I was consistent for ONE WEEK! (That's a bigger deal than it seems, people!)

I was supposed to do 5 miles yesterday for my "long run" as I start over with this serious and consistent training plan.  I didn't.  Instead, I got up at 6:30am, ate a bunch of leftover sushi from the fridge, and went back to bed until 10am.  After that, we had a bar mitzvah to decorate and that took most of the remainder of the day.  By the time we got home at 7pm, I was toast and kicking myself for being such a lazy whore earlier in the morning.

Today, I once again got up early, ate something, and went back to bed. ::frownie face:: In my defense, the kids are at my ex's this weekend and I just don't get the opportunity to got back to bed, like... EVER.  We had an Oscars event this afternoon but I had time most of the day to run.  And just didn't. 

But, this story has a happy ending!  As I sat on the couch at 5pm, eating saltines and feeling pretty annoyed with myself, I actually got up and went toward the treadmill.  And I got on it and did intervals for 2.5 miles and then walked faster than my run for negative splits on the other 2.5 miles.

So HOORAY!  I am SO not good at motivating myself, but I can now say I am one week into a serious training program.  Tomorrow, I add swimming!  (Hopefully)

My treadmill lies to me.

I've mentioned before that my treadmill is a dirty liar.  For example, yesterday I burned over 400 calories in 3.1 miles with a pace of 15:38 and a heart rate of 44 bpm ACCORDING TO THAT LYING POS.  I know the pace reads slower than both the treadmills at the gym and my outside pace.  Plus, when I'm doing my home treadmill runs at the same pace as my walking (elsewhere) pace, you know something is hinky.  Last Monday, I ran at the gym and was happy with my pace.  It's slow, but I'm really working on being consistent with my run/walk intervals so I'm not stressing about being "fast" at the moment.  BUT!  My home treadmill has me a whole minute per mile OR MORE slower and I know I am not going slower. 

Since it still works, I hate to get a new one when really - these are just numbers.  As long as the numbers improve, it's still improvement.  It IS psychologically frustrating to see these numbers reflect such slowness.  However, I am fully embracing the "Go Slow To Go Fast" school of thought. 
I am pushing myself, but I am not killing myself.  I also decided to crank up the incline a bit since hills flat out kill me every.single.time. and I need some uphill practice.

I'm starting the 12 week HIM plan on Monday.  Commitment to this plan will determine whether or not I cancel my HIM in June.  Even commitment might not save me if I can't get to a place where I can finish in 8.5 hours.  I need to get better (and faster) in all three disciplines.

I'd ask for you to wish me luck, but what I need is determination and commitment.  So can you please wish me some of that instead?

Day 3 of 100 - Running Objectives

I am so, so very slow.  Even by run/walk standards, I am pokey.  My biggest challenge is maintaining the run/walk intervals - especially during the last half of the run.  It doesn't matter if it's 3.1 miles or 13.1 miles... I peter out to a straight walk about halfway in.

I recently learned the difference between goals and objectives from a wonderful and very smart businessman who happens to own the largest balloon manufacturing company in the world.  He told me that goals are something you work toward, but never achieve because there is no end.  (Weird, right?)  But no, because a goal is something like"better fitness" or "running faster" - things you can move TOWARD but at what point can you not go farther?  There is no measuring this kind of "goal".  But an objective has a measure and a timeline.  For example, I'd like to run (or even run/walk) an 11 minute mile by June 1st.  It's blah-blah-business-people-talk to be sure, but it does help me realize that my previous goals post had no objectives, just ideas on what I'd like to move toward.

So, objective: 11 minute mile
Timeline: by June 1st

This will be a significant speed increase and will require some serious work.  I have read all sorts of articles on how to run faster, so I have some idea of where to start.  My main challenge is that my training pace has always been my race pace.  I get no adrenalin bump on race day.  I race like a I train - no faster and sometimes slower!  Keep in mind that I have never really busted my ass trying up to this point in my running career.  This is something that I'd definitely like to change.  I'd love to have that "left it all on the course" feeling at the end of a race instead of the nagging regret that I could have given more.

