My videos and pull up bar are here! New UPS man too... a super hottie and younger than the other guy. Will miss the old guy though b/c he always went out of his way to pull around and beep his horn for my son who got such a thrill over the truck.
Need to read, watch the videos and do my fit test this afternoon (hope the baby takes a long nap!). :) Oh and one week off my diet = +8 lbs. Lovely. I'm PMSing too, so I think that PMS + salt = weight gain. I'm not going to sweat it - yet. ;) Also, might not even attempt the pull up test on the pull up bar for fear that I"ll install it wrong. Need to have DH do it - then again, if he's annoyed w/ my PMSing self, he might not install it THAT well to get me back for being snippy all weekend. ;)
S is super excited b/c, well, she's a freak about working out and I said that if she was good, I'd let her watch my special work out video with me instead of putting her in her room for "quiet time" (used to be "nap time", but now we dub it "quiet time" and hope for 20 min. of peace... reading, drawing, whatever floats her boat). Seriously, I don't need a trainer w/ this one around... every day, as soon as P is down for a nap, she starts... are we working out today? is today a nap time workout day? Hello drill Sargent?!
I've decided to def. sign up for the Galloway run/walk training group. I'm aiming for a few 1/2 Marathons in the fall/winter. I refuse to feel badly b/c I'm not "running" non-stop b/c I hate that elitist attitude. I have to do it this way if I want to run long term, so there. Also, the marathon is not in my future right now, so there it is. I will run one before I'm 40 - that's far enough away so that it allows for lots of things to happen between now and then and I can still make my goal (I'm banking on 2-3 more injured knees or Achilles tendons in combination w/ a pregnancy to set me back). Heck, runners best years are in their 30's, right? I'm not even half way to 40, so I've got nothing to worry about! :)
It'll be day 0 until I actually GET the DVDs in the mail, so bear with me. Here's the fit test for P90x... I pass... haven't actually DONE the test to get real #'s, but I will and I'll post (minus the obviously embarrassing weight/body fat... yuck). Anyway in case anyone was interested in the baseline fitness the program requires, here you go (all for women, b/c I'm one and don't know squat about men's fitness):
- resting heart rate (to see a dif. over time)
- pull ups - 1, "however," (and it says this in the paperwork), "many people won't be able to do one, just sub. using bands w/ the pull up bar"... (sorry, glee/Austinite, I was wrong this AM)
- vertical leap - 3in (check)
- push-ups - 3 full body, 15 from knees (check - from knees... wimpy)
- toe touch - 6in beyond feet (check)
- wall squat - 1min (check, though I hate it)
- bicep curls - 8lbs, 10 reps (check b/c Beka's bicep 21's made me super bicep strong)
- in and outs - 25 reps (no idea... will be hard, will see if I can do 25, though probably)
- max heart rate (to see a dif. over time)
This weekend I plan on taking the "test" and will post my "before" results (of the test). :) Yay! Love to torture myself like this.
From what I read, there are 3 versions of the program... I'll be following the "chick" version called "lean" b/c I need to lean out... after there's "regular" and "doubles" (for the hardcore hardcore... not me, won't ever be me). I fig. between the DVDs, my short runs during the week and long weekend runs, and the BFL diet, I should be looking good by 7/12 and ROCKING by August (end of program and my anniversary). I'm also excited b/c I can pack my bands and bring it w/ me on my vacation.
That's all for now! Can't wait for the UPS man on Monday!
I've not been to vox in a while... I started a blog at blogspot, so here I am. I dunno, I'm big on starting blogs, then not sticking to them... I'm a blog whore if you will... jumping wily nilly from one blog to another without a care in the world. I think I'll come back to vox for a while b/c I can x-post in LJ if I keep things public. We'll see how it goes.
This week, I did two things that I've never done.
- Spent $ on a credit card (I never spend on my cc's aside from $5 here and there b/c I forgot cash or something) in order to...
