Monday, December 7, 2009
Stuck
Medo and Santa
Gobble Wobble
The event cost $15 and for this I received a long sleeve runners shirt and a reusable grocery bag with The North Face written across the side. I also got a tube of something that I am quite unsure what it is used for. I am so angry for not taking a photo of myself on the day of my big event. I was looking so cute in the shirt and with my outdoor running gear on. SHAME ON ME!!!
The run took place in East Grand Rapids around Reeds Lake. When they called us to line up for the race I noticed only children were taking part in the 1 mile event so I was shamed to get into the 4.2 mile line. Thinking to myself "what have I done?!?" I decided that maybe running 2-3 miles and walking the rest wouldn't be so bad. Before I knew it the run had started and I was off. I noticed that the crowd was going a nice slow pace and I was able to stay part of the pack.
During the first mile I kept thinking "ok, when I get to the mile mark I can just go to the side of the road and turn back", but somehow my legs kept moving and I kept going. Mile 2 seemed to be the longest, but once I got to the 3 mile mark, I knew I was on the home stretch. After 45 minutes of huffing and puffing the end was near. I had done it. I had gone the whole entire 4.2 miles without stopping or walking (except for on the Hall Street Hill from Hell, but everybody seemed to walk up that). That was the longest distance I have run to date and I am still very proud of that moment!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Success
First, I have falling off the plateau. In the past 2 weeks I have lost 7 pounds! 42 pounds total! I don't know how it happened, but it did, so I won't complain! I hope my body is back on track and it will continue to lose weight. However, with the holidays coming up, I am a bit nervous!
Next, my injury has healed nicely. I am back to running and am happy again! For the first week I did basically nothing but take Medo on his nightly 3 mile walk. The second week I started running a mile and was, for the most part, pain free. I have worked myself back up to 2.25 miles, but want to take it slow for fear of reinjury.
Last, I have discovered the joys of outside running. I never thought I would really enjoy it, fearing my ultimate goal, the 5K Riverbank Run. Running outside is so nice and relaxing. There are things to look at, the time passes quicker, and actually, I run about 2 minutes faster per mile than I was on the treadmill!!! Amazing!
Rain, rain, stay away. Angie wants to run today!
Monday, November 2, 2009
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Bad: Today was also weigh in day. I continue to remain on my plateau and did not drop a single pound. This is very discouraging as I was dropping two pounds a week previously. I blame my plateau on Jasmin's return from Bosnia.
Ugly: During my run after work today I somehow injured my right knee. It is quite painful when I run, and doesn't feel the best when I walk. I only got a mile in today. How disappointing. I hope for a speedy recovery. Until then I will try riding the bike...snoooooooze!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Happy 1st Birthday Medo
Today my little baby turned ONE! 7 weeks from today will be one year since Medo has entered our heart and our lives. I cannot even remember what it was like without him. He is such a joy and a love and not a day goes by that he doesn't make me smile.
I decided to throw Medo a small birthday party. My parents came over as well as my grandma. Unfortunately Andrew could not make it due to a homework crisis. What made this day even more special was that I actually cooked lunch for everybody and nobody has died...yet.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Motivational Tips from Coach
-Sign up for a race as soon as you feel up to it.
-Find a committed running partner. It is much harder to skip a run when you have someone else depending on you.
-Remember that you will have plateaus in your progress and tough days along the way.
-It gets easier.
-Accept and appreciate the fact that not every single run can be a good one.
-Be prepared to remove the words “can’t” and “never” from your vocabulary.
-Do not compare yourself to others. Run within yourself and for yourself first.
-Don’t expect every run to be better than the last one; some of them will hurt.
-Don’t think too much about it or you won’t do it.
-Even a bad run is better then no run at all.
-If you normally run with music try skipping it and listening to your feet to hear your pace and your gait.
-Don’t be discouraged if you don’t experience weight loss immediately.
-Start a running blog and read other running blogs regularly.
