5K Zombie Run

The 5K Zombie Run was insanely fun. Like when I got home I immediately looked for another one to sign up for fun.

There weren’t nearly as many people there as I expected, maybe because it was the weekend before Christmas. Maybe because it was the day after the world was supposed to end so people wanted to spend their hard earned money on something they knew they’d actually get to enjoy. Either way it worked for us; there was no line to speak of for anything but still plenty of runners and zombies to make it fun!

This race was at the Little Everglade Ranch just like Pretty Muddy, but it was a completely different route. I love that place!

The race didn’t have a whole lot of obstacles, most of them where haystack mountains and over/unders. Oh yeah, and the zombies.

Basically when you see the zombies ahead everyone tried to get in a group and then sprint past them in different directions, theory being that they couldn’t get everyone. It was a whole lot like a grade school playground game of tag with different random groups of strangers on your team at any given time.

I made it about 2 thirds through before dying, I have to admit that’s further than I thought I’d get. These were not the slow zombies of the original Dawn of the Dead!

The best part of the race was the barn. I was already dead anyways but some of us recently infected were running decoy for the still living. A bunch of people were grouped together before the opening to the barn, you could see tons of zombies silhouetted in there and there was one in a suit crawling slowly towards everyone, dragging himself on his elbows. That guy jumped up so quick I didn’t even see him do it, he was just suddenly sprinting towards everyone, and all of the runners scattered through the barn in a panic, you would have thought we were really in a life threatening situation.

The other best part is that although my hip did start aching it didn’t start for quite a while and didn’t get too bad. I think the trick is going to be to stop running on concrete and maybe try trail running, the concrete seems to kill my hip in just a few steps.

Oh, and the other other best part was the zombie truck.  I wanted to be a zombie just so I could go for a ride on the truck!

Running Backwards

So, I did the barefoot run, and it did not go so well. My hip started hurting just a few steps in. Not near as bad as it was before, but still extremely discouraging and depressing. I finished the run anyways, it wasn’t very far.

The barefoot part was great! I like the feeling of the road under my feet and I think it probably does help with form. I’m definitely going to give it another try, but I guess I’ll have to wait a while more for this thing to heal. Not to be negative but this is really getting old…

Time to try barefoot?

I can finally start running again in two days, Saturday.  Considering the sad fact that the longest I've ever run was 3.5 miles and really just 3 miles on my long runs about killed me I figure I'm pretty much starting from scratch again.  Which I'm actually OK with, that just means that every step is an improvement over today. And it means I can try something new without worrying about backtracking.

I've been reading lots about getting started running barefoot, and just like ever other subject the information out there varies from several web sites content being word for word the same (I always wonder where on earth the original content comes from when this happens) to totally contradicting information.

A lot of sites recommend starting with just 200 feet per run the first week.  That sounded great until I looked it up and found there are 5280 feet in a mile.  So they are saying I can run down the driveway and be done?  I understand that you are supposed to start easy but geez, I'd like to actually start.

So I pulled up Mapmyrun.com to see just how far 200 feet is, and just how far a quarter mile is since that's what I intend to start off with, and I want to see what the difference is.  It doesn't show feet so I still insist I'd be done with 200 feet before I left my yard.  But it does show a quarter of a mile is about to my parents house, which is about that far up my street. 

So there you go, I have my first goal.  A quarter mile barefoot run Saturday, and if I feel great I'll do it again on Sunday.  I have my Fila minimal shoes I'll have to wear on weeknights I run, I'm not home when it's light out on weekdays (thank you, daylight savings time) and I'm not risking stepping on a snake/frog/giant beetle/whatever in the dark.

I think this will be great fun.  I go everywhere I can barefoot now, and if I have to wear shoes it's pretty much always sandals so the only worry I have is my stupid hip.  Oh and the fact that my sister says I'll get worms if I run outside barefoot, my coworker says my knees will be useless within 5 years, and my mom just thinks it's gross.

Lucky I'm used to it, if people I know started telling me now that my super-great ideas are super-great  at this point I'd be very suspicious.  When will they learn???

Off the Wagon... Again

It seems I took the Dr.'s order to take if easy for two weeks perhaps a bit too seriously.  I have done NOTHING so far but eat crap.  No running, no walking the mutt (she pulls so hard it was bothering my hip to walk her), no stairs at work.  I watched the entire first season of American Horror Story and have an awesome place in Minecraft though, so that's something. 

