On Saturday, I woke up early and caught a ride with my sweating bestie, Rachel to her gym. A couple of months ago, her gym offered a Groupon for 30 classes or gym sessions at half price, so I bought it.
And then sat on it for months. My reasoning was it didn’t expire until May, and I didn’t want to use it all in one go; also her gym is not exactly convenient for me to get to, but would be easier during the summer.
However, I’ve recently been looking for a way to build up my lower leg strength, plus she wouldn’t stop begging me to join her, so I finally decided that Saturday would be the first day. Rachel kind of told me what to expect, but nothing could have prepared me for this morning.
The class its self was pretty fast paced; we started with squats and free presses, then moved into triceps and biceps before focusing again on the squats, plus core which involved lunges. And after all that, there was a set for our shoulders, like we hadn’t been using them the whole time.
The class was packed, and I was a little late, but luckily Rachel set up my bar and bench for me, putting on the lowest weight possible; 5 pounds each side.
I enjoyed the class! Really, I did! About half way through the first set of squats I my legs started shaking, and I knew there was no way I could keep going all the way down, so I kinda half assed those. I will say that my heart was racing through most of it, and I’m excited to improve my form, and hopefully see better results while running.
This morning I woke up and knew I had a problem. Every muscle from my hips down to my knees is tightly wound. My calves are fine, surprisingly, but my quads, hamstrings, ITB, and glutes are hard and fragile like glaciers. One step, one flex, and my whole leg starts quivering.
I. Love. It.
Usually I’m used to my joints hurting in addition to all of the muscle soreness, but there’s none of that this time around. I am very pleased, and can’t wait to go back next week to see if I can do better.
Thank you so much for finding my chip time that I feared lost in the abyss that is St. Paddy’s Day. So much drinking, you know. I am quite lucky to be involved with such a wonderful company full of such wonderful people like yourselves.
To those that don’t know, Skinny Raven is a local running store here in Anchorage, Alaska. They are experts regarding run wear, race wear, plus a bit of casual wear, not to mention the host of several racing events, including The Shamrock Shuffle I participated in last weekend, the Twilight 12k I participated in last year, and the Big Wild Life Marathon and Half Marathon, of which I will also be participating in this year. The half, not the whole. The whole is being saved for Chicago, remember?
During my last post, I lamented that my chip time had not registered on their website, and I was a little distraught considering it had recorded a PR for me. Without seeing the time, how was I supposed to know how much of a PR it really was… or if it really was?
Well, Mr. Clark from Skinny Raven looked did quite a lot of research, comparing my real name and online moniker, possibly going through video footage to find me crossing the finish line, and eventually was able to contact me via blog and the twitter to let me know my results had been found and duly posted.
I forgot about the rain. No wonder I didn't blog about the Twilight 12k. Blocked it from my brain.
My official finish time was 42:01 which is a whole 1:14 better than last year. I’m quite pleased. Especially considering the up’s and down’s I’ve have all last year. Quite pleased, indeed. I’m mostly pleased because I think its generally rare that a company/person would go so far out of their way to figure out whether a mistake had been made, when it could have just as easily have been me accidentally breaking the chip in my bib.
I’m impressed. Pleased and impressed.
So thank you, Mr. Clark from Skinny Raven. If there is anything I can do to repay my gratitude, please don’t hesitate to ask. I look forward to meeting with you at some point in the future, and participating in the wonderful races your company hosts this year and in the future.
Tell me, have you ever received awesome customer service from the twitterverse?
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
For the last couple of weeks I’ve had a bit of an… attitude rearrangement. For the most part, I’m happy and optimistic, with a little bit of pessimism on the side. But recently, I’ve just been angry. Angry and rude. I think I’ve finally figured it out; but I won’t go there today. Today, we’ll just talk about the super awesome race I had, and how there is no proof that I was super awesome.
Sponsored by Mizuno. Also, lots of green tutu's at this race
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Last night was kind of a rocky night of sleep; I went to bed earlier than usual, then woke up earlier than usual, afraid I would miss my alarm. After watching a couple of episodes of iCarly, I got dressed, headed down stairs and found that one of my favorite cups that my BFF had given me was broken.
Sarumon. Ugh.
The start of the race was about a mile from my house, so I powered up the hill, and tried warming up, even though it was a balmy 9 degrees outside.