- Bought something practically off an infomercial (not really, but sort of)... I bought the P90x videos - expensive? a little, but they cost as much as a month w/ my trainer, so not too bad. Will I look all muscle bound afterwards? I can guarantee not b/c I won't work/diet that hard. I watched the infomercial intently, then got online and did extensive googling and thought... this is so for me. YOu're supposed to have been working out for a while (me) and ready to "step up your game" (me). The head p90x trainer is a little annoying, but I have to say that it sort of "spoke to me" when I heard their motto... BRING IT. HELLO, I'm only the biggest fan of "Bring it On" ever, so I thought... go for it, sister! ;)
I'm sticking to the BFL diet b/c it's easy, healthy and easy... did I mention easy? ;) I've gotten a lot more info as I progressed through the last 12 weeks from friends, websites, books and trainers, so I'm going to incorporate that too.
So, besides BFL, I've done nothing fun during the last weeks (unless you count the weekly count down until Sunday night The Tudors showings - nothing fun at all). ;) I all but gave up running b/c I didn't have it in me and only ran intervals for fat loss (booooring). I'm going to get back to it, though. I'm planning on a few 1/2's this fall/winter, so I have to get back to my longer distances asap. I'm joining a Galloway running group (if you don't like him shaddup, I don't want to hear it) and that will hopefully keep my knees safe. I re injured myself a few mo. ago in a 10k and I just think I need to reign it in (if you could reign in someone who runs as slow as a turtle, that would be me). I still have all the confidence in the world that if I can lose more weight and keep up w/ the weight training, I won't be running in as much pain as I am now. (crossing fingers).
FWIW, this vox journal will be talking about all the crap that I'm eating and the workouts I'm doing (in other words... dull)... I will probably leave the kid posts to lj b/c this journal is public (so I can x-post), so if you don't mind, don't use my kid's names or any other id info. Thanks!
i got the professional pics from the 1/2 and i'm laughing my ass off over this one...
i'm in the background on the left running through times square and if you look closely, I'm being beaten by a man (in black) w/ a knee brace carrying a cane!
OMG, HILLARIOUS! How slow can I be?
Here are some better shots... yes I'm running - though it may look like I'm walking.
My knee... I really do hate thee. Why choose now to freak out? Seriously, RUNNERS KNEE? You're so freaking unoriginal. If you don't shape up, Disney is out... that's a crusher, but I can deal. The thing is that if you keep me from running my 10k's, etc. this fall, I will be seriously devastated. I will continue to train for a half once I can freaking WALK on your again, but will give up the full.
So, *if* Disney is out (not saying it is, just IF), then here's the schedule...
Build miles up to 20/week on a short week, 30/week on a long one.
Race for the Taste 10k (Oct)
Tower of Terror 13k (Oct)
Celebration Founders Day 10k (Nov)
OUC Half Marathon (Dec)
Miami Half Marathon (Jan)
Gate River Run 15k (March)
Winter Park Road Race 10k (March)
(with some 5k's that have good race t-shirt give aways thrown in there for good measure)
THEN start training for Chicago in April to run in Oct.
I should have a good base by then anyway. Better than now at least.
I'm so mad - I called B crying last night and S didn't know what to do (I never let her see me cry). She brought me my childhood teddy bear and said, "It's okay, mommy, we're right here no matter what and if you have a blood boo boo (obviously, if it involves blood, it's pretty darn bad to a 4 year old), then we'll take care of it".... which made me cry more. P just got his shoe and gave it to me saying, "shoe, daddy" (he calls me daddy)... obviously, to translate his 20 mo. old speak, "shoe, daddy" meant, "you rock, mom, I'm so proud of you, don't let this little injury get you down, you'll dominate in '08", right? :(
The pain is really bad - I have to go down the stairs backwards to not have the worst of it. I've been icing and elevating and all that jazz, but I dunno, I don't have a good feeling.
Luckily, B comes home this afternoon - I need a hug.
Ouch.
Well, it’s over, I did it and I’m so glad I did! I ran (and walked a little) 13.1 miles - over hills, through Times Square, past the WTC site, and through the finish line is a staggering(ly slow) 2 hrs. and 55 min.
Here’s the story…
Our flight was to leave Orlando about 8something on Friday… we were delayed… we were delayed again… we sat around the airport and were delayed once again… we ended up leaving around, well, I can’t even remember when b/c I was so tired. Needless to say, I was supposed to get a good night’s sleep that night and didn’t even get to the hotel until 3:15am. We rose at 9-10am on our anniversary morning, got up, dressed and off to sample some of New York’s finest (or so we were told) bagels at Ess-A-Bagel. Had scallion cream cheese on an everything bagel and was (still am thanks to traveling home w/ a dozen bagels) in heaven.
