Revelations From A Fellow Blogger

Since I've been so heinously terrible about blogging, I'll leave you with a link to someone else's blog post. My pal Rob sent this to me today and it cracked me up.

Enjoy this blogger's "4 Stunning Revelations An Idiot Has About Running."

Definitely read the whole post for a good laugh (beware PG-13 language, Mom), but here are his 4 revelations:

4.  It's not an all or nothing scenario

3.  The clothes actually do something

2.  Runners aren't all lying scumbags

1.  It's true: bodies actually are capable of improvement

I love his references to my favorite scapegoat, gym teachers. Oh, and realizing the joy of finding the perfect running socks.

I also think I enjoyed this so much because, not only have I gone through my own revelations (these 4 included), but I can see that it's the revelations that matter so much in the journey to calling yourself a runner. I've watched some of my friends start and stop, start and continue, start and proceed to fall in love with running. Their success was dependent upon the "a ha" moments. The little victories early on.

Something has to click. It doesn't have to be an Earth-shattering moment, but something little. My important click/revelation was, "Hey, I can do this without dying."

What was your revelation, "a ha" moment or click?

Two Thoughts

Thought One:

Being an adult means having this for dinner at 8:20 p.m. And being okay with it.

Mystery bagel from the freezer (with cream cheese, of course), cucumber slices and pita wedges, and tzatziki to dip them in.

Thought Two:

I found my hamstrings. They were at the gym hiding in the Group Power class. They are clearly happy to be back with me because they're dancing around under my skin right now. I'm thinking they're going to regret all this partying tomorrow and they're going to whine and cry about it all day. I might have to introduce them to my disciplinarian friend, Captain Biofreeze, tonight to help keep them in line.

That is all. Do you have any thoughts to share with the class?

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How To Make Staying Active More Difficult

Ten easy steps to making it more difficult to stay active

Steps 1 - 10:

Buy a Wii

Wheeeee! A Wii!

After years of longing and pining and coveting and making responsible financial decisions (right), I finally broke down and did it. I've upgraded from my Sega Genesis. 

Sega Genesis. Yes, I still have it. Yes, it still works perfectly (only child, remember). And yes, it's still awesome.

Minesweeper, the devil.

On a whim last night, after playing Minesweeper on my iPhone for a good half hour (man I'm lame), I got up and went to Best Buy, then Walmart, then back to Best Buy (checking my options) and purchased a Wii. This was at 9 p.m., mind you. I got home, put it together and played until nearly midnight.

Talk about a wild and crazy Saturday night. And, being "fall back" night, it was the longest party night of the year, to boot. I live the fabulous life, obviously.

And thus beginneth the struggle between sitting on my couch playing the New Super Mario Bros and getting off my butt to go to the gym.

New Super Mario Bros. for Wiiiiii!

There's good news though! I tried a step aerobics class this morning at the new gym and ...

IT ... WAS ... FAAAAAH-BULOUS!

I loved it! I loved the music. The instructor was really good. My muscles seemed to remember many of the standard moves from the 10-ish months I spent taking step aerobics at the gym I belonged to before this running business started. And I had F-U-N, fun! I was doing better than some of the folks in the class that had clearly been there a few times. Woot!

Here's a Reebok step just like the ones we use in class. This one has two risers (purple things) under it.

Here's the cool part. I started with just the step (the green part of the picture above) because that's what I used when I took the classes previously. I once tried to use a set of purple risers, but had to remove them halfway through the class. The step alone was pretty intense for me then. And since I hadn't taken a step class in so long, I figured I should get my groove back in the easiest way possible. 

Good choices on my part.

But guess what. From the time I took my last step class till this morning, apparently I've gotten much fitter! Hot damn, running works!

The single step was SUPER easy for me. I was able to regulate my breath so easily, my legs felt really good (they were getting a workout, but certainly not a difficult one), and I know that I could have done the class with a set of risers underneath the step. 

Besides the whole "I used to only be able to run 60 seconds at a time--if that--and now I can run for 10, 15, 20 minutes straight" thing, this has been the most obvious sign of my growth and success over the last, oh, 20 months.

I'm friggin' fit, y'all!

Okay, clearly I'm not as fit as I need to be in order to be a healthy individual, but dude, that's a huge deal! I can SEE this. I can FEEL this. I remember what it was like before and I have seen what it's like after.

