New Plan, again...

First off, to all those friends who don't follow me on Twitter, yes, I did win the Axe contest! (Yahoo!) and by quite a margin I might add. Thanks to all of those who voted for me. As for the newest BBOR running contest, I have already submitted a photo of me in thongs so I don't feel it necessary to enter this time round. :)

Running

As for my running, and that is why I'm here after all, it is sucking again. I'm not whining, honest, I'm just re-adjusting my plan yet again.

I ran 12 km last weekend, as I had mentioned in my last post, but my lower legs were quite sore for the following week and overall, it was not worth pushing myself. I did a walk/run with my daughter on Tuesday and it was a good thing I had promised to go out with her because I couldn't have run anyway. In fact, just the one minute run segments set me back in my recovery the next day. I had a lot going on at school this week so it was easy to skip my Thursday run anyway - no time, no energy, and sore legs.

I was optimistic that my Saturday run would be better but had no expectations for how long I'd be able to run. I decided to do the 3-4 km loop around the neighbourhood and see how I felt, and then do it 2-3 times if all was well. However, after 3km, I started having gut problems and had to pack it in and come home after only 4 km. This 'spasm' was a new symptom, and it only lasted about 15 minutes or so, but I definitely did not feel like going back out and trying again after it was over.

Things I have Learned

• I am still building up miles too fast for my 'mature" yet inexperienced body.

• I cannot 'run through the pain". It does not work for me. I can do it biking no problem but not running.

• I have not figured out the GI issues yet but I have been able to run for longer times without problems a few times so I am optimistic I will figure out the right food/exercise/timeofday combination that works for me eventually.

• I cannot do a half marathon on October 12. I may not be able to do a 10k if I'm not careful.

• I need more sleep. Every night.

• I still like running despite these problems and will continue to persevere.

The New Plan

• Continue running 3 times a week.

• Do two easy runs mid week (probably T and Th), 5 km, or less if necessary

• Do one long run on the weekend aiming for 8-10km every week until that becomes easy. Then move up to 10-12km for as long as it takes to feel good with that. My goal is to take forever to build up to 20km. Whatever it takes.

• When I start hurting, I will walk. When it hurts to much, I will stop.

• Stretch, do strength exercises, and build up the muscles that are out of balance.

• Do the PT exercises.

Wish me luck. :)

Target

I CANNOT believe it. I have had my credit card number stolen again and someone racked up some charges. This is a new credit card that I've only had for a few months since the last time it was "compromised" and someone got a free vacation. Thank goodness the credit card company protects me, but once again, I have to cut up my card and wait for a new one to arrive. So stupid and so irritating.

So I'm really starting to wonder - who has it out for me?

July - credit card info stolen
August - boat motor stolen
September - van stolen
September - credit card info stolen again

I have been really careful with my card since the last time. I have not used it online and I have kept it in my possession. Both times it was my card, not my husband's. So what am I doing wrong? Any thoughts??

Running

On Saturday, I did my 12 km run. I felt really great for the first 8 km and then my knees and lower legs started to tighten up. I thought about packing it in at the 9 km mark but decided against it and switched to a walk/run for the last 3 km. For the next two days, my legs felt tight and sore but by shins aren't hurting much so I haven't touched them. It's more the IT Band that feels tight, and maybe my glutes, so I have been doing some stretching and I really hope that Tuesday's run feels good. If all goes well, I'll do 14 km on Saturday, but honestly, I don't think I'll be able to do a half marathon on October 12, no matter what happens. I'm probably better off just doing 12-14 km this week and then again next week until I can do the whole 12km without walking.

I was looking at the Okanagan Marathon website today and see that even the 10km has some climbing in it so I'm probably best off sticking with that and do my own half marathon on November, or whenever my legs are up to it.

No other earth shattering news I guess. Erik's back was really messed up this week and he missed a few days of work. I've been pulling double duty at home and struggling with my cold as well. Hopefully now that his back is a bit better, I can get some more sleep and get rid of my cold once and for all.

Bad Boys of Running Guitar Contest Update

The contest is pretty funny. As of this moment, I now have 51 votes, Gordy has 17, Blackfonzie has 12, Mystery Man has 3, and Bob and "Slash" each have two votes. Don't their mothers even vote for them?

The Bad Girls of Running have been accused of all sorts of wrong-doings but of course, they've done nothing wrong. I can't help it if I have a lot of women friends on the internet, all of whom are happy to follow a link and vote for "Some Chick".