Today I did run/walk for 1 hour at a 14:05 pace to give you my starting point.

Any tips for running faster for a chubby pokey little puppy like me?  Is an 11 minute mile too ambitious for a 4 month time frame?

Race Recap - The Krispy Kreme Challenge

12 Doughnuts - 5 Miles - 2400 Calories - 1 Hour

Or, since we are not crazy college students:

1 Doughnut - 4.87 Miles (Garmin) - 200 Calories - Just under 1.5 hours

The Krispy Kreme Challenge is a fundraiser for the NC Children's Hospital that started 10 years ago on a dare with a bunch of NC State students.  Run from the NCSU Belltower down to the Krispy Kreme on Peace Street, eat a fresh dozen glazed doughnuts, and run back in under a hour.  Nowadays, it's turned into a major event and fundraiser with nearly 8,000 runners.  It's mentioned in many lists of the top cool things to do at colleges nationwide and it's definitely an iconic event here in Raleigh.

Enough history!  I can sum this event up in two words: Costumes and Puke.

I know you are so disappointed that I didn't take photos of the puke.  I did, however, take lots of photos of the costumes!  What's that?  You say you prefer costume photos?  Well, ok weirdos, here they are:

Uhhhh... dead mice in kilts?

NCSU Wolfpack, er... wolfdragon?

That cop from Reno 911 and some lady donuts

Banana Boys

Gladiators

Breaking Bad



Elvis

Vikings

PacMan

We did not dress up.  I wanted to, but my darling 15 year old son is in that teenage phase where everything your parent does is mortifyingly embarrassing.  So, yeah.  No costumes.  This was Wil's first race!  If you read this blog at all, I think you know that I trained for crap.  Wil didn't train at all.  So we did 1/1 intervals and still ended up finishing ahead of several thousand people. 

The start was cold - 38 degrees or so and we did a lot of waiting before the 8:30am gun.  (Review some of those costume photos now that you know how cold it was! YIKES!).  We were expecting rain, but thankfully, it was only overcast.  The race started promptly and so did Wil's teenage bowels.  Poor guy had the trots, big time.  The 2.5 miles to the Krispy Kreme (and only Port-O-Potty stop) were a blur of grimaces and curt nods when I would ask if he was doing ok.  He is a trooper, though, and handled it like a boss.  I also got several marvelously detailed descriptions of the poop situation as only a 15 year old boy can provide.  It was sad yet hilarious.  Sadlarious, as we call it in my house.

Finally, we made it to Krispy Kreme!



Wil gets his dozen

Selfie while Wil waited in the Potty line



Nom nom nom



Me & Wil in front of Krispy Kreme at the halfway point.

All the empty boxes!  So many carbs!!

 There were not a lot of spectators, but we did see this cute sign next to a guy playing trombone:

It says, "Please Don't Puke On Me!"

We did see a good amount of vomit, so the more squeamish may want to skip this race.  The Finish Line was pretty much a puke-fest.  Again, yerwelcome for not providing THOSE pics.

This race was loads of fun!  As always, I wish I would have trained more (reoccurring theme here at LFTL) buuuuuut, it really was mostly a "fun run" and loads of people were flat out walking.  They allowed strollers and wheelchairs to be pushed, so the only people that cared about time were way up front anyway.  There were no corrals or anything in the way of dividing people by pace, so we just headed to the back third of the pack, and we were just fine.  We were passed and we passed folks.  No major problems with attitudes since everyone was there for a good time.

So proud of my son!  He says it's his first and LAST race, but we'll see.  That lure of the Finish Line is a siren's song too sweet to forget.

Could you eat a dozen doughnuts in the middle of a 5 mile race?  (and not puuuuuuke???)

Merry Christmas! Santa brought me some gear!