-Running is not an excuse to triple your intake of doughnuts because runners gain weight too.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Letters Between Coach and Student
Dear Coach,
I made it 2.75 miles today. I increased my speed the first mile to 4.4. The only disappointing thing was that I got runners cramp. I did go away after I dropped down my speed. Do you have any suggestions as to what one runner in training should do about cramps?
I am now on a two day running break to give my body time to rest. Such activity at my old age is hard on the body. I will be continuing my 3 mile walks to keep the blood flowing. Sloth is one of the 7 deadly sins and I would rather not go to hell.
It is now time to go on my nightly walk with Medo. He also likes to stay fit and trim.
I hope you enjoy your weekend and I look forward to your advice and encouragement.
Your,
Cramping Student
----------
Keep up the good work! So far you get an A + in your running class! If you keep up this pace- you just might be able to runt he 25K at the River Bank Run. At that point you will have to run with Andy b/c 5 K is all I can handle. Rember TGIFriday has excellent salads or grilled chicken sandwich minus the mayo:)
Have fun shopping! It is good to take a day off from excercie.
Tip for the day: Stretch before and after your run, especially those hamstrings!
Your impressed Coach
October 16, 2009
Dear Coach,
I made it 2.75 miles today. I increased my speed the first mile to 4.4. The only disappointing thing was that I got runners cramp. I did go away after I dropped down my speed. Do you have any suggestions as to what one runner in training should do about cramps?
I am now on a two day running break to give my body time to rest. Such activity at my old age is hard on the body. I will be continuing my 3 mile walks to keep the blood flowing. Sloth is one of the 7 deadly sins and I would rather not go to hell.
It is now time to go on my nightly walk with Medo. He also likes to stay fit and trim.
I hope you enjoy your weekend and I look forward to your advice and encouragement.
Your,
Cramping Student
----------
Dear Cramping Student,
Congratulations on your increase in speed!
It is unfortunate that you are experiencing these pains, but I do have two solutions that work for me. Drink plenty of water, especially while running. This helps if you get charlie horses. when I get side cramps I take deepr breaths instead of short gasping for air breathers. lol.
yes, it wold be a shame to go to hell. Good for you that you are not comitting a sin. Hope you and Medo had a good walk.
Don't you feel so energized being on a workout routine? If I don't workout 5 times a week, i get so antsy and irritable. Friday is always my day of rest. Sat morning are my favorite workout days b/c i get to do Pilates.
Hope you have a great weekend! Are you happy to have Jasmin home?
Keep up the great work!
Proud Coach
October 19, 2009
Dear Coach,
I made it 3 miles today. It was hard and I wasn't in the mood, but I made it and that is all that matters, isn't it?
I still had side cramps at 4.4 mph but they were less intense than last time. Progress is being made. I also kept the 4.4 for 1.5 miles, and then 4.3 for the next .75 miles and then down to 4.2 for the last .75 miles. With some luck, by this time next week my main goal will be speed instead of distance. We shall see...
I don't seem to have any leg cramping today either. I guess slow and steady wins the race. Hopefully I can just finish the race!!!
The main concern that I had today was that after I was done running I felt as if I was going to shit my pants and had to make a mad dash for the toilet when I got home. Since constipation is the story of my life, I find this to be a rather unique condition. Does this happen to you? What if I need to poop during the middle of the race???
Well, I am off to take care of that toilet of mine. I clogged it!!! OOPS!!!
Yours Truly,
Pooping Student
----------
Dear Pooping Student,
Great job! You made it 3 miles, you should be so proud of your self! I always have to play mind games with running. Sometimes I will run for 10 minutes straight at a high speed than slow down for 3 mintues or I will say I will run for two songs fast and run slower for 3 songs. What ever keeps me motivated. You have motivated me to run tonight. I haven't run since August. It felt good even though I only ran a mile. My goals usually to build endurance is to run 30 min straight without stopping or being too tired.
If you keep up this pace.. you will be able to run the 10K!
