Turkey Trotting

Foodapalooza day has come and is pretty much gone.  Eating is over for me at least.  Did I come out on top?  Probably not.  But I'm not gonna kill myself over it.  I moved ....and I ate mostly fruits and veggies (ok ok ok, so what of it, potatoes are still a vegetable and I ate mashed potatoes with my corn, peas etc etc etc ......and I can't help it that my sister in law made the most to die for bread.....POTATO ROLLS....see vegetable!   I....well......ok ok ok...I ate Two...don't be hating!)   It's over and it's time to move on.  I've got this.

My day started early.  The alarm was set for 6AM, but I was awake at 5AM (not by choice, wonder why I woke up wide awake.....boo!).  I laid in bed and did a slow easy wake up before the alarm went off.  When that alarm sounded I bounded out of bed ready to roll.  I had packed my stuff the night before so I just had to get dressed in my running duds that I had laid out the night before (layers of them because in case I forget to mention it....it was COLD outside).  By 6:30 I was dressed, breakfasted and the car was warming!  

                                                                                First on the agenda was to pick up my friend Paula who was going to be running this race with me.  Second up, HCC our local college that was hosting this event.  Once chipped we sat around and watched the little kiddie races and waited for our turn to run.  We had some laughs while we made fun of people we know and don't like and giggles while we waited to run.  Paula is always fun to hang around.  And no...I'm not happy with my picture..but it shows that we were just being silly.  Don't I look demented with my eyeballs ready to pop out of my head????





Anywho.....soon the waiting was over and we were heading out into the cold to run ourselves silly. (oh wait...maybe we were trying to run the silliness out of ourselves!)  Have I mentioned it was a bit nippy out there????????   We geared up with hats, and pulled on our gloves and I was thankful for my two sweatshirts and long sleeve tee.  I was even more thankful for the cuddle duds under my pants.....however, my toes were cold!   Man, I need to really get this weight off....pictures don't lie (although I was wearing about 4 layers on top!)!

The gun went off and we took off like two girls chasing a cute guy.  Ok, maybe we walked slowly in the crowd to the starting sensor/start line.  (turns out it took us a minute to get to the start line...not too long)  We hit the sensors and we were off.  Crowds parted for our beauty as we ran gracefully down the road.  OK, so that isn't quite the truth.  But we did weave in and out of the crowd, trying to find a spot in the runners to claim as our own.  We settled in to run.  It was cold.  Have I mentioned that???   I have not run in a while and I was wondering how I was going to do.  Almost immediately my heart rate skyrocketed.  GRRRRRR   I slowed my pace down and pushed myself on.  My heart rate slowed down but throughout the race it continued to skyrocket sporadically causing me to ~gasp~  slow down .     I made it through mile one with no walking.  I took a short walking break right at the first mile marker.   I ran a bit and then started running again.  I'd like to say that I ran the whole second and third miles after my walk break, but that was not to be.  I did the rest of the run in intervals.  Walk a bit and then run a bit.  There was no set interval...I just ran as long as I could and then I walked.  And I pumped my arms and tried to do a speed walk thing.

I started noticing someone else that was doing intervals.  Her face was beaded with sweat, she was wearing black, had a ponytail and she had pink headphones (yeah, that's what I remember!  I'm very observant...NOT)  and she was working it.  We would run and we would pass her as she walked.  Then we would walk and she would pass us.  Seriously???   I just wanted to cross the finish line before this girl!  Right at about the 2.5 mile Paula was running ahead of me and I had pulled up even with my leapfrog girl.   Paula turned around and ran backwards and was yelling "Get Angy and RUN girl!"  I looked at her and said...there are two girls back here!  I told the girl that we'd been leapfrogging her the whole race. She laughed and we ran on together.  At this point I knew that I was holding Paula back. She had never finished a race in under 40 minutes and I knew that if she held back with me that she may not make it.  So I yelled up to her and told her to run like the wind and set her PR.  She waited no longer (although I kept her in my sights the whole time...and occasionally hurled motivational insults comments up toward her!)  I was determined to finish strong.  And then I got utterly lightheaded and poopy-doop, I had to slow down to a walk.  I had to walk as I approached the ARCC (Athletic Recreation Community Center....at the local college where this event was held...the finish line snaked into the ARCC and finished inside....NICE perk on a cold day).  For a few short seconds I was literally afraid that I would pass out.  I had no choice but to say farewell to my pink ear bud, pony tailed gal in black.   I walked for about 30 seconds until the majority of the lighheadedness passed and then took off again.   I entered the ARCC and finished strong on a run (praying that I wouldn't pass out).    Paula was at the end of the chute (she finished a minute before me) and my ponytailed girl was right there.  I've already mentioned my superior observation skills so I don't have her bib number....all I know is that she finished after Paula but before me. (So looking at the finishers I know she's one of about 4 people...and that she is between 36 and 49...yeah, I'm that good!)  I did stop and congratulate her and tell her I'd see her next year!