Wow - so I am blown away at the great gear I received for Christmas!  I feel very prepared to ramp up on training.  But first, check this out:



Here are my babies seeing their Santa Claus gifts for the first time this morning.

The two best gifts I've ever received!

Ok, so onto the running/cycling gear!  First I got some super nice running pants for the cold weather and some super, super nice sunglasses for running.  I especially love the sunglasses because I am not a visor kind of girl.

I now have no excuse not to run in the cold or sun.

Next - super WOW!!  Not one, but TWO SparkleSkirts!  One I knew about (Everest), but the other was my next most wanty one, Dress Me Up Blue.



I also received 6 kinds of chocolates, so we'll have to see if these mediums will even fit!

Lastly, Oh My Heck!  TWO bike trainers!!  One is from my Mommy and one is from my friend Chris.  I'm not sure which one to keep!  I have read better reviews online about the Kinetic so I am leaning towards that one.   (Any expertise/advice is welcomed in the comments!).



Really, "NO EXCUSES not to train" is what I was given for Christmas!

I'm very excited, and very thankful that my family is supporting me with these thoughtful gifts!  I can't wait to use them!!

I hope everyone is having a sweet and happy Christmas as well!

Race Report - Wine & Dine Half Marathon 2013

Gather around, kids!  It's time for my Wine & Dine Half Marathon recap.

Or as I like to call it, a riveting ABC Afterschool Special:



Tune in at 3pm Monday for:
Night Terrors - A chubby, unmotivated lady in her forties learns a painful lesson about not training
for a half marathon gone horribly wrong well past her bedtime.  (PG-13 for language and mild violence)

But, we'll start with the expo.  Wow, what a difference having it at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex.  The last time I did a Disney race (The Princess), the expo was at the Coronado Resort and it was a crowded MESS.  This expo was very nice - easy to park (we didn't stay at a host resort), easy in, easy shopping, lots of room.  Loved it.  We went first thing on Saturday morning and while it was full of people, it never felt too crowded and there was plenty of merchandise left. 

I bought a wee W&D medal for my RunDisney Vinylmation and a RunDisney Sweaty Band.  I thought about getting an "I Did It" shirt, but I wasn't entirely convinced that I would do it, so I passed.  No use in jinxing myself!  I also bought a new Sparkle Skirt.  They had tons left in my size so I got to try on a few.  I settled on Black Linen and we made our way out.  We spent the rest of the day taking it easy and you can read more about that in my WDW recap post.



This was my first night race (it started at 10pm) and I did not like the all-day anticipation and self-questioning that went on: Am I resting enough?  Should I eat more?  Should I eat less?  Why am I not falling asleep during my attempted nap?  UGH!  With early morning races, you wake up and your only thought is "TIME TO RUN!!"  This long day of pre-race activities gives me too much time to think. 


Before

After

Pre-race chilling in the field.

 We did take it easy with a trip to Downtown Disney, a movie, a reasonable lunch, and the aforementioned attempted nap.  By 6pm, I gave up on resting and started getting ready.  We were supposed to be at WWOS by 8pm.  Chris drove me over there and then drove to Epcot to start partying down at the pre-After Party.

They had us in a great big field waiting for the corrals to open.  They were selling beer and food, and there was a stage with a DJ and folks dancing.  They really did make it festive and fun.  I heard later that there were character photo ops, but I didn't see any.  I was pretty much a nervous wreck and just sat in the grass trying to zen myself out and get ready for the race.  My review of this set up is positive - there were lots of port-a-potties and lots of space.  The DJ and music were fun and you could get away from it if you didn't like the noise.  A+ for pre-race waiting.


This is for my boy who loves Doge.  Much Running!