I got a bunch of stuff done around the house this week, so it wasn't as much of a total wash as it feels like.  But I can't believe how easy it becomes to do nothing that is good for you.  I haven't even done yoga until yesterday; I used to do yoga daily. That's a habit I'm getting back into starting yesterday!  Yoga is every bit as good for you as running both physically and mentally, but in a completely different way.  The two complement each other perfectly.

Time to get back to 20 minutes of yoga on work days and 40-60 on days off. Goodness knows I need something to help keep me zen, I don't stay that way naturally! 

I have today and tomorrow off to see Eddie Vedder both nights (yay!) which gives me plenty of time to start my week off right.  So I'm off to do an hour of yoga, make myself a green smoothie, and plan and plot how to keep myself motivated for more than 10 minutes at a time...

Foodie Pen Pal Reveal November

This is the first time I participated in Lindsay's Foodie Pen Pals.  I had fun looking for locally made items and even found some things I'm going to have to buy to try myself.

My package was sent by Shanon in Detroit.  Thanks Shanon!

She included a jar of Velvet Peanut Butter and a jar of Sander's Hot Fudge so of course I  went straight out to buy a gallon of vanilla ice cream and we spooned a bit of peanut butter and fudge over the ice cream to try it.  My kids thought it was funny that I put peanut butter on their ice cream but we all agreed it was an awesome combination! 

She also sent an assortment of Faygo soda which is was bottled in Detroit.  I haven't tried them yet  but will!  I rarely buy soda so my kids are kind of drooling over it, I'm not sure I'm going to get any of that.

For December Lindsay is doing something a little bit different, instead of arranging for everyone to send and receive food packages she's asking that her group of pen pals send the money they would have used for the food boxes to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy.  Her goal is to raise $1500, if you are interested in helping out please go to her site to read about it and sign up!

A running injury WHILE NOT RUNNING?

So it seems that I got my very first real, had-to-go-to-the-dr running injury. I should be very proud of myself considering I have long had the goal of pushing myself to run so hard that I puke. Never actually did that,. but came close. It just sounds so kick-ass die hard! Maybe someday......
The problem is it didn’t actually happen when I was running. I still felt great and normal the next morning after a long run when I got up. It was after my daily hour and a half drive to work that it hit. I got out of the car and bam- it just started hurting and I limped for 3 or 4 days before it settled into an almost ignorable constant pain.

Anyways, according to the Dr I sprained my something indefinable. Whatever it is right where your leg bends at the body. I don't think it has a name. Whatever it is it has caused me not to run since my last post except for 1 pathetic and painful not quite half a mile run which convinced me to take the last couple weeks off, even though I hadn't run for a week before the Pretty Muddy 5k either. Unfortunately that had little to no effect on it, it still hurt just walking.

So off to the doc I went. He gave me 10 days of anti-inflammatories and said not to run/jump/skip/etc. for another two weeks. Really? I think I already gained 4 pounds. While it is kind of cool to get a prescription to be lazy I think I better start some upper-body something to make up for it. Why didn’t I try harder to learn to walk on my hands???

The up side? I think maybe I was actually becoming a real runner, because I actually miss it and can’t wait for my 2 weeks to be up. Hopefully I won’t be over it by then. Granted, it wasn’t a gee, I didn’t run today thing but more of a gee, I haven’t run this month thing, but it is a start.

Plus, all this down time made me learn to play Minecraft, thanks to my younger son’s tutoring. Video game addicted much? Why yes. The bad thing is that stupid Minecraft is just like real life, I keep getting lost. But in the game I can’t call my uncle for directions so I have lost 3 or 4 houses now. Which isn’t as bad as it sounds since every once in a while I run into them again and get a nice little virtual-homecoming.

Not my typical weekend!

Last weekend was definitely not my typical weekend. I was invited to a friend’s 40th birthday but skipped it – to go to dinner with the Pretty Muddy blogging crew. Me, skip a whole lot of drinking with friends to meet a bunch of strangers after work? Not likely, but I did.

We met first at Little Everglade Ranch to get a sneak peak of the Pretty Muddy course. We jumped in the back of a pickup (we were invited up front, but where is the adventure in that?) and were driven around the 1st 2 miles of the course. It was really fun to get to see everything before the crowds and to have an idea of what we were facing the next day.

