Kiki's Conundrums and Complexities

Reminder

2006-11-30T18:43:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to remind anyone that has this site bookmarked, that I am still blogging, but am now over at vox. Feel free to visit me

Lonely

2006-08-23T15:59:00.000-04:00

So I've moved to vox, but I don't think my readers have moved with me, as no one is commenting and now I feel lonely

moving

2006-08-22T10:08:00.000-04:00

I have decided to move to a new location. Feel free to visit me. I think you need to have a login to comment. If you need one and want to comment, I can send you an invite.

http://complexkiki.vox.com/

Walking revisited

2006-08-21T14:14:00.000-04:00

Back to mall walking I am , I figure it can't hurt to do it, even though at times I find it not very entertaining. This morning we walked for about 40 minutes before work.

I need to work strength training back into my plan. I think I shall do it today and Saturday officially and any other days i can fit in will be good.

Not much is going on today, I am without student staff most of the week, so I am on phone duty most afternoon.

I am excited that Prison Break is back on Tonight.

I found out after emailing that i didn't get the first job I applied for, nice of them to finally tell me.

shower update

2006-08-20T22:20:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was my sister's wedding shower and I think things turned out well. I hope to post pictures soon of the decorations, we did a tropical type theme with blues/purple/orange. We used drink umbrellas to encorporate the shower theme. It was a small shower, and we all went to the paint your own pottery place and each created a piece. I did a toothbrush holder. I will post a picture when I get it back.

After the pottery, we went back to the house for gifts and cake. I think things went pretty well. My sister looked like she had a lot of fun so thats what matters most. Because so many people couldn't be there, I put together a scrapbook with stories from her friends and pictures and she really liked that.

I made the hungry girl virgin margarita (100 calorie margarita without tequilla) and that turned out really well.

I had one piece of cake and some ice cream, and a few piece of candy. We did a build your own favor with sand pails filled with candy.

So I didn't do to horribly with eatting.

I tried on my dress and saw my sister in her's . She looks so beautiful.

Pre-shower run and shower

2006-08-19T11:16:00.000-04:00

Woke up this morning early to go running with my mom and husband , it was already in the 70's and raining at 8am. We went out anyway . We went to local outdoor park with a pebbled track and ran 2.5 miles in about 35 minutes. We did some walking intertwined , the rain which was nice to run in stopped half way through and it ended up being much hotter then when we originally went out. The run was good. We have begun prepping for the shower , which doesn't start until 3. I will tell you more about the shower and how things turned out later. We are going to a make your own pottery place so if my piece turns out cute, i will share with you.

Still no word on the new job front, I emailed one of the places that Interviewed with almost 3 weeks ago, no answer. I have a job , so I don't need to find a new job, just looking for something different.

Short posts

2006-08-18T14:21:00.000-04:00

I guess this has been the week of short posts. Sorry about that. I really just don't have much to report. I am prepping for my sister's shower tomorrow and can't spill any information about it here since she reads this . We are going to a pottery place it should be fun. I am also running tomorrow morning with my mom and husband before we prepare for the party.

Sunday my sister in law is turning 11 so I am not sure what fun activity we will be doing that day.

I'm excited to see my sister and her dress and talk about the wedding stuff.

Still no word on the job front from either interview. weird. Not even a regection letter.

I am still struggling to figure out what running plan is right for me right now. need new shoes and until I get them I think any long runs are going to be less comfortable then I would like.

Good news that at least the last few days my eatting habits have improved. Less fat, less junk, more fruits and veggies.

walking

2006-08-18T14:19:00.000-04:00

I have set up to start mall walking again for next week to supplement my running and other cardio. I also find some new exercises on spark to do for strengh training.

Mission Accomplished

2006-08-18T08:59:00.000-04:00

Last night despite not wanting to go running in the heat, we went out for an evening run. The temperature was close to 80 still which was way too hot. As a result of that and the fact that it was so late, my run ended up being a walk/run combo. I felt crappy most of the run. I couldn't find a rhythm. I also had mapped out a new route, that I didn't realize was hilly.

At least we went out and did it though.

Total time 54 minutes
distance 3.6 miles
pace ~15 minutes

I also did some strength training while watching the TNT movie the Ron Clark Story, which was actually pretty good. I also had to pack last night as I am leaving to go to my parents after work to prep for my sister's wedding shower.

I just found some new strength things to try on spark with the amount of reps I should do so that is good.

Grocery shopping

2006-08-17T16:47:00.000-04:00

Last night was our grocery night, and we actually did a good job getting healthier foods. I got some fruit and vegetables and sensible lunches and snacks , hopefully this will motivate me to eat better and to eat at home.

I also joined sparkpeople.com again (or at am using it again) for calorie counting and goal management. There is another woman in my office who is doing it too so hopefully that will help.

Todays plan is to do a long run(meaning longer then 2 miles) outdoors, I hope it isn't too hot.

2 workouts since the last post

2006-08-16T09:09:00.000-04:00

Actually 2 workouts in less then 12 hours. Since we didn't run yesterday morning, we decided to run last night, after the hubby got home, which means I went running at 7:30 last night. The weather was actually decent and there were no mosquitos (thank goodness) We just ran around different side streets. I felt a bit tight and a bit out of it in the beginning, but found a decent pace. I did more walking then I wanted to, but at least i did something.

Total distance 3.1 miles
Total time 48 minutes, but i backtracked a few times to make sure my hubby hadn't gotten lost. Estimated average pace, 14 minutes.

This morning at 7:20 I headed off to the gym. Why you may ask, well since the gym is only open 6am-1pm this week, I wanted to get some cardio in at the gym. I didn't really want to go. My allergies woke me up at 5 am and then I had weird dreams. Anyway I did get up and work out for about 30 minutes give or take a minute on the Elpitical Machine.

Now I feel as though I am back on track...if I can just stay there that would be good.

What is wrong with me?

2006-08-15T08:54:00.000-04:00

Last night I knew I should go to bed to get up today to go running, but I stayed up until midnight watching "how do I look?". Of course this lead to me not getting up today to go running. I will run tonight after work. Its not that I didn't want to run, I just couldn't get up. the weather was perfect. Ugh that was really stupid.

Help

2006-08-14T20:54:00.000-04:00

Ok ladies and any guys who read my blog, I need your help. I must do better about my eatting etc. I refuse to gain back the weight I lost for nothing. I am just being lazy and I know it. Today I tried to go to the gym and it was closed. ( It is only open from 6am -1pm this week so my days there this week are numbered. ) So we went out to dinner instead. I did choose something healthy off the menu. If I could just watch what I eat a bit better, which is my main problem, I know I wouldn't feel like I am floundering like I am right now.

So how can you help? Hold me accountable for my actions, cheer me on when I work out and just support me.

Guess Who's Back

2006-08-14T09:29:00.000-04:00

Hi. I am back from vacation.

Here is a brief recap

Wednesday night: Arrived at cottage, hung out with Mom and Dad, had dinner, went for a walk. Got about 15 mosquito bites, decided going out after dark not a good idea.

Thursday: Went for a run at about 8:15 am, exact distance unknown, rough estimate based on time, 3 miles. Total time 52 minutes. We had to walk some segments because a dog kept following us. Other highlights of Thursday, lunch at a local eatery, preparations for my sister's shower. Itchy itchy from mosquito bites

Friday: We went to the outlet and to Meijer, hungout, more secret shower preparations.

Saturday: We got up early and went for a 3-4 mile run, highlight of that run was that I almost got dive bombed by a hawk, it was a close call. Total time : 70 minutes. We went out in the Pontoon and also had time to take a nap and go for a mini bike ride.

Sunday: Sad day, last day of vacation, didn't do much except prepare to come back.

I must admit I watched a ton of trash tv that I don't usually get at my house, including Celebrity Fit club, Project Runway, a segment of Flavor of love, and many others I am sure.

We got home yesterday afternoon, only to find that TNT is out, go figure the one time I plan on watching something on TNT that we don't get it all of a sudden.

Anyway I'm back at work, I hope this week goes fast.

Perhaps it pays to complain

2006-08-09T10:31:00.000-04:00

Last week I went to chain italian restaurant with my friends and we all ordered the soup/salad combo. Our waiter was less then attentive and in fact half of our part left after waiting ten minutes to receive our bill. So time came to settle the bill and the tip ended up being about 12% which is usually lower then I tip, but the service was bad, and I wasn't going to reward him for bad service. As we were getting ready to leave, we heard the server say out loud to us "3.00 is that all" and give us a snide look.

I wrote a complaining letter to the restaurant and here is my response.

Thank you for contacting us concerning your visit to our ___________restaurant.Please accept our apology for the type of service you received on this occasion. Our servers are trained to pay close attention to our guests so your needs are anticipated and even exceeded. Based on your description of your visit, we have some retraining issues to address with our team regarding attentive service. Your experience is being shared with our management team and staff as a reminder of the importance of guest-focused service.As a gesture of goodwill and our desire to continue serving you, we have mailed you a complimentary gift card for you to apply toward your future visit. Please allow ten business days for receipt. We believe we can restore your faith in us and look forward to providing you with 100% guest delight in the future.