Yes, losing 40 pounds (and then putting another 8 back on in the last few months) is a big measurement success, and seeing the different sized clothes in my closet helps me see the before and after, but nothing has been as blatantly obvious to me as today's experience in that step class. Having stopped taking class and starting it again--that's how I can see success.

I know I can't just do step class though. I'm starting to feel at home at the gym. I'm still too intimidated to lift weights with the meatheads though. I know what I'm doing, but those dudes are just--ugh. And the hardcore chicks are intimidating too. I'm giving myself time to get into a groove, to establish habits, and then I'll make my way to the weights. But the treadmill in the "cardio cinema" is great, and the classes are promising (I might even try spinning). 

The battle this winter between the Wii and the gym should be pretty epic. I'm relying on you all to remind me that there is a life outside of my apartment.

Treadmill Fun?

I just did a 35 minute session on the treadmill and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Eh?
Come again?
Please? (Outside of Cincinnati this translates roughly to "come again?")
Come again?

That's right, I said it.

Have I mentioned I joined a gym? And by "joined" I mean "chose to participate in a no-commitment month-to-month plan." Well, I did.

More on all that some other time. Just wanted to announce that crazy "fun on a treadmill" news.

Whoa.


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Ketchup Blog

I'm way behind on blogging so I'm just going to catch up with a list. (Read the list and you'll be rewarded with pictures at the end.)

• My third grade teacher, Mrs. Chalk, didn't like ketchup. So if our class needed a "catch-up day" (ketchup day) she liked to call it mayonnaise day.
• Apparently, I can't spell mayonnaise without help from my computer.
• Seeing a pattern here ... this might not be such a succinct list after all, given my easily-distracted mood this evening. Ooh shiny ...
• I'm running a 5K this Friday ... in a Halloween costume. It's the Cincinnati Run Like Hell.
• It's my friend, Mr. PurulentSmile's first 5K and I'm uber excited for him. He's going to murder it. 
• Sarah is running it too! Yay!
• If you're in a donating mood, please consider using my friend Leslie's donation page for the Run Like Hell 5K, which benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Here's the link to her page. She's $160 away from her $500 goal. Oh, and her team (which I'm a part of) is called Marissa's Miracle, named after her daughter. Read Marissa's story on the page I linked above.
• My costume is almost ready. I'm taking two yards of tulle (the stuff that goes under tutus) to work tomorrow to get help from my crafty coworkers. I'm not crafty. Have I mentioned that? Then I'm getting a bunch of latex gloves from my cousin Thursday. (Have you figured it out yet? I'm guessing no. Hehe...)
• Tonight I met Caitlin for my last run of the week before the 5K. It went terribly for me.
• Here's when you know you have a great running buddy: Caitlin looked at me when tonight's run was over and said, "I was hoping you'd have a bad run tonight." Errr...thanks?  =)
• What Caitlin did was reiterate some advice I gave her a few weeks ago when she ran a 5K and met all of her goals (no puking, no walking, finish in under 40 minutes). She had a bad workout that week and was a little discouraged. I told her it was good because she got the bad run out of her system. See, bad runs usually travel alone. One and done ... for a little while. That one bad run could be REALLY bad and could REALLY discourage you, but it's only going to happen once...unless you let it defeat you.
• Speaking of the 5K Caitlin did, it was the day after my 30th birthday celebration, so I opted out. (recovery ... whew) But I did go to the run as a spectator, which I love. It was a beautiful day and I had the pleasure of bopping around the course with a fancy-pants camera dangling around my neck to play paparazzi for Caitlin. Super...super...FUN! Pictures below!
• I love that Caitlin wished a bad run on me. Punk.
• Caitlin is kicking my a$$ in running, more and more every time I see her. We tried speed intervals not too long ago. I failed miserably. She busted butt. And she may not realize it, but that one speed workout has kicked her normal running speed up a notch or three.
• In fact, everyone is kicking my a$$ in running. I'm slowing down. I'm not working out as much as I'd like, I've gained a little weight, and I'm just not improving my speed. I could work harder at this.
• I need to return to the land of losing weight. I've noticed a difference in the amount of effort required now versus when I was 6 pounds lighter.
• It's getting cold and dark out. I hate standard time. Seriously, someone give me a good reason why we should ever NOT be in daylight saving time. There is NO good reason. It should be all year round.
• Cold + Dark + Gaining Weight + Boredom Sneaking In = I'm joining a gym. Probably tomorrow after work. The gym down the street has some pretty good annual plans, but better yet, they have EXTREMELY reasonable month-to-month plans. I'm going to try to make nice with the dreadmills (read about my first treadmill experience here). I'm also going to take a body pump class. Basically synchronized lifting with a room full of people.
• I am extremely proud of my two running buddies. They're doing such a fabulous job and, as I've said, are completely annihilating me in terms of running ability and improvement.
• I can't spell annihilating either.
• I'm getting to be a very delinquent blogger, so please follow me on Twitter if you're the Twitter type. If you're not the Twitter type, my tweets show up on the right hand side of my blog page. I'm trying to improve the frequency of my posts there to compensate for my poor blogging habits. Plus, I often re-tweet or quote some really useful and insightful tweets from Runner's World, Women's Health, Eat This Not That, and other Twitter resources.
• This is a mighty long list, but I think I'm finished for now.
• This is my first blog post as a thirty-something!

