20 miles. Whoa

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:33

20 miles. Whoa

This is a really long post, but frankly I think I earned it.

According to my GPS:

Total distance: 20.42 miles

Total run time: 4 hrs 39 min

Pace: 13 min 42 sec /mile (Watch out grandma I am comin' for you!)

Calories burned: 2274 (I don't know how accurate it is, but I like it!)

We left at 5 am to get to Monterey for our 7 am start time. We penguins have to start REALLY early on account of it takes us a REALLY long time to run 20 miles. The weather was perfect running weather, clear, but cool. The run course was beautiful. We ran along the Monterey Bay coastline. People travels thousands of miles to visit this place, I am pretty lucky to have it right in my backyard.

It was a 20 mile out and back course (10 miles out and 10 miles back.) My run buddy and I started together, she ran the first 1.5 miles with me and then started her run walk so I bid her adieu and went on my way. I ran past fat-bellied Harbor seals sunning themselves on rocks and goofy, Brown Pelicans fishing off the pier, it was nice. I met up with another runner and we ran together for about 4 miles until her knee started hurting and she was forced to walk. Bummer, this is much easier when you have someone to talk to. I felt great. At miles 7 and 8 I was downright euphoric. I was writing this blog in my head about the beauty of the day and how this was the perfect run, as matter of fact, the perfect day. All my fears about my legs hurting, my cold earlier this week, nothing could be better, or so I thought.

I turned onto 17 mile Drive (this is the name of the road, not unfortunately how far I had run at the time) and the slope of the side of the road was brutal and my knees started to complain. Then at about mile 10 all of the skin on my legs started to get numb, then other parts below the waist got numb, umm…this can’t be good. I thought I saw my husband’s truck and then became convinced he was following me, but was trying to escape detection (if you had ever met my extremely level-headed husband this would sound completely absurd) part of me knew that couldn’t be and I became increasingly alarmed that something was horribly wrong. When was the last time I ate anything? How much had I been drinking? Uh oh. I could possibly be in trouble here. I drank and ate some jelly beans (overpriced “electrolyte” jelly beans that my husband is convinced are just regular Jelly Bellies) then I ate a Gu although nothing could have sounded more repulsive to me at the time.

After about 10 minutes (I think) the numb skin thing went away and I started to think more clearly. At the 13 mile mark water stop an angel descended from heaven leaving Nutter Butter cookies and although I am not a violent person, I am pretty sure I would have killed someone for them. Things improved after that for a while, although my pace took a serious hit and I was shuffling along for the next 5 miles.

The last two miles were a testament to my bull-headed Scotch-Irish heritage. I honestly do not know how I kept running. I was sore, but not too bad. Mostly my legs were just DONE. They were like two dead tunas attached to my hips that I just kept swinging forward. Thump. Thump. Thump. Grandmothers with double hip replacement run faster than I was running, but. damn it, I was not going to stop before 20 miles.

The finish was anti-climatic, but it finally arrived and I was never so grateful to stop doing something in all of my life. “Now, you just have 6.2 more miles!” someone joked. Really f*%&ing funny.

Oh God, he is right. What the hell was I thinking?!

Up one pound..

And that is the good news.

I have been sick all week and I finally feel a little better. However, I was on my legs all day and they are really achy tonight for some reason. This would not be so bad, but I am supposed to RUN 20 STINKIN' MILES TOMORROW!! Great.

I feel poopy. Hope you all have a great weekend.

Fair Weather runner...

Fair weather runner..

Call me a wimpy Californian, but it rained on Saturday and it was supposed to be beautiful on Sunday, so my run buddy and I decided to do our 10 mile run today instead of Saturday. I was also wiped out on Saturday, so a day at home was ok.

We did our 10 mile run and it went really well. I felt a little sluggish, but I ended up with a 11:40 pace for the 10 miles, so I must have not been feeling that bad.

I finally broke the 20 pound mark!

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 21:00

I finally broke the 20 pound mark!