Vacation Days 1 and 2

2006-08-08T12:39:00.000-04:00

So far my vacation has been pretty relaxing and uneventful.

Yesterday, I had an interview in the morning , which I think went well. Then, since my hubby had the day off (his vacation doesn't officially start until tomorrow) we went to the gym at 11am for 30 minutes and then came home and got ready and went to lunch, after lunch we went to the mall (we were only there a few minutes and decided to leave, my hubby hates shopping, and expecially malls), we then went to Kohls, where I got some new workout clothes on sale and then to Target to get some stuff for our roadtrip. After that we went to the movies. I let my hubby pick the movie, and as a result, I am ashamed to say that I contributed to the box office of Talladega Nights. Anyone who knows me , knows this isn't my type of movie, in fact my hubby admits he owes me big time for going. I feel as though I lost some braincells in the theater.
After the movie we grabbed some dinner and then wandered around the mall again, this time actually doing a bit of shopping.

After that we headed home.

This morning we were supposed to get up early to go running, but I couldn't get up. I have been having a bad allergy attacks lately, with the worst symptom being a scratchy throat.
I ended up going out for a run at about 11 am after doing some work. ..yes i know I am on vacation , but somethings won't get done unless I do them from home. *no more work i promise*

The temperature for my run was about 70 degrees and in the shade if felt quite lovely, so I modified my usual route and stayed in the shady side streets near my house. I ran for about 25 minutes with a 4 minute walking warmup and at10 minute walking cool down.

Average pace include walking segments 14 minutes
total distance including walking 2.5 miles
total time: 35 minutes

Weekend Recap

2006-08-06T12:52:00.000-04:00

Techinically the weekend isn't over, but since I know I am leaving soon for the in-laws, I doubt that there will be any more highlights.

Friday Night
The annual workshindig. I made the mistake of thinking it would be fun to bring my mini-inlaws to this, since there would be other kids and kids activities. Well the six year old pouted almost the whole first hour we were there, with the exception of when he was eatting a hotdog, cookie and mountain dew. The 10 year old waas a bit better, but still not thrilled to be there. After we ate, I offered to take them back home , but they didn't want to go there either. My friend arrived with her husband and 18 month old and that was fun for a bit, but the sulking got worse and unbearable as he started complaining and complaining. I was set to go at about 4 after arriving at 2:30 only to have them change their mind and decide they wanted to play soccer with the ball we brought. I hope this would improve the situation. It did for the 6 year old , but now the 11 year old decided that she didn't want to get hot and be in the sun and would just sit in the shade and watch. We played soccer for at least an hour , talk about a good cardio work out, chasing a six year old up and down the soccer field. It was pretty much down hill from there, as they both got tired and grumpy again. It was overall something I don't think we will be doing again.

We got home about 7 and watched Walmart: the high cost of low price, which solidified every reason why I don't shop at Walmart.

Saturday

I spent the day, cleaning , doing laundry and packing for our trip or at least making piles. Once My hubby got home from work, we went to Target to drop off some prescriptions and then to our mini overnight getaway. A collegue of mine had won a free overnight stay at a nearby Marriott and wasn't going to use it and gave it to me instead. The room was really nice and overlooked a golf course and lake and a wedding /reception as well. It was also superairconditioned and had a ton of cable channels. We ordered carryout from a favorite restaurant, watch tv for a bit ,and then headed down to the hotel bar and had a few drinks. And then went upstairs and crashed. This morning we went to for a 40 minute run on at a park near the hotel. In addition to the run we walked 15 minutes to and 15 minutes from the park. I am not sure of the distance of our route, but I am pretty sure it was about 3 miles, even though I ran a portion of it with my hubby at his slightly slower pace. It was cool and refreshing to run near water.

After our run, we went back to the hotel, showered and headed down to breakfast where we were had a free breakfast buffet (part of the deal) which included made to order omelets, fresh squeezed OJ, fresh fruit, and pancakes among other things. After breakfast, we went back to our room to crash for an hour before having to check out.

The new Celebrity fit club was on with Angie Stone, Tina Yothers, and Carnie Wilson among others. Makes me wish we still had vh1.

It was sad to leave luxury to head home, but home we are.

It was a fun relaxing mini vaca though.

Total Exercise this weekend
Friday Soccer 45 minutes
Saturday walking 20
Sunday walking 30, running 40

Vacation...T minus 30 minutes and counting

2006-08-04T13:34:00.000-04:00

officially my vacation starts at 5pm, but since we have a departmental shindig this afternoon, my workday ends early today.

of course that means I need to be social for a while, but after that vacation.

1 week off no work, I do have an interview Monday morning , but after that I am done.

Going to be hanging out here for a few days and then out of town for a few days. I will try to blog my adventures if there are any.

Treadmill Troubles

2006-08-04T09:27:00.000-04:00

Last night, my hubby decided we should run for an hour on the treadmill. I knew going in that I wasn't going to be able to do an hour, I didn't feel like it, it was still really hot out and I had pretty bad cramps. I also was wearing walking shoes not my running shoes (a whole other story, but I think my current running shoes probably only have a month or so left in them).

Anyway, we started out and I was watching the hills while working running, which may be part of the reason I did more walking then running since I can't run and watch tv very well. I did a minute or so of running and then walked and then ran and then walked and so on. We ended up shorting the run to 45 minutes because I wasn't feeling an hour.

Total distance 3 miles, total time 45 minutes

Heat Wave over?

2006-08-03T15:01:00.000-04:00

So it looks like things might be cooling off here finally. It has been ridiculiously hot here the past few days and almost unbearable.

I feel like I sweat all day.

I did manage to work out in the air conditioned gym yesterday for 40 minutes, but felt so hot afterward.

Then our poor airconditioning unit went on the fritz making it more hot and miserable.

I am glad it is going to be cooler this weekend at least I can hope it will be.

A.M. Run

2006-08-01T09:38:00.000-04:00

So we did it again, we got up and went running at 6:30 am. We should have gone sooner since it was already 75 and humid. We did the same two miles we did on Sunday. I ran almost the whole first mile, but was so sweaty, I walked about 1/4 of the second mile. My time was still pretty decent, 26:57.

Total run 26:57
Total distance 2.03 miles
average pace 13:12 mile

Conclusion: I should not run when it is this hot out. I am now exhausted.

Last night we went the pool for about 45 minutes after work instead of going to the gym.
It was very cool and relaxing

I forgot to mention that i tried yoga again this weekend. It was an easier tape called you can do yoga. It was 24 minutes and it was pretty relaxing and not hard at all.

Holy Hotness batman

2006-07-31T15:38:00.000-04:00

It is so hot today ,that I feel like I could fry eggs on the sidewalk or something.

I thought about running this morning, but it didn't happen. Mostly because I was nervous about the interview and wasn't sure running when it was already so humid was a good idea. I do hope to run tomorrow morning , perhaps at 6 again

I think tonight we are going to go to the gym since it has a/c not sure how long I want to work out for, but i figure we can put in a little time.

We are then going to visit with our friends and their new baby, in a/c. So hopefully it will be a cool evening.

The interview this afternoon went well, not sure I will get offered the job or if I want it even. Alot to think about. Also I don't recommend interviewin when it is that hot outside. I found it very hard to concentrate.

Early Morning Run

2006-07-30T18:05:00.000-04:00

This morning my hubby and I got up at 6am to go for our morning run. We were scheduled to run 4 miles today, but I knew we weren't up for it in this heat. We decided to do a two mile run. When we wen't out at 6ish, the temperature was 70 and 100% humidity. It sadly felt great, it has been so hot here, that it felt cool.

The run actually felt good because it was cooler. I ran parts of the run on the road, which I usually avoid because I run pretty slow, but since no one was out that early, the roads were quiet. I run better on pavement then sidewalk which seems so unforgiving to my body.

Total run 2.03 miles
Total Time: 26:38
Mile Pace 13:07

This is the fastest I've run that route, which gives me hope that I am at least improving some what and that in the fall my paces might improve.

Friday night

2006-07-28T21:33:00.000-04:00

Sad that my exciting friday nights now involve going to the gym and coming come and watching tv.

When did we get so old?

Aanyway 45 minutes at the gym
33 Eliptical Trainer
12 minutes treadmill
TOtal calories burned 450

Exitement fo the evneing I got a new scale that atcually works. My weight is exactly the same as it was at the doctor 3 weeks ago. sad but true. I need to get back on track of losing weight.

\

Interview

2006-07-28T12:11:00.000-04:00

I have a job interview on Monday. It is with an academic unit here. The position is an administrative secretarial position. I have applied for about 15 jobs through the new system , but this is the first where the pay range is actually more then I make currently, which is one of the things that would be interesting about the job. (feel free to email me directly for more info).

My problem is what to wear, it is supposed to be 95 on Monday and I have a skirt and blazer that I could wear with a shirt/cami underneath, but is that dressy enough?

I don't think I have a suit that fits anymore, I could wear pants and a dress shirt.