Why didn’t we go the full 3.1 miles? Because driving around the over-unders the truck got stuck in the mud. I cannot even think of a more appropriate end to a mud run tour than that. So in the best tradition of horror movies everywhere, just as it was starting to get dark all the women decided it was a good idea to just walk back. Was I REALLY the only one there that knew that is how EVERY scary movie starts?? But not only did we make it back we were able to hitch a ride back in a tiny work truck which was a (bumpy) fun ride in itself.

After that we met at Kafe Kokopelli in Dade City for dinner. The restaurant is a neat place to visit; the staff was beyond friendly and attentive. I got a quesadilla and it was good, but then how do you mess up a quasadilla?  I heard no complaints from anyone about the food and the apple cider was good! What was even better was the company; I had a great time listening to everyone’s stories of their blogs and their adventures in running.  I think I was the only one at the table that hadn’t run half a dozen marathons. (feeling wimpy…)

Saturday morning was Pretty Muddy. I've run a couple others with my boyfriend, son, and other friends but going on my own was pretty intimidating. No pun intended. Much.

Even as I was parking my car my typical surge of this-is-outside-my-comfort-zone confidence was showing itself. Why am I here? Do I really think it’s going to be any fun at all doing this alone? It’s not like I’m going to be able to do all the obstacles and I’ll probably be walking across the finish line last person of the day… 

Turns out I met someone at the starting line that I ran the whole race with (sorry Jessica for talking pretty much the ENTIRE time). I had an absolute blast, all of the obstacles were very do-able, and I was able to run most of the race. I am SO glad I decided to stay and run!

This is why I like to run. This is why an all women’s race like Pretty Muddy is a great idea for women who would love to try something new but just aren’t sure. Since I started running I’ve met people I wouldn’t have otherwise met, and done lots of things I wouldn’t otherwise have done. My only competition is myself, yet somehow I keep finding myself jumping headfirst out of my comfort zone and into (or in some cases over) the fire.

The funniest thing about mud runs?  I hate beer but you always get a ticket for a free beer after the run, and it is always the best drink EVER.  I thought maybe I was turning and tried a beer or two elsewhere.  But no, beer is strictly a running thing for me. I can live with that! 

Set goals? OK, FINE.

So I've been reading a lot of other people's blogs and it seems that at the beginning of the month people do crazy things like join challenges and set goals. I can't be certain, but I think they intend to actually follow them too. There are crazy people out there! There are crazy people right here too, so I decided to join them.

I actually joined 2 things on line today, both which seem like fun. 

The first is 100% fun, I joined Lindsay's Foodie Pen Pals at The Lean Green Bean. Basically you sign up on her site and she pairs you with 2 other 'pen pals'. The first one sends you a box of food and you send a box of food to the second one. There isn't any limits on what you can send except for it shouldn't go over $15 and of course it ought to be shippable.  So I am now on a hunt to find great food made locally, seems like my items should be very Floridian!

The second is maybe not as fun. At  MizFitOnline she issued a challenge to quit all processed foods for 30 days.  Actually, she said she got it from Greatist, but there are so many posts there I can't find anything about it.  I did find this though. I won't be trying it for 30 days as alcohol does slightly strike me as processed, but I'm sure I'll find a reason why that's not true before the 30 days are up.

My other goal for this month is to actually HAVE a goal for running by the end of the month. I know I want to be a stronger runner, but I don't know what that means, even just to me. Do I want to run further? Do I want to run faster? Do I want to run more often? Can I call it a running streak if I only run 1/2 a mile a day?

Yes, yes, yes, not officially.

So for the moment my only running goal is to decide on a goal and to run at least 3 times a week. That’s always my goal, rarely what I actually do.

Paddling in Vacationland

What’s the best type of workout there is? The kind that you do because it's fun and it just happens to be good for you. I took a vacation day for Halloween and then remembered I didn't actually have anything to do all day, so I went paddleboarding. It's been a couple months since I've been out so it was way past due!

I don't go out on the bay when I'm by myself, so I stuck to the inlets. There are occasional dolphins and manatees swimming through, but I didn't see any this time. The reason I stick to the inlets? Once we took the kids out in kayaks just a bit past the mouth of the bay and saw a dolphin, oh no wait that is NOT a dolphin fin, it's a shark fin. Which was super cool until it started following the kayak my boyfriend and son where in. It just looked and swam off but if that happened to me on a paddleboard I have little doubt I'd panic and fall off.