We headed to the corrals at 9pm.  I was in Corral I, which had about 1500 people in it.  Earlier corrals had less in RunDisney's effort to thin out the pack and separate the slower walkers/interval peeps from the faster runners (I believe this to be their goal since there has been so much previous complaining on this matter).  The corrals went all the way to L, with about 2000 each in the final few corrals.  This put about 6000 people behind me.  I got into the front of the corral and chatted with some people as we waited our turn to go.  I think we ended up starting about about 10:25pm with the staggered start times. 

And, we're off!

I started with a run and pretty much had to run to avoid getting run over.  I ran for about 3 minutes before doing my first walk break.  The good thing about my corral is that there were a lot of interval runners so there was much less running over the back of someone as I saw in the Tinkerbell and the Princess.  In fact, I dare say that people were a million times more courteous in this race than other RunDisney races I've been in.  Maybe it was the later corral, or the much reduced number of runners, but yeah - nicer overall vibe.

I had set up my walk intervals for 30/30, thinking that was something I could handle without training.  Oh yeah, in case you haven't read this blog before, I didn't train.  I did a triathlon 8 weeks prior to W&D and my recovery period extended into some serious sitting-on-my-ass time.  Not good and not recommended.  My first walk break went so well that I decided to extend it to the full 3.5 hours.  So, yep - I walked basically the whole thing.  The first few miles I was doing at 14 minute mile, so I was feeling good about staying ahead of the Balloon Ladies. 

 



Yeah, my camera is not so good in low light, I found out.

We went from WWOS to Animal Kingdom, up Osceola Drive.  I think we hit the park at about mile 3.  On the way, we passed two photo ops - Country Bears and the fat hippos from Fantasia.  I really wanted to stop at Country Bears but at the time, I was very seriously thinking I was not going to make all 13.1 miles and the line was at least 15 people long.  I was cool with skipping the hippos, and pretty much all the photo ops in Animal Kingdom, which seemed to be Jungle Book characters.  My deal is that I will always stop for Stitch and Darth Vadar, but others are optional and depending on time and the line.

We left Animal Kingdom shortly before mile 5 and went back up Osceola Drive.  It was a pretty long haul to Hollywood Studios which I believe was at about mile 9.  A little bit about the course vs. Princess: it is hillier (by Florida standards) and by that I mean there is definitely more inclines and banked roads.  It's not terrible, but it was noticeable.  I liked the course better in many ways, but this was not one of them.



Love me some Stitch!

Between AK and HS, I saw Stitch!  Yes!!  At this point, I figured 5 minutes was not going to hurt me, so I stopped and got this horrible, too bright photo.  I'll have to check the official photos to see if theirs are better (how can they be worse?)  Seeing my favorite alien gave me a boost to make it to HS, and really, I felt like if I made it to HS - I could probably finish the race.  They can't sweep in the park and I knew that it was only a short while between HS and getting on the run path to Epcot where they logistically could not get sweeper buses in there.  Plus, I hadn't seen the balloon ladies, so I was starting to feel like I was going to finish.

Thumbs up for the Dark Side!

We took a FULL TOUR of HS, and by this I mean 3 miles which included a rather fragrant trash area.  It was great though!  There was a disco tunnel and tons of photo ops.  I only stopped for Darth Vadar and did slow down to enjoy the Osbourne Festival Of Lights which were AMAZING to run through.  This was the only thing that kept me going from miles 5 though 9 - getting to HS and seeing the lights.  They did have the course arranged so that this was almost right before you left the park, so I think it was about at mile 11.  I've heard rumors that they might do away with the light display as they expand HS and I definitely hope not.  It truly is beautiful and it was a joy to run through.

This was almost as cool to run through as Cinderella's Castle.  I loved it!!

Ok, so close!  2 miles left and I was beat.  It was after 1am so I was exhausted and my left calf started charley horsing.  My knees hurt (which I only had problems with when I first started running, so I had no coping abilities) and I was starting to zone out a little bit, I think due to my medication schedule being interrupted.  I knew I was going to make it, but I was slowing down considerably.  We were on the walking path by the resorts to Epcot, so I knew they couldn't get me anymore and I was just concentrating on finishing.  There were tons of spectators out along this path, which was great!  They absolutely gave me more encouragement and energy than they will ever know!!  I thanked them as I walked by and received several high fives.  Good stuff!