They are even starting to talk about it on some of the podcasts. Brett from Zen and the Art of Triathlon had some pretty funny comments about it on his latest episode, calling me a "Hippy Pacifist" sitting cross-legged on a picnic table, in flip flops, as if that's a bad thing! LOL... And this from the guy who claims to be into "Zen"? (And it's a desk at school, not a picnic table, by the way...)

However, there are three days left in the contest and who knows, maybe the boys can get organized in the final hours. I'm having a ton of fun in the meantime!

And if you haven't yet voted for "Some Chick" - vote now!

Bad Boys of Running

Running nose, Running Blogs, Hit and Run, Running for cover, Running like a crazy girl!

Vote for me, vote for me!!!!

I've been having a little fun with my Twitter pals with the ongoing battle of the sexes. First Nigel started the Bad Boys of Running blog, with the Twitter girls, Nik, Maddy, and I, quickly following suit with our own Bad Girls of Running website. Then one evening last week, I noticed that the boys were looking for logo suggestion so I offered a few of my own ideas. What do you think?






For some strange reason, the boys weren't interested in my suggestions and deleted them from the website. Luckily I saved a copy for all to see and wrote about it on our Bad Girls Blog.



The next day, Nigel started the Bad Boys "Me and my F'ing Axe" contest, and threatened the girls not to enter. Well naturally I HAD to enter the baddest, guitar-playing pic I could find - me playing guitar at school, sitting on a desk with my sandals on. How bad is that?



Luckily for me, I made it in as one of the five finalists! And for the time being, I am winning! (At the time of writing this blog, I have 18 votes. My closest competitor has 6.)

So go vote for me (even if you're a boy!) The voting closes in 6 days - September 25th?)

I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing...


Running Update

Well this has been my 'do or die' week for my half marathon training. As I've mentioned before, I haven't had a good, pain-free run since my tri and it's doubtful that I can get my miles up before the race on October 12. I had decided that if I could have two good 5k runs this week AND a 12k run on the weekend, I could conceivable get the miles up in time.

4-5k Tuesday and Thursday

Long runs
Sept. 20 - 12km
Sept. 27 - 14km
Oct. 4 - 16km
Oct. 12 - 22km run

Hmmm, I thought I had an extra week in there to run 18km. Not sure if I can jump to a full half marathon from 16km. We'll see I guess.

ANYWAY, I am SO happy to report that I HAVE had two good runs this week! I forced myself to go out for a run on Tuesday night and again before supper on Thursday. I was tired, had a cold, and really didn't feel like running but I knew I had to. And lo and behold, I felt good! I didn't have to take walk breaks and I finished feeling like I could run further. All I have to do is run 12km tomorrow and maybe, I can make it.

If not, I'll do train anyway, and do the 10k on the 12th. Or maybe I'll do my own 22km the week after. I know that the World Wide Festival of Races people won't mind.


Van Update

I got the van back on Wednesday and it seems ok. There were papers and stuff from the car strewn all over and it was really dusty because the windows had been left open for a week but it seems to be running ok and there was hardly any gas missing. I'm very relieved. Sad to say, Jesse's bike was missing, but his helmet was there. I'll let him ride my mountain bike for awhile I think.

Grand Theft Auto

September is a hectic time of year and I'm tired with rush of being back at work. Mornings are the hardest - it's go, go, go for an hour straight as I rush to get myself and a 10 year old boy ready for school. So you can imagine our frustration when we head out to the car and it's not there. Well shit. Where the hell is it? We scratch our heads, wondering if we parked it somewhere else and just forgot? So I called the police and then called the school to see if someone could come and pick us up since we're only 3km away. We briefly contemplated riding our bikes to school but quickly remembered that Jesse's mountain bike had been in the van and was now gone as well. By the time we got to school, it was almost bell time so I had to go straight into the classroom and try to put all thoughts of my van aside.

I am so furious that someone has done this to us - furious, violated, scared, and angry. It was only 6 weeks ago that the 10 hp motor was stolen off the boat in our driveway and now this. We've been trying really hard to be a one vehicle family for the past year and now we have to drive around in a little compact car for the next 22+ days while the police try to find the van and the insurance company tries to figure out the lowest blue book price for our van. I am crossing my fingers that they find in the next couple of days and that any damage is minor.

I went for a 4.8km run on Sunday and a 5.3km run on Tuesday. On Sunday, I had to insert walk breaks ever 5 minutes, and on Tuesday, I felt a bit better and only had one walk break mid run. I was supposed to run today but my throat is sore and I'm tired and my stupid eyes are really fatigued this week since I went back to work. (I hate wearing contacts.)

