ride to work

date: 30 September 2009
destination: work
time: 28 minute
distance: 5.47 miles
average speed: 11.7 MPH
maximum speed: 26.0 MPH

Food & Exercise

No exercise today. Scout temporarily broke her back, and simply going to work for a few hours was all the exercise I could take. Nothing like a pulled muscle when you're all out of drugs. Also, I had waaaaaaaayyy too many snacks today, and not enough distractions between meals. I hope I feel okay enough to run tomorrow, as it keeps me (temporarily) away from the candy.

Breakfast:
• one carnitas salad from chipotle
• 32 ounces of diet cola

Snack:
• one chocolate chip cookie

Lunch:
• one slice of bacon-scallion quiche
• 12 ounces of diet cola

Snack:
• half of a peanut butter & jelly sandwich (black currant!)

Dinner:
• one salami-pepperoni sandwich from subway
• one bag of baked cheddar & sour cream chips
• 16 ounces of iced tea with lemonade

Dessert:
• two pieces of laffy taffy (not even remotely funny)
• lots of oreos with skim milk

Food & Exercise

Bad weekend. Bad dreams, bad food, bad sleep. Let's move on.

Exercise:
• one+ mile run
• one mile walk to subway for food
• 12 ounces of water

Breakfast:
• one 6" chicken breast sub with bacon and extra veggies
• 20 ounces of iced tea with sweet & low

Exercise:
• one mile walk home from subway, with minor detours for berry picking

Snack:
• one low-carb yogurt with wild blackberries
• 32 ounces of diet cola

Lunch:
• one slice of provolone
• one strip of bacon
• 20 ounces of soda water w/ sugarfree vanilla syrup

(I really intended to eat more than I did, but work was long, and fraught with sudden onset back spasms, so I kicked it into overdrive to finish in a hurry and get home to my last known muscle relaxer.)

Aborted run.

Tried to run, but didn't have it in me. I think I managed about 1.25 miles. Humorously, it was a new PR for the mile! Thanks for the info, Joan Benoit Samuelson.

Food & Exercise

Oooh! Bad food day, which started well, but quickly went downhill! That's what I get for midnight movie premieres on an empty stomach!

Exercise:
• 25 minutes of Wii Active (moderate)
• short walk to pick berries

Breakfast:
• low-fat strawberry yogurt with wild blackberries and granola
• one serving (one ounce) of teriyaki jerky
• 16 ounces of water

Lunch:
• one double bacon & cheese frankenburger from wendys, but no bun
• five chicken nuggets with a very small amount of bbq sauce
• 16 ounces of diet cola, with a splash of root beer

Snack:
• 32 ounces of diet cola
• one pack of gummi bears
• one pack (two pieces!) of pb twix

Dinner:
• one 6-inch meatball sub with double meat
• one small pack of sun chips
• 16 ounces of diet cola with a splash of cherry
• half cup of low-fat tapioca pudding

Snack:
• one 100-calorie strawberry yogurt bar

Race Goals? Race Goals.

After some searching (and some waiting, as Nike's overly flash-driven website loves to crash on me), I found the link to my fastest runs. The only time I've run 10k was last year's Human Race, but I'm hoping to beat that time this year.

If possible, I'm hoping to run with a group, if Portland is again selected as one of the cities where there is an actual event. I thought about it last year, but chickened out because I had never run a real race before. Maybe this one will be my first. I'm almost positive Portland will be on the list again, what with Nike being headquartered here and all.

To make it fun (!!) I probably won't run the 6.2 miles prior to October 24. I didn't do it last year, and I think it may be interesting to try the same strategy again. However, if I remember correctly, my training had slackened off a bit just prior to game day, so I hope not to have a repeat of that this year. I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say I'm trying for a one hour 10k. I better go now...I've got some running to do!

Early Morning Run

20 August 2009
3:00 A.M.
45 minutes
4.26 miles
10'33"/mile
587 calories

I ended up filling a shift for a co-worker of mine, using up my day off, and putting me in a mood keen on avoiding running. It's actually a good thing I ended up working, because had I sat at home, I would have eaten my way through the day, and felt much guiltier than I already did for skipping Monday's workout. And, with me, guilt leads to increasing guilt, then outright immobility.

After getting jacked up on disgusting caffeinated beverages, I wandered to the track, where I ran 15 minutes, walked 2, ran 15 more, walked 2 more, then ran 11 minutes. My plan to begin running for longer periods of time appears to be working, because I beat my previous distance by .05 miles (!!) with a pace 8 seconds faster per mile. It's not much to speak of, but any measurable achievement is aces in my book, and keeps me going for next time. I'm pretty tuned in to the 45-minute run right now (though it still kills me by the time I finish it), so I don't anticipate adding any more time until I get a bit faster.