My other big issue is one that I think I am thinking too far a head about and shouldn't worry yet. Which is what would I do if I got offered the job. I know that I wouldn't take it unless they offered substantially more then I currently make. Since as I mentioned the position is posted at a rate higher then mine, I don't think that would be an issue.
I think the next issue becomes is it enough money to make it worth leaving a job .

Not that a new job scares me, it is within the same U so all of my benefits, vacation etc would carry over, but is the long term questions like, will I like working with the people, would I like doing that job, when I decide to have children, would they be flexible with my schedule, etc.

Also, I have never worked on the academic side here, would I like it?

So many questions.

Maybe Sleeping is the answer

2006-07-28T09:32:00.000-04:00

According to this study, sleeping more can help you lose weight. The idea being that if you sleep more, you have less waking hours to spend eatting. I suppose that isn't rocket science.

Strength/Ab work

2006-07-28T09:31:00.000-04:00

Spent about 20 minutes doing some arm work and also some ab work. So far I don't feel any affects, which is good. I need to do both of these on a regular basis. I don't mind them and they help.

Thursday on the treadmill

2006-07-27T20:31:00.000-04:00

We decided to head to the gym for our run this evening due to the heat. It has been in the 80s here with 100% humidity. The humidity alone was enough to wreck havoc on my allergies this morning. I almost didn't go to work.

So needless to say, I knew we weren't running outdoors. I wasn't even sure how I would do indoors. We originally planned on running on the treadmill for an hour, with the idea that if we wanted to stop sooner we could.

I ended up not doing any routine at all , just running when it felt right and walking when it didn't. After 11 minutes on the treadmill I realized that i really had to go to the bathroom and it wasn't something I could forget about , as I thought earlier. So I stopped the machine and headed downstairs to the bathroom. As a result I lost 2 minutes off my workout time.
Those first 11 minutes I had only gone .7 miles, so I wasn't going very fast at all.
I got back on and reset my machine for the remainder of the workout. I was trying to watch tv while on the treadmill, which I obviously haven't mastered since I kept feeling I like I was going to fall of the machine. I settled in and ran for a while and then got tired and walked. This went on and on. About 25 minutes in to the second segment of my workout, my husband asked how it was going. I said I didn't think I wanted to be there an hour, so we decided to switch to 45 minutes. The last ten minutes I tried a few short segments at a fast speed and the would settle into a steady run. Overall I think it went well, I much prefer running outside , but I doubt that will happen often unless I run in the early morning.

Total time 42 minutes
Total distance 2.7 miles

Need to get back on track

2006-07-27T16:26:00.000-04:00

Lately I feel like I've been floundering in my efforts to lose weight and exercise. The exercise part I am pretty consistent on until recently, I just need to figure out what is driving me to each such crap. I also need to find out why I've lost my motivation lately.

I think part of it is that it is easier to just eat whatever is around then to think of something to eat thats healthy. This heat isn't helping anything either. Who wants to cook when it is so hot outside?

I think the same thing seems to be going for exercise right now, when I do it I enjoy it, but sometimes getting myself to go to the gym or find a time when it isn't hot outside seems alot harder then it did earlier in the summer. Oh how I long for fall.

So I am going to get back on track starting now, some how some way , any ideas?

Water water everywhere

2006-07-27T08:59:00.000-04:00

Yesterday it started raining at about 3pm and it rained all night long pretty much. We were scheduled to go to the gym last night, but since it was a downpour when I left work, we nixed that idea. We had plans to be at my inlaws to take out the six year old for dinner and book shopping at 6pm, and luckily the rain died down by then only to pick up once we were on the road. Its one of the few times I am actually glad we were in a SUV as a ton of the streets were flooded.

The evening went well. It is much harder buying books with a six year old then I thought.
After I got home, I typed a report for my mother in law and went to bed.

I woke up this morning feeling quite crappy....humidity and allergies don't mix.

Tuesday Night Run

2006-07-26T08:47:00.000-04:00

Last night I thought it was cool enough to run outside. We had decided to do a two mile run, running as much as we could, walking when we needed. I think I started off too fast, and it was way too hot. My split was about 13:10, but then I got stopped by someone asking for directions and although I stopped my watch about a minute into the conversation, I am not sure of exact times. My final time ended up being 26:57 which ends up being at 13:30 mile, which is really race pace at this point for me. So needless to say , I was a hot sweaty tired mess by the time I got home and still had to find something for dinner and grocery shop.

Total Workout 27 minutes
Distance 2 miles

Running Plan Needed.

2006-07-26T08:43:00.000-04:00

We switched our running days to T, TH and Sunday. I am not sure what training schedule we are using. My goals at this point are to improve my stamina, distance and hopefully some day speed. If anyone has suggestions on a program or plan let me now.

Hair and the Heat

2006-07-25T11:51:00.000-04:00

Well very similarly to bstab, I got sick of my hair last night. Granted I have a ton less hair then she did, but my hair is thick and it was just getting annoying. So at 10:30 last night, I decided to trim my bangs just a bit, which ended up being me trimming about 1.5 inches of hair or perhaps more. I think it looks pretty cute, and it much more tolerable.

AM Walk

2006-07-24T09:40:00.000-04:00

This morning I actually didn't feel too sore, I think because I napped yesterday afternoon and otherwise kept moving until about 5 or so yesterday.

I went walking with the woman from work and her friends this morning for about 65 minutes. It was a good walk, with different uphill and downhill points so it was good to stretch my legs. After I felt pretty tired, but now I won't feel bad when I go home and nap after work.

They were just really fast

2006-07-24T09:39:00.000-04:00

No wonder we felt so slow. My mom just read this on a local runners forum

OH/MI: deepest field of elite runners for any race around here, racing atmostphere.
Competition wise - OH/MI is number one.
the results from the past two years show around 50 runnere each year under six minute pace. five runners in the past two years were under five minute pace with two runners last year running under 19 minutes.

4 Mile Race

2006-07-23T19:26:00.000-04:00

Today I competed in my first race beyond the 5k mark. It as a 4 mile road race that went from Ohio into Michigan and back. I knew going into the race that I wasn't going to be fast, and i as just worried about finishing. Running in the heat has been really hard. Luckily this morning it was in the mid seventies.
The run was supposed to be a 4 mile run/fitness walk, but when we started, everyone took off really fast and I am not sure where the walkers were if there were any. We were pretty much left in the dust. Luckily I was running with my mom and husband or I might have been discouraged by that.

Anyway the route was on paved country roads and we ran on one half of the street and traffic was on the other. The first mile didn't seem so bad, and I think were going to fast. I think our split was about 13:45 ( i can't really recall) except my mom's fuel belt broke shortly after that. It just split in half, like my husbands. This slowed us a bit, but once we resolved to ditch it, we were back on track.

There wasn't much to look at , just weeds, corn and telephone poles so it was hard to get in a good zone, we were also just running on straight stretches of road. We finished our second mile in about 29, at this point we knew were half way done, but still had a long ways to go.
The only bad thing about running in the country, was we kept encountering a manure smell, that forced to speed up past it.

At about 2.75 miles in , we saw the other runners doing their cool down runs past us. This was a bit discouraging. 3 mile time was about 40 minutes. We only had one mile to go. At this point I felt a blister developing at on my foot, but I just kept going.

When we turned the corner for the last .75 miles, I tried to speed up some and managed to pass a few runners, the end took us into a park and we got to run by the mist of sprinklers which was fun.

Final unofficial finish time : 53.20

UPDATE: Official time: 53:03:27. My mom finished third in her age group. Yay Mom.
The fastest runner finished in 19:31:61 , which confirms this really was a fast group.

Art Fair Friday

2006-07-21T16:58:00.000-04:00

Today I survived the art fair. I headed down at 10 am with my parents and we stayed until about 1. I can't say that we really saw any amazing art, but we did see a ton of interesting people. Do people not look in mirrors before they leave the house. Got some free clif samples and enjoyed spending time with my parents.

I was annoyed by the number of people at the fair and that is no big surprise. Mouse summed it up pretty well. Most of the people who live and or work here just wish it would end.

I am probably going back tomorrow, glutton for punishment perhaps, but my inlaws wanted to go so I thought I would try it again for a bit.

I think we are skipping our run tonight. My hubby has been working extra hard this week do to the fair and I have had enough exercise for today I think.

Total walking distance 5miles

T.G.I.T

2006-07-20T09:13:00.000-04:00

Thank goodness its Thursday. I have tomorrow off to go explore the fairs with my parents. I might go tonight with the hubby, but it looks like rain so we may go to the gym instead and out to dinner. If we do go to the fairs tonight, I won't feel bad skipping the gym since we will be walking around for a long time.

I have the 4 mile run on Sunday so think my last run day beforehand will be tomorrow. Hopefully I can run outside in the morning, but it may have to wait to the treadmill at night

Treadmill Run

2006-07-20T09:10:00.000-04:00

Last night, we headed to the gym after work for our 45 minute run on the treadmill. I was glad to be running indoors since it was once again warm and muggy outside.