Walked to the Nike store/atrium where I picked up my race day packet and t-shirt. I’m “eh” about the shirt. I love the fit, but I don’t love the printing/font… whatever, it only cost me, what, $60? ;) After that, we took a taxi to the theatre district to see Curtains. It was AMAZING… the best show I’ve ever seen… ever. (not that I’m the queen of Broadway, but I’ve seen shows there and in London and this was the best). After that, another taxi to an amazing restaurant in the Upper West Side called Celeste. Fresh pasta and pizza (we both had pasta). We both went home and collapsed after having a drink (Bill had wine, I had water) at the rooftop bar at the Ritz overlooking the Statue of Liberty.
I called the Front Desk the night prior to the race (mind you, this is one of the travel agency’s “host hotels”)…
me: “will there be a lot of taxis waiting for the people who are running in the race waiting for us at 5am?”
Them: “yes, Mrs. L, there will be plenty of taxis”
Me: “so I don’t have to call ahead for a car?”
Them: “yes, Mrs. L, you won’t have to call ahead… there will be plenty of taxis lined up.”
Had a great night sleep… up a 4am… eat my pre run meal of peanut butter on bread and Gatorade - we head down stairs… surprise. NO TAXIS!
Valet at the Ritz Carlton… “oh, well, because the roads are partially closed off, no taxis want to come down here, so why don’t you 20 people who are about to run 13.1 miles in a mere 2 hours… RUN to Broadway where I’m sure you’ll find a taxi.”
Me: “are you f-ing kidding” (no, I didn’t say that, but I wanted to)
So off we run - runners, spouses, friends… to Broadway where most get the first two taxis and I’m left there w/ my husband. A woman who lives nearby comes sprinting out to the street just as we hail a taxi and we share the ride (and some dining tips) uptown.
We arrive at EXACTLY 6:15 (the time we had to be in our corrals) to bathrooms lines about 100 people long. I stand in line… stand in line… stand in line… Bill goes off to watch/record the race start… I continue to stand in line… FINALLY, at 6:58 (I kid you not), I get to a porta potty that had been abused in the most wretched of ways to go. I finish and sprint out of there to catch up w/ anyone else left who hadn’t crossed the start line yet (about one mile)… then realize… um, you’re about to run 13.1 miles, stop running to the START. I walked to the start (close at least), broke into a jog and was off about 10-15 min. after the start of the race.
I started out like a shotgun (for me at least) and was 2 minutes under my goal time through the first 5 miles… not good - need to work on that. I stopped to pee again (no surprise to me... nerves make me have to pee), and am exactly on my planned race pace. GREAT, I think… I’m going to make it! I hit the Harlem Hills… holy moley, this Florida girl was spent. I altered my 5/1 intervals to accommodate the hills, then went back to my regular intervals. I have to say that the rolling hills really helped my usually tight soleus muscles - I never had a cramp (in those particular muscles). So, it was 7.5 miles around Central Park - they were BEAUTIFUL… trees, hills, shade (speaking of shade, NYRR kept e-mailing us “heat alerts” and “heat advisories” for the race. Warned everyone about dehydration and how to keep tabs on your salt intake… um, for ME, this was the coldest run of my year… 71 degrees w/ nary a percentage of humidity to be felt. Usually, when I’m done running, you can literally squeeze the sweat out of my shorts/skirt and shirt. After the half, I was actually DRY. I couldn’t believe it… okay back to the story).
We exit Central Park around 7.5-8mi. And go down towards Time Square. Oh my God… super cool. The streets were closed to everyone but the runners and everything was so vibrant and bright. There were bands along the way playing who knows what, but it was helpful b/c I didn’t run w/ my ipod. After Times Square, we turned down 42nd(?), then a Left onto West. At the Left turn, they had Samba dancers and for some reason, it hit me (around mile 9) that I was going to finish, I wasn’t going to get picked up by the sweeper bus and I had come SO FAR since last year. I started to cry. Not good b/c I couldn’t breathe. I had to stop, gain composure, wave at the samba girls and keep on keeping’ on. I sprinted towards the 15k mat b/c I wanted to beat my old 15k PR - which I did (by seconds, but who cares). Then around mile 10, my left knee started to give me trouble. When I’d walk, I’d limp, then I’d run through the pain. Not good, but it wasn’t a sharp, “need to stop now” pain, just an ache behind my kneecap. I just hobbled along, keeping w/ my 5/1 intervals - adding an extra 15-30 seconds when I needed to b/c of my knee.