I'm looking forward to the Nike Human Race, and trying to stay motivated. I'll have to look up my 10k time from last year, because I'd love dearly to not only beat it, but smash it out of the water. We'll see about that, though, as I am notoriously lazy and I have a week-long vacation coming up!

Food & Exercise

Lost some weight. Yay!

Breakfast:
• 16 ounce mango smoothie from jamba juice
• half of one salted caramel macaron

Lunch:
• tres marias mini quesadilla trio with painted hills grilled steak and avocado-tomatillo salsa (delicioso!)
• 32 ounces of diet coke

Snack:
• one half cup of roasted, salted spanish peanuts
• two servings (two ounces) of teriyaki beef jerky
• one half cup of homemade low-fat tapioca
• 16 ounes of water

Exercise:
• 4.26 mile run
• 16 ounces of crazily caffeinated, but calorie-free viso

Dinner:
• one chicken luncheon meat sandwich on 45-calorie whole wheat bread with light mayo and mustard

Summer Night Ride

date: 18 August @ 11:30 PM
destination: to work in the heat!
time: 28 minutes
distance: 6.6 miles
average speed: 14.0 MPH
maximum speed: 29.1 MPH

august total: 21.26 miles
year-to-date: 145.44 miles

Felt like I needed a bit more exercise today, so I rode my bike into work. There was a pretty serious headwind for the first couple of miles, and at first I thought I might need a windbreaker. Turns out it was so hot and humid, I didn't even need a shirt. I kept mine on, though, because I don't want to drive all the late-night loonies even more bonkers.

Also, I clearly turned in to a tail wind at some point, because that 14 MPH average is unheard of with me. Still, a nice night for a ride.

Food & Exercise

Managed to lose the weight I picked up over the weekend, so I guess I went two steps forward, and only one step back. Again, though: no real cause to celebrate. I got overwhelmed yesterday, and completely forgot to run. Hmph.

Breakfast:
• one natural peanut butter and reduced-sugar strawberry jelly sandwich on low-cal wheat bread
• 16 ounces of crystal light

Exercise:
• 25 minutes of Wii Active (moderate)
• 20 minutes of Wii Fit
• 16 ounces of water
• one mile walk to subway, then home
• 16 ounces of crystal light

Lunch:
• one subway chicken breast sandwich with extra chicken and veggies
• 32 ounces of diet cola
• three baby carrots

Snack:
• one 100-calorie organic strawberry yogurt bar
• two sesame snaps

Exercise:
• 6.5-mile bike ride to work

Dinner:
• 16 ounces of diet cola
• one cup of tuna salad with onions and celery
• two slices of cheddar cheese

Food & Exercise

I intended to keep up my journal over the weekend, but as I'm new to this (again), and as I am prone to slipping, I both didn't get to it and avoided it. I will try to be better, I will try to be better, I will try to be better. Not because anyone is or should be reading this, but because I would like to stop taking one step forward and two steps back.

Gained one pound since yesterday. Not as bad as I thought it would be, but that's hardly a reason to celebrate.

Exercise:
• 20 minute Wii Active workout (medium)
• 20 minute Wii Active workout (low impact)

Breakfast:
• eight ounces of water
• one banana
• one peach yogurt

Exercise:
• walk to the grocery store then home

Snack:
• three steamed baby carrots
• one ritz crackerful cheese & crackers
• 16 ounces of water

Lunch:
• one burrito bowl with brown rice, beluga lentils, baked tofu, low-fat cheese, low-fat sour cream, and homemade pico de gallo.
• 16 ounces of crystal light

Snack:
• 20 ounces of diet cola

Dinner:
• 16 ounces of crystal light
• one tuna salad sandwich (with sweet relish & low-fat mayo) one reduced-calorie wheat bread, with lettuce, tomatoes, and swiss cheese
• three steamed baby carrots

Food & Exercise

Please ignore this crap if you're reading the blog. I'm just trying to eat better by keeping a record of it. As today's food proves, though, that doesn't always work.