Heck yeah.
Skinny Raven Shamrock Shuffle 5k brought to you by a WALL OF SNOW
Luckily the start was at the Bear Tooth Theatre, and we were able to hang out inside until the race started. About 4 minutes til 9, there was a traffic jam inside the theater, so the race started a little late. About 6 minutes late. I crossed the start line at 9:07.
And then we were off.
I didn’t realize that we would actually be running in the street (why, why would I not realize that??) and quickly discovered it was quite slick from the little melty weather we had yesterday. It warmed up to 30 last night. Almost broke out my flip flops!
This race, I didn’t have a game plan. I was just angry. Angry I was awake, angry my cup was broken, angry this was the fourth night this week Sarumon’s boyfriend had stayed over, angry for Precious: A Novel by Sapphire, angry for all the unwanted kids, and disillusioned parents. Angry I cant seem to stop eating sugar. Angry I’m just not where I want to be in my life anymore, and too complacent to change it.
So I ran. I ran down the street, and around the corner. Then I ran across the bridge, and down the hill. There were no mile markers, so I don’t know how fast I was going, or where each mile began or ended. I walked the bit where the trail meets, then again when there was a slight hill. I ran down the road, then walked until my legs made me run again. I ran through the tunnels, and across the parking lot. I even tried to run back up the hill.
That didn’t work so hot.
But I did power up the hill, and then started running again as soon as I could catch my breath. And then I was right back where I started. Only this time the clock said 42.59.
Heck yeah.
Finisher on the phone and taking a picture. My brain was scrambled so I had to multitask. It was too much effort to put down the phone.
Upon getting home, I went to their website to see my exact finish time and you know what it said?
NULL.
WHAT???
I most assuredly crossed both lines, so I don’t know how it happened, but I’m quite distraught. I was really looking forward to seeing the actual time, because I believe it is probably a full minute faster than the Shamrock Scramble 5k I did last year.
But now I guess I’ll never know for sure.
There's avocado and bacon in this here omelet.
After the race I met up with my friend Natalie for breakfast, rain-boot shopping which was an utter fail, and a drop in at the Local Bookstore. We ate, had fun chatted and shopped. And then went our separate ways. We’re meeting up later to go see 21 Jump Street, which looks hilarious. I wanted to see Jeff Who Lives at Home, but apparently Anchorage isn’t showing that film up here. BOOOOOO.
What about you? Any racing for this wonderful St. Paddy’s Day weekend?
Sarumon is my roommate. I think I must finally be relaxing with her being here, though it’s nearly been a year. On Sunday, I cooked my week’s worth of food and went to bed. I did not wash the dishes. Any of them. The sink was piled high, and they were sitting in cold soapy water.
I came home this morning, and they were all washed and put away.
I honestly feel terrible.
I never asked her to do my dishes, but to be honest, I’ve probably washed them 3 times since she’s moved in. That a good roommate, does not make.
Westchester Lagoon Park Bench. As in, there isn't one.
Today I went to the gym after work. I was kind of worried about my workout because I just have not been sticking to my schedule for the half marathon. I felt I needed extra weeks of building up my long runs, but I refuse to run in unpacked snow again, and soon the snow is going to turn into an melty icy scary mess. I am so impressed by the runners who don’t let the weather get in their way, but I’m just not there yet. This stuff scares me.
Which leaves the treadmill. The treadmill played nice today, but it was only for two very slow sluggish miles. I can’t imagine doing 7 or 8 or 10 miles on it. That just sounds like hell on earth.
But a girl has got to do, what a girl has got to do.
This weekend I have a 5k planned, and the start is about a mile or so from my house, so it’ll be a good 5 miles all together. Hopefully I’ll be motivated to do anything afterwards. Saturday is food shopping day.
Me and Rachel holding up the schematics of the shoes we designed
Still haven’t gotten them yet. I’m assuming everyone is super busy preparing for the LA Marathon, of which they are the main sponsor. If you’re running, let me know and I’ll cheer you on from my comfy bed in Alaska! Also, if you’re working at ASICS and reading this, an ETA on the shoes would be great, thanks!
I accomplished a lot; most of it involved spending money, however. Like on food. I bought a LOT of food. I really need to get my eating in order because its been really disordered for the last year. My mind set is: I can eat this as long as I know I’m eating it. But what I’m eating is trash. Between school, work, volunteering last year, and working out, something had to give.