The gym was nice and cool when we got there, but as soon as I started running, I didn't even feel it. The run was the usual 3/2 with a5 minute warm up.

The run segments felt decent until about 20 minutes in when I got a side stitch, I think I had dranken water too quickly. I ran through it until the walk segment then stretched during the walk to try to eliviate it.

It cleared pretty quickly and I continued on. I felt decent for the whole thing, except that I was really hot. I ended up doing about 43 minutes as by the time I got back from the bathroom, my husband was already 2 minutes in.

Total run 43 minutes
Total distance 2.97 miles

sleep

2006-07-19T09:59:00.000-04:00

its amazing how much better life seems with a good nights sleep. I ended up not going to bed until my normal time last night even though I was exhausted. I did take a 30 minute nap earlier in the evening so maybe that helped.

I watched tv and did some ab and strength work and then called it a night.

Today would be a great refreshing day if it weren't for the fact that the Annual art fair has started and thousands and thousands of people are invading town.

Pool

2006-07-18T20:58:00.000-04:00

I forgot to mention earlier, that prior to our powerless evening, we had spent about 1.5 hours in the pool. I am not sure how much of that counts as exercise, but it was alot of fun and a good way to stay cool.

And then there was light

2006-07-18T20:54:00.000-04:00

Our power came back on sometime this afternoon, Thank goodness. No major losses, a carton of ice cream, some freezer pops, an almost empty gallon of milk.

All electrical appliances and computer un damaged.

Krabby Kiki

2006-07-18T10:49:00.000-04:00

I am pretty cranky today and with good cause. We lost power at about 11:30pm last night and it flickered 3 or 4 times and then went out for good. We are still without power.

It was pretty warm still last night at least in our apartment and since we had no way to bring the air in from the outside, it was miserable.
I managed to fall asleep at about 1am and slept until about 3:30 at which time my allergies were driving me crazy.
I woke up for a bit, moved to the living room to sleep on the couch since our balcony door was bringing in a cool breeze.

I then slept until about 6 o'clock and went back to sleep again until 7:15, at which time I showered in the dark bathroom and left for work with the Milk, Yogurt and random other stuff from the fridge. My hair of course was wet , and actually is still not dry all the way.

I am glad to be in my airconditioned office with power, no word on what caused the outage and not estimate of when it might come back.

oh joy.

Book 18 Completed

2006-07-17T10:18:00.000-04:00

I just finished reading How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got A Life: A Novel

As some of you may recall, this book was involved in a scandal earlier this year and was pulled from the bookstore shelves after it was decided portions were Plagiarised.

Since I had read the other set of books, I was curious to see how similar the books were. You could definitely tell that some of the main ideas of the other book were stolen.

The book on a whole was a cute book, the premise is that Opal is a 17 year old senior who is trying to get into Harvard and realizes at her early admissions interview that while she is smart enough for harvard, the admissions counselor wants her to be more wellrounded and like an average teen instead of a girl whose only focus is harvard. She and her parents design a plan on as to how she will get a life in order to get into harvard.

Book 18 of book challenge completed. (way behind schedule)

Birthday Party

2006-07-17T10:09:00.000-04:00

Yesterday the majority of the day at my brother-in-law's birthday party. We were supposed to go bowling, but found out the bowling alley didn't open until 5, so we went to lunch/dinner at 3:30 and my brother in law fell asleep at the table.

I guess he needed a nap. Keep in mind he turns 6 on Tuesday. Anyway he slept through most of lunch, while his little friends, mom, brother, sister and I ate lunch. He had invited the little girl next door and her mother, a friend of his sister's and her little brother. So it was 3 6 year olds, 2 11 year old and then the adults.

We went back to the bowling alley. We were the first ones there which is pretty funny. So we got two bowling lanes. One with bumpers for the kids and one without for the adults.
We are all pretty horrible bowlers. I think my husband had the high score which was 80 and I was in third with 72. The little kids about the same scores we did.

It was pretty fun, I enjoy bowling even though I'm not very good at it. After bowling it was time for cake and ice cream, and then we watched glory road.

It was a long day. I didn't get home until after 10.

A.M. RUN

2006-07-17T10:02:00.000-04:00

Well I did it, I got up this morning and ran at 6:30 in the morning. This is quite an accomplishment for me since I don't really like getting up early.

Due to the heat that is anticipated for today, I knew that the only way I was going to run is if I did it before the temperature got to high. It was 65 with a humidity of 100% this morning and I knew that was the best we were going to get.

I got my gear together and headed out on the same two mile route we did yesterday. We did a 4 minute walking warm up and then ran 3/walked 2 .

The temperature was decent, but the air just didn't move at all. Luckily, I didn't feel sore or anything since I had only done two miles yesterday and that had been early.

The run felt good, I felt as though I could have run a bit longer on some of the sets, but didn't want to push it. Total time ended up being comparable to yesterdays.

Total: 29:15
Distance 2:03
Pace 14:24
I think had we run more we would have beat the pace.
You can definitely see what lack of heat does to my running ability. Although my time was slower today, I walked about 10 minutes of that so thats not bad at all.

I got to work pretty early today which means I may actually go to the pool tonight.

2 Mile Run in the Heat

2006-07-16T09:30:00.000-04:00

Our planned 4 mile run today was postponed due to Heat. I didn't have the motivation to run that far in the heat. We decided to do 2 miles today and hopefully 2 miles tomorrow.

The two mile route I chose for today was partly shady and on a paved surface. It wasn't so bad in the shade, but the air wasn't moving at all which made it harder to catch your breath or feel motivated.

Our time wasn't bad considering the heat. Total distance 2.03, time 28:53. Pace 14:13

Its way too hot

2006-07-15T12:51:00.000-04:00

It is hot out and going to get hotter. Tomorrow's high is supposed to be 95. I think our run will have to be really early so I don't die of heat stroke.

Last night I did manage to do some ab and strength work so that I didn't punk out on exercise for the whole day.

I talked to my favorite Aunt last night on the phone, she too has tried taking up running, but got frustrated because it was so hot. I told her to try again in the fall, how I miss running in the cold.

I am off to clean the bathroom and then hopefully get some reading in while trying to stay cool.

I have a ton of books I have taken out of the library and not finished.

While I am thinking about it, can anyone recommend any new music for me to run too?

I will be back tomorrow to update on the run.

Frickin Hot Friday

2006-07-14T16:25:00.000-04:00

It is way too hot here lately, I have zero motivation to do anything except sleep, which may be why I have been late getting out of bed every day this week.
My computer has been better today which was good. I think we are skipping running today. I just don't feel like it, and I know I would be miserable if I tried.

I did work out yesterday for 30 minutes on the eliptical before going to visit my other friend who had a baby just recently. Her baby boy is a little over 3 weeks old. He is very cute.
We then proceeded to eat Pizza hut, which negated the working out I suppose.

I need to do better about my eatting, for the most part I don't eat too badly, but I tend to binge on junk at night.

In other news, my ab muscles are sore today, and I am not sure why. I did crunches but that was on Wednesday.

I also wanted to mention that I got a cute pair of terry gauchos and love them. In fact I ordered another color as well. They are very comfy.

Carpet

2006-07-13T09:16:00.000-04:00

I forgot to mention that my newly cleaned carpet looks very nice. It was still a little damp last night, so I still have stuff to put away tonight, but not too much.

Too hot to run outside

2006-07-13T09:08:00.000-04:00

I knew better and went outside running last night anyway. The temperature was in the 80's with high humidity, but I needed to get a run in and didn't want to go to the gym.

We decided that the neighborhoods near us would be shady enough. We decided to do run 4/walk 2. The start of the run wasn't bad, but about 20minutes in I was roasting, had started to get sun rash and had a side cramp. Our 35 minute session ended at 30 minutes due to the heat. The running actually felt good had it not been for the heat.

We then went grocery shopping and finished the laundry. I managed to get in 25 minutes of ab/strength work as well

Run: 30 minutes pace 4/2. Total distance to come later.
Strength/ab work 25 minutes

Only Wednesday

2006-07-12T16:21:00.000-04:00

Could this week seem any longer. Today is only Wednesday and it feels like it should be Friday. More computer problems today, although this time I was only forced to abandon my computer for 2 hours. I think it is fixed now. (fingers crossed)

I stayed up too late moving stuff for the carpet cleaners and as a result couldn't get up this morning. Thank goodness I showered last night, as I woke up 8 minutes before I needed to leave the house.

Today we are planning to run outside, but since I also need to do laundry tonight and put stuff back from the carpet cleaning and go grocery shopping it is going to be a long night.

Its only Tuesday

2006-07-11T21:11:00.000-04:00

My week has been so hectic already and its only Tuesday. My work computer lost its IP address monday, leaving me with the inability to access our office network, email, blogs etc. I have been working from an office laptop all day Monday and this morning. My computer was finally fixed at 2pm.

Hence my lack of blogging.

Yesterday afternoon, the hubby and I decided to check out a park we saw on our Sunday run. The park is really nice and has three different trails. We walked around for about 45 minutes exploring the different trails. We decided we should come back some day to run there. My only concern is that it isn't very shady so it will have to be when it was cooler.

