $5 wonder watch. Funny story: it doesn't have a timer function. Yup. So, I had to improvise using the clock time by setting the watch to 12:00:00 and going from there. Eh, it could be worse! And, I broke 30 for 3 miles! 29:04. I'm getting there. Slowly but surely, I am getting there!

More rambling: on insecurities and hunger

I want to go back to Saturday. Yeah, it's Wednesday, but I want to go back and talk about Saturday.

Well, kind of. I'll start by saying that, despite four years and eight seasons of running on a team, I am very much a solo exerciser. Why? Insecurity. Straight up. I'm still the self-conscious teenage girl inside, a little afraid of the strange noises I make pushing up a hill, afraid of how strange I may look trying to hit the yoga pose, afraid of how it looks when I modify a strength exercise so I can complete it at this point in my fitness. I just want to do it, I don't want someone there to call me out on these things, because I will shut down. Completely.

So, Saturday, I got brave. Sort of. I let the boyfriend, Brandon, in on this. I ran with him. I showed him WiiFit and did all the awkward yoga posing. Hell, I even did the body test right there in front of him and weighed in. Did I make some strange noises running up the last hill after trying to keep up with him? You bet I did. Did I look like a complete wreck when we finished? Oh yes. Did he laugh at me a bit when I tried the Tree pose? Probably, I was more like "hurricane force winds tree" with how much I was wobbling around. Does he think less of me because I weighed in at 128* instead of 118? Not that he let on.

*this was after dinner, and I was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. I'm actually closer to 125 as per the other weigh ins before and since then.

Moreover: did it kill me? No.

But, despite all this, I still jumped off the Wii like it was on fire the second my roommate got home today. (OK, not really, but I cut my workout short). So, did I learn anything from my experience Saturday? I don't know, but that instinct thought of "Oh no, she's gonna see me, get off get off get off!" hit so quickly I just jumped as soon as the activity I was doing ended and put the board away. I need to get past that.

Moving on. Hunger. OK. So, in my last entry I talked about how I was working on eating healthier. And I am. However, I have noticed that I am SIGNIFICANTLY more hungry, especially in the last week or so. Increased activity level? Probably. And I'm not openly trying to deny myself or anything. I'm still eating what looks like a big meal to me, it's just a big meal of veggies and protein instead of simple carbs and fatty foods. Then, I'll finish that big meal and STILL be hungry. "OK," I think, "maybe I just need to wait it out, maybe it just hasn't hit yet that I'm actually full." Nope, 20 minutes later my stomach is still rumbling. Drink some water? Nope. I'm never satisfied. I've done a passable job, I think, of trying to avoid the over-snacking to fill up (a rather large bowl of Cinnamon Life Monday night when I could not take it anymore not withstanding), but I'm starting to get super annoyed. Why am I THIS hungry? Argh.

OK, I'm done.

4/5/10... and some ramblings

Today's run: 3 miles
Week to date: 3 miles

Month to date: 7 miles

OK, blog. I have a lot to talk about, and a Spring Break day off to do it. Get some coffee and settle in.

1. I am really really really really working on my eating. I'm not going to say diet just because of the connotations behind it. I'm going to say eating. I, like just about every other person of the female persuasion, have struggled with food, eating, and body issues. I fall in to the classic trap of interpreting calories as pounds, and eating healthy = eating as few calories as possible. I would play with this all the time during undergrad and, OK, I got the number on the scale down. However, I felt like garbage most of the time. I was sick constantly, I had no energy unless I constantly downed caffeine, and really? I didn't look all that good. I looked as sick as I felt most of the time. Moreover, I was not happy at all. I was pretty miserable, and you could tell. There were other factors figuring in to that, but that was a big player.

Now, being in a better place overall with my life, I'm really working on getting past that. Should I be eating a 2,000 calorie diet? At this point, probably not. I'm active, but not active to that point where someone my size would really need that kind of calorie volume. However, I need more than the 800-1000 I would allot myself back then. And, moreover, I'm trying to shift the focus from the numbers attached to what I'm eating over to the actual foods I'm eating. Fruits, veggies, lean proteins, whole grains, you've heard all this from every nutrition/healthy eating source ever. Being definitely on the poorer end of things, it is SO easy to fall in to the cheap foods trap, just to walk out with more in my bags. However, am I truly being nourished by that bowl of ramen? Do I feel satisfied? What am I really putting in my system by eating that? OK, I can spend $2.00 and walk out with 10 meals of noodles and salt. Or, I can spend a bit more, invest in some healthier options, and truly feel satisfied both in terms of being satiated but in being nourished as well, knowing I put something better in my system.

(Side note: the boyfriend and I have a tendency to eat out a lot together, usually fast food. However, we officially took McDonalds off the list, after my last two experiences of eating there completely destroyed my stomach. Jimmy Johns as well is on the list to be cut unless it's a very special treat.)

2. My mother is a track and cross country coach, and my sister is about to graduate with a degree in Movement Science. I've been talking to the both of them, and the more I do, the more I'm thinking that the half marathon might be pushed back to 2011. Why? Well, the overall consensus has been that ramping up my mileage that quickly could be a potential disaster, especially given my particular physiology. Could I train for and complete a half marathon this year? "Absolutely," said Coach Mom, "but I could see you having a more positive experience with it if you spent the next year slowly increasing your mileage to where you're consistently putting in 25 miles a week, and maybe doing a few 10Ks first." She has a great point. So, what now? On to part 3...

3. Starting to look at races for the summer season. I've found 2 5K's I'd like to do, one in early May and one in late May, both with interesting aspects.

The first is on May 8, and it's the Hope Starts Here Challenge. It's traditionally been a cycling event, but they're adding running races this year. This hits close to home because one of my uncles had a brain tumor (he's been cancer free for 10 years next year!), so this is a cause that means something to me.

The second is on May 22, and it's just a bit more fun than the first. It's a race fundraiser for the United Way in my boyfriend's hometown of Merrill, WI. The fun part is that the athletic club that is essentially putting it on is right across the street from his parents' house. That just makes it fun in that I can wake up, get dressed, and walk across the street to the race area/starting line.

From there, who knows. My summer plans got a little hazy in the last few weeks, so I'm going to figure out things after that point. I know that if I can make it home in July I'd like to do the Cherry Festival races, but that is TBD at this point as June is going to be CRAZY in terms of travel with my Brother's high school graduation and my roommate's wedding a week later.

So, yeah. That's all I've got at this point.

4/3/10

Well, today brought a new adventure: I ran with the boyfriend. He and I had been talking about doing this for a long time, but it's never really come to fruition. Well, today we finally ran together. Ho.Ly.Freaking.Hell. Uh, yeah, he's a bit faster than me. I tried to stay with him, but I died at the end while he took off. Yeah. But, I think if I ever want to work on speed, I just need to run with him.

4/2/10

Spring Break '10!

Ok, yeah. Not really--I'm a) not going anywhere (unless home with the boyfriend next weekend counts); b) still working a couple days next week at the arena taking the ice out; c) realizing that this spring weather is supposed to end and it's going to be in the 40's and rainy. Awesome.

Oh well--TODAY is beautiful. My run today actually felt really great considering I had just a liiiittle too much wine last night and I wasn't feeling well for other reasons, too. I felt like garbage when I left and I felt like garbage when I got back, but when I was out there I felt pretty great.

So, yeah.