Anyway, one of the awesome things about living in Florida is that you can turn a vacation day into an actual vacation without any effort at all. I know people who think it's too humid... too dangerous because of hurricanes... too whatever. Maybe they meant too awesome?

There are a couple small beaches to stop at along the way.

 This is my favorite area to paddle in, when it's low tide like this time you can walk around and see tons of little fish, huge birds, and crabs running around.  If it's high tide you can paddle through lots of little pathways (are they paths if it's on water?) which always makes me feel like I'm far, far away from civilization, which is actually a few minutes away.


Although I didn't see anything big I did see a bunch of rays and a bald eagle!  This is only the second eagle I've seen outside of a zoo so I think its super-cool.

The rays are color-disguised, I usually only notice them when they take off, but you can still see him in the picture if you really look.

The bad thing about paddleboarding?  I have so much fun I don't notice I'm worn out until I get back.  That board is magically a whole lot heavier trying to put it on the car to bring it home than it is when I leave in the morning!

Twitter and Life

So I joined Twitter the other day, just to see what it is all about. Today I saw 2 things there that struck me.

The second was #plankaday. You post that every time you plank, and if you don't post for three days in a row the PLANK POLICE hassle you on twitter. I know I'm a nerd, but how great is that??? Of course I joined right away, even hit a minute my first plank. Which is more awesome than it sounds, because last time I tried doing planks as long as I could I didn't even hit a minute. Don't laugh, they're hard!

The first thing that caught my eye was a tweet by JillWillRun: "This working mom thing is bullshit. Taking her to daycare made me sad, had to deal with crap at work, now trying to figure out when to run."

This working mom thing IS bullshit. My kids are way past daycare, the youngest is 11. But I will never forget leaving my son at daycare the first time, I no doubt cried as much as he did. But then we got used to it.

Then he started kindergarten and I was so intimidated by having to go talk to his teacher on parent/ teacher day (when did I become the adult?) But then we got used to it.

His sister was born the same year he started kindergarten, I walked him to school holding his hand in my left hand and holding his sister in my right arm. There is NOTHING stronger than a parent. Trust me on than one.

The next year they got a baby brother, it took a while to get used to two so close in age! (My sister has twin 1 year olds and I don't have a clue how she does it)

The next year I got to figure out how to be a single mom with three kids. I also got used to that.

Long story short(ish)? I always go back and forth about how I've been running for this long and I still can't get past a 5K.

Lots of the time I look at my schedule and think, how did I even get this far? I work full time and drive an hour and a half each way to work, it's not like I have time to run. Or do anything else. I have 3 kids! And 2 dogs! One is a lab puppy which seriously counts as like 15 other dogs. Lelo never stops. Ever.

That's where the Internet jumps in and can be incredibly inspiring (aka annoying as hell). I see people post things like I started running 6 months ago and just ran a marathon... or I trained for an ultra while pushing my newborn in a stroller... Wait. What? Humans can do that? I am pretty sure I will never run an ultra, and even a marathon is pretty dang doubtful, though I would love to be able to say I had done it. But watching, reading about, and knowing what other people have accomplished is just what I need sometimes. It reminds me that we humans CAN do crazy things, sometimes even things that sound impossible.

So I will do a plank a day and dream of the day I get to 5 whole minutes, and I will run when I can instead of as often as I should, and I will write this silly blog just because I like to. And I bet JillWillRun already figured out when to run.

Oh and P.S.

I now have a 19 year old who got his driver's license, truck, and first job all in two weeks.
I now have a daughter in middle school who I can only hope will not want to go on a date any time soon.
I now have a son in middle school that can do ANYTHING on a computer.
Lelo. Enough said.

I am NOT used to that.

.

Fasting, not fast.

Day 2 of my juice fast. I'm not aiming for a particular number of days, I prefer to decide each morning. It doesn't say much for my goal setting abilities, but it keeps me from psyching myself out about how much longer I want to go!  I like to juice fast occasionally because  it's like a jump start back to healthy eating when I stray to far into the world of Frito's and cake...  I tend to actually want healthier food after fasting.  Too bad the effects don't last longer.

I'd be really curious to see if my running improved or got worst if I did a long fast.  Not curious enough to actually fast for more than a couple of days to find out any time soon though!

