I've tried to write this blog a few times in my head but each time it just makes me kind of sad. I guess I should be happy that I finished my second marathon, and that I had a chance to see all of those people doing their best to finish. When I originally ran Disney I was completely inspired by the crowds and I had expected to feel that same way in DC but there was just something missing. The crowd was great, don't get me wrong but I lost my heart.
After all of my training I did everything wrong. I started off too fast. I suspect I averaged less than a 9 minute mile for the first 14 miles. To put this in perspective I was trying to do a 4 hour marathon which would have been 9:10 miles. I was probably about 20 - 40 seconds faster than I should have been and it caught up with me. It's funny how you feel so good one mile and then the next you feel it starting to slip and you think that the second wind is just around the corner.
I made it to mile 17 on the hope that I would get that second wind, all the time while watching my GPS watch track me slower and slower, and then my head came into the game. I should say that I had wonderful people who were running the race with me and that I had met, through them, a wonderful group of people who had come out to support us. But suddenly at mile 17 I felt very alone and I started to wonder why I was doing this. I had already done this once before, what did I have to prove? Who was waiting for me at the finish line that knew how many hours I had put into training? So I walked and I cried.. and to me that was defeat. I like to think that I am invincible and facing the fact that I'm not is a sore subject. I started to think of all the people I was letting down by walking and how much I was letting myself down. When I would try to run I would be at 10:30, 11:00, 12:00 and then the cramping would start again.
I can't remember how much I walked in those last 9 miles. It seems like it was more walking but I haven't reviewed the data from my watch yet. At mile 25 I was determined to 'run' the last 1.2 so I shuffled. At one point I felt kind of like I was dragging my leg behind me and wondered if it would be appropriate to break out into the Thriller dance since it was Halloween and all. The memorials and monuments I passed are kind of hazy. There was a washington monument or something, a whitehouse lawn where some dude lives. The Federal Reserve which probably holds a bunch of money... I wasn't even really inspired to see Iwo Jima at the end. I was just done. I was beat, bruised, and for some reason I still didn't think it was a good time to eat.
When you start a marathon you are treated like GOLD.. everyone is all about you, the runner. When you finish the marathon you are just herded like cattle and plopped out on a street hoping that you can find the people you are supposed to meet up with. Oh and that bag we so graciously brought to the finish for you?? Yeah it's about a half mile down the road, just walk down there. By the way, here's an 8 oz bottle of water for you and a rotten banana. The shuttles to the hotel? They are about a half mile too but be warned that the line to get on the shuttle is literally a mile long and if you want to take the metro.. it's closed due to all the people? A Taxi, sorry they are all taken. You could just walk 3 miles back to the hotel though.
I spent about 2 hours shivering on the ground somewhere while NOONE offered to help. I had about 5 mental breakdowns and 1 fit of near vomiting. I managed to not vomit until I was finally reunited with my group of people and we were able to get a taxi who took us on the usual fear-for-your-life taxi ride back to the hotel. I thought I might die, not from the taxi ride, but just from how horrible I felt.
I did get my medal at the finish line.. how bittersweet... more bitter. I'm better now but my pride is still hurt. It's going to be a long, long time before I consider another marathon. Don't let my story deter you from yours. I had a great time at Disney. I just made too many mistakes at MCM that lead to all of this. I should have listened to myself when I thought I should slow down at mile 5 and this probably all could have been avoided.
Anyway, that's my MCM story.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Realizations
My marathon is on Halloween, which is about 3 weeks away. I have a different feeling about this one that I did my first one. Things are going well as far as training and I'm pretty sure that I will make it to race day without having any injuries but this has come at a price.. weight gain.
When I signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon I decided to suck it up and go 'down' to a Novice III program from Hal Higdon instead of the Advanced I that I did before. My main reasoning was because Novice III had me running 3 days a week as opposed to 5 and it had me training longer (24 weeks instead of 18). This meant that I would have less wear and tear on my legs and I would get to rest them more. What I didn't realize was that it would mean essentially mean that I was doing steady state cardio for 4 months on top of not having as much time to workout due to my crazy schedule.
Hence, 6 lbs. I weigh more than I have in years and I'm highly disturbed by this. At this point, I have 3 weeks of training left and I am injury free so I don't want to start doing all kinds of crazy intense plyo to get the weight off. I just want to make it through the marathon and then I am going back to plyo, intervals, weights, and running 5 days a week. I can't wait to get back into it. I'm sorry to say no more marathons for a long while. I will be doing some halfs but those are manageable. I may be hanging up my marathon shoes.. it kind of makes me feel like a failure to say that but then again it's not too shabby to run 26.2 miles twice, 20 miles 4 times, 18 miles 3 times, over 15... countless.. 13.1.. pssshhhtt.. that's nothing.
I will let you know how MCM goes.. I suspect I will be just fine.
When I signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon I decided to suck it up and go 'down' to a Novice III program from Hal Higdon instead of the Advanced I that I did before. My main reasoning was because Novice III had me running 3 days a week as opposed to 5 and it had me training longer (24 weeks instead of 18). This meant that I would have less wear and tear on my legs and I would get to rest them more. What I didn't realize was that it would mean essentially mean that I was doing steady state cardio for 4 months on top of not having as much time to workout due to my crazy schedule.
Hence, 6 lbs. I weigh more than I have in years and I'm highly disturbed by this. At this point, I have 3 weeks of training left and I am injury free so I don't want to start doing all kinds of crazy intense plyo to get the weight off. I just want to make it through the marathon and then I am going back to plyo, intervals, weights, and running 5 days a week. I can't wait to get back into it. I'm sorry to say no more marathons for a long while. I will be doing some halfs but those are manageable. I may be hanging up my marathon shoes.. it kind of makes me feel like a failure to say that but then again it's not too shabby to run 26.2 miles twice, 20 miles 4 times, 18 miles 3 times, over 15... countless.. 13.1.. pssshhhtt.. that's nothing.
I will let you know how MCM goes.. I suspect I will be just fine.
Friday, September 10, 2010
No Time
I haven't blogged in a long time... why? Because I have no time. Having a full time and a part time job becomes quite the time sucker. I don't have time to cut my grass or do any of those other necessary 'around the house' things. I had to have someone cut my grass for me yesterday (it looks f-ing AMAZING.. I LOVE a good edge).
This past weekend I drove up to Virginia Beach to run the Rock N Roll half marathon. It kind of coincided with my week in my full marathon training schedule that had a half marathon training run. The trip was pretty uneventful. I missed the post race concert of Pat Benetar because of parking issues and managed to hear all of her best hits from my car on the Blvd. I might as well have had my Ipod in.. sheesh. The run went well I guess... I'm never really happy with my performance. Overall I finished in 1:50:15 which equals out to 8:25 per mile. I wanted 1:45:00 but my stupid legs just wouldn't go that fast. I just got my email about my race photos which I am always excited about to see if they got my infamous 'disney' pose.. the answer is NO. Not only did they NOT get my disney pose.. they hardly got me at all. I had 3 crappy images of me at the finish line and that's it. I saw NO photgraphers along the course whatsoever.. come'on people! This is what I got:
Where's WALDO??? There were two others but this was the 'best' one. I'm sorry but that's lame. I paid 85.00 for this shizz and I DIDN'T get to see Pat Benetar and I didn't get any race photos. I did get a cute medal and Shannon, Josh, and Nate managed to get some pretty good photos of Me, Sarah, and Nancy post-race.
Overall we all ROCKED the Rock N Roll half marathon. It was Nancy and Sarahs first experience with the half marathon. Awesome job ladies!
Full marathon training is at it's peak.. meaning 20 mile runs. I have one set for tomorrow. Me, a treadmill, some gummy bears, and gatorade. Sit back folks, I'm going to be here for a while.
That's all for now.. toodalooo
This past weekend I drove up to Virginia Beach to run the Rock N Roll half marathon. It kind of coincided with my week in my full marathon training schedule that had a half marathon training run. The trip was pretty uneventful. I missed the post race concert of Pat Benetar because of parking issues and managed to hear all of her best hits from my car on the Blvd. I might as well have had my Ipod in.. sheesh. The run went well I guess... I'm never really happy with my performance. Overall I finished in 1:50:15 which equals out to 8:25 per mile. I wanted 1:45:00 but my stupid legs just wouldn't go that fast. I just got my email about my race photos which I am always excited about to see if they got my infamous 'disney' pose.. the answer is NO. Not only did they NOT get my disney pose.. they hardly got me at all. I had 3 crappy images of me at the finish line and that's it. I saw NO photgraphers along the course whatsoever.. come'on people! This is what I got:
Where's WALDO??? There were two others but this was the 'best' one. I'm sorry but that's lame. I paid 85.00 for this shizz and I DIDN'T get to see Pat Benetar and I didn't get any race photos. I did get a cute medal and Shannon, Josh, and Nate managed to get some pretty good photos of Me, Sarah, and Nancy post-race.
Overall we all ROCKED the Rock N Roll half marathon. It was Nancy and Sarahs first experience with the half marathon. Awesome job ladies!
Full marathon training is at it's peak.. meaning 20 mile runs. I have one set for tomorrow. Me, a treadmill, some gummy bears, and gatorade. Sit back folks, I'm going to be here for a while.
That's all for now.. toodalooo
Friday, August 20, 2010
Berry-tarian
Hi my name is Jeanette; I LOVE strawberries and I hoard them. If I am at a wedding, a party, a dinner and there are strawberries present.. you can bet that I am there taking them and going back for seconds. Strawberries as a garnish are also subject to my obsession, once upon a time I took strawberries off of the top of a wedding cake (in my defense I was too enticed by the strawberries to notice that the white chocolate box that housed them was the cake.. and I LOVE cake!).
I have come the decision that I could very well be a Berrytarian. I could eat nothing but berries all day (this includes raspberries, blackberries as well but strawberries are my all time favorite). I'd probably have to work in some protein shakes, but that's cool because I can make them with strawberries.
Now, imagine my happiness when I got a job working at a hotel only to find that this place has a seemingly endless supplies of strawberries, even outside of strawberry season (also known as HELL). I can walk into our cafeteria and find a huge bowl of strawberries just sitting there for the taking. Chocolate covered strawberries constantly habitate the dessert fridge and they call my name. I always pretend like I am going to share the chocolate covered ones with Elizabeth, but she's not quick enough on the draw and I eat 5 and she eats 1. Often I will be eating my lunch and a huge tray loaded with bowls of strawberries and blueberries (I forgot to mention those above) will appear out the kitchen with rays of light from God (or Chef Paul). At that time I make an immediate move to stake my claim; I am always the first up but that COULD be because I knock people over on the way to be first. I find this normal, however I've discovered that other people do not. Apparently not everyone thinks that strawberries are the most delicious and wonderful fruit ever to be in existence in the Universe. Yes UNIVERSE! And not everyone thinks you should take all of the strawberries, and not everyone thinks that getting your turn at the strawberries is worthy of running people over.. what terrorists!
Also, I have found that it's not normal for people to imagine that somewhere in the hotel there is a large room filled with nothing but strawberries and to daydream about finding that room and eating them like this:
In reality they would be more smashed all over my face but I couldn't find a picture to depict this, note to readers DO NOT google images for 'strawberry face' it is not fruit related and it is not pretty.
I don't know what I was robbed of in my childhood to make me love strawberries so much. I also always feel like I DESERVE the strawberries more than anybody else and that I have a right to take as many as I want.
If I could only find that secret room here at the hotel... I'd eat my pay in strawberries and probably stay relatively thin. I suspect that soon I will get lured to this 'room' only to find my family, friends, and people who have been trampled by me waiting with letters about how much they love me.. they will say what they have to say and then I will say what I have to say.
I have come the decision that I could very well be a Berrytarian. I could eat nothing but berries all day (this includes raspberries, blackberries as well but strawberries are my all time favorite). I'd probably have to work in some protein shakes, but that's cool because I can make them with strawberries.
