THE SMELLS OF RUNNING...

Heidi

 

 

So I ran three miles on Monday and then four miles yesterday (Wed.)  As I was running my endless one mile circles yesterday, I kept smelling some lovely smells of West Grove. 

 

 

You see, here in Southern Chester County, PA, it is called "mushroom country".  That being said, in order to grow said mushrooms, they use disgusting compost.  Yup, crap!!  Usually our neighborhood is spared by the smell but once in a while when it is foggy or raining (it was both yesterday), we can smell "the smell".  I have a hard enough time with my asthma trying to breath when I run but when you add on humidity and "the smell" it makes it ten times more difficult.

 

On the bright so though, when I ran the Turkey Hill Race in Lancaster County back in May, it smelled like total cow crap.  The whole race....cow dung!!!  The farmers were fertilizing.  Gross but running in smelly West Grove totally prepared me for breathing that lovely aroma in for the entire 3.1 miles. 

 

So as I ran my four laps yesterday I ran by one house that was doing laundry.  AHHHHH.......fabric softener.  Such a lovely smell on such a crappy run.   Delightful even. 

 

Moral of the story....I might go around to my neighbors houses and tell them to do their laundry around 8am so I don't have to smell gross smells....especially on the hill!! 

 

 What interesting smells do you all smell on your run???

 

 

(pictures courtesy of Pinterest....meaning I have no idea where they originated from)

 



Quiet Week For Me...

Heidi

 

 

I am sure you have realized I haven't  said much this week.  Well that is because I had nothing to say.  Kristen is in Disney World and I will admit, I am very jealous.  Plus, I was recovering from my 13.1 run last Sunday.  Yes it did take me 8 days to recover.  Damn I am OLD!!!  Other than a few short bike rides, I did NOTHING!!  So there you have it, nothing to talk about.

 

Yesterday the fam and I went to Mt. Vernon and Arlington National Cemetery.  It was a birthday trip that was supposed to be all weekend but due to my husband getting sick, it turned into a day trip.  Luckily the D.C. area is only two hours away from us. This is how you know if you have a running sickness...

 

We pull up to Mt. Vernon and I see a bike/running trail.  Instead of parking, I tell my husband to go right out of the parking lot just in case this was parking for the trail.  (Somehow we passed right by Mt. Vernon's entrance so I truly wasn't sure...just saying.)    WELL, I almost had a heart attack.  There is this beautiful trail that runs parallel to the Potomac River.  If I had known there was this trail, we would have at the least, brought our bikes.  I did bring my running shoes but thought better about smelling up my only clothes I was wearing.

 

So we wander through Mt. Vernon.  I have to say, Virginia is a bit hilly.  Got some good exercise in.  After a few hours we decide we have seen enough.  (Really my fam thought they saw enough in the first 20 minutes...but it was MY birthday.)  Instead of eating there for lunch (it was 2:00 already), we decide we are going to eat at one of the restaurants we passed on our way in.  Only, the hubs took a right instead of a left.  We went down George Washington Parkway which parallels the trail and drove right to Arlington National Cemetery.  Never really passed a great place to eat but I was so engrossed in how great this trail was, I didn't even notice. 

 

So we park and walk endlessly through the cemetery.  If you want a work out, there you have it.  (My brain really never shuts down with exercise.)  We saw JFK's site and the Tomb of the Unknown Solder.  That was enough for me (and the fam!!!).  We were STARVING by then.  I am sure we walked about 5 miles by now.  It was time to eat.

 

I make my husband drive to Georgetown.  Brilliant idea because I wanted my 16 year old son to see the campus.  Well, it was move in day for them.  SO CROWDED!!!  It took us about an hour to drive through with the traffic.  No parking to be had so we never stopped for lunch (or cupcakes for that matter.).  It was about 4:30 by now. 

 

When we finally got to the highway, it took us another 45 minutes to find a good place to stop.  Uggghh!!!  It was dinner time.  So a bonus??  I never ate lunch so eating at Johnny Rocket's and having a peanut butter milkshake was no big deal, right??

 

NO!!!!  Because I have eaten like crap for the past few days due to it being my birthday, my first run this morning since my 13.1 miles was well....CRAP!!!  Now I know.  I AM BACK ON THE WAGON!! 

 

And that's all I have to say...until next time.

Week in Review

Kristen

Monday:
Run 8.25 at 8:41 pace
This is my tempo run for the week.  The entire time I was out running, I felt awful-my breathing was off and I really felt like I was going super slow, but it turned into a decent run-so I'll take it!

Tuesday:
Rest-my hip was not feeling great Monday night so I took a day of rest.

Wednesday:
Run 9.25 at 8:36 pace
Heidi thought it would be a good idea for her 16 year old son to run with me.  Just when you think you are in relatively decent shape, go run with a 16 year old and reality will set in!

Thursday:
Rest-if you want to call it that.
We left for Disney at 2 p.m. Wednesday and drove through the night arriving at our hotel at 5:30 in the morning. There was no running today but a whole lot of walking!

Friday:
Rest
I was still recovering from the long car trip, so I decided to sleep in.

Saturday:
Rest
I will call it a day of  rest but it was just laziness-no other excuse!

Sunday:
Finally got up to run.
Run 6 miles speed.  4 x 1 mile   400 recovery at 8:29 pace.