Here's today's breakfast, lunch, and dinner of champions.  It made about 30 ounces of juice.  That and LOTS of lemon water and I'm good to go!

Last night I ran 3.14 miles with an average of exactly 12 minute miles.  I actually seem to be getting slower instead of faster, but at least I broke 3 miles that's a long run for me!  My longest run without walking ever is 3.5 miles, I'm making it my goal to do that again on my next weekend's 'long run'. I really don't want to walk any of the Pretty Muddy run in two weeks!

Time to reboot?

All this week I've been dragging myself out of bed, yawning through a fog at work, and generally cranky. To top it off, I've been limping around for no apparent reason, my leg has really been killing me. That's a bit of a mystery, it can't very well be an overuse injury since that would require actual overuse. Whatever caused it I'm ready to be over it.

I think Sunday it's time for a start-over, I'm going to juice fast and then go whole foods for a while.  There's nothing like a juice fast to clear your head and get things back on track!  I don't know how long I'll fast for, I've found I tend to do better when I plan one day at a time.  The longest I've ever juice fasted was 4 days, I'm not really out to beat the record or anything.

Top that off with lots of restorative yoga and I should be brand new by the end of the week.  And best of all, although I was limping to an embarrassing extent this morning at work I really do feel a lot better tonight.  Maybe the mystery pain will go away as quickly as it came on.  If so I'll start running again on Sunday, I see no reason to push it.

Why wait until Sunday to start?  Because tomorrow I'm going to the Clearwater Jazz Holiday!  I can't even pretend that I know a single thing about jazz, and I have no clue why it's called holiday since I doubt a anyone will be there in a costume.  (I am sorely tempted to wear my flapper costume though).  But I do know that any type of music festival is good for the soul, (and yes, a bit of a holiday) so I am sooo in!

If that's not enough reason to postpone a fast for one day our friends got us VIP tickets so there will be plenty of food and the wine will be flowing...

Music to heal the soul, then juice fast to heal the body, I should be right as rain in no time!

Pretty muddy? Pretty Cool!

What could be a more different mud run than the 5K Zombie Run I'm doing with Clay in December? How about a women only mud run with a bubble obstacle? Um, yeah, that's different! So November 10th I'm running in Pretty Muddy in Tampa. I've never run one without Clay or my son, Nick, so I am really excited.

This time I'm on my own, and I have to admit it's a pretty intimidating. But that's what it's all about! A mud run just for women. And even if I can't see how it will help me prepare for a zombie apocalypse,running through bubbles cannot be anything BUT epic fun! I think that as a women only run this mud run will be all about comradry and having fun. I should have more information about the run soon, if anyone wants to join me I run at 10 am!

Now the only problem is I seem to have injured my left leg and knee just when I really need to step up the running - it even hurts to walk, and I don't know what I did or when I did it. I think I will take tomorrow totally off and try a long, slow run Saturday or Sunday. I did a bit over a mile tonight, and it didn't really hurt enough to make me stop but it DID hurt.

Walking Dead & Twisted

Well, I was planning on getting in an arm/core workout, but my sister taped the Walking Dead premier and called to see if we wanted to come down and watch it. Um, you have to ask?  It was awesome, as expected.

And because I am nothing if not great at finding an excuse to chill I decided that I should follow that up with a glass (or 2?) of wine.  So here I sit having a glass of Twisted Cabernet Sauvignon and doing nothing useful.  Sounds ideal!  I have to say, although this is a decent glass of wine it does not compare to the Twisted Old Vine Zinfandel.  THAT was a wine worth hunting down, totally mellow without being boring. 

And isn't that label totally great for October?  Why yes, that is why I decided to try it.

Completely unrelated but cool, over at Shut Up + Run she's giving away a $25 Subway card, if your interested here is the link:  Shut Up + Run: $25 Subway Gift Card Giveaway!

Running in Groups

I'm thinking about running with a running group this Saturday.  It would be a great idea, and probably really motivating, just what I need.  But even more it is Oh My God terrifying.

No one will run as slow as me, no one will run for as short of a time as me, and no one will look as much like they are getting ready to pass out as me.  Plus they start running at 6:30 in the morning. Which is, you know, at 6:30 in the morning.

I sent them a note tonight to see if anyone is going to be running this weekend at my speed. If they say yes then I have no excuses left- I'll have to give it a try.