Now, imagine my happiness when I got a job working at a hotel only to find that this place has a seemingly endless supplies of strawberries, even outside of strawberry season (also known as HELL). I can walk into our cafeteria and find a huge bowl of strawberries just sitting there for the taking. Chocolate covered strawberries constantly habitate the dessert fridge and they call my name. I always pretend like I am going to share the chocolate covered ones with Elizabeth, but she's not quick enough on the draw and I eat 5 and she eats 1. Often I will be eating my lunch and a huge tray loaded with bowls of strawberries and blueberries (I forgot to mention those above) will appear out the kitchen with rays of light from God (or Chef Paul). At that time I make an immediate move to stake my claim; I am always the first up but that COULD be because I knock people over on the way to be first. I find this normal, however I've discovered that other people do not. Apparently not everyone thinks that strawberries are the most delicious and wonderful fruit ever to be in existence in the Universe. Yes UNIVERSE! And not everyone thinks you should take all of the strawberries, and not everyone thinks that getting your turn at the strawberries is worthy of running people over.. what terrorists!
Also, I have found that it's not normal for people to imagine that somewhere in the hotel there is a large room filled with nothing but strawberries and to daydream about finding that room and eating them like this:
In reality they would be more smashed all over my face but I couldn't find a picture to depict this, note to readers DO NOT google images for 'strawberry face' it is not fruit related and it is not pretty.
I don't know what I was robbed of in my childhood to make me love strawberries so much. I also always feel like I DESERVE the strawberries more than anybody else and that I have a right to take as many as I want.
If I could only find that secret room here at the hotel... I'd eat my pay in strawberries and probably stay relatively thin. I suspect that soon I will get lured to this 'room' only to find my family, friends, and people who have been trampled by me waiting with letters about how much they love me.. they will say what they have to say and then I will say what I have to say.
Monday, August 16, 2010
I'm BIG
Do you remember watching the Tom Hanks movie Big when you were growing up? I loved that movie. I think it was one of the first movies I saw that gave me an impression of what it would be like to be an adult and have a job. It was so cool that he got to go meetings, use a computer, sit in a cubicle, then have an office. He had to review reports, play with silly string, jump around on a big piano.... what a wonderful view of corporate America.
I realized a little while ago that this has become the point in life that I am at. Now I regularly use words like 'phone conference', 'meetings', and 'reports' and to be honest, I'm kind of disappointed. I remember when I couldn't wait to be able to use a computer for something. I literally used to keep a picture of a keyboard in my closet and I would pretend type on it because I thought typing was the coolest thing you could do. Now I type all the time (duh) but it doesn't seem as important as it did back then. I let corporate America sneak up on me uneventfully and I think it's kind of sad. I've done all those things (minus the big piano) that Tom Hanks did in Big. I've reviewed reports, gone to meetings, used a computer, had a cubicle and most of the time, I had no idea what the fuck I was doing, just like Hanks. In time, though, I've grown and I've learned and now I often do know what the fuck I am doing. I kind of miss that feeling of being excited to type on stupid magazine picture of a keyboard. I miss that feeling of importance because I had to go to a meeting (please don't make me speak though or else you'll know that I'm full of shit). Now I just do these things on a daily basis. I've become the corporate schmuck that Tom Hanks worked with in the movie. How do I go back to being Tom Hanks, and what was his name in that movie??? I could google it yes.. but I don't want to. I'm off to print out my color, glossy picture of a keyboard to hang on my wall.
That post made me think of this... and it made me laugh
I realized a little while ago that this has become the point in life that I am at. Now I regularly use words like 'phone conference', 'meetings', and 'reports' and to be honest, I'm kind of disappointed. I remember when I couldn't wait to be able to use a computer for something. I literally used to keep a picture of a keyboard in my closet and I would pretend type on it because I thought typing was the coolest thing you could do. Now I type all the time (duh) but it doesn't seem as important as it did back then. I let corporate America sneak up on me uneventfully and I think it's kind of sad. I've done all those things (minus the big piano) that Tom Hanks did in Big. I've reviewed reports, gone to meetings, used a computer, had a cubicle and most of the time, I had no idea what the fuck I was doing, just like Hanks. In time, though, I've grown and I've learned and now I often do know what the fuck I am doing. I kind of miss that feeling of being excited to type on stupid magazine picture of a keyboard. I miss that feeling of importance because I had to go to a meeting (please don't make me speak though or else you'll know that I'm full of shit). Now I just do these things on a daily basis. I've become the corporate schmuck that Tom Hanks worked with in the movie. How do I go back to being Tom Hanks, and what was his name in that movie??? I could google it yes.. but I don't want to. I'm off to print out my color, glossy picture of a keyboard to hang on my wall.
That post made me think of this... and it made me laugh
Sunday, August 15, 2010
More new stuff in life
Soooo I found someone to be my roommate ( I hope). This is another new venture for me, besides Amber I haven't really had a roommate before. I'm taking it all in stride, of course this means I have to move a bunch of furniture around my house. Essshhh. Ok really I'm kind of nervous, but she seems cool. Let's hope it worked out.
I ran 17 miles yesterday (Saturday). On a whim I decided to do this in my neighborhood. I can comfortably run 8 miles without having to pass my house too much. This time I had to pass my house about 4 times. It was tough but I kind of enjoyed being close to home. I put my gummy bears and G2 on my porch so that I could refill when I passed by.
People always want to know how my run went. I understand this is a question of interest in what I am doing but really? How can you gauge running 17 miles? How does it go well? How does it not hurt? I hate it when I am 15 miles in and I pass by some person walking and I'm grunting and panting. I know they think that I'm weak and I'm slow and I just want to yell at them "I'VE RUN 15 MILES ASSHOLE, STOP JUDGING ME!!!". I never do because I'm just delirious and insane. I remember during my last marathon training I had this point where I had run out of gummy bears, my G2 was running dry, and I started to have shooting ankle pains. Like any normal person I started speaking into a pretend dictaphone as if I were writing my own memoir. How I would love to actually have that recording now. I wouldn't share it with you, but I would listen and laugh at myself. It was after that run that I learned to hide my gummies and G2 along the way for refills so I didn't get all Into the Wild again.
In a few weeks I will be running the Virgnia Beach Half Marathon. Pat Benetar and REO speedwagon will perform in the post race party. I hope it's not nearly as boring as the Myrtle Beach half marathon post race party. Marathoners are a bunch of BORES, that party was a 1 out 10 on a scale of fun where 10 is the most fun... and it had free beer and food!
Anyway, that's all for now. It's late and I have to go to bed. I have to teach bootcamp in the morning. I'm not spell checking this blog either so deal with it.
I ran 17 miles yesterday (Saturday). On a whim I decided to do this in my neighborhood. I can comfortably run 8 miles without having to pass my house too much. This time I had to pass my house about 4 times. It was tough but I kind of enjoyed being close to home. I put my gummy bears and G2 on my porch so that I could refill when I passed by.
People always want to know how my run went. I understand this is a question of interest in what I am doing but really? How can you gauge running 17 miles? How does it go well? How does it not hurt? I hate it when I am 15 miles in and I pass by some person walking and I'm grunting and panting. I know they think that I'm weak and I'm slow and I just want to yell at them "I'VE RUN 15 MILES ASSHOLE, STOP JUDGING ME!!!". I never do because I'm just delirious and insane. I remember during my last marathon training I had this point where I had run out of gummy bears, my G2 was running dry, and I started to have shooting ankle pains. Like any normal person I started speaking into a pretend dictaphone as if I were writing my own memoir. How I would love to actually have that recording now. I wouldn't share it with you, but I would listen and laugh at myself. It was after that run that I learned to hide my gummies and G2 along the way for refills so I didn't get all Into the Wild again.
In a few weeks I will be running the Virgnia Beach Half Marathon. Pat Benetar and REO speedwagon will perform in the post race party. I hope it's not nearly as boring as the Myrtle Beach half marathon post race party. Marathoners are a bunch of BORES, that party was a 1 out 10 on a scale of fun where 10 is the most fun... and it had free beer and food!
Anyway, that's all for now. It's late and I have to go to bed. I have to teach bootcamp in the morning. I'm not spell checking this blog either so deal with it.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Bootcampin It
I started instructing my first bootcamp on Monday and let me tell you.. it's tough to gauge how much someone you don't know likes or dislikes the level at which you are kicking their ass.
Since Monday I've gone back and forth hoping that they appreciated it and they are sore but not so sore that they never want to come back. Have I ever told you all that I tend to worry about anything and EVERYTHING???
Tonight is day 2 for this week. I hope see all 7 people return but I would be happy with the original 5 who signed up for the month. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
NEXT weekend I am hosting a free meetup bootcamp in Goose Creek for all ladies who would like to attend. It's at 9:15 a.m. at a park in Crowfield (have I already blogged this? It sounds really familiar!) If you're interested send me an email at fitlowcountry@gmail.com. I also have a website that I've created. Please don't be appalled at my website building (or lack thereof) abilities. I HAVE LIMITED TIME PEOPLE SO BACK OFF! (www.fitlowcountry.com, you can click on ads there too but I found out that I don't get paid until I have $100.00 worth of clicking. Right now I'm at $10.00 so I'm not holding my breath)
New random subject:
Today is grocery list day. Wednesday is the day that all the stores come out with new sales.. how frikkin' exciting! I have a list for Publix and a list for Harris Teeter. I'd like to give a big shout out to Bi-Lo for having NOTHING TO OFFER THIS WEEK! I do have .05 off my next purchase of gas though *Fist Bump*. It looks like it will be Harris Teeter London Broil and Ground Turkey on the menu this week. What healthy recipes shall I conjure up?? Sheesh.. who knows!
Since Monday I've gone back and forth hoping that they appreciated it and they are sore but not so sore that they never want to come back. Have I ever told you all that I tend to worry about anything and EVERYTHING???
Tonight is day 2 for this week. I hope see all 7 people return but I would be happy with the original 5 who signed up for the month. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
NEXT weekend I am hosting a free meetup bootcamp in Goose Creek for all ladies who would like to attend. It's at 9:15 a.m. at a park in Crowfield (have I already blogged this? It sounds really familiar!) If you're interested send me an email at fitlowcountry@gmail.com. I also have a website that I've created. Please don't be appalled at my website building (or lack thereof) abilities. I HAVE LIMITED TIME PEOPLE SO BACK OFF! (www.fitlowcountry.com, you can click on ads there too but I found out that I don't get paid until I have $100.00 worth of clicking. Right now I'm at $10.00 so I'm not holding my breath)
New random subject:
Today is grocery list day. Wednesday is the day that all the stores come out with new sales.. how frikkin' exciting! I have a list for Publix and a list for Harris Teeter. I'd like to give a big shout out to Bi-Lo for having NOTHING TO OFFER THIS WEEK! I do have .05 off my next purchase of gas though *Fist Bump*. It looks like it will be Harris Teeter London Broil and Ground Turkey on the menu this week. What healthy recipes shall I conjure up?? Sheesh.. who knows!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
New Venture
Well tomorrow starts my first official bootcamp class here in Goose Creek. As of now I have 5 women signed up. I've been obsessing, writing workouts, re-writing workouts, practicing workouts, obsessing. I'm feeling more confident now though.
I just put every piece of workout equipment in my car. I think that I will probably be getting worse gas mileage from all the weights, this could affect my 35.00 a week gas budget.
Anyway, if you want to come by and try out my bootcamp go to www.charlestonpersonaltrainer.net and sign up for a free one. I am also having a free weekend meetup bootcamp on 8/7/2010 in the park in Crowfield Plantation. I think it's for Ladies only as is my weekday bootcamp. Sorry dudes... no wieners allowed. You can find that RSVP at www.meetup.com, look for meetups in Goose Creek.