Broad Street Run

Kristen

The Broad Street Run is the fastest 10 mile run in the country.  This is one of those races I have always wanted to do-and most races I don't care if I run or not.  What's not to love though about a race that runs straight through the heart of Philadelphia.  Sign me up!

I signed up and sadly had to wait to see if I would win the lottery.  The fact that I am writing this post should be pretty clear that I did indeed get in, but after I signed up I sort of forgot about the whole thing. When I got the email telling me I was in-I had a total moment of panic!

May 5, 2013 was a beautiful if not very chilly morning.  I drove down with a new friend and her husband.  I am so happy I didn't have to make the trip alone!!  We got dropped off near the start line and literally stood around shaking from the cold for an hour and a half.  All too soon it was time to line up.  Unfortunately, in order to get to/from the port-o-pots you had to pass through a gate.  What a jam up as race-time approached.  Here I am ready to run and I'm stuck in a human traffic jam!  With moments to spare, I made it to my corral with enough time to listen to Sweet Caroline-played in honor of Boston-very emotional!

Then we were off!  What an absolute beautiful morning for a race!  The first few miles flew by.  Broad St. is actually almost a slight downhill so it is a very quick easy run as long as you pace properly.  It was great to see so many people out on a Sunday morning cheering us on-thank you to those of you who do-it is appreciated!

By about mile 7 I was starting to feel the pain-the pace was a little quicker than I was used to running and I was starting to feel it.  But I soldiered on and by mile 9 I was feeling pretty good again and knew I would have a strong finish.

Time: 1:29:22, 12082 out of 31798 overall, 634 out of 2458 age division.

So, I was very happy, I had 38 seconds to spare in my goal, but I was spent.  I got my goodie bag and sat and waited for my friend to call.  While we were driving down to the race, we talked briefly about a meeting place after the race in case you know bad things were to happen.  As I sat waiting, I chuckled to myself time and again as young person after young person came to borrow my phone to call someone because their battery was dead.  The young generation clearly didn't have a back up meeting place!  I ran into my friend's husband and we went to our meeting place since cell service at this point was not working at all.  And low and behold there was my friend right where she said she would be.

I think that was the biggest lesson of the day-Have a meeting place because cell service will stink when 30,000 people are also looking for their friends!

So after the race, we meandered to the car, sat in traffic for awhile.  By now I was STARVING!  My husband was at the zoo with my kids for a completely separate function.  His plan was to bring me a cheese steak home.  I got home, showered and wandered my house dreaming of the delicious cheese steak I would soon be eating.  I was ready to eat my arm off, but nothing seemed as good as that cheese steak that would soon be mine.

Finally they got home-about 6 hours after I finished the race and have yet to eat anything decent.  I dragged myself off the couch to the kitchen and the deliciousness that awaited me.  My reaction to what I saw was shock-pure and simple.  That was one of the smallest cheese steaks I have ever seen!!  I seriously could have eaten 3 of them, but it wasn't meant to be.  I savored every bite of that thing and then ate a huge bowl of ice-cream.

5 Things I Hate about Disney



Kristen

On what is finally the eve of my trip-can you tell I am excited-I will share with you the ugly side of Disney.  Don't get me wrong-I truly love everything Disney has to offer, from the people on the other end of the phone to the big Mouse himself.  But as with all vacations, it's not all roses.

3.  Soarin is a fantastic ride not to be missed.  The queue line though is very very long.  One time we had just shown our fastpasses and were starting up the long ramp, when I feel the presence of this man behind me.  I pull over to the side and tell him to go ahead as I was with some slower people in our group.  He barrels past me without a thank you.  I continue on my march to the top.  Next thing I know, I feel a presence behind me with a loud voice almost shouting at me to get out of the way-she's trying to catch up to her husband.  I let her and her children pass without saying anything.  We finally make it to the top and this family is right in front of us.  To this day, I don't understand their hurry and why they had to so rudely shove past us.  When I asked them about their hurry, because I was VERY curious, they acted as if it was all my fault and I was holding them up.  I informed them that in the future their rudeness will get them nowhere as they could plainly see.

So to sum up-rude people make the list!

2.  The buses.  Don't get me wrong, I think it's fantastic that Disney has sort of solved a problem and allow their guests to travel freely between parks and hotels.  But it is seriously the biggest time waster of your day.  Each one way trip takes an hour in my estimation.  You wait at the bus stop, you wait to unload, you load, you load a wheelchair, you drive to your destination, you unload.  So very slow.  We started driving to Disney years ago and though I hate the drive down and back, I really think overall we are saving tons of hours each trip by having our van.  Each park is usually no more than 10 minutes away with no waiting.


1.  The drive home is pure torture to me.  Obviously, the drive down is filled with excitement of the week to come.  Driving home to PA is filled with endless traffic. Once we hit North Carolina, we could potentially double the length  of our trip by sitting in traffic.  No matter what day of the week we come home it is always the same-LONG!

Well there you have it, I could only come up with 3 things.  Not too bad and really at the end of the day Disney can only control one of the three.  Next time you hear from me, I will be in the most Magical Place on Earth!

WALKING IS SO OVERRATED!!!

Heidi

 

So I did it....ran 13.1 miles on Sunday on my favorite...the Struble Trail in Downingtown.  I was only going to run 12 but a few months ago I told Kristen I would run 13.1 by my birthday, which is August 23rd (Friday).  I had no choice.  I had to bump it from 11 to 13.1.  There wasn't enough time to do another long run before Friday. 