Exercise:
• one mile walk to the grocery store and home—my legs hurt terribly from yesterday's exercise, so I'm taking it very easy

Breakfast:
• one hard-cooked egg with salt and pepper
• one raspberry yogurt with wild blackberries I picked on my walk

Lunch:
• two portions of string cheese
• two servings (most of one bag) of quesadilla-flavored potato chips, which I rationalized because I was about to get a tattoo, and I felt as if I deserved a treat (I don't)
• two servings (one container) of Nestlé Quik banana milk, which I was powerless to resist, due to its inducing of adolescent memories

Snack:
• 16 ounces of diet pepsi

Dinner:
• one large burrito bowl made with brown rice, black beans, low-fat cheese, low-fat sour cream, sautéed beef and tomatoes—delicious, and I was so hungry and worn out from the tattoo that I could have eaten a second bowl all over again
• 12 ounces of pepsi max

Food for today.

Breakfast:
• one banana
• 1/2 cup cinnamon start with protein cereal with
• one cup of skim milk, and
• one tablespoon of pecan pieces

Exercise:
• 2.5 mile walk

Lunch:
• one burrito bowl of brown rice, black beans, steamed broccoli slaw, pear tomatoes, low-fat cheddar, low-fat sour cream, mâche and lime juice. . .yummy!
• 16 ounces of pepsi max
• 16 more ounces of pepsi max

Exercise:
• 25-minute workout with Wii Active

Snacks:
• 16 ounces of crystal light
• one ounce of whole almonds
• half of one green apple
• half of one peanut butter cookie

Dinner:
• one slice of bacon & scallion quiche
• 12 ounces of water

night run / morning run

13 August 2009
3:00 A.M.
45 minutes
4.21 miles
10'41"/mile

As seems to be the case these days, the Nike+ site isn't loading, so I can't update it or make notes about this run. Last week (or maybe the week before) it happened three times, and I have no idea what I did for those workouts. Bah! Oh, my melancholy laziness!

Seeing as I not only ran, but also cleaned the bathroom and kitchen today, I'm going to stay on a roll by updating my blog in a timely manner, thus NOT losing my workout data. I ran for FIFTEEN whole minutes, walked for two minutes, then ran fifteen MORE minutes, then walked two minutes, then ran for ten minutes, then walked for one more minute. When it was over, and my feet hurt, and my left calf ached and I was hot, but rapidly cooling, Lance Armstrong congratulated me on my longest run. That's just the kind of guy he is.

I'm going to either sleep or die now. Whichever happens first.

Little Runaway

I haven't run last week, partially due to a new tattoo, but mostly due to laziness. After registering for this year's Nike Human Race, I decided to up the ante, and run farther than I had been doing. I need to be able to run 10k by October, but can currently only run half of that. Today I decided to run the same bursts of ten minutes I have been running, but to add an extra ten minutes to the program.

Man, was that hard.

Apparently, my body knows it gets to shut down just past the 33-minute mark, and asking it to go for 45 minutes was a bit more than I could stand. It was all I could muster to run an extra eight minutes on top of the usual before calling it quits and heading home. I'll give it a try again on Wednesday, and (hopefully) my body will take to the new regime sooner than later. I may have to go a bit slower when adding minutes, but (again hopefully) I'll get there.

Heavy Breathing

date: August 5 @ 12:30 AM and 6:30 AM
destination: first to work, then home
time: 88 minutes
distance: 14.66 miles
average speed: 10.0 MPH
maximum speed: 26.0 MPH

august total: 14.66 miles
year-to-date: 138.84 miles

Nice, cool ride to work in the dark. Hard, uphill ride home through Riverview Cemetery just after the sun came up. It was a whole lot more effort than I intended to put into a ride home, but just what I needed after a day luxuriating in front of the television.

Dead Again

Went to the 7-Eleven, bought a shiny new energy drink, then walked to the track for a run. I was hoping my nearly-dead sensor would last me one more run, but when I turned on my iPod, I got not so much as a peep. I feel heroic and awesome for having run one whole mile without any electric congratulations. Like a modern day someone-or-other.

9'48". w00t.

Some ride, at some time:

date: I do not know when...
destination: I do not know where!
time: 50 minutes
distance: 8.75 miles
average speed: 10.4 MPH
maximum speed: 24.9 MPH

july total: 117.42 miles
year-to-date: 124.18 miles

Hot morning run.

Ran ten minutes, walked one, repeated three times. Sun just coming up, 70° and humid. My lower calves hurt—particularly my left calf—which started me out quite slowly. Amazingly, I still got a congratulations from Joan Benoit Samuelson for my best time for a mile. The second time in two runs, but I still haven't broken less than a 10-minute mile. Grumble.