Last night and today, I have been trying to straighten up and move things as my carpets are getting cleaned tomorrow. I am not bothering moving the big stuff, but still need to move the small chairs and other misc clutter from the floors.

This and our walk tired me out last night, I really didnt want to get up today...it was so humid and gloomy out. It was miserable all day, so humid. It finally rained at 2pm , but it didn't cool anything off. It just started raining again and it is starting to get cooler.

I did do a bit of strength training today...about 30 minutes of arm and ab work.

I was trying to watch King Kong, but found it sort of boring....maybe it will get better in hour 2.

Tomorrow we are hoping to run outside in the shady neighborhood near our house. lets hope its not too hot.

Thank goodness tomorrow is Wednesday.

Sunday Long Run

2006-07-09T16:49:00.000-04:00

So I mis read the sheet and todays run was actually 5 mile not 4.

We headed out later then I wanted at 10:30 and it was already 76 and Super Sunny. The run didn't feel as long since it was shorter then the 7 miles we did last week. I started out slow in the beginning which I think helped later. The pace was run 4/walk 2.

The total run took 1hour 14minutes 23 seconds

Which is two minutes faster then the last time I ran the same route.

Baby time

2006-07-08T23:04:00.000-04:00

Today I got to see my friend and her adoreable I repeat adoreable baby. They came to visit today. I know my friend was worried about not being energtic or entertaining enough, but honestly it was good to see her , and her husband and of course baby Katie. You could see the joys of parenthood on their faces even though they were tired. You can also see their obvious love, affection and overwhelming awe and wonderment at their new daughter. I can only imagine what that feeling is , but my guess is that it is the feeling that makes parenting worth it.

I look forward to many fun adventures with little miss Katie. It will be fun to watch her grow up. Its good to have girl to play.

Update on Yesterday's treadmill run

2006-07-08T11:22:00.000-04:00

I was worried about running since on Wednesday, I was still sore from our Sunday adventure. The schedule run was 45 minutes at run 4 /walk 1 with a 5 minute walk warmup.

The first 2 four minute segments felt like a struggle, but after i settled in, I learned to use my 1 minute as short as it was as recover time and then actually was able to run a few of the segments comfortably.
One of my big issues was that I was really sweaty, (there were no towels at the gym...see below), but I didn't let that stop me. I luckily wasn't as stiff has i had been earlier in the week.

Total time on Treadmill: 45 minutes/ distance 3.16 miles/ pace 14.30/calories burned 510

I was a little upset that there were no towels at the gym when we got there. Keep in mind that I usually love my gym since you walk in and everyone is nice an friendly and says hello and there is always a fresh stack of towels. On friday nights however, I don't know if it the B-team or what, but they seem not thrilled to be there and would prefer to chat and flirt then fold towels and have them ready. So we walked in no towels, no greeting. 45 minutes later, I go to fill up my water, completely sweaty and in need of towel and sure enough the towels are back there, but not folded, the guys are still busy chatting. I go to the desk and say "excuse me, can I please have a towel" and he hands me an unfolded towel from the bin and goes back to chatting. Ten minutes later when we leave after cleaning the machines and cooling down a bit, both guys are still chatting as I throw my dirty towe l into the basket.
My question is , is it really that hard to fold towels and talk? We pay a membership fee that I am sure pays their wage, wouldn't it be nice if they actually did their job?

Yay its Saturday

2006-07-08T11:12:00.000-04:00

How glad am I that it is Saturday. This week seemed really long even though Tuesday was a Holiday. I think its because hardly anyone worked the whole week and it made it harder for me to work.

Its Saturday now though and I get to relax and have fun and not worry about work. My friend and her husband and baby are coming to visit today. I am excited to meet little Katie.

Other than that I don't think we have huge plans for the weekend, tomorrow's run is a 4 mile which after last week seems like nothing. Realistically, I think it will be harder then I anticipate, but I hope not.

I think we are planning to get a pizza and watch movies, exciting married life for you.

Thursday already.....

2006-07-06T19:12:00.000-04:00

Since I worked on Monday and then had Tuesday off, I am a bit through off by the fact that today is Thursday. It is a good thing though since I really don't think I would make it much longer this week. I've been busy at work and the days have been long.

Speaking of work, I've been applying for jobs that look interesting on the university website, I don't hate my job, but definitely would move to a different department if there was a better opportunity, or even better more money involved. So I have applied for about 11 jobs and have already got called for two interviews in the last few days. The first one I turned down after re-reading the job description and realizing I wouldn't like it. The second one, I got a call on today. It is a decent sounding job, but I dont' think it pays any better than what I make now. I don't think I am willing to move jobs without a pay advancement of some sort. Do I interview and see if they will offer more money or not waste my time.

In other news 40 minutes on the eliptical machine today, didn't do any work on it last week so it felt good. I love that you can burn so many calories on the eliptical and it doesn't seem like a ton of work. In fact I read star magazine (don't worry I didn't buy it) and watched the Hills while working out. How fun is that.

I am happy that tomorrow is Friday.

Wednesday Run

2006-07-05T18:39:00.000-04:00

After running 7 miles on Sunday, we have pretty much avoided most of our normal physical activity.

Monday : 10 minutes of Yoga, 15 minute walk to work
Tuesday: 25 Minutes of Strength Training

Today , we were scheduled for a 45 minute Run3/Walk 2 sequence at the gym, but since the weather was so beautiful we decided to run outside.

The workout felt pretty good after about 10 minutes into it and my body started to loosen up. The sun was hot, but in the shady areas it was just perfect. We went about 2.97 miles in 43 minutes and then stopped at the grocery store to pick up a couple things and did a short walk home.

Total distance 2.97 miles not including walk home, time 43.00 . Pace 14.28.

still tired

2006-07-03T15:25:00.000-04:00

I am still tired and a bit sore from yesterday's workout. I am at work, one of the handful of people who didn't get today off. Its fine though, as I am getting a bunch of stuff done or at least I should be getting stuff done.

Also the weather here is icky today so I don't mind being at work.

How tired I am after today's run

2006-07-02T13:33:00.000-04:00

The goal today was to do a 7 mile route running and walking. I really wasn't sure we would be able to finish it at all. We left the house a bit after 9 and it was already 78 degrees outside.
The first mile or so was ok. The second mile I was hot and tired and could have turned around, but we kept going. The halfway point involved two steep hills and honestly I wasn't sure we were going to make it back home. We were both really tired already and we still had 3.5 miles left to go. The next half mile was when things got complicated. My husband's fuel belt broke into two pieces. I ended up slipping it over my fuel belt and running with it. My husband got stuck running with his water bottle. I refused to just leave them behind, since the fuel belt is only a month old.

The next mile or so, I think perhaps because we stopped seemed really slow and agonizing. I wanted to be home. The weather started looking a little bleak, the winds had picked up at about the half way mark and we really thought we were going to get caught in the rain storm. Luckily for us, it was just windy, which helped with the heat. At about 5.5 miles into the run, I could really feel my muscles starting to get tired ,and I was sure I had a blister or two developing on my foot. Things just didn't feel right.

The next stretch of the run took us down a shady side street which was good , I don't think my body likes running on sidewalk, and on the main streets I can't run on the road because I am too slow, but here it was ok.

When we turned the last corner and it was a straight shot to the apartment, I just knew I had to keep going.

We made it. Total time was 2 hrs 15 minutes. Total distance 7.26 miles.

I did stop my watch for about half of the fuel belt fiasco and you have to figure in traffic lights etc, but my pace was 18.35 which isn' horrible.

at least we finished.
I am really tired now. We just went and had pancakes and I think I am ready for a nap now.

Busy Weekend

2006-07-01T23:39:00.000-04:00

Thought I would update everyone on my weekend.

Yesterday after work, we went to the gym for 30 minutes and did our usual run/walk program. I went about 2.2 miles in the 30 minutes.

After that we went to the local Comedy club since I had won free tickets. It was a pretty funny show.

Today, I did laundry and cleaned.

Did a bit of strength training

Then I hungout with a friend from out of town and visited with another friend and her new baby.

This evening, I went to an outdoor festival here with my inlaws. It was fun and relaxing.

Heading to bed now. Seven mile run tomorrow

Here's to a different age bracket

2006-06-30T08:50:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to wish my Mom a Happy Birthday.

We were talking the other day about her birthday and how she would now be moving up to the higher age bracket, where she might be more competitive.

Funny how running has become such a part of our lives now. I would have never thought that possible a year or even six months ago.

Happy Birthday Mom, Here's to a higher age bracket . I love you.

Movies, Motivation, Mostly Rambling

2006-06-29T21:16:00.000-04:00

Saw Superman returns yesterday, it was acually better then I expected. I am not a big fan of those type of movies, and was pleasantly surprised.

I didn't go to the gym yesterday as a result of going to a movie that is over 2 hours. I did do some arm work yesterday for about 20 minutes.

Work has been busy, I am trying to hire students for a summer and fall positions. I have an overwhelming number of applications and only so many hours to offer.