JC

It only took me 5 months, over 280 miles run, 98 miles biked, and a little under $2,000 in JC food, but I finally broke the 20 lb. mark!

I had weigh in today and I was down 2.8 pounds!! I have lost a total of 22.4 lbs! I feel pretty good about my weight these days. I don’t feel skinny by any means, and skinny was not my goal. I just didn’t want to be uncomfortable anymore and I wanted to feel healthier and more attractive. I am thinking of revising my goal to 125 to give myself a cushion. I don’t know I will have to think on that one.

I wanted to say thank you to Tracy for the comment on my question about rationalizing bad eating behavior. I 100% agree that this journey isn’t about eating/being perfect. I get caught up in the “perfection” cycle. I will be ultra-vigilant for a period of time and the first time I mess up I will use it as an excuse to completely give up on everything positive that I am doing. It is completely self-defeating and doomed to failure. Thank you for the reality check.

Exercise

My exercise was light this week due to the fact that I THOUGHT I was supposed to have my long run (20 miles) this weekend, but I am lame and cannot read a calendar. My 20 miler is next Saturday, so we are going to run 10 miles tomorrow and I will probably run 3 or 4 on Sunday.

Sleep

I am sleeping better, but not great. I am up to about 3.5- 4 hours a night. Which is probably my norm, but with the training I think I need more.

Stress

Off the charts and I don’t seem to be handling it particularly well. At least I can say I am not eating myself to death over it. However, I am certainly not making any friends at work.

You guys ROCK!

I could not have gotten to where I am physically and emotionally with out the support of you guys. Thank you so much!

What happened to the weekend?!

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 17:25

What happened to the weekend?!

I worked at school from 7:30am until 6:30 pm yesterday (yes, that is a Saturday) because I have no backbone and I scheduled 3 shifts of the same lab to accommodate the kids' schedules. I did get a lot of other work done during the break between lab group 2 and lab group 3, but I didn't get home until 9 because I went to dinner with a friend and I am BEAT. Now it is Sunday! Tomorrow is Monday, already! Sheesh!

Alright enough whining:

Exercise

Friday: rest day
Saturday: rest day due to all day lab marathon

Sunday: 8 mile run.
This was the best run I have had in a while. Perfect weather, legs felt great, the last four miles were all run at a pace under 11 min/mile (blistering pace for me) and that was the uphill portion of the run! All in all, a great run.

Food

I was 100% JC all during the week and most of Saturday. I had dinner at Red Robin and had the Chicken Caesar wrap (600 cal, 9 trillion grams of fat) fruit on the side (no fries)

This morning it kind of went to hell in a handbasket! I went to breakfast after the run had scrambled egg breakfast with hashbrowns and then berry pie. I only ate half the breakfast, but all of the pie (of course.) I planned it and I know I have to take my lumps, but I do have to be realistic that this is a change of lifestyle. I don’t want to live a life that is devoid of pie or hashbrowns (ok, maybe both in the same meal is a bit much, but I digress) I want a life where I make choices that make me healthy and happy. I would rather have my splurges as part of a celebration, rather than in an angry “Screw it!” moment.

[EDIT: I don't know, after reading this it sounds like a rationalization for bad behavior, but I don't know. I am going to leave and see what you all have to say.]

Weigh in

JC weigh in on Friday I was down 1.4 lbs. So I am just shy of 20 pounds lost (19.6 lbs lost to be exact)! Yipee!

Sleep

I may never sleep again. I am going to take a nap this afternoon. I have been foregoing my naps because of sleep issues. That is what everyone recommends, no naps. Unfortunately, it has not helped and I don’t sleep anyway. So, I am going to take some sleep where I can get it.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! However short they may be!

Check in

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 22:38

Check in

Weekly Goals

I was a screaming success with some of my goals (JC and the vitamins) and a resounding failure in others (getting to bed early and saying "no")

Exercise

After the triathlon, I took Sunday and Monday off then went to track practice Tuesday night for a lack luster attempt at tempo training. Wednesday is my long day (I leave home at 4:45 am and get back at 9:00-9:30pm) and I was pretty beat so I chose not to go to the gym Wednesday morning. Tonight I ran 6 miles after school. I have AP labs this Saturday at school, so I am going to do my long run (8 miles) on Sunday. Next weekend is the big one, 20 miles!