Also: once again at the track, someone showed up with unleashed dogs, which proceeded to chase the running girl (me!) around the track, forcing me to stop near the end of my second interval in order to avoid potential confrontation. I'm sure they meant no harm, but I'm still psyched out from the time I was bitten at the same track, and it pisses me off when bad owners risk my safety and their pets' safety by letting them run around all willy-nilly. Buy a backyard, or go to the dog park; a track is no place for dogs (and that includes dog tracks, which just make me sad). Growl.

Shoes Reviews: My Very First Pair

Shoe fit is a weird thing: one person's fluffy marshmallow is another person's aching knees, twinging back, bruise heels and overloaded brain. With that in mind, I make no claims here beyond my own opinions. I simply figured now is a good time to start keeping track of which running shoes I have worn, which I have preferred, and which simply sucked it big time. If anyone who is reading this actually cares, I am an overweight woman, currently running nine to fifteen miles a week; I have high arches, wide and straight toes, and very little pronation.

My very first pair of actual running shoes were the Nike Air Max 180+ III. I'd like to say I had a great idea of what I should have been looking for in a running shoe, but in all honesty, I wandered into the closest Nike outlet as if I was shopping for any other shoe. My number one concern was that I wanted to use the Nike+ system in order to record my runs and get credit for my accomplishments. As I was attempting to pick up a serious exercise habit and lay off the cookies, I needed another sort of cookie as a reward.

With that in mind, I next found a couple pairs which I could live with stylistically, and tried them on. The pair which won was this previous year's model, which fit best, were light blue in color, and had groovy laces with orange and blue writing on them. I balked at the $65 price tag, considered a couple different pairs, drove my cheap ass home, then returned one week later when I found out how high this year's shoes were priced. Also, I really had a yen for those laces!

I had already been running a bit here and there, even going so far as to print out and follow a beginning runner's guide I found online. Now, armed with a new iPod Nano, a Nike+ sensor and receiver, and my shiny new shoes, I went for what I considered my first "real" run. It was April of 2008, and I ran just over two miles. All of this technology, all of this money invested, all of this thought put into something I had never really done before, but always wanted to do...those shoes better pay off. And you know what? They did in spades.

It took some getting used to the pitch of running shoes, as well as learning to lace them tighter than I prefer in regular shoes, and it took a lot of getting used to going out there and actually running. The whole thing seemed slightly ridiculous, and I did it mostly at night, in the dark where no one could see my feeble attempts. Gradually, I built up the times and distances I spent running. Though most serious runners would at best say I was jogging, I needed to feel like I was part of something bigger than myself. At more than 100 pounds overweight, that was a pretty tall order.

Looking back, I don't know how to review a pair of shoes which were less to me about comfort, and more about a lifestyle change. They fit well, they did their job, and they were run into the ground. They got recycled back at the Nike store, where they would join tons of other shoes in becoming a running track, hopefully utilized by another fat kid who will grow up one day and realize that personal achievements begin quite literally with a single step. My first Nike Airs took me up and down my block, around several tracks, through woods and trails and puddles and even a bit of snow when I was feeling brave. They were with me when I ran my first 5K, and they got me through the Nike Human Race 10K, and they jumped up and down, hugging my husband after each one.

They were not only a great pair of shoes, they were the best pair of shoes ever. My only regret is that I didn't save the laces.

No run today!

Ride to work, part way home

date: 28 July @12:30 A.M. and 5:00 A.M.
destination: the café, then the YMCA
time: 42 minutes
distance: 7.88 miles
average speed: 11.3 MPH
maximum speed: 27.5 MPH

july total: 108.67 miles
year-to-date: 115.43 miles

Hot and sticky, but nice outside. Even the wind was warm, but it was better than my sickly, sticky apartment. Despite my giant thighs and ass, I wore short shorts, and felt lovely!

I can feel the heat, but it's shooting, heading down

Hot run. Hotter today. Short post:

Ran 10 minutes, walked 2. Ran 10 more minutes, walked 2 again. Tried to run 10 more minutes, but the 80% humidity and desperate need to pee cramped my style; ran 7 minutes, then walked one, then ran just over one more minute to hit the 5K mark. It was 90 degrees around 10:00 at night.

On a positive note, I got a message from Tiger Woods, telling me I just ran a new personal best for the mile. Not too shabby in this weather, and even better when I consider my last PR was set while running downhill. Thanks, Tiger!