Yes... everytime I run I have to use the bathroom within 20 mintes of finishing. No worries, they have porta potties along the course for that exact reason! Do not eat fiber a few days before the race, that helped me!
Hope your toilet is fixed! lol.
Enjoy your day of rest,
Coach
October 21, 2009
Dear Coach,
I made the horrible mistake of eating a whole huge monster size bowl of ramen noodle cole slaw today before my run. I wanted to only eat a few bites to ease my hunger pains, however, I am an eating machine and could not resist the entire bowl. It was probably enough for 3-4 meals!!!
Though everybody at work seems to have swine flu, I remain healthy and was able to run today, after a long and stressful work day.
I have decided to try a new method to my madness and on M and F I will run at a slower pace, but with the incline to build the muscles and then on W I will run with zero incline, but work on my speed. Today I started off with 4.9 for the first mile but I decreased my speed after that due to the amount of slaw bouncing around in my stomach. It soon became quite unpleasant.
I fear that soon I will be running out of mind games to play with myself. I should probably invest in an iPod or something of the sorts. We shall see... Everything costs money and that is something that I don't have!!!
Did you end up running today as well? Please remember that you cannot get too fast as I will be as slow as a snail. Slow and steady wins the race, right???
Forever your,
Eating Student
----------
Dear eating student,
Never a good idea to eat a large meal before working out! That is when the urge to puke comes on! I eat a granola bar that is a bought it before I work out. If you survived the run after eating, more power to you!!!
OMG... you have not been listening to music this whole training period????? you are my new hero! I can't do any form of work out without music. I tried once and had the tv at the gym on closed caption.. I was bored after 10 minutes. I have a little ipod (shuffle?) it is a lt green square that can hold a couple of hundred songs. nothing fancy. I see them in the ads for like $40. I have had mine for about 2 or 3 years now. I love to put new playlists together to run to. Let me know if you want a list of sweet running songs.
So after the past several weeks, how do you feel with all this running? I personally feel acomplished. Who would have thought that we would be runners after our awful experience with gym class.
I did run. I ran 1.5 miles and walked .5 for cool down. No worries I am still not fast. I was running at 5.0. I just need to get back to the point where I can run at that pace or faster for 30 min and feel like I am going to die. Even if we are not running at the same pace come May, I will not let you run alone on your first race! I have no doubt that you will be able to finish the 5K in less time than me-maybe 30 min???
Have a good evening! Hope you stay healthy and avoid the swine flu
Coach
October 22, 2009
Dear Coach,
I decided to go running today after work. During my entire run I felt like some turd would come flying out of my butt. It was not very fun at all. Since then I have solved my problem by birthing a foot long. I feel much better now and hope I am in better shape for future runs.
This weather is disappointing. Medo does not enjoy being stuck in the house all day. If I cannot walk at night with Medo I must pay more attention to what I stuff into my mouth. I do not think a burger and two martinis was the best idea for an athlete like me in intense training. I will try to do better in the future.
Student is very tired and wonders how she is going to survive tomorrow. It won't be easy.
Sincerely yours,
Student minus one foot long turd
October 27, 2009
Dear Coach,
I had the best run today. I don't know how it happened, but somehow it did. I was able to do the 5K in just 37 minutes, zero incline of course. However, I am finding that I am rather bored during this time. I really do need to invest in an iPod or something. Jasmin has reminded me that we have a radio that I can try to use. Maybe that will help. We shall see.
I am rather disappointed that I didn't lose any weight again this week. Somehow I am stuck! I am just 2 pounds away from entering another 10's group and I think my body doesn't want me to see that number. I don't know when the last time I saw that number was. I think I jumped from 135 to 175 over night and then from there some horrible number that I never want to see again!!! I know that going to bar louie and eating a burger and 2 glasses of blue moon does not help me with the weight loss. Neither does my horrible addiction to Sonic, but I just cannot help it.