And now pictures...

These are from the Warrior Run.

Caitlin before the race started.

At the start line. (Caitlin is in pink.)

At mile 1. This was the prettiest race course ever. Through a super cute neighborhood with fall leaves everywhere. =)

Finish line! (Caitlin isn't there quite yet.)

There she is! She had to elbow and shove her way through a pack of walkers. Atta girl!

Caitlin's cheering section. Her husband Jesse (pointing toward their hidden child in the stroller, Emalynn). To the left in the red plaid is Jesse's brother Jason. To the left again, creeping over Jason's shoulder, is Kevin, Caitlin's twin brother.

The paparazzi!

And here's a collage of pics from my 30th birthday party. I didn't party like a rockstar as I intended (due in large part to me going "too big, too fast," if you catch my drift. But I got to see most of my most favorite people in the world, no exaggeration here! Thank you for celebrating with me, peeps. Love you all!

Happy birthday to me!

Roaring Twenties

Tonight I said goodbye to running in my 20s, and I did it with a roar!

Caitlin (and Emalynn) and I pounded out 3 miles on the Little Miami Trail this evening. For some reason, a little less than a mile in, I felt like I wanted to kick it up a bit. And boy howdy did I! I feel like I felt a new stride or something. Could be the new shoes. Could be the perfect running weather. Could be that I was wearing pants instead of shorts and my leg muscles stayed nice and warm. Could be that I was just feeling like getting one last good run in before my 20s are over.

My 30th birthday is Friday and for once I'm thrilled to celebrating my birthday. That's not usually how I roll. Not a big birthday gal. It's not about getting older; I just don't like the forced attention and all that jazz. But last year I vowed that I was doing my 30th "the right way," and that I am. Big party! Woot!

So, farewell my dear 20s. You're the decade that taught me who I am, taught me what's important to me, brought me to my career, and taught me to love running! Cheers to you!

Pumped Up Kicks

I got new shoes!!!

Definitely unplanned, total fluke. I had to return a pair of shoes to DSW for my mom and, since I had used a $5 off birthday coupon for the previous purchase, the associate there convinced me to look around so I didn't lose the coupon.

So, straight back to the clearance section I went.

"10 & up" women's shoes? No luck.

"10 & up" men's? Score! The first thing I saw was the exact shoe I've been running in for more than a year now. Mizunos Wave Inspire or some jazz. I was tickled pink at the prospect of getting the same shoes since I know they worked.

Oh, but what's this? There are other running shoes on clearance? Hmmm...

Oooh, black with red? Do they fit? Yep! Are they squishy? Yep! Bounce, bounce ... Run a few steps ... Play with the laces ... Up on my toes ... Look in the mirror.

I liked. I bought. Yay clearance!



Saucony Shadow Genesis


Oh and here's a sampling of the plus-sized activewear section at JCPenney:



Velour track suits, baby!

To give JCPenney credit, they do have a pretty great selection of functional activewear for fluffy women. They even had a track jacket with thumb holes! (ooooooh! aahhhhhh!)



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