Ride to work, then home.

date: 23 July @ 11:30 PM
and 24 July @ 5:30 AM
destination: to the café via Barbur Blvd., and home via OHSU
time: 80 minutes
distance: 12.89 miles
average speed: 9.7 MPH
maximum speed: 25.6 MPH

july total: 100.79 miles
year-to-date: 107.55 miles

Oops! Scout forgot to record her trip down the hill to work, so it's all just one ride. I'll take it, though, because it looks like I went on one longer bike ride, rather than two dinky ones. No caffeine overload tonight, so things went considerably slower. However, I'm still shocked by my ability to go (slowly) up hills. It's like I used to be fatter and lazier, or something like that.

Late night ride with my baby.

date: 23 July @ 4:00 AM
destination: down the hill & up again
time: 50 minutes
distance: 8.64 miles
average speed: 10.4 MPH
maximum speed: 23.9 MPH

july total: 87.9 miles
year-to-date: 94.66 miles

After caffeinating myself well into next week, I left home at the same time as The Boy left work, and we met at the neutral middle ground of the YMCA. From there, we took our bikes around the track for a lap, then up and over the hills surrounding OHSU on our way home. Where the ride down to our meeting was quite chilly, pedaling fiercely into a headwind, the ride ride up was quiet, cool, and propelled from behind.

The Boy and I laughed and chatted our way easily up and over some hills I complained frequently about last year. This was my first ride back up the gradient to our apartment in nearly a year, and I was surprised at how easy it seemed with a tailwind and some running mileage under my belt. And a whole lot of caffeine.

Sometimes there's just nothing nicer than a bike ride, a cool summer night, and your sweetheart at your side.

I got a number on me, I got a number

I was technically supposed to run very early Wednesday morning for my mid-week run—what us graveyard workers call Tuesday night—but I was physically obliterated from work and lack of sleep, so I put it off until Wednesday proper. Of course, by the time I got around to my Wednesday night, it was Thursday morning, and I was even more tired than the day before.

As a side note to this sincerely pathetic story, I gave up caffeine a couple months ago. Following a few days of heart palpitations, weeks of insomnia from waking up in the middle of the night, and general nausea from both of the above, I lived through the crushing headaches, terrifying mood swings and debilitating cravings of a diet soda habit. After a month and a half, I fell off the wagon and straight into the arms of a Pepsi Max. My fluttering heart returned in full force, and I relegated my clear need for caffeine (student life, two jobs, filthy apartment and time spent loving a husband and a kitty) to a strict use-when-needed policy. To combat the cravings, I switched to caffeine-free diet soda, and I honestly cannot tell the difference. However, on those days when waking up seems improbable and a breakdown seems inevitable, I run to my fix like a sad, twitchy junkie.

All of this is, of course, a roundabout way of saying that in the face of math tests and work and the usual fifteen hours of sleep in three days, my desire to leave the house—let alone to run out of it—was minimal. As I'm not losing any weight or gaining any cred watching last week's episode of In Plain Sight, however, I motivated myself with the promise of not only a caffeinated beverage, but a very very VERY caffeinated beverage. Armed with my Nike+ enabled iPod, my shiny, new, barely used running shoes, and $2.50, I walked to the 7-Eleven and gazed at the myriad options available under the guise of energy drinks. Then I selected the only one I could afford with my cash on hand.

I drank my swill as I walked to the local track in the middle of the night, and I reluctantly began running at a gentle pace. Even for my lazy self, I can usually make it through a 30-minute workout with little fatigue. However, at the 15-minute mark, I was flagging. I forced my shoulders back as I ran, I concentrated on my core, I watched the shiny flashing of my aforementioned new shoes as I passed under lights reflecting on sprinkler puddles and 3M visibility products. Next thing I knew, my pace was picking up, my mind was wandering pleasantly rather than distractingly, and my imperfect math test score of earlier was less haunting. Ah, caffeine: she is a bitch goddess, but she is mine and I love her so back away and quit trying to tell me what to do! Oh, um, I mean: the rest of the run was lovely, and I even gave it a little extra there at the end before walking home whilst sipping my ambrosia.

Now I think I'll go for a bike ride.

If you look at the graphic here, you can see the obvious peak in both my run and my caffeine absorption. The dip at the end was me realizing I should probably walk off the high, and go home.

Ride to work, to work.

date: 20 July @ 10 PM
destination: cinema to café
time: 31 minutes
distance: 4.77 miles
average speed: 9.3 MPH
maximum speed: 20 MPH

july total: 79.26 miles
year-to-date: 86.02 miles

Anniversary ride.

date: 20 July @ 7:30 PM
destination: the cinema
time: 28 minutes
distance: 6.36 miles
average speed: 13.4 MPH
maximum speed: 24.6 MPH

july total: 74.49 miles
year-to-date: 81.25 miles