The giant ball that indicates the suffering is almost over loomed closer and closer.  The crowd was packed on either side of the course from people enjoying the After Party and they were unable to pass over the run course.  I think that was a logistical issue in the party planning.  At the time, it just seemed like a lot of people were standing and watching us finish, though!  As we got closer to the finish, there were these super cool lasers going on right above our heads.  I was so, so close and fighting the pain in my legs and the fogginess that was clouding my brain function.  I made it to the finish at 3:31 and I was amazed that I was about 30 minutes faster than I was at Tink or Princess.  I stopped less for sure, but I freaking WALKED most of it and HOBBLED the last 2 miles.  WOW.  I stopped off to BioFreeze my entire lower half and then walked at least another mile to get inside Epcot to meet Chris.

I think I can only describe the next 45 minutes as surreal.  I medically think it's called being in shock.  I was hurting in a disassociated way and was fairly non-responsive to Chris who was trying to get me to eat scallops from one of the food booths (barf).  We had to walk back to the car because the trams couldn't go in front of the runners still filtering into Epcot from the finish line.  That had to have been another 1/2 mile, at least.  I just couldn't stay for the party, even though it continued for another 2 hours.  I was exhausted and I do believe I was having some medication issues because I had missed my 9:30pm nightly dosage of old lady crazy pills.  We made it back to Animal Kingdom Lodge and I did nibble on the hummus and crackers in our runner box, although I felt hella nauseous.  Speaking of nauseous, there were puking people everywhere after the finish line!  What on earth?  Is this a night race thing?  I was pretty close to joining them, but I was able to keep myself from barfing.  BARELY.

Running Mickey!

Ok, in closing - this was a great race that would have been so much more enjoyed had I trained more and not just in running, but in staying up late.  I also would have taken my pills at regular time, even though they are night pills and can make me drowsy.  The starting withdrawal symptoms by 2am was rough.  I loved the course through the 3 parks, and the other runners were great.  I ended up finishing way ahead of the Balloon Ladies, which was also awesome.  Chris is already talking about doing this again next year (he LOVED the Food & Wine Festival and the After Party), so I will be MUCH more prepared to enjoy this more then.  Any misery felt was entirely my fault because this race was probably the best one of the RunDisney races I've run.  More than Tink or the Princess, this is one I can see doing every year, just because of the fun that is build around it for non-runners and runners alike.  Great job, RunDisney!

Volunteer Report - Raleigh City Of Oaks 2013

My morning started very early, but thankfully Daylights Savings Time meant it started an hour later than my body thought it was.  Today was the Raleigh City Of Oaks Marathon and Half Marathon!  Last year, this was my first ever half marathon and I have fond memories of the cheerful volunteers encouraging me to keep going when I was oh-so-tired.  So this year, I decided to be a cheerful volunteer!

I arrived at my intersection at 6am.  In retrospect, I am not sure why they asked us to be there so early.  A police officer did not come by to clear the course (as we were told) and the road did not officially close until 7:30am.  I sat in my car inflating balloons until 7:30 and made a big poof for my back and two pom-poms for my wrists.

 

I wanted to do something fun that would make people smile as they ran by.  It's kind of the RunDisney spirit in me, I guess.  Part of what makes Disney runs so fun is the DISTRACTION of bright and colorful characters.  So, that's me today - a bright and colorful character!

The race started at 7am and I was located at the intersection of Brooks and Kilgore at mile 9.3.  The first super-fast runner came by at 7:48am, running what had to be 5 minute miles.  He did not smile or enjoy my cheers outwardly, but I'm sure all his energy was being spent moving forward more quickly than I ever will be able to.  About a minute later, the second guy came by, then about 10 more before the first woman came through.

