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TOFUCUTIEPIE's Recent Blog Entries
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Friday, November 26, 2010
I have been wanting to run a 5K since I began running early in the summer. Races would come and go and I would say I was going to do one and I would find excuses why not. A few weeks ago, I just signed up so I would *have* to run it because already paid for it. It worked!
Wednesday night, I went into panic mode. The weather was supposed to be 100% chance of rain and COLD! I've never run in the cold. Hell, I've never run 3 miles and I've only run 3 times in the past 3 or more months. My knee had been hurting the past 3 runs and I was worried I wouldn't make it. I ran out to Dicks at 9 pm to look for some warm running clothes and spent too much on a pair of Under Armor cold weather pants and an OK amount on a Reebok running shirt. Then I headed to Kohl's for over an hour and a half looking for something less expensive there. I got some stuff there and took all of it home to decide. It was cold, rainy, and windy that night—exactly what the weather was going to be the following morning for the race. My BFF talked me down on the phone and then I went to bed. I dreamed of the race, how I took a wrong turn and was way off course. I awoke at 6 am to the sound of the pouring rain blowing. The rain and sleet pelted my windows and I was praying that it would be canceled. It wasn't so I decided to make myself a rain poncho out of a big plastic tarp and duct tape. Presto! Perfect!
Fast forward and we are sitting in the parking lot waiting for the race to start. My husband and I get our 3 tired, cold kiddos out of the car and into the rain to wait. I finally sent them to the car as the race was about to begin. Looking around, there were 4299 other people waiting to run, all crouched under any awning or overhand they could find to stay dry. The one mile started and the 5K was getting lined up. I was up and nervous as ever. The National Anthem was sung and BANG! it was show time! The group began to run and I quickly fed into the mass of running bodies. It was very hard to get used to running the someone else, let alone a ton of people. We began running. It was cold and still raining, hard. We rounded Heinz Field and passed PNC Park. I looked everywhere for my family but couldn't find them. I was sad about that but it was best for the kids (5, 4, and 2). As I turned the corner to cross the bridge and passed the 1 mile mark, I had my pace. This was great! I didn't pass anyone, I just tried to zone out and be with myself. I promised myself that I would make it at least 1/2 way until I could take a moment to walk. Then I rounded the corner at the halfway mark and I was so excited to be on my way back.
I ran up to the water table, grabbed a cup from one of the volunteers and took a sip. I wasn't thirsty, I just wanted to take one to make the run "official". LOL My husband wanted me to just take a cup and then throw the whole thing on the street and keep running. I laughed as I grabbed the cup, took a sip and couldn't throw it on the ground like everyone else had! I spilled the 1 oz. of water out (it splashed up on another runner who got upset and all I could think was, "Its POURING RAIN! We are all soaked. A little drop more is not going to hurt." I apologized and very light heartedly said "sorry to get your wet, oh wait, it probably doesn't matter at this point." and gave a little chuckle. She didn't find it funny but another runner did.) Anyway, we head back over the bridge and the incline feels so much steeper. I keep on running and realize I am almost done. I round the corver and can hear the crowd. Meatloaf is playing on my iPod (hey, it helps me run!) I look around for my family again and nothing. I sprint to the finish line and finish at 34:25. Not bad for my first run!
It wasn't until I stopped running that my knee started to kill and almost gave out—I could barely walk. Its a good thing I never stopped to walk during the run because I would not have been able to start back up. Anyway, I walk over to get my picture taken, grab a banana, some chips and popcorn for the kids and go look for my family. I spot them right next to the finish line and walk up and stand next to my husband. He apologized over and over for missing me cross the line. He and the kids were watching the last leg of the 5 mile thinking that was my course. By the time he realized it, I had crossed the line and missed them. It was fine with me because I was so happy for having finished at all! Some random stranger was hassling my husband about having the kids out in the rain in the cold over and over and he was all frazzled by her. He walked the kids to the car and then back and missed me during that time.
I am so proud of myself for having run the race, especially in the rain! We had record rainfall that morning, almost 2 inches and had it been a little colder, that rain would've been snow and that would have been 22 inches!! We came home and I took a nice hot shower, got into some PJs, took some ibuprofen, iced my knee and started making our Thanksgiving feast. At 3 I passed out on the couch (so tired!) and awoke to my daughter, 2, kissing me. :) I got up, helped finish up making dinner and we then feasted! hubby and I both passed out again around 9 pm and slept until 12 am in the living room.
My calves are still sore and tight today and my knee hurts badly going down the stairs but all in all, it was all worth it!