Medo is ready for bed and I think I am too. It is only Tuesday and I am pooped. I need to save my energy because I am going to Ikea on Thursday :) FUN!!!
Your,
Sonic addicted student
----------
Dear Sonic Addicted student,
Congrats you finished a 5K! Pat yourself on the back- it is an accomplishment!!!! It takes me around that time to runt he 5K! I run slower on pavement than treadmill, which I am working on. I was starting to worry b/c i haven't received an update in awhile. an ipod or any mp3 player is one of the best investment you can make. Just remember X-mas is right around the corner:)
Good for you Ang, for loosing weight and being so driven. It is so hard. I can't give any recommendations on that as my eating habits just suck. I went to the Dr. off of MI st and passed a checkers. I am thankful it was 8:30 in the morning otherwise I would have stopped. I have never been to a Sonic-otherwise I am sure I would eat it all the time! But reading all my mag and watching Biggest Loser- they say don't deprive your cravings just watch your portions of bad things.
Me too! I am ridicously exhausted and plan on going to bed as soon as Biggest Loser is over.
IKEA! Lucky bum! Who are you going with?
Have a good Wed- keep me updated. Your updates are very motivational. You should start your own blog!
Coach
October 30, 2009
Dear Coach,
I am so tired and just want to go to sleep and it is only 8:30 and a Friday night. It is really sad that my life has come to this point at such a youthful age.
I don't know if you can say my training was good or bad this week. I guess my training was good, but my appitite was out of control. I ate out way too many times this week and need to stop right now! I got on the scale today and fear I have gained! I have not gained since I started, so that makes me sad! My official weigh in is Monday, so we will see what we can do between now and then. But with Heidi's party tomorrow night and Medo's birthday party on Sunday, I am not expecting anything good to happen...
You will never believe what I did today. I ran 4 miles!!! Yes, can you believe it? I don't know how it happened. I got to my 3 and then I was like "ok, I feel pretty good, let's make it 3.5" and then once I got to 3.5 I was like "what the hell, two more laps will be 4". I believe this was only possible because I got 10 hours of sleep last night and was feeling full of energy all day today.
So, I have a question for you... I don't know how to describe it. It is the "ok, this isn't so bad" point. Kind of like a car, when you first get going and it goes from first gear to second and to thrid and the car seems like he is struggling and then finally it gets to 4th gear and it is smooth sailing after that? Well, for me this happens right around 2.25 miles and if I can make it this far then the rest isn't a problem. Will this point change and happen sooner so it isn't so difficult to run the final miles?
Ikea was fun, but I spent too much money. I went with Jasmin. He, too, is a big Ikea fan. We got a bed for the guest room and a bunch of other stuff for the house. Right now in the house we basically just have the stuff we need, but nothing to really make it look nice and homey, so I want to start working on that.
No, I don't use a heart rate monitor, though we have a few at work and I have thought about it. I always used one when I was going to MVP and know there are different zones, like weight loss zone, etc... Are you fearing a heart attack in your near future and that is why you would like one??? I think I need something to tell me my speed for when I am not running on a treadmill. That is my biggest fear, if I cannot control my speed, I will run out of energy too soon!!!
I think you have an idea there with the blog... I just might do that this weekend and I will post our letters to each other on there :)
Your,
4 Mile Student
Dear 4 Mile Student,
Congrats that is quite a distants! Reading your letters makes it sound so easy. I myself can't say I have ever done 4 miles. Maybe we should switch roles and you can be my coach.
That is what I believe they call the runner high where you just keep going and don't strugle. It is very hard to get to that point b/c right before that you feel like you want to die and are tempted to quit. Running is such a mind game. like you said if I ran 3.5 what the hell is another 2 laps.
Don't get discouraged if you gained. You work hard and shouldn't feel guilty about eating bad stuff once in awhile. The scale is going to be a litte higher, becaues you are gaining muscle and toning them in your legs. Soon you will have those sexy runners legs!
Can't wait to see you tomorrow!
Coach