So the coupon-ing is going ok.. my buy of the week is .50 cent milk from Publix. I have to go tomorrow and get 2 cartons. On sale for 2.50 with a 2.00 off coupon... WHAT??? I haven't been too great with the budget overall. I've stuck to the grocery budget + 10.00. But I've been a little frivolous this week in preparation for bootcamp. I'm going to feel it next week. The gas budget is right on par but that's because I do the same thing every day.
Back to work tomorrow... bleh!!! Not that I don't like work I just want to get paid for sitting on my couch instead.
I have to go now and turn off the sprinklers. I have a bad habit of leaving them on all night.
Maybe next I will post about my lack of triathlon training and my complete hatred for biking...
PS. CLICK ON MY ADS... come back tomorrow and click some more. I am up to 3.98.. I'd like to at least get a chick fil a combo out of this nonsense. CLICKIE CLICKIE..
I just put every piece of workout equipment in my car. I think that I will probably be getting worse gas mileage from all the weights, this could affect my 35.00 a week gas budget.
Anyway, if you want to come by and try out my bootcamp go to www.charlestonpersonaltrainer.net and sign up for a free one. I am also having a free weekend meetup bootcamp on 8/7/2010 in the park in Crowfield Plantation. I think it's for Ladies only as is my weekday bootcamp. Sorry dudes... no wieners allowed. You can find that RSVP at www.meetup.com, look for meetups in Goose Creek.
So the coupon-ing is going ok.. my buy of the week is .50 cent milk from Publix. I have to go tomorrow and get 2 cartons. On sale for 2.50 with a 2.00 off coupon... WHAT??? I haven't been too great with the budget overall. I've stuck to the grocery budget + 10.00. But I've been a little frivolous this week in preparation for bootcamp. I'm going to feel it next week. The gas budget is right on par but that's because I do the same thing every day.
Back to work tomorrow... bleh!!! Not that I don't like work I just want to get paid for sitting on my couch instead.
I have to go now and turn off the sprinklers. I have a bad habit of leaving them on all night.
Maybe next I will post about my lack of triathlon training and my complete hatred for biking...
PS. CLICK ON MY ADS... come back tomorrow and click some more. I am up to 3.98.. I'd like to at least get a chick fil a combo out of this nonsense. CLICKIE CLICKIE..
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Grocery challenge
Well... as predicted I am completely over this whole grocery thing. I failed last week because of an unexpected trip to the store in which I had to buy specific non sale items. I ended up spending 42 in groceries for the week. I did it again this week because I had a specific meal in mind I had to make (see meatloaf reference below) I spent $15.00 in one trip and I still haven't filled my pantry. My problem is that I have NOTHING in my house so each week I have to buy enough to make me dinners for the week. They have to be healthy dinners too, that shit's not cheap. If this grocery budget starts making me fat it's going to have to go out the window.
There ain't shit on sale this week either. I will be over the $35.00 but I'm still overall doing much better in not eating out and grocery spending than I have been. I will keep it up but I'm NOT a good coupon organizer and spending an hour mix and matching my grocery list with different stores to travel too is exhausting. I miss being frivelous.
I mentioned in my last post that I had canceled cable. I have to say that unlike the grocery thing I think this is an awesome decision. With the help of a couple of laptops, some remote control software, HULU, and netflix.. I'm not really missing anything. I want to post some pictures but I don't have a phone with a camera anymore and I can't find my USB cable that fits in my camera. But believe me, the picture on the TV as I stream hulu from my 4 year old laptop is pretty amazing. (By the way, if you are reading this take some time and click on my ads to the right of my post. I want to see how much I get paid for having those. Perhaps sign up for a trial of netflix!). CLICK... CLICK... CLICK... come back and click again tomorrow.
How is it that I ran 13 miles today and I'm laying on the couch feeling like a super lard? My eating has been like shit. I literally had pasta (whole wheat, but still) for about 5 meals in a row this week. It could have also been the pizza and ice cream I ate yesterday. I'm in denial about my meatloaf and mashed potatoes because I used greek yogurt, sour cream, and low fat butter in the potatoes, and lean ground beef, fat free milk, and multigrain crackers in the meatloaf. Did I mention it was AWESOME?
I think this post is lame so I'm ending it. How the hell do you spell SIANARA? Whatever, I dont care you know what I mean.
There ain't shit on sale this week either. I will be over the $35.00 but I'm still overall doing much better in not eating out and grocery spending than I have been. I will keep it up but I'm NOT a good coupon organizer and spending an hour mix and matching my grocery list with different stores to travel too is exhausting. I miss being frivelous.
I mentioned in my last post that I had canceled cable. I have to say that unlike the grocery thing I think this is an awesome decision. With the help of a couple of laptops, some remote control software, HULU, and netflix.. I'm not really missing anything. I want to post some pictures but I don't have a phone with a camera anymore and I can't find my USB cable that fits in my camera. But believe me, the picture on the TV as I stream hulu from my 4 year old laptop is pretty amazing. (By the way, if you are reading this take some time and click on my ads to the right of my post. I want to see how much I get paid for having those. Perhaps sign up for a trial of netflix!). CLICK... CLICK... CLICK... come back and click again tomorrow.
How is it that I ran 13 miles today and I'm laying on the couch feeling like a super lard? My eating has been like shit. I literally had pasta (whole wheat, but still) for about 5 meals in a row this week. It could have also been the pizza and ice cream I ate yesterday. I'm in denial about my meatloaf and mashed potatoes because I used greek yogurt, sour cream, and low fat butter in the potatoes, and lean ground beef, fat free milk, and multigrain crackers in the meatloaf. Did I mention it was AWESOME?
I think this post is lame so I'm ending it. How the hell do you spell SIANARA? Whatever, I dont care you know what I mean.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
$70.00 a week
So I'm testing myself to see if I can live off of $70.00 cash a week. This amount would cover both groceries and gas for a whole week from Thursday to Thursday. Based on my 6 month budget from Mint.com I have determined that at the current gas prices I have spent approximately $35.00 in gas per week. Groceries... I spend a LOT more! Every Thursday I will remove $70.00 cash from the ATM (although they don't give it out in $10.00 increments so it will be more like $60.00). Half that goes to gas and half to groceries. This means I have to pay for my gas BEFORE pumping.
I've figured out that at the lowest point ever I have had to fill up with 11.5 gallons of gas. I average 30 miles a gallon and when my gas light comes on I can get up to 320 miles safely. Based on this I plan on putting 11 gallons in the tank (multiply gas price x 11) PREPAY and GO! The gas is the easy part. I actually started this last week and so far I filled up the tank last Wednesday($25.00) and drove until the gas light came on plus some. Then I put in another 10.00 on Monday. Tomorrow is Thursday and I am about to get a gas light again. So far, so good.
Groceries are a little more work. I've had to resort to EXTREME resourcefullness, also known as COUPONS. Now I never look at grocery prices and I always considered people who coupon synonomous with cat ladies and now.. I am one (Hello? ASPCA? Yes do you have 12 feral kittens I can get IMMEDIATELY!!!??). Again I tried this first 2 weeks ago Friday. Wednesday is the day that the stores put out new sale items so today I have spent time evaluating the BOGO's (that's the Buy One Get One Free for you rookies). So far I have a pretty decent grocery list that should last me for the week with dinners and breakfast covered. I have to admit that I cheat SOME because they give us free lunch in the cafeteria at work.
I'm way too excited about this whole coupon thing. Last time I got a free 1/2 gallon of Smart Balance Milk (HEY a commercial for this milk just came on TV) and an .89 cent 1/2 gallon of Almond Milk. I feel a little like I'm sticking it to the MAN! Thanks to the power of google docs I have a portable list of coupons, when they expire, what they are for, and where I got them. I use www.SouthernSavers.com for my deals. It's all there in a little package. Money savings.
So.... $70.00 a week.. can I do it? After week 1 I feel pretty good. I'm sure this will be like a new diet. You see some weight loss the first week and you feel all energized and excited and then you realize that it's a lot of work and it kind of sucks. I'm actually going to dress up like a cow on Friday to get a free value meal from Chick Fil A in order to stay on budget... what have I become? Did I mention I canceled cable too? That's for the next post...
I've figured out that at the lowest point ever I have had to fill up with 11.5 gallons of gas. I average 30 miles a gallon and when my gas light comes on I can get up to 320 miles safely. Based on this I plan on putting 11 gallons in the tank (multiply gas price x 11) PREPAY and GO! The gas is the easy part. I actually started this last week and so far I filled up the tank last Wednesday($25.00) and drove until the gas light came on plus some. Then I put in another 10.00 on Monday. Tomorrow is Thursday and I am about to get a gas light again. So far, so good.
Groceries are a little more work. I've had to resort to EXTREME resourcefullness, also known as COUPONS. Now I never look at grocery prices and I always considered people who coupon synonomous with cat ladies and now.. I am one (Hello? ASPCA? Yes do you have 12 feral kittens I can get IMMEDIATELY!!!??). Again I tried this first 2 weeks ago Friday. Wednesday is the day that the stores put out new sale items so today I have spent time evaluating the BOGO's (that's the Buy One Get One Free for you rookies). So far I have a pretty decent grocery list that should last me for the week with dinners and breakfast covered. I have to admit that I cheat SOME because they give us free lunch in the cafeteria at work.
I'm way too excited about this whole coupon thing. Last time I got a free 1/2 gallon of Smart Balance Milk (HEY a commercial for this milk just came on TV) and an .89 cent 1/2 gallon of Almond Milk. I feel a little like I'm sticking it to the MAN! Thanks to the power of google docs I have a portable list of coupons, when they expire, what they are for, and where I got them. I use www.SouthernSavers.com for my deals. It's all there in a little package. Money savings.
So.... $70.00 a week.. can I do it? After week 1 I feel pretty good. I'm sure this will be like a new diet. You see some weight loss the first week and you feel all energized and excited and then you realize that it's a lot of work and it kind of sucks. I'm actually going to dress up like a cow on Friday to get a free value meal from Chick Fil A in order to stay on budget... what have I become? Did I mention I canceled cable too? That's for the next post...
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
O-town
I hate coming up with titles and subjects for things. I usually just make up something obscure, but then I did it at work and my boss tried to find the google document and had to ask me what I had named it. When I told him he said "ah I knew it was titled something that didn't quite fit what was inside".. I told him that was me in a nutshell and isn't it true?
Hence I named this blog O-town because that's where I am headed next week. I have a shiny new CPR card in my wallet and I'm off to Florida Mania to take some certifications. I'm putting it out there, although I'm a little hesistant. I am getting a certificate in personal training and one in Sports Nutrition and Body Composition. I got my books in the mail last night and immediately started reading them (while watching TV). I want to be like Jesse Spano and run around singing "I'm so excited, I'm so excited, I'm so SCARED!!!". Shit I guess a blog is about putting it all out there so I might as well put it all out there. I have a million things running through my head like: What am I going to do with a personal training certificiate? Do I have time to actually do this? Will my job schedule get in the way? When will I workout? You know Me, Me Me! Those aren't all the questions but since 2 sentences ago I decided to not put it all out there. People tell me I will be great at it. Obviously they don't know my robot ways or about that small problem I have with hiding what I'm thinking from my facial expressions.
I have to drive to Orlando alone. I don't know if I've ever driven that far by myself. I'm pretty sure that my max is 4 hours. Please take note everyone I will be calling! Since I am poor right now as well I signed up to not only attend the convention, but also to work it as a staff member. I get to practice my bouncer skills and thrown down with other fitness people trying to get into a class that they aren't registered for. Should I bring a taser or tranquilizers? I'm soooo good at being assertive (not really).
"Um.. Ma'am??.. I'm sorry but your badge says you aren't registered for Geriatric Zumba"
The staff assistant position also means that I can't leave until the convention is fully over at 5 p.m on Sunday. This means I will have to drive back in the dark. Could I sound more like a whiney little bitch? Probably not.