 

I like to break my long runs into 3 mile increments.  I say to myself, "anyone can run a 5k."  (Four plus times).  I also have decided that is when I will refuel with my GU's.  Gives me something to look forward to.  My first 3 miles were uneventful.  Not great, not horrible like the last long run.  Miles four through 6 were pretty good.  I just seemed to be taking FOREVER!!!  Miles 7 through 9 were just OK as well.  Frankly, I just wanted it to be over.  It was raining, my son ran 10 miles and had been in the car waiting for me for a while and it just needed to be OVER!!  (Did I say that already??) 

 

Somewhere on my way back from my second round on the trail, my body decided that it had already done this mileage before and it was time to be done.  I think that was around 9.5 miles.  Funny what your body remembers.  I had my earphones on so I could listen to Pandora and hear my splits on Map My Run.  At about mile 11, I had had it.  I couldn't listen to one more song or stupid over 14 mile minute splits.  OK, it was really 15 minute miles.  Am I really that slow??  I was really running practically the whole entire time!!!  I knew I had 2 miles left and I decided to just run.  My splits somehow became slightly quicker and I felt better.  Maybe, just maybe, all of my technology was holding me back.  Who knows, but I have decided on my final long training run not to run with music.  It is just a theory so it may not have any validity. 

A little less than four weeks left and I think I may be ready to run this race.  Not as fast as I would have liked to because of my hip injuries but run it I will.  I still have The Tinkerbell Half and Princess Half to make up for how slow I will be for the Rock and Roll Half.  My goal is to just finish. 

How do I feel after my first 13.1??  Well I feel good.  My legs feel bad.  I can barely walk.  It isn't even a real pain.  It is just that my calves won't move when I try to walk.  Hopefully the next time I run this far I will be able to walk the next day or two.  Just in case I can't...I am going to take the day off from work.  (But more importantly, how will I walk all over Disneyland and Disney World after running Tink and Princess??  Back to training I guess!!!)

Week in Review

Kristen

The weather has been awesome for running, so it has certainly been much more enjoyable than it has been!  We leave on vacation this week, so hopefully I can keep up some sort of mileage-we'll see...

Monday:
Rest-after the horrifying run the day before, I decided to give myself another day of recovery.

Tuesday:
Run 7 miles at 8:33 pace
This almost didn't happen because it was pouring rain when I woke up, but then I realized my husband was leaving for 2 days and I don't like to run endless circles around my neighborhood any more than I have too.  So, at lunchtime I went out and suffered in the humidity-so glad I did!

Wednesday:
Run 7 miles at 9:01 pace
My legs were pretty sore from Tuesday's tempo run.

Thursday:
Rest in preperation for long run Friday.

Friday:
Run 13.1 miles at 9:06 pace.
This was an interesting run.  I changed clothes at mile 7 because my legs were becoming an open wound and I couldn't imagine what would happen after 6 more miles.  I did ok until mile 11 and then I was spent but I suffered through.  I really need to find a food balance for my long run days.

Saturday:
Rest-I was going to ride with Heidi, but the day got away from me.  I spent the morning revamping my entire vacation, which is a good thing.  My husband picked down the garden so I spent the afternoon in the kitchen canning and cooking a wonderful assortment of vegetables.  So all in all not a bad day, just lacking in exercise.

Sunday:
Run 5.5-warm up mile, 4x1200 with 400 recovery-8:13 pace


Overall I ran 32.6 miles.  The next 2 weeks will be spotty as we will be in sunny Florida with all the heat and humidity.  I hope to get the bulk of my miles in Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for the week coming up. 

Top 5 Disney Food Selections

Kristen

I think my favorite aspect of any Disney vacation is the endless delicious choices of food.  Everywhere you turn, there is something new to sample.  For the past number of years we have traveled during free dining, which means you can literally eat all day and still eat some more-all for almost free!  Sadly, this year we have to pay for our food, so it will be interesting to see how much we eat when we have to break out the wallet constantly!

5.  Dole Whip-nothing is more refreshing in the hot Florida heat than a delicious Dole Whip-I really wish they could be found in all 4 parks instead of just Magic Kingdom.

4.  In the past few years, we have happened upon a new discovery-the cupcake.  We buy them in Hollywood Studios and they have 4-5 different flavors each day-more than enough to share and absolutely delicious!

 

3.  Boma-this is another place we've only been going to the last few years.  They have some of the best soup selections I have ever eaten.  Though they do have a great selection of meats, this is the type of place where you can eat and eat and never miss the meat. 

2.  Columbia Harbour House is one of the best counter service meals in all the land.  They have delicious seafood selections and it's certainly big enough to share.  A great place to take a break and relax in Magic Kingdom. 

1.  I eat very little meat anymore, but my absolute favorite place to eat is Ohana!  And in reality, for me, it's not about the meat.  I go for the noodles-I could eat these noodles ALL. DAY. LONG.  And just when you are stuffed to the point of no return, they bring out the delicous bread pudding.  This is really one of the best meals in all of Disney World, from beginning to end.

Obviously, Disney takes great pride in all things they do, and food is no exception.  I have had very few bad dining experiences and this list barely hits the surface of all the great things offered.  I really should go run again and burn a few more calories in anticipation of all the calories I will soon be consuming.

BACK TO RUNNING AND OTHER STUFF...