 
Monday, November 22, 2010
My first 5K is in 3 days and my knee hurts! I think I have runner's knee. I have been taking a break from running for a few days and it was feeling fine. Then after sitting here at work for a little while, I got up and it has been hurting ever since. Its not a muscle ache, its under my knee cap on the outside of my knee. Sitting here its fine but getting up and walking, it is sore. I went to Dick's over the weekend and bought one of those straps that goes around your lower leg, just under your knee to help keep your knee cap aligned correctly.
Any advice for the race? I really want to do it! I am so excited for it!
Friday, November 19, 2010
So I've hit a plateau. I knew it would happen some time. I was (am) running out of steam and I am trying to be OK with it. Its kinda working. October was a lot harder for me than I imagined. I thought I would get ahead of the game (for once) and buy our Halloween candy a week or 2 beforehand instead of rushing out an hour before trick or treat to get it). I bought a variety bag of PB cups, almond joys, hershey bars, and kit kats, and a Tootsie roll variety bag. Big mistake. Usually the PB cups would be taking me down but it was the tootsie rolls! Oh how I love those chocolate-y chewy rolls of goodness! I apparently loved them too much. Both bags of candy were widdled down quite a bit before Halloween even came! (DH almost single-handedly emptied the candy car bag!) Then after T-or-T, all 3 kids had soooo much candy and DH and I had to "help" them with it. Finally after 2 weeks, I gathered all the candy up and took it into work to get rid of it.
I realized that once I was getting busy, I wasn't able to track my food well. I thought I could do it in my head well but no, when I can't see what I am tracking, it doesn't have as much of an impact on my choices like it should. One day, then 2 then a whole week of really no tracking. Needless to say, I understand why I have not lost anything. Live and learn I suppose.
As for my Nov. goals update, I decided that I have been concentrating on too much negative stuff—all the stuff I am *NOT* doing. I need to concentrate on what I HAVE done. So let's see...
* I ran 2.7 miles last week, the longest I have run!
* I signed up for my first 5K (which will officially be my longest run)
* I've been pushing myself at Curves.
* I caught a glimpse f myself in a storefront window and was shocked at my reflection! Holy cow! I have a distorted view of myself in my mind still because I looked GREAT!
* Even though I did not gt to 170 this month, I was able to not gain. I stayed the same.
* Signed up for the Biggest Weight loss challenge in October and even though DH and I will not win, I am very proud of at least signing up.
* I got rid of almost lal of my clothes that are too big (leaving me with 2 pairs of work pants—one which is almost too big—2 pairs of jeans—one which is almost too big—and a few shirts. That's not gonna cut it!
So here is my official weekly update:
–Get to 170 or below...IN PROGRESS but most likely not going to happen
–Exercise 5 days a week...GETTING THERE
–Curves 3 days a week...DOING IT!
–Walk to work 5 days a week...GETTING THERE!
–Cardio activity 5 days a week...DOING IT!
–Sign up for the pool membership and start going!...NOT YET
–Drink pop one day a week as a treat...NOT YET
–Plan all meals out the day before...STILL WORKING
–Create a mix-a-meal thing ...STILL WORKING
–Be happy no matter our team placement with the Biggest Weight Loss Challenge contest...DOING IT (realizing that we will NOT be the winners but that's fine!)
–Run in the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day...ALL SIGNED UP!!
–Have a local Thanksgiving meal (meaning everything is bought local)...PLANNING IT
–Be punctual!...GETTING THERE!
–Not hit the snooze button more than once...NOT YET (but paired up with 'Be punctual', I'm doing good!)
Happy Friday everyone! And Happy Thanksgiving too!
Friday, November 12, 2010
I'm a little behind in writing on this blog so here is a hodge podge entry.
GOALS update:
–Get to 170 or below...IN PROGRESS
–Exercise 5 days a week...GETTING THERE
–Curves 3 days a week...DOING IT!
–Walk to work 5 days a week...GETTING THERE! (I missed one day so far)
–Cardio activity 5 days a week...DOING IT!
–Sign up for the pool membership and start going!...NOT YET
–Drink pop one day a week as a treat...GETTING THERE!
–Plan all meals out the day before...STILL WORKING
–Create a mix-a-meal thing ...STILL WORKING
–Be happy no matter our team placement with the Biggest Weight Loss Challenge contest...GETTING THERE! (realizing that we will NOT be the winners but that's fine!)
–Run in the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day...UGH...NOT YET. See below
–Have a local Thanksgiving meal (meaning everything is bought local)...NOT YET
–Be punctual!...GETTING THERE!
–Not hit the snooze button more than once...NOT YET (but paired up with 'Be punctual', I'm doing good!)
So all-in-all, not bad. I need to remind myself that I do not need to meet everyone of these goals every day throughout November. I am working at meeting all the goals by the end of November.