Food

Thanks to an incredibly ridiculous schedule, I have been 100% JC this week. I have been packing 3 meals a day into my cooler along with all my fruit and snacks.

Sleep

Bad. Some of it was due to bad schedule choices and some of it was an inability to sleep.

BIG THANK YOU!

Thank you to everyone that commented on my triathlon. I was disheartened at first, but all of your encouraging comments really helped me see the accomplishment. Thank you, thank you! You are all the best!

RACE REPORT: TRIATHLON AT PACIFIC GROVE September 9, 2007

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 22:10

Triathlon Report

RACE REPORT: TRIATHLON AT PACIFIC GROVE September 9, 2007

I hate the swim. I hate the swim. I hate the swim. This is chanting in my head as I stared at the ocean where I am going to be swimming a mile in my very near future. While this internal dialogue plays, I am also standing next to a sign posted on the railing above the beach that says “SHARK WARNING” and details the attack of a local surfer by a Great White shark just 12 days ago at a beach nearby.

Why the HELL I am doing this?!

The swim portion of the Pacific Grove triathlon is challenging for me anyway since: 1. I am not a talented swimmer (I am not even a mediocre swimmer if I am really honest), 2. I am not fond of being wet, cold, or salty and 3. I am deathly afraid of being eaten by a shark.

The biology-minded side of me knows that with 1000 people plunging into the ocean at intervals of every 15 minutes there is no absolutely NO wildlife in the area, but as a child of the JAWS era I can imagine a cunning, revenge-driven shark that is hungry for the blood of hapless swimmers. Since we are in wet suits (read: dressed up as sea lions) and I am a swimmer whose stroke makes them look like a sea lion in serious distress, you can see why I am concerned.

SWIM: 1hr 09min (REALLY, flippin’ slow. 5 min slower than 2006 which was also really flippin’ slow)

(Video of 2006 Women's swim starts) At Pac Grove you do two loops My first lap went well and I emerged, ran around the stupid rock and re-entered just in time for the next wave of swimmers to enter and swim over top of me.

The swell started to pick up and since I have inherited my mother’s chronic and easily-induced motion sickness, I soon start to not feel well. “Not feeling well” quickly escalates into, “I am going to puke” and I did. Unfortunately, vomiting makes me cry, always has, so when the canoe/rescue guy comes paddling over to me he was understandably concerned about my ability to finish the swim leg. I was only about 250 yards from the finish at this point and, dammit, I had swum this far I was NOT going to quit now.

I finished the swim and walked up to the transition area. I spent almost 15 minutes in the transition area (that is REALLY long time for a transition) deciding whether I was strong enough to continue. I ate a little, warmed up (after an hour and nine minutes in the Pacific Ocean you get a little hypothermic!) and decided to give it a try.

BIKE: 1 hr 43 min (I thought it would be better *sigh* 4 min slower than 2006)

My bike started slow, but I soon felt better and I rode as hard as I could to make up some time. Pretty uneventful, but Eddy said I looked tired on the bike. Not a good sign when I still have a 10K to run.

RUN: 1 hr 7 min (I was hoping for a lot better. 1 min faster than 2006)

Even though this year’s run was my fastest of the three years I didn’t ever really feel “in the groove” and it was a tough run. In pictures I look much happier on the run, but that is just because I like the run portion the best. I can breathe as fast as I need to (unlike in swimming!) and my ass doesn’t hurt (unlike in biking!). I may be a slow runner, but I am a happy runner! I am currently training for the Nike Women’s Marathon on October 21, 2007. Let’s see if I am still happy after 26.2 miles!