That's it for this week folks.
Hence I named this blog O-town because that's where I am headed next week. I have a shiny new CPR card in my wallet and I'm off to Florida Mania to take some certifications. I'm putting it out there, although I'm a little hesistant. I am getting a certificate in personal training and one in Sports Nutrition and Body Composition. I got my books in the mail last night and immediately started reading them (while watching TV). I want to be like Jesse Spano and run around singing "I'm so excited, I'm so excited, I'm so SCARED!!!". Shit I guess a blog is about putting it all out there so I might as well put it all out there. I have a million things running through my head like: What am I going to do with a personal training certificiate? Do I have time to actually do this? Will my job schedule get in the way? When will I workout? You know Me, Me Me! Those aren't all the questions but since 2 sentences ago I decided to not put it all out there. People tell me I will be great at it. Obviously they don't know my robot ways or about that small problem I have with hiding what I'm thinking from my facial expressions.
I have to drive to Orlando alone. I don't know if I've ever driven that far by myself. I'm pretty sure that my max is 4 hours. Please take note everyone I will be calling! Since I am poor right now as well I signed up to not only attend the convention, but also to work it as a staff member. I get to practice my bouncer skills and thrown down with other fitness people trying to get into a class that they aren't registered for. Should I bring a taser or tranquilizers? I'm soooo good at being assertive (not really).
"Um.. Ma'am??.. I'm sorry but your badge says you aren't registered for Geriatric Zumba"
The staff assistant position also means that I can't leave until the convention is fully over at 5 p.m on Sunday. This means I will have to drive back in the dark. Could I sound more like a whiney little bitch? Probably not.
That's it for this week folks.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Biggest Loser is over
I ended up losing 2.3 lbs in the biggest loser contest at work. I was on track with the diet for just about 3 weeks in preparation for the photo shoot and the biggest loser finale. I had a binge day on Sunday to post celebrate my birthday with Corley (Dave), Katrina, and Elizabeth.
The celebration consisted of watching horrible lifetime movies, gorging our faces with awful-for-you food, and making fun of the movies. I can't even list the things I ate, let's just say that I probably could have been featured on the "I eat 33,000 calories a day" show on TLC. It was extremely fun and we watched one movie that was awful movie GOLD. It was actually a soap net movie of the week from a few weeks earlier. I happened to catch the commercial and had Katrina DVR it so we could watch it. If you ever have a chance to drunkenly watch "Beautiful Girl" on SoapNet.. DO IT. Here is the IMDB information on it: Beautiful Girl and a scene shot
Yes.. she is saying "I am engaged to Mark Consuelos, he left Kelly Ripa for me!" I'm sure you get the picture of the the awful awesomeness.
Post-binge it's hard to get back on track with the diet. My mind screams for all the things I had managed to make it forget about such as pizza, ice cream, Publix chocolate overload cake, ice cream, nachos. So now I'm trying to wrangle the beast back into it's cage. I read somewhere that weekend eating can cause as much diet damage as the holidays and I believe it. It's Thursday and I'm just now getting back down to my pre-binge weight. Now it's time for the weekend again... what a vicious cycle.
This weekend is the bootcamp challenge. All of the East Shore bootcamps are going to face off against each other in a points system to see who can take home the trophy. My gym, Johnnie Dodds, is the defending champions. We plan to take it home again. I plan to run my fastest mile! Anyhoo.. witty comments just aren't flowing out this morning so I'm ending this post because it's LAME!. See you on the flip flop (my dad used to say that all the time, not that he's dead, he just doesn't say it anymore).
The celebration consisted of watching horrible lifetime movies, gorging our faces with awful-for-you food, and making fun of the movies. I can't even list the things I ate, let's just say that I probably could have been featured on the "I eat 33,000 calories a day" show on TLC. It was extremely fun and we watched one movie that was awful movie GOLD. It was actually a soap net movie of the week from a few weeks earlier. I happened to catch the commercial and had Katrina DVR it so we could watch it. If you ever have a chance to drunkenly watch "Beautiful Girl" on SoapNet.. DO IT. Here is the IMDB information on it: Beautiful Girl and a scene shot
Yes.. she is saying "I am engaged to Mark Consuelos, he left Kelly Ripa for me!" I'm sure you get the picture of the the awful awesomeness.
Post-binge it's hard to get back on track with the diet. My mind screams for all the things I had managed to make it forget about such as pizza, ice cream, Publix chocolate overload cake, ice cream, nachos. So now I'm trying to wrangle the beast back into it's cage. I read somewhere that weekend eating can cause as much diet damage as the holidays and I believe it. It's Thursday and I'm just now getting back down to my pre-binge weight. Now it's time for the weekend again... what a vicious cycle.
This weekend is the bootcamp challenge. All of the East Shore bootcamps are going to face off against each other in a points system to see who can take home the trophy. My gym, Johnnie Dodds, is the defending champions. We plan to take it home again. I plan to run my fastest mile! Anyhoo.. witty comments just aren't flowing out this morning so I'm ending this post because it's LAME!. See you on the flip flop (my dad used to say that all the time, not that he's dead, he just doesn't say it anymore).
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
I have a LOT going on...
I don't even know where to start this blog. First of all I turned 33.. gross. I'm not normally bothered by age but for some reason this year it did.
The big thing I did other than turn another year older having still put off the idea of having a child (while my eggs shrivel up), was to do a triathlon. This was my first one and it was a smidgen more than a sprint but not as far as an Olympic. It took place on Isle of Palms and was a .6 mile ocean swim, a 16 mile bike, and a 4 mile run. How did I do? I finished. I expected myself to take about 2 hours and ultimately I beat that time by 6 minutes which I was proud of. However, there is always ALWAYS that not-good-enough part of me. So when I saw the results and realized that I was 5th out of 5 in my age group I had a little bit of a 'failure' moment. I was happy to see that after all that I still ran a 31:57 4 miles which is the fastest recorded 4 miles I've done to date. I've been chasing the sub 32 minute 4 miles for a couple of years now. It's crazy that when I finally do it it was after swimming and biking for the past 1.5 hours.
Here is a picture of me coming into the finish. That's my friend Nancy giving me five. She is an awesome personal trainer to boot. I don't think I could have finished as well as I did without having gone through all of the bootcamp ass kickings that her and Cissy have put me through. SHOUT OUT!HOLLA
Shout out to Sarah too, she is my triathlon buddy. I roped her into signing up and she did great. She's got tri #2 in a few weeks. I didn't have the cash for tri #2 but I plan on doing another one soon. (Augusta half ironman is $225.00! Are you kidding me??) While I'm on the subject of signing up for things I perused the Disney sight yesterday to window shop the Goofy Challenge. (That would include a half marathon on Saturday and a full marathon on Sunday). It's $310.00.. wowsers!
I once again tried to get my infamous Disney pose at this race but I guess the photographer didn't get it. He got the "flex" instead.
That race belt is not flattering to my straight-as-a-board figure, what would Stacy and Clinton say?.
My time was 1:54:05. I wasn't last (outside of my age group). I wasn't even last in the awful swim. Did I already mention that the ocean was not friendly that day? The water was extremely choppy and I couldn't see the buoys or the pier that I had planned on sighting for. Honestly, I panicked a little (or a lot) and almost called one of the kayakers to take me in. I composed myself though and did a lot of backstroking,so no, it was not the best but it got me through the panic.
Besides that my diet has been going on for two weeks. I'm down about 3 lbs so far. My focus is on watching my calories, eating whole grains, and vegetables. My weight today was 116.4 and the body fat (according to the scale) was 18%. The seems like a lot in my psycho brain. I plan to keep up the hard coreness for another month and then I figure by that time it will have just become nature and I won't miss pizza, and chocolate, ice cream, cake, and all those things I LOVE.
Anyhoo... stay tuned for my next blog which will include details about my fitness photo shoot that I did on Monday and some pictures to go along with it. If you're wondering, I have no idea what I will do with the pictures.
The big thing I did other than turn another year older having still put off the idea of having a child (while my eggs shrivel up), was to do a triathlon. This was my first one and it was a smidgen more than a sprint but not as far as an Olympic. It took place on Isle of Palms and was a .6 mile ocean swim, a 16 mile bike, and a 4 mile run. How did I do? I finished. I expected myself to take about 2 hours and ultimately I beat that time by 6 minutes which I was proud of. However, there is always ALWAYS that not-good-enough part of me. So when I saw the results and realized that I was 5th out of 5 in my age group I had a little bit of a 'failure' moment. I was happy to see that after all that I still ran a 31:57 4 miles which is the fastest recorded 4 miles I've done to date. I've been chasing the sub 32 minute 4 miles for a couple of years now. It's crazy that when I finally do it it was after swimming and biking for the past 1.5 hours.
Here is a picture of me coming into the finish. That's my friend Nancy giving me five. She is an awesome personal trainer to boot. I don't think I could have finished as well as I did without having gone through all of the bootcamp ass kickings that her and Cissy have put me through. SHOUT OUT!HOLLA
Shout out to Sarah too, she is my triathlon buddy. I roped her into signing up and she did great. She's got tri #2 in a few weeks. I didn't have the cash for tri #2 but I plan on doing another one soon. (Augusta half ironman is $225.00! Are you kidding me??) While I'm on the subject of signing up for things I perused the Disney sight yesterday to window shop the Goofy Challenge. (That would include a half marathon on Saturday and a full marathon on Sunday). It's $310.00.. wowsers!
I once again tried to get my infamous Disney pose at this race but I guess the photographer didn't get it. He got the "flex" instead.
That race belt is not flattering to my straight-as-a-board figure, what would Stacy and Clinton say?.My time was 1:54:05. I wasn't last (outside of my age group). I wasn't even last in the awful swim. Did I already mention that the ocean was not friendly that day? The water was extremely choppy and I couldn't see the buoys or the pier that I had planned on sighting for. Honestly, I panicked a little (or a lot) and almost called one of the kayakers to take me in. I composed myself though and did a lot of backstroking,so no, it was not the best but it got me through the panic.
Besides that my diet has been going on for two weeks. I'm down about 3 lbs so far. My focus is on watching my calories, eating whole grains, and vegetables. My weight today was 116.4 and the body fat (according to the scale) was 18%. The seems like a lot in my psycho brain. I plan to keep up the hard coreness for another month and then I figure by that time it will have just become nature and I won't miss pizza, and chocolate, ice cream, cake, and all those things I LOVE.
Anyhoo... stay tuned for my next blog which will include details about my fitness photo shoot that I did on Monday and some pictures to go along with it. If you're wondering, I have no idea what I will do with the pictures.
Monday, April 12, 2010
The Lowcountry
I've lived in Charleston (ok Goose Creek) all of my life. So forgive me if I've always wondered why people come here to vacation. Personally, I didn't find Charleston that great. I'm also a freak and hard to please but that's neither here nor there.
However, last week as I biked the race route for the upcoming Triathlon I caught a glimpse of what makes the Lowcountry a little bit special.
Sorry for the small, camera phone pictures. (I feel like I am disgracing my Android by calling it a 'camera phone'. It is a very smart phone with a camera). I realize some people don't get to see this kind of thing where they live. I guess that's why they come here.
However, last week as I biked the race route for the upcoming Triathlon I caught a glimpse of what makes the Lowcountry a little bit special.
Sorry for the small, camera phone pictures. (I feel like I am disgracing my Android by calling it a 'camera phone'. It is a very smart phone with a camera). I realize some people don't get to see this kind of thing where they live. I guess that's why they come here.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Photo shoot
I've been dieting hardcore for about 2 days now. 2 whole days. I have a 'fitness photo shoot' coming up on the 19th which is the day after my triathlon. My biggest loser final weigh in is on the 26th so I will continue the diet at least until then.