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As for running, after the 2+ month hiatus I took because the last run I did, my knees KILLED, I decided to go for a run yesterday (I played hooky from work...er I mean I was sick *cough*) I am determined to run in that Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving day. I REALLY want to but I have yet to run a full 3 miles and there is not too much time left. Anyway, I set off for a run yesterday around 9:30 am and the weather was perfect! Sunny, cool, and just plain beautiful. Before I left, my husband says, "So I will see you back here around 10?" "Yep" I told him, wanting to run for a full 30 minutes. The beginning of the run was great and as I eased into it, it just got better and better. It was probably one of the best runs I have had...until the end. Now I walked about 1 maybe 2 minutes total just so I could continue running longer. If you have ever been to the south hills of Pittsburgh, you know there is no such thing as a level road. Everything is hills or a good incline. I booked it up a steady incline/hill and made it to the top (after sprinting at the end) before the end of the song on my iPod. Then I walked a bit. Towards the end of my run, my knees started hurting and by the end, they killed. I have unofficially diagnosed myself as having runner's knee.
www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_5/194
.shtml
It didn't hurt while running uphill or even on the flat ground (well, not much more than feeling a run in my knees) but when I was running downhill or walking down the stairs afterward, I saw stars almost with every step. UGH! And this sucks because I was so excited for the warmer weather we have been having and how great the run felt. This morning, I was walking to work from downtown and again, almost with every step, I was close to seeing stars. I almost called my husband to come pick me up and drive me the 1.5 miles to work. I didn't and just trudged on. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I really want to run in this 5K and the course is nearly all flat (Its through downtown) but training will be an issue. Should I just head over to a track to run instead of my neighborhood? Give up on running all together? I don't know. Meh.
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The other day at Curves I actually burned...drum roll please...726 calories in 30 minutes! How is that for a Woo Hoo moment! I was stunned but very happy. Then I learned that my Curves is going to be bringing in Zumba and introducing it into the circuit! How exciting! I need to shake up my Curves workout as it gets so stale so quickly. For those who do not know the Curves workout, it is a 30 minute workout, 30 second per machine then 30 second on a recovery station. You do the circuit 2 times and then you are done. Well, on the Zumba days, machines will be 1 minute and Zumba on the "recovery" stations for 1 minute. You go around the circuit once. Sounds complicated and a lot of work but I can't wait to try it out. I love my Curves.
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The hubby and I were doing some MAJORLY overdue and needed cleaning of our room which has become a pit to put things we don't know what to do with anywhere else. We went through all of our clothes (and the kids') and started sorting into keep, donate and throw away. I was hoping it would feel so much more therapeutic and exciting to be getting rid of almost all of my wardrobe because it was too big but it really wasn't. It was just there. Maybe when I actually get everything back in the drawers and closet, it will feel differently. Let's just say I have maybe 15 articles of clothing (besides underwear). I refuse to buy anymore new clothes only to have them be too big a month later (like the pants I have on now!) I did find my suit that I wore 3 years ago. It fit then. Now it seriously looks like I am a child wearing my dad's clothes. I will have to snap a photo of me in it holding the waist out. I love it! Also, all the pants and shorts I wore earlier this year, GONE! All way too big! You know, the more I think about it, the better it gets.
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Hubby and I went in for our 2nd weigh in for the contest and lost a combination of 11 pounds in 4 weeks so I am happy about that but we are no where near winning. Each of the top 3 teams at the moment started out with a combined team weight of about 100 pounds more than us with one team about 244 pounds more than us (they are currently in 3rd place). We could really use the money ($100, $500, 0r the $250) but its not going to happen this time. We would both need to lose 20+ pounds each in a 1 week. NOT GONNA HAPPEN! LOL Oh well! This was a learning experience and I learned that I don't like team competitions with my husband. I love him too much and when only one of us worked hard at this (me), I was too often mad at him for not putting ANY effort. He just isn't ready...yet. Maybe next year!
Onward and upward!
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ing it!!
My goals for November 2010: 
• Get to 170 or below (which would be 1.6-2 pounds per week, seeing that I would use the entire last week of November as a full week) 
• Exercise 5 days a week 
• Sign up for the pool membership and start going! 
• Drink pop one day a week as a treat 
• Plan all meals out the day before 
• Create a mix-a-meal thing of our core foods to help menu planning go better 
• Be happy no matter our team placement with the Biggest Weight Loss Challenge contest. 
• Run in the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day 
• Have a local Thanksgiving meal (meaning everything is bought local) 
• Be punctual! 
• Not hit the snooze button more than once. 
Member Comments About This Blog Post:
Good for you for putting your thoughts/goals as a visual. You are the key in all this, and you will succeed!
on from the Spirit Team on finishing your first 5K!! 
to the woman who was hassling your hubby.