The crowds had thinned out by now… some of the musicians and dj’s alone the course were packing up (HELLO, SLOW PEOPLE NEED ENTERTAINMENT TOO) and we were close to the WTC site - only a couple hundred meters to go. I was running w/ a guy from Texas that kept walking longer and longer and I said, “look, 800 meters, that’s just 2 laps around a track! We’re practically done!”. And we kept on keeping on. At 200 meters to go, I could see the FINISH and I started to smile and cry again (gah, I’m such a softie)… I finished strong w/ a s*** eating grin on my face in 2:55:20... Not the 12 min. pace I wanted, but I didn’t get swept, so I’m thrilled!
The post race thing was just “eh”. Seriously, I probably missed it all b/c I’m so darn slow. By the time I finished the massage people were packing up their stuff and all the medals had already been handed out. I guess I need to work on my speed if I ever plan to be able to take advantage of the post race things, don’t I ?
Would I do it again? YES - for a trip to NY and a chance to run that course again - you bet! Do I have some complaints? Sure - it wasn’t perfect, but now I have a better feeling for what to do pre-race and I hope to rock my next 13.1 miles in less than 2:45.
Now, I have no idea when I’ll run again… I’m hurting. Knees hurt, quads hurt, shoulders and back and killing me. I fig. by Thursday, I’ll probably do a few miles to shake some of the kinks out if I can. Am starting myself back on the Glucosamine and working on my quads to hopefully help w/ my knee issues.
So far this week, I've run 0 miles and crosstrained 0 minutes. I have suffered from a shaky knee, then a cold, then shinsplints, now a husband who is trying his best to get home so I can run. Ay.
So, I pretty much just need to finish in under 3 hours. Should be totally doable... though, there are hills and I'm worried about the bathroom sitch. I have to weigh the pros and cons. Yes, I need to pee 348 times before I run, but I also need to line up in my corral asap b/c I can't be at the very end of the pack. Also, I hear that the porta potties are super busy along the course, so that's not good either. PLUS, since I"m # 13,XXX, that means that over 13,000 people have had the chance to piss in the same porta potty. Ew. My friend/trainer/idol told me to just pee in my shorts. Nice. She's all, "well, to be honest, everyone does it in a marathon - think of it at practice...". Ew. "Also, you'll be so sweaty and you'll only need to pee, like a thimble full, so just let it go". Ew.
.... got to run - more later.
So, I ran my first hills on Sunday... I'm still feeling their wrath (my calves... my sad, aching calves!). There's this particularly hilly part of Central FL (Clermont) that is hilly - not sure if it's considered "rolling" hills, but it's definitely steep for this FL gal.
Anyway, we did 7.4 miles in about 1hr. 40 min. - that's slow for me, but it was about 80 degrees (at 6am), I had to stop a walk a while around mi. 2 b/c of dizziness/nausea (I'm still tweaking my pre-run food to deal w/ this issue). I did an elevation comparison and the route was more hilly than the 7miles around Central Park, so I should be okay in the NYC 1/2 - as long as I'm close, I won't be picked up by the sweeper bus.
Strangely enough, I'm sort of looking forward to our next hill run (in a crazily masochistic way) in August. Not b/c I enjoyed even one moment of it (actually, I did enjoy flying down the downhills), but b/c I know it increases your fitness big time.
Bill and I are committed to drooping AT LEAST 10 lbs each before our Sept wedding trip to NYC. Realistically, we both need to drop 20 each, but 10 is more doable. I need to focus on water, drop the soda and not eat my kids food. He needs to stop eating out at lunch (or eating really low cal foods) and eat more veg. Wish us luck! 11 weeks until d-day. Oh, and we're off our diets when we're in NYC for my 1/2 marathon... I mean, duh, no way we're passing up dessert on our anniversary.