Not sure what was up with that dizzy spell.  It passed very soon after I stopped running...so that's good.  I felt full of energy and vigor the rest of the day...so maybe I just needed fuel or something.  Who knows....who cares!  It was an abberation.  If it happens again, then I will be concerned!

I went over and got some water and I picked up a snack and then Paula and I waited for our official times.    I finished in 38:55, Paula was about 40 seconds faster than me.   I'm actually pretty good with my time.  It wasn't an easy run by any means.  I sadly walked more than I would have wanted.  The good excellent fabulous news is this....my previous personal record was 38:20.,....uhmmmmmm a bad run without any recent serious running and I only lost 35 seconds!  SOLD!  I'll take it!

                                                                             Of course we are totally psyched up on our runners high after it was all over and you can see the happiness in our eyes, in our huge grins and just oozing from our pores!!!!

                                                                                         Sooooo, I'm putting this at the end...and it's in no way least important. But I have made a commitment that was put out online  to running a 'virtual' 5k on Thanksgiving, a virtual 5K on Christmas Day and a virtual 5k on New Years.  The Thanksgiving one was easy peasy as I was already registered to run the Turkey Trot.   One down....two to go!  :-)  SO here is my great picture with my Turkey Trot bib...and my virtual bib!    Ohhh and lets not forget my hat that was covering my cone head (ha ha ha...well doesn't it look like it???)...and that I was wearing backwards apparently, with the seam down my forehead.  Yes, I was completely sober when I got dressed, I promise!! 

These races are so darn addictive.  I want to do another!!!!   Todd feels the vibe and energy and once again has made the comment that he wants to run a race with me.  (He said it after the Donut Alley Rally, the first race that he attended in support of me).  He knows what he has to do.  I downloaded the Couch to 5k app on his phone.  I can't do anything more than that......the rest is up to him. 

Foodapalooza is upon us!

My food intake the last week or so has been predominantly on track.  I have tracked it all and I'm doing what needs to be done.  Are the scales reflecting it????  NO.    Does that mean I'm going to give up?  Heck no!  This will all fall into place and the weight WILL start to fall off.

I'm heading into tomorrows foodapalooza on shaky ground.  I'm determined to navigate this holiday without gaining tons.  I'm actually a bit nervous about it.  I feel as if I'm a newbie at this weight loss thing, just starting to forge a path through the wilderness, lost and confused.  I have to keep reminding myself that this is NOT true.  I've been here before.  I've navigated my way through holidays in the past.  I've managed to LOSE WEIGHT through holiday meals and cookie baking days and all of that.  I can do this.  I KNOW how to do it.  So that nervous scared feeling that pervades my thought processes is erroneous and I have to remind myself of that continually.  And I have to remember that it is simple things like 'less food on my plate', 'heavier on the veggies' ,  'limit the desserts'.  The biggest thing to remember is that there is NO FOOD that will be on that table that I can not eat the next day, or the next week or the next month.  Nothing is taboo.  Next week if I want more stuffing, I can make it.  Next week if I'm still craving whatever I feel like I didn't eat enough of, I can make it and eat it then.  There is no need to stuff myself silly on Thanksgiving day!   

I'm hanging on.  I'm working it.  I will find success!

Weather permitting I'll be out running my Turkey Trot tomorrow.  Not sure how I'm going to do with it....but I'm going to do it!  :-)

Happy Thanksgiving day!!!!!!

Eh

My eating yesterday was 'eh'. I tracked ever bite, so that's good.  However I was over budget in what I ate.  I was doing ok, had my eating totally planned out fur the day.....and then 4pm rolled around and I got a case of 'the hungries'! I caved and had a bit of a snack.   I didn't immediately run to the kitchen to eat.  I tried to hold off for a bit...made myself busy to see how I would feel a bit later.  So....I ate some of my hard earned exercise calories!  Could be worse, I could have not earned those calories!!!