How did YOU start running?

I've wanted to be a runner since I was a kid. When I was young (like 11 or 12?) I went with my dad a few times. Of course, his legs were a billion times longer than mine but I was just so awesome I kept up anyhow (thanks dad). We only did it a very few times but like during everything else we did he threw out bits of wisdom. It's his fault I refuse to run on the sidewalk, cars be damned. He always said the sidewalk would kill my joints but that running in the street was better. Therefore, running in a street full of hot rodders and semis will always be my choice, over the sidewalk lined by nice, green grass. After all, you only get one set of knees, right?

The problem is that although I tried to start running plenty of times, I never lasted more than a week before my knees and shins would start screaming and I decided I will just never be able to run at all. Every time I gave it up I was really, really bummed but I didn't have much of a choice, I just wasn't built to run.

This last time I decided it was now or never. I started running almost two years ago, and this time I decided to try it a little different. Obviously I am still nothing like consistent but I did do two things right.

First, I started using the Couch to 5K program. It kept me from overdoing things and also kept me doing things. Good combo.

Second I decided that since I am one of those people who hates wasting money I'd go out and buy a good pair of running shoes. I went to an actual running shoe shop near where I work and they did a gait analysis and everything. The guy handed me three pairs of shoes, only one felt right. So I went home with a shiny new pair of Saucony running shoes and never looked back.

I really don't know if it was the running plan, the shoes, or a combination of both but I haven't had much more than a twinge of pain in my knees or shins since. I still don't feel like a REAL runner, but I do feel like it's possible if I actually put in the time.

Consistency

My biggest enemy is the pull-up. I have never been able to do a single one. Not even one. Aren't grade school kids doing them in gym? I remember they were one of the things we were graded on right up there with sit ups and girl pushups.

I even went so far as to buy a pull up bar and put it up like 2 years ago. Every once in a while I'll give it a try for a few days in a row. Apparently stupid consistency is the key to EVERYTHING. I hate consistency. I can follow a plan for a few days, sometimes even for a whole week, but then I get bored and distracted by something else shiny and it's all over. Anyone reading this could clearly see that if, you know, I had been consistently blogging since I started this.

Anyway, I decided to give them another go and this time I'm going with jumping pull-ups to get there. I read somewhere they are a great place to start, even if you have to start jumping from a pretty high box to get up there. Which I do. I knew that milk crate would come in handy someday.

So here's this afternoon’s workout, which I intend to alternate with yesterdays for a while. I'm not giving myself the option of falling off the actually-getting-ready-for-the-obstacle-course wagon but I am always ready to trade these workouts for something else that looks shinier at the time. Like yesterday I ran through the whole thing twice.

• Squats: Reps 10 (8# each hand)
• Concentration Curl: Reps 8 (8#)
• Shoulder Shrugs: Reps 8 (8#)
• Hammer Curls: Reps 8 (8#)
• Standing Calf Raise: Reps 10 (8#)
• Curl: Reps 10 (8# each hand)
• Leg Curl: Reps 8 (30# each side)
• 17" Step Up: Reps 10
• DB Dead lift Reps 10 (8# each side)
• Regular Grip Pull downs: Reps 10 (40#)
• Hyperextension: Reps 12
• Reverse Grip Pull downs: Reps 12 (40#)
• Cable Seated Row: Reps 12 (50# each side)
• 10 jumping pull-ups

And since the whole point of all this is supposed to be getting better at running I went for a run tonight. It was supposed to be long run night, but I only did 2.31 miles, 11’58”/mile. I had worked my way up to 3.5 last month, but just wasn’t getting there tonight. Once again, consistency would sooo pay off. I think it is about time to set some goals.

Oh yeah, and I saw FOUR snakes today, 3 in a row on a little foot bridge at the park (one swam off, so must have been a water moccasin?) and the fourth I came about 2 inches from stepping on when running. As you can imagine I kept my eyes down and jumped over every oil stain after that.

Maybe I can blame my lack of milage on all that jumping?

Lazy Productive-ish Day

I am still on a fairly low energy kick - I stayed in bed this morning till 9:30, maybe because the first thing on my to do list was cleaning? I managed to get in a full workout anyway, though the day did seem to just fly by.