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I can't wear cheapey flip flops anymore. It is a sad fact I have to face. Since upping my weekly mileage, regular flip flops (or any shoes that aren't *substantial*) give me wicked shin splints, so they're all going to charity. :( However, I discovered these beauties and ordered 2 pair from Zappos (by the way, love that site... used it for the first time and they rock my socks hardcore). Behold, the Chacos! They are made of soft leather and there is arch support... yay!
So, it's 3942 degrees and I tried to run this AM at 8. Ha! Anything past 6 is deadly now. I just can't do it. Next run will def. be at 6am. I changed my mind on my training schedule at least 399 times wrt NY1/2. I *think* I"ll stick w/ what I've got now. This saturday, 8mi, next, cut back to 6, then 9, 10, cut back to 7.5/8, then my 1/2 Mary on 8/5. Good idea? I think so.
We're having Japanese for dinner... Seito to be exact. Mmmmm. Crunchy shrimp roll, here I come!
Also putting kids to bed early, then crashing right afterwards. My dad was out of town last night, so my mom stayed over so I could run in the AM and get my hair colored at noon. Nice... buh-bye gray! Having my Brazilian hair straightening at the end of next month again (right before NY and our anniversary). Think I can lose 12 lbs by then? That's 2/week... feasable... just need to work on my food.
One of my training partners asked me how old I was (obviously wouldn't have asked if she had known I was elderly compared to her). ;) Anyway, her response to my age, "WHAT? NO WAY, I would have NEVER guessed you're THAT old!". Um, I'll take that as a compliment since she didn't say that about our other partner who is the same age as me. :) Feeling pretty darn good about that! I pushed me to actually USE all my Mario Badescu creams and eye potions to retain my non-wrinkly face. Also made me think of something my mom said when I was 16 and in the throes of horrible acne... "you will love your oily skin when you're 30"... fast forward to 30 (plus) and my friends (some even younger) are showing signs of little wrinkles and my greazy face is still wrinkle free. Go oily skin! (it's not all b/c of my oily skin... I suspect the fact that I"m dark and never worshiped the sun like most of my friends did in high school plays a big role).
Got to go turn off the tv... "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody" just came on and that is about the dumbest 1/2 hour of television - no need to have it help my children's brains turn to goo by watching it.
It's about 3 bajillion degrees out w/ a humidity % of 573. Needless to say, my 6am run was WET. When I was done, I looked like I had literally just stepped out of the shower w/ my clothes on. My curls had drooped into a soggy ponytail, my face was dripping, my legs had streaks of sweat originating from every pore in my body. As I walked to my car, I WRUNG out the side of my shorts. Can you imagine WRINGING out your shorts? Crazy!
I'm hoping all this hot weather training will help me in the fall/winter races. I think it will. I know I'm already faster thanks to peer pressure and training. At one point, a running partner of mine, J, looked at her watch and said, "oooh, we have to slow down, we're running 10:40,".... okay, may not seem fast to some, but 10:40 is VERY fast for me/us, so we pulled back to an 11:30 and kept on trucking. At this pace, we're looking at a solid 5:30 finish in the Disney Marathon... if we keep improving (which we WILL), I daresay, we can go for a 5:00 goal! Yay!
I think I'll try to stick close to the 2:30 pace group in NY. Only problem is my 5/1 interals... guess I'll run out ahead of them (aiming for a 2:15), then drop back to finish w/ them. Oh so very exciting! Mary Beth, here I come, girl. MAYBE we'll be able to run together for more than 100 meters (before you fly ahead and leave me in the dust). ;)
Recent Comments
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choconut said:
i don't know if my earlier comment "took," because i was signed out of vox, but i am so so... read more
on I'm feeling voxy -
sonoria said:
Girl - I won't embarrass myself by showing my 10K photos. You wanna talk slow? ;) read more
on can we analyze this for a moment please? -
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Gator Mama said:
i bought a brace and put it on pretty tight, hopefully that will help... I'm resting, icing, compressing and elevating...... read more
on Mother effing knee...
Thank you... working out is the only thing I do for myself, so I fig. I better make it count.... read more
on I'm feeling voxy