Heidi

 

So I went to the Chiropractor yesterday.  He did his magic and I felt good enough to run 3 miles today.  Leg and hip still hurt some but I pushed through it.  Glad I did because I want to run 13 miles on Sunday and if I had waited, I would have been dead.  It is amazing how fast you lose your endurance.

 

I have to say that I wore my new socks and they are AWESOME!!!!.   I bought these balega brand socks when I was in Florida a few weeks ago.  Loved them so much I found them at the Downingtown Running Company and bought a second pair.  They are so comfortable and cushy, which I love.  www.balega.com

 

My New Favorite Socks...

 





On Tuesday I had to go to the Dr. and get my blood taken.  My appt. with the Dr. is this coming Tuesday.  He likes to have my blood work ahead of time so he can yell at me in person as to my health issues.  Since I have taken on running and losing weight everything has been spot on (except my weight of course) except for my cholesterol.  I have had high cholesterol since the first time I was checked at the age of 14.  When I say high....it has been known to be in the 400's.  Yes 400's.  My mom had extremely high cholesterol, among other issues, and had her first heart attack at 50.  I refuse to go down her road.  That is why I am changing my life.  I go to the Dr. every three months to get my levels checked.  My cholesterol has been holding steady in the 250's which is still too high. Dr. C. upped my medicine three months ago  to 20mg instead of 10mg.  OK, fine.  I fought him for about a year and I finally gave in.  I knew the 20mg would do the trick.  NOPE!!!!!  The nurse called yesterday and told me it was 250 and he wanted to put me on yet another pill with this Crestor 20mg.  I told her "no thank you.  I will be seeing Dr. C. in a week and we will discuss this matter."  They really don't like it when I do that to them but too bad.  I am so annoyed!!!!!!   How could my cholesterol not have gone down even a little bit?? 

 

Last year I decided to stop eating meat except for once a week.  It was a decision brought on by my mother's death and I wanted to get healthy.  When I actually abided by that diet, my cholesterol went down to 202.  That has been the lowest ever.  So yesterday I pledged to my good friend Kristen (who mostly doesn't eat meat either) that I am going back to that diet.  Apparently that is the only thing that will work with my ridiculous gene pool!!!  The reality is, I can run till the cows come home but that won't stop a heart attack.  I need to get this under control, once and for all!! 

 

So back to eating healthy (which I have been pretty good so far this week by the way).  And by healthy I mean no meat except maybe once a week.  A girl's gotta live after all.  So that means no refined sugar, no meat, no white carbs, really nothing yummy at all.  THIS IS GOING KILL ME!!!!!



Top 5 Disney Time Saver Tips

Kristen

I know, I know, you are on vacation.  It's a time to relax and go slower, but if you follow that mentality while in Disney, you will miss out on a lot of opportunities.  So here we go, the 5 best ways to get the most time out of your Disney vacation.

 

5.  Do not stop for breakfast upon entering the park.  This will waste a minimum of 30 minutes that you could be using to get fastpasses or getting on a few quick rides while everyone else is standing in line for coffee or pastries.  We bring pop-tarts and cereal and eat in the room or on the bus.

4.  Make use of the fastpass system.  When we enter the park each morning we have a plan in place.  For example-at Animal Kingdom we split.  My husband takes everyone's Key to the World card and goes to the Safari for fastpasses while the rest of us meander to Everest.  He meets us at the ride entrance and we ride Everest without losing any time.  He can move a lot faster without the kids and I don't have to hurry the kids along too much.  As soon as the next fastpass becomes available we get the next one.

We have also had fastpasses that we couldn't/didn't want to use-feel free to pass them on to someone else-people are more than happy to accept them!


3.  Take an afternoon break.  I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but when the kids are getting hot, tired and cranky it makes sense.  We don't always leave the park to take a break, there are plenty of long rides to catch a few zzz's.  Ellen's Energy Adventure is a perfect example.  It's at least 45 minutes long-a perfect place to cool off, take a quick nap and just chill out.  Some days we head back to swim for a few hours.  The break in the afternoon refreshes everyone and gets you away from the highest crowds of the day and ready for a fun-filled evening. 

2.  Take the 5-10 minutes to get things ready the night before in case you want the 10 minutes extra sleep.  I always re-pack the bag, get breakfast started and lay out everyone's clothes.  In the morning, when I am trying to stumble around in the dark so the kids can sleep as long as possible I know that everything is ready to go.

1.  Be at rope drop.  We are always standing in line at the gate at least 20 minute before the park opens for the day.  We consistently do more in the first 2 hours then the rest of the day-especially at Magic Kingdom.  My husband is high energy, so I let him lead the first few hours and then we slow things down for the rest of the day knowing how much has already been accomplished. 

 

Top 5 Disney Moments

Kristen

I'm going to change things up a little today, because quite frankly the only thing on my brain right now is the big surprise trip we have planned to Disney next week.  As far as I know the kids have no idea about the trip or more importantly, that their uncle is flying in from Japan as we speak to join them.  I can't wait for 10 days in my favorite place!  So to kick things off-my top 5 Disney moments...

5.  Alice picking the kids to ride the tea cups with her.  She does this every morning, which I am aware of, but I never stalked her for the moment-this was truly a matter of being in the right place at the right time.  I don't even think I was aware that it was happening at first!