Today’s workout:

• Bench press on bowflex: 50# each side, 8 reps
• Bicycles: 15 reps
• Chair dips: 15 reps
• Lateral raises: 5#, 8 reps
• Db Chest Fly on bench: 8#, 8 reps
• Reverse crunch: 15 reps
• Triceps Overhead Extension: 13#, 10 reps
• DB Front Raises: 5#, 8 reps
• Abdominal Curls: 25 reps
• DB Seated Shoulder Press: 8#, 10 reps
• Side crunch: 15 reps

I cannot believe how much heavier 5 or 8 pounds feels compared to what it sounds like. I’m actually embarrassed to post those weights, but it is what it is! Usually when I do these I alternate sets on 2 exercises and then go on to the next two, but today I tan through all of them in a row and then did them all again. It felt like it went a lot faster, but that’s probably just because it was new. Either way, I’m doing it that way again next time!

I followed that up with a new yoga routine. It's the first one I've tried from this site; I like the practice but the video and voice don’t always do the same thing at the same time which I find fairly distracting. Not like the American version of a Japanese horror movie distracting, where the voice keeps going after the person's mouth stopped moving though. If you want to try it the routine starts a little after 4 minutes in.



Yoga is one of those things that I love but have to sometimes question. Settle into your breath…Interlace your fingers...soften your eyes…spread your wings…wait. What? Did she say spread your wings? Then I start laughing at myself and completely lose my zen. I’m not blaming anyone here, I also lose it when I try a bit too hard to radiate towards the ceiling in triangle or try to stay in warrior three on my left leg for more than 30 seconds and end up falling over. All I’m saying is I do not and will not ever have wings. That’s for those mythical people with grace and stuff, and my name and the word grace have never been uttered in the same sentence, except for in jest.

What I didn't do today is get in a run, so it looks like I'll have to set my alarm for a Sunday morning, so wrong. Every time I skip a run or procrastinate in some other way I tell myself at least I learned a lesson... but I never actually do.

Dragging

So much for a straight week of wins.  I dragged out of bed barely in time to get dressed, feed the mutts, and sleep walk out the door.  Why is it such a struggle some days just to get up when the alarm goes off?

Don't know but the funk lasted all day.  Not feeling well so I took some Tylenol a bit ago and wrote off the run I intended to do tonight.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better, so glad it's finally Friday!

War Against the Snooze Button

Today was day 3 in my War Against the Snooze Button. I haven't actually bounded (or even dragged myself) out of bed at 5 am when it first goes off yet. But I have managed to only hit the button two or three times a day. After all, it is important to leave room for improvement!

This morning I went for a very short, less than 20 minute run.  It doesn't sound like much because it isn't much. I am using the excuse that I donated blood yesterday afternoon and needed all of my strength to create shiny new blood.  However, the point was to prove to myself that running in the morning would not result in getting attacked by boars, snakes, wild dogs, or vampires.  Sparkly or otherwise.

 I had let my ipod die so it was a run not only in the dark of  morning, when most humans are not yet out,  but also without music!  I'm pretty sure that makes it count double.

 Actually, it wasn't bad at all.  No creatures (supernatural or otherwise) lunged at me and it really isn't even that dark thanks to the street lights.  The only part that was a bit creepy was a bird making a weird noise that I think meant 'all hope abandon, ye who enter here'.  I made a deal with myself that if I even THOUGHT I heard nevermore I was giving it up and going straight back home.

To top the morning off I tried a new post-running video that was the best one I've found so far.  By new I mean a year old, but although I favorited it ages ago I hadn't actually watched the video until today.

If there is anybody out there and you have a link to a great yoga video please share.  Especially if it's intended for pre or post running!

Heaven forbid, I think my mom is RIGHT

I was telling my mom about the zombie 5K we signed up for and she said she thought I was becoming 'obsessed' with these runs.  Of course I just laughed at her.

This morning I got up a little after 5 to do an arm/core workout.  Usually I drag  myself out of bed with barely enough time to get ready and get to work on time, I find myself eating while driving to work or after I get to work half the time as a result.  But I decided to get back on the wagon as far as working out, after all I only have 2 and a half months to get better prepared for the next 5K!

I went for a run tonight after work (and after an episode of Supernatural) and while I was running I was thinking to myself about what I could build in the back yard to practice getting over walls.  You know, just in case. Would the neighbors think it was weird if I had a rope hanging off the roof and tried climbing it once in a while?   And of course a couple of pvc hurdles out back would be cool, I saw how to make them on the Internet last night.