Today my hubby deicded he didn't want to go to the gym, So I did a mini workout instead of the 42 minute one we had scheduled.

I ran walked for about 25 minutes. I felt stiff and not really in tune with my running. I didn't even pace the run/walk segments. It was too hot and i had forgotten sunscreen so I just walked when i needed to and ran when I could.

The run took me to the drugstore where I waited to pick up my prescription and got a free 20.00 gift card for transfering my prescription.

Then I did a 5 minute walk home.

Total time run walk 25 minutes, distance 1.6 miles
walking cool down 5 minutes

Insert Wednesday Running Recap here

2006-06-28T08:16:00.000-04:00

I was supposed to get up this morning and run at the gym. It didn't happen. I think I tried to do too much yesterday and ended up being too tired today.

Last night I got home and did a load of laundry, made dinner, did the dishes and then went grocery shopping at 8:30pm. What was I thinking? We needed groceries, and tonight we are going to see Superman Returns at around 5 and that means my whole evening is pretty much shot.

I am planning to run at the gym both Thursday and Friday taking saturday off from running then doing the big 7 mile on Sunday.

At least thats the plan.

I did manage to do about 20 minutes of strength training/mostly arms last night while watching Miami Ink.

Non Stop

2006-06-27T14:56:00.000-04:00

So in an effort to increase our running stamna and put in more miles per week, we decided that once a week, we would try to run for a mile non-stop and then keep increasing the speed.
If need be, we can walk a small portion, but we should try to run as much as we can.

We headed out this morning on our 1.02 mile run ( not sure why I couldn't get it to be exactly a mile on the map) It was about 7:15 and already 70 degrees with 95% humidity.

The run started out rough, I was tired, and really could have turned around and went back inside, but I trudged on . I finished the first 4 minutes, when I usually start walking , and kept on running, then it was make it to 8 and then it was at least make it to the final corner, and sure enough I did. I started getting a rhythm and increased and decreased speed without, saving enough energy to do a decent speed run to the finish.

Final time 13:43

I really actually enjoyed it much more then I thought I would.

I walked for a minute or so to cool down and then headed inside to get ready for work.

I have since then walked about 20 minutes to different places today. It is way too hot to be outside so I am glad I did something this morning.

Goal for tonight is to do some arm exercises.

Goal Update

2006-06-26T20:24:00.000-04:00

This blog is going to be short, as I decided that cutting down on the amount of time I spend on the computer at home is another goal.

I have been doing really well at goal 1, good for the most part on goal number two and three, and have been struggling with 4 &5. Although I did avoid turning on the tv yesterday afternoon, I watched a movie with the inlaws last night. Today so far I watched an hour of tv and probably will watch 1 hour more and hopefully that will be it.

As for reading, I read a magazine at gym today and one yesterday, but haven't really gotten into a book lately. I have some from the library that I need to pick up.

As for exercise for today.
I had two short walks at work today of about 10 minutes each.
Then at the gym tonight I did 12 minutes on the Stationary bike only to find it really didn't feel right and I also noticed it burns less calories then the eliptical so i switched and did 28 minutes on that.

Total workout 40 minutes at the gym.

May try to do some strength stuff while watching tv later, if not I will do it tomorrow for sure.

Night all.

Paperclips Project

2006-06-25T11:24:00.000-04:00

I highly recommend watching the Paperclips Project documentary. It is about a school in rural Tennessee whose teachers in an effort to teach about tolerance and diversity start teaching middle schoolers about the holocaust. The students can't really comprehend the number of people killed during the holocaust and start collecting paper clips in an effort to understand. The documentary follows the process and how the whole community ends up being affected by the project.

This is one of those documentaries that I think everyone should watch.

4 mile run

2006-06-25T11:16:00.000-04:00

Today's scheduled run was 4 miles. run 4 min/walk 2. We didn't get out until about 10 am this morning and by then it was already sunny, humid but luckily not too hot. The route I chose this time had some hills and was in the direct sun since we really need to get used to the conditions.

The thing I notice about me and running is that sometime's its still the hardest thing for me to do, and other times it feels so natural and fun. Not that I ever dread running, I just get frustrated that I can only go so fast or for so long.

Once i hit the half way point, I felt better, knowing it was half way over.

My skin doesn't really like the sun and I tend to get sun rash even if i wear sunblock so i Need to figure out what to do about that.

I am glad I went out and ran, next week I think we need to go out earlier since we are doing the 7 mile.

Total distance 4.12
total time 1:03
average pace 15:18

New Goals

2006-06-24T14:32:00.000-04:00

I am still working on ironing these out completely, but I need to start holding myself accountable for my actions again. I know you see that I have been working out, but what you don't see is that I've falling deeply off the healthy eating bandwagon, I have managed to get back on , but still have occasional tumbles.

So I am have decided that new goals will make me more accountable.

Immediate Goals
1. To stick to regular exercise routine and blog all forms of exercise
2. To record all food eatten in food journal of some sort.
3. To eat out less (goal is Once a month at a restaurant, 1-2 a month reasonably healthy takeout)
4. To watch less tv. (less then 2 hours a day) I have fallen victim to the new summer shows.
5. To read more

Long Term Goals
1. To lose 30 more pds at least
2. To run/walk in a 10k in November

Saturday Walk

2006-06-24T14:27:00.000-04:00

I just got back from about an hour walk, since it is relatively cool out today, it would have a good day to run, but since I ran yesterday night, I knew I shouldn't run, so I decided to go for a walk. The weather was prefect, sun was out but not beating down on me, and it was generally pleasant. I did about a 3.3 mile walk in a little less then an hour.

Now of course, I am tired. I do plan to do some arm work later and go play in the pool.

Trying to find the perfect routine

2006-06-24T14:23:00.000-04:00

I feel like even though we are doing a decent running plan, that I am not getting the most out of weekly work outs.

As most of you know, we have been doing the half marathon training program, even though we have no plans to do a half marathon.

I think this plan is definitely improving our endurance, but may not be helping with our overall improvement of our running.

I am thinking of continuing the pan but adding in another workout of 1 mile or so a week that would be just running as long as I can run and then walking.

I am also making some new goals. Should be posting them in just a bit.

Outdoor Evening Run

2006-06-24T14:18:00.000-04:00

In an attempt to get used to running outside when its hot, we decided to take our Friday Treadmill run outside last night.
We headed out at about 6:00 or so. It was about 78 degrees and sunny, but lucky for us our neighborhood has a lot of good shady spots so we got the advantage of running outside and getting used to warmer temperatures, but were able to avoid too much direct sun light. We continued our schedule plan by doing a 5 minute warm up then a 40 minute run 3/walk 2 pace then walking a few minutes for cool down.

The workout wasn't bad, there was decent breeze on occasion.

Total distance 2.96 miles in 45 minutes
15 minutes per mile pace.

After our cooldown, we decided to go to the pool for additional cool down purposes.

Pool time 20 minutes

Day off

2006-06-22T18:48:00.000-04:00

Today I had the day off from work for my annual doctor's visit. Amazing how when you reach a certain age and say you are taking the day off to go to the doctors, most people assume you are pregnant. I had at least 4 people in my office ask me that. I replied no, I just don't want to come back to work after being poked and proded.
That is one of the downfalls of working in a small office, everyone tries to be in your business.

Doctor's appt went well. Officially got weighed and I've lost about 25 pd since my last doctor's appt a little over a year ago, which is good, I would still like to lose more though.

After my appt I came home and watched afternoon tv. Too bad it was mostly soaps, which I don't like.

I did the biggest loser boatcamp workout, which it was way too hot out to do. I also did some arm work as well.
Exercise Today: 20 Minutes biggest loser, 15 minutes strength
Exercise Yesterday: 40 minutes on Treadmill 5 minute warm up run 3/walk 2 total distance 2.83 miles.

Sorry no blog yesterday

2006-06-22T18:37:00.000-04:00

I was going to blog after I got home from the gym yesterday, but didn't due to severe thunderstorm warning and tornado watch. The weather here didn't get that bad, down by my parents house there was tornado warning. I called them to make sure they were hiding in the hallway(they don't have a basement and used to make my sister and I hid in the pantry closet when we were little) My mom laughed and said it wasn't bad there. I told her our news stations were reporting a tornado only a few miles from their house. (although it hasn't been confirmed yet)
It was still storming pretty bad when i went to bed last night, today it is humid and pretty dry, although we have another t-storm watch today.
Crazy Michigan weather

Too Much Energy Tuesday

2006-06-21T09:47:00.000-04:00

Even though I walked yesterday morning, I decided to go to the pool after work yesterday. It wasn't super warm out so the pool was cold at first, but after adjusting to the temperature it wasn't bad.

The pool really isn't big enough to do laps so I usually use one of the pool noodles and do arm work and leg work while on the noodle in one fashion or another. I spent about 40 minutes at the pool.

After that I really felt like I hadn't worked out hard enough and decided to do the biggest loser low cardio workout while prepping dinner. I forgot what a good workout that was.