Today I am scheduled for a morning run and an evening Zumba.   I'm up and determined to not deviate!   The schedule has said to run.  :-). Today is a simple two miler.   I'll probably run the north loop at the battlefield which is about 2.3 miles.   My training schedule that I set up this month is keeping me at about 2-3 miles....not pushing any longer runs this month.  I'm just focusing on the Turkey Trot that I'll be running on thanksgiving day.   Shhhhh, dont tell anyone but I want to set a PR!!   I don't have any goal other than it be faster than my previous best time (which was 38:20). I'm currently running a consistent 13 minute pace. (Which is what I was running when I ran my 38:20)   I know that the race excitement will propel me a bit faster.  Either way, I will beat my time from last years turkey trot!!!

So, off to run I go!!!!

Strictly prohibited

I was talking to some friends last night and I have made the vow that I will be definitely running the Turkey Trot in Hagerstown on Thanksgiving Morning.  I’m not sure if I will be running it for time or just to do it.  I’m hoping that it is a PR run. That’s almost two months away, surely I can speed myself up in that time frame.  I was speeding up consistently getting faster when I was running regularly. However, those excuses (valid, yet still excuses)  that I talked about in the last post derailed me from running regularly and my speed/pace has suffered. (and it wasn’t all that fast to begin with…but it was MY time).  So anyway……  Turkey Trot….thanksgiving morning.  Who’s in????  J

We have also talked about running something in October.  I think we settled on the Spooky two miler. It takes place in Hagerstown right before the parade. Two miles…from the fairgrounds to the parade center/grandstand area.  Costumes encouraged.  Sounds fun right?????  Any takes to join me/us on this one????

So that leaves me with getting my butt out of bed in the morning and actually getting out there and running.   Plans are in my head to DO IT!  (yes, I feel like a Nike commercial…which I never ‘got’ until I really started to just take the “just do it” attitude.)

Then this morning I made a sad discovery/revelation.  You see, I live in Sharpsburg, MD.  To be specific I live in a swatch of land that is nestled between the Antietam Battlefield and the C&O Canal. Yes, our land is sandwiched between two national parks.   It’s actually a really great thing.  I have lots of options for running and riding and walking that are off the busy roads.  I prefer to do the bulk of my running in these areas because, quite frankly; people are nuts on the public roads.     It is a great perk.     But back to the revelation.  Government Shutdown.  Yes, I know government workers that are affected and I feel bad for them since they have to suffer with their glorious time off of work,   (yeah, yeah yeah…I know it could hurt their wallets in a really bad way…so it’s not so glorious!! My friends that are affected are in my thoughts and prayers as they work to make the adjustments necessary to survive!) )but it really didn’t affect me.  Except that I’m a big big user of these national parks…….uhhhhhh this stuff is getting real now!  You’ve closed the gates to my beloved canal????  WAAAAAAAAAAA

The notices on the canal signs and it’s partners (non government) website  say that use is strictly prohibited.  Uhhhh  first of all, if I cut through the woods on my property and access it that way will I be ‘strictly prohibited’???   How will they enforce this?  Will it be a federal offence if I’m caught?  Hmmmm  

The battlefield is another question mark. They don’t have the roads to the north end of the battlefield blocked…they can’t, there are still people living on the battlefield. (my co-worker is one).  So there are no clear signage (that I have seen, maybe I should drive by this evening to look).   

I guess this chickie pie may be running on the ‘boring’ roads for a while.   Ok, they aren’t too boring…I mean, I saw the most picture opportunity one day on the road.  I made friends with a cow that was loose another day.  So lots of fun to still be had.

Race report

I tried to go to bed early on Friday night.  I wanted to be fresh and ready to run, not tired and worn out.  I slept restlessly though.  I had dreams.  Weirdly enough I 'think' they were dreams about running.  I woke up before the alarm and laid in bed and relaxed a bit, doing my normal (and favorite) wake up routine.  When my alarm went off I rolled out of bed and got ready for my day.  I was excited.  I had vowed a lot of things through the last few weeks of this running training.  I had vowed to run the whole thing.  I had vowed to beat my turkey trot numbers.  I had vowed to do this and that.  Finally just this last week I changed my vow to "Do my best and have fun!"   