4.  Another great memory was when my oldest liked to battle Darth Vader-what kid doesn't want to imagine themselves inside the land of Star Wars?  The first year they offered this, he was dressed as Darth Vader and got picked instantly.  Before the battle got started Darth asked Dylon to join the dark side saying there was always a place for his kind.  Dylon refused and Darth brought out his stormtroopers to attack him-classic moment!

3.  Another time my oldest had the opportunity to "drive"  the Jungle Cruise boat.  He truly believed that he was driving the boat and talked about it enthusiastically the rest of the trip!

2.  My daughter has this love/hate relationship with Chip and Dale.  The first year we visited Disney we at Chef Mickey's our first night.  She was about 18 months old and was very unsure of the whole thing.  All she wanted to do was eat her dinner in peace and quiet.  The whole time she kept catching glimpes of these charachters and would huddle over her food and eat faster.  All the characters left her alone except for Chip and Dale.  Well, that set her over the edge-she cried the rest of the meal.  A few years later we happened to run into them in Magic Kingdom-they absolutely loved her hair and spent about 5 minutes playing with her pig tails-she thought that was fabulous!

1.  When we brought the kids to Disney for the first time, my husband and I agreed that we would enjoy this trip and then bring them back 2 more times throughout their childhood.  We consistently have such a fabulous time that we have gone back every year since that first year!  It truly never gets old and I hope that we continue to make many fabulous memories as a family for years to come!  

MONDAY...THE DAY TO START OVER!!

HEIDI

 

So since you haven't heard much about my diet last week, there was a reason!!  It was NOT GOOD!!  Stink, stank, stunk!!!  In my defense, I was on vacation (I must be on vacation A LOT!!) and I haven't exercised since my 11 mile run on Tuesday.  When I don't exercise, I eat terribly.  When I am in my zone and exercising, I eat well because I don't want to screw it up.  I didn't even have the nerve to get on the scale on Friday.  BONUS...had to go to the Dr. today and they weighed me.  Talk about a buzz kill to my clean eating today.  All is good though.  I have eaten fruit, oatmeal, salad with tuna and more fruit.  I did just have some popcorn.  100 calorie bag.  Nothing tragic.  I also didn't have any tea (with or without sugar) or Starbucks.  So, I feel pretty good about that. Although it isn't my cookie bewitching hour yet (that usually starts around 6pm), I think I may avoid eating cookies today.

 

Since I have been injured, I have decided to take off from exercise to give my hip some time to heal.  It must be working.  I am officially walking around without Advil.  My hip still hurts but not like it was.  I see the chiropractor on Wed.  I think I will wait until then to run or bike.  Tonight however, I WILL SWIM!!  It has been forever and I need to get back into that pool anyway. 

 

The good thing about Mondays is you get to erase the terrible weekend (or in my case, week, month, year...) you had and start over.  We went to Hershey Park yesterday.  My good friends Kristen and Nicole were there too.  I was ever so happy to go to Chocolate World without them so I could enjoy what I wanted without consequence.  The hubs had a few choice words for me though, but who listens to him anyway??   I blame Kristen for my cookie conquest.  She told me how great they are in Chocolate World.  (She used to live and work there after all.  She should know!!)  I had a chocolate cookie with peanut butter morsels.  Although it was good, it wasn't as delicious as she made it seem.  There went  360 calories I can never get back. 

 

Heidi At Chocolate World In Herhsey

 

 

I won't even bore you with the ice cream that was supposed to be the best in the park.  (Another recommendation of Kristen's...).  So lesson learned, no more taking advice from the skinny one!!!!!!  I will look to fat people to find the best cookie or ice cream.

 

I am feeling better today.  Amazing how eating healthy makes you feel so much better about yourself.  The idea of going to the gym and lifting weights and swimming is making me a bit nauseous.  I have to get back on that horse!!!

 

One last thought.   I have been toying with the idea of running  the Hershey Half Marathon since Kristen "advised" me to sign up for it.  I haven't signed up for it yet.  The hills are scaring me, especially after running the Hershey 10k in April.  As I was walking though Hershey Park yesterday, up and down all of those hills, I decided 13.1 miles of that might not be what the Dr. ordered.  So I was glad I didn't sign up for it.  Then again....running a race in Hershey is almost as magical as Disney World...almost!!  So therefore, if my hip ever heals itself, I am no closer to deciding on Hershey than I was back in May.    What to do.....what to do...







Week in Review

Kristen

It was a very busy week so I didn't do quite as much as I wanted, but overall I am happy with the progress I am making.  5 weeks til race day!

Monday:

Run 6 miles at 8:53 pace

Tuesday:

Ride 13 miles

Wednesday:

Run 5.5-warm up mile, 5x800 with 400 recovery-8:32 pace

Thursday:

Spent the day lounging on the beach with great friends.

Friday:

We didn't get home until 11:30, so I did not get up and work-out.  Very lazy I know!

Saturday:

Run 12-9:07 pace

Sunday:

Run 2.5-8:50 pace

I was fully planning on running 6, but I don't think I ate enough Saturday and started to feel sick and hungry, so I called it a day.

Overall I ran 26 miles.  I was hoping for a few more, hopefully next week!  Now I'm off to spend the day at Hersheypark with great friends!

ADMITTING DEFEAT...

Heidi

 

As you know I ran my 11 mile long run on Tuesday.  I also have been having issues with my right hip flexor/leg.  I am thinking I may have overdone it this time.  I have been nursing it for a few weeks now. A ton of Advil, stretching, ice,  but nothing has made it better.  Even with time off, it will feel better until I run again.  This couldn't have come at a worse time with only five weeks left before my first half. 