Did you notice how I breezed over the details of the 'fitness photo shoot'. It makes me sound like some kind of fitness model, which I am not. The story behind it is that my excellent photographer friend Robbie Silver is going to take some pictures of me doing the things I love such as running, working out, and I don't know what else. What I DO know is that I need to diet, diet, diet since I'm going to be putting my body out there on film. I have 2 weeks from today. I hope that is enough time to lose 4 to 5 lbs.
I've been watching Americas Next Top Model for years (seriously I have) and now I find myself trying to think of the ridiculous advice that they give to all of those girls like 'find the light', 'know your angles', 'model from head to toe', 'don't hide your neck'. STUUUPID... I'm off to practice posing.
Did you notice how I breezed over the details of the 'fitness photo shoot'. It makes me sound like some kind of fitness model, which I am not. The story behind it is that my excellent photographer friend Robbie Silver is going to take some pictures of me doing the things I love such as running, working out, and I don't know what else. What I DO know is that I need to diet, diet, diet since I'm going to be putting my body out there on film. I have 2 weeks from today. I hope that is enough time to lose 4 to 5 lbs.
I've been watching Americas Next Top Model for years (seriously I have) and now I find myself trying to think of the ridiculous advice that they give to all of those girls like 'find the light', 'know your angles', 'model from head to toe', 'don't hide your neck'. STUUUPID... I'm off to practice posing.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Bridge Run
If I could have blogged this yesterday from my phone at 7:00 a.m. it would have been a RAGING, profanity-filled blog that would have have had to have an 'R' rating. Alas, it is a new day and the birds are singing so I can reasonably try to write about the events of the Cooper River Bridge Run.
First off, if you are someone who doesn't know me thanks for reading my blog! I will explain a little about the bridge run. It is an annual 10K race (6.2 miles) that attracts a whopping 40,000 people. It is boasted as being the most organized and best run 10k in the WORLD!!! My story is about how NOT TRUE this is.
I tend to be an obsessive planner, especially with races. When a race has 40,000 participants and ends in a completely different city than it started, I tend to be completely anal. You can either park at the start and shuttle back after the race, or you can park at the end and shuttle to the start. I should also mention that the path to the start requires you transporting over the bridge in which you will be running. They shut this bridge down to traffic at 7 a.m. The next best route is an around the way 20 minute trek. Here are the factors about this race that had to be taken into consideration this year when I was trying to figure out the best 'get there/park here' situation.
- I had 2 pick up 2 people in my hometown who had come in the night before
- We were meeting up with 2 of their family members who were staying downtown (near the finish)
- My husband was going with us but not running
- Traffic was going to be a nightmare
In my careful planning and discussions with everyone I decided that since I had a parking pass for downtown I would park downtown, meet up with the other people and shuttle to the start line. Also, my husband could stay in the hotel room while we ran. He doesn't know downtown very well, otherwise he could have dropped us off in Mt. Pleasant at the start and driven downtown to meet us. I obsessively looked online at the shuttle transportation information, which was minimal. All it said that was the buses took off from point A and that you had to be in line by 6:30 a.m.
We arrived downtown at 6 a.m and walked to the pickup point to find a line had already formed. Busses had been running since 5 a.m. We walked and walked and walked to get to the end of the line. Please excuse my horrible paint skills but I figured I should map the length of this line.
With race time being at 8 a.m. I felt confident that we had plenty of time to make it to the shuttle bus and over to Mt. Pleasant. What actually happened was that we didn't make it to the bus before they shut the bridge down. They advised that we RUN to the shuttle locations to 'set the pace' of those behind us. There were no markings showing where buses would line up. So everyone started making their own makeshift lines.
Race 'officials' then started telling us to go as far forward as we could. Which would make a line at the very front consisting of more people than could fit on a bus. We had created a line second down from the first line and we were in the very front, this made us confident that we were in a spot where a bus would pull up directly in front of us. The next line down was not a 'bus length' away. At 7:20 a bus showed up and pulled up to the first line. It loaded and pulled away. Another lone bus then pulled up and did the same, drove right past us and to the first line. (I should also mention here that by now the bridge route was closed so we would have a 20 minute commute) Finally at 7:30 a convoy of buses showed up. One pulled up to the front of the line and a second rounded the corner and we figured would pull up in front of the next OBVIOUS LINE. No. She stopped at the line down from us. Mass pandemonium ensued with people pushing and shoving to get on this bus in order to make it to the race which was now starting in 25 minutes. With a 20 minutes bus ride and a mile and a half walk to the actual start line.
We managed to push our way onto the bus. I don't know if everyone made it. I was glad I had chosen to use the restroom in a hotel while waiting in line instead of waiting until we got to the start because now it was abundantly clear that we were going to be late. I figured that since this was 'official race transportation' that they would delay the race since the last caravan of buses was on the way. We were let off at the mile and a half distance at 8:05 a.m. 5 minutes after race start. I ran to the start hoping that they had delayed the race. No luck! They had started the race on time and people were cleaning up bottles and clothing from the start where people had previously been corralled. My 6.2 mile run had now become more of a 7 mile run. But even worse I was now behind 40,000 people and I was running amongst the walkers.
If you don't run you may not understand but picture yourself trying to run at your pace when everyone else is walking and you are packed liked sardines on a 4 lane road. I had to zigzag between people to get around them. Most people at this pace are there to enjoy the scenery. They want to stop and take pictures, talk on their cell phones, chat with their friends lackadaisically. I don't disagree with this and I give props to them for being out there. But trying to run in this was a complete disaster. I crossed the start line at 8:17 after fighting the walker crown. 17 minutes after the race started. In essence I was behind all of these people:
I finished the race in 53:57 official chip time. I am convinced that had I been able to start the race in my group of runners I would have made the 49 to 50 minute goal I was trying for. Instead at some points I was running a 10 or 12 minute mile, forced to walk due to the inability to get around groups of walkers, and I had to rudely pass through people who were slower than me.
I cannot believe that the most organized 10K in the WORLD was unable to get all of the runners to the drop off in time for them to start the race on time. In all of my planning I didn't stop to consider that 'be in line by 6:30 a.m.' did not mean that you would make it on time to the race. This is the 33rd year of this run. It's not a new race and I am sure this is not a new situation. The volunteers at the shuttle stop were useless in directing traffic other than telling us to RUN AS FAST AS WE COULD to catch the bus. Really? I know I nearly ran over some people, I can't imagine anyone went unhurt due to these directions. Then to not have corrals for the buses was completely absurd. This also led to mass pandemonium when the buses stopped in different locations every time they came back. THEN to not even delay the race by 30 minutes so that they official race transportation could get racers to the start! They had to know because each bus had walkie talkies talking to SOMEONE who knew the buses were late.
I don't know if I will pay $30 next year to do this run. I am highly disappointed in my experience. Not to mention that no one really knows where this money goes. 40,000 at $30 to $40 per entry? Perhaps it's the helicopters they have flying over the bridge to capture cool aerial shots. I saw at least 2. I hope they got the shuttle buses on clearance because in my opinion THEY SUCKED.
Good job race organizers.
First off, if you are someone who doesn't know me thanks for reading my blog! I will explain a little about the bridge run. It is an annual 10K race (6.2 miles) that attracts a whopping 40,000 people. It is boasted as being the most organized and best run 10k in the WORLD!!! My story is about how NOT TRUE this is.
I tend to be an obsessive planner, especially with races. When a race has 40,000 participants and ends in a completely different city than it started, I tend to be completely anal. You can either park at the start and shuttle back after the race, or you can park at the end and shuttle to the start. I should also mention that the path to the start requires you transporting over the bridge in which you will be running. They shut this bridge down to traffic at 7 a.m. The next best route is an around the way 20 minute trek. Here are the factors about this race that had to be taken into consideration this year when I was trying to figure out the best 'get there/park here' situation.
- I had 2 pick up 2 people in my hometown who had come in the night before
- We were meeting up with 2 of their family members who were staying downtown (near the finish)
- My husband was going with us but not running
- Traffic was going to be a nightmare
In my careful planning and discussions with everyone I decided that since I had a parking pass for downtown I would park downtown, meet up with the other people and shuttle to the start line. Also, my husband could stay in the hotel room while we ran. He doesn't know downtown very well, otherwise he could have dropped us off in Mt. Pleasant at the start and driven downtown to meet us. I obsessively looked online at the shuttle transportation information, which was minimal. All it said that was the buses took off from point A and that you had to be in line by 6:30 a.m.
We arrived downtown at 6 a.m and walked to the pickup point to find a line had already formed. Busses had been running since 5 a.m. We walked and walked and walked to get to the end of the line. Please excuse my horrible paint skills but I figured I should map the length of this line.
With race time being at 8 a.m. I felt confident that we had plenty of time to make it to the shuttle bus and over to Mt. Pleasant. What actually happened was that we didn't make it to the bus before they shut the bridge down. They advised that we RUN to the shuttle locations to 'set the pace' of those behind us. There were no markings showing where buses would line up. So everyone started making their own makeshift lines.
Race 'officials' then started telling us to go as far forward as we could. Which would make a line at the very front consisting of more people than could fit on a bus. We had created a line second down from the first line and we were in the very front, this made us confident that we were in a spot where a bus would pull up directly in front of us. The next line down was not a 'bus length' away. At 7:20 a bus showed up and pulled up to the first line. It loaded and pulled away. Another lone bus then pulled up and did the same, drove right past us and to the first line. (I should also mention here that by now the bridge route was closed so we would have a 20 minute commute) Finally at 7:30 a convoy of buses showed up. One pulled up to the front of the line and a second rounded the corner and we figured would pull up in front of the next OBVIOUS LINE. No. She stopped at the line down from us. Mass pandemonium ensued with people pushing and shoving to get on this bus in order to make it to the race which was now starting in 25 minutes. With a 20 minutes bus ride and a mile and a half walk to the actual start line.
We managed to push our way onto the bus. I don't know if everyone made it. I was glad I had chosen to use the restroom in a hotel while waiting in line instead of waiting until we got to the start because now it was abundantly clear that we were going to be late. I figured that since this was 'official race transportation' that they would delay the race since the last caravan of buses was on the way. We were let off at the mile and a half distance at 8:05 a.m. 5 minutes after race start. I ran to the start hoping that they had delayed the race. No luck! They had started the race on time and people were cleaning up bottles and clothing from the start where people had previously been corralled. My 6.2 mile run had now become more of a 7 mile run. But even worse I was now behind 40,000 people and I was running amongst the walkers.
If you don't run you may not understand but picture yourself trying to run at your pace when everyone else is walking and you are packed liked sardines on a 4 lane road. I had to zigzag between people to get around them. Most people at this pace are there to enjoy the scenery. They want to stop and take pictures, talk on their cell phones, chat with their friends lackadaisically. I don't disagree with this and I give props to them for being out there. But trying to run in this was a complete disaster. I crossed the start line at 8:17 after fighting the walker crown. 17 minutes after the race started. In essence I was behind all of these people:
I finished the race in 53:57 official chip time. I am convinced that had I been able to start the race in my group of runners I would have made the 49 to 50 minute goal I was trying for. Instead at some points I was running a 10 or 12 minute mile, forced to walk due to the inability to get around groups of walkers, and I had to rudely pass through people who were slower than me.
I cannot believe that the most organized 10K in the WORLD was unable to get all of the runners to the drop off in time for them to start the race on time. In all of my planning I didn't stop to consider that 'be in line by 6:30 a.m.' did not mean that you would make it on time to the race. This is the 33rd year of this run. It's not a new race and I am sure this is not a new situation. The volunteers at the shuttle stop were useless in directing traffic other than telling us to RUN AS FAST AS WE COULD to catch the bus. Really? I know I nearly ran over some people, I can't imagine anyone went unhurt due to these directions. Then to not have corrals for the buses was completely absurd. This also led to mass pandemonium when the buses stopped in different locations every time they came back. THEN to not even delay the race by 30 minutes so that they official race transportation could get racers to the start! They had to know because each bus had walkie talkies talking to SOMEONE who knew the buses were late.