Sherry and I met up early and arrived at the race site.  We were ready!   Of course we stopped and had to have our pictures taken with the Sweet Frogs! (and yes, I will be using the 10% off coupon to get some frozen yogurt at one of the sweet frogs stores!)

We got out timer chips and we walked around for about 45 minutes, making sure that we visited the portapotties and kept moving.  We watched (from a distance) the kids run.  Some of those kids were like lightening!          Finally it was our turn to congregate at the start line.  We moved into place...and then we waited....and waited....and waited.  OK, so it was maybe only 5 or 10 minutes.  Finally after hearing the instructions for the race a few times (they were running two different courses of 5K and one course of a 10 k simultaneously so they  had to make sure everyone knew which routes to follow) we were off.  Sherry and I headed out onto the road.  It was a road that we run each week but it felt so odd to be running on the middle of the road and surrounded by tons of people!.  

 

About this time I realized that my research was wrong and we were running the FITNESS course and not the FUN 5k course!  OOPS!

 

Within the first few minutes of running my breathing was labored.  Really? I thought I had that under control????    Sherry even noticed it.  Before I said anything to her (I was trying to get it under control on my own without bringing it up) she started counting my breaths for me out loud.  She knows my breathing pattern that I am following (3-2-3-2-3-2).  I tried.  I really tried.  But it just wasn't happening.  We had to stop and walk relatively early.  GRRRRR.  We walked about a minute and then picked back up on the running.  My breathing was still messed up.  We ran and walked alternately for about the first mile.  Then something happened and my breathing somehow settled down.  At about the one mile mark I heard someone coming up behind us.  It was a lone girl...she was running at about the pace that we ran at.  We stayed relatively close to her.  We would walk and she would pass us.  She would walk and we would pass her.  

 

At about the 2 mile mark Sherry started to feel sick.  I didn't have any complaints about walking.  My breathing was somewhat under control, but seriously...once it's out of whack my whole body does not function correctly.   We walked and jogged intermittently the rest of the race.  Our bodies fought us but we persevered.  I was so happy that I was with her.  Her presence helped pull me through.  And yes....we crossed the finish line with smiles on our faces (or maybe they were grimaces!)           

We did it!   We did not run the whole thing...but we DID manage to beat my turkey trot time.  By a few minutes!   We also DID manage to have fun! This was a nice small race.  The turkey trot was huge in comparison.  This one  was small an intimate.  I liked it.  If I'm running next year....this one will definitely be on my list. (although I my chose the FUN course next year....but then again, I may be READY for the fitness course!)  

 

This morning I woke up and just felt sick and utterly exhausted.  So I went back to bed and slept for a few hours.  Exercise was put on the back burner.  I may do something tonight. But I'm not pushing it.  My body is telling me to slow down.  I WILL listen to my bodies needs!

Victory!

So thanksgiving weekend 2012 is officially in the books.   I don't feel as if I ate all that horribly.  However, I did indulge in the pumpkin roll.....and I ate the leftovers for breakfast on Friday, Saturday AND Sunday.   Luckily for me the pumpkin roll is no longer there, so it is no longer tempting me by calling my name in that sticky sweet voice that gets to me every time! My weight is up.  I accept it...but I'm not ok with it.  I need to get myself in line.   No ifs ands or buts.  Other than the pumpkin roll, I ate relatively reasonably.  But relatively reasonably is NOT good enough.  I need to be doing GOOD...I need to be on target.  Relatively reasonably is OK if I'm trying to maintain.

So I started tracking today and I'm here.

Thanksgiving 2012 had me doing something that I have had on my bucket list.  I participated in a 5K on Thanksgiving morning.  I didn't set any records.  I had not trained ANY....so I walked and had spurts of jogging.  But I did it.  I did not come in last for my age division which was my goal.  SO I am pleased.

1203 67/92 Terri Houser F 52 46:35 44:52 14:29
1204 156/176 Paula Crammer F 36 46:34 44:53 14:29
1205 157/176 Maryfran Stotler F 39 46:35 44:53 14:29

The first number is where I came in, the second set of numbers I didn't come in last in my division...which was my goal.  Obviously my name, sex and age...then the 46.34 was my gun time....and the 44:53 was my chip time.  The 14:29 was my pace.   Pitiful.  But now i have something to work against.  Paula and I are aiming to do the st. patricks day run.  And we are aiming to train and really whittle down our time!

I want to reinvent my life on a few different levels...and on the health level, I want to be FIT and active!