I noticed something about these fast runners... they really aren't smilers.  I didn't have too many smiles or happy faces until the 9 minute mile folks came along.  Then it was non-stop smiling and high fives until the 12 minute mile people were all through.  By the 13 minute pace, most people were unhappy again - many struggling to just finish the race.  Those are my people, so I know how they feel.  However, I hope I smiled more at the volunteers when I was slow and tired.  I will definitely make a point to do so going forward.

The clearing pace police cars came up behind a small group of walkers and I was told to clear the intersection.  There were a few people walking with bibs behind the police cars on the sidewalks and I cheered for them as I packed up my stuff and de-ballooned myself.

I learned a lot being a race volunteer today.  First, I really am inspired by the happy, middle-of-the-pack people.  They really seemed to be enjoying running and were so pleasant.  Many thanked me for volunteering and several stopped to take their picture with me - which I thought was so fun.  I want to be those people - faster, yes... but HAPPY and ENJOYING RUNNING.  That was a really cool thing to see.  Second, I am so proud of those who kept moving forward when they were getting passed and when the pace car was nipping at their heels (and even passing them).  Maybe they didn't have a lot of smiles to give, but they were working just as hard as that unsmiling first guy and probably using their energy just the same as he was - to keep going as fast as they could toward the finish line.

I will definitely volunteer again!  Not only did I have a great time, but check out this sweet swag:

Scotchy Scotch Scotch

This post has nothing to do with running, but everything to do with why I am chubby.

 

Best ice cream related news ever:  Ben & Jerry's Anchorman Ice Cream

Anchorman is my FAVORITE movie of all time!  Fortunately, I like butterscotch because I will be eating Anchorman ice cream regardless of the flavor.

Here's the new trailer from Anchorman 2:

 Ok, enough of that.  I rode 15 miles in a little under an hour on the stationary bike yesterday.  I am due to run 5 miles today.  Trying to do my runs later in the day or evening to get more prepared for Wine & Dine.  I'm pretty sure there is a 50% chance it won't happen since I'll have to do it after dinner and that's the time I start checking out.  I also have a volunteer meeting for the City Of Oaks Marathon.  I am going to be a course monitor since I am not running this year.  I'm thinking that it makes better sense to run in the day (when I know I will do it), than wait for evening (when I can talk myself out of it).

I'm tired just thinking about it.

Yes, exhausted.  "Thinking about what?" you ask? 

It's the 10pm start of the Wine & Dine Half three weeks from today. 

 

This is me at 6:30pm most nights.  It's about time to call it a day.

I go to bed at 10pm.  The only reason I don't go to bed earlier is because the kids are up.  But I'm tired!  I get up before 6am and go non-stop until dinner is over and I can start to relax.

Here's my expected response to waiting in Corral I while all the earlier corrals go first.

I keep telling myself I need to run later in the day, to get used to it... but I am soooooooo tired by 9pm that it is almost a comical conversation with myself.

Self: "It's 9pm!  How 'bout a quick run before bed?
"Self? Self?!?  Wake up!"

 I do have a chemical helper, if need-be.  My doctor gave me something called NuVigil, which is for people who work night shift and can't stay up.  It's also to keep soldiers alert during combat.  Is this doping?  I'm not sure I like this option!

The race should last until at least 1am for me. 
I was not fully aware that there was a "1" twice in the same day since I am never awake for both.

I do have three weeks to practice staying up!  Is that enough time??  I'm not even concerned about the run training (which I really should be!).  I am worried about maintaining alertness and not falling over during the race.  Or worse!  At the after-party that goes on until 4am.  

 

Finish line photo.  Smiles and then night-night.

I plan to take it really easy on Saturday so that I am rested.  No parks and maybe even a nap if I can manage it.  I am not much of a napper, though.  I guess the next three weeks need to be spent staying up for 15 minutes later each night.  Wish me luck!  This will be my biggest challenge!!