OVERALL: 4 hr 16 min (Lordy that sucks! I focused on the marathon training and it showed. 6 minutes slower than 2006)

I don’t think I ever quite recovered from being ill because I just didn’t have as much fun as I did in the last two years I have done this triathlon. The Triathlon at Pacific Grove is a really “nice” triathlon. The volunteers and the competitors (even the really hard core ones) are super nice and supportive and it makes it a really fun experience for slow, fat weekend warriors like me. Overall, my finish time was 6 minutes slower than last year, but I had an enjoyable time because I did it with my buddies! Any day out with the RBR Girls is a rousing success. Thank you to my girls. Run bitch run!

Catch Up

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 21:51

Catch Up

I have been gone all week. I feel so out of the loop! Here is a quick synopsis of the week.

Training:

Slow week, as I was tapering for Pac Grove Triathlon (good excuse, but I should have had a longer run on Wednesday or Thursday.

Food:

Good most of the week until the weekend. Kind of a free-for-all Friday and Saturday because of the triathlon.

Friday night Pasta Puttanesca (delish!) and crème brulee (also delish, but NOT necessary!).

Saturday afternoon after triathlon, 1 chicken enchilada, rice and beans.

Saturday night 2 pieces of pizza.

Life management:

Bad. Need to learn better “saying no” skills. Only slept on average 5 hours a night. This is bad because that means 5 hours of time in bed. With my insomnia that usually only translates about 2.5-3 hours of actual sleep.

I did start some vitamins and herbal remedies for pre-menopause symptoms and I took them twice a day every day this week.

JC Weigh in:

136.0 down 0.2 (weak, but oh well!)

Triathlon:

See Race report

Goals for this week:

In bed by 9:30 pm (I get up at 4:30 am)
Vitamins everyday twice a day
100% JC or alternate healthy choices

I hope you all had a great week! I am off to read as many of your blogs as I can, then I have to do some Immunology homework.

Cross Traiining Day

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 23:35

Cross Training Day

My run buddy and I did a brick workout today to help us get ready for the triathlon next Saturday. A brick workout is where you do two sports in one workout. We rode our bikes for 14 miles (at a pretty decent pace) and then ran for 20 minutes (1.7 miles). It was a good workout. I am a little lack luster today. I will check in tomorrow, hope everyone had a great holiday weekend.

Skinny Pants!

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 10:51

Skinny Pants!

Last night I went to a meeting and I wore MY SKINNY PANTS!

I have this pair of black pants from about 7 years ago that I call my skinny pants. They are a size 8 and I bought them after our 1 year anniversary. I had lost a lot of weight because I started getting migraines and I couldn't eat very much for about 2 months. I was not exercising (at taht time of my life I NEVER exercised), taking lots of medication and I felt terrible all the time, so I didn't really get to enjoy my weight being that low. The time period that I could comfortably wear those pants was fleeting, but I hung on to them in vain hopes they would fit again. They never have until last night. I decided to give them a try and they fit (they were actually a little loose) !

Finally, after 245 miles and 18 pounds I have lost a pant size! Actually, it probably more like 2 or 3 pant sizes since I never bought new pants at my highest weight and wore pants that threatened to cut off all circulation to my lower half.

YAY! I thought I would share. For those us that are hip-endowed. It CAN happen! It will be friggin' slow, but it can happen!

Today's Run

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 16:28

Saturday Run 9/1/07

Today's Run

It was hot, very stinkin' hot.

I ran 6 miles today with my run buddy. She ran the first 2 miles with me and then did run/walk and I ran the whole 6. My legs are really sore and tired from standing on my concrete classroom floor all week. I guess I am not in practice. Hopefully, this will not be an issue all the time.

We have already decided that the 2 weeks before the marathon we are going to roll around our classrooms on one of those wheelie office chairs. I can not risk my legs feeling this bad. If you are worried the kids will think I am a dork, too late, I am a science teacher, that shipped has already sailed!

Personal victory

We did not go to breakfast after our run. We didn't really feel like it and instead of doing it because we always do, we CHOSE (concept!) not to. Yeah us!! I ran some errands and come home to eat my JC lunch. *smug self-satisfied grin*