 

In the last year I have overcome knee pain, a shin splint, issues with my left hip flexor and a few other minor issues.  The knee pain would come and go.  I used K tape and knee braces to help.  The shin splint lasted a few months but then suddenly it went as fast as it came.  No rhyme or reason.  Then just as I started adding miles for my first 10k (Hershey), my left hip flexor started hurting.  This was not going away so I visited my new best friend, Dr. Glogowski at Active Family & Sports Chiropractic.  http://activeexton.com/  A friend of mine gave me his name and he did wonders on my hip.  I highly advise anyone with sports injuries to see him.  He is certified in Active Release Technique (ART) which is what he used on me.  Anyway, oddly enough, the day he told me I was good to go and only really needed to come and see him before a race, my other hip started hurting.  I figured it would go away.  I only ran four miles that morning, after all.  NOPE!!!  It is really killing me so I just made another appointment with Dr. G. for next week.  I hope it is something he can cure in less than five weeks. 

 

So until then, I will ride my bike and swim (and take a lot of Advil which I am not advocating by the way).  Hopefully I can get through this and be well enough to run my first half.  This is so frustrating.  Believe it or not, I truly am at a point, after a year and a half, that I enjoy running. 

 

Injuries really are the most frustrating part of my training these days.  I feel like every time one thing heals, something else flairs up.  It isn't easy running with extra weight.  I am sure it isn't good for my joints and muscles but it is a necessary evil in my world.  I WILL NOT GIVE UP!!!  I just will not be running the rest of this week.  Perhaps I should plan another beach day...

 



11 LONG MILES

Heidi

 

So somehow I finished my long run of eleven miles yesterday.  I got up at 5:45.  Woke two out of three of my children.  We still never got out the door before 6:50.  Don't ask me why.  Justin drove to the Struble Trail in Downingtown.  My hip wasn't feeling great and I was dreading this for days.  But...it had to be done!!

 

We walked to the end of the trail from the parking lot.  It is slightly less than 0.25 mile.  That starts the trail at 0.0.  It is slightly over 2.5 miles to the end.  So I had to do it two times plus about a half mile.  I started to run.  It was awful.  From the beginning I had to pee.  The port a potty was surrounded by trash men just hanging out in the parking lot, so that wasn't going to happen.  I had to wait until I ran to the other end of the trail where there was another one.  My legs were screaming.  I blame it on the bike ride the day before.  Note to self..."do not attempt a long run the day after you decide to ride your bike for 12 miles when you haven't done that in two weeks."  Then my left foot started going numb. WHAT????  Are you kidding me?  So I stopped a few times to re-tie my shoes and shake out the numbness.  All I could think about was I wasn't going to get eleven miles today.  I would be lucky to get to five.  I WAS GRUMPY!!!!

 

 

That is pretty much how I felt.  So I finally got to the end of the trail and used the port a potty.  It was gross but had to be done.  When I started to run again, the Downingtown High School Cross Country Team passed me.  (Man they were fast!  So jealous!!)  Luckily they came after I used the pot.  After they turned around and passed me again, they were all saying "Good morning."  Then one young boy yelled out, "Good morning.  I like your shirt, ma'am."  I was all happy at how nice they were until I heard the "ma'am."  Come one now.  I am 41.  Not a ma'am.  Oh and my shirt....it said, "if you are reading this, I am not last."  www.onemoremilerunning.com  They are our favorite store for shirts with the best sayings on them!!!   So although the cross country team made and ruined my day in one second flat, I started to feel better with my run. 

 

I got to five miles and decided to go run the trail one more time.  All I could think about was having to do this ridiculousness again in a few days.  Just kill me now.  Running it again now seemed like the better option. I saw my son and daughter along the way.  They always have big smiles on their faces.  They are always encouraging me.  Haley ran 5 miles (her longest to date...) and Justin ran 9, also his longest.  They waited  for over an hour in the car for me.  They brought their bikes but I guess they were too tired to ride them.  They are troopers for coming with me. 

 

Haley and Justin getting ready to run on the Struble Trail.

 

 

I finished the eleven miles.  My hip was killing me. I had to ingest a couple of GU's along the way to regain my energy.  I walked a little bit between mile 10 and 11.  Oh well...I DID IT!!  Only 2.1 more miles to go before the half.  Not sure if my hip will make it.  As I sit and write this today, I am thinking I may have overdone it.  It is killing me.  We shall see.  Tomorrow is another day...

 

Oh and as for food yesterday, other than the chocolate cake that Troy bought at BJ's (he will be my downfall for sure!!), I did pretty well.  I did burn 1,250 calories after all.  HA HA



 





Believing You Can

Kristen

When I was in high school, my best friend and I tried out for the soccer team.  I grew up in a family where sports were not pushed in any way, so high school was my first experience playing soccer.  For 3 years, from March until May I couldn't wait for game days-those were the days where I could sit the bench and relax, because my coaches absolutely hated me.

Now I know that hate is a strong word, but sadly my two coaches really shaped in me a belief that I could not do well in sports and specifically I was a huge failure at running.  At the start of each practice we had to run.  The best days were when we would run around the field a few times.  A few times a week though, we did the dreaded "church" run.  It was called this because we ran halfway across town, around this church, and back again.  Well, my friend and I, and another player, were so very slow that we started to cut off the whole block of the church just to sort of catch up.  Can you imagine being so slow you are cutting out probably 3/4 of a mile just to sort of maintain pace?