And even as I sit here with my shoulders and arms sore from this morning my mind is turning with what I can do in the morning if I get up early again... Leg and back workout?  Yoga?  an early run?  I actually find the total quiet of early morning runs too creepy, much prefer to run at night.

Long story short, I think my mother could have been right.  She may have even been underestimating the obsession!

Signed up for a Zombie run!

Clay just signed us up for a 5K obstacle course with ZOMBIES!  It's the Saturday before Christmas, I bet it'll be a lot safer place to be than any shopping center.

I am very determined to be better prepared for this one. I'm going to have to start getting up early and getting a workout in before work to be sure to make it over (through, under, whatever) all of the obstacles this time!

Just to be sure to be properly psyched we're going to Universal Studio's Halloween Horror Nights this Friday.  Walking Dead?  Enough said.

Beach Beast let-down

Well, after much waiting and excitement Beach Beast finally got here.  A 5K on the beach with obstacles, has to be great!  But unfortunately, I didn't have to be great. 

It started with some over-under boards and then most of the 3 miles of running through the sand, out and back past the start, then out and back a little in the other direction before getting to the rest of the obstacles all in a row.  Oh my god, that sand killed me. I knew I couldn't run that far in sand without stopping, but I was so wiped sooo quick I can't believe it.  I only did about half the obstacles, my worst run yet.

My running is always so sporadic that I'm still not comfortable running 30 minutes, but I recently ran 3 and then 3 and a half miles without stopping, which is a good bit over 30 minutes since I'm slow as dirt. I was feeling like I was doing really good. NOT.


The worst part?  I went with my boyfriend, sister and niece and they all kicked my butt.  And none of them run or prepared!  On the extreme plus side they all had so much fun they are ready to sign up for another one!

I had a lot of fun in spite of not doing well, but I definitely prefer a race with more obstacles and with the obstacles spread out throughout the course instead off all grouped together.

I think it's time for a LOT more consistency in running not to mention a game plan for getting through EVERY obstacle in the next run!

Hog Wild 2 (1st for me)

Ran in Hog Wild 2 this morning with my son. I think an awful lot of that 'mud' may have actually been random animal droppings, it was way thicker than any mud I've ever seen and didn't smell too pleasant.

This was the single most UNorganized anything I have ever been to.  We got there an hour and a half early (as requested) but were in line for over two hours to pick up our race packets. By the time we got in I was so hot and just tired of standing I didn't even feel like running anymore. I had planned on really pushing myself on this run, but ended up walking most of it.

If the wait wasn't bad enough (it was) there was absolutely no one at the start line but a couple of other people trying to figure out when to start running.  We got tired of waiting and just kind of went. Last really bad thing: there were huge, angry bulls and cattle on the field.  Yes, for real. Which randomly ran through the crowd.  Scary much?  Um, yes.

The other side of the coin?  The race was AWESOME.  In spite of the bad I would definitely do it again if the company putting it on promised a much shorter line and more people working there.  A lot of the obstacles were natural - running hilly trails was fun, but going through water and sliding into water before swimming across it was a blast.

I had to skip some of these obstacles - there was a wall with just a rope to climb up that I wasn't even going to attempt if I had all the energy in the world.  But it is something I want to be able to do in the future!

I thought the site said there would be ice water you had to go through, but I didn't see it, maybe because no one refilled the ice?  Can't say I'm upset about that, ice water and electricity are 2 things I can do without.  But I didn't, because one of the obstacles was electrified barb wire you had to crawl under through thick mud.  How great is that?!?

I actually lost the bottoms of both of my sneakers running (ok, walking) this race, I think I lost the first one wading through the water and another just in the mud.  Now THAT is a mud run.

Mud Crusade!

Ran in the Tampa Mud Crusade today! 

My first 5K and my first mud run all in one. I ran with my boyfriend, son, and his friend but the young 'uns ran ahead about half through. I have to say I wasn't even half way through before I knew I wanted to sign up for another one!

Managed to do every obstacle, even the monkey bars which I have NEVER been able to do. There were lots of walls to jump over and go under, a balance beam (over mud, of course) and tunnels and such.  Best obstacles were a HUGE slide into a bit of water and a net wall you had to climb up.  I don't know how high that net went but it looked about 5 stories looking down...

Can't wait for the next one!