I don't know if I will pay $30 next year to do this run. I am highly disappointed in my experience. Not to mention that no one really knows where this money goes. 40,000 at $30 to $40 per entry? Perhaps it's the helicopters they have flying over the bridge to capture cool aerial shots. I saw at least 2. I hope they got the shuttle buses on clearance because in my opinion THEY SUCKED.
Good job race organizers.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Eating
I battle with food every day. I battle to stay within my calories, I battle to eat 'clean'. Mostly I battle with sweets. I wish, I WISH that I could just relax, eat whatever I want, and not feel like I have to go and work it off at the gym. I hate the eaters remorse feeling I get when I eat something I 'shouldn't'. I hate when I overeat.
Jesus, I'd love to sit down and eat a package of cookie dough, some chocolate glazed donuts, some fried mozzarella cheesesticks, and my favorite.. cupcakes. Don't forget pizza. I caved again today in the cafeteria when a small key lime tart stared out at me from the dessert fridge. Amongst all his friends: Carrot cake and little grouping of chocolate covered strawberries he called to me the most. I tried to resist the calling but in a nano-second of weakness I was up and had that little plate in my hand and before I could put it back or cry for help.. the tiny tart was devoured at a cost of probably 250 calories.
Immediately following: Eaters remorse. I could feel the calories packing on the pounds right then and there. I feel like I fail everyday and that's because I do. I wake up and I say it's going to be a new day, I'm going to eat clean and not stray. Sometimes I will go up to 3 days of being good and the destroy it all in one day. I read articles about people who eat clean and I think that this has to be bullshit. How can anyone live without sugar? I used to have the willpower for this but I don't know where it went. Then someone else says have one cheat day, live the 80/20 rule. 80% good eating, 20% cheating eating. WTF does that mean? If I eat 6 meals a day I can have 1.2 bad meals? Because that's 20% of 6 meals, or does it go by hours? Calories? Is that a day or a week? Does it all add up to the same in the end?
Portion size is not my friend because I still want to eat when I am done. I'm not necessarily hungry but I just want to keep eating. I ate a whole pint of strawberries and I feel fucking guilty about that. I just wish I didn't want to eat. I've trained my body to be hungry every 2 hours, you may not understand how annoying this is, but it's extremely annoying.
Is there something missing in my diet that makes me crave this shit, especially sugar? I've always been a sugar junkie. I still love eating it but I hate that I can't say no when I want to so badly. I can't deny that the little pooch on my belly and the little fat on my butt is from this straying. I don't know what else to do. Does everyone battle with food the way I do? I don't think so. I will go back to the gym and I will step on the scale and know that the only way to fix the problem is to radically diet. I'm already a stick in the mud due to all of my training, I feel like being an extreme dieter will make me all the less interesting. Who knew that eating would make you feel socially awkward?
Tomorrow I will start again.
Jesus, I'd love to sit down and eat a package of cookie dough, some chocolate glazed donuts, some fried mozzarella cheesesticks, and my favorite.. cupcakes. Don't forget pizza. I caved again today in the cafeteria when a small key lime tart stared out at me from the dessert fridge. Amongst all his friends: Carrot cake and little grouping of chocolate covered strawberries he called to me the most. I tried to resist the calling but in a nano-second of weakness I was up and had that little plate in my hand and before I could put it back or cry for help.. the tiny tart was devoured at a cost of probably 250 calories.
Immediately following: Eaters remorse. I could feel the calories packing on the pounds right then and there. I feel like I fail everyday and that's because I do. I wake up and I say it's going to be a new day, I'm going to eat clean and not stray. Sometimes I will go up to 3 days of being good and the destroy it all in one day. I read articles about people who eat clean and I think that this has to be bullshit. How can anyone live without sugar? I used to have the willpower for this but I don't know where it went. Then someone else says have one cheat day, live the 80/20 rule. 80% good eating, 20% cheating eating. WTF does that mean? If I eat 6 meals a day I can have 1.2 bad meals? Because that's 20% of 6 meals, or does it go by hours? Calories? Is that a day or a week? Does it all add up to the same in the end?
Portion size is not my friend because I still want to eat when I am done. I'm not necessarily hungry but I just want to keep eating. I ate a whole pint of strawberries and I feel fucking guilty about that. I just wish I didn't want to eat. I've trained my body to be hungry every 2 hours, you may not understand how annoying this is, but it's extremely annoying.
Is there something missing in my diet that makes me crave this shit, especially sugar? I've always been a sugar junkie. I still love eating it but I hate that I can't say no when I want to so badly. I can't deny that the little pooch on my belly and the little fat on my butt is from this straying. I don't know what else to do. Does everyone battle with food the way I do? I don't think so. I will go back to the gym and I will step on the scale and know that the only way to fix the problem is to radically diet. I'm already a stick in the mud due to all of my training, I feel like being an extreme dieter will make me all the less interesting. Who knew that eating would make you feel socially awkward?
Tomorrow I will start again.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Busy Weekend + New York Trip.
I like to stay busy for some reason. Right now my schedule is free on Monday and Tuesday nights. Wednesday I bowl, Thursdays I currently take an improv class, and Fridays I bowl. This weekend was actually kind of low key until yesterday when I booked it up in a matter of hours. Now I am driving to Columbia tomorrow to do a military style obstacle course run with some friends who had a teammate drop out on them.
The course consists of 100 pull ups, flipping a 250 lb tire for 100 yards, running up hills (yes I said that "R" word and yes I am doing it). There's some other things like a rope bridge, crawling over obstacles, running through mud. I'm looking forward to it but I also have that little fear that I might injure something but you know what? I've been injured for 6 weeks and I'm doing this. I hope to post some pictures. Maybe I can find my disposable Disney camera that has one accidental picture of the bedsheets.
Saturday night I am chillin with some friend to watch the Duke basketball game.
Sunday morning is a scheduled swim my friend Sara who has signed up with me to do this crazy triathlon thing.
Sunday afternoon I start softball. Again, probably not on the dr's orders but it's just practice so I figure I can be all girly and try to not run. Those people are going to be pissed when they see my lack of throwing skills. It's just not in my DNA to be able to throw, or catch, or hit to anyone but the shortstop. I really don't know why I play. My forte used to be making it to first base on a shitty infield grounder. That's questionable now.
Monday, I have to fly to New York City to do some work. I fly back on Tuesday. I've only been to NYC once before and it was also for a work trip so I didn't really get to see anything or do anything, but I loved it. Almost everything in NY has the calories listed on the menu, in plain sight. What a novel idea! This makes calorie counting so easy. I doubt that I will have time on this trip to get any sightseeing done based on the length of the trip but I'm hoping. I'm also going alone which brings up images of Law and Order episodes, but whatever.
Then it's back to Tuesday and the whole thing starts over again. Good Lord I am busy.
The course consists of 100 pull ups, flipping a 250 lb tire for 100 yards, running up hills (yes I said that "R" word and yes I am doing it). There's some other things like a rope bridge, crawling over obstacles, running through mud. I'm looking forward to it but I also have that little fear that I might injure something but you know what? I've been injured for 6 weeks and I'm doing this. I hope to post some pictures. Maybe I can find my disposable Disney camera that has one accidental picture of the bedsheets.
Saturday night I am chillin with some friend to watch the Duke basketball game.
Sunday morning is a scheduled swim my friend Sara who has signed up with me to do this crazy triathlon thing.
Sunday afternoon I start softball. Again, probably not on the dr's orders but it's just practice so I figure I can be all girly and try to not run. Those people are going to be pissed when they see my lack of throwing skills. It's just not in my DNA to be able to throw, or catch, or hit to anyone but the shortstop. I really don't know why I play. My forte used to be making it to first base on a shitty infield grounder. That's questionable now.
Monday, I have to fly to New York City to do some work. I fly back on Tuesday. I've only been to NYC once before and it was also for a work trip so I didn't really get to see anything or do anything, but I loved it. Almost everything in NY has the calories listed on the menu, in plain sight. What a novel idea! This makes calorie counting so easy. I doubt that I will have time on this trip to get any sightseeing done based on the length of the trip but I'm hoping. I'm also going alone which brings up images of Law and Order episodes, but whatever.
Then it's back to Tuesday and the whole thing starts over again. Good Lord I am busy.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Benched again
My 4 miles on Monday turned out to be slightly premature. On Tuesday I got benched for another month. Now I can add the $30.00 Bridge Run fee into my pile of cash I've used to sign up for races that I couldn't do. I have a bunch of t-shirts though (that I never wear or I leave/lose at the gym).
Now I've started thinking about all those shirts/things that I haven't seen lately and I am sure I left at one of the gyms somewhere along the way. The most frightening right now is my heart rate monitor chest strap. Where the hell is that? I haven't been wearing it. I haven't seen it arbitrarily in my gym bag or at home. In the past 2 minutes I've become convinced that it's lost forever. Like my super comfy Gap sweater with the faux fur lined hood. That sweater was super cute and only 2 months old.. I have no idea where it is. WTF?! Later on I will forget that I've lost these things and only remember them again when I am in a position where I cannot go and look for them. It's a vicious cycle.
I did bootcamp this morning which included a LITTLE bit of SLOW running. Not enough to even register on the radar and YES I could feel shin discomfort. The rest of the group did a 1 mile run for time while I went inside and did a mile on the elliptical with the elevation and level turned up. We did some pushups, which seemed easy today. Usually I loathe pushups. When I get off work I will go back and hit the elliptical again and the weights. It's chest and triceps day.
I have another bootcamp tomorrow. I signed up for it before the spending freeze. It was $10.00 and the money goes to battling childhood obesity, which is actually one thing that I am (quietly) very passionate about. However, not having kids I don't feel like I can be spokeswoman against it since I have no experience from which to speak. However, if I were Miss America you can be sure that I would be on the wagon with Michele O in this cause. I'm hoping the bootcamp kicks my ass.
That's all folks. Pretty lame blogging today.. sorry.
Now I've started thinking about all those shirts/things that I haven't seen lately and I am sure I left at one of the gyms somewhere along the way. The most frightening right now is my heart rate monitor chest strap. Where the hell is that? I haven't been wearing it. I haven't seen it arbitrarily in my gym bag or at home. In the past 2 minutes I've become convinced that it's lost forever. Like my super comfy Gap sweater with the faux fur lined hood. That sweater was super cute and only 2 months old.. I have no idea where it is. WTF?! Later on I will forget that I've lost these things and only remember them again when I am in a position where I cannot go and look for them. It's a vicious cycle.
I did bootcamp this morning which included a LITTLE bit of SLOW running. Not enough to even register on the radar and YES I could feel shin discomfort. The rest of the group did a 1 mile run for time while I went inside and did a mile on the elliptical with the elevation and level turned up. We did some pushups, which seemed easy today. Usually I loathe pushups. When I get off work I will go back and hit the elliptical again and the weights. It's chest and triceps day.
I have another bootcamp tomorrow. I signed up for it before the spending freeze. It was $10.00 and the money goes to battling childhood obesity, which is actually one thing that I am (quietly) very passionate about. However, not having kids I don't feel like I can be spokeswoman against it since I have no experience from which to speak. However, if I were Miss America you can be sure that I would be on the wagon with Michele O in this cause. I'm hoping the bootcamp kicks my ass.
That's all folks. Pretty lame blogging today.. sorry.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Cheating
I cheated today, I couldn't help it. After a breakdown yesterday which included tears followed by a nap on the couch, I woke up this morning bound and determined to run. After all, I see the Dr tomorrow so wouldn't it be ok? I ran just under 4 miles. I'm sure in the eyes of the P.A. (I call her a Dr just because) that 4 miles is probably NOT OK. Oh well, I did it and I was happy. My speed was ok once I figured out that my legs weren't going to break out from underneath me. I ended up with just under a 10 minute mile pace. In my pre-injury days that would have been laughable. Now I consider it good. I tried using a longer stride, something I've always wanted to work on. This is my time to reinvent my running style.