So now we are back at the field huffing and puffing ready to catch our breath like everyone else who has been back for 5-10 minutes.  Instead of a break, the coaches wait for the last people to arrive, and of course they know it's the 3 of us.  We are immediately told to line up.  Now we can look like fools and run sprints up and down the field for the next 30 minutes against these people who have had a chance to recover.  

In the 3 years that I played soccer-and "play" is a loose term here-never once did these coaches make me feel like I belonged on a soccer field.  I get that we are not all superstars trust me.  But never once did they say-Great practice-way to show up today. They were not subtle about the fact that at best we were tolerated and at worst we were made to feel like the worst players.  

Fortunately, my best friend is still my best friend and we have recently talked about this with 20 years between us and high school.  Looking back, we can't believe that as 2 coaches they were so brutal.  They shaped for a long time how we feel about sports in general.  It especially shaped how we look at running.  We were made to believe that we could not run.

What's interesting is this:  I have finally let go of these feelings.  I have proven to myself that I can run.  I will never be the fastest but I am certainly not the slowest.  And now, 20 years later, I believe in myself.

Week In Fast Forward...

Heidi

 

Well the fam and I had a great weekend away in Norfolk, VA for my husband's family reunion.  The hubs and I went for a 4 mile walk on the waterfront there and saw so many runners.  I was a bit jealous I wasn't running.  I sometimes want to scream out, "I run too.  I am just walking with the hubs to make him feel better."  Ha Ha.  Now we are back and I am already not looking forward to this week.  I am off from work but we didn't go to Myrtle Beach as planned.  So now we are going to do some day trips around good old PA. 

 

Today started off with me finishing an appraisal then a 13 mile bike ride with Kristen.  It has been two weeks since our last ride and we felt every minute of it.  It is amazing how fast you lose your momentum and endurance.  I burned 474 calories though.  I need to fit something else in this evening.  I haven't decided what yet. 

 

Last week I decided to sign up for Swim Bike Mom's Eight to Great commitment challenge.

 

 http://www.swimbikemom.com/2013/07/eighttogreat.html  

 

It starts today.  Basically I recommitted myself to eating clean and getting back on track with training for my first half.  So for the next few weeks (or at least until I am bored with writing about it) I will be writing about my meals and work outs.  I need something to keep me accountable besides Kristen. 

 

Tomorrow....is the dreaded long run.  In my own half assed training plan, I need to run 11 miles.  So I will get up super early, wake the 16 year old who is also training for his first half, and drive to Downingtown and run on the nice, shaded, FLAT  Struble Trail. 

 

 http://pa-chestercounty.civicplus.com/index.aspx?NID=1750  

 

I can barely get through these long runs, so the flatter, the better!!!!!  So what if it is a 40 minute drive to get there.  Better than running these ridiculous hills around here in Southern Chester County.  We are six weeks out from yesterday.  I figure if I do 11 tomorrow, 12 the next week, 13 the following two weeks in a row, then I can taper it back for the last two weeks.  That's my plan and I'm sticking to it.  Unless of course my hip flexor tells me something different. 

 

As for the rest of the week, who knows??  Perhaps another bike ride or two.  A few swim workouts because Lord knows that hasn't been up to par lately either.  And of course two more runs.  3-4 miles each.  Oh and Kristen is making me go back to the gym and lift.  So there's that too.  My options are endless.  Now to find the energy to do it all. 

 

As for food so far today...

 

Breakfast:  Oatmeal with banana and blueberries.  No sugar added brewed tea.

 

AM Snack:  Chocolate milk recovery drink.  Apple Nutragrain  Bar (OK it has sugar and is processed but a girl's gotta live. Better than a caramel frappuccino from Starbucks)

 

Lunch:  It will be...Salad with tuna and some kind of fruit.  I really need to hit the grocery store.  (Who am I kidding...Troy needs to hit the grocery store!!!)

 

PM Snack:  Popcorn  (Perhaps it is a little bit processed.  But no refined sugar at least...)  and some kind of fruit if Troy ever goes to the grocery store.

 

Dinner:  Well Troy will be in one direction taking Tyler to soccer and I will be in a further opposite direction taking Haley to soccer.  So as usual, Troy will have to figure something out that is healthy.  I won't be home until after 9:00.  So I will be starving.  UGGHH  At least I will be near the Chester Valley Trail and I can either ride my bike (again) or walk my dog.  Not sure which I will want to do to waste time since my hip hurts.  Wish there was a pool there. 

 

That's it for Monday.  Can't wait for tomorrow...

 

 

 

Heidi's bike...haven't ridden it in two weeks.  It looks a bit lonely.

 



Week in Review

Kristen

I got my miles in for the week, but not much else.  There was zero cross training-sadly I will blame that on my cross training partner.

Monday:
Rest-was supposed to ride but I think it was raining.

Tuesday:
Run 6-warm up mile, 8x400 400 recovery-8:29  pace

Wednesday:
Run 7 miles at 9:08 pace

Thursday:
Rest

Friday:
Run 12 at 9:26 pace

Saturday:
Rest

Sunday:
Run 6 at 9:12 pace

I ran 31 miles-I was hoping to run 5 days and be closer to 40 miles, but overall I am happy with the week.  Now I am off to celebrate my daughter who is turning 9 tomorrow!