After that and cooking dinner, I had finally burnt all my extra energy or stress and was finally able to relax and watch some tv.

Total workouts for the day
Walking 1 hour 10 minutes
Pool 40 minutes
Biggest Loser 25 minutes

Car Trouble on a lonely road

2006-06-20T14:01:00.000-04:00

The title may not fit exactly, but every time I think of car trouble I am reminded of that song.

The final verdict on the car is in. The a/c compressor is shot and needs to be replaced. Our original quote on this was over 1000 dollars . We called around to a bunch of other places and found a place that will do it for a bit over 500 dollars, which is much better. Still a large chunk of of change. We have to get it fixed though, so I guess we have no choice.

In other news we did finally make it to the grocery store, and I managed to do really good at budget shopping, using coupons for sale items. I got free salad dressing ...can't beat free.

We didn't make it to the gym, but I did do a 30 minutes of strength training. I am not sure if I will go to the pool or do a work out at home tonight. Tomorrow, we run at the gym.

I went for a walk outside this morning with the woman I used to mall walk with. It was about an hour walk so that was good.

Weekend Re-cap

2006-06-19T11:21:00.000-04:00

Friday night after work we headed down to my parent's house since the 5k we were doing on Saturday was near my hometown.
Saturday we got up early to head to the race, it was already almost 80 and super sunny by the time the race started. The race route was pretty interesting it went in and out of a park, so parts were shady, the parts in the sun though were unbearable. The run was fun, I wasn't trying to go fast, just trying to finish. Finish time was 41.49.

Saturday afternoon, we were supposed to head back and go grocery shopping, but we didn't. We were too tired.

Sunday, I went to the pool for 30 minutes and did some leg and arm work in the water. It was nice and cool and refreshing. I came back to my place to shower and start doing the rest of the chores, but then there was a knock on my door and my in-laws, the mother in law, and the 5 and 10 year old were at the apartment. They stopped by because they were near by and wanted to get something to drink . My mother in law fell asleep and they ended up staying for 3 hours. Then we had to go over to his families house so i got nothing done.

On top of that we are having some sort of car trouble, the airconditioning compressor is making a weird noise, lets hope the fix doesn't cost us an arm and a leg.

Needless to say we should have grocery shopped before since i know either of us are going to be in the mood tonight. We also need to go the gym if the car is running ok.

ugh and it is only monday.

Cotton Candy

2006-06-16T09:52:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned early, we had 25 cent cotton candy at the amusement park when we went, I was happy to read here that

"While fair fave cotton candy isn't exactly good for you (oh come on - you CAN'T really be surprised that spun sugar isn't nutritious, can you?!), a 1 oz. cone of the stuff only contains around 100 calories or so, no fat and less sugar than a can of soda. So while we're not saying you should eat it every day, cotton candy might be a more sensible choice than a lot other carnival treats. WOOHOO...PAR-TAY!"

Thursday Run

2006-06-16T09:34:00.000-04:00

With the 5k coming up tomorrow, both the Hubby and I wanted to do a practice run last night on the treadmill. We both said we were going to run until we couldn't anymore and then walk as needed. I think I ran about .70 miles before I walked .1 mile and then ran again. First Mile was 13:45 and then I switched to run 3/walk 2 for a while at varying speeds.

The total distance traveled was 2.75 miles in 40 minutes or about a 15 minute mile. I know we will probably be faster at the 5k , although we are feeling a bit sluggish and it is supposed to be hot Saturday.

Never enough time

2006-06-16T09:30:00.000-04:00

I really need to get over not liking to get up in the morning or I really need to stop staying up so late. I wanted to go to the gym this morning, since we are leaving for my parent's tonight to run in a 5k tomorrow near their house.

I wanted to do a half hour work out, but didn't get out of the house until late and ended up only doing 20 minutes on the elliptical machine, which I suppose is better then nothing.

I did manage to finally take the two bags of clothes that need to go to charity to the drop off spot behind our gym. The clothes sat by the door of the apartment for at least a month and then in the backseat of the car for another week. So I feel good about getting that done.

Workout time
20 Minutes elliptical Machine

Book update

2006-06-16T09:15:00.000-04:00

I forgot to write that I finished Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner. A book I borrowed from my older sister back in March. It is a chick lit/mystery book and it was actually pretty decent. (book 17 on the book challenge finished)

I just started Elizabeth Berg's We are all welcome here. About a girl growing up in the sixties whose mom contracted polio just before she was born. I just started to read the book, but it looks like it has potential.

Mountain Climbing

2006-06-14T20:28:00.000-04:00

Tonight at the gym, I decided to use the elipticla machine that I usually avoid since I am not really coordinated enough to do arm movements and leg movements at the same time. Since I hadn’t really done any exercise this week, I decided to be adventurous and try the new machine (as opposed to the one I usually use that doesn’t move) . On top of this, I decided to do the hilliest course there was. We were working out for 40 minutes with a 5 minute cool down and it felt like forever. The resistance on the hills was at about 18 at the highest, and I usually do about a 4-5 resistance tops. It was a good work out, but it was tiring.

Tomorrow we run, we have sort of neglected running this week., due to birthday adventures. We are running in a 5k on Saturday, so we are doing 30-40 minutes tomorrow and then calling it a week.

We will try to get back on our regular plan next week.

Birthday Celebration

2006-06-14T10:34:00.000-04:00

So yesterday was my hubby's 30th birthday. I left work slightly early so we could celebrate. We had planned to go running, but didn't instead we went to lunch, a movie, shopping and then dinner.

I was a complete glutton.

Since running 6 miles last Sunday, I haven't done anything remotely athletic.

This morning, I did go for a hour long walk in the trails by my work so I am back on track. I also am going to try to eat better.

Where does time go

2006-06-12T14:49:00.000-04:00

How did it get to be Monday all ready, my weekend seemed to fly by.

My knees started to feel better by mid afternoon. We went to dinner with the inlaws for my hubby's birthday tomorrow. Dinner was good and the kids actually behaved which was good.
Afterward, we went back to their house for cake and watched Rumor Has it....not very good.

Anyway, as a gag gift, my husband's mother gave him bengay, a thermapad and some peppermint foot lotion ...since he is getting old (he turns 30 on Tuesday). I was excited because they are actually things we can use since we've been running. :)

Work hasn't been that bad today, i actually don't feel swamped now that my event is over.

Longest Run to date

2006-06-11T13:27:00.000-04:00

I just finished my longest run to date. I tried to choose a running round t that would be fun, so we ran to douwntown and then back...going on different roads each way. The weather was nice, not to warm, about 65 and partly sunny. I was a bit nervous heading out, but I knew once we got started it wouldn't be so bad. We stuck to the run 3min /walk 2 min plan and it seemed to work pretty well. About 3.5 miles into it, I felt like I could have stopped and called it day, but since we were almost 3 miles from home, I just kept on going. It was fun having a different route to run, with new things to look at. For the most part the sidewalks weren't crowded, except when we got near the churches and then we had church traffic. I wanted to shout "running is my religion" but i didn't :)

As soon as we hit the last mile and a half, which is a stretch shot to my house, my momentum picked back up as I knew the end was near. I tried to stretch throughout my walking segments so I felt pretty good even to the end.

6.04 miles in1 hour 36 minutes.

I walked for a bit to make the total work out 1hr 4o minutes. Soon after stopped, my knees started to tighten, I did stretch and continue to stretch on occasion 2 hours later. Only lingering issue, a bit of stiffness in my right knee, and i may end up having to ice it.

Off to read and relax before dinner out with the in-laws to celebrate early birthday for my hubby, and then to watch a movie.

Life should be back to normal now I hope

2006-06-10T11:13:00.000-04:00

So yesterday was the event I have been working so hard on. Everything went really well, at least I was satified with the parts I had control over. I am sure there is going to be some post event clean up, but beyond that I am done. YAY.

Here is a recap of my last few days, nothing eventful.

June 7th : watched lost, I am so greatful that they are showing the whole second season during the summer so I can catch up. Did 45 minutes on the Eliptical Machine

June 8th: had bad dreams the night before, slept like crap. Trying to get things ready for the event on Friday. Stressed. 40 minutes on Eliptical.

June 9: At retreat all day, ate too much, learned some stuff, got some free giveaways, long day.
Ran on Treadmill for 40 minutes. Distance traveled 2.9 miles
watched Memoirs of a Geisha, which I really liked and would recommend.

I woke up at 10:45 this morning, hopefully going to have a relaxing day. Maybe some strength training. I think I need to houseclean as well...boo.

I need to get back on track with eatting better, I have been so stressed and pmsy that i have been eatting crap all the time lately.

Let me just run to work

2006-06-06T19:49:00.000-04:00

Well I got home from work today and realized that I had forgot to do something that really couldn't wait until tomorrow. I had just put on my workout clothes to do a cardio video at my house and was comtemplating what to do. I had the brilliant idea that I would run to work literally and finish what i needed to do and then I would ride home with my hubby who gets off work soon. Work is only a little over 2 miles away so I thought it wouldn't be that bad. Of course I am not used to running in the middle of the afternoon when the pollen is high, and it is 77 degrees and sunny. I managed to get here in about 30 minutes, and when I paced the route it came out to a 14:39 mile which isn't bad considering I walked parts of it. Luckily there was no one here when I got here since I am a sweaty mess. Luckily I had a cold bottle of water here.