How do the shins feel? They feel fine. There was some slight pain early in the morning but it resolved as the day went on. I did a P90X video when I got home. What's sad is that I worked out for 80 minutes today and I feel that it's not enough. My new minimum has become 2 hours a day.
My marathon medal frame is set to be delivered tomorrow. I'm exited to see it. It's going on the wall right above the T.V. My first half-marathon frame is going to look pretty shitty next to it. I will post pictures once it arrives.
OOHHH. I entered a triathlon. Did I blog that yet? I don't think so. It's April 18th, which is the day after my 33rd birthday. It's going to be quite cold in the ocean, and the biking is probably going to suck, which will make the running suck afterwards. When I'm done, I can cross it off my list. It's a .6 mile swim, 16 mile bike, and a 4 mile run. Wish me luck.
I'm off to find things to Ebay so that I can sign up for a triathlon training clinic. I've made a vow to stop spending so much money.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Myrtle Beach ... Marathon wishes
Friday night we drove to MB (Myrtle Beach) to stay for the weekend. As I stated in my previous blog, the purpose of this was to pick up my race packet and because we had a room there already reserved, the room was free (long story) and I didn't want it to go to waste. The predicted snow showers had turned into a prediction of 3 to 5 inches of snow, for the first time in 10 years.
I declare this Marathon canceled bitches!!!
Amazingly, the news wasn't wrong. It started snowing at about 6:00 p.m., while we were driving. By the time we got to the convention center to pick up the packet, the snow was accumulating. I was getting regular emails on my phone from the marathon committee with updates on the run. Ultimately they moved the race start back 30 minutes (like that was going to make a difference). Then at 10:30 p.m. they canceled the race altogether.
I declare this Marathon canceled bitches!!! Mind you, I am not running this race due to the stress reactions in my shins, so I happened to be up at 10:30. Had I been running the race, I would not have been up to hear this news. Many people showed up at the start only to be told that it had been canceled. Some die-hards (who I throughly admire) ran it on their own.
I drove past some of these runners on my way back from stuffing my face at a buffet (It was my husbands idea to eat at a buffet, I was an innocent victim). I became intrigued by seeing the solo runners and began to wonder what was happening when they finished. I did a slow drive-by past the would-be finish line and noticed that two of the race officials were at the finish line handing out medals to the finishers. I thought this was pretty awesome but it also made me sad that I wasn't running the race and getting a medal.
After we got back to the room I proceeded to spend the next 30 minutes wondering if I could get a medal. Why couldn't I get a medal (uhhh.. .maybe because you didn't RUN??? ABSURD). What are they going to do with 11,000 medals?? Maybe I should just go back to the finish and see what's going on? No.. they will know I'm fishing for a medal. Bite nails... bite nails.. pace around... picture shiny medal. I paid for this medal didn't I? (N0, you paid for the race, you EARN the medal). But NO ONE ran (mostly)?? Bite nails... Bite nails... pace around. It would be dumb to go back by! Picture shiny medal. What would it hurt? They aren't going to give you a medal? But they MIGHT! Picture shiny medal. OK, I'm going but only to see what is going on. I want to congratulate the finishers. Picture shiny medal..
I came up with a list of stupid questions I already knew the answer to.
1. Is the post race party still happening? (YES)
2. Is the race going to be rescheduled? (NO)
3. How many people ran it anyway? (Ok, this one I didn't know the answer to)
4. What does the medal look like? (Maybe they would get distracted and I could put it in my purse)
Innocently, I drove back to the finish and walked up to the van where they were handing out shiny medals. My questions were primed and ready and oh looky there.. I happened to have my race number in my purse! Maybe it would fall out when I reach for my keys and the race official would say "oh did you sign up??? It's so sad you couldn't run! Here's a medal for your trouble".
I walked up with that casual 'Hey Guys!!" attitude (Hands in pockets, shoulders kind of shrugged, awkward wave....I didn't really do this but it makes the story better). I'm telling myself "be calm, don't act to suspicious." (My goal was to NOT ask for a medal because begging is lame). Race official number 1 was talking to some people in another car about the post race party, so I went with race official number 2..... Here it goes.. be calm... casual small talk...
RO #2 looks at me and says "What did you sign up for??" 'Full Marathon" I reply. He reaches into his van and pulls out a shiny flip flop medal and says "Here you go!".
Classic. All my preparation and ultimately the receiving of the medal was completely non-eventful. I still felt the need to make idle chit chat and talk to a runner who had finished the marathon on his own. (His first marathon). Then I split with my shiny piece of non-deserved hardware...
I'm shaped like a stinky post-Marathon foot!
Needless to say I didn't put the medal around my neck. Somehow I feel that would be wrong. It should only go around the neck if it's deserved. Maybe when I get back to running I will do a solo marathon and then have this waiting for me at the end.
I plan to start running again tomorrow.....
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Improv
Improv class starts tomorrow... i guess I need it because I really don't have anything to add after saying that. I'm thinking of taking the new bike with me and biking over to the class, but that familiar 'what if' logic gets into my head and all of a sudden it's what if... it rains. What if... I get hit by a car (it will be dark). What if.. someone steals the bike (despite the lock I got for it). It's all downhill from there.
This weekend is valentines day.. whoopeee. What this weekend really has been to me for the past 2 years has been half marathon in Myrtle Beach weekend. Now it will just be, going to Myrtle Beach because I have a room there and I'm not running the full marathon weekend. There's a chance of snow showers Friday night. What's up with that? Running this one would definitely not be warmer than running Disney.
My diet has been going well. People are often surprised to find out that I 'diet'. I guess it's more of a way of life. I don't eat whatever I want and then work it off later, that is called exercise bulimia. I have been known to practice it from time to time. I find it much easier to avoid the 'eaters remorse'.. see previous post, not sabotage my workouts, and eat things that are good for me. I fail about 20% of the time but 80% is still a passing grade.
Look at all of that improv I just typed out! Not that any of it is funny. My fear is that I find things funny that other people don't. I also had some stuff I was thinking about talking about during improv but then the old what if said. What if you hurt someones feelings? Isn't that what it's all about. Comedy= tragedy + time. I hope I don't get pulled off stage with a giant hook. Actually that would be kind of funny.
This weekend is valentines day.. whoopeee. What this weekend really has been to me for the past 2 years has been half marathon in Myrtle Beach weekend. Now it will just be, going to Myrtle Beach because I have a room there and I'm not running the full marathon weekend. There's a chance of snow showers Friday night. What's up with that? Running this one would definitely not be warmer than running Disney.
My diet has been going well. People are often surprised to find out that I 'diet'. I guess it's more of a way of life. I don't eat whatever I want and then work it off later, that is called exercise bulimia. I have been known to practice it from time to time. I find it much easier to avoid the 'eaters remorse'.. see previous post, not sabotage my workouts, and eat things that are good for me. I fail about 20% of the time but 80% is still a passing grade.
Look at all of that improv I just typed out! Not that any of it is funny. My fear is that I find things funny that other people don't. I also had some stuff I was thinking about talking about during improv but then the old what if said. What if you hurt someones feelings? Isn't that what it's all about. Comedy= tragedy + time. I hope I don't get pulled off stage with a giant hook. Actually that would be kind of funny.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Eaters Remorse
I just trashed about two paragraphs of blogging. I have nothing to say but I feel that I owe it to my reader to post something regularly. The truth is that I don't think I have a lot going on right now other than my obsessive working out, my inability to run due to stress reactions (different but close to stress fractures), bowling, and the comedy improv class that I start next week. So... yeah... I guess that's probably a lot of stuff that is going on.
I also joined the biggest loser competition at work. I did it kind of out of a joke and kind of because I would like to lose 3 lbs. If were even halfway decent at 3rd grade math I could probably figure out what percentage of my body weight that would be. Alas, I suck at math and I'm too lazy to figure it out. The only thing I really know is that a percent to a decimal is 2 to the left.
Thanks to the magic of the internet I found a calculator tool that does simple math for me.
http://www.fitwatch.com/qkcalc/calculate-weight-loss-percentage.html
It's really probably impossible for me to lose 3 lbs. I hope I don't come off as stuck up, I'm just being real. I've been trying to lose it for about 7 months now.
3.52% is what I would like to lose overall which would be like 5 lbs.
Anyhooooo... my purpose here was to talk about the phenomenon known as Eaters Remorse. But now this blog is kind of long and discussing eaters remorse would only make it longer. The bottom line is that I don't like eaters remorse which I have defined as the feeling of remorse associated with devouring something that completely ruins your diet and the 2 1/2 hour workout you did today. I'm going to try to avoid this feeling while the biggest loser is going on. Hopefully I can lose my 5 lbs.
POST BLOG BLOG:
So after I posted this blog I noticed the clever google ads which appeared on my page:
Those google people think they know everything. I found this to be quite funny.
I also joined the biggest loser competition at work. I did it kind of out of a joke and kind of because I would like to lose 3 lbs. If were even halfway decent at 3rd grade math I could probably figure out what percentage of my body weight that would be. Alas, I suck at math and I'm too lazy to figure it out. The only thing I really know is that a percent to a decimal is 2 to the left.
Thanks to the magic of the internet I found a calculator tool that does simple math for me.
http://www.fitwatch.com/qkcalc/calculate-weight-loss-percentage.html
It's really probably impossible for me to lose 3 lbs. I hope I don't come off as stuck up, I'm just being real. I've been trying to lose it for about 7 months now.
3.52% is what I would like to lose overall which would be like 5 lbs.
Anyhooooo... my purpose here was to talk about the phenomenon known as Eaters Remorse. But now this blog is kind of long and discussing eaters remorse would only make it longer. The bottom line is that I don't like eaters remorse which I have defined as the feeling of remorse associated with devouring something that completely ruins your diet and the 2 1/2 hour workout you did today. I'm going to try to avoid this feeling while the biggest loser is going on. Hopefully I can lose my 5 lbs.
POST BLOG BLOG:
So after I posted this blog I noticed the clever google ads which appeared on my page:
Those google people think they know everything. I found this to be quite funny.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
I have no title
It's late and I should be going to bed. By 'late' I mean it's 9:45, technically I should have been in bed by now. My alarm is set for 4:15 so I can go to the gym before getting to work at 7 a.m. I'm tired and I just got back home after leaving this morning at 5:15 a.m.
I don't have any profound thoughts today. It's been a tough week at work and on top of that I saw the orthopedist and she told me that I shouldn't run the myrtle beach marathon, or the 15k this weekend, or the half marathon next weekend. My plan is to go to all of the packet pickups and get my frikkin shirts that I paid for. Normally I am determined to not follow the kind of advice that involves the words 'no running' or 'don't run'. But physically,right now, I am unable to run. For the first time in 3 years I have an injury that I can't run through. It really puts a hurting on my belief that I am invincible.
I've had musical montages go through my head of me running. Running outside, running on the treadmill, running in races, running the marathon. I have mixed feelings about the marathon. I still want to do myrtle beach but on the other hand I have to wonder, was it worth it? I ran 26.2 miles and I haven't run since. If I could go back I'd have to think really hard about whether the accomplishment was worth the aftermath. I miss the runners high, I miss how relaxed I feel after a run. It could be 6 to 8 weeks before I have to start all over again. How difficult is that going to be?
In the end though, I think about all the stories that I've read of people who have been hit by cars, or had their legs blown off in Afghanistan only to come back and run marathons, or do Ironmans. I guess in the end my measly shin splints/stress fractures are mild in comparison. I'm trying to look at the bright side but it's going to be a long road to recovery. Wish me luck eh???