This was her watermelon "cake" from camping last weekend with her grandparents!

DOES TOUGH LOVE WORK....PART 2

Heidi

 

 

So let me just start off with....I am that friend that Kristen is talking about.  I started my weight loss train wreck (I prefer that to journey) January 2012.  Kristen has been a great support for me with losing 45 pounds in about 7 or 8 months.  However, in the past 7 or 8 months I have been struggling with the same 5 or 6 lbs.  It is annoying.  I am not blaming it on anything other than me.  I over eat sometimes.  I over train sometimes then eat.  The reality is...you can't out exercise a bad diet.

 

The truth is, my diet is good.  I haven't been this healthy in years.  However, I love my cookies.  They have to be hidden from me or I will eat not 1 or 2, but 5 or 6.  I am not good with control over sugar.  I also get hungry after a work out at night.  Basically, I over eat.  Not going to lie.

 

Kristen and I did a triathlon (dualathlon for Kristen) on June 30th.  We were training hard for it.  Two workouts a day most days.  Did I lose any weight??  Not really.  Up an down.  But after the tri, I haven't really worked out very often with Kristen.  I toned back my workouts for sure.  Now I am gearing up for my first half which is on September 15th.    My long run was 10 miles two weeks ago.  Since then I have been fighting a  hip flexor issue.  So running has been a challenge.  Being overweight, I just can't go out and run 4 to 5 times a week, especially with an injury.  It is what it is.  So once again, my workouts have not been what they need to be.  Have I gained weight since the tri?  Yes and no.  Up and down.  I am not worried about it, truthfully.  I know when I get serious about training again, it will come off.  Assuming I eat like I should, of course.

 

So this leads me to...does tough love work??  For me...in a word...NO!!!  Kristen and I had a "come to Jesus" moment on Wednesday.  I know she is trying to help.  It has been 1 year and 7 months and I have lost 45 lbs.  I should be down way more than that.  Did she say what she needed to say to get me encouraged to get back on track again?  Probably.  Frankly, I didn't want to hear it.  Here is the thing with me...I KNOW WHAT TO DO!!  I COULD WRITE A DIET AND EXERCISE BOOK.  It is just having the willpower to do it.  Her not exercising with me regularly didn't get me off track.  If I was in my zone, she wouldn't matter.  I am just not in my zone at the moment.  I am not so far off track that I am going to blow what I did.  I am just not doing what I need to do to continue the weight loss.  Looks like I am pretty good at maintenance. 

 

So there it is.  The reality, no matter what you try to do for someone in the weight loss battle, you can't do it for them.  They have to be ready.  They have to be willing.  If they aren't, you are wasting your time and energy.  I have been on both ends of this.  Many times my friend Jackie tried to get me to work out with her.  I did for a few days.  Then it ended.  I wasn't ready.  In January 2012, I was ready!!!  I was a mess.  I needed to save myself, my health.  Kristen was huge in my weight loss and fitness commitment.  I have also tried to help friends that need to lose weight.  Especially now that I have done it myself.  For whatever reason, they aren't interested.  They just aren't in their zone yet.  Hopefully, they will get there.  I just may not be the person they want help from.  It isn't personal...or maybe it is.  Who knows??

 

I will say this.  I have never been in better shape or health in my life since college.  Even a year ago I couldn't run 3 miles without stopping.  I didn't finish my first 5k without stopping until Thanksgiving 2012.  Now I can run 10 miles without stopping.  I can swim a 500, bike 15 miles and run 3.2 miles all without stopping.  I can go buy clothes that are smaller than what they were a year ago.  So this all must be working.  I will take being 65 lbs overweight still and be at the fitness level I am at now than to be at my goal weight and not be able to do all of this.  There are MANY thin people I know that could not keep up with me.  THAT MAKES ME HAPPY!!

 

Kristen, if it wasn't for you and your tough love a year and seven months ago, I would not be where I am today.  So perhaps your "kind" tough love really works!!

 

 

 

 

My friend, Heather (left) and I after the Chester County Turkey Trot 2012.

PR for us both and the first 5k I didn't walk.



Does Tough Love Work?

Kristen

I had a tough love talk yesterday with a dear friend.  She has been struggling for almost 2 years now to lose over 100 pounds.  She does great for awhile, then a fun weekend here, a holiday there and the weight stops coming off.  

Anyhow, this talk is a long time coming and I'm hoping it was taken receptively, but I always second guess.  I've never had 100 lbs. to lose, though after each of my pregnancies I've had 50.  I don't see that as the same thing though but that is a story for another day.

The real question remains:  how much can a friend help another friend from the sidelines?  And how much hand holding is a good thing?

From the beginning of this friends journey we have worked out together at least 2x a week if not more.  It worked because we were at the Y where it's individual effort.  This summer, I stopped my membership to force myself to make all by workouts be outside.  At the end of the day, I am very lazy about running outside in 75 degree heat, if I could get on the elliptical for a quick hour in air conditioning.  So now the only time we can work out together is on the bike, which is fine, but neither one of us has a lot of time for that.  Let's face it-life happens.  

So how can we help friends from the sideline?  How do you stay motivated on a daily basis to keep at it no matter what the struggle?  How receptive are friends who have to hear the truth? And finally, does it matter-is the person really listening or is weight loss/exercise a personal journey?