Cooking is not convenient.
It take prep time, and cook time, and sit down to enjoy time. By the time I get home most days, all I want is to curl up in my bed and call it good. With a plate of food in front of me for good measure. So its easier to pick something up on the way home; “hey, this has vegetables in it, it can’t be all bad.”
There has just been no balance. Plus, there is that sneaky little habit I began to notice, maybe you’ve noticed it before. The one where the first thing you do in the morning is consume something sweet.
For me, it was Chocolate Almond Milk. Just a swig or two. Just enough to get me through til buying a skinny mocha and a pastry for breakfast on my way to work.
Its not working for me anymore.
So now I have a house full of fresh organic vegetables, organic grains, and organic fruit. And my sugar fueled brain doesn’t know what to eat because its not getting the payoff it wants from eating these foods, even though independently and together, they’re delicious.
The last two days have been rough, mentally.
Literally my brain seems to be firing in every which direction, hoping one of them will lead to a sugary treat to end the suffering. But I’m committed. I cannot continue eating the way I have and lose weight, my ultimate goal. I cannot continue eating the way I have and expect a healthy body to result.
Hopefully in the next day or two I’ll be able to pull my brain together enough to be more eloquent and deliberate about blogging; its been about two or three weeks since I’ve posted at least twice a week, and I mean to keep this space updated with my progress.
Don’t count me out just yet. There is more to come.
These last two weeks have been brutal. I got sick with the sneezy body achy sore throat blues, and two weeks later and my nose is still running like a river. Which is to say it is constant and wet.
I finally broke down and took some medicine- benadryl. It has helped tremendously, which of course doesn’t make any sense at all. What am I allergic to when every thing is covered in snow? Its not like the composition of my house or my office has changed over the last two weeks. All the dust that was there before is still there. So I don’t get it. And actually, I’m less symptomy when I’m at the gym then any other place I frequent. How odd is that? A sign that I should just only work out and not work or sleep?
Mix that with my stupid worn out mattress which is causing minor back problems again, and well… its basically a recipe for disaster. But I am not going to be kept down. I am going forward.
Part of going forward means getting back on the ol’ Half Marathon Training Plan. Unfortunately its moved a bit too far ahead for me to feel comfortable with. Fortunately, there are several weeks in there to help me catch up. I was supposed to do 5 miles on the dreadmill today, but ended up doing 2.3 miles interval miles on the elliptical.
I think the reason I dread the treadmill is because how long each mile takes. If I was running 10 minute miles, doing 4 miles wouldn’t seem so bad. But I’m running 15 minute miles and I don’t want to spend a whole hour running some days. I have other things to do!
Friday has 3 miles on the agenda followed by 7 miles on Saturday. I think I’ll aim for 3 on Friday and 5 on Saturday.
How do you make being on the treadmill more enjoyable?
I’m almost ready to make peace with the treadmill. I learned so much in the last hour and a half, my mind is nearly blown. Lets look at my new lessons in list form:
Running in snow is hard: it definitely slows down your pace, and all the grooves from other people making the ground uneven can be dangerous.
Running in the snow is fun: everything is pretty, and unlike running in sand, your feet don’t feel like they’re being dragged in too deep.
Cross country skiers are awesome: they tend to make the path in the middle nice and flat and easy to run on.
Cross country skiers suck: they always take up the whole path with their wide arcs and swinging poles which causes me to go off onto uneven unpacked snow and potentially hurt myself.
The treadmill sucks: because it is so damn boring
The treadmill is awesome: because it allows me to train a little harder than if I were outside.
I can definitely see improvements in my running; today I ran 2 miles without stopping for the first time. It doesn’t seem like much but considering its literally a first time thing, its pretty damn incredible.
The most important lesson I learned (relearned?) today is this:
You won’t regret exercising after you’ve done it.
I really did not want to go out today. I really did not to to run this morning. I wanted to go shopping. But now that I’ve gone and run, and have accomplished what I have, I’m so freaking proud of myself and I just can’t imagine why I would ever want to skip another workout after this. I have a plan. I have a goal to reach. And each day I am working closer to it.
Do you ever regret exercising after you’ve done it?