The good news is I got the work done I needed to and managed to get my workout in as well.

I still need to do some strength training probably.

I don't know what this means for my scheduled treadmill run tomorrow. Maybe I won't run and I will do eliptical instead...and then run on Friday and Sunday as planned. We shall see.

Monday Run

2006-06-06T10:55:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I really didn't feel like running, but knew I needed to get in a run before Wednesday, so we headed to the gym. We decided 3o minutes was enough, instead of our usually 45. I did a mini walk warmup of 2 minutes and then headed into the run 3/walk 2. I was able to do some of the runs at 5+ miles per hour. It felt good to run fast. Total distance traveled 2.05 miles in 30 minutes.

I also did about 20 minutes of strength training at home.

Sorry the blogs are getting shorter, super busy at work this week. hopefully next week will be slower.

I'm back

2006-06-05T15:22:00.000-04:00

I'm back from my mini-vacation. In fact, I've been back since Saturday night. The trip to Cedar Point was fun, but tiring. I had a good time. I am not a rollercoaster person so I didn't go on any of the big rides or anything. I did get 25 cent cotton candy and play some games.

I played the age game where the person is supposed to guess your age and write on a piece of paper. If they guess within 2 years of your age on either side, you lose.

The woman guessed I was .....15. Can you believe it.

Overall it was good trip, I ended up skipping my run yesterday because I was too tired. I watched Squid and the Whale and Fantastic Four. I liked Squid and the Whale it was very quirky , but good. Fantastic 4 was definitely a guy movie, but it was ok.

I also read Night by Elie Wiesel this past weekend and I am thinking that puts me at 16 books for the year.

Friday Morning Vacation Long Run

2006-06-02T10:59:00.000-04:00

I am off today, heading to sandusky tonight to go to cedar point tomorrow. Since we both were off, the hubby and I decided to go on our long run today. The run scheduled was 5 miles run 3min/walk 2 min. I mapped out a 5.2 mile route and we headed out at about 9:30 this morning. The weather was perfect, about 65 cloudy with a breeze. The run wasn't bad, it was a loops so it was good not to have to do a there and back route. The last mile was mostly downhill so that helped.

I should have wore bug spray though as I have more mosquito bites.

Total distance traveled 5.2
Average pace 14.39
total time 1hr 16 m 23 s

Strength Training

2006-06-01T11:43:00.000-04:00

I have been trying to fit strength training in here and there, mostly on the stability ball at home. I do have 1lb weights at work that i use sometimes while on the phone. Not sure they do much though
I need to keep remembering to include strength into my work outs since i can definitely see the results when i do it.

Strength work:

Yesterday 25 minutes

Running/Raining/Rubbing

2006-06-01T10:12:00.000-04:00

Wednesday nights run was already scheduled for the treadmill and good thing, because it was hot and humid still outside. We headed to the gym after work for our 45 minute workout. I was a bit sluggish starting out since I hadn't run since Sunday, but got in the swing of things. We are still doing the run 3/walk 2 and that seems to be going pretty well. My runs are at about 4.7 or 4.8 and walks at about 3.2. I did do a segment or two at 5 and that was fun. About 3/4 of the way through the workout, I realized that I was experiencing some thigh chaffing and regretted wearing shorts and forgetting the body glide. I continued thinking it would go away, no such luck it go worse. By 38 minutes in I was ready to stop so I decided to switch to walking for the last 5 minutes which aleviated the problem.
Total distance traveled 2.91 miles
Total time on Treadmill 45 minutes including 5 minute warm up walk

We went to leave the gym and it was a torential downpour thunderstorm. We just thought it was raining hard and since it had been so hot I thought we could just run out to the car. By the time we got to the car, which was about 75 yards away we were both soaked. Since we were at the gym 45 minutes, it is hard to say how long it had been raining, but the streets were sort of flooding and it was thundering and lightning pretty heavily. We live about 1.5 miles from the gym, and it took forever to get home because of the rain.

Of course it cleared up about an hour later and was much cooler.

Yes I'm still alive

2006-05-31T10:22:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging, but it has been so darn hot for me to even feel like blogging.
So here is a brief recap of my weekend, and week so far

On Sunday after the run, we headed over to my in-laws to barbeque and hangout. I spent about an hour outside with my five year old brother in law playing baseball.

Monday, we went to see V for Vendetta at the Dollar show. I enjoyed the movie, it definitely made me think about things. We also wandered around the mall for awhile enjoying the airconditioning. I didn't do any exercise on Monday since we ran on Sunday.

Yesterday was another hot day, I was supposed to get up and do cardio at the gym yesterday morning, but really couldn't motivate myself. I did do some weights before work, about 10 minutes or so. The day went fine yesterday, busy as always, lately. I have a big conference coming up next Friday and once that is done I hope i won't be so busy.
I got my hair cut last night, nothing exciting, and managed to lift weights for about 10 more minutes.

Today we head to the gym for a treadmill run, hopefully by Friday when we are scheduled to run 5 miles it is cooler in the morning.

Longest Run to date

2006-05-28T11:28:00.000-04:00

I just completed my longest run to date. On the schedule for today was the long run of the week, 4 miles run 3 min/walk 2 with a 5 minute warm up. I mapped out a route last night that including the warm up walk was 4.22 miles. We the route took us from our house to the Stadium and back. Knowing that the high today was going to be in the mid 80's, we decided to run in the am, which was good plan. It was already 71 degrees at 10 am and rising. The sun was beating down. I had a pretty bad stomache ache last night, and wasn't sure I would be able to run this morning, but since I felt better we decided to go.

The route was pretty good, luckily it was shady in spots and there weren't too many people out on Sunday morning to clog the sidewalks. The route is near the dairy queen, and that usually creates a ton of pedestrian traffic. Anyway, we turned the corner and headed toward the stadium, the only pain is that there is only one side of the street with a sidewalk in some parts so we had to wait to cross the street.
About 20 minutes in I felt like i wanted to stop and go home, I was tired and hot. My headband wasn't doing a good job of keeping my hair back, I think i need to give up on the cute girly string head band and find something more functional.

We kept going and going and final reached the turn around point....luckily the way back was into the wind and that made it very breezy. Turning around also meant we were getting closer to home. I got my second wind and for awhile it didn't seem like I was in the third mile, by the end though I was ready to be home.

Total Distance traveled 4.22 miles
Total time 1hour 20 seconds
Average pace 14.17

Book/Movie Update

2006-05-27T09:24:00.000-04:00

Finished Marathoning for Mortals (book 15 I think).

Watched Broken Flowers last night with Bill Murray, it is very quirky, but good. I like Bill Murray.

Treadmill Run

2006-05-27T09:19:00.000-04:00

Sadly, the weather was too unpredictable and hot yesterday to run outside after work, so we headed to the gym.
We did our second 40 minute run3/walk 2 session with a 5 minute warmup.
The run always seems longer to me on the treadmill. The run segments varied from 4.4-5 with a walk of ranging from 3.1-3.3.

Total distance traveled in 45 minutes 2.96 miles.

We then continued and did 10 minutes of walking for a total of 55 minutes.

YAY its Friday

2006-05-26T12:24:00.000-04:00

I am glad it is Friday and today is the long weekend. Its been a busy week.

Yesterday we went to the gym for a 40 minute workout. I managed to only get 38 minutes in though because the elpitical machine I was on kept making funny noises and I had to switch.

We got home just before the big thunderstorm.

Today we are hoping to run outside. We will see what the weather thinks of that idea.

Trail Running

2006-05-25T14:13:00.000-04:00

Yesterday afternoon was my first attempt at trail running. After work the hubby and I headed out the nature area near my work for our 40 minute run/walk session. The sun was out, it wasn't too hot. Things were good. I enjoyed running outside and the distractions it provides. The trails were fun and it was like an adventure. We ran/walked for about 20 minutes when we started to head back the way we came, which just so happened to be mostly up hill. I am fighing the uphill battle literally, when I felt something tickly my leg, I thought it was a leave or grass and kept on going. We got to the entrance where we had come in and still had about 5 minutes left, so we ran downhill to the valley and then back up again, the ups and downs of the trail are a really good workout. After we finished the run/walk we decided to explore and do some walking. We went further down into the valley and then climbed a long winding staircase built into the ground and then headed out.
When I got home later, I realized I had about 5 penny sized mosquito welts on my body. My hubby had not one. He said it is because I am sweet. I was like whatever they itch.

Lesson learned wear bug spray.

Warm up walk 5 minutes
run 3min/walk 2min 40 minutes
walking cool down 10

Book Update

2006-05-24T16:28:00.000-04:00

I finished book 13 Down Came the Rain by Brooke Shields and Book 14 Charmed Thirds by Megan Mccafferty.