I don't have any profound thoughts today. It's been a tough week at work and on top of that I saw the orthopedist and she told me that I shouldn't run the myrtle beach marathon, or the 15k this weekend, or the half marathon next weekend. My plan is to go to all of the packet pickups and get my frikkin shirts that I paid for. Normally I am determined to not follow the kind of advice that involves the words 'no running' or 'don't run'. But physically,right now, I am unable to run. For the first time in 3 years I have an injury that I can't run through. It really puts a hurting on my belief that I am invincible.
I've had musical montages go through my head of me running. Running outside, running on the treadmill, running in races, running the marathon. I have mixed feelings about the marathon. I still want to do myrtle beach but on the other hand I have to wonder, was it worth it? I ran 26.2 miles and I haven't run since. If I could go back I'd have to think really hard about whether the accomplishment was worth the aftermath. I miss the runners high, I miss how relaxed I feel after a run. It could be 6 to 8 weeks before I have to start all over again. How difficult is that going to be?
In the end though, I think about all the stories that I've read of people who have been hit by cars, or had their legs blown off in Afghanistan only to come back and run marathons, or do Ironmans. I guess in the end my measly shin splints/stress fractures are mild in comparison. I'm trying to look at the bright side but it's going to be a long road to recovery. Wish me luck eh???
Saturday, January 23, 2010
How biting my nails keeps me healthy
If you don't know me personally you should know that I am an AVID nail biter. I've tried quitting but honestly I really don't care. My nails are horrible and kind mutantesque (i just made up that word and that is the correct spelling of it). I bite my nails at work, while I drive, while I bowl... it really doesn't matter. I don't bite my nails while I poo.
Additionally, if you don't know me you should also know that I don't really get sick very often. I don't take precautions to avoid germs, I don't care if someone is sick around me, I don't use antibacterial gels, I DO wash my hands before returning to work. I have come to believe that the relationship between biting my nails and my super-human immune system has everything to do with my nail biting.
My belief is that through biting my nails I end up ingesting little bits of viruses and bacteria, not enough to make me sick but enough for my body to create an immunity to whatever is it.
So if you're sick and tired of being sick my recommendation is to lick some germ covered items on a regular basis. I'm going to bite my nails now I hope to see you doing the same.
Additionally, if you don't know me you should also know that I don't really get sick very often. I don't take precautions to avoid germs, I don't care if someone is sick around me, I don't use antibacterial gels, I DO wash my hands before returning to work. I have come to believe that the relationship between biting my nails and my super-human immune system has everything to do with my nail biting.
My belief is that through biting my nails I end up ingesting little bits of viruses and bacteria, not enough to make me sick but enough for my body to create an immunity to whatever is it.
So if you're sick and tired of being sick my recommendation is to lick some germ covered items on a regular basis. I'm going to bite my nails now I hope to see you doing the same.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Vacation
Who in life can afford to go on vacation? It's ridiculous. I just got back from the money sucking pit called Disney World and now I'm trying to look and see where we can go next. I was hoping it could be later this year, maybe Boston or Chicago but geez, it took me a year to save up for Disney. Hotel, plane, food, souvenirs (or SILVERnirs as my dad calls them).
Now all of you out there (or perhaps just my one follower HI KATRINA)may be thinking "just put in on a credit card" but Homey don't play that. I believe that if you don't have the cash for something then it's God's way of saying "Yo, you can't afford that shit". (Sometimes God is a Homey too..although no one says Yo or Homey anymore. God is old school) Then what about when you have frikkin kids? Who can afford to have one of those little money grubbers? It's cool up until they are 3 and then you have to start paying for their shit and then they grow out of that stage where you can take them to restaurants for "kids eat free" night.
What happens with Progeria kids at kids eat free night? Technically they are kids, but health-wise they are adults. (Do they qualify for that Senior Citizen 1% discount you get a Publix or Harris Teeter?) I believe that meals at restaurants should be divided into categories of people, not age. I have the stomach of a mouse but when I try to order off the kids meal I get charged more. Why? Restaurants should classify you as 'small', 'average', or 'large' and then they should have menus to fit the category in which you fall. You should be able to deviate from your chosen category to allow for people who are dieting or binging. I don't need an all you can eat buffet, I need the one plate buffet. I hate buffets but that's beside the point, sometimes my husband wants to go and I have to with. I pay 15.00 for one plate or I try to gorge myself to get my moneys worth and then I immediately feel like purging.
I am happy to see that Applebess and Logans now offer meals that are less than 550 calories. I had one of these meals at Logans and it was extremely tiny but I was satisfied and I felt good afterwards. I think Applebees is the shit stain of chain restaurants but this new menu might get me back in the door.
That's all I have for now...
Now all of you out there (or perhaps just my one follower HI KATRINA)may be thinking "just put in on a credit card" but Homey don't play that. I believe that if you don't have the cash for something then it's God's way of saying "Yo, you can't afford that shit". (Sometimes God is a Homey too..although no one says Yo or Homey anymore. God is old school) Then what about when you have frikkin kids? Who can afford to have one of those little money grubbers? It's cool up until they are 3 and then you have to start paying for their shit and then they grow out of that stage where you can take them to restaurants for "kids eat free" night.
What happens with Progeria kids at kids eat free night? Technically they are kids, but health-wise they are adults. (Do they qualify for that Senior Citizen 1% discount you get a Publix or Harris Teeter?) I believe that meals at restaurants should be divided into categories of people, not age. I have the stomach of a mouse but when I try to order off the kids meal I get charged more. Why? Restaurants should classify you as 'small', 'average', or 'large' and then they should have menus to fit the category in which you fall. You should be able to deviate from your chosen category to allow for people who are dieting or binging. I don't need an all you can eat buffet, I need the one plate buffet. I hate buffets but that's beside the point, sometimes my husband wants to go and I have to with. I pay 15.00 for one plate or I try to gorge myself to get my moneys worth and then I immediately feel like purging.
I am happy to see that Applebess and Logans now offer meals that are less than 550 calories. I had one of these meals at Logans and it was extremely tiny but I was satisfied and I felt good afterwards. I think Applebees is the shit stain of chain restaurants but this new menu might get me back in the door.
That's all I have for now...
Monday, January 18, 2010
Testing out the Wii Fit
I originally created this blog so that I could chronicle my experience using the Wii Fit and the Wii Active Trainer from an 'already fit' perspective. This lasted all of a day. The bottom line is: I'm too lazy to play the Wii. I know this seems to be contradictory since I wake up at 4:15 each morning to go to the gym for 1.5 to 2 hours and then later on I will go back to get my run on. Those things inspire me. The Wii Active Trainer and her annoying pauses between reps and 'encouraging' attitude don't.
I also found an article in which someone had done all of my work for me already. Basically the article said that doing the Wii fit burns LESS calories than Wii sports because of all the breaks they require you to take in fit/active trainer. You kind of lose interest in something when you find that someone else has done the work. Why re-invent the wheel??
I don't support the Wii as a method of working out unless you fall into one or both of the following categories:
1. You live in an assisted living facility/nursing home
2. You have recently had a hip replacement
There is argument that some movement is better than no movement. But you can get this with Wii sports. Have you ever tried the boxing? Holy crap, that shit sucks! Please don't try to use wii bowling as a calorie burning exercise. Bowling in reality is a lazy sport in which you can drink and eat while you do it. I know this because I bowl league twice a week and have done so for about 6 years. I never find myself to feel good about bowling when I leave after having scarfed down half a pizza and 1 Mich Ultra. Bowling on the Wii is not much different from real bowling, calorie-wise, instead go with tennis or boxing.
I also found an article in which someone had done all of my work for me already. Basically the article said that doing the Wii fit burns LESS calories than Wii sports because of all the breaks they require you to take in fit/active trainer. You kind of lose interest in something when you find that someone else has done the work. Why re-invent the wheel??
I don't support the Wii as a method of working out unless you fall into one or both of the following categories:
1. You live in an assisted living facility/nursing home
2. You have recently had a hip replacement
There is argument that some movement is better than no movement. But you can get this with Wii sports. Have you ever tried the boxing? Holy crap, that shit sucks! Please don't try to use wii bowling as a calorie burning exercise. Bowling in reality is a lazy sport in which you can drink and eat while you do it. I know this because I bowl league twice a week and have done so for about 6 years. I never find myself to feel good about bowling when I leave after having scarfed down half a pizza and 1 Mich Ultra. Bowling on the Wii is not much different from real bowling, calorie-wise, instead go with tennis or boxing.
Monday, January 11, 2010
A blog about running the Disney Marathon on the coldest day in Orlando history
Yes. I finished the marathon. I'm not going to blog about mile after mile because honestly I don't remember much of the shit that went on, not to mention that no one really gives a shit. It was kind of like a cold, bad dream that you are happy to have had once you wake up.I am back in Charleston now and away from that frozen tundra known as Florida. Cold was the theme of the 'vacation'. Coldest day in Orlando history, sleet at Disney world, cold temperatures causing orange juice to cost more. These were the local news stories I watched every night as I shivered in my fine Disney Motel Resort room. (Really? Double beds was the ONLY option?)Okay, I'm not blogging about the marathon, but I am going to blog about the pre-marathon events. What did I learn from getting up at 3 a.m. in 25 degree weather, being shuffled to the start area on on bus, and waiting over an hour and a half for the race to start? I learned what it would be like to be in a post-apocalyptic refugee camp. I learned what it would be like if aliens attacked New York City and we were all forced as survivors to leave the city carrying everything we had on our backs. I can now totally sympathize with Tom Cruise in "War of the Worlds" and could possibly forgive that gnome Dakota Fanning for all of that annoying screaming.As I stated we arrived at the start area at 4 a.m. We were kicked off of the buses and forced to walk so far in the freezing cold that for a while I wondered if I had accidentally ended up in the Iditarod. We were herded to refugee camp designated for us to wait in until we could be allowed to make our way to the ACTUAL start. I would like to note that before we were kicked off of the bus in the Alaskan glaciers, the bus drive made a cruel stop at the CLOSEST point to the refugee camp so we could all get a look at where we were supposed to be and then drove halfway across the parking lot so we could get out and walk.In one area was a massage tent intended for people to get massages either pre or post race. Instead, on the inside of this tent was a bunch of metal tables with what appeared to be covered dead bodies, I think they were trying to stand their ground by tricking the aliens into believing they were dead. Please, that's the oldest trick in the book. These people were surely doomed and thus this area was dubbed "The Morgue".
Next to the Morgue was a 10 x 10 tent enclosed on 3 sides. We figured that this must have been the mosh pit because there were about 50 people huddled into this area apparently waiting for the music to start pumping. (Sidenote, the music was pumping... it sounded like a techno club and we wished we had brought our X, glow sticks, and that fist pumper douche from Jersey Shore). These people represented those stereotypical assholes who have "hurricane parties" or celebrate the Alien arrival, only to be completely annihilated for their stupidity. (This type of people also ran into the empty ocean crevice to collect fish and shells before the tidal wave in Tibet)At 5 a.m they finally opened up the corral to let us go to the Start line. It was at this point that we realized that a mob of people suddenly emerged from their warm spots in the port-o-lets. We were greeted with a mass opening of port-o-let doors, a smell of methane, and 'whoosh' we were shuffled through a tiny gate and towards the start line. It was this walk that really set in the refugee feeling.The small, narrow path was crowded with blanket people, and we were blinded by huge spotlights along the way. People huddled around the generators to soak up the heat (apparently they had no concerns about carbon monoxide). Abandoned Disney rail cars along the way created a feeling of total world destruction. It was about a mile walk to the actual start, which was kind of cruel considering that: A. The buses had dropped us off as far as possible from the refugee camp, and B. We were about to run 26.2 miles. Seriously?Once we got to the starting area, we were divided again into corrals which were most likely based on age, gender, fertility, and genetic possibilities. These corrals would later be used to repopulate the world in an attempt to defeat the aliens and regain control of New York City.
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