So I guess this is just a big whiny post. Sorry about that. Some weeks are just like that. :P


Update 7pm, Friday night: Got a call from the police that my van was found undamaged in the rural hills not far from my home. Not even any damage to the ignition which is weird but they say Dodge Caravans are easy to steal. They didn't mention the bike and I forgot to ask but I'm guessing it's gone. I will go drive around the area and see if it was dumped anywhere. The towing company has it now, ICBC will have to check it over. Not sure when I'll get it back, maybe not until after the weekend but anyway, YAYAYAYAY!!!!

Busy time of year

I'm sorry I haven't updated for 2 weeks - I didn't realize it had been that long.

Wow, am I ever tired! One week back at school and I was so tired I was in bed by 9 last night and slept until 7:30 this morning.

The last week of August was spent attending workshops and preparing my classroom for the onslaught of little kiddos on Tuesday, Sept. 2. Erik and I managed to get MOST of our stuff organized by Thursday, Aug. 28th so right after our workshop, we dropped the dogs at the kennel and drove to Nelson. Since we had to take the dogs to Westbank, we ended up driving south through Oliver and Osoyoos and then all the way to the Anarchist Summit. While it's only an 8km climb to the lookout on my banner above, it's over 20km to the actual summit, then 10km or so of rolling hills. I'm glad we were driving that day. :)

We stayed in our usual corner room (#336) at the 110 year old Hume Hotel on Thursday night and had a late dinner downstairs in the cozy "Library Lounge", listening to live jazz and drinking wine.

I went for a run through the flatter part of town the next morning before we enjoyed a full complementary breakfast. My shins and knees complained a bit so I interspersed a few walk breaks and only ran about 4 km in total. After breakfast, we packed up and drove to the Balfour Ferry, longest free ferry ride in the world,

and then continued on to our friends' gorgeous log home with views of Kootenay Lake. We spent the night there, then headed back toward Nelson the next morning. We stopped part way along the highway at the Harrop ferry crossing, parked the van, and took our bikes onto the little ferry that crosses the Kootenay Arm. We rode the rolling hills to Proctor,
had a snack at the General Store,
then rode back to the ferry. After we crossed back, we rode up the highway towards Nelson for about 15km, stopping at a Provincial Park and checking out the scenery, before making our way back to the van. It rode just under 50km, the weather was warm and sunny, and it felt good to be on our bikes again.
Saturday afternoon we checked back into the Hume and had wandered around town some more, checking out a few of the places where the movie "Roxanne" was filmed. On Sunday, we took it easy then drove back to Kelowna. It was a nice easy getaway and we were able to put school thoughts out of our heads for a few days.

On the holiday Monday, I went for my planned 'long' run. It was supposed to be 10km but I knew I wouldn't be able to go that far given my sore shins and my low mileage recently. I decided to run 5 minutes and walk 1 minute for the first half hour, then as I warmed up, I ran 10 minutes at a time. Overall I did 8.25 km in just over an hour. Pretty slow but felt ok. Later that day, we went for a hilly 35 km ride in East Kelowna.

Erik, Carmelle, and I went for another hilly 28 km ride after school on Tuesday and on Thursday, I tried to do a 5 km run but my legs were pretty sore. My Zensah compression sleeves had arrived that day and I was eager to try them out. They felt good but obviously aren't going to work miracles and again I was forced to do a walk/run.

In theory I should be doing my long run again today but I'm not sure. I might wait until tomorrow since my lower legs are still sore. I don't know. If you read my blog from the beginning you know that I whine about my shins on an ongoing basis. I have the compression sleeves on right now, just walking around the house and I look oh so cool in my sundress and black sleeves on my shins. LOL...

I have not been in the lake or the pool since the tri and I'm not too worried about that at the moment. September is always a challenging month because there are so many meetings and appointments that mess up my schedule and I'm always so darn tired. I am going to focus on my running for the next month and if I have time to go for a swim, I will. I am planning to book my laser eye surgery in early October and that will mean I can't swim for 3 weeks so I may just wait until that's all done before I get back in the pool.

It's also time to get my eating habits back on track. I've been enjoying eating whatever I want for the past 3 weeks but I've gained about a pound a week with the extra calories and lack of exercise. Three pounds is always my warning sign to get back on the diet so I will reluctantly start watching what I eat again. Ah well, it was nice while it lasted.